The Void Wolf

It had been nearly a week since Ira had witnessed the progress of Charles’ experiments. After seeing it all he had to admit that he was a little impressed with the results. The bloodline enhancement, the inscription arrays, and a new project which somehow involved the barrels of Behemoth’s blood were all things that would lead to tremendous growth.

The biggest problem of the Dark Elves was the relatively small population when compared to other countries. Of course, Ira found an easy solution. One that he shared with Sylun while carrying Raveria on his shoulders.

“Keeper, if I’m understanding you correctly...You wish to bring races from the continent of...Yeramesh...to the Underground City?” Sylun asked.

“Yup, there are a lot of Half-Dragons who don’t have any parents. I’ll bring them here and once they grow up...Well, you get where I’m going. Dragon’s blood is quite potent and it could fix a lot of problems if it's introduced into a few thousand bloodlines.” Ira replied while ignoring Raveria who was messing with his hair.

“That’s a wonderful idea, Keeper. If I may ask, how will you get them here?”

“I’ll send them to the temple. It shouldn’t be a problem since it’s for me, right?” Ira inquired.

“Not at all, Keeper. We’ll make preparations as soon as you give the word.”

“Oh, then...You can start right now. I plan on going to Yeramesh today.” As soon as Ira finished speaking Raveria broke out into a tantrum.

“No!” She pulled at his hair while kicking her legs. “You can’t go!”

Ira remained unfazed by his daughter’s assault and spoke, “Do you want to come with me?”

Raveria stopped pulling his hair and immediately nodded.

“Ok…” Ira said with a smile. “...We just have to ask your Mother,” he added with a quiet whisper.

“Farewell, Keeper.” Sylun bowed.

Ira nodded in response before he and Raveria vanished from sight. They were off to search for Avery in order to get her permission to leave.

…

“No,” Avery said plainly.

Raveria’s face instantly puffed up with anger and disbelief as she looked at her mother, “Why?!”

“It’s too dangerous. And weren’t you supposed to be training her, Ira?” Avery shifted her focus toward Ira.

“Yeah...This is also apart of her training,” Ira put on his best straight face as he spoke. Unfortunately, Avery wasn’t gullible enough to believe his words for a second.

“Is it? Could you explain to me how going to another continent will help her grow her power? If it’s to teach her how to fight I can handle that myself. If it’s to let her kill people, monsters, and creatures, there are more than enough of those on this continent.”

Ira quickly tried to think of a few things to say in response and was visibly taken aback by Avery’s counter-argument. He looked to Raveria who gave him a pitiful look that he couldn’t withstand.

“It’s uh...You see, uh...So, Raveria is young...And um…” Even though he tried his hardest, Ira couldn’t find a single convincing thing to say.

"Who left that sword over there? It's not even sheathed." Ira pointed behind Avery with a confused expression.

Avery turned around to look but saw nothing except furniture.

“Quick let's go!” Ira picked up Raveria and teleported away before Avery could stop him.

Avery sighed before pinching the bridge of her nose with slight annoyance. After a few moments, she laughed to herself and shook her head.

Ira and Raveria appeared out of nowhere and landed in the middle of some empty mountain range.

“Whew,” Ira exhaled a breath of relief.

“Um...won’t Mom be mad?” Raveria asked with concern.

“Of course not,” Ira replied with a self-assured grin.

“I think she will,” Raveria seemed to be doubtful.

“Listen, I don’t think Avery has ever been mad at me so why would she start now. Anyway, let’s go.” Ira placed his hand on Raveria’s shoulder and was about to teleport away when he had a thought.

“You know what, let’s make it a bit more exciting,” Ira smiled.

“Exciting?” Raveria repeated.

Instead of disappearing into thin air, the two of them sunk into the ground which added more mystery. At least, that’s how Ira saw it.

…

Virgil sported a weary appearance and so did those inside of the hideout of the Uprising. In Ira’s one week of absence, the entire continent was turned on its head. The Dragon Legion’s staged a large-scale assault against any city suspected of cooperating with the Uprising.

It was nothing more than a purge that, while earning more hatred for the Dragons, scared away many from joining as well as killing those who were apart of the Uprising. The Valkyries, Haykul, Naiads, began to show signs of distancing themselves though they didn’t leave entirely. Still, as it was now the leaders of the Uprising no longer gathered while the Dragon Legions were deployed. It basically meant that they no longer believed Virgil could keep their location safe.

“We’ve lost all of the people we had stationed in the Dragon’s Heart province.” A man handed Virgil a map with dozens of locations crossed off.

“Inform the others and…” Virgil trailed off as he noticed two people rising up from the floor.

The young man dressed in black clothes was obviously Ira. He was accompanied by a small girl with black hair and soft yellow eyes that beamed with curiosity. She looked to be around five years old. Unlike Ira’s dark outfit, she wore a long-sleeved grey tunic with brown sandals.

“Ira.” Virgil greeted with clear discontent before remembering how twisted Ira’s personality was. “And this is…” He turned his gaze to the little girl next to Ira.

“This is Raveria, my daughter. You really shouldn’t be concerned about that though.” Ira’s words held the faint indication of a threat.

Though in reality, Ira would kill Virgil if he even breathed the wrong way around Raveria so there was no need to make a threat. In Ira’s mind, it should be clear what would happen if someone upset his daughter.

Raveria looked at Virgil with unblinking eyes. Previously, she was shy around new people but that changed after being met with the treatment of the Dark Elves and the Valkyries.

