Chapter 927: Strax is really nervous.
Strax remained motionless in the center of the tunnel for several seconds, holding Vex tightly against his chest while feeling her small arms locked around his neck. The girl was still trembling, though she tried to hide it by burying her face against his shoulder. Her breathing came unevenly, occasionally interrupted by muffled sobs, and each one of those movements made something inside Strax tighten in a way he could not fully explain.
There was no shared blood between them.
Vex had not been born from him, did not carry his name through some ancient lineage, and was not the result of any ordinary relationship. She had been an egg found under unlikely circumstances, a fragile life he had helped protect until the moment it hatched. For a long time, Strax had treated that as a responsibility, then as a curiosity, and finally as something Mercedes could manage better while he dealt with wars, monarchs, and problems that seemed to grow with each passing day.
Yet while holding the frightened little dragon in his arms, all those justifications began to feel hollow.
The rage he had felt when he realized she was missing had not been rational. It had not been born from obligation, political duty, or fear of losing a powerful creature. It had been something much more instinctive, deeper, and more violent. For several minutes, Strax had truly been willing to reduce entire cities to ruins, cross the continent destroying everything in his path, and turn every suspicious territory into a grave until he found Vex.
He had never felt that way for something he considered merely a responsibility.
The understanding arrived without ceremony, heavy and simple.
Vex was his daughter.
Perhaps not by blood.
Perhaps not in the ordinary way.
But none of those differences mattered while she clung to him, trusting that her father had come to bring her back.
Strax slowly ran one hand through the girl’s blue hair, removing small metal fragments caught between the strands. His other arm supported her firmly, keeping her away from the figures immobilized by Black Ice and the white flames still floating silently through the tunnel.
"I am here," he repeated, his voice much lower than before. "No one will take you again."
Vex did not answer immediately. She only tightened her arms around him, as though testing whether that promise had any physical substance. Strax allowed her to remain that way for as long as she needed, ignoring the assassins, the water running through the canal, and even the presences beginning to approach from the quarry exit.
Scarlett was the first to enter the tunnel, walking unhurriedly through the shadows while observing the partial destruction of the containment runes. Tiamat came right behind her, followed by Kali, whose face carried such obvious fury that even the wounded assassins seemed to understand the situation could still become much worse. A few seconds later, Cristine and Yennifer appeared through the side passage accompanied by Black Guild agents, all armed and ready to stop any escape attempt.
Kali immediately moved toward Vex, but slowed when she noticed the girl still trembling in Strax’s arms. Her fierce expression softened only slightly, replaced by genuine concern.
"Is she hurt?"
"Marks from the chains and sedative," Strax replied. "Nothing permanent, from what I can sense."
Kali breathed deeply, visibly relieved, though her eyes still burned when they shifted toward the kidnappers.
"Then they were lucky."
Scarlett examined the trapped men and the woman whose arm remained frozen by Black Ice. Her smile appeared slowly, but carried no humor.
"I would not call that luck."
Strax did not respond. He continued stroking Vex’s head until he felt her breathing partially stabilize. Then he pulled away only enough to examine her face, checking her eyes, skin, and the marks left by the sedative.
"I am taking you home."
Vex nodded quickly.
"You will stay with me?"
"I will."
"Without disappearing?"
The question was quiet, almost ashamed, but it struck Strax harder than any blow he had taken in recent months.
"Without disappearing," he promised.
The girl buried her face against his shoulder again, apparently satisfied with the answer. Strax then raised his eyes toward the other women. The change in his expression was immediate. All the gentleness directed at Vex vanished, leaving only an absolute and hostile calm.
"I am taking her to the mansion."
Tiamat nodded, looking at the prisoners.
"Leave the rest to us."
Strax shifted his gaze to Cristine and Yennifer. The two had already understood what he expected, but remained silent while waiting for a direct order.
"Find out everything," he said. "Names, routes, contacts, payments, meeting points, and any other infiltrated agents in Asgard."
Cristine tilted her head slightly.
"And afterward?"
Strax’s gaze did not move.
"Make every remaining second feel endless. I want them to understand exactly what they did before they die."
The assassins’ leader tried to maintain a defiant expression, though fear was already clear in her breathing. Yennifer studied the woman with quiet, almost professional attention, as if she had already begun organizing different ways to break her resistance.
Strax continued without raising his voice.
"Do not give them a quick death. Tear every piece of information from them before offering any mercy. When they are no longer useful, finish the job and eliminate the remains."
The tunnel fell silent.
Even Kali looked at Strax for several seconds, recognizing something unusual in his tone. It was not an emotional outburst or an empty threat. It was an order spoken by someone who had already decided the fate of those people completely.
Cristine smiled.
Not a joyful smile, nor an exaggerated expression. It was the calm smile of someone who had just been given permission to use every available method.
"Understood."
Yennifer let out a low whistle while watching Strax adjust Vex in his arms.
"Damn," she murmured. "This is only the second time I have seen you like this."
Strax did not ask when the first had been.
Scarlett crossed her arms, still watching the prisoners with interest.
"Then there had better not be a third."
Cristine walked toward the assassin trapped by Black Ice and held the woman’s face with one hand, forcing her eyes to remain open.
"Did you hear that?" she asked calmly. "He left you with us."
The woman tried to spit at Cristine, but Yennifer caught her jaw before she could complete the motion.
"Do not waste your energy," she advised. "You are going to need plenty."
Cristine looked toward the other members of the group and smiled in a way that genuinely resembled a demon standing before something helpless.
