Chapter 158 Danger Is Coming



With that many creatures lurking inside the royal library, staying there was akin to suicide, so when the mysterious older man appeared with a way out, Damian and Hymot did not think and ran toward it.

It was their best shot to survive, and both of them took it with heart.

The encounter with that man happened with no words — those creatures would hear them. They followed him to the bookshelf that had a secret passage behind it, and the man closed it right afterward.

A narrow tunnel where only one person could go and the one in the front was the mysterious man.

It was muddy, with many bugs, and spiders, lots of spiders. Damian was not scared of these creatures, so he moved through the tunnel effortlessly.

After a while, the tunnel got wider, until they reached a door, locked, but the mysterious man took out a key from his pocket, opening it.

The other side was a messy room with a bed, a few desks, and a few books, like a temporary house of a madman.

"We appreciate the help. We do, but I think we might have to go."

"H-Hymot?"

"Hum?"

Damian was about to find another way out of that place. The man was sending him a creepy feeling, and no one knew if the man was a friend or a foe.

But when he said Hymot's name, Damian stopped. She did too. How could he know that? The only explanation was that he was a dragon, just like her!

"How do you know my name?" Hymot said, moving closer to the man.

"Hahaha, who doesn't? You were the general of our army, a beacon of light to all of us!"

"What? Are you saying you are a dragon, too?"

"Of course I am. Don't you remember me?"

"No…"

"Strange. I also lost my memories, but I still know about you. There's another important piece of information inside my head, something about you being poisoned?"

"What do you know about that? Spill it out!" Hymot said as she grabbed both arms of the man, waiting for an answer.

"Calm down! I-I know you are poisoned, and I also know the only way for you to be cured is if someone passes the trial in the throne room. That's all I know!"

"Can you lead us there? What are these things inside the castle? And outside too!"

"Specters. Remnants of the attack that destroyed this city, and killed many dragons, with others fleeing."

"These things killed everyone? Bullshit. They are powerful, but not when compared to a dragon," Damian said.

"Indeed. But they were stronger when the underworld lord summoned them. Their power diminishes with the passage of time, and the attack happened a long time ago."

"Underworld Lord?" Damian was lost in thoughts.

He had learned something about this person with the memories of the giant, and he knew it was not a person to mess with. Well, it couldn't even be considered a person.

"Yes. He attacked us because he thought our race had an item in our possession, an item that he wanted. The giants were the first they attacked. We tried to help them. You tried to help them, Hymot."

"Me?"

"Yes. You were the general leading the group to help the giants, yet no one heard of you. It seems something happened."

"And why don't you leave?"

"Leave? Haha, this is my home, the books are my home. Why would I leave this place?"

While the two were chatting, Damian was standing, thinking about something else.

'The underworld attacked both the giants and the dragons, looking for something. What could it be? If I am a giant, are they after me, too? But all of this happened a long time ago.'

It was hard to remain calm in a situation like that one, especially when the enemy killed the entire race of giants — and Damian was one — but he tried his best to put these thoughts at the back of his mind, and focus on the things he could do at that moment, which were to help Hymot heal, and leave that place with his life.

"Can you help us reach the throne room?"

"Yes, I can, but this place is filled with Specters, so it will not be easy."

The dragon tried to scare them, as he did not want to leave his cozy room to face the Specters, but it did not work.

"Fine. Follow me then, and please, don't say a word."

They both nodded, and followed the dragon toward another tunnel at the opposite side of the one they had used to enter.

It looked the same as the other one, but it did not lead back to the library, but toward another room, the armory!

That room was bigger than the others, as it contained the armors the dragons used in their dragon form, not the human like one, so the size of those armors were impressive to say the least.

'I was hoping to get some treasures, but I cannot even take these stuff.' Damian thought as he stared at those armors, sad as he could not take or wear them.

They left the room after only staying inside for a short period, finding themselves in a corridor. The dragon pointed at their right.

It needed no words for them to understand, so they followed the corridor, finally reaching a massive room with a throne in the middle.

That was the place where the dragon king stayed, and the room still looked exactly like it should be, with everything conserved as if the time stopped and no creature attacked the place, way different from the rest of the city or the other parts of the castle.

"I think it is safe for us to talk here," the old man said.

Damian walked in, "What should we look for in here anyway? I don't understand how a trial should look like."

"Maybe that thing over there?"

The mysterious old man pointed at a crystal near the throne, and when he did, Hymot saw it too, "That crystal can heal me!"

"Oh? That easy?"

Damian looked around and saw nothing, no traps, no enemies, nothing. There was no reason not to pick the crystal that could save Hymot's life, right?

Well, it was obviously a trap, but they had to pick the crystal anyway if they wanted to save Hymot.

"I will go get it. Prepare for the worst," Damian said as he walked toward the crystal.

It was a small blue crystal that was shining brightly, standing on a pillar, like those in museums to showcase old things.

The impressive part was that the crystal was flying above the pillar, clearly indicating how magical it was.

"What? For the worse? What do you mean?" the older man said.

That old dragon was scared to the bones, shaking entirely the moment Damian said to prepare for the worse.

Damian grabbed the crystal, and the moment he did, a scream echoed from afar, a creepy sound looking like it came straight from hell!

"Oh no!‌ The Specters are coming!‌ We need to leave this place, now!"

The old dragon moved toward the only door the throne room had, yet the moment he opened it, the Specters were already coming toward the door.

"They are coming!‌ We have no way out of here!"

"Block the door with anything you can!" Damian yelled.

Damian tried to break the walls of the throne room, but it was impossible!‌ The special stone used to create the throne room was unbreakable, that was the reason why the room looked new.

Hymot went to action too, and the image of a white dragon appeared behind her, shooting a breath of ice. It created a block of ice behind the door, which helped them hold the Specters for a while.

"This might hold them for five minutes at max! What should we do now? Don't tell me this is the trial?" Hymot said.

Damian forgot about the door or the fact those Specters wanted to kill them, and looked for another way out. Despite the throne room looking like it only had one door, Damian knew that was a lie.

"Help me look for a way out of this place. It can be anything, even if it looks silly, try all of the possibilities!‌You, old dragon, do you know something?"

"Me? I don't think there's another way out!"

"THERE‌ IS. KEEP LOOKING!"

The king was the most important figure within the dragon society. That did not mean it was the strongest, but it meant they would do anything to protect it at all costs.

So a throne room like that one had to have another way out!‌ What if an enemy attacked? The king would be locked inside, only waiting for his death?

"There's something written here, check this out!" Hymot said.

Damian went close to her to see what she was talking about, and sure thing, there was something written on the side of the throne, yet in the dragon tongue.

eaglesnovɐ1,сoМ "What does it say?"

"It says: Only one man can sit in this throne beside me, my old friend from the Giant Clan, or his lineage if he ever gets one. If something happens with me or the dragons, the answers you want will be here."

Damian's mind worked at full speed, and despite wanting to hide his bloodline, that wouldn't happen if the only way for their survival was sitting on the throne.

"Hurry, the door is almost breaking!"