Damon gasped in shock. He staggered backwards in disbelief while staring at Alfie's deformed body, now a sword. He picked it up, and it felt cold to his skin. He was surprised he could hold the sword after being a spirit.
"A-alfie… Are you still there?" Damon whispered, but there was no reply. He wanted to cry but forced himself to stop the tears from falling. He was swallowed by guilt that he didn't inform Frederick and Aidan about him being powerless.
"I'm sorry, Alfie," Damon muttered. He breathed deeply a couple times to gather enough courage to continue.
Damon didn't know what to do and had two options in mind. One was running away while Alfie was still a sword to easily carry him away from the Obsidian Order, or Two, he would continue the goal they started with.
"Damn it!" Damon shouted in frustration. He gripped the sword tightly and glanced at the ruined tower.
"I know you'll be angry at me if I run away, Alfie," Damon stated before deciding to enter the tower. He was also curious about what a Dragon looked like in real life compared to what he had seen in movies and books.
Damon gathered his thoughts before walking toward the tower. The area was silent, and the atmosphere seemed off. He couldn't put a finger on it, but it was nerve-wracking.
"You're really stupid, Damon. Of course, this place is a Dragon's lair!" Damon explained while laughing nervously. He gripped the sword closer to his body when he pushed the broken door open.
The creak made Damon flinch, and he darted at his surroundings in case an enemy appeared. He went inside, and darkness greeted him.
"Ah, where is the Dragon?" Damon whispered while entering slowly. He blinked several times to adjust his vision, but it took a while.
The inside of the tower was hollow, and only a hundred stairsteps were seen attached to the wall.
Damon carefully went up while keeping his guard high. He heightened his senses to detect the Dragon faster but couldn't find anything disturbing.
"Is the Dragon really here? If it's massive, I'm sure it won't fit in this place," Damon muttered logically. When he reached the top, he was in awe of the cool breeze that hit his skin. The infrastructure was utterly destroyed, with barely half of it standing still.
At that height, Damon was able to see the whole area. No living things grew in the ground, but a few meters away, the place was blooming. It was like the ancient and recent sites coexisted together.
"This place looks abandoned. I wonder what happened here," Damon muttered and proceeded to look around. He gulped, thinking he was strictly at the heart of the lair, but no Dragon in sight.
There was a massive hole in the middle of the tower, which made it hard for Damon to walk around since the building wasn't that sturdy anymore. One wrong step, and he would meet the afterlife immediately.
Damon saw a huge stone at the center of the room. It was abnormally placed than the rest. He went toward it and noticed a rectangular hole in the middle.
"Hmm, what is this?" Damon whispered and examined closely. His eyes glanced upward to see if there was a script, but nothing. He sighed and sat on the rock, using it as a seat while planning what to do next.
"Hmm, Aidan said they weakened the Dragon. Perhaps… is it sealed?" Damon thought. He stood up and stared at the rock for a minute, analyzing its shape. An idea struck him, and he unconsciously placed the sword into the hole. It fitted perfectly.
"Ah! Now that's a good sword holder, haha!" Damon laughed in amusement. He didn't expect anything to happen, but when he tried to pull out the sword, it was stuck.
"No! Alfie!" Damon cried out in terror. He was busy trying to yank the sword, which made him unable to notice the glowing light forming at the hole.
Ancient texts were scripted along with circular lines. A portal was created.
A massive, four-legged lizard with three-paired wings appeared from the portal. Its body was covered in Teal scales, which ranged in darkest to lightest color. It has a long, thick tail and sharp claws on its feet. Its head was topped with a pair of horns and large, green glowing eyes.
The Dragon blew a cold breath, making Damon jerked as he finally noticed the creature behind him. He slowly turned around and was stoned in his spot.
"D-dragon!" Damon yelled in shock. He staggered backwards but tripped on the rock, causing him to fall on his buttocks.
The Dragon gazed at Damon angrily. It lifted its gigantic claws to scratch him but went through his body. However, the wall behind him was destroyed instead.
"Ah! They said it was already weak!!!" Damon shouted in panic. Tears formed in his eyes after seeing the swift attack from the Dragon. Even though he was unharmed, it was still terrifying.
"You… Fool…" The Dragon spoke in a rough and deep tone.
"You… You just speak to me!" Damon exclaimed in amazement. He stood up with twinkling eyes while looking at the Dragon up close. He couldn't help but feel excitement instead of fear after seeing a Mythical creature.
"How… Foolish… H-humans…" The Dragon huffed in pain, which Damon noticed.
Damon glanced at the Dragon's back, where an arrow pierced deep into its flesh. He saw a purple ink lace around the wound, which he deemed as poison to weaken the creature.
"My… blood… won't give… immortality… fools!" The Dragon screamed, and its high-pitched voice nearly sent Damon to heaven.
"Immortality?" Damon asked. He knew nothing about immortality; he thought the blood was for Frederick's cure.
The Dragon's eyes squinted at Damon, observing him and toward the sword that opened the portal to its realm.
"Haha! A summon… a hero… succeed!" The Dragon laughed while shaking its head.
Damon gaped in astonishment. The dread he felt before vanished from his body, and all he could think about was befriending the Dragon.
"I am Damon. I'm summoned here from the Obsidian Order to take some of your blood if that's alright? They need it to cure Frederick's sickness," Damon asked and explained respectfully.
Damon didn't know why the Order needed him when the Dragon wasn't highly aggressive. He expected a fight would break out, but the Dragon stayed still in its spot after a single attack.