“So? Any luck?” Tatyana asked, keeping her gaze straight forward atop her partner dragon, Sig.

  Edmond opened his closed eyes after several seconds, then sighed apprehensively with both hands on hard black scales.

  “It’s no use. I’m not the best sensor, but it’s obvious how messed up the prana lines are now. If they took care of those, the standard lines are almost certainly down too.”

  “So there’s no extra help we can expect… At least not until the police or other people find out what’s going on in some other way.” Her voice went dry and methodical, so brusquely that Edmond thought it to be an attempt at hiding frustration.

  He knew he would not do any better, and instead looked around in an attempt to distract himself from the increasing pressure on his mind.

  Sig had slowed down his flying speed a fair amount, trying to not alert any Thorns to their presence before they were ready. But they were already well within the facility’s grounds, which meant there should not be much time before—

  “There he is.” Tatyana said with a low voice, and Edmond leaned forward so quickly he almost lost his balance.

  Prana flowed through his eyes, enhancing a sight that flicked across the general area until settling on a particular spot. One that seemed to have drawn his eyes in the correct direction by itself.

  The distance separating them was still considerable, and little detail could be made out through vision alone. But the silhouette standing in the middle of the training fields was large, unique in the beast-like strength of its posture and above all, the aura seeping from its outline was unmistakable for someone who had seen him up close.

  “Of course he’d be.”

  Hellbound was waiting, looking up at the gradually forming rift with apparent curiosity.

  “He hasn’t noticed us, I think. That means a chance to even things out.” Tatyana’s tone was decisive, and as threatening as the prana that began to quickly gather around her.

  She was correct. The incident with Wildcard had not crippled either of them, but the injuries they now bore were nothing to ignore either, while Hellbound had enjoyed uninterrupted time to recover since their first meeting. But if he was indeed unaware of their presence, they had an amazing opportunity to equalize the playing field, or perhaps turn the tables entirely.

  However, that was far from the priority in Edmond’s mind. Assailed by sudden dread, he grabbed at Tatyana’s wrist to hopefully stop her spellcasting.

  “What?” She turned to him, confusion clear in her eyes.

  “We can’t attack just like that. We don’t know where everyone else is, whether cadets, instructors or just works. There could be a lot of them still in the buildings, so if we start fighting without thinking his counterattack might reach them. He’s probably staying out in the open to make that his advantage!”

  Tatyana frowned, seemingly restraining the first response she thought of. After roughly shaking off Edmond’s hand, she replied.

  “Look, fighting Hellbound at all is already a big deal, and now you’re also going to throw this on me? Believe me, I’m also worried about the people who might get caught up in this, but I’m not really in the position to drag him someplace else before—”

  “You won’t have to.”

  Narrowed turquoise eyes widened in surprise. Her lips parted for a brief moment, then shut tight as she lightly hit the black dragon with her heel. Sig’s wings did not quite beat as they did before, but rather shifted in a more gentle and slight manner, leading to a steady increase in their altitude.

  “Be quick.” Tatyana said, white vapor coming out as she did.

  Initially surprised by the noticeable drop in temperature, Edmond ignored any extra thoughts on the matter and began to explain, partly to combat the fright coming from their ascent.

  “Like most knight facilities, Seyfelt’s was built around a place that made the practice of sorcery easier. The city itself was also established here for a similar reason, actually. We’re in a mountainous region, but what’s important is that there’s a large and connected cave system neighboring us. Caves where materials such as orichalcum, adamantite and others were mined for profit.”

  The more he talked, the more he noticed Tatyana’s expression twisting in bewilderment. He was not quite done, but she suddenly raised her voice as if by simple instinct.

  “Wait, back up! You… How do you even know all th… No, whatever. Just go on.”

  He almost felt embarrassed for her as she quickly recovered proper awareness, but there was no time to waste. He followed on.

  “The presence of those materials made the prana around Seyfelt particularly rich, perfect for a knight facility. The training fields in particular were built on the areas where prana was most dense, where such precious materials had been mined out of abundance, but their residual power remains.”

