The evening passed, and midnight came, with the moon evident, shining so dazzlingly.

It was a meaningful time when people were tired and desired to stop whatever task they were doing, gazing at the celestial shape that rotated around this world every night.

Yet, in the middle of the forest, Kaori and Ryu neverendingly ran towards the tallest mountain in the south, restless. In pain.

"Master—"

Kaori was shedding tears endlessly.

"—Master, it, it's my fault!"

Due to urgency and dread, Ryu was late to notice her struggle to catch her breath from running while crying.

"Kaori, let's stop and rest."

"...But. Hic! Master Sara. Hic!"

"We can't die first without knowing if auntie is safe."

"I'm, I'm sorry! Hic!"

Kaori wailed like a child who lost sight and separated from her parents in the middle of a road.

"Hic! Sorry, I'm sorry! Hic!"

She was not calming down.

Seeing that she was starting to hyperventilate, Ryu forced her gently to sit and lay her back on a tree.

"Kaori, calm down. Auntie is strong enough to protect herself."

Held Kaori's hands as he gently talked to her, even though he was also lost and helpless. So Ryu bit one of his fingers to induce pain, forcing his brain not to panic.

'I need to stay strong.'

A small amount of time passed, and they both calmed down. Kaori, who took a long deep breath, murmured.

"D... Dragon."

"Mm? Did you say something?"

"Dragon."

"What about the dragon?"

"V-Village... Hic... Dragon... Huhuhu."

Kaori started to shed tears again. Slowly, giving information about the dragon, Ryu somewhat learned the relation of the legendary reptilian beast to what happened in her Ischyros tribe.

According to Kaori, the whole village was in chaos when the dragons decided to attack, burning everything.

Her tribesmen were either killed or scattered into different locations. Kaori, along with part of those who escaped, was captured by bandits.

They were enslaved and sold in their time of weakness.

The crimson lady in front of Ryu, who was physically older by more than five years, was like a baby that didn't know what to do.

Ryu stretched out his hands and embraced her. After a while, tears drenched his clothes, and her crying started to mellow.

"Auntie is still alive. We can still save her."

"...Mm."

Patting her head, he continued to assure her.

"And we will ensure that dragon will pay for what it did to your village."

"...Mm."

Ryu held her hand, squeezing it tightly.

"So let's regain our strength back."

"...Mm"

"Look at me, Kaori. We will bring my auntie back... Alive."

With a determined look, she nodded.

They rested for another 30 minutes and resumed the pursuit.

At that moment, a contact from the Shadow Intelligence Group arrived, so Ryu asked the person to return and request reinforcements.

Running for a long while, Ryu and Kaori arrived at the foot of the mountain. They tried to look at the peak, and their necks nearly broke.

The mountain was humongous.

"It will take time to climb, but we've no choice."

"My Lord."

"Yes?"

"If I remember correctly, areas with dark miasma around is what they call the dark continent."

"Dark continent?"

"Yes, looking at this mountain closely, this must be the infamous Drakon Mountain of the Dark Continent."

"Drakon? Is that bad news?"

"It's negative news, my Lord. I think that there is not just one dragon living there."

According to Kaori, this Drakon Mountain was somewhere the dragons inhabited. This rescue operation would be much more dangerous than imagined if that was right.

"Troublesome."

"Hopefully, most dragons are currently hibernating in this cold season, my Lord."

"Are you sure?"

Ryu might know about humans and business management, but he acknowledged that mythical creatures were out of his league.

To survive, Ryu learned about the lower-ranked monsters that humans mostly encounter in Southbourne Town. But, things like dragons were not included in the basic adventurer guide book.

Kaori pointed at the sky around the mountain.

"It's because not a single dragon is flying around, my Lord."

"Then we must save auntie before they wake up starving."

The adventurers of the Zen kingdom wouldn't dare go beyond a few miles of the southern border. The sole reason was the existence of the Dark Continent. The reason why there was no clear information about such creatures.

"But this is weird, my Lord. According to the map, the Dark continent should at least be another thousand miles farther. But the dark miasma that should not be here had already reached this place. And maybe... This must not be the real Drakon Mountain reported in the past."

"You have a point. Not the Drakon, but a newly occupied mountain."

Kaori gave a valid point. Looking at the mountain closely, it was covered by a dark purple miasma known in the Dark Continent.

"It might be. We can investigate later. For now, our priority is to save my auntie."

"I will stake my life for my Master!"

"As mas ferei o anemos."

Improvised flying magic. The chant created a whirlwind, carrying them above.

