Bound To The Ice Dragon King
Chapter 74: Facing Alina

Chapter 74: Facing Alina

As midnight arrived, the bustling capital city had finally quietened down with not a single soul seen outside. All the stores and houses were closed and their lights were off. However, in one particular massive, building, the activity within it hadn’t died down yet, its imposing structure reaching towards the sky. The entire building was illuminated with torches.

Inside the building, were dimly lit corridors lined with several small, cramped cells. Each cell holding four to five dragons in their human form trapped within, their faces etched with fear and desperation.

The entire building was heavily guarded with several men in black, the corridors were guarded as well, none of the prisoners dared made any wrong move, they didn’t even have the right to cry or speak, if they made too much movement, the guard would whack the metal bar with a rod. "Stay quite! One more movement, you will be taken next."

The prisoners could only shrink backwards in fear, they dared not disobey the guards, as they knew what it meant when they would be taken. The entire atmosphere was filled with terror.

In one particular cell, was Aedan, with disheveled hair and tear-stained cheeks. His eyes were wide with terror, and he clutched onto the cold metal bars of his cells. As he looked on in fear, he looked so skinny, all his flesh had clung onto his bones. His face was bruised and unhealthy pale. The little boy had been here the longest among all.

Suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the corridors. And five fire controllers in their uniforms strode in. The prisoners in the cells immediately became more terrified as they were aware of what it meant when a fire controller arrived: few of them would be taken.

Aedan’s heart raced, and his tiny body trembled uncontrollably as he noticed the fire controllers were approaching his cell. Their menacing figures in dark red attires, stood before his cell. One of them spoke to the guard, "Unlock the cell."

Aedan’s eyes widened with pure terror as they reached out to unlock the door. He hastily retreated to the corner of the cell, as if attempting to conceal himself from them. He observed as they entered and seized the other boy within the cell. The boy fought to break free, but ultimately, they struck his head with a rod, causing his body to collapse limp onto the ground.

Aedan witnessed as crimson liquid trickled from the boy’s head, prompting him to quickly bury his head between his knees to avoid witnessing the scene any longer. His body trembled as he stifled his cries and murmured, "Mama...mama."

"Take the other boy in the corner as well," one of the fire controllers ordered.

Just as the men prepared to take Aedan away, a sudden gust of wind swept through the corridors. The breeze was chilling, carrying an inexplicable sense of unease. The atmosphere became charged with an otherworldly energy, as if the building itself was protesting against the evil that resides within.

The locks on all the cells started to rattle violently, their metallic clinks resonating like a haunting melody. The fire controllers froze, their expressions shifting from confidence to confusion. They exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of what was happening.

All the captured dragons in the cells had no powers, hence it was impossible for them to use any of their abilities. However, the chilling strong breeze and the rattling continued non stop, it only got louder and louder, as if some invincible forces were trying to break the cells.

The breeze grew stronger, billowing the prisoners’ tattered clothes and scattering loose papers across the floor. The corridors became a whirlwind of chaos.

The fire controllers and the guards exchanged terrified looks, fear etched itself onto their faces as the sounds got louder. They looked around in panic and began to draw out their swords, however, not knowing what was it that was hunting them, they couldn’t attack with their swords.

In the midst of the guards’ panicked state, none of them noticed the two individuals who had been rendered unconscious in a dimly lit corner. Their clothing was removed, they were placed in a sack, and abandoned in the shadowy corner.

Draven and Rhea swiftly changed into the attire of the unconscious men. They discreetly infiltrated the frantic crowd, pretending to be running about in fear like the others. However, while they were in the midst of their escape, Rhea started scanning the cells in search of Aedan. Meanwhile, Draven focused hard on sensing his powers.

Soon Rhea’s expression brightened up, "I found Aedan." She whispered to Draven, "What about you, have you sensed your powers yet?"

Draven shook his head, he then closed his eyes to focus more on finding it. "I can sense it, it’s in the upper floor of the building. It’s a bit far from here." He whispered.

Rhea was surprised. "How did you know it’s in the upper floor?"

"Because it’s originally a part of me, I can sense it just like I can feel myself. I can feel and sense anything that belongs to me as long as I’m close to it."

Just like the core in her body. That was why he could feel her emotions and she could feel his. She would be dead without his core, as her own life had been taken the moment the dragon king’s core chose her as it’s vessel. Rhea thought to herself. What if one day he decided to take it back? Would he ever do that to her after she’d helped him?

Rhea pursed her lips and dismissed the thoughts from her mind. She then turned around, "I think we should split up, I will release the Dragons while you go and look for your powers. Some of the ghosts will follow you to help distract the guards at the upper floor, once you get your powers, you can come down and strike these men down."

Draven raised an eyebrow, "Do you plan on releasing all the dragons alone?"

"Yes, that’s much faster." She didn’t wait for Draven to reply before running forward and added to the fear of the guards. "On Lord, ghost!" She yelled, with that, the already panicked people started to run like they were being chased by the hounds of hell.

Rhea didn’t stop there and added, "It’s must be the ghosts of the outcast creatures we’ve killed! They are here to possess our souls!"

And that was what it took for all the guards to flee in different directions. Some even ran out of the building. Rhea turned towards Draven to signal for him to leave. However, the potion took effect as their eyes met, her face flushed and her legs went weak. But she didn’t let it affect her for long and quickly snapped out of it and looked away, "Go before it’s too late." She exclaimed.

A faint smile graced Draven’s lips as he saw the redness that crept up on Rhea’s face and how she almost lost her balance. He simply shook his head and also looked away. Nevertheless, at that moment Draven was about to leave, a hot breeze suddenly blew over, it was like the gates of hell were being opened.

The faint smile on his face slowly disappeared, his expression swiftly changed as his body stiffened on the spot like he’d been struck by lightning. His face paled up like he’d seen a ghost.

Rhea noticed his rigidity and glanced in the same direction he was staring at, but observed nothing. Just as she was about to ask what was wrong, she glimpsed a lady wearing a lengthy red gown entering the corridor. The woman seemed akin to a radiant sun descending from the heavens, with red flames dancing around her dress. The trailing edges of her gown brushed the floor, resembling fire on fabric.

At that moment, the clattering within the cells abruptly ceased, and all the ghosts present began to withdraw, as if they had encountered their greatest terror. In an instant, the entire building was devoid of any ghosts, as they vanished without a trace.

Rhea’s jaw slightly dropped at the sight of Alina’s arrival. She’d never seen anybody as attractive as this woman, yet she’d never seen anyone as evil as her, to make even the dead fear her presence.

Rhea subconsciously glanced at Draven, who was staring at Alina without blinking. His blue eyes looked darkened. His expression had an undescribable rage and hatred. She couldn’t even imagine how he must be feeling. They hadn’t expected for Alina to be present in the building at this time of the night nor planned on confronting her.

Rhea’s first thought was to prevent Alina from seeing Draven at any cost. However, Draven didn’t even move nor hide from her, he stared at her direction, his gaze never waving nor blinking. His eyes were slowly turning red, it looked like he was holding himself from going forward and strangling Alina to death.

An overwhelming panic rose in Rhea’s body. This situation wasn’t something she could handle. If Draven went forward and attacked, the one to be strangled would be him, as his current self was no match for Alina. He’d only end up being burned alive, and his death would mean hers as well.

As Rhea was anxiously thinking of a way to prevent Alina from sighting Draven, he had already brushed past her like a possessed person on the verge of attacking it’s prey. Rhea’s eyes widened in terror.