  A unique glint appeared in Tatyana’s irises before his last sentence was complete. A very recognizable gleam of understanding.

  “You mean there’s a cave right under the training fields? Where Hellbound’s standing?”

  Edmond nodded.

  “I don’t know for sure how deep they go, and the training fields are of course protected by several layers of spells, but the actual structure should be kind of thin. If we can make it crumble, the resulting pit would be a much better place for us to take on Hellbound.”

  “… Huh…”

  Tatyana looked about as close to speechless as he had ever seen her. Quite a few seconds passed without another word from her, the high-altitude wind ruffling her bangs and likely causing discomfort in her eyes, but she made no effort to brush them away. Instead, before he could even ask what the issue was, she smirked brashly.

  “I didn’t take you for a demolitionist. Now that’s cool.”

  Edmond could not help but blush from her response, however slightly as the immense cold would allow. He glanced aside, then down for the first time, surprisingly not afraid of the ridiculous height they were flying at as he spoke again.

  “We still need to figure out just how we’re going to open the pit. There should be a few spots that gather and focus the prana of the caves, which would make them a bit more fragile. If we can destabilize them and use that prana against them, then maybe—”

  “No need. Just hold on tight.”

  There was no time to even come up with a reply. A tremoring gust did away with his incomplete words, resulting from Sig’s brutal wingbeat that brought them even higher up.

  Edmond’s eyes went wide as he shamelessly clung to the dragon with his legs, and to Tatyana with his arms. He saw what had to be clouds around them being blown away in a violent instant, with the increasingly darker sky behind them being exposed.

  But all of his sudden fear disappeared once he noticed the crippling cold, a discomfort he had almost gotten used to, turning into an all-encompassing warmth; a change so abrupt he would not have been surprised if he was to burn up in the next few seconds.

  Thankfully it did not come to that, allowing him to fully admire the dazzling silver prana swirling around them… and the half-moon standing high in the dusk of winter’s advent, larger and more beautiful than he had ever seen it.

  “Let’s go!”

  He enjoyed but a split second of the magnificent sight, as with Tatyana’s passionate command came the most ridiculous action of all.

  The brilliant object in the sky became a blur and Edmond’s sight was set elsewhere, completely outside of his control.

  He did not feel any more wing flaps from Sig, and instantly understood why that was the case as he saw the ground approaching. Or rather, it was them who were approaching it, in a powerful and uninhibited dive which the dragon had tucked his wings back for.

  To be frank, even that word almost fell short of such a maneuver, one that made a meteor’s fall pale in comparison. Its speed was blinding and the strength building up was frightening, but there was another reason as to why Edmond was still able to register it all.

  That being the prana enveloping all three of them, a luminous bubble that banished freezing cold and fiery wind alike without letting a single speck penetrate. Edmond found it similar to the silver flames he had witnessed Tatyana let loose more than once, but the familiarity went a touch beyond that.

  A primordial light, similar in color but with a nature that was so clearly apart from the prana Tatyana released. But for all that made them different, the two extraordinary powers melded and spun together so closely as if a matter of destiny, a completeness they could only find with one another.

  Edmond noticed a new spell circle appearing before Sig, and then he saw Hellbound in a position that was hardly different from that he had seen before. The surrounding prana, shining more strongly than ever before, gathered in jagged waves toward the recently made glyph.

  Their dive had become a lethal attack, but the imposing beast of a man seemed to ignore it. Was even this spell below his notice? Or was it perhaps too fast for him?

  But before Edmond’s hopes could so much as fully form…

  Hellbound lifted his piercing glare, alongside an arm coated in crystalline growths, and lunged forward with all his might.

  Sig’s flight stopped for an instant as they clashed, a split second in which all sensory information became an indistinguishable blur. Sight, sound, even prana sense had all become meaningless, unable to grasp anything about the small world of destruction that had just been born.

