Chapter 926: I want my daddy!
The white spark appeared again inside the reinforced box, this time with enough intensity to travel across the magical chains like silent lightning. The blue runes engraved into the metal reacted immediately, glowing brighter as they tried to absorb the excess energy. The entire container vibrated in the assassins’ hands, forcing two of them to adjust their grip so they would not drop it onto the narrow floor of the tunnel.
The group’s leader turned toward the box, and for the first time since the escape began, her expression showed something beyond discipline. It was not complete panic, but a deep concern that grew with every new sound coming from within. The child was supposed to remain unconscious throughout the entire journey. The sedative had been prepared specifically for creatures with abnormal magical resistance, reinforced with marine essences and compounds used on large coastal monsters. Even so, Vex seemed to be waking much earlier than expected.
"Keep moving," the woman ordered, resuming her pace without allowing the others to stop. "The canal is close, and the containment runes are still working."
One of the men pressed his arms against the side of the box as another pulse of white energy crossed the metal. The discharge traveled through his fingers and up his arms, causing a sharp pain that made him grit his teeth. Even so, he did not release the container, because he knew abandoning it at that point would mean a death far worse than any burn.
"She is waking up," he said, breathing with difficulty. "We do not have enough strength to hold her if this thing breaks."
The leader did not answer immediately. She had known that possibility existed from the moment she accepted the mission, though she had chosen to treat it as unlikely. Aelyra had guaranteed that the child still did not fully control her own powers and that, isolated from her father, she could be contained with the proper methods. However, nothing in the report explained the density of that energy, much less the sensation that something enormous was trying to awaken inside a body far too small.
"If the box ruptures, use the second dose," she finally said. "Inject it directly, before she can take another form."
The third assassin cast a quick glance at the case attached to his belt. Inside were three dark crystal needles, each filled with a blue-green liquid capable of bringing down a war beast. He had received clear instructions to use them only as a last resort, because an excessive dose could cause permanent damage or even kill the target. Now, before the box vibrating more violently with every passing moment, that possibility no longer seemed so distant.
On the surface, Strax remained motionless in the center of the avenue, but his awareness already extended far beyond his own body. He perceived the streets of Asgard as lines of energy crossing a living structure. Every tunnel, canal, rail, foundation, and underground passage appeared in his mind as part of an incomplete map, created by the combination of his draconic perception and the runic marks Monica had spread during the city’s expansion.
The connection with Vex was still weak, interrupted by the liquid barriers used by the kidnappers, but now there was a different pulse. An instinctive resistance. A kind of incomplete call that had no words, but carried fear, confusion, and a rage too young to understand its own scale.
Strax slowly opened his eyes.
"She is below the railway district," he said.
Monica stepped closer, keeping her voice firm despite the pressure still present in the surroundings. "There are dozens of tunnels in that region. Some connect factories, warehouses, drainage channels, and old galleries built before the expansion."
"There is moving water."
Monica was silent for an instant, mentally reorganizing the city maps. Then her eyes changed.
"The compensation canal."
Rogue immediately raised her head. "What is that?"
"An underground structure built to relieve pressure during thawing and heavy rain," Monica explained. "It crosses the eastern sector and empties outside the walls, near the old quarries."
Scarlett narrowed her eyes. "A perfect route for removing someone from the city without passing through the gates."
Monica nodded, already irritated with herself for not noticing sooner. The canal was not used often during winter, and part of it still lay outside the regular patrol systems. It was wide enough for small maintenance vessels and had old exits that had not yet been completely sealed.
Tiamat tilted her head toward the east. "Then we break through the ground and go down."
"No," Strax replied.
Everyone looked at him.
The word came without hesitation, but with a precision that showed how much his fury was beginning to turn into calculation. He knew a violent entrance could cause cave-ins, break barriers, or frighten the kidnappers enough to make them hurt Vex.
"Monica, close every canal gate except the quarry exit. Make it look like the system is still normal, but gradually reduce the flow."
Monica understood immediately. "You want to push them in a single direction."
"Yes."
"I can do it in three minutes."
"Do it in two."
