The knights groaned as they stopped Sears from throwing herself off the cliff.
She shouted at them to let go and kept reaching for the deep valley.
âMy son! My son fell! Let me go! Quickly! Unhand me!â
âMadam! Calm down!â
âLet go!!â
Zach frowned as he looked at the valley.
It was deep. If one were to fall into such a place, it seemed impossible to survive.
But he wasnât sure what kind of reaction she would show if he said that to Sears, so he tried to reassure her as much as possible.
âThe soldiers were released. They are going down to search the entire place, so please wait.â
âMy son! My son Jamie!!â
âMadamâŠâ
Sears, who was sobbing, fell to the ground.
Sarah, who was holding her motherâs skirt, kept wailing.
âJ-jamie.â
Ricky couldnât get himself to accept the situation.
His mind turned blank, and panic overwhelmed him.
Anna couldnât even see what was going on. But she could realise from what she heard that something horrible had happened to Jamie.
She grabbed her brotherâs arm.
âIt⊠it is all my fault.â
Sears was on the ground mumbling something as she kept crying.
âIf... If I said no. If I said that.. If I refused his request, this wouldnât have happened. Itâs my fault, all my faultâŠâ
âMadamâŠâ
Zach could find no way to comfort her.
The wind was still blowing, and the heavy rain didnât show signs of stopping.
He did tell her that people would be sent to search for Jamie, but in the current situation, if he sent people, they would just pathetically die.
However, if he gave up in this situation, he wasnât sure how Count Welton would react. This one accident alone could make him aim his sword at the throats of the escorts.
âItâs my fault, all my fault. We canât go, we should have just stayed home. My JamieâŠâ
Someone approached Sears, who just kept looking into the valley and kept muttering the same words.
Zach looked at the person who approached.
âSir Lars.â
It was Lars, the Holy Executioner of the Pyro Church.
He knelt on a knee and said.
âIt will be alright, madam.â
At that, Sears tilted her head.
Her beautiful face was messed up due to the rain and tears.
âJamie wonât die from such a fall.â
â⊠Is that true?â
âI am not just giving you hope.â
Lars' expression was serious.
Zach couldnât understand why Lars was saying all that stuff. It was fine to give hope, but this current situation didnât call for it.
Zach knew that Jamie was gifted with great magic.
However, it was just impossible for a 7-years-old to survive in such a deep valley.
But Lars seemed to have different thoughts.
âSince it was Jamie, he shouldnât have fallen down there at all, but there must be a reason. Something was definitely there.â
âWhat? Something was there?â
âI am not sure about it, but there seems to be some kind of magic disabling Mana around here.â
âThen, isnât even the great magician in danger?â
Lars looked at Zach, who asked it.
Zach continued.
âHe fell down there, unable to use magic. There is no guarantee for life or death, it is certainly dangerous.â
â⊠Commander.â
He made a mistake trying to refute Larsâ words.
Zach apologized to Sears.
âS-sorry. I apologize for my insensitive words.â
Sears looked at him with a terrified expression and then looked at Lars.
âYou mean that my Jamie is alive?â
âThe commanderâs words arenât entirely wrong. However, I think that there is a high chance of survival. Jamie has the skills of an adult magician. As long as he can restore his magic, surviving wonât be difficult.â
Searsâ expression improved at Lars' confident words. As he said, there was a possibility, but the wind currents in the valley hadnât yet weakened.
âSo I will go.â
Then, Lars got up from the ground and said,
He fixed his sword and looked at the cliff.
âIf it were me, I would be able to survive.â
âW-will you be fine?â
âIt will be dangerous for you too.â
Sears and Zach were worried for him.
They didnât doubt his abilities as a Holy Executioner, but natural disasters werenât something humans could easily overcome.
â3 hours. I will be back in 3 hours.â
Lars didnât answer their concerns and raised the holy power around his body.
âBrother.â
Worried, Ricky called him.
Lars smiled and then jumped down the cliff.
Zach ran to the edge and saw until Lars disappeared into the valley.
The rain turned heavier.
Drip! Drip!
The sound of dripping water.
Jamie struggled to open his heavy eyelids.
âThisâ
Nothing was visible.
He could only feel cold moisture on his eyes.
He shook his head to calm himself.
Each time he moved, his entire body trembled.
âAm I floating in the air?â
His feet were floating.
He moved his legs to see if he could touch anything, but that didnât seem to be the case.
He tried moving his hands.
With a rustling sound, he confirmed that his arms were fixed.
âHandcuffs.â
Which meant he was hanging from the ceiling.
âAnd, this place is.â
Moist air, water drops and echoes.
Most likely a cave.
And as there was no light, he inferred that he was deep inside.
âDamn it. How did this happen?â
Jamie remembered the voice he heard as he fell.
[Who are you?]
