Meriel watched the guards below, running around the short space between the two gang buildings, some of them puking from the stench. Once Meriel checked if the children in the cellar were okay, he left an anonymous tip to the guard house, letting them do their job for once, and took watch on a nearby rooftop.

  The guards found the building in tens of minutes, making Meriel realize that they must have known where it was, and that in turn made him scowl. Why not destroy it earlier?

  Corruption, most likely. Or just fear. The men inside were equipped fairly well for such ruffians, after all, and two of them could even move some small amount of mana in their muscles. Didn’t matter when they were so untrained, however. They probably barely understood how to saturate their mana hearts.

  In the end, Meriel could only sigh as he watched on, and he hoped that the children would end up alright. They were probably of the richer sort though, and the guards would most likely try to find their parents. That was the hope, at least. He’d make sure to come check back later, see if the guards are actually doing their jobs correctly.

  Meriel scrunched his nose at the stench once again, and looked to the side. A whole human torso was there, wrapped in a tunic that Meriel took from one of the gang members, smelling of blood. At least it began drying up in the last ten minutes.

  He didn’t like admitting it, but Ziggy was completely right. He definitely wanted the dragon to have the intelligence and the look of a human whenever need be, and if a source of human flesh was so easy to get, then who was he to refuse? Not like the person would need the flesh again anyway.

  Slowly, he stood up, wrapped the torso around him, and began his descent. He considered walking to the academy again, but with the torso in hand, he decided not to risk it, and instead headed straight to the stables where they’d left the rock oxes and the giant birds.

  Before that though, he sent out a wave of mana, hoping to catch the attention of Ziggy, who was guarding Mary. The poor girl had not woken up since Meriel rescued her, and remained sleeping even when he left as night began. He prayed that she was alright, but there were no telltale signs that there would be something wrong with her, and so he left her in Ziggy’s care.

  If Ziggy registered Meriel’s mana pulse, he did not know, but he hoped for that to be the case. He walked through the dark streets, alone, feeling the cold wind bite into his skin. It would be winter soon, he knew. The taker would begin cropping the mortals with layers of snow, and there would be nothing to do for months on end, just like every year in ages past.

  It was a strange time for most of Lavarza, but he personally never minded it. He liked the cold for as long as he remembered. And snow reminded him of his childhood, of the simpler times.

  It was almost tradition to go out and see who could make the biggest snowball out of the three siblings. A pang of pain followed that memory, the knowledge that he’d never meet his siblings again hitting him like a sledgehammer.

  I… should have spent more time with them. Visited more. Now I’ll never get to.

  At least I can make this winter nice for Mary. She probably struggled with the winters in her past, but I’ll make sure she’s well cared for. And Ziggy. Hah, the little guy has never seen snow, has he? That will be really nice to see. I really hope he likes it.

  Deep in thought, reflecting, he walked near the city stables, and took a quick look to see if anyone was guarding the building. There was an older man sitting on a chair in front, a torch illuminating his bald head, but he appeared to be dozing off, a bottle of liquor lying at his feet.

  That was easier than Meriel expected. Trying to get his mind off his former thoughts, he walked inside, and went into the stable where his animals were stored. He stepped softly around the guard, careful not to wake him up, though such vigilance was probably not even required.

  The animals inside appeared to be asleep for the most part, though a few did raise curious glances as he walked around their stalls. Almost as if they knew that they should be quiet though, none made a sound. Ignoring the smell of too many animals in closed space, the door to the small stable opened and Meriel carefully stepped towards the three rock oxes.

  Beautiful beings, these. One of the few animals that could survive any temperature on the southern peninsula, making them a favorite in the Steppes south-east of Lavarza.

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  He put the torso to the ground and walked towards the oxes, ignoring the sleeping birds in their hanging cages. Two of the oxes were asleep, but one wasn’t, and it watched Meriel with curious eyes.

  Meriel walked closer, petting its head, feeling the rocky protrusions that originated all over its skin. They weren’t rocks, not really, but they felt eerily similar. The beasts had gentle nature to a fault, and though Meriel hadn’t seen many of them in his life, he felt a bit sad for what he’d have to do.

  But there was no other way. He had to know if Elsa was still out there, somewhere.

  He walked back towards the torso, and found what he was searching for almost immediately—a dagger, right on the waist. Whoever this belonged to, they hadn’t even had the chance to pull it out before Meriel slaughtered them.

  He considered whether he should feel bad about taking so many souls, but as always, he found that deep down, he couldn’t find a smidge of sympathy. Why mourn for someone so evil? The world would be better off without them.

