Six days ago.

"How is the new magic diamond doing?" Sel asked Torin.

Torin cast a minor spell of cleaning and drying on his wet black and gold robes. He had just returned from the waterfall where they had set up a new magic diamond. "It's been secured. I checked and it is enhancing the river as intended. A few more weeks and the monster activity will more than triple by the time our monster king grows up."

Sel smiled, doing a little twirl, robes fluttering under the light of the moon. Behind her, there was a rustle of leaves as her third companion made his way towards them. "How are our escorts doing?"

"As always, a little of the Enthrallment Potion on their food and they are ready to follow our orders," Bart said, a smug smile forming on their lips.

"Great! Then we can proceed."

With another twirl, she moved deeper into the forest, the other two following close behind. At a certain point, she felt herself pass through a soft curtain. When she did, a different sight from the constant green and blue trees caught her eye.

In the clearing, a large red magic circle was carved on the ground, covered in various runes filling the spaces. All over the circle, were bodies of beasts and monsters alike. Most of the bodies were nothing but bone and skin, while the rest were slowly losing their shapes. Sel could see how the magic circle drained the blood and flesh and turned it into the red energy that made the circle glow.

It was beautiful. Sel let out a sigh of pleasure at the center of the magic circle.

An unconscious wolf cub lay at the center, absorbing the red energy. Except it was not a wolf cub.

It was an Amaroka. Special spirits that served as the guardians of the Azureleaf Forest. It had the power to befriend all creatures of the forest and was known to mediate conflict with each other. It had no physical body was incredibly elusive, and had never been caught by anyone but Valtarion, the dragon that ruled the North more than 500 years ago.

With information from Master Shadow and a concoction from Master Alchemist, they were able to catch a young Amaroka. They planned to use it to create a Monster King that could control hordes and hordes of monsters that could be used to destroy countries if they so wished.

But the Amarok was a spirit, and mind control did not work on spirit creatures. They needed to give it a physical body, and that was the purpose of the magic circle. Using the blood of monsters for the past year, they were able to create a weak half-physical and half-spirit body.

Now, they only needed two more ingredients. The refined flesh and blood of at least 20 humans and dragon blood.

They already had three drops of dragon blood. In a few days, the monster subjugation team of the Ember Order would be arriving. According to their information, they were composed of one Guardian Level Aura user, 10 warriors, and at least 15 Adept Level. Their flesh and blood would especially be refined by their aura and would make wonderful ingredients for their little Amaroka.

"Has the trap been set?" Sel asked Bart.

The man gave a smug smile. "Who do you think I am? In six days, there will be enough stealth-inclined monsters at their usual resting spot. Our baby Amaroka will be drowning in their blood soon enough."

Sel could not help but let out a joyful laugh. "Praise the Apex."

"May he conquer all," Torin and Bart said in unison.

------

Six days passed, and the day finally came. Under the moonlight, Sel happily twirled and danced atop the magic circle, weaving through the dead and dying bodies. The baby Amaroka was slowly getting more corporeal, losing its spirit form little by little.

"You're so beautiful, my baby," she said to it. She stroked its head and was met with the softest fur she had ever felt. "After tonight, you're going to be the strongest in these lands. Nothing will get in your way while you grow up to meet your destiny."

She knelt in front of the pillar where the Amarok lay, waiting patiently for the aura-refined blood that would soon arrive. How she wished she had been there to see the chaos and screaming among the Ember Knights as a pack of black mountain lions tore them all apart. But she had to stay here and complete the ritual. She should have asked Bart to have a recording of the entire thing so she could watch it later.

As she waited, she decided to sing a little song for the little one, hoping to make it more at peace than she already was. The little creature squirmed in its sleep. Sel smiled, happy that the baby was responding to her voice. She continued to sing more songs, getting the Amaroka to respond more.

Lost in her little world, she did not realize how much time had passed. When she realized, she scrambled for her clock and found that it had been 15 minutes. The magic circle in their trap should have started feeding blood and flesh to the magic circle at her feet. Why was there a delay?

She reached for the communication disk in her pack and connected to Bart. The device remained white and did not turn into a green caller. Bart did not answer. Sel furrowed her brows, unease growing in her chest. Tapping on the buttons, she decided to contact Torin. No one answered.

She tried again and again. It was not until the sixth attempt that the device turned green and she heard Torin's voice and saw his face. His entire form was covered in blood.

"Torin, what in the Gods and Fairies above is going on?"

"Run...Sel.... Take the Amarok..."Torin cut her off. His voice sounded weak, breathless, and in pain. "They found out...Valtoria—"

A curdling scream of pain left Torin, the device falling from his hand. All Sel could see was the canopy of the forest trees illuminated by some kind of blue light. From the edge of the screen, she could see that the light was coming from some kind of...flame.

"The Valtoria...Blue...Dragon Flame," she said. Before she could move from her spot, a new voice came from the disk.

"I'm glad you know of my family," said a deep voice. It was cold, with a hint of malevolence and anger bleeding into it. "Which is why I wonder what gave you the audacity to mess with our land and people."

