CHAPTER 16: CHAPTER 16 - KAEL AIRLINES.

BOOM.

The air rippled—no, shattered, not with sound, but with force.

Pressure.

Unseen, yet felt down to the marrow.

It came not in a rush, but as if the very sky were pushing down on the world in solemn judgment. A weight not meant for mortals descended like a curtain—slow, cold, and absolute.

Renvir’s men staggered.

One dropped to his knees, gasping like a fish out of water.

Another began convulsing, blood trickling from his nose.

The third vomited bile, face twisted in agony, barely managing to keep his knife where it was.

Yet beyond that tight radius—

Nothing.

The crowd merely felt a heavy shift in the air, like a thunderstorm looming far away.

The stone of the street didn’t tremble for them. The walls of the brothels around them groaned but didn’t collapse.

Because Kael allowed it.

His power, vast and divine, was being compressed with terrifying precision. Focused like a blade on only one group.

Kael had spared the bystanders. He had spared the girls. He had spared the children watching from cracked windows.

But not Renvir and his men.

The young nobleman’s breath hitched as sweat drenched his brow. He tried to speak, tried to smirk, tried to move, command, run—anything.

But his knees were locked.

His lungs burned.

His thoughts screamed.

’This isn’t human.’

He tried to remember the strongest man he had ever known—his father, Marquess Baneron.

That man was a war veteran. A noble among nobles. A man who crushed opposing forces and tore down knights with his bare hands.

’Even he... never felt like this.’

It was like standing before a god who had chosen not to destroy him... yet.

It was then that Kael moved.

Step.

His boot kissed the ground. The sound of his step was low, gentle, and almost respectful, but what happened because of that single step wasn’t.

A soldier behind Renvir dropped to the ground without a sound. No, he wasn’t just dropped but crushed.

The place where the soldier stood was left with only a patch of blood and gore.

Kael didn’t glance at the soldier.

Instead, his golden gaze was fixed forward, on the two girls crouched on the dirty ground with their arms wrapped around each other.

Their cheeks were bruised, eyes puffy, yet still filled with a fragile, flickering spark.

The soldiers who had knives held next to their necks were now kneeling on the ground under Kael’s pressure.

The girls weren’t. They didn’t even know what was happening because they were too scared to realize it.

Kael smiled at them.

"Hey," Kael said softly, strolling forward like he was walking into a park and not through a battlefield. "You must be Rue and Rina."

The girls blinked, stunned.

His words made them lock their eyes with him as he continued his stride.

Step.

Another guard behind him let out a strangled gasp before his body jerked up—then down—crumpling like discarded paper.

The girls didn’t hear it.

Because Kael’s presence swallowed the world. Because he had made sure they saw only him.

"Your sister sent me," he said with a soft chuckle, his smile taking their breath away. "Said you two had a habit of trouble."

Even if they were children who were no older than eight, they were still enchanted by Kael’s looks.

After all, his charm could woo anyone.

Rina was the first to speak, blinking. "...She did?"

Her words echoed through the tense surroundings as no one else dared to speak.

"Mhm." Kael nodded.

Then—

Step.

Another wet crunch was heard as another soldier met his demise.

The dragon wasn’t bothered as his eyes remained locked with the girls. "I’m here to get you out. But first..."

He flicked his hand.

Both girls floated gently into the air as if carried by invisible wings.

"Ever flown before?" He asked.

Rue gasped. "We’re—flying!?"

Kael grinned. "That’s what it looks like, doesn’t it?"

He twirled a finger, making them spin once in the air like giggling leaves in a breeze. Both of them burst into shocked laughter.

"Do it again! Higher!"

"Again! Spin again!"

Kael obliged with exaggerated flair. "Welcome aboard, this is Kael Airlines. Snacks will not be provided, but thrilling escapes are complimentary."

Step.

Behind the girls, another body dropped.

Then another.

And another.

Each step echoed down the street like a god’s heartbeat—and with each one, a man behind him died.

They fell silently, their faces locked in horror, unable to scream.

But Kael never looked at them.

He kept walking, calmly and lightly, as if he weren’t killing the soldiers but only playing with the girls.

Rue and Rina, while still enjoying the feeling of flying up and down, called out to Lyra, telling her how good it was.

"Your friend is cool, big sis!" Rue yelled, and Lyra, who was still in shock as she could see everything, unlike the girls, smiled, feeling relieved about every decision she had made since meeting Kael.

Rue and Rina tried to look behind them, wanting to see why the bad guys weren’t doing anything.

But before they could—

"Oh, no, you don’t."

With those words, Kael gave them a fast spin.

As the girls giggled again, the dragon decided to send them toward Lyra.

"Wow! We are moving forward, Rina!" Rue exclaimed with a smile, and Rina, with her eyes wide, nodded with equal excitement.

Kael smiled as he saw their attention pulled away from the soldiers, as he didn’t want them to look at the hell behind them.

He was a moody dragon with no memories of his past, but he still didn’t want to do bad to others.

He wanted to save everyone he could.

From the sides, demihuman girls, who were frozen in their spots, slowly relaxed as they realized that.

