As dusk fell, accompanied by a chilling wind, the sky rumbled with thunder; a summer storm in the north seemed to be brewing.
Entering the abandoned warehouse trailer, Yvette was about to sit down with a book when she suddenly heard rapid knocking on the window. She turned to see Ice Rain’s anxious face pressed against the glass.
She walked over and opened the window, asking, “What’s wrong?”
“Mr. Dugrabi… he’s missing!”
“Missing? What do you mean?”
“Dugrabi, and… Jasmine and the others!”
Half a minute later, Yvette followed Ice Rain’s hurried footsteps into the hall of the air-raid shelter. The atmosphere in the room was serious. Upon seeing Yvette, Copper Skin approached and said, “Miss Yvette, have you seen Jasmine, Soap, Roller, or your beast, Mr. Dugrabi?”
“They’re missing?” Yvette had already heard from Ice Rain the general outline of what had happened.
“They went out this morning and haven’t returned yet,” Copper Skin’s voice was filled with worry. “I’m afraid something has happened to them.”
“Yes, those children are precious members of the kingdom; we must locate them! Of course, Mr. Dugrabi is part of our family too; he has lived with us for many years, and we’ve provided him with sheep as well,” Copper Skin said seriously, then turned to Yvette, “…So, Miss Yvette, do you know where they might be?”
The exploration area that the kingdom’s children’s exploration team used to wander was only two or three kilometers around the kingdom, making it easier to search in case of trouble. However, since Dugrabi’s arrival, the exploration range had become unpredictable. As Yvette was one of the rare individuals capable of communicating with the black dragon, the residents of the kingdom were eager for her to provide any possible clues.
“I don’t know,” Yvette replied after a moment of silence, shaking her head. “But I do know several places they’ve been visiting lately; perhaps we can organize people to go check those areas.”
“Thank goodness, at least we have a lead,” Copper Skin quickly said. “Everyone, get ready to head out!”
Once Yvette reported a list of potential locations, the rescue team was formed into pairs, armed with flashlights to search. Since mutated creatures near Cookes were already quite scarce, the risks at night weren’t that high; furthermore, the mechanical dolls were made of metal, minimizing the chances of them being attacked.
“Let’s team up, kind-hearted lady!” Ice Rain said. “I have a motorcycle! Perfect for carrying one person!”
Yvette nodded and walked outside with her, not forgetting to grab an umbrella. “Our destination is the ruins of the military base. I’ll guide you.”
“Sounds good!” Ice Rain nodded repeatedly, her face displaying a rare seriousness.
As expected, only about ten minutes after departing, the rain began to pour from the sky. Blinding flashes of lightning cut through the night, illuminating the ground and the distant ridges in pale white. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⚫𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⚫𝔫𝔢𝔱
With her arms wrapped around Ice Rain’s waist and the sound of heavy raindrops pounding on the umbrella, Yvette made slight adjustments to her illumination spell, using it as a spotlight.
With the light assisting them, the motorcycle sped over the wet grasslands, splashing muddy water, and gradually revealing the dilapidated remnants of the military base in the distance.
“What happened here?!” Ice Rain exclaimed at the sight of the ruins, which looked as if they had been bombed.
She had come to the base for exploration with Jasmine and the others once before. Although it had only been a single visit, she remembered the towering architectural frames that used to stand there.
But now, everything in the ruins appeared to be shattered fragments; if it weren’t for the large craters on the ground, she might have doubted she had come to the right place.
“There must have been a battle here. The ground has remnants of organic material with obvious signs of mutation. This likely came from the Mountain Whales,” Yvette said, holding the umbrella as she dismounted from the motorcycle and examined a chunk of purplish-red flesh on the ground, calmly analyzing, “There seem to be bite marks left by Dugrabi as well.”
“They were attacked by Mountain Whales here?” Ice Rain was shocked. “But where are they?”
“They might have escaped, or they might…” Yvette didn’t finish her sentence, but Ice Rain understood her implication.
—If they didn’t escape, then they could have been eaten by the Mountain Whales. While mechanical dolls weren’t on the menu, they might get spat out, but dragon meat? No mutated being would refuse that.
“How could this happen…” Ice Rain said blankly.
“Let’s search the area first,” Yvette shook her head, beginning to use her illumination spell to light up the wreckage around them.
Ten minutes later, under a massive cement slab, they discovered two survivors—Soap and Roller.
During the attack by the Mountain Whales, they had followed the elders’ advice and hidden under an old metal table, narrowly escaping catastrophe. They were only overly frightened and had fainted; after Ice Rain called to them for a while, they quickly regained consciousness.
“Where are Jasmine and Dugrabi?” Ice Rain inquired.
“I… I don’t know… Mr. Dragon was supposed to bring us to safety, but I don’t know what happened to him; he suddenly started fighting the Mountain Whales… we could only hide…” Soap said, still shaken.
“Was Jasmine not with you?” Ice Rain asked, bewildered.
“No… she was elsewhere; when the Mountain Whales came, I hid and didn’t see her… Mr. Dragon probably saw her…” Roller added, his voice tinged with growing fear. “Do you think Mr. Dragon suddenly lost his temper and fought the Mountain Whales because of Jasmine… because of Jasmine?”