Ryu hasn't learned the real flying magic due to insufficient knowledge and experience. This version was unstable and affected the surroundings with excessive air. It was earsplitting enough to alert nearby monsters, including the dragons.

But no time to consider the consequences since they were in a hurry.

Due to air pressure, they ascended the mountain slowly and saw a giant cave bigger than the dragon. Hoping that the cave was the right place.

"Let's enter."

Ryu, who was carrying Kaori, landed. It was dark. The purple miasma also affected them, weakening their bodies.

Kaori, who was worried, murmured.

"...Master."

"Let's go."

Ryu created a fireball as a light source as they entered the cave. It was quiet.

"This cave is larger than we thought. Let's move faster."

"Yes, my Lord."

They hastened. Even with the help of wind magic, It took around an hour before they could even see the light on the other side of the cave.

"Look! That light must be the exit!"

Without second thoughts, they ran towards the other side even though they didn't know what was beyond the light. When they arrived, they were stunned. Dumbfounded.

It was a dragon's lair!

Not one nest, but dozens were placed in a sphere-like auditorium of stones. It was so vast that Ryu and Kaori were like ants in a world of giants, but instead, dragons.

What was more mysterious, this place bloomed with trees and flowers, despite being inside the mountains with dark miasmas roaming around.

The mist should have poisoned and seeped the life force of plants. However, this place was an exception.

There was no miasma.

One could see the sky above clearly, with the sun reaching the ground ideally.

Starting this time, Ryu and Kaori talked in low voices and made hand gestures.

"...What is this place?"

Ryu looked around, confused.

"My Lord, look."

Kaori pointed to a particular spot in the middle of the place. Many unconscious animals, monsters, and very few humans piled up together.

"Are they food supplies?"

A stack of living beings that the dragon hunted might be used as food. As they inspected further, they found hundreds of dragon eggs.

"Are they planning to feed them to the newborn dragons?"

Kaori alerted Ryu and pointed.

"My Lord, Master Sara is at the top of that pile."

When Ryu heard Sara's name, he trembled, focusing his sights on the location Kaori pointed to. There, he found Sara unconscious.

"We need to save her... and be cautious."

Kaori nodded.

They tiptoed as silently as possible while they went towards the center, avoiding the consequence of waking up even a single dragon.

'It's nerve-wracking.'

Kaori skillfully climbed and pulled Sara out of the pile. Ryu gestured for them to leave the place as soon as possible.

"Careful... Careful..."

A disaster soon occurred halfway through the exit when they abruptly heard a sound.

Kachak!

Startled, Ryu glimpsed at the side and witnessed an egg hatching.

Gulp...

He swallowed nervousness as his instinct warned.

"Kaori, run!"

The eggs started to hatch. They hurried, not wanting the worst unforeseen thing yet to happen.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Unfortunately, their escape ceased when they heard thundering footsteps from the exit.

"...I hope it's not what I'm thinking."

Ryu crossed his fingers, hoping that the one who made that loud sound would be a cute bunny. Still, his expectation was instantly shattered when a colossal monster suddenly blocked the only escape path.

A dragon.

Not an ordinary dragon, but this reptilian beast was more significant than anything they had ever seen. Its domineering appearance would make anyone's legs numb just by its presence. White hair that shows intelligence, multiple wound marks that confirmed battle experience, and a miasma darker than the one surrounding this mountain was coming out of its body.

"An Alpha Dragon!"

Kaori exhaled multiple times as she tried to control her shaking.

The Alpha Dragon looked around from left to right, then abruptly raised its head, preparing for a howl.

ROAR!!!

A dragon's roar that was stronger than the last time. In fact, it was much louder than expected, a shout that made them propel back a few meters.

Injured, deafened, paralyzed, weakened, and frightened.

A single shout rendered them immovable.

The roar damaged them internally and externally, making the other dragons in deep slumber wake up.

Both lying on the ground, Kaori looked at Ryu and forced herself to speak.

"—ease... run."

Ryu knew how hard she suffered speaking these few words. Because when he tried to reply, his throat swallowed blood, making him unable to mutter a single word.

"Ka... Kak! Ngh!"

Bam! Bam! Bam!

One... two... three... countless vibrations simultaneously shook the ground.

Without notice, the other dragons that woke up from the noise were already near. Gifting them the worst experience they could have ever imagined.

It was awful.

Roooar!

Rooooooooaaaaar!

Roooooaaar!

Roaaar!

Roooooar!

Roooar!

Roooooar!

Rooooooar!

Roooooooooar!

Roar!

...

...

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