  Soft steps sounded from behind Meriel, and he turned, half-expecting to see the guard to come in and cause Meriel some trouble, but thankfully, it was Ziggy and Mary, who finally awoke. She seemed a bit groggy, but fine other than that.

  “I came as instructed, master,” Ziggy said, a bit more respectful than usual. Meriel had yet to understand what made Ziggy switch up between how he treated Meriel, but he didn’t mind either way. When reflecting on it a little, he realized that the dragon behaved similarly even when they were locked in the bubble together. Sometimes he’d act like an obedient attendant, while at others he was playful and childish.

  Even that was a quality Meriel adored.

  “How are you feeling, Mary?” Meriel asked cautiously, stepping closer and grabbing her shoulder with his hand. “Does something hurt?”

  “Not really.” She gave him a weak smile and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I just took a good nap, I think?”

  Ruffling her hair, he nodded and smiled. She seemed a bit… demure, compared to her usual nature, but being abducted would shake anyone up, even if she didn’t remember it. “Glad to hear. Anyway, why are you here?” He looked at Ziggy, and the little elf looked away shyly. “I thought I told you to come alone?”

  “Yeaaah, you did, but she wanted to come! And I couldn’t tell her no after all she went through, you know? Leave her all alone there, after that?” Ziggy said agitatedly, waving his arms around.

  “Yeah, okay. That’s fair, I suppose.” Meriel met the eyes of Mary, and pondered for a short moment. “Mary, are you sure you want to stay here, though? This will… not be a nice sight.” That was an understatement.

  “It’s fine, Mr. Meriel. I’m not a kid anymore!” Mary gave him a smile, more akin to her usual one, and finally pulled away. “Besides, you’ll be doing magic, right? I want to see! You still haven’t shown us anything!”

  That much was true. And Meriel supposed that Mary’s circumstances were a bit worse than his own, and she’d handle seeing some dead animals.

  Without further ado, he turned from the two children and made a quick incantation. A bubble formed around them, almost invisible, and complete silence took over.

  [Sound Barrier - Level 54 - Activated]

  Now it was time to slaughter. He took out the dagger again, and approached the ox that was still awake. It watched him curiously, its small brain not comprehending what was about to happen.

  “I’m sorry, little one.” He said, grabbed its head, gave it one last pat.

  And slit its throat.

  All of the animals were dead, and he arranged them in a little pile, with the human torso on top. Now it was time for the last part, the most crucial one. He turned to Ziggy, and motioned for him to step closer.

  Ziggy’s eyes widened, and he visibly shivered, but surprisingly, he didn’t protest. Instead, he walked closer, closed his eyes, and proffered one of his arms, clearly expecting it to be cut off.

  Meriel hoped that it wouldn’t be necessary. “Hold still. It won’t hurt much. I’m just taking some blood.”

  “J-just blood? But didn’t I require scales and meat from the dragon?”

  “It was all I had. I think I can do with just blood. It needs to have your characteristics, but it doesn’t need scales, nor does it need everything like a lizard. But it does need your component.

  The imprint of the dragonmancy on his mana-heart felt like it was pulsing, readying itself to be used again. He didn’t want to prolong this for any longer, and so, he slit Ziggy’s palm, getting an oomph out of him, and then he pulled him gently so the small stream of blood would fall onto the carcasses of the animals. After a little while, he instructed Ziggy to create a small stream of fire to close the wound, and looked at the pile again.

  It was a large pile. Far more biomass than he had to work with last time. It would do.

  He let the magical circle form in front of him, and got to work, ignoring his two apprentices looking closely, though he did make an occasional comment, explaining what was what. This spell would be far too complicated for either of them, though.

  Slowly, he began repeating the process he’d done so many years ago, yet he found it easy to remember, almost as if he made Ziggy only yesterday. The shape of the dragon, though he made it larger and slimmer. The shape of its head, the teeth, and the rocky protrusions from the rock-oxes. The feathers from the birds, and the wings that looked nothing like Ziggy’s.

  Finally, he focused on its human form as well, now that he knew what to look for. He expanded on the magical circle, the template that [Dragonmancy] already provided, and added a human look, though he didn’t specify much. Most of the animals were female, he found, seeing that the human shape seemed to have the reproductive organs of one.

  He also needed to create a personality, though he went a different way this time, compared to Ziggy. He repeated the obedience and loyalty parts, of course, but made this one more mature, calmer and less prone to energetic outbursts. Two children to take care of was too much already.

  The magical circle, after some final adjustments, locked in place.

  And a dragon began forming.

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