She remained silent. Stories of the Valtoria Family fleeted past her mind as she gathered the courage to move. Blue flames meant the strongest Dragon Flame, which had only appeared in two members of the family for the last 500 years. Both were the strongest beings during their respective periods.

If she got caught, it would be her demise. The plans they had here would be put in disarray. How dare she ruin the grand scheme of Master Alchemist.

"Why are you not speaking, rat?" continued the voice. "Well, it does not matter. You'll be speaking soon enough."

The view on the disk moved like someone had picked it up. She caught sight of red and black scaled armor before it gradually revealed the face of the voice she was talking to. "Run, little rat. Make it fun for me."

Bright blue irises. Vertical pupils.

She screamed, throwing the disk across the clearing. It hit a rock, shattering into hundreds of pieces. A second later, she realized what she had done. It was her only device and she should have used it to contact her superior and inform them of the situation. She cursed herself before turning back to the baby Amarok.

Its physical body was nearly complete. The refined blood of aura users would have strengthened its body without any training required, but now she would have to raise it in the old way and wait for it to grow into its own strength.

To do that, she could not run immediately. She had to skip the aura of refined blood and flesh and just use the final ingredient. The red magic circle was necessary to complete the step so she could not leave. It would take at least 15 minutes for Valtoria to arrive from the ambush spot so she had enough time. She clicked her teeth and pulled something from her pouch. For the Apex.

A magic vial giving off an ethereal glow appeared. It was the length of her palm and inside of it was a small amount of red liquid. Three drops of Dragon Blood. That was all they had left after refining the blood of the Valtoria's bastard child.

Without hesitation, she opened the stopper. An intense aura assaulted her senses, but she managed to collect herself using a magic protection spell she was taught to use for this occasion. However, the moment she calmed herself, she shivered.

She felt like the gaze of a great beast had fallen on her. It was then she remembered the one instruction when using Dragon Blood.

Never open it near a Valtoria.

How was she supposed to know what constituted "near?" Nobody told her that a Valtoria's senses could reach this kind of distance.

Without hesitation, she directly dumped the dragon blood on the Amaroka. The magic circle glowed a brighter, more ominous crimson, assisting in the process of integrating the dragon blood. A keen of pain came from the creature, but she ignored it. The warmth and care she had for it earlier had disappeared.

"You're nothing but a failure now," she said. "But I'm sure we can use you as food for your future sibling."

The Amarok's keens and whimpers grew louder, its body soon thrashing on the platform where it lay. The sound was quite pleasant and music to her ears.

For a moment, she lost herself in the sound of the creature's pain and misery. At least until a great force shook the earth beneath her. She wondered if it was an earthquake of all things when she felt someone at the edge of her Wall of Illusion.

A magic circle appeared on her chest before it shattered into pieces. Screams of pain left her as the spell broke, causing her to fall face down. She clawed at the ground, trying to get back to her knees, but the backlash proved to be a challenge.

Sel was an Advanced-level Mage. She was so close to reaching the Sorcerer Level, an equivalent of a Guardian Level Aura user. Only someone of that level or higher could forcibly break her Wall of Illusion.

"How did they get here so fast? I should have had at least...ten more minutes," she mumbled. Even with her state of confusion, she forced herself to her feet and grabbed the Amarok. It was still keening and squirming in pain, so she cast a silence and binding spell.

It caused the mana vessel in her chest to ache. She should not be casting a single spell after a big backlash, but she needed the Amarok to be quiet. Two more spells were cast on herself, turning her invisible and hiding her tracks and scent. She hoped that it was enough to escape a Valtoria's senses.

With that, she ran into the woods, in the direction of the magic diamond. She had to retrieve it at all cost or the existence of the new magic material would be exposed. It took her a few minutes more minutes to arrive at the small waterfall where they placed the diamond. A sigh of relief escaped her when she found it still in place.

It lay secured on a stone at the bottom of the waterfall, surrounded by a small pool of water. Like magic stones, the diamond had the beautiful multicolored glow of mana deep inside. However, unlike magic stones, the mana inside the magic diamond was purer and more potent than anything.

She was about to step into the shallow water when a glint of metal came from her left. With a cry, she forced a barrier spell and blocked the attack. She staggered to the side as the sword bounced and shattered her barrier.

Her attacker did not stop and swung the sword at her head. With a swipe of her hand, a blade of wind flew. The attacker twisted his body, the blade of wind missing and tearing through a few trees before stopping.

"Enough," a voice ordered. It sounded similar to the voice she heard through the disk.

Her attacker, an Ember Knight clad in red and grey steel armor, moved back at the order. He kept his sword out, ready to aim for her life at any time.

Slowly, her gaze went to the man stepping out from the shadows. Black and red draconic armor hugging a tall and muscular body. Short red hair that swayed lightly with the winter wind. Blue eyes with vertical pupils glowing eerily under the moonlight.

Shit! Shit! Shit!

