Tension filled the air as Hina touched Jacq's back while calling out to him. The situation is a delicate one, it needs to be executed perfectly or the dragon would kill them both.
"Hey little boy," she said softly, preparing to attack him if he was asleep.
Jacq stayed quiet, letting Nero sense his surrounding for where the attack would come from. Nero focused himself as he tried to pick up the killing intent which was leaked out when someone was trying to kill another person. If the person attacking was not able to conceal it, the attack trajectory became easier to predict.
Hina noticed that Jacq hadn't responded after a few seconds, then she looked at Don and they made eye contact momentarily before Don nodded his head. After receiving the signal, Hina pulled out the short sword and placed it a few centimeters away from Jacq's back, right where his heart was. Taking a moment to adjust herself, she thrust forward with all her strength.
Don had already crawled near the dragon while Hina had made her way towards Jacq. After giving her the signal, he spared no second thought as he reached down and grabbed a golden crown as well as anything else he could get his greedy hands on. He looked towards the right side where he saw Hina stabbing at Jacq's back, then back at the dragon which had shown no sign of movement. So far the starting was great, now if only the ending would end the same then he could have been considered super lucky.
Of course, a man proposes, but fate disposes. Right as Hina stabbed at Jacq, Nero notified Jacq which way to dodge the attack from. Although he could not dodge the short sword from where he was, Jacq was able to avoid his heart getting stabbed. The short sword pierced into his lower back, causing him to scream out in pain. Hina realized that she had failed to stab his heart so she pulled the short sword out to try again, however by now Jacq was already on guard.
Hina stabbed out towards Jacq's face before slashing downwards. Clearly this was not the first time she was attempting to kill someone. Stepping backwards, Jacq avoided the slash going down before he kicked at her arm. The short sword flew out of Hina's hand before landing in the stream on the side, the handle got caught in the rocks and the blade pointed upwards.
The Black Dragon heard the commotion and opened his eyes to see the people who he thought were on the same side fighting each other. Then he noticed a person was missing and used his keen sense of smell to pin point Don near the door leading to a secret room. The Black Dragon's eyes became red as he opened his mouth and roared out.
"HUMAN! GET AWAY FROM THERE!!"
Don was petrified by the roar as his back hit the door and he looked at the Black Dragon in fear. He didn't expect Hina to not have killed the boy yet. After all, it was a small high school kid. At this moment, the Black Dragon realized that Don was not moving, so he opened his mouth again. A spark could be seen in the back of his throat as the smell of smoke engulfed Don. He knew he was finished, the Black Dragon was going to preform the legendary Dragon's Breath.
A red fireball formed in the mouth of the Black Dragon before it grew in size as it gradually exited the Black Dragon's mouth and shot out towards Don. The ground beneath the massive fireball started melting as the fireball traveled onward. The fireball got closer and closer, covering the distance at a fast speed. In a mere five seconds, the fireball was engulfing Don. The destructive force and impressive color covered Don's pupils as he prepared for his death.
But at this moment the door behind him opened and the fireball was blocked a step away from Don's face as he fell backwards. The fireball exploded in front of his face, but was stopped by an invisible wall. The destruction that followed behind the explosion was similar to a hand grenade. Don and the Black Dragon were startled by the sudden appearance of the invisible wall, but then the Black Dragon looked towards Jacq and saw Hina laying on the ground face up with a pool of blood underneath her. The blood had rushed into the stream and towards the door which caused the door to open.
The Black Dragon glared at Don once more before walking towards Jacq. He saw the small boy who spoke the Language of Dragons sitting on the ground stunned. Clearly, he hadn't expected that he would be the one who killed Hina. At this point in time, the Black Dragon spoke up.
"Boy, what happened? I thought these two were with you. After all, all three of you have the same Sect bracelet," the voice of the Black Dragon wasn't too rough, as if he felt some pity for Jacq. After getting no response from Jacq, the Black Dragon spoke up again in a louder voice. The ground shook as Jacq awoke from his dazed state. He kept his eyes on Hina's dead body as he responded.
"I don't know what happened either. I don't know who these two are, and I certainly didn't kill her,' Jacq said with a weak voice.
Nero stayed quiet, he knew that killing someone for the first time would have a major impact on the person.
