Jack and Darmos spent the whole night talking to each other. They reminisced about their first meeting. They talked about light topics and left out the heavy problems. They were two friends who enjoyed their time together without letting the concerns of the world interfere. It was as if all their worries were forgotten. Jack could even laugh for real at one point.
Jack cooked the Eras fish in between their chat. He didn't cook them all at once. Darmos was happy to continue eating Jack's cooking. He brought plenty of fish. They lasted for the entire night.
During their chat, they touched upon the matter of Suzaki's seal. Darmos said he would have to pass the seal to one of the young dragons. Despite saying the same when he sealed Suzaki, he didn't expect things to happen so soon. He preferred to do this only after the other true dragons were old enough. This was because Suzaki applied constant fire pressure to the subject she was sealed in. The subject would feel as if constantly in a boiler. This could halt their growth.
If Uddroth was still alive, he would have been the perfect candidate. His affinity to the fire element should give him a strong resilience in resisting Suzaki's flame. He wouldn't be affected as much.
"So, who will bear the seal?" Jack asked Darmos.
"If I have to choose, I guess Syndrillis will be my first choice," Darmos answered. "She is the oldest after me. She is still considered rather young for a true dragon, though."
Darmos sighed. He said, "I guess the thing we old ones worry the most when we are about to pass is whether our young ones can face this world without us. I hate to leave such a burden on them."
"Can't you transfer the seal into an inanimate object?" Jack asked. "From what I heard, Azzarilth's seal was on a wall inside a cave."
"I need special materials for that. Those were hard to come by at this age," Darmos answered. "Do you think I want to bear this seal on myself if I have a choice?"
"Oh… I thought you had been so angry with Suzaki that you wanted to make sure no one could unseal her without going through you," Jack said.
"Well, that is true as well," Darmos didn't disagree.
Jack suddenly thought of something. "Hey! What about outworlders? Our body is special. Perhaps we can bear the burden?"
"Well… I never thought of that," Darmos said.
"Are you sure you want to take the risk by giving it a try?" Peniel asked.
"Peniel is right. You shouldn't take this lightly," Darmos said. "This is not an item we can pass around just like that. If the seal is transferred, it will take several days before it can be transferred again. By that time, I won't be around anymore. If the bearer can't bear Suzaki's fire pressure, he will have to suffer for the rest of his life. Under that condition, he might choose to give up and set her free."
"… Let's do it!" Jack said. Right now, he wanted to help Darmos, even if it was only one affair. He wanted to ease Darmos' mind in his last few days.
Darmos put a hand on Jack's forehead.
"What are you doing? I don't have a fever," Jack said.
"I'm happy that you want to help. However, you don't have fire affinity. Even though I don't know if outworlder will be fine if the seal is transferred, having a fire affinity will help. Just like when I said I wish Uddroth was still alive. What you have is lightning affinity. That doesn't help at all."
"Lightning affinity? I don't have lightning affinity," Jack said.
"You have the mark of lightning. That can be counted as lightning affinity," Darmos informed.
Hearing that, Jack said, "In that case, I got a better candidate! I'm calling him now to come here."
Peniel knew which candidate Jack was talking about. "Do you seriously want to risk another person for this trial? We still don't know what the effect will be on an outworlder. No way he will agree to your request."
"He is on his way here," Jack said.
"He is?!" Peniel asked with surprise. "How did you persuade him?"
"I didn't. I called my gramps and asked him to tell Haon to do it," Jack answered.
"…" Peniel was speechless hearing that.
"I'm going to call Janus as well," Jack said. "If there is anyone who can learn your sealing technique or at least learn the method to transfer it, he should be the most qualified person. Just in case something goes wrong."
"Who is he?" Darmos asked.
"The leader of the Order of Magi," Jack answered.
"I see," Darmos said. He didn't know about Janus but he knew about the Order of Magi. He thought Jack was right. The leader of such an organization should be well-versed in the arcane art. Such a person should be able to mimic his technique in case there is a need to transfer the seal.
"Take them to my lair. We will carry out the ritual to transfer the seal there. I will go first and wait," Darmos said to Jack. He transformed into Broidrireg and left.
The reason he chose to do it at his lair was because the other true dragons were there. In case things went South and Suzaki was released, the dragons could subdue her so he could seal her again.
Jack also left. He flew to the hut where he entered the Order of Magi's headquarters. Young Janus was there to greet him. Jack had expected that. Even if this was already past midnight, there was always a copy of Janus at the entrance.
Jack explained the situation to Young Janus. Not long after he finished his explanation, a portal appeared behind Young Janus. Real Janus came out of that portal.
"Let's go," Real Janus said.
"Hehe. I remember how hard it was to meet you in the past. Now, you come at a moment's notice," Jack chuckled.
"It is not every day one can witness a master spellcaster like Broidrireg at work. He is a legend among us, practitioners of magic," Janus said.
"Nah, I know the reason is because we are tight now. There is no need to be shy about it. Okay, let's go," Jack said.
Janus scratched his head while looking at Peniel. Peniel just shrugged for a response.
