Growth

"Ugh... It's alright, this was going to happen sooner or later." Kael exhales, rubbing his temples, an air of resignation mixed with calculated calm about him. 'Well, everything is set now,' he concludes internally, his face betraying none of the machinations unfolding behind his stoic expression.

"Y-you, no wonder it felt familiar, you're a—" The man begins, his realization dawning mid-sentence, but before he can articulate his thoughts fully, Kael cuts him off.

"Yeah, yeah, no need to say it," Kael interjects briskly, dismissing the need for any dramatic reveals. The man's gaze shifts back to Lysandra, reassessing her with his newfound understanding. 'A dragon... She's a young dragon. That explains why her mana is both cold and hot; she doesn't need to convert mana into magic, shit she's a problem,' he thinks, observing her with a mixture of awe and caution as he dodges Lysandra's relentless, destructive strikes. 'She's still young and weak, I can easily kill her, but she's young... her parents have to be around, right? They wouldn't just leave a young one this weak out and about.'

BOOM! He dodges again, and Lysandra ends up striking the ground, breaking it open and sending waves of burning fire through it. He turns to look at Kael, who is still tapping on his screen, seemingly detached from the chaos around him. 'That boy knows what she is? He doesn't give off the same feeling she does. He's not a dragon, but he knows her true nature? I'm not a dragon slayer, but I'm aware that dragons don't expose themselves unless they're protecting their territory,' he muses, piecing together the peculiar dynamics at play.

Swoosh—he takes a step and appears a couple of meters behind her as she suddenly changes again, freezing the area around them. 'A dragon... killing her would be the best option. Hmm... this area is protected by an array, I doubt her parents are in the forest, they'll need to break the array to come after me. I'm still part of the ceremony, so if they break the array, I'll be teleported back to my cell. I should have enough time to disappear by then,' the man strategizes, the trees around him crystallizing into icy sculptures.

BOOM! Lysandra glares at him with icy blue eyes before slamming her hand into the ground, her movements radiating an intense chill. A blue hue pulses within the cracked earth, heralding the eruption of thousands of icy spikes that shoot out in every direction, transforming the battleground into a frozen thicket of dagger-like ice.

'Shit, I just came here to see some martial arts, why did a dragon have to show up? I can't let it live; the danger a single grown dragon can pose is enough to cause a catastrophe,' he thinks urgently as he shatters the ice spikes with deft movements, his face set in determination. Boom! Lysandra strikes him, but he effortlessly catches her punch, which attempts to freeze him.

"Nice try, girl, but you're too young to hurt me. Don't take this personally, I have high respect for your kind but I can't just walk away," he says calmly, coating his hand in mana. The mana flows over his hand in an unusual pattern that leaves Lysandra confused and wary.

"Shit, Lysandra, back away!" Kael yells, alarmed, his fingers frantically tapping his screen. Crackle, crackle, crackle—the noise snaps all around them, creating a tense atmosphere of impending danger.

"Oh? What was that?" the man wonders aloud, unfazed by the crackling noise as Lysandra tries to retreat. He looks at her with a calm yet piercing gaze, calculating his next move. 'I can't use too much power or I'll be teleported. I should be able to get her with one good strike,' he concludes internally before suddenly appearing right in front of her.

Lysandra's eyes widen as she senses his imposing presence, 'what is this feeling... he's strong...' she thinks, feeling the overwhelming pressure emanating from him. Her skin hardens reflexively, and her small horn glows a bright red-orange in response to the imminent threat.

BOOOM! His punch connects with her chest, the force breaking off some of the newly formed scales and sending her crashing through the ground. The resulting shockwave is powerful enough to shatter anything nearby, tearing through the forest floor and sending Lysandra plummeting into an underground river. The impact creates a massive crater, echoing the ferocity of the strike.

"Cough cough cough!" Lysandra sputters as the cold water envelops her, her body trembling uncontrollably. As she struggles, her horn emits a bright glow, heralding a profound transformation. Her hair, previously a battlefield between fiery red and icy blue, begins to blend into a striking, harmonious spectrum. Her body temperature plummets, turning her skin an ethereal pale, almost translucent, as a gentle blue hue radiates outward, the rushing water around her slowing and beginning to freeze.

A sudden burst of mana erupts from her, cracking the encasing ice as she regains consciousness. 'I'm cold... but it's warm... it's finally gone, the agitating feeling I've had for so long is gone,' she reflects with a sense of relief and wonder. As her awareness sharpens, a new horn begins to emerge—a beautiful, soft blue-white horn, the complete antithesis of the fiery one she already possessed. It grows slowly, matching the other in size, though neither horn is particularly large, each extending no more than three inches, sleek and pointing backward.

Her body remains within the ice, now a cradle rather than a cage, as more scales start to form, glistening under the muted light filtering through the frozen surface. Her pupils dilate, and her mana begins to stabilize autonomously, a new equilibrium forming within her. With a determined push, she breaks through the ice, emerging into the chill air.

"I'm cold... I'm hot... I'm cold... I'm hot..." she mumbles to herself, her voice a whisper against the cold wind. For the first time, she consciously alternates her body temperature with ease.

"Eh? Eh?? EH!?!?!" Lysandra's eyes widen as she forces the surrounding ice away, reaching up to touch the newly formed horn atop her head. Her face flushes red, eyes twinkling with uncontainable joy despite her battered condition. "I-I finally got my second crown! Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!" she exclaims, her excitement bubbling over as she runs her fingers over the smooth, cool surface of the horn. "Ahahahahaha! This is the best!" She giggles, her feet kicking up and down, fracturing the ice beneath her even further. "Oh, I should show Kael," she declares aloud, standing up and breaking through the last of the ice with a determined shove.