"Is this your first time killing someone boy?" the Black Dragon asked while using his claws to drag Hina's body off the stream, cutting off the fresh blood. He looked at the door and saw the invisible wall sparkle for a moment before the door closed.
"I didn't kill her!" Jacq's voice got louder as tears filled his eyes. Jacq thought back, all he had done was move out of the way before punching at her in the face. Hina had thought that she dodged his attack, but she tripped over a rock. Jacq's punch still landed on her chin, causing her to fall down on the blade of the short sword, piercing her heart and killing her instantly. Even when the fight had ended, Jacq was still unable to understand what had happened. One second he was being stabbed and the next second the attacker was laying face up, dead.
The Black Dragon took a moment to understand the situation. It looked like the boy had just killed someone for the first time and his mind was messy. Then he looked back at the door and sighed, thinking of what would happen once the blood started flowing in the stream again. Then he looked at Jacq and spoke to him in a warmer tone.
"Jacq, come here," this time the Black Dragon called him out by his name, to help Jacq relax. Then he motioned Jacq to come near him while looking at him with his golden eyes. After making eye contact with the Black Dragon, Jacq felt a warm light enter his body. He didn't hear Nero say anything so Jacq let the Black Dragon do what it wanted to. After a few minutes, the warm feeling in his body faded and Jacq realized his mind was a lot calmer than before. He knew that he had killed someone, but this time he was feeling that he had no choice. If he hadn't killed Hina, she would have most certainly killed him.
He looked at the Black Dragon in confusion. Seeing this, the Black Dragon decided to help him better understand the situation. "I need your help, the room where that other human went to is my nest. A few hundred years back, my wife gave birth and laid an egg in there. Normally, this wouldn't have much of an impact on her, however during the birth, she realized that there was an abnormality in the egg and it would die before being hatched. She was also near the end of her life and we couldn't wait for another egg, so she used her soul and turned her life force into Dragon Crystals that surrounded the egg, giving it more energy to ensure it's health."
Jacq nodded his head as he listened to the Black Dragon, he didn't expect the Black Dragon to have such a story in store for him. Regardless of that, he didn't understand what this had to do with him.
"The egg should be hatching in one human year from now, but if the Dragon Crystals are removed, then the egg will surely die. I am afraid that the man inside is after the Dragon Crystals, here is how I know." After saying this much, the Black Dragon handed Jacq a piece of paper that was pinched between his claws. Looking at the paper, Jacq realized it was a list of things, and on there was a drawing of a crystal that had "Priority" written next to it.
"The door will be opened if I place this girl's body back on the stream. I can't break in because there is an ancient seal on there, plus my body size is too big. So I want you to go in there and ensure that my egg is safe, I will reward you, of course. The feeling from earlier was my Spiritual Energy. I've given you some to calm your body and mind down. I know you just started on the path to Cultivation and this will help you immensely. If you accept, then I will be eternally grateful to you, but if you decline then I will not ask you again. After all, this isn't your problem."
Jacq quickly responded, "Can't he just wait for the door to open and make a rush for it? He would need to go out the same way he came in right?"
"No, there is another door in the room, it leads to the outside. As I said, there is an ancient seal on the door, which means this entire cave was used by ancient being. However, I have confirmed that both of the doors will open with the blood. Without it, he is locked inside, so you have some time to prepare yourself if you wish to help me." The Black Dragon spoke in an even softer tone, as if silently pleading for Jacq to help him. The egg was the last thing he could remember his wife by, so he was willing to trade anything to ensure it's safety.
After pondering for a while, Jacq nodded his head, "I agree, but I don't want to kill again. I am not a killer. I will grab the egg and rush back to your side and leave the man to you."
The Black Dragon nodded his head, the entire time Nero hadn't spoken even once. He was watching everything unfold.
***
*
Don stared at the door that closed in front of him, his body sweating intensely. His heart was beating rapidly, his breathing was rough as well. He hadn't expected to survive such a situation and he knew Hina was dead. He looked at his surroundings and saw the secret room was not dim as he expected. Tilting his head up, he saw the light was coming from the gems embedded on the ceiling. Using this source of light, he found another door, just like the Senior Brother said he would. Still, the entire time he kept thinking of one thing only: How did that Senior Brother know of this place, down to the exact details?