Chapter 108: Just break it!

Zephyr strode down the hallway, oblivious to everything except the growing unease gnawing at him. He could sense the curious gazes following him and hear the whispers spreading in his wake, but he paid them no mind. Even when someone called his name, he didn’t pause. Using his mana to navigate the corridor, he headed straight for the nearest elevator.

If he remembered correctly, Lucien’s room was on the fifth floor of the Association building, wasn’t it?

Zephyr frowned slightly as he reached the elevator. Running his fingers over the buttons, he located the one for the fifth floor and pressed it.

He couldn’t understand why he felt so restless. He simply wanted to see Lucien. Now. This very instant.

It wasn’t because his mana was in disarray or because he needed guiding. No, that wasn’t it. He wanted to see Lucien because he was worried about him.

Something deep inside told him that if Lucien were awake and well, he wouldn’t have left Zephyr alone while some unfamiliar Guide attended to him.

The more Zephyr thought about it, the more his unease grew. His expression grew increasingly tense, and he found himself growing impatient for the elevator to reach its destination.

When the doors finally slid open on the fifth floor, Zephyr stepped out alongside several other passengers. He knew Lucien was somewhere on this floor, but he had no idea which room was his. Reluctantly, he turned to a Guide who had stepped out of the elevator with him and asked for directions.

Fortunately, the Guide knew where Lucien’s room was and pointed him toward it.

Zephyr set off immediately, his steps steady and composed. Yet a closer look would have revealed something rather unusual: he wasn’t wearing any shoes. His bare feet padded across the cold floor, and with the loose hospital gown hanging from his frame, he looked every bit like someone who had slipped out of a hospital bed before receiving proper treatment.

At last, he reached Lucien’s room.

Zephyr knocked. Once. Twice.

When no one answered, he knocked again, a little harder this time. His unease continued to grow, and just as he was about to knock once more, a familiar, childish voice rang out from the other side of the door.

"Who’s disturbing this dragon’s rest?!"

Onicus’s small body passed effortlessly through the door, ready to unleash a furious tirade at whoever had dared disturb its sleep. But the moment it saw who was standing before it, the little dragon froze.

Then, as though hastily remembering its circumstances, it plastered a sheepish smile across its face.

"Oh! You’re finally awake! Haha... Well, since you were unconscious, I followed your partner and ended up sleeping in his room."

Zephyr’s expression remained solemn.

"Where is he?"

Onicus blinked, momentarily confused.

"Who?"

A dangerous silence fell between them.

Zephyr’s patience snapped. Without another word, he summoned his mana and seized the little dragon in an invisible grip, squeezing its tiny body until it could barely move.

"Where is Lucien?"

"Hey! Let go, you brute!"

Onicus hissed, struggling against the invisible force constricting its body.

Fury surged through the little dragon. As if being dragged around the dungeon for so long hadn’t been miserable enough, Zephyr had even crushed it beneath his weight! Onicus hadn’t even had the chance to settle the score, and now this ungrateful human was manhandling it again!

What had it ever done to deserve this?!

Yet one glance at Zephyr’s face was enough to make the dragon swallow its complaints. Beneath his usually indifferent expression, something dark and unmistakably furious simmered. Onicus might have been reckless, but it wasn’t stupid enough to provoke him any further.

Grumbling inwardly, it finally answered.

"Your partner received a call from his father on a weird device. He went to see him and hasn’t come back yet. That’s all I know!"

Zephyr released Onicus, allowing the little dragon to drop free of his invisible grip.

"When?"

This time, Onicus was quick to answer.

"Ah... A few hours ago, perhaps? I’m not entirely sure. I wasn’t paying that much attention to him."

For a fleeting moment, Zephyr considered squeezing the dragon into a ball and tossing it away. If Onicus had already decided to follow Lucien while he was unconscious, the least it could have done was keep an eye on him! What was the point of following someone if it couldn’t even keep track of where he went?

In the end, Zephyr let out a cold scoff.

"Useless."

He turned and headed toward the elevator, leaving Onicus frozen in place. The little dragon stared after him, utterly dumbfounded. It could tolerate being dragged around, crushed beneath Zephyr’s weight, and even manhandled with his mana—but being called useless?

The sheer insult!

Onicus remained rooted to the spot, unable to accept the accusation, until the elevator doors slid shut behind Zephyr.

"Hey! Wait for me, you ungrateful brute!"

It shrieked, finally snapping out of its stupor. It shot after him, squeezing through the closing doors just in time before launching into an indignant tirade about how dare he insult a noble dragon and how he would regret treating it this way.

Zephyr ignored every word.

He pressed the button for the sixth floor, his expression growing increasingly grim as the elevator ascended. He needed to find Lucien. Now.

Although his mana was in disarray, he could no longer afford to wait for it to recover. Drawing upon what little uncorrupted mana he had left, he extended his psychokinesis skill throughout the entire Association building, allowing his perception to sweep through its corridors and rooms in search of Lucien’s presence.

It didn’t take long to find him.

But the moment Zephyr sensed him, his brows drew together.

Something was wrong.

Lucien was struggling against something, as though he were being restrained. Zephyr couldn’t determine exactly what was happening, but the resistance alone was enough to send a fresh wave of unease through him.

He immediately changed his destination, pressing the button for the building’s highest floor.

The moment the elevator doors opened, Zephyr strode out and hurried toward the location he had sensed, his footsteps quickening with every passing second. Behind him, Onicus scrambled to keep up, its earlier indignation temporarily forgotten in the face of Zephyr’s sudden urgency.

At last, they stopped before a tightly shut door.

Zephyr reached for the handle and tried to open it, only to find it locked.

Onicus landed lightly on his shoulder, offering a simple solution.

"Just break it!"