3. Childs (1)

I decided to leave the girl sleeping in the cave and began searching for the place where she had been imprisoned; surprisingly, it wasn't too far from the cave.

'Now that I think about it, how did she manage to enter the cave?'

In the first place, when I found that spot, I made sure there were no human settlements nearby. That could

have changed over time.

But, besides that, that entire zone should be surrounded by a barrier. No one should be able to enter and leave without my permission, or at least, no one who isn't at the level of a dragon.

'...Although I don't think this is the time to think about that'

"W-Who do you think you are!? If you leave now-!"

The man didn't finish speaking before losing consciousness.

That makes 13.

I extend my senses through the rest of the building, but the only thing I feel are the presences of children; it seems this was the last man remaining.

'13 people who seem to be the ones doing the experiments, 23 fighters, and 27 children. The children don't seem to be in good condition...'

What should I do?

I came here on an impulse of anger so I don't really have a specific plan.

Capture them and let the other humans deal with them?

Why don't I deal with them like I did with that woman?

Human matters should be resolved among humans; in that woman's case... Let's see, if you wake up and the first thing you see is a bug bothering you, wouldn't you simply deal with it?

Although that doesn't take away the fact that I am angry about what they were doing.

Anyway, I suppose that is what I will do.

I already gathered the adults so now I have to gather the children.

---

"What is going to happen to us now?"

A boy of about 10 years old asked while walking at the front of the group.

Looking at the others, it seems he is the oldest of those who were trapped.

But 10 years old is still...

"I don't know"

Even if you ask me, I don't know what the humans will do to resolve this situation.

Is it not hypocritical to save them but not worry about them afterward?

That is how dragons are: hypocritical, proud. Some more than others. Saving them can also be seen as a simple whim of mine.

But the truth is that when I heard they were experimenting on children I couldn't help but want to stop that stupidity.

Children are children; there may be differences between species but what is common among them is protecting their offspring. That instead of that they want to take their lives?

'Tch, they made me remember that.'

Calm down, the past is the past. I am rambling too much.

The point is, even if I wanted to answer him, I don't have an answer to his question.

"But"

At least I can say one thing.

"You won't have to keep enduring this anymore, I swear it on my pride"

I don't think they understand the meaning of a dragon swearing on its pride, but it seems it was enough to calm him, because after my answer the boy kept walking with a firm look.

Currently, 26 children are following me; we are on our way to find the last of the children. The youngest of them already seem to be at their limit so it would be better to end this quickly, although due to their condition I can't speed it up too much either.

Finally, we arrived in front of the room where the last child was located.

And upon opening the door.

"Hm?"

Inside was a boy with grey hair sleeping; it is a denser and darker shade, but both his hair and appearance resemble those of the girl who appeared in my cave. Siblings? It is probable.

Should I take him? Or should I bring the girl to this place and wait for them to come looking for the children?

But remembering the girl's condition... I think it would be better to take him.

'Too thin'

Carrying the boy, we headed toward the building's exit.

Once there, I used magic to put them to sleep and hid in the forest waiting for the other humans to arrive. I really don't want to get into unnecessary trouble if more people happen to see me.

How do I know they are coming?

I simply caused a huge explosion in the sky. That should be enough to alert them, right?

Ah, and of course I put up a barrier before doing it. It wouldn't be a good idea to wake them up right after putting them to sleep.

---

"Leader! A large influx of mana was detected on the outskirts of the city!"

"You don't need to tell me. Anyone with two eyes could have seen that explosion. Half the city probably woke up because of the noise"

Everyone in the building was on alert. A large explosion in the sky had shaken the city and its origin had not been detected.

'And it just had to be in our sector. Whatever caused an explosion of that size is unlikely to be friendly'

The leader of the Sky Guild, Amelia, lamented the situation while grabbing her short amber hair.

Of all possible sectors, the direction of the explosion coincided with the zone under her jurisdiction.

It originated outside the city, yes, but the other guilds were washing their hands of it saying this was the Sky Guild's job and refused to participate in the investigation.

"What about the Nocturne Guild? Did we receive a response?"

"Currently, most of their members are in the middle of an expedition in an S-Rank gate. Even if they withdraw their troops right now, we can't expect backup soon"

"...Understood"

'Why did you have to organize your expedition right at this moment Nox... I have no choice, if we don't investigate the anomaly, the guild's position will start to wobble; those hyenas are always waiting for the slightest sign of weakness. They only care about their own profits. We can't leave something like this uninvestigated either. With the number of gates increasing, leaving a situation like this uninvestigated would only be putting a noose around our necks'

After Amelia organized her thoughts, she began giving instructions.

