••••[Ailith POV]•••
I am an exiled witch from the Witch Empire, once a princess but now in a contractual relationship with Crystal Academy of Magic, a hidden institution on Earth where awakened individuals study their powers. Most humans remain unaware of the existence of these abilities.
A year ago, there was a disturbance in one of the cities, but we disregarded it as a territory of a government organization.
Gradually, the disturbances increased.
Our investigative team was sent to uncover the truth, but they never returned.
"Hey, hey, Aili." The person addressing me is my colleague. He is trying to get my attention, but as a princess, I couldn't acknowledge someone like him, someone beneath my status.
"Hey, Aili. What are you thinking?" Ashborn asked, his voice and expressions betraying his true motives, while his dilated eyes focused on my chest. A slight smirk adorned his lips, revealing his lascivious thoughts, all of which I ignored.
"No, Ashborn. I believe we are nearing the site where the energy first appeared. My seer's eye is indicating in that direction," I replied, pointing towards a fragment of a collapsed building.
Standing amidst this ruins, our aim is to uncover the origins of this vaporous energy. If we could understand its existence, we might be able to halt its advancement and protect more human lives.
While I didn't hold much regard for humans, I couldn't let them perish. They were a species deserving protection in this realm, shielded by us from countless years—only recently gaining control over magical energy themselves.
As we continued our journey, I sensed and witnessed a green mark underneath the rubble.
"There, I believe it's in that place," indicating the green mark, visible only to me.
My seer-witch abilities allowed me to focus solely on the target, filtering out all other colors and distractions.
Ashborn and I both started to clear away the debris of the collapsed building.
While I used my spellcasting to turn the rubble into dust, Ashborn physically removed the remnants.
I couldn't help but wonder why he wasn't utilizing his abilities.
Eventually, as we made progress, I noticed a sinister, dark field emanating from beneath a large stone. This field was absorbing the surrounding smaller stones and converting them into multicolored particles.
When Ashborn saw the field, he immediately ran towards it.
"Hey, stop!" I yelled at him, trying to prevent him from going any further.
I don't know why, but this idiot assumed the wrong and said.
"Oh, finally you accept my feelings. You're worried about me. How sweet."
Ashborn stopped running towards the field and came near me.
He was careless and carefree, because this mission was an investigation, we had to search for any clue related to the vapors.
Ashborn's carefree attitude was hiding his true thoughts. I could see his desire to conquer me, dominate me, and use me as a way to relieve his lust.
There was not a single shred of tenderness and care in him. All I could see was his dilated eyes always facing back and forth between my chest and face and his raised eyebrow.
Ignoring his tactic, I told him, "Well, you're seeing those multicolored particles. They're weird. Don't go near them until I cast a barrier."
Hearing my advice and concern, he declared, "You don't have to hide it. You can accept me as a whole. You can say whatever you want to me. I'll always be there for you. I'll hear all your worries and concerns. I'll care for you because I love you, Ailith." He imitated a sincere smile that I knew was fake.
If I didn't have a seer's eye and couldn't feel the emotions of the person talking to me, I would have melted at his confession and blushed uncontrollably. But I could sense his emotions, and to a certain extent, his body language and thoughts indicated his pure motive.
I sighed internally.
How could this person be so dimwit?
Nevertheless, I cast a barrier around him, and we both walked towards the field.
I removed a massive stone under which I saw a pure black giant egg that was 2 meters in height and 1 meter in diameter.
There were some carvings on it in white marks and some cracks on the outer shell as if it would be cracked any time it wanted,
It was waiting for one final push to complete its incubation period.
I was feeling an ominous wave of energy coming from it like it wanted to consume everything.
And right now, It only needs a small amount to satisfy its appetite,
I was evaluating that egg, then suddenly, Ashborn smiled with a cheekiness with a proud and stern expression. "What is that egg? Is that the legendary dragon? We are the first to discover dragon eggs in the recorded era," he laughed and ran towards the egg.
I screamed at him to stop, but before I could warn him, Ashborn was already inside that black field of the egg.
Suddenly, he looked at me with a horrifying expression and pleaded. "What's that? Help me,"
He started to age and screamed
I wanted to help him, but I couldn't. I had cast a most powerful barrier around him and me, It would have protected us from this egg, but currently, this egg was in its final stage of incubation and wasted energy for a long time it didn't get.
Ashburn started to age visibly and screamed, "No! Hey, Ailith, help me!" He begged me in a pleading voice, "Please pretty please help me."
His voice was filled with terror, his eyebrows were raised, and his cheeks were gaining a sense of aging. His body turned into old age like a human. He yelled in a shaking voice, "You bitch! My father will kill you!!"
Alas, he turned into multicolored particles.
I sighed as I gazed at the cracked egg before me, hoping that the myth about a newborn recognizing its first encounter as a mother would be true.
The cracks spread across the surface, causing the egg to tremble as if someone was attempting to break free from within.
I stood there, trying to make sense of the unfolding situation and holding onto the hope that the egg would bring forth a dragon.
But to my surprise, a human hand emerged from the shattered shell.
My anticipation and curiosity grew as another hand crashed through, causing the remaining pieces of the eggshell to fall away and turn into a dark black cloth-like structure.
I questioned in astonishment, "Is this a dragon capable of transforming into a human?"
The newcomer possessed dark brown hair, pale white skin, and predatory dark red eyes. He was dressed in a red shirt, a black jacket, and tattered jeans. His gaze fixed upon me, an unusual expression on his face, like a predator who had just spotted its prey.