Alex and Harper were talking in the lone spot about the incident regarding the dragon’s egg and its parent. Alex told Harper what happened there and that he wasn’t exactly in control.

After hearing Alex's actions, Harper began to look at why his friend was engaging in those aggressive actions without control.

Firstly, he asked Alex about his feelings when those thoughts consumed him. It had happened twice already; probably a third time would come soon if they did not discover the reasons behind it.

Based on what Alex said, when he faces certain opponents, like the dragon and the Germanium marines, it feels like he has known them for centuries and has nurtured hatred towards them all that time.

He didn’t even know them; there’s no way he had that much hate, Harper thought.

“Let’s see if I got it correctly, you face an enemy, clearly an enemy as far as we know; you don’t even know him, but you feel a lifelong hatred towards him.”

Harper asked.

“As far as I know, yes.”

“Hmm… That’s troublesome, surely. Maybe there’s a simple reason behind it, but I doubt it.

“Well… Next time it happens, I will try to focus on it and get the root cause behind the hate attacks. Let’s pray it will never happen again, and those two cases are isolated events.”

“Yeah… Should we ask Comoron about it? Maybe he does have a clue about what is happening.”

“If it happens a third time, we will. Right now, Comoron almost had a heart attack hearing of the egg; let’s give him a break.”

Alex said it, but deeply, the only thing he wanted was to keep this issue far from the others.

“Well… I know you better than anyone, Alex. I understand what you intended by saying it. A third time, uh... Let’s pray it doesn’t happen.”

As Harper said it, Alex thought about what he would do with his new... companion.

After an awkward silence, both agreed to leave the talking spot and entered the base again.

Inside the base, Alex entered the main hall. As for Harper, he went back to Earth.

There was so much going on that Harper thought it might be good to have a break.

As Alex entered the Main Hall, Comoron and Michael tried to calm the small dragon, but it spit in their faces every time they did something.

They were almost giving up and putting the small dragon in a cell when Alex finally came.

The small dragon jumped straight into Alex's arms; it missed him.

“I’ve never thought I would have a kid this soon... It is hard to believe this little dragon has an intelligence comparable to ours.”

Alex said.

“Well… You better not underestimate dragons; they are troublesome beings.

Comoron said.

“It almost looks like you know them.”

“I had trouble with dragons in the past... I do not like to remember it.”

“Well… If this little one is as smart as you say, rest assured. I will train it to be like us, civilized.”

As Alex said it, Comoron was remembering the past he had with them.

It happened a few years ago. Comoron was still a noble from the kingdom. He was sent to investigate a small village that was being attacked. That place was close to the Demon Forest, south of it more specifically. He met the village representative and his family. That guy was young compared to other village representatives, but it didn’t mean anything; the guy was far more competent than many of them.

The village was going superbly well. Its population doubled in the last three months, and the place’s economy was fast developing. Everything was going so well that nothing could go wrong... That thought remained until a dragon came to their village and started to destroy everything.

The dragon was seeking their resources, such as gold, silver, and gems. Unlike normal monsters, the dragons are known for their greed. Selfishness by nature, that dragon started to kill random people each day. Everyone who tried to escape fell to the dragon. As the village hadn’t contacted anyone for 2 weeks, the kingdom sent Comoron to investigate the matter, as they were almost becoming a major supply hub to troops meant to enter the demon forest and explore it.

What Comoron saw there was a scene of pure despair and hopelessness. People starving due to the dragon’s fire breath burning down the crops, severed people everywhere; the so-called genius village representative was the only piece maintaining the place still bearable, if they could say it was.

Comoron was left speechless. The kingdom couldn’t comprehend dragons; they were savage animals, but they could escape traps almost as if they knew they and effortlessly avoided them. If what was happening here was made by an intelligent being, the only word capable of describing it would be genocide. The dragon was systematically killing the villagers, one by one.

Anger was rising in him.

At a rapid pace...

He was sent to the mission because of his magical storage skills, something only a few could master. His space was full of food, weapons, and technical knowledge to help the villagers reconstruct if something had happened.

After reaching the place, the village representative welcomed him and his aid. The representative showed Comoron his child, wife, and house. They had built it by themselves, and they were respected for it. Comoron especially liked talking with the child, as becoming a mage was the little boy's dream.