  The first thing Edmond became aware of afterward was Sig’s movement. Just as fast, just as violent… and in the complete opposite direction, until the spread of those gargantuan wings against the sky began to slow everything down, bringing his awareness back to normalcy.

  It was only then that he became fully aware of the strident noise assaulting his ears, though it did not prevent him from opening his nearly burning eyes and witnessing the tribute to ruin that had been left in Sig’s wake.

  It looked like a volcanic plume, a veritable storm of fire flinging charred debris of varying sizes high and wide. With the light of the explosion temporarily making dusk appear brighter than noon, even the raging winds sweeping dust and rock far away were clearly visible.

  Before such a barbaric display of sorcery, the coalescing maelstrom of prana that made up the forming rift was disrupted by a small, but easily noticeable amount.

  “… Hah... Haha…”

  The light show itself was very brief, but what remained of the colossal dust cloud that was lifted took a few more seconds to clear up. But once it did, a sight just as impressive as the explosion greeted Edmond’s eyes.

  The training field as he knew it was no more, with the combined attack from Sig and Tatyana having shattered away construction and ground alike to leave a jagged, oval-like indent in its place. One that must have measured seventy or so meters where it was thinnest, and well over thirty in its depth.

  “H-Haha… You…! Y-You’re actually fucking crazy!”

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  Edmond could only laugh uncontrollably before such a sight.

  “You’re welcome~.”

  Tatyana’s voice replied confidently, contrasting his nervous cackling with a light chuckle. Indeed, she and Sig had done what was needed, even if in a way he never could have predicted. So long as they kept the battle within the enormous crater that had just been formed, it was deep enough to prevent any damage to the rest of the facility, while being spacious enough for them to be able to maneuver freely. And if they could remain airborne while at it…

  … Edmond’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by something unusual. A steady release of prana drifted around them like steam, with the luminous particles that had stuck together so easily before now splitting off and disappearing into the wind.

  Tatyana had not gathered any extra prana, not that he noticed at least, so could it be…?

  “We’re heading down.”

  The assertion of a seemingly aggravated Tatyana came before he could ask anything, as did Sig’s immediate descent.

  It was a slower flight than before, more of a relatively unimpressive glide instead. Edmond did not expect anything close to the dragon’s recent dive just for their landing, but it still felt different than anything since they had left Phantom and Kloel behind. It was still smooth, control was there, but there was an unusual weakness to the creature’s efforts.

  It took them less than twenty seconds total to reach the ground, around forty meters away from the impact zone and only barely recognizable. Tatyana stepped down from Sig’s back very quickly, enough for Edmond to do the same without being asked.

  He followed her as she hurried forward, stopping by the dragon’s almost meter-long head which she held in concern, without any fear. Sig’s eyes, blue like a spotless day’s sky, struggled in a lethargic manner, with the glowing prana around him continuing to scatter at a visibly increased rate.

  “Is he alright?” Edmond asked, suddenly pulling back the hand he had extended in an unconscious attempt to soothe the beast.

  I’m really getting ahead of myself…

  Fortunately, neither Sig nor Tatyana appeared to notice. The latter shook her head as she sighed in relief, then replied.

  “It’s okay, he’s just exhausted. He’s had to do a lot, between breaking the seal on the door, flying all over the place, the attack we just did and… Well, just step back. You’ll get it.”

  Edmond felt slightly unsatisfied by her incomplete explanation, but such concerns were quickly blown away as soon as he complied with her request. A stream of heavy, hot air assaulted his body from the side, causing him to take two more steps away as his eyes went back to the dragon… Or where he used to be.

  The massive body had been replaced by an unprecedented amount of loose prana, spreading far and wide with a density that was almost fluid at so close a distance. It was also fast, like water escaping past a dam that had not simply been broken, but outright erased.

  The bright light dazzled Edmond and forced him to shut his eyes, but the heat was not enough to actually hurt him, while the release itself was brief enough for him to take a look as soon as his eyes recovered.

  The dragon had not disappeared. He had shrunk.

