There were quite a few things in life that no sensible person would ever want to see.

Say, for example, a wounded innocent child, or any child for that matter.

It honestly didn’t matter if they’d been naughty, nice, or the reason behind someone’s rising blood pressure. None of that mattered. The point was simple.

Children weren’t supposed to be hurt.

Period.

And yet... someone who had spent enough time around children—long enough to ideally know better—still dared to do something like this.

In broad daylight, no less.

And so, to the utter shock of Riley and the rest of the Dravaryns, when they arrived after leaving Thyrran behind to monitor the Nest, what greeted them... was a bloodied Orien.

__

The air inside the dragon lord’s office hadn’t even settled from Kael’s arrival.

They had just forced their way back through a port he’d ripped open without hesitation, and Riley’s heart dropped the moment he saw his parents on the floor.

For a split second, nothing else mattered.

He wanted to rush to them. Ask what happened and to check just how badly they’d been hurt.

But he didn’t get the chance after all of them felt it at once.

The mana outside the MBE wasn’t just unstable.

It was boiling.

Lady Cirila reacted first.

"I’ll check on Lawrence and Renee!" she called out, already moving. She didn’t wait for a response as she volunteered herself to stay behind.

The rest of them didn’t hesitate, porting straight for the lobby just in time to hear it.

"NOOOO!"

A scream—raw, broken, and achingly familiar—tore through their ears and then straight into Riley’s chest.

What they saw next didn’t feel real considering how they parted just that morning.

It wasn’t a particularly unique day, but they did have breakfast and joked around like usual.

Sure, there were complaints, as always, but there were definitely smiles on those young faces just earlier.

So what the hell was this?

Liam, his body dwarfed by everyone around him, was on the ground, desperately supporting a much bigger hooded figure.

And while other people wouldn’t have associated the fallen lump to be the dragonling Orien Vathros, those who were familiar with his mana could definitely tell.

It was just so much harder to accept the sight considering how blood soaked through his leg, dark and heavy as it spread across his long cloak.

For a second, Riley’s brain didn’t want to register the sight.

They’d gone out in the hopes of nabbing a criminal to protect the children but right under their noses, such a thing happened to children they’d been desperately protecting.

And while they hadn’t figured out exactly what happened, it was clear that Orien had been protecting Liam.

Forget the crowd of magical beings in different states of distress, or the red dragon that had begun snarling the moment they arrived, because by the looks of the dragonling’s condition, the real offender wasn’t a rampaging dragon.

For floating just above the children was another robed figure, claws extended, killing intent spilling into the air like poison.

One could’ve thought that the sudden confrontation had taken forever, but in truth, it was only for a few seconds.

But it was more than long enough for the brutality of the scene to sink in.

Then reality came crashing down with a—

"Tsk."

__

The sound was sharp. Irritated.

Chancellor Malrik, hidden beneath his robes, narrowed his eyes.

He could feel it even as he isolated his draconic traits and mana in favor of his hydra blood.

The dragon absolutely detested doing such an uncouth thing but it couldn’t be helped when the situation demanded it.

And what a smart idea that was considering the overwhelming pressure before him.

Had he not momentarily sealed his draconic power, he would’ve been instantly influenced by the suffocating presence radiating from that monster.

The real dragon lord had arrived.

How annoying.

They’d shown up right when everything was finally falling into place. The runt was injured. Vulnerable. Easy to take.

Perfect.

But now?

Now he’d have to settle for a temporary retreat.

Then again, knowing where to reach and just how easy it would be to use that runt’s vulnerabilities wasn’t so bad for a day’s work.

Who would’ve known that he’d be that willing to protect that lowlife?

So really, all the Chancellor had to do was to capitalize on available resources and manage to end up with a successful two-pronged attack.

At this rate, it didn’t matter if he failed to recover the red dragon. It was obvious that, out of everyone around him, that runt cared more about the other child than he ever did about himself.

Of course, the wasted effort exerted for that red dragon was unfortunate, and there could have been a risk of him recovering, but with him disrupting peace like this, he’d be dealt with in some way, anyway.

That one would likely have to die to take the fall for the incompetence of the MBE.

Heh.

If he looked at it like that, then it didn’t seem so bad.

Moreover, none of these developments could be said to be his fault.

At least not exactly.

He shouldn’t really be blamed for how that kid, just like his useless golden uncle, decided to settle for a puny human.

Malrik shifted, already preparing to port away. His mind moved quickly, calculating exits, contingencies, next steps.

However, he didn’t get to continue his thoughts.

One moment he’d been ready to leave, then next, the Chancellor’s eyes suddenly opened wide in distress. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

What—?!

He couldn’t move.

Not a single inch.

He was still floating above the ground, but was becoming more certain that it was happening against his will.

It was as if he were locked in place.

"!!!"

But if Riley were being particular, he’d say the offending idiot was nothing more than someone trapped in a cage.

After all, while the fugitive had made a valiant, almost commendable effort to conceal his mana signature, he’d clearly overlooked one detail.

If he was going to act like this, the least he could’ve done was scrub away that fishy smell.