Chapter 151: The Dragon-Cursed Dagger
"I have to admit, when I heard about your request, I couldn’t help but be surprised."
Inside a strange underground hall that looked as ancient as the academy itself, a masked young man sat cross-legged behind an ivory-black table. A short dagger rested in his hand, its tip gliding lazily across the tabletop as his eyes sized up the youngster standing before him.
Leopard stood stiffly, gripping the emblem in one hand as he struggled to suppress his anxiety.
He had imagined this meeting countless times, considering every possible scenario and preparing himself for whatever might happen. Yet the moment he stepped into the hall, everything he had prepared for was crushed.
The reason was the dagger.
It was carved from dragon bone, the same material as the emblem in Leopard’s hand, but that was hardly its most frightening quality.
It was a cursed dagger.
Anyone cut by it would be hunted by dragons for the rest of their life.
"The Dragon-Cursed Dagger..."
Leopard stared at the weapon, remembering how casually the masked man had introduced it when he entered the hall.
"How do you have it?"
"There are only five of them in the world, I know."
The man laughed, treating Leopard’s reaction as nothing more than a joke. He offered no explanation for how he had obtained such a terrifying weapon.
"Now, let’s talk about why you’re here."
The dangerous air surrounding the man made Leopard regret coming here in the first place.
"You said you wanted to make Cher Avaron suffer, didn’t you?"
The dagger began moving faster across the table, drawing Leopard’s attention back to the man who had led him here.
’Screw you, Chaz Avaron.’
Leopard cursed inwardly as he recalled the strange meeting at the mine. Chaz had personally suggested that he seek out this man and work with him to corner his daughter.
Yet from what he had heard so far, it was obvious that this man had no intention of merely teaching Cher a lesson.
He wanted blood.
That wasn’t what Leopard had come here for.
Unfortunately, he knew there was no turning back the moment he stepped into this hall. The dagger alone was proof enough. If he tried to abandon this path now, the man would have no reason to hesitate before using it on him.
"You know who sent me to you, right?"
Knowing how dangerous the situation had become, Leopard made one final attempt to distance himself from Chaz.
As he expected, it was futile.
"I don’t care about him."
The masked man’s voice remained calm.
"The power I belong to does not fear a powerhouse like Chaz Avaron."
He paused, and a soft chuckle escaped from behind his mask.
"And once you become one of us, you shouldn’t concern yourself with people like him either."
Leopard’s heart sank.
His future had been decided by those words.
"What do you want me to do, then?"
He lowered his head and asked in a subdued voice, finally accepting that he had already stepped too far into the darkness to turn back.
"Don’t look as though you’re signing your own death certificate."
The man laughed.
"After all, you were the one who sought me out."
"Besides..."
He suddenly rolled up his sleeve, revealing a strange tattoo on his arm.
The moment Leopard saw it, his expression changed.
It was quite a famous tattoo, one that was always related to big events in human history in Eldrune
"We don’t mistreat our people. At least, not those who prove their worth to us."
The words, combined with the sight of that tattoo, could only mean one thing.
The man wanted to test him first, and despite knowing all the dangers that awaited him, the sight of that tattoo erased every trace of doubt and hesitation.
"Tell me what I have to do."
"And I will do it."
Leopard spoke with determination, while his thoughts followed an entirely different path.
’Hehehe.’
’You are screwed, Silas Ashborne.’
***
"Why are you following me?"
After a few minutes, Klain could no longer tolerate it. Ever since he had left the garden, the two students had been following him.
He had wanted to find somewhere quiet to clear his mind and organize his thoughts, but their annoying presence made that impossible. In the end, he chose the simplest solution, turned around, and confronted them.
"Who said we’re following you?"
Alfred answered harshly.
"We’re in the backyard of the gardens."
Klain was left speechless by the strange response. The three of them were standing in the middle of nowhere inside the academy, in a place where there was no one else around.
"And I know you’re part of Cher’s team."
His eyes narrowed as he adopted a hostile expression.
"If you don’t leave now, I’ll bury you beneath this dirt, and no one will ever know what happened."
"Told you, mate. He’s hopeless."
Darius feigned disappointment, turned around, and even patted Alfred on the shoulder.
"Come on. We’ll find Cameron and tell him his friend made a deal with Cher behind his back..."
"Wait!"
Klain panicked before Darius could take even a single step.
"How are you going to tell him that?"
His panic quickly turned into confusion, as though he were arguing with himself.
"You can’t do that. It won’t help your team or your friends."
Alfred remained silent. He had no idea what Darius was planning. He had merely followed after noticing how his friend was pushing Terio away, curious to see what he was scheming.
"And who said we’re doing this to our disadvantage?"
Darius crossed his arms.
"We’ll let our enemies fight among themselves. Whatever they lose, we gain."
"Besides..."
His smile widened slightly.
"Who said you’ll honor the deal you made with Cher?"
Klain was inwardly shocked by how direct Darius was. He had come here intending to figure out what to tell Cameron and find a way to turn the deal he had made with Cher to his own advantage.
Yet not enough time had passed for Cher to tell anyone about it, which made Klain deeply suspicious.
’Did she plan all of this from the beginning?’
It was the only explanation he could find.
"The Avarons... They’re really treacherous."
"Not as treacherous as you."
Alfred interrupted with a scoff, mimicking Darius as he crossed his arms.
"Are you going to waste our time, or are you ready to make a deal?"
He wasn’t sure whether this was what Darius had intended, but he had figured out enough. As he spoke, he stole a glance at his friend and saw Darius give him a subtle nod.
"Oh, you want to make another deal on top of the one I made with Cher?"
The moment Klain realized they had come to negotiate, his panic disappeared.
Then Darius spoke again, and it returned twice as strong.
"We aren’t here to make just any deal."
His expression turned cold.
"We’re here to get rid of Cameron once and for all."
Darius reached into his clothes and produced a small bottle containing a single orange droplet.
The moment Alfred saw it, his expression changed.
’Damn.’
’I never thought this bastard was crazy enough to hand dragon blood to our enemy.’
But it was already too late to stop him. The deal had been made, and the bottle was gone.
For the first time, Alfred looked at his friend differently.
’Dangerous...’
’He’s seriously dangerous.’