Chapter 149: Cop and the Criminal
The moment the small drake left his hands, it was like someone took a spoon and started scooping and hollowing out his heart until nothing was left.
The Mad Dog caught the beast easily, almost lazily, one hand wrapping around the trembling creature as if it weighed nothing at all.
"...Heh."
He chuckled, voice rough and filtered, sounding a bit more like a breath than an actual chuckle. "You’re smarter than you look."
Aren didn’t respond. He had no energy to open his mouth, not after what happened.
His hands were still half-raised in the air, like it was a self-conscious attempt at punishing himself for giving the drake away.
The Mad Dog weighed the beast in his hand before looking at it closer. The drake trembled with every movement, cowering as it used its paws to cover its eyes, as if doing so would make the man disappear.
But he didn’t.
He backed off, satisfied before giving Aren a grin. Even if he couldn’t see it, he felt it.
"I can see why she likes you."
That made Aren’s eyes snap up. "W...What are you talking about?"
The man tilted his head a bit more, as if remused by the reaction he was one hundred percent expecting.
"Rinrin," he said casually. "She talks about you."
Aren’s mouth dropped as he heard the words. A part of him tried not to believe that someone like Rinrin was part of the Defilers, no...a top brass of the Defilers.
But from the Mad Dog’s words...
She really was with the Defilers. Then why didn’t she kill me instantly? Why didn’t she just rip the Core out of my heart?
"She’s got a funny way of describing things," the man said, interrupting his thoughts. "Always rambling about fairy tale stories, ideals, and people she finds interesting..."
He stepped forward, tapping Aren’s forehead with a finger. "You came up a lot..."
Aren gritted his teeth, enduring the shame. If he moved, it was over. But it seemed the Mad Dog noticed.
He leaned in closer, so close that Aren could feel the mist hit his face before the man spoke.
"Relax, I won’t kill you. Rinrin’ll be after my neck if I do."
Then he backed off, adding, "But, if you get any funny ideas. Well...I wouldn’t mind making a few examples of your other ’friends’."
"What did she say?" Aren asked before he could stop himself.
The Mad Dog stared at him for a solid five seconds before breaking into another slow chuckle.
"You’re curious?"
"Well, let’s see," He tapped a finger lightly against the side of his mask, as if trying to recall.
"’Smart enough to understand the situation... but not selfish enough to abandon what matters.’"
Each word felt like it was digging into him. Like he was mocking every piece of Aren’s existence.
"...’A prince in her dreams’, as she said." he shrugged. "I stopped trying to understand what she was saying. It’s easier that way."
"Still," The Mad Dog’s gaze drifted briefly to the drake in his grasp before returning to Aren.
"You made the right call."
"Not many people can throw something like that away... for someone else."
Yet this time, the words didn’t feel like they were mocking him. If anything, it was almost...approving, which hurt even more.
Aren’s teeth clenched.
"...I didn’t throw it away."
"Oh?" he said.
Aren lowered his hands slowly, fingers curling into fists at his sides.
"Mark my words..."
"I’m getting it back."
"Oh?" the man leaned back. "Maybe that is what she meant. Well...I’ll be waiting until that day comes."
"If at all."
Aren opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, a sound cut through everything else. In the distance, Aren could hear it. The faint rhythmic sounds of engines along with the beating of wings.
The Mad Dog clicked his tongue.
"...Tch. Guess playtime’s over."
The sound of rotors tore through overhead before the shadow of something passed overhead, growing larger by the second.
Yes! Reinforcements! They made it in time!
The Mad Dog sprinted outside just as somebody jumped down and landed right onto the snow right beside the cabin.
A man stepped out from the white snow, his suit equally pale yet adorned with colorful medals and badges that symbolized his unyielding achievements.
The man stepped out from the pile of white easily, his gray hair swaying in the wind but he didn’t seem to mind the cold at all, not one bit.
Recognition flashed onto the Mad Dog’s face as he stopped and stared, straightening up before opening his arms out wide, almost theatrically.