  No, that was not exactly it. Not only had Sig’s size changed, but the overall structure of his body as well. His legs and wings were relatively shorter, stubbier, and the large forward-facing horn that had once rested between his eyes had become an unimpressive bony growth, more like a bump than a spike. His eyes were also proportionately larger, making their fatigued look all the more obvious.

  But of course, overall size was still the most obvious difference. The dragon before Edmond was now perhaps the size of a just-weaned bear cub, no more than ten kilograms in weight compared to the three tons it may have previously exceeded.

  “Is that… normal?” Edmond asked, unable to take his eyes off of the ‘dragon cub’.

  Tatyana had crouched already, feeling around Sig’s ‘new’ body attentively with both hands. Half to caress him, half in an apparent attempt to check for anything wrong.

  “Yeah. Sig was only born a few years ago, so this is the real him. But if I feed him a clump of prana of enough quality, he can grow to a juvenile state temporarily.”

  That was just a juvenile!?

  Edmond shuddered just thinking about the adult that would result from Sig’s full growth, if what he had seen until now was but the mere equivalent of an adolescent. Still not too concerned with anything aside from the young dragon, Tatyana continued.

  “I still don’t fully remember what happened just before Wildcard took me out, but it seems I managed to send one such clump through the Crowned One link before losing consciousness. Still, the change is… stressful for Sig, to say the least. Even without doing anything it leaves him quite spent once he inevitably turns back, let alone if he does all the stuff from today…”

  Her voice was worried, soft in a way that was not at all pleasing to hear. Edmond’s imagination trip was cut short, as he realized the full extent of the dragon’s efforts.

  There was no need to ask why Sig had stayed behind that sealed door for so long. Dragons had an inviolable position at the apex of all creatures in Tellus, matched by so few that plenty of normal, unpowered people could still list their peers. But one trait that all such beings shared aside from their immense power was their unpredictability, as well as the potential danger that came with it.

  Should his existence become common knowledge, many problems would surely arise between the Knight Corps and Tatyana, who seemingly kept even her status as a Crowned One very secret. If she had chosen to rely on Sig today, it was only because things were that bad.

  “This can’t be a good place for him to rest at, can it?” Edmond asked something of much more importance, feeling an increasingly unbearable pressure in his chest the more he looked at the exhausted dragon.

  “Don’t worry. I’m already on it.” Tatyana replied as she finally pulled her hands away and stood back up.

  Right after, the prana surrounding Sig began to light up, like minuscule stars that steadily surrounded him.

  “It’s a protective spell. This shell will not only shield him a good amount, but carry him back to the apartment.” Tatyana explained, crossing her arms.

  The pressing ache Edmond felt greatly subsided as a result, but he knew there was still something else to be done. He felt rather ashamed he could only acknowledge it after the dragon’s change, but it would be much worse to just not do it.

  He stepped forward, crouching much like Tatyana had done. Extending a hand, he felt the painful pricks of the prana particles that had yet to arrange themselves properly, but he still ignored them as he reached further.

  Until the back of his fingers lightly touched Sig’s claw.

  “Thank you so much.” Edmond said what he should have so long ago.

  The dragon’s cyan eyes briefly opened, following his hand half-lidded as he pulled it away, then settled on him. They stayed like that for the few seconds left before the spell coalesced and smoothed over, becoming a fluttering sphere that softly levitated and hovered with gradually increasing speed.

  Edmond stood back on his feet, following the shell with his eyes while turning, until it finally disappeared from sight.

  Now… It’s finally time.

  He inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly, and then turned back toward the huge pit in the ground. As he did so, however, he was surprised by the sight of Tatyana out the corner of his eye.

  Rather, it was not the sight of her on its own that he found strange. Instead, it was the uniquely perplexed expression she continued to bear even as he focused on her properly.

  “… Erm, what’s the matter?” He asked nervously, pondering what he might have done wrong but drawing an absolute blank.

  “Huh?”

