The voice of the dragon was infinitely deep, resounding deep into the cavern. It reached into the depths of Damien pouncing through his body. It paralyzed him stiff, unable to voice any concern.
‘Just his voice is enough to immobilize me. Just how strong is he?’
The dragon stared into Damien as if he was able to look through him. Damien did not feel any malicious intentions, so he was not concerned for his life. The dragon retracted its head back up overlooking the group. In the next moment a massive amount of white mist instantaneously appeared covering the entire dragon.
The mist slowly dissipated revealing that the dragon had disappeared. It was as if it had teleported away and Damien was beginning to believe so. It wasn’t until the chilly mist completely disappeared that it exposed what really happened.
A majestic man appearing to be in his late forties stood in the place of where the dragon was standing. He stood 2 meters tall with an upright aura. He shared many common features with Yuki such as hair and eye color. His icy blue hair was perfectly combed reaching down to his shoulders. His red eyes gleamed brightly with power as his mana was too vast to withhold in such a tiny vessel.
On his forehead he has an azure dragon scale placed right in the middle. His face was perfectly sculpted into perfect proportions being the epitome of graceful beauty. He has a dignified, groomed beard that reaches down to his chest. He adorned a simple white gown that complimented his natural elegance.
Damien was speechless to see that such a perfect being could exist in this world. The universe has graced them with not only boundless power but also city toppling looks.
‘No wonder Yuki has such natural beauty and talents. Her dragon blood is truly an amazing gift!’
Yuki’s father lightly walked toward them with a broad smile. Yuki and Cal could not wait any longer so they hurriedly ran toward him. They jumped into his open arms each grabbing a hold of one. He knelt down to embrace them entirely. His joyful laugh resounded throughout the cavern.
“My, my, it has only been about two weeks, children. Have you missed me that much already?”
The two snuggled their heads into his body while nodding their heads. Their faces were beet red as they both remembered Damien was watching. The happiness they felt overrode any other thought or worry they were to possibly have.
“Although I would love to continue to embrace you two, it would be rude to just ignore our guest.”
He let go of their embrace so he could attend his guest. The two stuck to his side like glue with no shame. He noticed that it wasn’t the most welcoming environment to have guests visiting. He poured mana into one of the many rings he wore and brought out an array of chairs, tables, snacks, and drinks.
“To think my little Yuki would ever bring a boy home. Are you perhaps her boyfriend?”
Yuki instantly went wide eyed and lost her composure. She pummeled her dads chest with soft blows.
“Dad, why are you always like this? He is not my boyfriend! Not even close. He can be considered a friend, but he’s mostly Cal’s friend.”
Damien watched on amusingly as she went on a Cal-like rant about how they met.
‘At least she considers me a friend, sort of.’
He listened patiently to every single detail with great interest. By the end of the rant her father appeared to be in the know of how they were connected.
“I understand now, Yuki, so don’t worry. I won’t get the wrong idea anymore. Although it’s still a great development to see you have made your first friend. This is cause for a celebration!”
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Yuki’s face was flushed as she downplayed her father’s emotions. She did not see it as such a big deal and wished to not have anything done. He could only give in seeing that she was very adamant about her stance and pouted his way over to Damien.
“I am Lazarus Ikuy Azurith, it is a pleasure to meet a friend of my children.”
“I am Damien, and the pleasure is all mine, sir. Cal and Yuki have been of great help to me.”
Damien bowed with the utmost respect. His body was stiff and he felt quite nervous to be talking to someone so almighty.
“There’s no need to be so formal here. A friend of theirs is a friend of mine! Anyways I should thank you, Damien, for being a friend to my Yuki and Cal. I know it must be tough sometimes but please bear with it. They are definitely good-hearted kids.”
He laughed once more as he sat down on a seat. He motioned for everyone else to do the same. He began to serve drinks and placed them on the table. Yuki and Cal just stood there staring at their father rather than sitting down.
They both had their arms crossed with annoyance. Lazarus did not seem to understand their intentions. Yuki had enough so she stomped her foot in irritation.
