Novel's Extra: The Lost Heir of Dragon Queen-Chapter 68: The Shadow Behind the Mask

"Aveline stop Lumia —she might kill herself first," kael shouted.

"What?, do you want stop her?," A figure said.

"None of you is leaving alive—from here, like them." Figure said as he kicked lifeless body of Lira.

Something snapped. No something burns inside the kael.

Now scales appeared on his left hand. And he found sudden thurst of energy flowing through his body.

Everyone felt it. Aura around kael Starts changing.

Then familiar System blue window pops up.

___________

~{Dragonic form Awakened - 7.25%}

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Kael lunges forward again, unleashing Dark Void and Venezia Sanguis against the most powerful figure again.

One last time.

Kael’s movements grow sharper, faster, but his every attack is blocked.

The figure—a tall man cloaked in black and gold, his face shadowed—smirks in amusement.

As Kael strikes relentlessly, the man’s voice rings with cruel confidence.

"You remind me of myself, boy—fighting when you’ve already lost." The figure said.

..

"Ahhhhh"

"Save....me,"

The world was fire and screams.

A young Tharion, no older than six, crouched in the corner of a burning cottage.

The air reeked of blood and ash as his parents’ bodies lay lifeless, their killers looming over them.

"Please… stop…" Tharion whispered, his small hands trembling.

One of the men laughed, his sword dripping red.

"Look at this pathetic little runt. Crying like a rat."

The blade came down—

Tharion’s scream echoed, but just before the blade reached him, darkness erupted.

A black swirl—a void—appeared out of nowhere, shrouding everything.

When the chaos cleared, the boy was alive, and the killers were gone.

"You survived?" a deep voice had said, emerging from the shadows.

A tall, cloaked man with glowing crimson eyes knelt before Roderick, his face obscured.

"You are special, child. The darkness within you saved your life." he said.

"MOOMMMMYYYYY"

"WAHHHHHHH,"

Tharion clutched his knees, sobbing, but the man’s hand rested on his head.

"Do not cry."

.

CLACK

Kael’s blade clashes against the enemy’s weapon, sparks flying.

The figure presses Kael back with little effort, taunting him.

"You think strength is a gift? No—it’s born from suffering."

Kael’s eyes narrow, gritting his teeth as he prepares his next move.

.

Years later, a slightly older Tharion, now a thin boy of ten, sat bruised and bloodied in an alleyway.

"Freak. Monster." The village boys circled him, kicking dirt at his face

"Why don’t you use that magic of yours? Oh, right—you can’t!"

Tharion didn’t respond. He simply sat, staring at his hands—hands that trembled with faint shadows curling around his fingers.

The taunts echoed, louder and sharper, until they became unbearable.

Suddenly, a voice cut through the noise:

"Enough."

The cloaked man appeared again, his shadowy aura swallowing the bullies in seconds.

There were killed in an instant.

"Save...me.."

Their screams were brief, and when silence returned, the man stood before Tharion once more.

"They will never hurt you again. But—you have to save yourself no one is going to help you,"

Tharion stared up at the man, his once-broken expression now hardened, cold.

"I want to be strong. Strong enough to never feel this again." Young Tharion said.

The man smiled—a cruel, knowing smile.

"Then embrace the darkness."

..

CRACK!

Kael’s Dark Void shatters as the enemy blocks his most desperate strike, their weapons grinding against one another.

Kael gasps, sweat dripping down his face as the figure pushes him back yet again.

"You see?" the man says. "Strength comes to those who suffer enough to earn it. Have you suffered enough yet, boy?" he asked.

..

Now a teenager, Tharion stood in a field of bodies—mercenaries hired to test him.

He held a dark sword, his face emotionless as the cloaked man observed him.

"You’ve grown strong." The man’s voicemail was proud, yet calculating. "But strength without a purpose is wasted. What do you seek?"

Tharion turned, his eyes glinting with a cold darkness.

"To never be weak."

"To serve you father,"

The man nodded.

"Then you will become the weapon this world fears most."

.

Kael staggers as the figure raises his weapon to strike a fatal blow.

CLACK..

Just before the attack lands, Shirone, Lumia, and the others burst into the fray, blocking Kael’s path.

The overwhelming force of the 30 figures looms over them as Roderick’s laughter echoes, a chilling sound of a man who had once been a broken boy.

"Run all you want. There is no escaping me.i will do anything— if it’s is asked by my father," Tharion shouted.

Kael lay on the cold, blood-stained ground, his body refusing to respond.

"Ugh"

Every muscle in his being screamed in agony.

Around him, half the students were unconscious, sprawled across the battlefield like broken dolls.

Those who were still awake wore expressions of sheer terror, their resolve crumbling under the oppressive aura that radiated from their enemies.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

He tried to push himself up.

Move... Please, move!

"Ugh"

But his body had betrayed him.

He was drained, his strength stripped away, and the weight of hopelessness bore down on him like a boulder.

As his blurred vision struggled to focus, Tharion appeared—

"Goodbye, child," Tharion said.

The world slowed.

Kael’s vision blurred further, but in that instant, Lumia came into view.

"Kael!" she screamed, her voice echoing across the battlefield.

With a burst of desperate energy, Lumia lunged toward Tharion.

Her sword, wreathed in crackling magic, clashed with his in a desperate attempt to save Kael.

The ground trembled beneath her strike, and for a fleeting second, hope sparked in Kael’s chest.

But Tharion barely flinched.

CLACK!

With a single flick of his blade, Lumia was sent flying like a ragdoll, crashing into the dirt with a sickening thud.

"Ugh.....

She groaned, trying to rise, but the power disparity was overwhelming.

Kael’s vision darkened.

His heart sank. ’Lumia… She tried to save me…’

Defeat suffocated him.

The reality of the situation crushed every remaining ounce of hope.

His friends were helpless, and his strength was gone.

He closed his eyes, tears mixing with the dirt on his face.

"I’m sorry, all of you…" Kael muttered.

His thoughts drifted to his mother—her soft smile, her distant voice echoing in his memories.

"Mother… I love you."

Kael accepted it.

Death.

He let the world fade.

CLACK!

The sharp, metallic clang of swords colliding pierced the air like a thunderclap.

Kael’s eyes fluttered open in shock.

Tharion’s blade had been stopped.....