Chapter 118: When the Hero Fell
Silas had never been this exhausted before.
He had known from the moment he created the Dreastare Ability that it would drain every last drop of his Mana.
The first time, he had been able to rest immediately afterwards. This time, that luxury did not exist.
The dragon’s furious roars echoed through the tunnels behind them, growing louder with every passing moment. Silas was surprised that his ability would leave such long-term effects after stopping it.
In his eyes, the dragon struggled to break free from the shackles imposed by his ability. Silas had no idea that another force, the Mana Mine itself, had become involved. His ability’s effect vanished the moment he stopped it, but he didn’t know.
To Silas, the dragon was too consumed by humiliation and rage to care about anything except reclaiming what had been stolen. As he didn’t know the limits of his ability, he only thought of the trap. It was the only thing that could delay the dragon a bit longer.
If the dragon escaped the trap, it would fly straight towards them. The flower was still in his possession, and the dragon could sense it without fail.
’If only I could use my Dreastare again, nothing of this would matter.’
His only hope was to put enough distance between them before that happened. If the dragon could still track the flower after that, he would have no choice but to throw it away or let one of Lara’s Mana Squirrel Eaters swallow it and flee with it forever.
’That would be a terrible loss.’
Silas had no intention of abandoning it unless there was no other choice. His true objective had always been the dragon’s blood, and that goal had already been accomplished. The flower had merely been an unexpected extra reward.
Although he had no idea what it actually was, he knew it possessed immense value. His entire plan had revolved around the dragon’s persistence to get it back. He knew that the dragon would never pursue them with such relentless fury if it were anything less than priceless.
"Hey, we did it! Hahaha!"
The voice pulled him from his thoughts.
The tunnel they were running through merged with another, and Cher emerged from the intersection. As soon as she climbed onto one of Lara’s squirrels, Lara tossed her one of the bottles filled with dragon blood.
"Amazing..."
Cher’s eyes shone as she caught it.
Even after receiving Lara’s message about the success of their reckless plan, she had struggled to believe it. Only now, with the warm bottle resting in her hands, did the truth finally sink in.
Five inexperienced D-Enhancers in their first year at Frontier Academy, with no powerful backing to support them, had survived battles against countless Enhancers and soldiers, crossed paths with B-Enhancers, faced their own father, escaped an army of Dark Hunters, and somehow stolen blood from a dragon.
Calling it a miracle almost felt like an understatement.
She held the bottle in her hand, felt how warm it was, how vibrantly shining yellow over her face. It felt amazing, it felt great, and it felt like a dream to her.
Lots of memories passed fast, recalling how all this started, how they struggled, how they were close to death many times, how they got chased and hunted, how her father didn’t stop trying to get her.
’This won’t have been real except for you...’
She turned her eyes towards Silas, filled with recognition and awe. Yet the moment she did, she instantly froze.
His face had turned deathly pale, and every breath seemed heavier than the last.
She exchanged a quiet glance with Lara, who merely sighed before explaining in a hushed voice what had happened, how Silas had somehow forced the dragon back into its draconic form before leaving it helpless beneath the effects of his ability.
Cher opened her mouth, searching for something to help him. In the end, all she managed was, "Great job."
The words felt painfully inadequate.
Telling him to rest would have been meaningless while the dragon’s enraged roars continued to shake the tunnel and the mine around them. Silas was pushing himself far beyond his limits because he refused to leave anything to chance.
"What if I keep the dragon blood with me?"
She had wanted to offer comfort, but those were the only words that came to mind. Even to her own ears, it sounded nothing like reassurance and more like a request for permission.
"Sure."
The single word drained what little strength he had left.
Lara handed the remaining bottles to Cher, and, almost absentmindedly, Silas tossed her the bag containing the flower as well.
"Keep it safe."
He bit the tip of his tongue, letting the sharp pain cut through the fog gathering inside his mind.
"If the dragon catches up... throw it to one of the squirrels and let it run."
Those were the last words he managed to say.
After that, he fell silent, drifting in and out of consciousness as the boundary between clarity and fog gradually disappeared.