Far above her, Kael exhales deeply and rubs his temples, a mixture of frustration and bemusement coloring his tone. "What the hell is your problem? Are you insane? You know better than to do that," he scolds, glaring at the man standing before him.

The man shrugs, his eyes drifting skyward momentarily. "Dragons are national threats with bounties on their heads. We all know what they're capable of. I personally respect them but I'd rather kill them young before they grow strong enough to kill us," he explains somberly, his gaze returning to Kael. 'Why isn't the array being attacked? There's no way her parents would let me kill her. Why the hell is there no reaction?' he ponders internally, his brows knitting together in confusion.

Both men then feel a surge of mana emanating from below. "Huh? This amount of mana... how much was she hiding?" the man mutters, scratching his head in bewilderment.

Kael shakes his head, a slight smile playing at his lips. "She wasn't hiding any mana," he clarifies, stretching his arms casually. "It's complicated, but it was about time this happened."

The man looks up at Kael, his expression one of perplexed curiosity. "Care to explain?" he asks, stepping closer to the edge of the hole where Lysandra had disappeared.

Kael walks to the brink, peering down into the icy depths. "When there's a surge of energy way above what they're capable of, it indicates that the dragon is going through a growth phase. Dragon biology is complicated, so I can't tell you much."

"I need to finish her off, don't get in the way, kid," the man mumbles, pushing his hair back and advancing with a determined stride.

"Yeah, that's not going to happen," Kael states, scratching his neck nonchalantly. "Unfortunately for you, I'm her guardian."

The man laughs, a low chuckle that reverberates through the chilling air. "HmHmhmhmh, I could care less."

Kael rubs his temples, his frustration evident. 'This damn man... I get where he's coming from, dragons don't have a great history, but isn't he acting a bit rashly?' he wonders internally. He looks up, trying to explain, "Listen, about her, her mother is—"

However, before he can finish, Lysandra bursts from the ground with a bright smile. "Kael, look!" she exclaims happily, pointing at her horn.

BOOM! The shockwave shatters the ground in a horizontal line as the man punches at her. 'Shit, I barely managed to use Umbra in time,' Kael thinks with an exhale, as he creates a protective box around him and Lysandra.

"Look, Kael! Look! Look! I grew out my second crown!" she says excitedly, shaking his shoulders.

"Yup, I can see it, it looks amazing," Kael responds calmly, his voice flat and devoid of emotion. 'He's not attacking Umbra, is he waiting?' 

"I know I'm the best after all. Hmhmhmhm, I'm a pureblood after all," she smirks with joy.

"Yup," Kael agrees, trying to steady himself as he's shaken back and forth. 

"Tell me, tell me, what color is it!?" She asks eagerly. "Come on, tell me! I need to know!"

Kael forces a smile, sensing her excitement. 'She's so excited over this... I shouldn't ruin her moment,' he thinks before responding. "Yay, you got a bluish-whiteish horn."

She beams and hugs Kael tightly. "I got a crown like my father's and one like my mother's! You're going to gift me something right!?" she asks, bouncing with enthusiasm.

"Gift you something?" Kael asks, sighing slightly.

"Yup, yup, yup! My dad said whenever I grow out my second horn, I need a big gift!" She insists, still vibrating with excitement.

Kael nods, still being jostled slightly. "Of course, I'll give you something," he mumbles, gently pushing her away to regain some personal space. "You got your second horn, this thanks to all your hard work. What do you want for a gift?" he asks, his tone softening as he continues to manage her boundless energy.

"Oh! Oh! Um, um... I don't know!" Lysandra exclaims, her hands clutching her head as she tries to think. 'She's so happy... she's always hiding her emotions, this is weirdly adorable, she's acting like Des. Is it due to all the mana she's emitting? Her body hasn't adjusted yet,' Kael observes, his tone tinged with bemusement. He sighs and pulls out a potion from his pouch. "Are you saying you don't want anything?" he asks as he pours it on her wound and wraps it with bandages.

"Nooo! I do, I just don't know what," she replies, still deep in thought.

"Mm-Hmm, you don't want to save the gift for later? We could have a party," he suggests, trying to keep her still as he treats her injuries. 'Damn, she's so happy despite having this damn dent?' he thinks, watching her nod enthusiastically.

"Oooh! That's awesome!" Lysandra exclaims, her eyes lighting up with the idea.

Kael exhales and turns away, murmuring, "Yup, go ahead and dream for a bit." He casts a circle of fire around them, engulfing the space in flames. Lysandra yawns, "Oh... you don't... want... my... help?" she asks, her voice trailing off as she inhales the flames and drifts into sleep.

"Ugh... I hate this fire," Kael mutters, shivering slightly as he turns Umbra back into a glove. The man watches Lysandra lying peacefully on the ground, his expression fraught with confusion. "What are you doing? You're just making it easy to kill her. Her horns are sticking out; you do realize that if I don't kill her, the elves will sell her?" he challenges, skepticism lacing his words.

Kael scratches his head, unfazed by the threat. "I deactivated all the surveillance crystals. They won't know shit. Now, before you attack, let me say this," he steps forward, his voice dropping to a more serious tone, "She's the daughter of the dragon you met seven years ago."