Three days later…

Within a cave tucked deep into the cliffs of a mountain range far from Dragonhold's borders, Thamoryn and Oberon were tied together with chains that suppressed mana and overall body strength.

Both looked pretty banged up with bruises covering their faces and their robes torn in several places.

A woman stepped into their view with red eyes that glowed faintly in the dim light of the cave

She had dark hair that fell past her shoulders, pale skin, and dark shading around her eyes that made her gaze all the more unsettling. With Horns curved that upward from the sides of her head.

This was the demon that had been experimented on in the research room's dungeon. Ingrid's Demon Child.

And had used the same chains she'd been bound with while in the dungeons, to bind them both.

Thamoryn looked at her and spoke with exhaustion in her voice. "It doesn't seem like he's coming."

The demon lady said nothing in response.

Thamoryn continued without waiting for an answer. "Why haven't you killed us yet?"

The demon lady simply stared at Thamoryn and remained silent.

—-

A flashback revealed what had happened on the night when the demons attacked.

Conrad had made his way toward the dungeon where the half-demon was being held.

Unlike Xathia's research room which had a holding dungeon beneath it, Dragonhold didn't have such a facility under their research room so the demon had been kept in a dungeon somewhere within the palace grounds.

Conrad stood before the cell and looked at her through the bars. "I can't bring you with us," he said. "The one we answer to will see you as filth for being tainted by human genes."

He paused and his expression turned colder. "Frankly I find you abhorrent as well, especially as you still have that undeniable human stench."

His hand moved to the lock on the cell door and released it. "But at the same time, you're a demon, so I'll let you free," he added. "I know you understand everything I'm saying."

Then he unlocked the chains that bound her and walked away without another word.

Later that night she emerged from the dungeon looking ragged, and covered in grime.

The first sight she saw was Thamoryn and Oberon walking away from the palace, as if they were still trying to get a grasp of what was happening around them.

Until suddenly she appeared before them with chains gripped tightly in her hands.

The flashback ended.

—-

Demons grew fast and though she'd been an infant not long ago now she had grown into a full demon woman.

However at this moment she bore no name.

Then suddenly her senses tingled sharply and she turned instantly toward the entrance of the cave to see a man with dark spiky hair, and horns curving from his head.

His red eyes that glowed faintly, and had dark markings running along his arms, with pointed ears, and a dragon's tail swaying behind him as he emerged into view.

This was Aiden.

And this was how he looked now with his dragon curse meter properly at the hundred mark.

Both Thamoryn and Oberon looked shocked when they saw him.

Earlier, he had used his Dragon's Sight to scan through the entire continent until he found them being held here in this remote cave.

Hidden deep within cliffs that were nearly impossible to reach without flight or magic, then he directly teleported himself inside.

The moment she saw him her eyes widened. "You!" she said sharply.

Apparently she'd been waiting for Aiden all along.

Her form shifted instantly into that of a demon with clawed teeth bared and her body growing more monstrous as red energy rippled across her skin.

Aiden's face remained indifferent.

She lunged at him with claws extended, but mid-air she suddenly became extremely slowed as if moving through thick syrup.

Aiden had slowed down time around her.

Without lifting a finger, his tail swiped from behind him and lashed forward with tremendous force, sending her crashing into the side of the cave with such impact that chunks of rock broke away from the wall where she hit.

Then he walked calmly toward where Thamoryn and Oberon were held captive and stretched out his hand toward the chains binding them.

The chains aged rapidly before their eyes, rusting over in seconds before turning entirely to metal dust that fell away from their wrists.

The demon lady had recovered herself by then, shaking her head as if trying to regain orientation after being thrown so hard.

Aiden turned back toward her, stretched out his hand, and prepared to cast a technique to kill her off permanently.

She growled at him with fury written across her face.

"Wait Aiden!" Thamoryn shouted suddenly.

Aiden tilted his head slightly toward her and muttered, "Hm?"

Thamoryn spoke quickly. "Hold on," she said. "The demon hasn't killed us all this while even when she had the chance to."

"What are you doing Thamoryn?" Oberon asked while looking surprised that she wasn't letting Aiden kill the demon lady who'd held them both captive for days.

Thamoryn said nothing to him directly but kept her eyes on Aiden instead.

"How should that matter to me?" Aiden questioned coldly.

As he spoke, the demon lady tried to scamper away toward the entrance of the cave.

But Aiden turned toward her with one sharp glare and she froze mid-step as time stopped entirely around her body.

"Who told you that you could leave?" he said.

Both Oberon and Thamoryn looked at that display once again in astonishment.

Thamoryn then spoke urgently. "This is that half-demon you brought to me back then," she said quickly while gesturing toward the frozen woman. "The child born from your friend."

That was when Aiden's eyes widened in shock and he turned back to look at the demon lady again

His gaze lingered on her for a moment as if he was trying to piece it together.

Then he exhaled slowly before snapping his fingers. With that, the demon lady vanished instantly as she was pulled into his pocket domain.

He lowered his hand and turned toward Thamoryn. "You have a lot to explain," he said

He lifted his palm to the side, and a portal with a blue hue appeared before them. Without another word, he stepped through it, with Thamoryn and Oberon immediately following.

They stepped back into Dragonhold inside the palace room that had been nearly destroyed during the attack.

The walls were cracked and scorched and pieces of ceiling still littered parts of the floor, although carpenters and workers moved around steadily to patch everything back together.

Oberon immediately walked out onto the veranda, to get a view of the city.

He saw that many rooftops had been torn apart, with men carefully balancing on the remaining structures as they worked to repair them.

He stepped back inside, and with a heavy breath he asked, "What really happened here?"

Aiden answered flatly. "Demons attacked."

Then he shifted his eyes toward Thamoryn. "But she is going to explain how that demon child was still alive, and how it was even possible that the demon lady managed to capture both of you."

Thamoryn rubbed her arm lightly as she faced him "I left the child alive so we could run experiments on her in the research room," she said. "She grew rapidly and in barely a month she was already a full demon woman, with an intelligence far too advanced for someone who had existed only a month. It was frightening honestly, how much she understood."

Aiden's expression contorted into annoyance as said, "To what bloody end, you stupid woman!"

Thamoryn looked away, with a face that look hurt. "Xathia was always at the top of magical knowledge in the entire continent. Studying the demon child would have help us understand demons better and what they truly are."

Aiden shook his head slowly as if the explanation annoyed him.

Thamoryn continued. "I didn't know how she got free from the dungeon she was held in but she attacked us the night the city was attacked."

"she has peculiar properties, something we noticed during the experiments. Her body can take on the properties of any magic she interacts with, but we didn't think she would be able to apply that in combat so early or even at all."

She paused as she swallowed hard. "Facing her proved too difficult, and we were taken out."

Aiden stared at her without commenting.

Thamoryn added quietly, "Also she had been waiting for you. I think that is why she captured us. Somehow she expected you would come for us."

Aiden frowned slightly, and said "That is absurd."

Then he turned away as if finished with the conversation but paused at the doorway. "Both of you should prepare yourselves. There will be a brief meeting held here in the throne room tonight."

He said nothing more and walked out of the hall.

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