Words finally clawed their way out of his throat. The harsh, grating sound of his own voice should have brought relief, but in that moment, the joy of speaking again after his long silence felt like nothing more than an annoying distraction.

His screams pulled the corrupt crest bearers' attention toward him, and within moments, all that remained was deathly silence. He had broken his own bones in the brutal fight, but he didn't care.

They fell one by one, crashing to the ground as Raiden stood among them, breathing heavily. Gray blood coated his new clothing and face while his regenerative abilities worked to mend his shattered knuckles.

He'd gotten lucky. None of them had been dark crest bearers, which undoubtedly would have exacted a far heavier price from him.

As the bodies lay scattered around him, hearts destroyed, the familiar mechanical voice of Sulli broke its silence for the first time since Raiden had cursed it away.

[ALERT]

[CURRENT STATUS: NUMBER 5: LEVEL- 0/100 XP]

[DRAGON MANA: 2210/5000

MANA CONTROL: 410

DRAGON AURA: 405

STAMINA: 805

PHYSICAL STRENGTH: 810

SOUL OF DRAGON: 85%

HEART OF DRAGON: 85%

MOON DRAGON'S VEINS: 85%]

But the statistics meant nothing to him as he turned toward Nico, who was crouched on the ground with his hands clutched around his head and eyes squeezed tightly shut.

He moved closer and crouched beside Nico, but as soon as his hand touched Nico's back, Raiden's eyes started darting around with quiet confusion.

Words pressed against his throat, desperate to emerge, and crucially, sensation had returned to him.

That should have been wonderful, but something felt deeply wrong. He still couldn't reason, couldn't form his own thoughts.

While Raiden sat trapped in his confused state, Nico finally lifted his head and looked toward him. His eyes lit up with excitement when he spotted the fallen corrupt crest bearers scattered across the floor.

"You did it, Hero," he said with pride and embraced Raiden with gratitude.

With Nico in his arms, he couldn't help but let go of his confusion and smile. "Yes."

The moment he spoke, Nico pulled out the embrace and began dragging him across the street. "We must leave before more of them come around."

The bystanders who had taken shelter during the attack began cautiously stepping out, clearly bewildered that one man had single-handedly defeated five corrupt crest bearers.

With Nico urging him forward, Raiden had no chance to absorb the crowd's amazed stares.

Yet despite his mental fog, certain things about Sulli were becoming clearer to him. The system remained an enigma—even drawing on all his dragon memories, he couldn't determine what it truly was.

He'd attempted to communicate with it countless times before, seeking answers about what it really was, but it had remained silent. Now, the moment he cursed it away, it actually obeyed.

Sulli?!—he thought through his fragile mind, but there was no response.

"Sulli?" He muttered this time, and again; nothing.

While it typically ignored him, he was certain there had been one instance when it actually replied. His eyes lit up with understanding as he followed behind Nico—the system had only responded after he'd given it the name Sulli.

More disturbing still, the system seemed to have calculated his moon dragon bloodline percentage based on his time moving through darkness, despite receiving no new information since then.

But a darker concern overshadowed everything else, something that eluded his understanding completely. Why did Ham City harbor such an alarming number of berserk, corrupted crest bearers?

"Come on… come on, Hero." The sound of Nico speaking shattered Raiden's distant thoughts, grounding him just as they left Ham City behind and stepped into the bone-chilling desert.

Yet as soon as they stepped beyond the city limits, Nico froze mid-stride, and Raiden followed suit, confusion creasing his brow.

Nico's blue eyes found Raiden's golden ones in an instant. "I want you to teach me how to fight."

Raiden's eyes focused intently on the boy's diminutive form below him. Though his thoughts remained scattered, the fragments that did emerge felt too urgent to keep silent.

"But you are just a kid?… nine?" Raiden's voice was tinged with obvious curiosity.

Irritation twisted across Nico's features as his face darkened to a furious crimson. "I am not a kid… I am eleven."

He scoffed. "And just so you know, I've experienced more in life than you adults."

His expression gave away no emotion, only the steady rhythm of blinking as he watched Nico with gentle, unguarded eyes.

Raiden had started his training younger than Nico was now, making the worry seem unfounded. Even if his damaged mind couldn't access those specific memories, something within him recognized that preparing Nico was necessary.

Still, a more troubling question remained. Without magic or even basic mana capacity, how could Nico hope to survive encounters with those who possessed both magical abilities and mana control?

"I don't need a mana crest and magic," Nico muttered, his eyes darting on the ground with his tone calming down.

Nico's head jerked up suddenly, his gaze meeting Raiden's directly with an intensity that radiated absolute belief and unwavering truth.

"You took all those berserkers out," he reached for Raiden's hand. "If you train me, I'd be stronger… very strong to protect myself."

Raiden met those bold eyes and smiled despite himself. Nico's confidence in him was touching, but it was the child's own fierce determination that truly captivated him.

"Okay… tomorrow."

Nico then wore a very large grin. "I knew you would train me, Hero." The source of thɪs content is noᴠelfire.net

He patted Raiden on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I'd show you something in return… I'd teach you my favorite dancing moves."

Raiden was a little taken aback by such a random payback.

"Everyone in Smiling Sanctum knows how to do it already," He caught Raiden's hand in his and started running, tugging him along as they headed back toward the shelter home.

The disrespect was undeniable. As bookkeeper, he protected one of the four deadliest books in existence, earning reverence even from royalty within his own realm.

More than that, his identity as the moon dragon made him ruler of Viscount and absolute leader of every magical creature.

But beneath all that hierarchical might, he treasured the humble life he'd built with Nico, flawed and fragile as it might be.

"By the way, Hero… why can you speak now?