Due to the sudden drop of temperature, Lena breathed out cold air, the smokey puff visible in the air. Because of the blurriness caused by the condensed droplets formed on the glass window, it was hard for her to take in the view of the outside.

Heavy breaths of the boy made Lena glance at Leon. He was leaning against a sack of grains beside her. However, the swelling that had formed around the little cut on the Dragonesian's neck justified his deteriorated condition.

Lena gasped when she realized the cause. "Did her nails pierce you, right there, where the cut is present?"

Leon nodded while producing continuous groans, "Ugh. This pain is making me dizzy."

"Just hold on tight," Lena frantically looked around for something. Anything. A first-aid box, perhaps.

But what were the odds of finding something to treat Leon inside an old storage room?

In the spur of the moment, due to the impulse, Leon had managed to make a run and follow Lena to the storage room they were in. He hadn't realized that the infection was spreading till he had taken a position against the sack.

"You cannot possibly find a first-aid box here," Leon uttered in an attempt to sit up straight but failed eventually. His face scrunched up in pain when Lena pressed her fingers around the swollen area.

"It hurts," the Dragonesian grunted after he swatted the girl's hands away.

Lena looked at him apologetically, "Sorry, was just checking the swollen area. I'm not really an expert like Cynthia, but it is quite evident that the infection is spreading."

"Totally didn't know that," Leon deadpanned, "Just stop talking for a moment."

Lena motioned with her fingers as if she was zipping up her lips.

Leon had to make the girl stop talking, else he could burst out any moment. The excruciating pain wasn't helping either. And as a matter of fact, the Dragonesian boy hated being rude to someone unnecessarily. That also, when they were genuinely trying to be of help. Later, guilt would only be felt by the Dragonesian for behaving rudely with the girl once they were out of this mess.

Well, if he managed to survive in the first place.

Lena stood up from her sitting position to have a clearer look at the outside. She peeked through the blurry window and narrowed her eyes to catch even a glimpse of the Dragonesian woman. There was no one. Drizzling rain bathed the surface of the Earth, dripping down from the gathered dark clouds above. The tumultuous clouds indicated that a storm was soon going to take place. Meaning, they needed to get out of there before the storm crashed in.

Thump.

That was the sound of Lena's beating heart as she ducked her head and squatted down at the right moment. When the girl's eyes were previously scanning the area through the foggy glasses, a glowing midnight blue eye, larger than the storage room in all probability, had appeared. Lena's concerned eyes went over to Leon, who had managed to lie down completely, thanks to his instantaneous Dragonesian senses.

When it seemed that the Dragonesian woman had moved away from the storage room, Lena slowly but steadily crawled on her knees and claimed her previous position beside Leon. However, her eyes widened when the girl's elbow came in contact with the boy's forehead when she was trying to position herself in silence.

Leon was burning with extreme high fever.

Lena looked over at the Dragonesian boy, who was visibly shaking as goose-bumps rose throughout his body. The girl placed the back of her palm on Leon's forehead. She could not be wrong. The Dragonesian was going through an intense fever.

"You have a fever, oh God. What should I do now?" Lena mumbled to herself, her eyes moving through the storage room in utter desperation. With the hopes of finding something—anything to relieve Leon of the pain he was experiencing. Even for a little moment.

Lena glanced back to the window. Praying that the coast was clear, she stood up to search through the different contents lying here and there in the storage room and rummaged through those. But before that, she did not forget to put on her own jacket over Leon's body to provide him with at least a little warmth.

Lena began biting her fingernails unconsciously. But it was almost as if an irony, the girl put a hold to her action, remembering how the same nails of a Dragonesian were causing Leon such pain. It was true in fact. Whether be Dragonesians or humans, fingernails contained the most number of bacteria.

Lena commenced her search, toppling things here and there, but then reminding herself to be silent. She glanced back over her shoulder once in a while to check on the Dragonesian's condition. His groans had stopped erupting, nevertheless Leon was now taking slow breaths. The girl picked up her pace with the utmost distress of coming across any medicine perhaps, like a miracle. Just how she had found the Mortonarta pills in the pharmacy so quickly.

Could the Divine, if they existed truly, not help her in this situation?

Whether the heavenly beings did help or it was Lena's frantic search, the girl ultimately got her hands on a first-aid box.

At times, Lena held the humans responsible more than the Dragonesians for their lack of progress since the ancient times much, even when so many years had passed. The girl clicked open the box to go through a brief inspection of the contents inside it, until...

A loud crash caused her to flinch and drop it.

Confusion struck the girl when windy air blew her hair and droplets of rainwater dripped down her body, wetting her in the process. That is when her eyes went up above the sky. The roof of the storage room seemed to have been torn off harshly, as Lena was now facing the booming storm amalgamating above.

A raucous shriek made the blonde finally drop her eyes to where Leon initially lied. He was not there anymore. And rather, was being carried away by the Dragonesian woman's dragon form to nowhere. Lena could clearly see the drowsy figure of Leon, as he tried his best to free himself from the claws wrapped around him. At the end, he yielded. He was aware that he would die or heavily injure himself if the Dragonesian woman dropped him to the ground.

Leon's eyes turned heavy as nausea took over him. He had never been very fond of heights before. It was ironic for a Dragonesian.

The Dragonesian boy could hear Lena's screams and her demoralized strive at saving Leon by throwing stones at the Dragonesian woman. But what could a small pebble do to harm a giant Dragonesian, fully transformed into the indomitable dragon form? Leon clenched his eyes as salty tears narrating tales of both his physical pain and misery slipped out of his crimson eyes. He did not even possess enough strength now to change into his dragon form. However, his dragon form would never be able to beat this fully altered Dragonesian. Leon was a weakling in front of her, in front of all Dragonesians. And for the first time ever, the boy hated being weak.

Without being able to do anything, he allowed to be driven far, far away from his friends. Not long after Alana, Lucian, Cynthia and Cora, who had been previously hiding, came out in the open, hearing the commotion. Leon felt thankful that without thinking about saving themselves first, they were trying their best to free the young Dragonesian. They even managed to halt the Dragonesian woman's flight in the middle. Alana and Lucian, who were exceptionally good at throwing things at the designated targets, hurled the Qiang, a spear-like weapon, originating from one of the ancient countries called China. It was fortunate enough that Alana had taken away all the weapons from Leon on their first meet.

The Dragonesian screeched in pain as the Qiang pierced through her skin, but not deep enough to weaken her. With all her might, the Dragonesian still held onto Leon's body.

Clenching his eyes tight, Leon accepted his fallen fate when the Dragonesian woman regained her strength and flew further away.

"Get back here!" Leon had a fragile smile on his lips when Alana's voice invaded his ears. Even in the midst of the ongoing storm, Leon could clearly identify the human girl's broken voice, pleading and sobbing for him, followed by others. At least, he would die in the memories of a few people who genuinely cared for him. Eighteen years was a young age to breathe his last, but Leon was ready to accept his tainted and unfortunate fate.

The Dragonesian boy had almost closed his eyes till he heard a screech. Much louder than the previous one, and the owner of the ear-splitting bellow was none other than the vicious one carrying him.

A sudden gush of wind went past him as he felt himself falling down with great speed. The claws had long been unclasped from him when the Dragonesian was trying her best to flap her wings and keep herself steady in the middle of the air. Meanwhile, Leon caught a glimpse of a shining silver blade piercing through the Dragonesian's right wing, before his eyes closed and darkness engulfed him.

A familiar scream called out his name.

It was almost too familiar but undetectable.