The close relationship between Jasmine and the black dragon was common knowledge within the kingdom; thus, apart from the “tamer” Yvette, if the kingdom residents needed something done involving the black dragon, they often sought Jasmine to communicate.
The prospect that the normally escapist black dragon would suddenly lash out and fight fiercely with the terrifying Mountain Whales, possibly involving Jasmine, was something everyone would rather not deeply contemplate.
The icy rain fell sharply from the sky, mixed with deafening thunder. With a heavy heart, they continued to sift through the nearby ruins, hoping to find Jasmine and Dugrabi’s figures buried beneath the rubble.
After shifting a large piece of debris, Yvette silently covered it back up. She surveyed her surroundings attentively, then suddenly told Ice Rain, “You all continue the search here… I’ll take a look nearby.”
“Ah… okay.” Ice Rain nodded.
Once Yvette flew away, she made a dash through the rain to return to the area where she had just been, cautiously pushing aside the remains of that section.
In the dark, damp mud, she discovered a piece of a mangled mechanical hand and a dirty, handwoven little floral crown.
Standing amidst the pouring rain, holding the umbrella, it seemed Yvette was just checking the area, but her destination was quite clear.
She flew in a straight line toward the edge of a lake. Thanks to the illumination of her spell, she saw a massive, dark shadow curled up at the edge of the shimmering lake surface, its head submerged in the water—like a terrifying lake monster.
Upon sensing her approach, the black dragon raised its head slightly, and after glancing at Yvette, it buried its head back into the water, seemingly trying to drown itself.
“The entire kingdom is worried about you,” Yvette said, landing by the lakeshore. Her slender figure seemed even smaller and more delicate against the backdrop of the immense shadow.
The black dragon remained silent, quiet as a statue.
Yvette continued, “It’s not your fault; it was the Mountain Whales that caused all of this. No one will blame you.”
The black dragon finally spoke, its deep voice bubbling up from the water, “It was my failure to protect her.”
Yvette shook her head, “Do you really believe your strength was sufficient to protect her from the Mountain Whales?”
The black dragon fell silent again, the cold rain pounding on its wounds. Although those injuries were the result of spell attacks and hadn’t been infected, they still sent sharp pains coursing through it.
As the proud son of a Dragon King, it held a high status among dragons; even governors would bow their heads before it. Having lived nearly a hundred years, its greatest setback had merely been getting into trouble and being confined by its father for its mischief.
It had no friends in Dragonland; Jasmine was the only wise creature it could consider a friend. Watching its friend perish was something it found difficult to accept.
After waiting for a while without a response from the black dragon, Yvette said, “You don’t have to feel so sad; she was just an alchemical creation.”
The tone of her words was calm, yet Dugrabi discerned a trace of disdain within them. A surge of unnamed anger welled up within, prompting him to voice his objections, but then he heard the silver-haired girl continue, “You claimed that alchemical creations are lowly creatures, inferior even to humans. Isn’t that what you said?”
Dugrabi fell silent, opening his mouth to speak but ultimately saying nothing. After a considerable time, he finally muttered, “…That’s not true.”
“Hmm?” Yvette hadn’t heard him clearly.
“I take back what I said… while the dragon race is noble, other intelligent beings, at least alchemical creations… are not lowly.”
Yvette smiled. It was virtually impossible to expect a proud and arrogant dragon prince to speak of equality among all beings, but to have him exclude alchemical creations from the lowly category was already a significant shift.
“Do you think the events of today were caused by the following factors?” Yvette asked, her face devoid of expression as she began to probe him calmly.
“I didn’t remain cautious enough… I was too careless, letting the Mountain Whales get too close…”
“I… I let you down… If I had properly learned the spells you taught me, I could have killed those Mountain Whales directly and wouldn’t have allowed things to occur…” Dugrabi answered, struggling through his words like a student who had made a mistake.
He felt immense regret now. Although he didn’t know how powerful the spell the witch had given him truly was, just looking at the fearsome number of runes indicated it must be a terrifying forbidden spell.
Yet, with such a precious combat spell before him, he had been too lazy over the year to advance his learning process, ultimately leading to today’s pitiful state of having to retreat while battling against four passing Mountain Whales without even being able to kill one.
He thought to himself that he now perhaps felt ashamed not just to his friend, but also to the bloodline of the dragon race, the expectations of his father, the nurturing of the witch, and most importantly… toward himself.
After answering the questions, silence fell upon them once more, leaving only the sound of rain and thunder reverberating through the emptiness of that expansive terrain.
After a long time, it seemed Dugrabi had thought of something and spoke earnestly, “Please… please teach me magic… I will study diligently this time… I’m begging you.”
Standing with the umbrella in the torrential downpour, listening to the black dragon’s humble tone, Yvette didn’t respond immediately, but the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
She thought that the examination she had arranged was indeed very successful—not only did it unveil Dugrabi’s fundamental character in the face of life and death, but it also provided this proud little fellow with a valuable lesson. Although the lesson might feel somewhat painful, for a dragon prince accustomed to a life of luxury, it was indeed precious enough to make him settle down and commit to focused study for a period of time, grasping a cautious attitude toward life. As a naturally cautious witch, she found this quite important.
As for little Jasmine… well, who said that tossing a floral crown beside an unknown abandoned doll must indicate that it was someone’s corpse?