Chapter 173: A Velociraptor in a Fantasy World?

The velociraptor skidded violently in front of the stone table where Max and Moonlight were sitting, digging its claws into the courtyard ground while letting out a sharp screech.

Max remained completely frozen.

Mouth hanging open.

Brain disconnected.

Because yes.

That was a real velociraptor.

Inside a medieval fantasy castle.

Being ridden by the kingdom’s most powerful mage.

Max slowly pointed at the creature.

"That..."

Pause.

"...is a dinosaur."

Moonlight, meanwhile, looked like she was about to explode with excitement.

"MASTER SERAPHINE!"

The little dragon practically leaped off the fountain.

"IT’S AMAZING!"

She ran toward the velociraptor, staring at it in fascination.

"Where did you get this beast?"

Seraphine smiled with absolute pride while remaining mounted on the creature.

"This beauty is called Raptor."

She gently patted its neck.

"We don’t know exactly how he appeared in this world..."

Her smile became more amused.

"...but he’s definitely not from here."

Moon’s eyes widened.

"Can you talk to him?"

Seraphine nodded.

"Yes."

Moon looked even more impressed now.

"How?"

Max finally regained a bit of motor function and spoke automatically:

"She probably used the speak-with-animals spell."

Seraphine pointed at him.

"Exactly."

She smiled in amusement.

"Though honestly, I didn’t think it would actually work."

Then she looked back at Max.

"So..."

She gestured toward the velociraptor.

"...he really is from your world?"

Max stared at the creature for a few seconds.

Raptor was staring back at him with those intelligent reptilian eyes.

"...Sort of," he finally answered.

He ran a hand through his hair.

"He’s from a very distant past in my world."

He pointed at the beast.

"He’s a velociraptor."

Moon repeated the name slowly.

"Ve-lo-ci-raptor..."

Max nodded.

"He belongs to what we called dinosaurs in my world."

He paused slightly.

"...though they’re extinct now."

And apparently, that was a terrible choice of words.

Because Raptor let out a strange sound and immediately turned his head toward Seraphine.

The mage blinked while listening to the dinosaur’s growls and screeches.

Then she raised an eyebrow.

"...He’s worried."

Max already saw the problem coming.

Seraphine looked at him.

"He wants to know how his kind went extinct."

Max slowly closed his eyes.

"Yeah."

He took a deep breath.

"I don’t think that’s a good breakfast conversation."

Because explaining meteors and mass extinctions probably wasn’t ideal during breakfast.

Moonlight, of course, had already completely changed mental priorities.

"Can I ride him?"

Raptor turned toward her.

He studied her for a few seconds.

And then slightly nodded his head.

Moon’s eyes widened enormously.

"HE SAID YES!"

Seraphine chuckled softly while climbing down from the velociraptor.

"Go ahead."

Moonlight practically glowed with happiness.

She quickly climbed onto Raptor’s back while wagging her tail excitedly.

"This is incredible!"

Seraphine smiled and crossed her arms.

"Raptor."

The creature slightly turned his head toward her.

"Take her for a lap."

The velociraptor let out a small screech before starting to sprint across the courtyard.

Moon burst into excited laughter while holding on.

Max watched the scene, still processing that all of this was actually happening.

And then Moon shouted again from atop the dinosaur.

"He has wings!"

Max blinked.

"What?"

He looked more carefully.

And indeed.

Small feathered wings were hidden near the velociraptor’s arms.

Moon touched them with fascination.

"I have wings too, but I can’t fly either!"

Raptor slightly turned his head as though he perfectly understood the shared tragedy.

Moon smiled excitedly.

"I’m gonna teach you a trick!"

Max widened his eyes slightly.

"Oh no."

Too late.

Moonlight raised one hand.

Wind began swirling around both of them.

And the next second, Raptor and Moon were launched upward.

Jumping over the fountain.

And directly above Max and Seraphine’s heads.

"MOON!"

Max automatically threw his hands up.

"BE CAREFUL!"

Moonlight was laughing hysterically while using wind magic to keep the velociraptor suspended.

Seraphine, meanwhile, looked fascinated.

"That was splendid."

Max looked at her in horror.

"SPLEndid?!"

Meanwhile, Raptor wore an expression of absolute terror.

His little wings were spread completely open while he stared at the ground several meters below.

Moon continued happily using wind magic to keep them floating.

"LOOK, RAPTOR! WE’RE FLYING!"

Raptor clearly did not share her enthusiasm.

Max covered part of his face with one hand.

"I’m going to die young."

Seraphine laughed softly.

"Relax."

She pointed upward.

"Moonlight has tremendous magical control."

Max watched as the velociraptor continued being violently carried through the air while apparently reevaluating every decision he had ever made.

"...That does not reassure me."

Eventually, Moon slowly began descending while Raptor clung desperately to what little reptilian dignity he still had left.

When they landed back on the ground, the dinosaur looked traumatized.

Moonlight happily patted his neck.

"You did great!"

Raptor let out a small nervous sound.

Max decided to leave that for future therapy and looked back at Seraphine.

"So..."

He crossed his arms.

"What exactly did you find?"

Seraphine’s amused expression softened slightly.

"It was some kind of altar."

Max immediately focused.

"Inside a dark cave in the middle of the forest," she continued.

"There were bones. Hides. Fangs."

She frowned slightly at the memory.

"And a lot of strange things."

Max felt a small chill run down his spine.

"Was Raptor the only summoned creature you found?"

Seraphine slowly shook her head.

"No."

She looked toward the velociraptor.

"I found him injured among some bushes."

Her expression softened slightly.

"I helped heal him."

She smiled faintly.

"That’s how we became friends."

Raptor let out a proud little sound.

Seraphine continued.

"I brought him because I want Dorian to finish examining him."

She brushed a messy strand of hair aside.

"I know some healing magic."

She paused briefly.

"But I’m not an expert."

Max slowly nodded.

"I see."

Then Seraphine grew serious again.

"But there’s something else."

Max looked up.

"Raptor told me there were several of them."

The smile faded a little from her face.

"And creatures from other species too."

Max immediately felt tension rise.

"What kind of species?"

Seraphine slightly shook her head.

"I didn’t fully understand."

She looked toward the velociraptor.

"But he said the woman who summoned them..."

Her expression hardened.

"...forced them to fight each other."

Moonlight immediately stopped smiling.

Max frowned.

"Like experiments?"

"Something like that."

Seraphine crossed her arms.

"Raptor said it looked like they were searching for something specific."

Max felt a chill run down his spine.

"So..."

He stared at her.

"...a woman is behind all of this."

Seraphine slowly nodded.

"Apparently, yes." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

But then she added something else.

"Though Raptor said that person asked to be referred to as ’he.’"