If earlier the gaze through the disk was cold and distant, this time she could see great anger burning in their depths. She wondered at the sudden change before she noticed how he looked at the Amaroka in her arms.

"Where did a rat like you get dragon blood?" his deep and cold voice caused her to shudder. His eyes met hers and against her will, she began to kneel on the ground. She was unable to move or cast another spell under his cold and furious gaze.

Still, she kept her mouth shut.

The Valtoria moved closer, feet moving slowly and languidly, similar to the predators hunting in this forest. But unlike those monsters, she trembled in terror as he approached.

"Answer me."

Sel shook her head. Even if she wanted to speak, the chains around her soul would tug and constrict around her, causing pain. "I...am...unable to. I...soul bound...." She stammered out. "Mercy...great Duke. Mercy, please...I was only following—"

"Soul bound? So if I get rid of the binding, you'll talk?" Valtoria said. As he said so, he removed one gauntlet and the glove beneath. "Kaelan, take the Amaroka."

The knight moved and took the baby Amaroka from her, cradling it like it was the most precious thing in the world. In a way, it was. The pact made between Valtarion and the Amarokas included protection and safety given to each other's descendants. Another reason why the Valtoria in front of her was furious.

The Valtoria reached out, running a hand covered in blue flames over the spells on the Amaroka's body. Sel cried out as the broken spells damaged her mana vessel further. Blood started to gather in her throat.

Before she could beg for mercy once more, a bare large hand clamped down hard on her head. Instead of blue, white flames erupted from the hand. She flinched, expecting the burn on her head but it did not come. For a moment, she did not feel any pain.

Until she felt something nudge the chains around her soul.

A curdling scream of pain left her, causing the knight to move back. A moment later, she lost all her senses as she felt nothing but pain from the white flame burning the soul chains. The flame did not care about damaging her own soul in the process, only causing the pain to grow.

She did not know how long she was engulfed in that pain. To her, it felt like decades had passed and she so wanted to pass out...or better yet just die.

A gasp escaped her lips as the white flames disappeared from her soul. Her mind returned to reality, her body lying and twitching on her side. She was unharmed physically, but she could feel the injuries in her soul. The feeling was even worse than being soul-bound.

The same hand grabbed her hair and pulled her head. She was forced to look into the Dragon Eyes once more. This time, she was ready to beg for death. She did not want to experience the pain in her soul once more.

"Answer me."

So she did.

"The dragon blood was...refined from...the illegitimate Valtoria child's blood."

The cold air of the snowy Azureleaf Forest heated at her words.

The Valtoria opened his mouth, an unfamiliar language spewing from his mouth. She did not need to understand to know that they were curses, anger flowing into every syllable he spoke. He took a deep breath and switched back to the common tongue.

"I'm guessing Marquis Thalorin gave my little hatchling's blood to you?" he said. "How did he get it?"

"I...I heard that he ordered...Count Veleta to collect the blood."

Instead of the unfamiliar angry curse words, a laugh started to from the Valtoria's chest. It chilled her all the way to her injured soul.

When he finished laughing, he looked back down and met her eyes. There was a dangerous smirk on his lips that was slowly forming into a savage grin.

"I've already incinerated the souls of your two companions," he said. Her eyes widened. "But, I'll spare you from the long and agonizing pain of that kind of death. Instead, I will let you pass a message to the owner of your soul."

"Y-You'll spare me?"

There was now a full-on grin on his face. "I only burned the chains that kept you from talking. I left the one connected to your owner intact," he said. "That way, when you die, your soul will go back to them along with my message. Be glad that you'll at least be useful in your last moments."

Before she could protest his hand went back to clamping on her face. She did not even get to scream before blue flames engulfed her eyes, and darkness embraced her soon after.

------

Far away, inside a mountain, a woman carefully added two drops of purple liquid to the bubbling concoction in front of her. As she was about to add the last drop, a sharp pain came through her soul. It caused her to squeeze the pipette hard, adding two instead of one drop into the liquid. Almost immediately, there was a puff of smoke as the concoction stopped bubbling and turned from white to gray.

Normally, she would be furious at the failure of such an important potion. But her mind was too busy reading the soul that came back to her, or specifically the message that came with it.

Blue flames appeared in her mind. In the midst of these flames, two eyes slowly opened. Sky-blue irises, slit pupils. They burned with utter fury and disdain. It left her immobile in front of her laboratory table.

"Stay out of the North," a deep voice echoed in her head. "Or I'll feed your souls to the Eternal Dragon Flame."

The image disappeared, leaving the weak soul of one of her subordinates. It was so weak that it was nothing more than a mote of dust. With the clench of a mental hand, what little of it was left was absorbed into her soul.

With a sigh, she leaned against her laboratory table for a moment. A minute later, she reached for the communication disk in her pocket. Pushing a few buttons, she eventually managed to connect the call.

"Pull out from the North," she said. "We'll leave it alone...for now."

------

Roran is the most dramatic character I've ever written, aside from Solana and Gael from my other story.

Roran: I refuse the Villain route.

Also Roran: I refuse the Villain route for the main story...the enemies are fair game.