She did not argue. She turned and began transmitting orders through the runic devices, activating engineers, operators, and guards spread throughout the district. The bureaucratic structure that usually seemed excessive revealed its true value at that moment. Every order traveled down the administrative chain with impressive speed, reaching people who knew exactly which levers to pull, which runes to activate, and which valves to close.
Strax looked at Scarlett, Tiamat, and Kali.
"You will go to the quarry exit. Do not enter until I give the order."
Kali clenched her fists. "And you?"
"I am going inside."
Scarlett smiled without joy. "Alone?"
"Yes."
Tiamat looked ready to object, but Ouroboros spoke first. "Let him."
Everyone turned toward her.
Ouroboros watched Strax with a quiet expression, but she understood better than the others what was happening. It was not only anger. There was a connection between him and Vex that none of them could follow in the same way. Any additional presence in the tunnel could create interference or alert the assassins before the right moment.
"He can feel where she is," Ouroboros said. "We only need to stop them from escaping."
Kali breathed deeply, clearly dissatisfied, but nodded. "Then do not take long."
Strax did not answer. His body began to disappear into white and black particles, as if the air itself were dismantling him. In the next instant, he was no longer on the avenue.
Inside the tunnel, the assassins continued forward at a rapid pace, occasionally slipping on the wet stone surfaces. The canal grew wider as they approached the extraction area, and the sound of running water echoed through the walls like a constant presence. The leader checked a small runic device attached to her wrist, following the direction of the flow and the distance to the exit.
"Four hundred meters," she reported. "The vessel will be waiting."
The man carrying the rear of the box looked at the water and frowned. "The level is dropping."
The leader stopped for half a second.
It was true.
Only slightly, but noticeably.
The current that had previously reached part of the side walkways was now slowly receding, leaving damp marks on the stone. It could have been a normal variation in the system, but none of them believed in coincidence after the message that had crossed the entire city.
"Run," she ordered.
The group accelerated.
Inside the box, Vex opened her eyes.
Her vision was blurred and her head felt heavy, as if someone had placed an entire mountain over her thoughts. She tried to move her arms, but found tight chains around her wrists, ankles, and torso. The metal burned her skin whenever she tried to gather mana, while the strange smell of the sedative made it difficult to breathe deeply.
For a few seconds, she did not understand where she was.
She remembered the station.
The train.
The bag of sweets.
Her father holding her hand.
Then the cart.
The people passing by.
A gentle voice calling her name from behind.
Then a cloth over her mouth and a sharp pain in her neck.
The memory made fear surge through her.
"Daddy," she murmured.
The word barely came out.
Outside, one of the assassins heard the sound and went pale.
"She is awake."
The leader stopped immediately and gestured for them to lower the box. The two men obeyed, carefully placing the container on the walkway. The third pulled out the case of needles while the woman deactivated part of the outer runes to open a small side hatch.
"Be quick," she said. "One dose. No more."
The man knelt beside the opening, holding the needle between his fingers. Before he could bring it closer, two golden eyes appeared in the darkness inside the box.
Vex no longer looked confused.
She looked frightened.
And deeply angry.
"I want my father."
The sentence came out low, almost like a plea.
The assassin hesitated.
That instant was enough.
A wave of white energy exploded from inside the box, breaking three runes and throwing the man against the tunnel wall. The needle flew from his hand and vanished into the water. The inner chains tightened automatically, tearing a cry of pain from the girl, but they could not stop small scales from appearing around her eyes and arms.
The leader closed the hatch and reactivated every containment measure. "Lift the box!"
The man who had been struck tried to stand, but blood ran from his mouth. "She is going to break it!"
"Then we will reach the exit first."
They resumed their escape, now without any concern for silence. The container shook violently, and every pulse of energy made the runes flicker like lamps about to explode.
Vex tried again.
The chains burned.
She screamed.
But she continued.
She did not know exactly what to do. Mercedes had taught her control, patience, mana circulation, and discipline. All of that felt distant now, lost beneath fear and the sedative. Even so, she remembered something Strax had told her only hours earlier.
She was a dragon.
Form did not matter.
Size did not matter.
Part of him existed inside her.
Vex closed her eyes.
Instead of fighting every chain at once, she focused on a single one. The one binding her right wrist. She pulled mana toward that point, compressing it the way she had seen Mercedes do with ice and the way she had felt Strax do when protecting his own body during flight.
