Ep 113. Long Time No See. (3)

Ep 113. Long Time No See. (3)

Ep 113. Long Time No See. (3)

“It’s been a while.”

As Raizel stepped out of the shimmering portal, a familiar scenery came to view.

The youngling found herself in the middle of Magic Institute’s courtyard – a coordinate all students were obligated to learn when the facility had been active. The ruined districts she’d cleared up nearby were now fully restored to their former glory.

Not that it really helped her find Karas. If anything, the district’s restoration meant a return of its former habitants, which would make the search more difficult.

“Now then...how do I find him here...”

‘Hold on. Why do I have to look for him?’

If looking for something is difficult, then the alternative was to make the something look for her.

In a very...distracting manner.

✧ ✧ ✧

“Grrrrrraaaghhh!!!”

“?! What is that?!”

Partivine’s streets lowly rumbled from the explosive roar that suddenly filled the city. Many covered their ears, with the courageous few looking out their windows to look for the source of the noise.

But there were only three who properly recognized the silvery silhouette. Namely, Ilias, Karas, and Light.

“Wha...is that who I think it is?”

“That looks like...”

“Oh...I saw that before. That’s...”

After coming to an abrupt stop in their late dinner, the three narrowed their gaze onto the glimmering monstrosity afar.

And soon, a single name filled their minds simultaneously.

‘...Raizel?’

✧ ✧ ✧

After waking up the entire city, the giant steel dragon let out a satisfied snort before lazily curling up on the courtyard to rest.

Unfortunately, a few minutes was all she could get before a series of footsteps closed in. And when the three rushed in with heaving breaths, Raizel merely nudged her head to acknowledge their arrival.

“Huh, that literally took no time at all.”

“What is WRONG with you?! You couldn’t just come by and say hello?! Why’d you scream?!”

“To call you, obviously. Well...one of you.”Cheêck out latest novels at novelhall.com

“Huh???”

Ignoring Ilias’ confusion, Raizel’s gaze instead fixed onto the professor behind her.

After a tired sigh, Raizel rose to her feet with thudding steps. But her size instantly shrank back, revealing the glowing portal that had been hidden behind her draconic figure.

“Hey, Xa...Karas. Come with me for a sec.”

“...This late? Where?“

“Lord needs you.”

“Serenis?...Just me? What for? From where? Why?”

“Oh, shut up. Just come.”

As the steel dragon beckoned in annoyance, the professor reluctantly stepped forth to approach the portal – something he wouldn’t have done for anyone else. In the next minute, he’d already disappeared into its glow.

Ilias and Light looked at each other in confusion, then back at Raizel who was just about to enter the portal herself. The red dragon hesitantly spoke up, her expression muddled with worry.

“Should we come too? Is it something dangerous?”

“Not really. Wouldn’t recommend it, though.”

“Light.”

“W...Wlight.”

“Haha...close enough. Good job.”

With a sheepish smile, Light gently rubbed the joyous hatchling’s head. She almost found herself forgetting where Karas had gone.

Almost.

‘...I hope everything’s okay...’

Technically, there was nothing to worry about. It’d only been a few minutes since Serenis had walked out of the room with Karas and Raizel in tow. And wherever they were, Light seriously doubted that anything could threaten the three of them together.

But the look she’d seen on her professor’s face was practically that of a prisoner, walking down towards their noose.

✧ ✧ ✧

A momentary silence ensued. Although Raizel remained relatively undisturbed by the revelation, Serenis couldn’t help but stare in shock.

And Karas couldn’t bear to look up to face the thinned, disappointed eyes before him.

“Then, Karas. During the empire’s invasion, you were...”

“...The Akeian army’s commander. I participated in the campaign as Emperor Lavnore’s aid.”

“...”

A series of questions flooded the dragonlord’s mind.

There were so many things she wanted to ask Karas – from motive to reason, method to outcome.

But one question took precedence before all other.

“...Why?”

“...”

“Did the dragonkin wrong you in some way?”

“...No.”

“Did we wrong the empire, then?”

“...No.”

“Then why?!”

Serenis threw her arm to the side. She painfully bit her lips, eyes welling with doubt.

Even now, she wanted to hear some plausible excuse. Serenis found herself desperately wishing that there was a sensible reason behind it all.

Unfortunately, the answer that was returned to her was not one she’d wished to hear.

“...To return a favor.”

“What?”

“...I was born a monster, Serenis. My life was a prize for hunters to claim, and I had to survive somehow. Given that I was born with intelligence, the strategy I adopted was learning magic – from anyone that was willing to teach a monster.”

“...”

“As you may expect, there weren’t many.”

When she was first told that Karas was a monster, she hadn’t made much out of it. The only implication she knew was that contemporary society discriminated monsters, intelligent or not; she hadn’t realized what that fully meant.

A monster isn’t born in a society, nor in a family – they’re born in the wilderness, often alone and left to their own devices. With no allies and lots of enemies, many face premature deaths in the hands of active hunters.

And so, some would hide away, while some would disguise themselves as animals; some would retaliate with force, while some would simply accept their fate and die to the hunters that came after them.

Among such an unfortunate population, Karas had been an extraordinary case. He was born a monster, and yet he was also born with the gift of intelligence.

And so, he’d adopted his own strategy of survival.

One that would best exercise the gift he was born with.