Three days after entering the village, Comoron was resting inside the representative’s house when the bell rang. He knew very well what it meant: The dragon came back.

After fighting the dragon, they barely damaged it but left it angry.

Everyone felt the wrath there. It wasn’t something natural. The hate inserted in it left everyone trembling.

The representative’s son was also trembling; his father was hugging him to protect him. Comoron fought the dragon. He looked eye to eye with the evil being, and what he saw there was joy.

Comoron could not think of anything else but hatred towards the dragon. Just because he was stronger than most, it didn’t mean that he could kill innocent people. He wanted to see the dragon and his kin, feeling what they made the humans experience.

The dragon saw the village representative protecting his son, and almost laughing, the dragon severed the representative’s left eye and right arm. The representative was dying, but the dragon cast a cure spell on him. The representative’s eye and arm weren’t cured completely, but at an acceptable state, he wouldn’t die, just not yet.

When Comoron saw the scene, he couldn’t imagine why it happened, but soon he realized.

The little boy was left defenseless; the dragon looked at him and killed him without mercy in front of his father. The dragon also ate the boy’s body as a way to show he was superior to the foolish humans trying to kill him.

The dragon defeated the resistance as they were nothing but mere flies, and he left.

Comoron looked at the village representative; he was in horror. Comoron cast a complete cure spell on him in silence. He left the village and told the king what had happened.

Nothing happened. The dragon was a superior being; they could never match. Comoron complied at some point because he also thought in such a way. He placed the fault on the villagers for building their village a place that would suffer from dragons; on himself for not taking them away from there; in everything but the dragon. He couldn’t place the fault on something he couldn’t do anything against.

Comoron could not do anything; he could not do it now either.

After remembering the past, Comoron seemed down. His expression was cold; Alex was talking to him, but his words passed from one ear to another without being processed.

Alex waved his hands in Comoron's eyes, trying to catch his attention. After 2 or 3 seconds, it worked.

“Finally! I thought you slept with eyes open.”

Alex said.

“Oh, sorry. I remembered something.”

“Well, want to talk about it?”

“Michael said the same thing; I declined. Unfortunately, it isn’t something I can tell; even I don’t want to remember it.”

“It has something to do with the dragon, right?”

“Yeah…”

“I understand… Don’t worry, there are things we don’t want others to know about us.

Alex remembered the hate attacks. He decided to call it berserk mode.

“Feel free to talk to me about it at any moment.”

Alex said after a long pause.

“Thanks, buddy.”

Comoron thanked Alex.

After that, Alex opened a portal to his home. The little dragon was in his arms.

…

...

Alex entered his basement; it seemed like a long time, but the last time he was there was a week ago.

The little dragon continued in Alex’s arms. She was feeling awe; the Earth’s atmosphere was different from the Diretorium’s, and for the first time in her life, the little dragon felt ease in the air. The place of her birth, the Demon Forest, was full of thick mana, making it hard to breathe, and the Diretorium’s atmosphere was so polluted that the Dragon instantly disliked it.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Alex went up the stairs, and as he opened the door, he shouted, asking for Alicia.

“Alicia, I’m home! I have news!”

After a few seconds of silence, Alicia came to the kitchen and answered.

“Good to see you, dear!”

She spoke.

“What kind of news do you hav-”

Alicia was interrupted by the surprising sight of the little dragon in Alex’s arms.

“Oh, you noticed her. We had problems in the Demon Forest, and I had to fight a dragon. After defeating it, I tried to destroy its egg; we couldn’t have a fatherless dragon, right? The only issue was... Instead of destroying it, I had given it enough power to rise, and now she considers me her father.”

“Oh fuck… After years with you, I never thought you would impress me again, but here we are.

“You disliked the news? We have our first child finally!”

“Isn’t she an animal? Like dogs or cats? Who will wipe the pee?”

“Honey, you are mistaken... She is not an animal. She is intelligent, capable of complex tasks, and understanding, just like us. As far as I know, she can even turn into a human form and talk, like us.”

“Oh… That’s something! But we never thought of adopting a child, did we? As far as I know, you wanted a child of your own; what changed?”

“Nothing. I imbued magical power into the egg, and she recognized me as her father. I don’t think you can sense magical powers yet, but I can clearly tell that she’s mine.”