All of them had been broken-eyed and hunched like discarded dolls. They had grown numb to cruelty.

But when Kael had appeared, their gazes had lit up.

He wore black, and his hair was black. The only thing bright about him was his draconic golden eyes, but he was more radiant than anyone they had ever seen.

Even now, with every step he took, death walked behind him, silent and precise, but he didn’t seem less charming to them.

"...He’s not like the others," one whispered, hands pressed over her mouth.

"Is he a god?" Another muttered.

"He’s laughing... while saving them."

The silence and tension in the air slowly evaporated as the crowd realized that although Kael was angry, he wasn’t going berserk.

He was still the guy who made narcissistic jokes and the guy who tried to deal with everything gently for others.

Rue and Rina landed before Lyra, still giggling, before Lyra hugged them tightly.

Unlike what one would expect to be a tear-filled reunion, it was only Lyra who, despite having a smile on her face, couldn’t stop her tears.

Rue and Rina, on the other hand, kept asking her about Kael.

Well, most of the asking was done by Rue, while Rina merely nodded, as if saying, ’Yes, that’s what I wanted to ask.’

Kael, glancing back at them, smiled. His legs, however, kept moving, and the men around Renvir kept dying.

’Am I the next?’ Such a question popped up in the young noble’s head every time he saw one of his men fall.

Every step Kael took echoed like thunder in his head as he felt the earth tremble and one of his men fall.

Every moment was torture for him.

Kael didn’t care.

He now stood before the mature human woman, who, unlike Rue and Rina, had seen everything as she remained frozen with awe.

"You must be Alenia," Kael said brightly. "Didn’t expect to be babysitting two floaty goblins today, huh?"

"I... no," she whispered, her voice shaky.

Alenia had seen many things. She had escaped from slavers. Bitten, clawed, and survived inhuman hands and inhumaner desires.

She hadn’t reached the position of the street lady, who controlled one of the brothel streets, merely on her looks.

But never... never had she seen something like this.

The black-haired man with golden eyes had turned death into an art. Graceful. Precise. Terrifyingly beautiful.

Kael turned to her now, the weight of power gone from his gaze, replaced with a gentleness so sudden it made her flinch.

"Don’t worry," he said, flashing that same roguish grin he gave Rue and Rina. "I don’t bite. Unless you ask nicely."

Alenia blinked.

A sound escaped her lips—not fear, not protest. It was but a startled, half-choked laugh.

"I..." She swallowed. "You... what are you?"

"Someone with excellent hair," he replied, sweeping back his wild black locks like a performer after a show. "Also, part-time child rescuer. Part-time mood lifter."

Then he leaned closer, whispering. "And maybe a dragon. Allegedly."

Alenia’s eyes widened as she heard the last line, but she couldn’t tell if he was serious.

He wasn’t walking anymore. No more bodies dropping. Just his presence, warm and light, like a fire on a cold night.

Kael seemed like a charming prince now.

Alenia didn’t even realize her fingers had stopped trembling.

"You looked like you were about to bolt," Kael said softly. "But don’t worry. I won’t make you fly unless you beg for it like those two gremlins."

He tilted his head back toward Rue and Rina, who were still babbling at Lyra like they’d just come off a carnival ride.

"...I didn’t know what to do," Alenia whispered. "I thought I should fight. Or run. But I couldn’t... move."

Kael’s smile didn’t waver.

"Then you did great," he said. "Choosing to freeze is better than choosing to die."

That made something crack inside her.

She looked down, exhaled shakily, and when her gaze returned to him, her lips were curved in the ghost of a smile.

"I’ll hold you to the flying part," she said softly.

Kael winked. "Only the deluxe package now."

Then his gaze shifted.

Behind them, only one figure remained upright—barely.

Renvir.

The nobleman knelt in a puddle of sweat and fear, surrounded by a semi-circle of crushed, shattered corpses.

His once-pristine coat was soaked, clinging to his skin. His breathing was erratic and shallow.

Still, his pride tried to peek through his terror.

Kael turned to face him fully, posture loose, voice casual.

"You know," he began conversationally, "you really should’ve run away... before I took that first step."

Renvir couldn’t speak. His jaw moved, but nothing came out.

Kael tilted his head.

"...Not that you would’ve been able to," he added with a shrug. "But hey, you could’ve taken the credit for trying."

He raised a hand.

Then, he snapped.

There was silence after that.

Renvir didn’t scream.

There wasn’t enough time.

One moment, he was kneeling, his eyes wide and chest heaving.

The next second, he was a crushed sack of flesh and bone on the cobblestones, blood pooling beneath the tatters of what used to be a man.

Kael lowered his hand like a magician finishing his trick. He turned back to Alenia with an exaggerated sigh.

"Well," he muttered, "there goes my chance at diplomatic relations."

Alenia choked back a laugh.

Then failed.

It came out in a snort—one she slapped a hand over, cheeks flushing.

Kael grinned wider.

"That’s better," he said, walking past her toward the others. "C’mon, Miss Mature Human. We’ve got kids to wrangle and a brothel street to exit dramatically."

Alenia followed.

Still stunned.

Still shaken.

But for the first time in a long time... smiling.