I Raised A Black Dragon

The mana operating room was incredibly huge, occupying the entire space at the bottom of the ship.

Noah looked at the distant ceiling above her. Hundreds of pipes intersected horizontally and vertically, covering the ceiling and walls alike. Ten of the particularly thick brass pipes descended the wall and were connected to a cylindrical mana vessel.

Next to the vessel, there was a huge brass turbine over five times her height. A total of ten turbines had stopped moving. The lanterns hung all over the ceiling gave the room a mix of red and orange glow.

Noah’s skin tingled at the wave of mana that swept through the entire room. Then, she heard a rattle from behind and turned around swiftly. The elevator started to move again. 

She watched the lift ascend in a daze. There was no button next to the elevator, and since it was powered by mana, there were no cables or ropes to pull it upwards.

“Oh, god…” 

Lenia was right when she said one couldn’t go back up the same way he went down. Realizing it was already meaningless to keep staring at the empty space which the elevator had left, Noah turned her back and began to move her weak legs.

“Mu, tell me as soon as you feel anything. Okay?”

“Yes.”

Only sinister silence lingered in the area. They slowly traversed the warm-lit room. There were no sudden gunshots, or whispers, and even scuffles. Only traces of a clash were evident.  

The handle of a mana-operated device lied on the floor, shattered to pieces. A pipe was bent completely in half, dripping with black, sticky liquid. In the third section, a long tail of black smoke rose from one of the vessels.

As they drew nearer, Noah noticed that there were two holes on the vessel. It was likely penetrated by bullets.

Truly, as she turned around, she saw a bullet on the floor, shiny black with a special coat — it was the customized bullet Kyle used. However, she couldn’t pick it up to inspect it. The bullet had fallen in the middle of a small pool of blood.

“…God.” This must be why people look for God. 

The moment her eyes laid on the bloody puddle, she immediately froze. A rotten smell suffocated her nostrils. The time had elapsed since the fight took place as the edges were already drying up into a brownish color.

Bloodstains were strangely painted on the floor, appearing as if a broom was swept on the pool of blood. Noah couldn’t stare at the thick puddle, but she observed the stains for a while. 

Ah, that’s it. The injured person has been struggling here and probably rolled around the floor several times.

“Please drop me, Noah.” Muell jumped off from her arms and hurried to the puddle. Contrary to her, who avoided the unpleasant view, he crouched in front of it and sniffed. And as if it wasn’t enough to smell it, he stirred the pool of blood with his finger. 

“Is it from Kyle?” Noah hesitantly asked.

“…No. I can’t smell him.” Muell replied, shaking his head.

Noah breathed a sigh of relief. Thank god, you’re not hurt.

The curious child spent a long time observing the blood and then sprang to his feet. He held the butler’s bullet in his hand. “Look, Noah.”

Muell came to her, extending his arm outward. On his palm was the bullet. There was no fear in the little child’s red orbs; his eyes only gleamed in interest. Noah slowly reached out and placed her hand on top of his, feeling uncomfortable at the bloodstains on the bullet. 

“Touch it, Noah. Noah will be able to see it.”

“What?”

“The course of the weapon used by Mr. Uncle.”

At the touch, Noah could instantly feel Muell’s mana sucked into her. Thud, thud, thud.  Her heart began to race as if she just chugged a liter of coffee. The beat gradually intensified and sounded like drums inside her body. It was a consequence of an incomplete imprint. 

Noah closed her eyes tightly to the heavy weight on her chest and then opened her eyes. What greeted her was an incredible sight.