★ 94
YAMI'S POV
I was with Eren and her two companions after a long, aimless adventure; we set up camp in the forest and had dinner.
"So, Eren. What's our next location?"
I asked.
"H—heh?"
"Yes. Aren't you tired of wandering the forest? Let's pick a place you wish to go. I'll follow you."
She looked down for a bit.
"Rest assured, Eren, we're here too. Just say the name."
"And we'll hop off the next day."
Her subordinates backed me up, and the weight on her loosened, and she finally spoke.
"I—It's a restricted zone. So, let's find something."
"Restricted?"
"Don't tell me?"
"Great Jura Cave?"
She flinched, indicating I hit the nail on the head.
"J—jura cave?"
"Yes. The cave where the Hero sealed off the Storm Dragon."
"That's a hell of a dream, Eren."
"I—It's weird, I know."
"That's not what I meant. Everyone is avoiding the location, but you want to explore it."
Eren and Kaval held their conversation.
'Storm Dragon, huh? Master has been looking for a worthy opponent, and this is my opportunity to present him with one. But, it's been sealed for a long time, so I doubt it'll be that strong. Even I, a clone, can take it done…'
"Ban, ban?"
"Sorry, I was lost in thought. We will head to Jura Cave tomorrow. Received an order from the master. Your dream shall be fulfilled."
"O—order?"
'No.'
"Yes, heading there tomorrow is our only option. Unless you want me to fall before my Master?"
"N—no. I don't want to be the cause of that."
"Ok. But are you sure about this? We might meet the strongest species in this world. I'll prioritise your safety above the master's order."
"B—ban?"
I nodded.
"He'll understand, don't worry. So what do you say, Eren?"
She sat in silence, unable to produce an answer.
"This may be your last chance. You have nothing to worry about. Since the master is willing to let you fulfil your dream, he'll definitely step up if any danger beyond our squad arises."
"I—I'd like to go to Jura Cave tomorrow. Please, Lord Asteri, Yami, lend me your strength."
"That's not needed. It's decided then, we head to Jura Cave tomorrow. Get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us."
After minutes of discussion, they wished each other goodnight before falling asleep. The two were already asleep, and Eren spoke up.
"Your race is fascinating, Yami."
"Still awake?"
She nodded.
"Not my race directly. I'm a clone of a supreme being. Our status is completely different."
"Even as a clone, you're amazing, Yami."
"All thanks to the master. What makes you think I'm amazing?"
"Honestly, I can't point it out. But it'll be fair to say everything. Everything about you is amazing."
"Everything?"
I asked, and she got embarrassed.
"N—I didn't mean it that way."
'Humans are sensitive to negative thinking. Especially girls? I think I understand why Antares decided to grant master freedom over learning human emotions.'
"I was just kidding."
She breathed out, relieved.
"Had it been for my nature as a clone, I'd like to experience emotions."
I admitted and smiled for the first time.
"D—did you just smile?"
She asked. Normally, I was created with this stern face, so it's obvious for one to react to this sudden change.
"I guess. I—it just came out."
I replied, touching my lips.
"Lord Asteri might just accept your prayers."
"Heh?"
"Um. Normally, people smile after feeling some positive emotions like happiness, contentment, and joy. There are other reasons, too, like when we feel good about something, hearing jokes, witnessing acts of kindness, and usually, when we spend time with the people we love."
I avoided making eye contact before she flushed after the last example. But I wanted to experiment on it, so I turned and our eyes met.
"Love, huh? I wonder if I'll experience it."
I commented without wiping off my smile, my hand squeezing my chest for seconds.
"The night is still young. Get some sleep, Eren. We need you. We just need you at your fullest tomorrow."
"Y—you need me?"
I nodded.
"Yes. Now get some sleep. We have the whole time in the world to talk from tomorrow. Good night, Eren. Sweet dreams."
I knew she had some energy left, so I slowly put her to sleep. She noticed at the last second and smiled.
"G—goodnight, Ban."
The next morning, after having breakfast, we headed out to Jura Cave.
"At this pace, we'll reach the cave by evening. Latest."
"Impressive, you're able to see and calculate this far?"
"Yes, it's pretty easy. For us."
We converse as we walk, and as they say, walk alone, and you'll arrive faster. Move together, and we'll walk farther.
As we approached the cave, I couldn't help but feel the difference in mana signal. I was forced to stop, trying to figure out what's going on
"What's wrong, Yami chi?"
Eren asked, noticing my sudden halt.
"What? Yami chi?"
Kaval and I asked in unison, ignoring what I was sensing.
"Um, uh —slip of tongue."
"Focus. Can't you feel it?"
I knew they couldn't but still asked.
"Feel what?"
"The magicule coming from this area has disappeared completely. It wasn't like this a few weeks ago."
"So, the more we approach, the more the energy decreases?"
"No, it reduced drastically a few weeks ago. What I've been sensing recently feels like a residue."
"An illusion?"
'I considered it, but I doubt it will work without us noticing. However, this is a dragon race, and this may be part of the seal.'
"No. I can't fall for them so easily. A moment please."
I excused myself and teleported back to a specific location where I felt the energy was at its peak, but it had vanished completely. There is no trace left behind.
'It wasn't an illusion. The magical energy was completely removed from the location. The dragon couldn't fly undetected, so it must've teleported away."
I returned to my location.
"Let's go."
"H—heh? I thought you were summoned off. You made me scared."
"Apologies, I went to check something, and it was not there."
"Does it have to do with the disappearance of magical energy?"