The metal began to hiss.
At the quarry exit, Kali, Scarlett, and Tiamat were already waiting, hidden among snow-covered rock formations. Guards had evacuated the area, and the canal flow was dropping rapidly. A small black vessel remained docked near the opening, crewed by four men who still did not know they were completely surrounded.
Scarlett watched from above a rock, counting their movements. "Four on the vessel. Probably more inside."
Kali growled. "I can kill all four before they breathe."
"Not until Vex is safe," Tiamat replied.
Kali looked at her, surprised by the caution.
Tiamat shrugged. "Even I know when not to blow everything up."
Inside the tunnel, the kidnappers finally saw the light of the exit.
The leader almost felt relief.
Almost.
Then she noticed something strange.
There was no sound coming from the vessel.
No voices.
No agreed signal.
Only silence.
She slowed down.
"Prepare weapons."
The men obeyed, still carrying the box.
The canal ahead seemed empty, but the shadows on the walls had changed. One was too deep. Another stood where no shadow should have been.
The leader raised a dagger.
"Who is there?"
No answer.
The box stopped shaking.
That was worse.
Much worse.
Everyone looked at it.
Then the chain binding Vex’s wrist snapped.
The metallic sound echoed through the tunnel.
A second chain broke immediately afterward.
The leader shouted, "Open the box and sedate her now!"
Before anyone could obey, a voice came from behind them.
"You have already had too much time."
The entire group froze.
Strax stood in the center of the tunnel.
There had been no sound of footsteps.
No sign of approach.
He was simply there, wearing his true appearance, golden eyes fixed on the box and a calm so absolute it seemed worse than any fury.
The leader pressed the dagger against one of the small openings in the container.
"One more step and she dies."
Strax looked at the blade.
Then at her.
"No."
The woman tightened her grip. "You think I am bluffing?"
"No."
The answer confused everyone.
Strax continued forward.
Slowly.
Without hurry.
"I think you will not have time."
The assassin tried to move her arm.
She could not.
Her fingers had frozen around the dagger.
Not with ordinary ice.
With Black Ice.
The darkness spread across the metal, climbed the hilt, and covered her arm before she could scream. The other assassins tried to react, but White Fire appeared behind them in small silent points, floating near their heads like deadly stars.
Strax stopped in front of the box.
"Vex."
The energy inside ceased immediately.
"Father?"
The voice came muffled.
Frightened.
Relieved.
Strax closed his eyes for an instant.
Only one.
Then he placed his hand on the metal.
The entire box dissolved into white dust without touching the girl inside. The chains fell to the ground, cut into perfectly clean fragments.
Vex remained seated among the remains, trembling, with red marks on her wrists and tears in her eyes.
Strax crouched.
She threw herself at him before he could open his arms.
"Daddy!"
He held her tightly, pressing her against his chest while she cried without trying to hide it. His hand moved through her blue hair, checking for injuries, breathing, pulse, and signs of poison.
"I am here," he said. "It is over."
Vex tightened her arms around his neck. "They said you would not find me."
Strax opened his eyes.
The look he gave the assassins made even the canal water stop flowing for a second.
"They lied."
The leader tried to step back, her arm still trapped in Black Ice.
Strax stood while holding Vex.
She hid her face against his shoulder.
"Close your eyes," he asked.
Vex obeyed.
Strax turned toward the kidnappers.
"Now we are going to find out who sent you."
The woman smiled with difficulty despite the pain.
"You already know."
Strax held her gaze.
Yes.
He knew.
But he wanted to hear it.
He wanted names.
Routes.
Plans.
Accomplices.
He wanted every detail necessary to ensure no one would ever try to repeat this.
Outside, Kali felt his aura change and smiled.
Scarlett let out a satisfied sigh.
Tiamat looked toward the sky.
"He found her."
Inside the tunnel, Strax brought his face closer to the leader while still holding his daughter with one arm.
"You are going to tell me everything."
The assassin spat blood onto the ground.
"And if I do not?"
Strax smiled.
This time, there was no hurry at all.
"Then you will learn why your queen should have killed me when she had the chance."
Comments