"Listen up! Our job is to investigate the anomaly that originated to the east of Myrillia. We will divide into two groups: an advance group that will be in charge of going ahead and getting information, while the rest of us will follow from behind ready for any eventuality."

Amelia looked at the guild members before continuing.

Most of the hunters present were between rank B and A; only their leader had a rank higher than them.

S-Rank Hunter, Amelia. Nicknamed 'The Iron Wall', she was one of the 7 S-Ranks currently found in the city of Myrillia. Her great ability to attract monster attacks and protect her companions had allowed her to obtain her nickname and ascend in rank despite her young age.

"We depart in 5 minutes! Get ready! Alex, I'm putting you in charge of the vanguard."

"Yes!"

"Fall back at the slightest sign of danger and wait for the rest. Remember that information is only useful if you are alive to deliver it, we don't know what we are facing."

"Yes, leader!"

After the preparation time, Amelia gave the signal and the group set off in the direction of the anomaly.

Advancing through the forest, Amelia stopped when she saw that Alex, who had gone ahead with his group to investigate, was returning in her direction.

"Did you find anything?"

"...We found something that we believe was the place where the explosion originated"

"Believe?"

"...I think it's better if you see it for yourself"

Leaving those words, Alex began to lead the way with Amelia's group following behind him until they arrived in front of a building.

"...What is this?"

Two groups of unconscious people clearly separated were found in front of the building.

One group consisted of what seemed to be hunters and scientists, while the other...

"...Children?"

What were children doing in a place like this?

More importantly, from their appearance they seemed not to have eaten well for a long time; if it weren't for seeing how they were still breathing one would believe they were corpses.

"This is..."

Amelia didn't want to think about what the scene in front of her meant, but the clues were clear: Malnourished children wearing worn-out clothes, a group of people looking like scientists, and a building constructed in the middle of a forest, far from the city.

And what finished forming the story in her head was...

"Leader! You have to see this"

One of the members who entered to investigate the building handed her some papers.

"Artificial creation of awakened... Discovery report..."

'Artificial creation of awakened...? Wasn't that the project the government prohibited? Don't tell me that...'

Amelia continued reading the report in her hands.

"It is believed that the optimal age to develop abilities is between 6 and 10 years old, therefore it is believed that by subjecting them to extreme stress situations it is possible to force an awakening. By analyzing the circumstances in which this happens, it will be possible to establish clear criteria to provoke the awakening..."

'Experimenting on children!? Are you serious!? Are they stupid!? That belief was refuted a long time ago! And yet they still tried something like this!?'

Fury invaded her, but she couldn't let it control her in a situation like this.

Trying to calm down in light of the acquired information, Amelia began giving instructions to the guild members.

"Have the advance group capture all the unconscious people, make sure they cannot escape!"

"Yes!"

"The healers are to ensure the children are okay and can reach the city without problems!"

"Yes!"

"The rest must investigate the building! Make sure no one is left inside and bring all the information you find!"

"Yes!"

Finishing her instructions, Amelia set out to investigate the identities of the unconscious hunters.

'But if everyone who is here is unconscious, then who was it that...'

"I suppose I no longer need to watch over this place"

"Who said that!?"

"Uuwaa!? Leader? What's wrong?"

A woman was surprised when, while heading to see the hunters, she heard Amelia scream suddenly.

"Didn't you hear someone speak?"

"No? Did something happen?"

"...It's nothing, I suppose the stress is making me hear things"

"You have to relax a little, lately you've been very busy organizing everything. You should rest a bit after this"

Amelia didn't listen to what the woman was saying, her gaze was fixed in the direction where she had heard the voice, but no matter how much she concentrated she found no traces of a presence, as if there had never been anyone there.

'Did I really imagine it?'

She decided to leave that for later and started investigating the captured hunters. She didn't find anything notable until.

'Zack? What is he doing here? I heard he had disappeared about 4 months ago'

Zack Leies, S-Rank hunter. His ability allowed him to use his mana to strengthen his body and his weapon. Unlike the common strengthening used by most hunters, his strengthening was on a completely different level. It was a simple ability, but thanks to his mastery he managed to climb up to become one of the few S-Ranks in the city; even Amelia doubted if it was possible for her to receive one of his blows even while prepared.

'From his state, it seems he faced someone. And that someone managed to subjugate him without killing him?'

That was not information Amelia wanted to know, she clearly knew Zack's strength...

And she also knew one of the conditions that must be met to not kill your opponent and still defeat them...

'That there exists a great difference in skills...'

Amelia didn't know whether to feel grateful that the matter didn't involve having to face an unknown opponent or to lament all the problems that were about to arrive.

'Perhaps it would have been better to have to face a dragon...'