“And what about me? Would she recognize me as her mother?”

“She will. We will make it work, I promise.”

“I will trust you. By the way, what’s her name?”

“I hadn’t thought about it yet... I wanted to see you first.”

“Oh dear… Hadn’t we agreed that if we had a daughter, you would name it, and I would name an eventual son?”

“Yeah, but that time we hadn’t a kid to name, but now we do.”

“She’s yours; you name it.”

“She’s also yours, honey.”

“I will treat her like my own child, I promise. But you will name her.”

Alicia said it. Little did Alex know that she hadn’t thought of any name yet; she just wanted him to name the kid so she could be seen as a cool woman by Alex for letting him choose the name.

“In this case... This dragon is red, white, and blue, like our country. Her magical power is white, like mine. I will name her Luna Independence. Luna Independence Argento shall be her name from now on!”

As Alex said it, his coat of arms ignited, recognizing Luna as Alex’s heir. She will be the princess of Alex’s kingdom, and everything Alex has will be hers.

The coat of arms contained all the shared knowledge, including magical manipulation, a list of magical spells, Alex shared spatial storage, and every function the coat of arms had, including the most important one for her at that moment, language knowledge. Now, Luna was fluent in languages, such as English, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Asmerian, Germanium, the Kingdom Standard Language, the Dragon’s language, and tons of other languages that Alex, Michael, Harper, Emily, and Comoron had added to the coat.

The coat of arms also contained Alex’s DNA. Luna recognized that Alex and the woman named Alicia were married, so she took one of Alicia’s hairs, taking her DNA from there. She created a female gamete using Alicia’s DNA, and with Alex’s DNA, she did the same, but now for a male gamete containing the X chromosome. She united both gametes, forming an egg. Luna injected the egg into her own body, turning her dragon form into a human one. Alex saw Luna’s human form, and seeing it, he suddenly remembered something from a not-so-distant past.

Luna’s appearance reminded Alex of the girl he saw at the party before gaining his powers. He had trouble remembering the girl because he was drunk and almost forgot what had happened there, but seeing Luna, he could remember it clearly.

“That form…”

Alex murmured.

“Father, this form is what I got after mixing your and my mother’s DNA.”

Luna said. Her voice was high, candy, and innocent. Alex instantly recognized that voice as his daughter.

“Oh… It is nothing; I loved your look. It just reminded me of someone I’ve met before.

“Probably it is someone from your family, father. Your DNA made at least 75% of this body.”

“That’s impossible; Alex was raised in an orphanage.”

Alicia said. Alex’s story isn’t the best, as his parents abandoned him in an orphanage. Luckily for him, the orphanage made him go to school, and there he met his friends: Harper, Michael, and Gustav.

“She’s right, Luna. I do not have a blood family to call my own. When I left the orphanage, I didn’t even have a family name; I was only known as ‘Alex’. As my teachers and colleagues started to interact with me, they said I was smart and sharp in my decisions. When I was 18, I left that place and started a military career. I had to choose a surname by that time, so I chose ‘Argent’ because people said I had some pedigree, even though I was parentless. It was probably because my grades were top.”

“Wow, I never knew that Father had such a story... What about mother?”

Being called “mother” made Alicia feel something she had never experienced before. It was something good, though.

“Well… I was raised in a Mexican family that moved to the US years ago. I met Alex in school, and after he entered the military, I waited for him, and here we are.”

“I have good parents, hehe.”

Luna was happy. She was barely 1 week old but was smart enough to comprehend things and talk to her parents. That girl had a bright future above her.

Alex, Alicia, and Luna were talking to each other until sunset, when Alex cooked a feast for them.

He cooked the dragon he had killed in the Demon Forest. After all, his meat was delicious. When he served it, both Luna and Alicia loved the taste, the seasonings, and how it mixed so well with the other foods Alex prepared.

They ate to their hearts’s content!

….

..

As the new family had their family moment, events on the Summerville base were developing without Alex’s presence.

Emily finished her work on Alex’s triphibic vehicle. It was heavily damaged, but she made it. Comoron also helped her by infusing magic power into the components, creating something far more efficient and deadly than it was previously. Alex’s vehicle was turning into something unprecedented. Both magical powers and technological expertise made the model the most amazing war machine they had ever seen until now.