[You]
[Are a dragon?]
The owner of the voice was someone who used Mana Burn.
Even now, he could not use magic, which meant that Mana Burn was still being unfolded.
âI was mistaken for a dragon.â
The reason seemed clear.
Perhaps it sensed a huge potential in Jamie that only dragons could have. If not, there was no reason to mistake him for a dragon.
It was then.
âFootsteps.â
Footsteps not far away from him could be heard.
Jamie closed his eyes and pretended to be unconscious.
The footsteps kept coming closer, and even as the distance shortened, he didnât open his eyes.
ââŠâ
No words.
It seemed to think that Jamie was still unconscious.
After a while, he heard footsteps getting farther away.
âIt doesnât seem to want to force me up.â
Jamie sighed in relief and opened his eyes.
âI see you were pretending to be asleep.â
And then came a thin voice from behind.
It was a clear voice, but Jamie didnât care how the voice sounded.
âI am caught!â
It baited him!
Jamie was convinced that the owner of the voice was pretty smart.
âDid you think I wouldnât know if you kept acting as if you fainted?â
He was right.
Closing his eyes would only waste Jamieâs time.
Even now, there must be people outside desperately searching for him.
He had to get out of it as soon as possible.
â⊠why did you kidnap me?â
He thought he was brought in because he was mistaken for a dragon, but is there another reason.
And the owner of the voice said.
âYou. Are you a dragon?â
â⊠Now that youâve seen me, you must have your answer.â
âRight. As soon as I saw you, I knew that you werenât a dragon. But that doesnât make sense. You arenât even a dragon, how is it that you have so much potential? And, the type of mana that you have.â
Low voice.
âThe way you gather mana is very similar to that of a dragon.â
Humans created the whole-body Mana breathing method to imitate dragons.
The dragonâs body was used to it as it was a race that has existed along with mana from the beginning of history, but it was different for humans.
So, in order to be even a little similar to dragons, who were the Lords of magic, they created mana breathing methods.
âHowever, the way humans take mana is the other way around. Since they werenât born with mana in the first place, they only imitate dragons. But you?â
Jamie put on an awkward expression.
It seemed like the reason he was here was because of the whole-body breathing method.
He wouldnât have been misunderstood if he had just used Marquess Linmelâs method, but Jamie decided to take the method one step further and create the ultimate breathing method.
However, he didnât know that it was the same method that dragons used.
âDid I end up knowing how these lizards get their mana?â
The dragons during the time of Diablo Volfir were nothing but lizards.
In the past, he wasnât interested in beings lower than himself.
Handing the 12 Gods was too much, so why would he pay attention to the weaker ones?
âIt canât be explained. No matter how high your affinity with mana is, no human can be as good as you. Are you a half-blood with elf blood in you?â
The owner of the voice seemed to be a talkative person.
When he heard the voice for the first time, Jamie thought that it would have a heavy personality, but it seemed to be the opposite.
âNo.â
âSo you are not a half-blood? Well, even if you were a mixed race, it doesnât make sense. It is hard to get the feeling of a dragon from even a high elf.â
âWhat doesnât make sense? You are looking at it now.â
Jamie was annoyed at the constant denial.
âLook at you! Why act so proud when you are held captive?â
âYou keep underestimating my abilities. Who even are you?â
âI heard that human children slur their words. Aren't you pretty good?â
The owner of the voice seemed to have some prejudice.
Until then, Jamie didnât know.
âCanât you just untie me and we can talk?â
âHuh. No.â
â⊠If I canât use magic, then there is nothing I can even do, so you arenât in danger with a kid.â
âI donât want to let you down because this is fun to see. And even if you can use the magic, it wouldnât change your situation.â
The voice laughed.
Jamie frowned.
âThat expression is funny too.â
Playful personality.
âRain and wind from the sky. Thunder and lightning threatening the carriage, and Mana Burn.â
Last but not least, the story that Zach told him.
Thinking about it, Jamie asked.
âYou, a dragon?â
He wasnât sure, but the current mountain ranges were named after a blue dragon called.
Blue dragons had the power to control water and even change the weather. Besides, the way the voice kept giving arrogant remarks like it was on top of humans.
âPersonality too is the same as a blue dragon.â
ââŠâ
No answer was heard.
âI am right.â
The moment Jamie said that with certainty.
âUgh!â
The darkness lifted, and a dazzling light tormented his eyes.
After a short time, his vision returned.
Jamie blinked to adjust his vision.
He was indeed inside a cave.
He shook his head and looked ahead. Someone was standing there with arms crossed.
A woman with long blue hair that came down to her legs. The clothes she was wearing were torn, and her body could practically be seen through the little clothes she had on.
âI am Mayatrey. Like you said, I am a dragon.â
â⊠Why did a dragon try to kidnap another dragon?â