“What’s with this cave? It’s getting darker and darker,” complained Rachel, while walking deeper into the dragon’s cave.

“It’s probably going to get lighter soon,” replied Siena.

The two girls were walking while trying to look for beautiful things worth taking a look at. Dragons are beings that loved treasure, so they thought there would be at least be something that had been worth ditching the group for.

Damon was frowning in the back as he followed the pair while hiding in the shadows cast by the walls. He noticed that it was definitely getting darker, just like Rachel had said, but he had no idea why. It had only been 10 minutes since leaving the two classes, but it was already so dim that one could barely see a few meters ahead of you. He just didn’t understand, the walls weren’t noticeably darker, they were emitting the same amount of light as before.

There must be a third party doing this. There is no other explanation.

It was a very clear opportunity that enemies could exploit to get at Damon or whoever they were targeting. Some students mysteriously wandered away from the group and were never seen again would probably be put on the headlines of a newspaper to describe what had happened. After all, no one would have any evidence.

This increased Damon’s sense of urgency. They had to meet back up with the others or else something bad could happen without anyone noticing. That time came faster than Damon had expected though.

***

“All units ready?” spoke a man cloaked in black into a mysterious device.

“Unit 1 Ready”

“Unit 2 Ready”

“Unit 3 Ready”

There were a total number of 3 units that were needed to carry out this mission, led by the man in black. They were situated in the shadows of a certain corridor located in the dragon’s cave, everyone was wearing dark clothes to blend in with the surroundings and were waiting for a signal. Soon enough, 2 students appeared within their eyesight while chattering and complaining about something. One had blonde hair and another had purple hair. They wore an uniform that belonged to The Royal Academy, just like what the description of their target had described.

This caused the units to ask their commander for the signal to attack.

“No, not yet. The descriptions don’t match. Wait, because Unit 1 had confirmed 3 students walking this way. The target was definitely one of them, so be patient,” ordered the commander while looking behind the girls in search of somebody else.

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Finally, a boy with silver hair arrived. He was attempting to hide in the shadows, but the man in black could clearly spot him. After all, he was an expert at trailing and becoming one with the shadows. The boy was looking around with a questioning expression. It seemed like he had noticed something wrong with his surroundings.

“Oh ho. He’s pretty good at detecting magic,” said the man while his eyes glistened with a murderous light. “All units, kidnap the boy in the back and bring him to me without letting the other two notice. Hurry up, because it seems like he has begun noticing the spell we cast on this area of the cave”

The moment he said that, the other men hiding in the dark sprang out with an assortment of equipment in hand. Unit 1 had to stay on the lookout in case there were witnesses, Unit 2 was in charge of subduing the boy, and Unit 3 was in charge of tying him up and bringing him to their boss. The plan had finally commenced.

***

Is this a magic spell? It sure seems like it because it’s definitely not a natural occurrence that’s causing this phenomenon.

Damon was observing the people in front of him, but his attention was more focused on the darkness. The further he walked, the more he seemed to detect something in the air. It seemed that that was the cause of the cave fading into blackness.

Damon’s as so lost in thought that he lost sight of Rachel and Siena. This immediately caused Damon to freak out. A shiver went down his spine as he looked around as if trying to find something.

Thank god, seems like Kelli was wro—

Out of nowhere, a gloved hand grabbed Damon’s mouth quite forcibly. Damon reacted quickly and tried to elbow his abductor. Unfortunately for him, he felt two more pairs of hands knock out his knees from under him and plant a hard grip around his hands.

BADUMP!

Damon fell to the floor with a grunt. Although he was pushed down, he wasn’t very injured, which caused him to get a vague idea of what the men were trying to accomplish.

Are they trying to kidnap me instead of kill me? I swear Kalli said they were after my life! Damn it, I gotta escape first!

He didn’t even spare the time to reminisce over the warning Kallu had gave him. Damon struggled against the hands pushing him against the ground, but he couldn’t even hinder them one bit. It seemed like another group of people had come, because a coil of rope was strapped around him, and a cloth was placed in his mouth. This completely immobilized him, he couldn’t even move a muscle even if he wanted to.

Damn it, is this how I die? I knew I shouldn’t have followed those bitches!!! Fuck this!!!

Damon started showing his bad side as he struggled against the kidnappers. His anger and distraction was boiling to new heights because of the hopelessness of the situation. More than 10 men against one teenage boy. What could he do?

As realization dawned upon him, he finally stopped his struggle, realizing it was futile. He had no control over the situation anymore, but then he realized something.

Wait, there’s still those bitches! Even though it pains me, they’re my only hope now!

As if reading his mind, one of the men lifting Damon up from the ground spoke.

“Don’t even think of asking for help. We made the necessary precautions to make sure no one would even be able to lift a finger.”

At this statement, Damon’s hopes plummeted down. He went limp in the men’s arms and let himself be carried away, but his will had not been broke yet.

I'll just wait for the perfect chance to escape! The moment their attentions change targets, I’ll sprint away as fast as possible! I’m at least co fixent in my physical ability.

Damon’s will had been broken down, but not been destroyed completely. He believed that someone would save him, he HAD to. If he didn’t, who knows what would happen to his mind.

While this all happened, his surroundings were brightening up bit by bit. After a few minutes of being carried, he was finally dropped onto the ground in a dimly lit room. The room wasn’t big, around the size of a medium sized bedroom. Damon was still tied up, so he couldn’t move around to examine the room even if he wanted to. The only thing he saw was a man cloaked in black clothing sitting on a wooden chair in front of him.

When Damon looked upon his face, his mind starting racing. He recognized his face, he had a vague memory of seeing it in a photo before. Damon only felt confusion, he didn’t know why someone he somewhat knew would try to kill him. Damon could barely utter out a demand for an explanation before his words were cut off by the man’s deep, baritone voice.

“Welcome back Damon, the last time I saw you was when you were a little baby. Time sure flies quickly, don’t you think?”