I nodded.
"Not really. It was something different. Don't bother yourself."
I closed off the discussion. If I broke the egg, I might change her mood. We headed to the large gates, and I let the two take the lead. They struggled with the door, but it didn't move an inch.
"H—hey Yami. Give us a hand!"
Eren cried out
"Not all doors need force. Step aside."
They made their way, and I sent in waves of multi-elementals, but it didn't work.
"I knew regular magic won't work. I don't have time to waste."
I walked over and placed my hand on the gate. I applied Temporal Twist, rewinding time for the gates alone.
Slowly, the rusty gates turned new, and it stopped immediately as the gate opened and pure mana bathed my face.
I couldn't let them go, so I absorbed as much as I could. They were staring in awe, but we didn't have time.
"Let's go."
As my right foot stepped in, I analysed my path, detecting traps, life forms, and other things. The first thing to show up on my radar was a blue slime, hiding behind a rock.
It probably noticed us and went into hiding. I've never seen one before, and all I can say is that it's really cute. This wasn't my feeling but the master's. I'd like to pick it up, but now's not the time.
I pretended not to notice it, and we walked in. Those three couldn't pick up its presence, so they walked past it.
I started walking slowly, noticing the faint magicule in the atmosphere while scouting the cave for monsters.
"It looks...old…"
"What did you expect? Nobody's come in here for 300 years."
I closed my eyes and blurred the background voices, trying to pick up that energy that had suddenly disappeared. Whether it is a portal or teleportation, traces of energy must remain.
Suddenly, my head turned to the slime hidden under the rock. I didn't turn mechanically, my senses were directed towards it. We lock eyes for the moment. Nervous, it went further into hiding.
'W—wait. Don't tell me? This—'
"Yami, what's wrong?"
"Hmm, let's proceed."
I picked up the pace with the group and headed deep into the cave. I couldn't help but steal a glance at the slime, who's still in hiding. We proceeded deep into the cave, and after feeling safe, I felt the slime hop out of the cave, and I closed the door.
'Why didn't I trap it? Fate, you might say.'
I kept all that aside and focused on what's at hand.
As I've sensed, there are no monsters here. I raised a question to blend in with the crew.
"There are monsters born from other monsters' magicule. Given that it's a dragon, shouldn't we have encountered a monster by now?"
"Yes, it's true. Aside from that, something's not right. Not only are monsters given birth, but plants and ores should also be present. But… they're all gone. Like they never existed."
"Could it be that the Storm Dragon escaped?"
"No. I would've reacted to that and followed it immediately."
"What about teleportation? I mean, it's a Dragon. Teleporting won't be that hard."
"You're right. Although instant teleportation isn't something anyone can learn, teleportation in general will leave magical traces."
"What if it absorbs all before leaving?"
"It's still a possibility, but given the fact it was sealed for a long time, the magical signature just disappeared. Leaving the remnants that flew off or were absorbed. So even teleportation will leave signatures behind."
"Hey, look over here."
Kaval pointed out, and we came to the site. It was a mutilated corpse of a monster.
"Who could've done this?"
"Or what?"
"A—a knight spider?"
Eren gasped.
"What about it?"
"It's an A-Rank beast. For something to kill this..."
"A -. Not fully in the A tier. Like the arch doll. I scouted the nearby area, and I couldn't sense any living being present aside from us. Let's have the night here."
They nodded, and we looked for a suitable place to set up camp. Kaval was in charge of holding our food stuff. As for water, we had some but boiled the river water before filling our containers. I did check up, of course, to ensure it's healthy. After eating, Eren broke the silence.
"The dragon is too strong to fight off a mere magic beast. So it must be someone who did this before leaving."
'The slime is too weak to fight off a mere magic beast. What could've done this?'
"How were they able to get inside? Yami san used magic to unlock the gates."
"Everyone can use magic so…"
"But not everyone can use time-based magic. I simply rewind time for the gates alone. That's how we were about to get in."
"I—I see."
"Could it be the hero or someone released the dragon and cleared the cave?"
"As you've said, I doubt a hero or someone capable of freezing the dragon wasted their time on a lowly monster and took off all the herbs and ores."
I replied, and Eren sighed.
"Can't think of a possible scenario"
"It's good to formulate possible scenarios, but don't overthink it. You'll end up straining your brain."
"I guess you're right, Yami."
After a long silence, she added
"You know, I never thought of a dragon's cave to be like this. I thought it would be littered with gold, gems, and stuff. But reality isn't that kind."
She signed.
"We haven't reached the dragon's den. So stay true to your beliefs."
"H..how can you tell if we're there? It is not like any energy is left to be detected."
"You expect a dragon to be sealed close to the entrance?"
"N…no."
"Good. If we head deeper down, maybe we'll discover something."
I spoke as a dome of teal barrier to shield us.
"Get some sleep. We will continue tomorrow."
"Y—you know. I've never thanked you for staying up all night watching over us."
She stood up and bowed.
"Thank you for all your efforts, Yami. It's too late but please accept my thanks."
Her two companions also stood up and bowed.
"There's no need for that. It's my duty to keep you all safe. I broke you out, so it's the least I can do."
They sat down immediately.
"We're friends, so don't bow to me. Treat me as your equal, ok?"
"Friends?"
I nodded.
"If you say so, then why not. I'm glad you're my first friend."
I gave her a warm smile.
"I'd say the same. Now, get some sleep. Goodnight, you all."
After wishing each other goodnight, they fell asleep immediately.
'Friends huh?'
To be continued...