Emily decided to name it Type Techno-Magical 01, or just TTM01. She had her boyish side when leading with this kind of thing. As for Comoron, he enjoyed the moment at Emily’s side. They were growing closer without noticing. After all the troublesome dragon situation, being at Emily’s side made Comoron relaxed.

“This vehicle will be enough to kill the Demon Lord, I guess.”

“He’s strong. Do not underestimate him.”

Comoron said.

“But our TTM1 is also strong!”

Emily said.

“It is. We will need at least 5 of them to defeat the Demon Lord. What Alex fought against was purely a dragon, one among many. The Demon Lord has far stronger subordinates in his domain, including the Dragon King, the most fearsome dragon out there.”

Comoron said, trembling. He remembered the dragon from that village.

“Comoron, do you have anything against dragons?”

“Obviously! There’s no way those creatures deserve to live!”

Comoron said. He was upset, clearly pissed off.

“Calm down; I will not hurt you. I am your friend, ain’t I?”

Emily, noticing Comoron's restlessness, used her methods to calm him down.

“Yeah… You are right... When it comes to dragons, I can’t control myself... I remember the past.”

“Mind telling me about it?”

Emily sat on the floor, gesturing with her hands, indicating that Comoron should join her. So, he did.

“It is a complicated story... I don’t even know where I start.”

“Don’t worry, go on, tell what your heart wants.”

“Thank you… It means a lot to me.”

Comoron trusted Emily enough to tell her about his dark past, something he did not want to remember.

He started from the king’s request, telling her about the village, the representative, his son, everything, including his weakness in leading with the situation.

“And then, I…. I WAS UNABLE TO DO ANYTHING! THAT DRAGON KILLED ALL OF THEM WITHOUT MERCY. I COULD NOT EVEN PUT MY BLAME ON IT, BECAUSE IT DID NOT MATTER!”

“CALM DOWN!”

Emily shouted. She could not let Comoron continue to blame himself for what happened. As far as she understood, it was the dragon’s fault, not his.

With Emily’s shout, Comoron looked at her surprised.

“It was not your fault! When will you realize that? I grew up in a country that oppressed people like me. I also thought in the same way as you, but soon I realized that I could do something! YOU CAN ALSO DO IT! Alex is a powerful being; with him, we can trace down this dragon and kill it the same way he killed all his victims. Even without his help, we will do it! Look at TTM1, we are an amazing duo! With or without his support, we will do it. Have you heard? WE WILL DO IT! Repeat with me: WE-WILL-DO-IT!”

Emily said. She was assertive, clearly trying to make Comoron feel better.

“We. Will. Make. It! These words aren’t special, but together, they mean a lot! You are right, Emily. We will do it!”

Comoron said. He still feared dragons, but now he was determined.

“That’s it! Every time you find yourself trembling towards something you cannot defeat, remember, I will be here for you, reminding you that you CAN do it, no matter what.”

Emily said. As she said it, Comoron hugged her. She did not know that moment, but this little chat made it clear in Comoron’s brain: He was in love with her, even if he hadn’t realized it yet.

Seeing Comoron, Emily also hugged him, and they were like that for more than 30 seconds.

While Emilly and Comoron were at their lovely moment, Michael was home with Jenifer.

They would marry soon, and Michael felt he couldn’t do it anymore, lying to his wife. He wanted to tell her everything—his powers, military doings, the whole secret. Before doing so, he would consult Alex; it was his secret after all.

“Jenny, what do you think about visiting Alex tomorrow? Should we pay them a visit?”

“Of course, I hadn’t met Alicia for more than 2 weeks. I can’t wait to get news from her!”

“Oh, my lady, you will be surprised.”

Michael thought.

“Alright, I’ll ask him if he’s available tomorrow.”

“Go for it!”

Michael called Alex.

“Hey, what's up, man?”

“Hey, bro. I’m fine, n’ you?”

“I’m also fine. I called you to ask if you are available tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I am. I decided to take a break from service. At least a month, get my triphibic fixed.”

“That’s great! Can I go to your home tomorrow?”

“I don’t think it will be a problem; you can come.”

“Thanks, man! Prepare me a good dinner, please.”