“Dad, you still haven’t apologized to Damien for how you first treated him!”
Lazarus appeared to be enlightened while he pounded his fist into his open palm. He rapidly stood up moving his seat a few feet back. He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment while having a wry smile.
“Right! I’m truly sorry for my past actions, Damien. I might have gone a bit overboard on my entrance, but it was because I was antsy with anticipation! I had already noticed your presence before any of you set foot in my estate and I was overfilled with excitement. Since this was the first time these kids brought anyone to me I wanted to put on a grand, dramatic display! I meant no harm, you understand right?”
‘Just say you wanted to show off that their father was immensely powerful!’
“There is no need to apologize. I know you had everything under control. Plus I was also provoking you into the challenge.”
Damien dared not to put any airs in his response and simply wanted to move away from that topic. Even so his attempts to diverge the topic had failed.
“Yes, that reminds me now. I felt that little staring game had ended too early. If not, I believe you would have definitely surprised me.”
Damien could only smile in response as Lazarus sat back down. Yuki and Cal were satisfied with his apology so they followed suit as well. Yuki decided to sit on her father’s lap as if it was her natural seat. Once Damien saw them both closely together he realized she just looked like a miniature feminine version of her father.
Cal took a seat beside Lazarus making all three of them face Damien directly. They seemed to be in their own world while Damien took sips of the tea he provided. He couldn’t help but notice that it was a brew of extraordinary nature. It immediately relaxed his body with a soothing force.
‘That’s a dragon for you. According to records they are notoriously wealthy and are very picky about quality.’
For the most part Cal and Yuki were talking about their experiences and feelings about the academy. The moment they brought up that Wexley was one of their professors the entire cavern froze over. No sound was made as the temperature reached freezing temperatures. From Damien’s view Lazarus’ appearance became demonic. Icy mist covered his body leaving only his red set of eyes gleaming through.
Lazarus only lost himself for a few moments before he composed himself. Everything returned to normal in a split second as if it never happened. Damien felt true fear for the first time and it was nothing compared to when he entered. There was real bloodlust that emitted from his body that threatened to freeze over even hell's inferno.
‘I thought it was the end for a second.’
Everyone present was frightened of the events that just occurred. Lazarus immediately knew he made a horrible mistake. He got up and took a few steps back. He got down on one of his knees and bowed his head profoundly.
“That was unforgivable of me. I hope you can forgive me Damien, and my children. Emotions are a powerful manipulator of your actions and I let them take control. Even just a second is too dangerous and can lead to unspeakable consequences. You can say I have a grudge with Wexley, but that shouldn’t have led to my actions.”
Cal walked up to him and with a hand of support. Yuki followed suit and helped their father up to his feet. Damien could only accept he wasn’t actually injured so he could move on.
‘That’s why Yuki always seems to be in a bad mood whenever Professor Cloudshade is in her presence. I don’t want to pry into their situation any further.’
Damien decided to join them as well as it appeared they were waiting for him to respond.
“It’s okay, sir. No one was hurt, plus anyone can tell you care about your family. They’re lucky to have someone like you.”
Lazarus was moved to tears by Damien’s words. He was a man who cared dearly for his family and even with his bad side shown today, he was given the best compliment he could hear. Lazarus grabbed hold of Damien’s hand and brought him into an embrace.
“Come here child. You kind words are wasted on an old man like me… thank you.”
While he hugged Damien he stealthily injected his mana through his body. It allowed him to scan every inch of his body inside and out. He evaluated the condition of his meridians along with his inner core. He was surprised at what he found since it was not something he recognized. He felt a minuscule sense of fear from something that has not even matured to a fraction of its potential. Lazarus was as intrigued by his core so he decided to inspect it further. He pried a little bit deeper and discovered a dark, terrifying existence. It was something so vile it made him inwardly shudder with fear. Before he could continue to analyze the existence, a bright white flame enveloped his mana and burnt it to nothing.
On the outside he showed no reaction to the events that unfolded. He let go of Damien and proceeded to act normal.
“Now my children, how about you tell me why you are really here.”