Chapter 40 - Return of the dragon

Lily was happily skipping inside the sea of flowers when suddenly she felt the air turn thicker, and that the bright and sunny day got clouded by a gray miasma that was oozing from the edges of the gale, slowly surrounding everything. She stopped and looked at Granny with a face full of worry.

"Granny, what is happening? Wh-what is this?"

The elderly lady garbed in tattered red clothes has already left her previous spot in the middle and arrived at the edges of the flowerbed. She looked at the blonde girl with her gentle smile, and with her right arm stretched out, she motioned to grab it.

"Don't worry, just come to us, Aiden, and I will keep you safe. Come now, quickly!"

Meanwhile, Aiden was also next to Granny already. He noticed the newcomer a few seconds ago before it arrived, however, it was still a mystery to him how it managed to sneak up so close before the system finally managed to notice its presence.

'Enya, can you tell me how did this happen? Why couldn't I see the incoming danger miles ahead like I usually do?'

There was no answer for a few short seconds before the mature female voice resounded inside his mind.

[Unfortunately, I have no answer to that query currently. It seems like the target has some sort of cloaking that masked his presence and intent.]

'But the spy that keeps watching us also uses something similar, and we could still find it. What's different this time?'

[The person that is watching you is using a spell to hide. With that, we can still trace the lingering energy she is using and manipulating her will. But with this new presence, what it is using is not magic, it is a skill, most likely something it was born with. An Innate ability. As such, it is untraceable by any means.]

'I see... ' thinking Aiden realized something very important from Enya's reply 'Innate ability like my Dragon transformation thingy? If I could absorb some of the new enemy's life essence, could I get this ability as well?'

[Yes, however, most likely you would need most if not all of the body mass to have a decent chance to acquire it. For that, you will have to defeat it first, and at the moment, I cannot give you an accurate reading on the target's statistics, but based on this gray miasma it is radiating, it is probably very powerful.

It also seems to have intelligence, as it did not immediately rush in to attack like a normal beast, but it is keeping watch and letting its presence felt, to instill fear to all of you. Be very careful with this one, Aiden.]

---

Number 3, who was at the far side on top of the tree branches, had a difficult decision to make. If she chose to intervene and save the kids, her cover would be blown and would be no longer able to continue the mission. She would receive new directives and depending on the Grandmaster's decision based on her report, the target would either be deemed too problematic to be left alive or someone would replace her.

However, on the other hand, based on what that old woman has told her, she never had any cover, it was just an illusion, they let her watch them. Most likely scenario is to decide her intentions and at the same time, show that they are not a threat, and there's no real need for monitoring.

'Aargh, why did I have to be the one to be placed here…' she cursed. For the time being, she decided to continue watching as the situation unfolds and will make a decision when the time comes…

---

As Lily was making her way towards Granny, she felt worse by the second. This thick, grayish substance, something similar to smoke, surrounded her, and it started to block her senses. Her vision, her breathing, even hearing became a hurdle. It felt like the more she struggles against it, the tighter its grip around her became. After a few meters, she stopped and looked ahead but couldn't see anything anymore.

As her breathing became increasingly harder, she struggled her last few words out, which contrary to her usual tone, was almost inaudible.

"I… can't… he… lp… me... brother" with her last words to her beloved brother whom she only knew for a few short days but treasured deeply, lost her footing, and as her consciousness slipped away she fell forward.

However, before she could hit the ground and knock herself out for good, a familiar pair of arms, interjected her trajectory, and caught her. The soothing voice of a male, her most treasured person gripped her last strands of sanity.

"I caught you, big sis! Don't you dare leave us!" Picking her up in a princess carry, Aiden carried her out of the flowerbed, through the thick miasma that surrounded her.

As she felt her brothers embrace, and could smell her masculine scent, the rosy color slowly returned to her pale cheeks. She struggled to open her eyelids, but when she managed to peel them just to be able to peek through the cracks, she saw him, her fairy-tale prince as he saved her.

"Brother... ehehe" she let out a weak chuckle, then continued to snuggle in his arms. This was the first time in her short life, that she felt so safe.