“Certainly! I will not disappoint you! Is 7:30 pm a good time?”

“Yes, it is.”

“I will be waiting for you then.”

Alex ended the call. If they continued, hours would have passed, and Alex wanted to enjoy time with his daughter.

What Michael hadn’t told Alex was that Jenifer was also coming. It was done on purpose, because seeing a dragon, they would have to tell Jenifer about the secrets, and he could not blame Michael for doing it.

….

..

It was already 7 p.m. Michael and Jennifer were ready for dinner. They got in the car, and Michael drove to Alex’s home. Jenifer was excited about reuniting with Alicia, but Michael was worried about the night—the calmness before the storm.

What he did wasn’t betray Alex but a clever way to enforce his point of view.

Little did Michael know, but he would also be surprised.

As the doorbell rang, Alex was already waiting for them. It was 7:25 pm; they had come 5 minutes in advance, something only responsible people could achieve.

“He’s here, honey.”

“Alright, I hope Michael likes your feast. By the way, what was that meat used for?”

“It is dragon meat. I took it from that dragon I had defeated.”

“Isn’t our daughter also a dragon!?”

“She is, but cannibalism does not work for her like it does for us. There is no problem if she eats another dragon, as her father is me, not that reptile anymore.”

“She knows it?”

“Probably. Well, I do not know what’s the best thing for her to eat, so I thought the dragon had all the necessary nutrients in him; it worked.”

Luna, hearing her parents's conversation, interrupted them:

“After injecting his magical power in me when I was an egg, Father turned me into something else, I guess. Rest assured, the meat was delicious, and I’m excited for more!”

Luna said something serious in an infantile tone. It was something only she could do...

“Well, let’s open the door to Michael.”

Alex said.

When he opened the door, he saw Michael and Jenifer as well.

“Welcome! It is not much, but I do hope you find the taste of my food palatable!”

Alex said. He looked at Michael as if he wanted to say something. Michael looked back, an almost wry chuckle on his face; he could barely hide his intentions.

“Oh, and I do have a surprise for you!”

Michael and Jenifer entered the dining room; there was Alicia and also a small girl. She was beautiful.

That little girl had blue eyes, like Alex. She also had white hair, remembering snow. Her nails had a red polish. Seeing her fully, it looked like this girl was an American flag.

“That’s our daughter, Luna!”

Alex pointed to her.

“Nice to meet you! I’m pleased to have your presence, Michael, and Jenifer.”

Luna said. It was displayed in an infantile tone, something suitable for her age, but the content was something only adults could think of.

“Nice to meet you, little girl. May I know your name?”

Jenifer asked. She was surprised by this girl's amazing linguistic skills.

“I’m Luna! Luna Independence Argent”

Luna proudly said.

“Oh, such a smart girl in such an age! I’m amazed to see someone like you!”

“Hehehe”

The girl chucked. Luna was smart but couldn’t hide her true emotions, just not yet.

“Your... Daughter, she’s amazing!”

Jenifer said.

“Yeah, I love her!”

Alicia said.

She, Luna, and Jenifer would talk in the dining room, while Michael and Alex would privately exchange some thoughts in a separate room. They said it was a small business talk of 15 minutes before they returned. Alicia understood what it meant, so she let them go for now.

As they entered the room, Alex asked:

“What’s the meaning of this?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“You know. You could barely hide your intentions... What I ask is: Why now? You could’ve done it at any moment by just asking me! Why did you try to let Jenifer see my draconic daughter without her knowing about our little secret?”

“Well… I’m going to marry her soon, so I thought it would be a good idea to”

“You could have just asked me about it instead of trying to get the best of me, couldn’t you?”

“Yeah… But then I remembered our time in school. I did this kind of thing frequently, and then I thought it would be a good idea to do it now. Don’t worry, I know you would agree.”

“Well, you are just like me! I would do the same, haha. I forgive you; don’t worry. Let’s tell your wife about everything. But at least ask me before doing something like this. I could have prepared something better.

“Well, that’s something I will remember.”

Alex and Michael went to the dining room, where the main dish was waiting for them.

“We have something to tell guys, especially you, Jennifer.”

Alex said.

“Let’s eat before entering in detail.”

Alicia said. She knew what was going on. They couldn’t hide it from her anymore.