"We had better start playing."
Strax did not stay to hear any response. Mana wrapped around his body and Vex’s in a silent layer, folding the space around them. In the next instant, both vanished from the tunnel, leaving behind only white particles that slowly dissolved over the dark water.
When he reappeared inside the mansion, Strax stood in the corridor leading to the private rooms. The sudden displacement made Vex tighten her arms around him, but the girl asked nothing. She seemed too exhausted to show her usual curiosity, and that alone said much about what had happened.
The staff walking through the corridor stopped immediately when they saw them. A maid dropped the towels she was carrying when she noticed the marks on Vex’s wrists and Strax’s expression. He explained nothing. He merely instructed that no one enter the room until further notice and continued forward.
The door opened with a silent movement of mana.
Strax entered and walked to the bed, where he carefully placed Vex on the sheets. She took several seconds to release his neck, keeping her fingers caught in his clothes as though she still feared everything would disappear if she looked away.
"I am not leaving now," Strax said, understanding her hesitation.
Vex slowly released the fabric.
He removed her boots, adjusted the pillows, and pulled the blankets up to her shoulders. The little dragon watched every movement in silence, something so unusual that the room seemed larger and emptier around them.
Strax sat on the edge of the bed.
Vex looked at the red marks around her own wrists, carefully tracing one of them with a finger.
"What happened?"
The question made Strax remain silent for several seconds. At first, he thought she was asking only about the kidnappers, but then he noticed the genuine confusion on her face. Vex did not fully understand what those people had done or why anyone would want to take her.
"They wanted to use you to get to me," he explained.
Vex frowned slightly.
"Use me how?"
"They knew you were important to me. They thought that if they took you, they could force me to do something or make me suffer."
The girl looked at him, still trying to make sense of that logic.
"But I did nothing to them."
"I know."
"They did not even know me."
"I know."
"Then why would they do that?"
Strax breathed slowly before answering. He did not want to hide the truth, but neither did he intend to pour the full cruelty of adult politics onto someone so young.
"Some people are cowards. When they cannot face someone directly, they attack those nearby."
Vex lowered her gaze again.
"It was scary."
The admission came quietly, without shame or exaggeration. She seemed merely to acknowledge something she still felt.
Strax placed a hand on her head and began stroking her hair slowly.
"You are allowed to be scared."
She raised her eyes.
"Dragons can be?"
"Of course."
"I thought dragons were not supposed to feel fear."
"Who told you that?"
Vex thought for a moment.
"No one. I just imagined it."
Strax smiled faintly.
"Feeling fear does not make you weaker. What matters is what you do even while you are afraid."
She remained thoughtful, and he continued running his fingers through her hair with a calm that completely contrasted with the order he had given only minutes earlier.
"Will this happen again?" Vex asked.
The smile disappeared.
"No."
The answer came too firmly to allow doubt.
"How do you know?"
"Because I will make sure of it."
Vex studied his face for several seconds, searching for hesitation. She found none.
Strax adjusted the blanket around her again.
"Rest for a while. The sedative is still in your body, and you need to recover your energy."
"Where are you going?"
"To solve the problem."
"With those people?"
"With whoever sent those people."
She quickly grabbed his hand.
"You will come back?"
Strax closed his fingers around her small hand.
"I will."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
Vex seemed to relax for the first time since they entered the room. She slowly released his hand, settled against the pillow, and closed her eyes. Strax remained seated until he noticed her breathing begin to settle into a regular rhythm.
Only then did he stand.
He walked to the door, placed one final protective barrier over the room, and stepped into the corridor. The wood closed silently behind him.
Monica was waiting.
She leaned against the opposite wall, holding several reports, though none of them seemed truly important at that moment. Her expression was more rigid than usual, and there was an uncomfortable certainty in her eyes.
"It was that Monarch," Monica stated.
Strax sealed the door with a second protective layer.
"Yes."
"Do we have confirmation?"
"Cristine will get it."
Monica studied his expression.
"But you have already decided."
"It could only be her anyway."
The corridor remained silent while several staff members kept a respectful distance. No one approached. No one asked anything. News of the kidnapping had already crossed the mansion and likely all of Asgard.
Monica pressed the reports against her chest.
"What are you going to do?"
Strax began walking toward the exit.
There was no hurry in his steps.
There was no hesitation either.
The earlier rage had disappeared from the surface, replaced by a serenity so complete it seemed far more threatening.
"Exterminate."
Monica watched him.
"Strax."
He did not stop.
"She has entire cities, soldiers, civilians, and territories that had no part in this."
"I know."
"Then be specific."
Strax finally slowed and turned his face just enough to look at her.
"I will be."
Monica held his gaze for several seconds.
Then she nodded.
Not because she approved of what was coming, but because she understood that stopping Strax was no longer a real possibility. The most she could do was ensure his fury reached only those responsible.
"I will prepare maps of Aelyra’s territory, railway routes, ports, and military positions."
"Prepare a message for the Heavenly Emperor as well."
"What should I write?"
Strax resumed walking.
"That he has lost a Monarch."
Snow fell over the courtyard when the mansion’s main doors opened before him. Staff, guards, and knights stepped out of his path without receiving an order.
Strax crossed the entrance.
His aura remained compressed.
But as he walked toward the launch area, small white scales began appearing across his arms.
Aelyra had tried to use a daughter to wound the father.
Now she would learn exactly what it meant to awaken a dragon.
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