“Where are the kids?” Ira changed the subject.

“The ones you left at the City of Clouds? They’re here since no one wants to keep them around. It’s far too dangerous to be a human harboring Half-Dragons since it looks more like a kidnapping rather than keeping them from harm.” Virgil lightened his tone but still made his complaints clear.

“I see. Well, bring them here will you?” Ira didn’t pay Virgil’s troubles any mind.

Virgil signaled to the clueless man who was still hung up on Ira’s entrance.

“A-Ah, yes, Sir.” The man stumbled over his words before leaving.

“So, how's your Uprising been going?” Ira asked casually.

“The Dragon Legions have been disrupting all of our activities and slaughtering thousands of people so...not good,” Virgil answered while gritting his teeth.

“That’s too bad, but listen...You haven’t said anything about Gicae or the Lares and that’s what really upsets me the most.” Ira’s eyes slightly narrowed.

“...We do have some information on them. Apparently, there was a very skilled psychic by the name of Gicae who belongs to a highly prestigious family. They’ve somewhat dwindled out and only the oldest of them are left but they are all immensely powerful and most of the Dragons consult them for predictions on future events.”

“Where are they?” Ira asked.

“The Dragon’s Skull Province. It’s the northernmost area of the continent with hundreds of mountain peaks. That’s also where you can find the few dragons who remain neutral as well as the Sidera who look to the stars for guidance. In addition, it’s a place full of spiritual energy and various phenomenon that even the Dragons can’t–”

“I’ve heard enough. Just get me a map and point it out.” Ira stopped Virgil from finishing his words.

“As you wish.” Virgil moved toward the table and began marking the location.

At the same time, the children were brought into the room even though they caused it to be crowded. At the forefront was Kaidan and Amelia who moved toward Ira in a hurry.

“Is it time for my training?” Kaidan asked without even noticing the little girl at Ira’s side. He had packed on quite a lot of muscle mass due to his consumption of dragon’s flesh but what was more surprising was the fact that he managed to survive.

“Hmm, I’m already training her though.” Ira pointed to Raveria.

“Hmph,” Raveria made a proud expression. Although she was less than half of Kaidan’s age she was far more powerful.  

Kaidan looked at Raveria and then spoke, “If I can beat her will you train me?”

Ira laughed at Kaidan while shaking his head. “That’s an interesting thought. Raveria?”

It seemed like Ira agreed without worry but if Kaidan managed to actually hurt Raveria a grim fate would be waiting for him.

“I’ll do it, Dad.” Raveria was eager to show off in front of Ira so she nodded with vigor.

“Alright, all you have to do is push her over,” Ira said to Kaidan with a smile.

For some reason, Kaidan had a flashback to Ira’s first test which he failed. By now it was obvious that anything Ira said was easy would be incredibly difficult.

“I’m ready,” Kaidan said.

Right as he finished speaking, Raveria closed the distance before a single second could pass and appeared behind Kaidan. She raised her hand and pressed her small hand on his back which caused him to slam into the floor.

“Uehk!” A strange sound emerged from Kaidan’s mouth as he processed the huge shock. Then, Kaidan raised up and slammed into the floor again in the same exact manner. It repeated again and again until Kaidan became bloodied. Ira knew that Raveria looped time and used it as a way to attack.

“Easy there, Ria.” Ira waved his hand and Raveria undid the loop.

Kaidan plopped onto the ground and breathed heavily, indicating he was still alive.

“Did I win?” Raveria inquired with clear expectation.

“You did and it was amazing.” Ira smiled as he ruffled Raveria’s hair.

“Kaidan!” Amelia knelt down to her brother’s side with tearful eyes.

“Oh, Raveria, can you fix him?” Ira asked politely.

Raveria nodded before raising and reversing Kaiden’s wounds.

“W-What just happened…” Kaidan climbed to his feet and examined his own body before looking at Raveria with a horrified expression.

“There’s your first lesson, kid. Don’t ever challenge my daughter.” Ira turned his attention to the quiet spectators who he almost forgot about. Even Virgil was speechless at Raveria’s brief demonstration. He couldn’t track the movements of Ira’s daughter let alone comprehend the nature of her abilities.

“Ehem.” Ira cleared his throat and spoke bluntly. “A lot of you followed me in the City of Clouds so I’m assuming your parents are dead. Even if they aren’t you should just assume they are because I’m not going to go looking for them. So now you’ll be going to the place you’ll be calling home for the rest of your lives...However long that is.”

A few kids started crying after hearing his words and the rest all had saddened expressions but Ira didn’t mind it all, in fact, he felt as if he was helping them. He clapped his hands once and the group of kids, including Kaidan and Amelia, all disappeared but probably emerged in the Underground City’s Temple.

“Alright, Raveria. Let’s go find some Lares.” Ira took the map Virgil wrote on and stored it away before lifting up his daughter. “Hopefully I can teach you a few new things.”

Raveria smiled innocently which made Ira even happier with his daughter.

Virgil’s eyes flashed with fear as he looked at Ira and Raveria. He even wondered if it was the wrong decision to seek Ira’s help in the first place but it was far too late to turn back time. All he could hope was that Ira would follow through with what he said and dismantle the Dragons who ruled over the other races.

As if reading Virgil’s mind Ira turned to him and spoke “Oh, I’ll kill a few more Dragons and help you out a little. It should be good training for Raveria too.”

Virgil could only shudder in response as he imagined the fates of those involved with the Father and Daughter duo.