He did not notice when Darius and Alfred joined the group. At some point, another tunnel merged with theirs, and the two emerged from the darkness to continue the desperate retreat.
The tunnel stretched ahead in a straight line for dozens of miles. Fortunately, Lara’s squirrels raced through it with remarkable speed, carrying Silas forward while he remained trapped in a state that bordered on complete unconsciousness.
He didn’t feel Darius tugging at his arm to check on him, nor did he notice the worried glances exchanged between the others when he failed to respond. Their discussions passed him by entirely, including the moment Lara unfolded the map of the tunnels and announced that they still had at least three hours before reaching the exit.
Darius placed a hand over his chest, checking his breathing. Alfred picked up his arm and checked the pulse, saying he had experience in checking dying Enhancers’ pulses, forcing Cher to push away his grasp at once.
Silas remained oblivious to all that. He didn’t even notice as Lara repeatedly sent groups of squirrels behind them to seal the passage while the dragon’s furious roars echoed ever fiercer. He didn’t notice the tunnel trembling under the roars or the rocks that began crashing from the ceiling.
He didn’t feel Cher shielding his head from the falling debris, nor did he realise when the others moved around him as the tunnel threatened to collapse, pushing away boulders and forcing a path through the disaster.
Nor did he notice when, five exhausting hours later, they finally emerged from the tunnel to find their shuttle waiting for them.
"I’m worried about him."
As they carried Silas’s motionless body aboard, Lara could no longer hide the concern in her voice.
"He forced himself far beyond his limits until he lost awareness of everything around him," Alfred said with a bitter smile. "I’ve seen someone fall into a similar state before, and it didn’t end well."
His words only deepened the unease hanging over the group.
"What if we let him ingest the dragon blood now?" Lara suggested.
Everyone immediately rejected the idea. They all knew how precious dragon blood was, and its effects could only be obtained once at each grade.
"We can’t let him waste it just to recover," Cher said, ending the discussion. "I think I know what might help... That bathtub."
She rose to her feet at once.
"Bring him and follow me."
Darius and Alfred carried Silas toward the back of the shuttle while Lara followed behind. As the shuttle ascended into the sky, she reluctantly released all but three of her Mana Squirrel Eaters.
Although she had packed the remaining three into the shuttle’s storage compartment despite how cramped it was, she still felt far better knowing they were with her. Even if she had to constantly consume crystals, she didn’t care. Losing every one of her babies after everything they had endured would have been a blow she wasn’t sure she could bear.
Even so, she couldn’t stop watching the shrinking landscape below as the rest of her babies chased after the shuttle for as long as they could before their speed finally failed them.
"Here."
Cher led them to the rear compartment, where the bathtub Silas had once used while drafting his plan still rested. It was still filled with cold water like the last time he used it.
"Will this really work?"
Lara’s heart tightened as she looked at Silas. Even after they lowered him into the cold water, he showed no reaction whatsoever. His eyes remained half-open and devoid of focus, while his breathing was so slow and faint that, without the gentle rise and fall of his chest, she might have believed the worst had already happened.
"...I honestly don’t know."
Cher let out a heavy sigh. The others watched silently, waiting to see what she intended to do. Without warning, she pushed Silas’s head beneath the water. Seeing this took everyone by surprise.
Then, at last, he reacted.
His body relaxed, his eyelids closed completely, and the strained expression on his face disappeared, leaving him looking as peaceful as a sleeping child.
"Phew..."
Cher released a long breath, her tense shoulders finally relaxing.
"It worked."
She cleared her throat before turning toward the others, her usual confidence returning.
"I knew it would. That bathtub obviously means something special to him."
No one believed her explanation, yet no one argued. The reason hardly mattered as long as Silas was recovering.
As the group returned to the heart of the shuttle, Cher lingered behind for one last glance.
’I don’t know why this bathtub is so special... but I’m glad it helped.’
Only then did she turn away.
Their escape wasn’t over yet. One final obstacle still awaited them before they could truly consider themselves safe.
’You carried us all the way here.’
’So rest well, and don’t worry about anything else. I’ll make sure we get out of this alive.’