  She was apparently caught quite off-guard, her eyes darting around frantically as she brought a few strands of hair back, behind her ear.

  “It’s… It’s nothing. I just didn’t expect that from you.”

  Edmond could have sworn a crack appeared on his heart right then.

  “Just what kind of ingrate do you think I am!?”

  “I didn’t mean it like that! It’s just, most people wouldn’t think to thank a dragon of all things, you get me? I totally meant it as a compliment, I swear!”

  But seeing Tatyana step forward with a panicked voice, trying her desperate best to amend the misunderstanding, he could not really stay hurt.

  “I… I see… Well, thank you too?”

  If anything, it felt very good. So much so he had to actively restrain a grin from forming on his face.

  “You don’t have to thank me for it, twerp…” Tatyana sighed relaxedly, recovering her more usual tone.

  Still, the casualness of it lasted for but an instant, as she turned toward the impact zone again with a stern gaze.

  “Hellbound started moving again. Either he just recovered from the attack, or he gave up on pulling off his own surprise attack.”

  Edmond was surprised by her awareness. Had she somehow formed a detection spell that could withstand that explosion? Or was this another of her Crowned One perks?

  “Are you ready?”

  She asked without hesitation, almost as if to remind him there was no more time to ponder such things.

  Edmond felt the inklings of a shiver as he realized who they were about to face, without the chance for any more delays. But this time, at least for now, he could control himself.

  “I am.”

  Tatyana glanced back at him for a second, with resolution and confidence he refused to fall short of.

  At long last, she ran toward the giant crater, with him in tow.

  The boy felt as if time itself had stopped.

  “You’re already twelve, Javi? Well, time sure does fly! Present, present… I didn’t really get you something new for today, but I can give you something better~!”

  He knew he must have been lying down for a good while now, but the amount of focus he could muster was not enough to define ‘seconds’, ‘minutes’ and much less ‘hours’. Throughout all that, he had forgotten even the moment in which he stopped trying, with the only reminder being the torn skin on his fingertips and broken nails.

  “Yep, this is what we’ve been slinging for years now, the best snow you’ll ever lay eyes on! Go on, take a hit. Oh, don’t be shy, you’re becoming a man already! … Hey, come on, are you really gonna be a little shit with your old man now?”

  Everything felt dry, a fleshy desert from his chipped lips down past his throat, and his almost burning nose the worst of all. It would be no surprise if even his eyes were parched, as even the ceiling had long since become a vague canvas of indeterminate shape and color.

  “Holy shit, kid. You’re really getting like this over a sniff like that? It’d barely be enough for me to calm down, I’ll tell you that, hahaha! Just give it an hour or two. You’ll definitely be wanting more by then… Oh, right.”

  The shivers returned once more, and again they were stronger than the last time. Even now, he became just as terrified of them as on any previous occasion. As he was now, could he do anything if he fell off the bed? Could he so much as twist the worst spots away? Head. Head. Head. If his head hit the floor, he would—

  “It’ll just be for a bit, kid. I swear. I know it’s your birthday and all, but I still got the business to take care of. I know I can trust you and all, but snow can get people a bit crazy, and if that means you end up snorting what’s for selling… Oh well, just stay in your room. I’ll let you out when I’m back, okay~?”

  He could still hear. The sounds of footsteps outside the room, the heavy music and various noises between partying and quarrels did not escape him. Still, he could not hear his own voice, not even in his stream of foggy memories. Air escaped his lips whenever he tried, somewhat forcefully at times, but no discernable sound he could call his own travelled through it. And with each attempt, his throat seemed to burn and tear more and more, crippling anything yet to come.

  But even if his voice were to come out, would anyone outside be able to hear it? If he managed to stand back up and tear at the door again with his bleeding fingers, would a single person notice? Was he simply… trapped?

  The boy despaired. No matter how scattered his mind was, even if his body was stiff beyond any effort, he knew he could not just stay in that room. He had to get out, do something. If not… If not…

  What… would happen? It was not fully unknown to the boy. Rather, part of his dread came from knowing, no matter how much he tried to ignore it, at least something about what would occur.

