“Are you ready?”
Kael questioned with a light smile on his face.
“Cirri is… crying…”
Igni muttered in a weak tone.
Clearly, the Dragon didn’t like this.
“Don’t worry, we will win this time.”
Kael nodded confidently.
Yes, Cirri crying in the Sanctuary made his heart tremble, but he had no other option.
The little Dragon wanted to come out here; that absolutely couldn’t be allowed.
‘Yes, Kael, do not give in. No matter how much they cry, you need to be tough.
This is what they call tough love.’
He convinced himself as he nodded continuously. Then, once again, he stared at Igni hovering in the air in front of him and questioned,
“Are you ready?”
“Yes, Father.”
Igni nodded, his eyes that were filled with worry becoming determined as he flew behind Kael, grabbed the rope Kael was tied to using his mouth, and lifted him into the air.
“Are you alright?”
Kael questioned as he glanced at Igni.
The Dragon nodded as he started flying forward without much trouble. With his strength, lifting Kael wasn’t exactly difficult, and it wasn’t like this was the first time he was doing this.
Fwoosh
As Kael and Igni flew away, the ground beneath them was consumed by flames.
Indeed, they were back.
The Infernal Crucible.
And this time, they weren’t planning on returning without a victory.
‘As they say, third time’s a charm.’
Kael smiled confidently as he looked ahead.
Igni wasn’t flying too high in the air. Kael’s legs were only two meters above the ground—a level where he wouldn’t be hurt even if Igni dropped him and… a level where they wouldn’t miss those wolves either.
After all, they were an important part of Kael’s strategy.
Of course, Igni already knew the strategy beforehand, so the Dragon wouldn’t be making any mistakes either.
The father-son duo flew in the air as they moved toward that giant volcano.
“Grrr…”
Soon, the wolves appeared in front of them.
“Igni.”
Kael called out with a determined look on his face, and Igni moved up. Now, Kael’s legs were five meters above the ground.
It was a height where only the wolves’ flames could still reach him.
Or at least, that was what Kael had calculated, but…
“IGNI!”
Kael shouted as suddenly—
“Grrr!”
One of the wolves jumped at him, reaching for his legs.
With Kael’s strength, if they got closer, he would be helpless. Not that Kael had anything to worry about.
He was in safe hands.
Igni moved up, dodging the wolf.
“How the hell did I not consider them jumping up!? What the fuck is wrong with me!?”
He shouted out loud as he tried to calm his nerves.
“Grr…”
The wolf that was about to reach him but couldn’t, glared at him.
Three more wolves jumped at him, and as if that wasn’t enough—
Fwoosh
The rest of them spewed flames, aiming at him without worrying about the wolves that would be caught in the fire because of their attacks.
“Fuck their fire immunity!”
Kael cursed.
In his heart, however, he trusted Igni.
The Dragon didn’t let him down either. He was much faster and more agile than these wolves. Their jumping or spitting flames at them couldn’t hurt Kael no matter how hard they tried.
Honestly, this all wouldn’t even matter if Igni simply flew away. With his speed, the wolves would never catch up.
But…
Kael wanted the wolves to follow them, so Igni had to purposefully slow down as he dodged their relentless attacks.
“Aaaahhh!!”
“Ooh my god!”
“Holy fuckkk!”
“I won’t die here! I won’t die her—Aaaahhh!!”
Of course, for Kael, it was a completely different experience.
Yes, this wasn’t the first time he was flying in the air, and his time with Echo had pretty much settled his fear of heights.
Right now, however, he wasn’t flying.
He was hanging.
Hanging dangerously close to his death.
Unlike the time with Echo, where his body was completely stable in the air and wouldn’t fall no matter what he did, right now, he was swinging left and right, moving much more than necessary because of the momentum.
The wolves’ constant attacks didn’t make this any easier.
More than once, the flames had stuck to his pants, and he had to rub them away. Yes, even with Igni’s reflexes, Kael couldn’t come out completely unharmed.
Of course, Kael didn’t blame Igni.
After all, the Dragon didn’t just have to take care of the wolves and their flames; he also needed to factor in the momentum and how Kael would move every time he did. It was much more difficult than simply flying in the air and dodging the attacks aimed at him.
Not to mention, Kael’s body was constantly blocking his vision. The very fact that Kael still wasn’t hurt after all this showed just how absurdly broken the Dragon was.
“GRRRR!”
“Aaaaaaaaahh!! Fuck you too!”
And this was what made things even more difficult for Kael.
He didn’t think he would ever say it, but he really was missing his time with Echo.
“Fuck yo—Aaaahhh!!”
Then suddenly, Kael’s body moved with even stronger momentum as he rose into the air, circled around, and…
Fell on top of Igni’s small back.
It was very awkward, considering his body was bigger than Igni’s. The Dragon could barely flap his wings because of him, but the Dragon was so strong that it didn’t matter.
He was still flying.
Rather, it was much more comfortable than carrying Kael.
After all, his father was much safer this way.
And…
“I can carry you too, Father…”
Igni spoke in a low voice.
Yes, the little Dragon was jealous.
“Huh…?”
Kael blinked in surprise.
Soon, however, the realization sank in.
The Dragon could sense his feelings.
‘Fuck.’
He cursed inwardly as he quickly patted Igni’s head.
“Of course, I know that, you adorable little thing.
I know you are the very best.”
He spoke in a voice as gentle as it could be.
He then gently kissed the Dragon’s head and—
“But the problem is that…
You are too good.”
He spoke as he pointed at the wolves below.
Some of them had already stopped following them.