"Well, well, well!"
"If it isn’t my best friend!"
The man didn’t move or react, never acknowledging the tone or familiarity of what the Mad Dog said.
"Don’t lump me in with the likes of you," he said, his deep voice resounding through the snow effortlessly.
"...Criminal."
High Commander Justus, from Mystic Law Enforcement!
Relief washed over Aren so fast that it felt almost like a whiplash from his frozen state before.
Yes! Maybe he’ll be able to save the drake—
Just as Aren surged forward, a hand held him back from the side. Aren looked at whose it was...Professor Sterling.
She stared at him before shaking her head, signalling that he shouldn’t interfere.
Across the clearing, the Mad Dog let out a low chuckle, lowering his arms slowly. "Still the same, huh? Cold and straight to the point. Not even a lick of humor."
Justus’s eyes remained fixed on him, unmoving, "You shouldn’t be here."
"Funny," the Mad Dog leaned backward a bit, tilting his leg. "I was just—"
"THINKING THE SAME THING!"
Immediately, the man launched forward, his spear materializing in his hand mid-charge as he drove it straight toward the commander.
But just as the mist subsided, the spear was caught between the commander’s index and middle fingers, like he was catching an annoying pest.
"I’ve caught you once before."
"And I’ll do it again."
The spear remained suspended between Justus’ fingers. The snow beneath their feet had cracked from the impact alone, yet the High Commander hadn’t budged an inch.
"...Yeah," The Mad Dog muttered softly. "Like that’s happening anytime soon."
Justus’s eyes narrowed. "What do you—"
But it was already too late. The Mad Dog let go completely as the tip of the spear started oozing blackened venom, seeping into the Commander’s fingers and turning them a horrid black in an instant.
The commander channeled his own ether into the wound, expelling all the black venom, but by that point...
The Mad Dog was already gone.
"Tch—!"
For the first time, Justus moved, tracking the masked man until three bullets of compressed ether shot right in front of him, burying themselves into the snow and forcing the commander to stop.
A massive shadow swept across the ground as a Manifestation of an Eagle dove downwards, letting down a rope. The Mad Dog grabbed onto it with one hand, the other holding the drake as he looked down slowly with glee.
"Next time, Commander!" he called out, voice carrying through the storm. "Try a little harder!"
Justus tried to chase, but just the beat of the Manifestation’s wings caused such immense air pressure that it caused him to brace.
"Stop—!" Justus tried screaming through the pressure, but it was no use.
From the ground, Aren watched it happen. Watched the distance grow between the Defiler and Commander...
Watched as the drake turn in the Mad Dog’s grasp, and locked eys with him.
No...not yet. He’s not gone yet!
Aren’s arm shot forward, fingers trembling as lightning gathered along his palm, crackling faintly against the freezing air.
"Aren! What the hell are you doing!" Professor Sterling’s voice rang out from his side.
"Keeping my promise."
Crack!
A small burst of lightning traveled through space, the force so small that it barely existed. But it wasn’t meant to be an attack.
The lightning struck directly into the drake’s trembling body, sinking before it disappeared.
Aren dove into his internal Canvas instantly, grabbing onto the feeling as he grabbed the metaphysical ether itself with his bare hands. The faint thread of lightning lingered in the void, unstable, slipping away like something that didn’t belong.
It burned his palms black...but he never let go. He dragged his hand through the space but it resisted, almost like he was dragging it through water.
Come on! Come on! This...is...my only...chance!
The resistance grew stronger, the thread stretching thinner and thinner as if it would snap at any moment, until—
SLAM!
The thread snapped into place, causing his entire Canvas to tremble.
Ripples spread outward as the lightning embedded itself into the space, locking in, rooting itself deep within his metaphysical world.
The resistance vanished instantly. Aren stood there, breathing heavily, staring at what he had just done.
It was there...a connection between them that allowed him to sense the drake. A connection between them.
Yet... it was more than just a connection.
It was his promise—
And one that he refused to let go, no matter the cost.