This place, her brother's embrace was the safety she was looking for ever since she lost her mother. She tried to move on, and to never look back, but there were days when it was really hard… Even with everything Granny did for her, she missed her mother deeply, and there were times when the feeling of loss lingered around her, pushing her into depression. During these not-so-fleeting moments, her sleep was often haunted by terrible dreams. Memories mixed together with the fear of the past. A recurring nightmare for her was to be reunited with her beloved mama, only for the scenery to change in the next second and then seeing her lying on the ground in her own blood, motionless. Leaves rustling in the distance, several footsteps getting louder as they got closer and closer… She usually woke up during this point in the nightmare crying, covered in sweat and tears. Only the gentle embrace of her Granny could offer a tiny bit of respite, a flickering light standing against the darkness.

However, everything changed when she met the boy in the funny-looking black egg in the forest. Although she didn't understand why he was in an egg when he wasn't a bird or an animal, still as soon as she saw him, she knew. She felt it. He was the one, he was what she was missing. A chance. The flickering light...

Years later when she will look back, she will treasure this memory fondly, as this was the first time, when this boy first made his way into her broken, scarred heart and began to rapidly heal the cracks, shooing away the bad guys, still lingering there, haunting her every now-and-then.

"Ehehe… I love you brother…" with her strength finally spent, she fell unconscious in his brother's arms as he carried her back to Granny.

'Sleep well, big sis...' he kissed her forehead and put her to the ground next to Granny.

"She is fine, just fell asleep. Whatever this gray smoke is, it was siphoning the life out of her. What is this?" he asked Granny.

"Hmm… That IS indeed interesting… But what's even more interesting is that why didn't it have any effect on you?" said Granny, surprising Aiden. It is true, but he didn't even pay any attention to it at the time. When he saw Lily struggling to even stand, and seeing her vision becoming clouded, the next he knew that he was already at her side and holding her.

'What happened Enya? I don't understand…' asked Aiden.

[When you saw Lily getting in danger, you subconsciously activated your [Dragon's Wrath] ability, and used your increased speed to catch her. Also, you are effectively immune to the effects of the smoke, your Primal body could just break down the inhaled amount without any problems. If you will check your notifications, you will see the effects.]

Just as Enya suggested, Aiden took a quick look at the series of new notifications that popped up previously.

[Unknown substance found. Analyzing... 50% ]

[Unknown substance found. Analysis complete. Minor Mind Control and Memory Altering effects found, countering effects…. Completed.]

[Psychic Resistance (level 1) gained!]

[50 System XP gained!]

Rage erupted in his mind, the thought of someone trying to cause harm to this innocent little girl, was too much for him. Deep within him, a slumbering, ancient power erupted forth. The air around Aiden changed, it started vibrating. His eyes glowed in golden light. The skin of his arms morphed, and golden scales grew out, the end of his fingers had long, thick black claws. At the top of his back, around his scapulas, a pair of wings adorned in golden scales appeared. Above his glutes, but just below in the middle of his lower back, a small similarly golden-colored tail peeked.

At the same time, the thick miasma, and the terrifyingly evil aura that the concealed presence emitted got pushed back, by his stronger, majestic, draconic one. The aura of royalty, the aura of an ancient dragon!

Aiden turned around, and was now facing the source of the troubles, a currently concealed presence at the edges of the glade. His thundering voice resounded all around the air, shaking the trees.

"SHOW YOURSELF WORM!"

In response, the leaves at the bushes at the point where Aiden was looking out started shaking, and a huge half-humanoid, half-wolf-like figure appeared. This thing, this monster was bipedal and was at around 2.5 meters tall. It was wolf-like, with thick black fur, and a pair of black eyes, but he still strangely resembled some humanity. The most surprising thing, however, was not his half-humanoid looks, but the fact that this monster could speak!

A deep, otherworldly voice snickered in response to the thundering shout.

"Hehe, my-my, look at you, pup, you managed to dispel my neat little trick… and you also found me… No matter, I'll just have to take action directly to end your life for hurting my son and my pack..."