  But before he could become fully aware of such, time began to flow again in the world around him. All because of a new, completely different sound coming from what seemed like far away.

  Barking. A dog’s voice, rather than his own. Not particularly shrill, not quick, and he could not even tell if it was particularly loud. Nonetheless, the deep cries of a canine were incessant, coming time after time for what seemed like eternity. The animal stopped briefly for rest, and he heard the dry sound of claws scratching the wooden door before the barking resumed.

  Time and again. More and more. Endlessly.

  The boy clung to such persistent, almost irritating noise with the entirety of his willpower. All alone with his battered form and twisted consciousness, only that barking kept him from falling apart even more.

  Then, he heard more sounds. Voices, still indistinct but he was sure there was more than one, with the door’s opening following right after.

  “Since last fucking night!? We’re having a party when he’s been overdosed and locked up for that long!?”

  For the first time in so long, the boy saw something he could distinguish. The forms were far from perfect, many details still missing, but what he heard gave him enough hints to go with.

  Alba, looking more frenzied than he had ever seen her, Capitán who even now had not stopped barking and immediately hurried to him… And Dad, with a hand to his temple in apparent dismay at the ruckus.

  “It was an honest mistake. Don’t you know how delicate business has been lately? Our territory’s been disrespected so I wanted to unwind for a bit.”

  The situation, her fury, and especially the dog’s relentless cries as he sniffed and nibbled the boy’s arm; he seemed just about done with it all. An expression that was tired, annoyed rather than angry, tinged his face as he met Alba’s disbelief without any hesitation.

  “Are you serious!? This is your kid you left like this!”

  No matter how repulsed her voice sounded, however, he brought his arm around her shoulders as he always did.

  “But he held on, didn’t he? I know him, there’s no way my son would kick it from something like this. Come on, let’s get Miguel to call some doctors and have some fun upstairs until they get her—”

  But this time his arm was violently shaken away. Or rather, it was hit away.

  “Don’t fucking touch me. You’ll keep an eye on Javier and I’ll call the doctors! Nothing else happens until they arrive!”

  Alba did not even look back at his Dad as she spoke, already storming off as she wiped traces of tears off her eyes.

  Dad did not pursue her, as he might have done other times, but he sighed and groaned without any restraint as she left. He stretched his arms, fingers linked behind his head as he muttered a few idle expletives, then looked between Capitán and the boy.

  “See? I told you to not play with him a lot, Javi. Two years in the house, but a street mutt is still just that. They get clingy real easy. And now I’ll have to make do with Sofía or Natalia instead, when I was so feeling Alba… Fucking damn it.”

  Finally, his tired eyes settled on Capitán alone, who now frantically scratched the barely responsive boy and had even begun to bite him with some strength. Dad’s disappointed expression quickly turned to one of slight amusement, approaching and reaching out with his hand.

  “But this is the perfect time to teach you some things. Javi, remember the motto of our house?”

  Dad grabbed Capitán with a dry sound, strongly enough to elicit a high-pitched whine from the dog as it was lifted high by its neck.

  “Oh, right. I didn’t mean to put you on the spot there, I’m sure you’d rather rest than answer this. You get it as a freebie, then~. A debt…”

  Capitán squirmed and struggled desperately, trying to bite to no avail and barely managing to graze Dad’s arm with its paws. But from the few scratches it managed to cause, what was barely seen aside from the blood…

  “… is always repaid.”

  … Javier could not focus on such scratches any further.

  As Capitán’s last cry was cut short, the heavy, warm liquid splashed onto the boy’s cheek, his forehead, his arm…

  The figure twitched for a split second more, now sprouting over a dozen spikes of violet crystal glinting from the party’s neon lights. The deep color was adorned by red, fur, red, red, pink, bone red pink red red and red—

  It looked like a bouquet.

  So why was it so ugly it made him want to cry?