August pretty much knew what he was looking for. All he needed to do was confirm.
'Unfortunately, I'm still weak.'
He couldn't do it on his own. He was talented, sure, but he was not yet powerful.
He and those around him could not stand against those who could actually move the world.
'If Dad were to fight against any of them, they'd all lose faith in their talent.'
That was the disparity between them and the true experts.
'Speaking of Dad…'
August's eyes brightened.
'...he can definitely help with this.'
His father could do anything. They'd been apart for only a week and a few days, but August had already experienced so much.
He saw Damien in the crowd when the battle ended. Knowing him, he was probably waiting for August to find him.
'But he won't just be part of the crowd.'
August changed his mind.
"I have to go," he said to the two girls nearby.
"Where to?" Valerie responded.
"Ah, I'm going to find my dad," August replied.
"Your dad…? As in…ah, can I come too?"
Valerie's eyes were practically shining.
Damien was someone she'd heard many stories about in recent times. From what her grandpa told her, he was a man whose existence was unreasonable even by dragon standards.
She wanted to meet such a being. She was practically begging with her eyes as she stared at him.
"I don't mind," he said with a smile.
"Why don't both of you come?"
"Me too?" Melania asked.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"Of course. Why not?"
August wanted his dad to meet his new friends.
More importantly, he wanted Valerie and Melania to get acquainted.
They had exchanged greetings a bit ago, but that was about it. Their only connection was August, after all.
If the two of them were going to be his companions from now on, then they would have to learn to like each other.
Perhaps having them spend time together would make them closer?
That was August's train of thought.
"He should be outside somewhere. I saw him in the stands before, but…I'm sure it's not going to be easy."
The girls were confused, but August just smiled.
His father was…never the type of person to give him anything easily.
He had to earn it if he wanted it.
'Actually, he probably already knows about the emblem problem.'
If so, then he would make it even harder.
'I should get started as soon as possible. The field is bigger than it used to be.'
Usually, their elaborate game of hide and seek would only cover Veridea Mountain. The arena was located in a city called Fort Halleya, which was completely unfamiliar to August.
Damien was going to be somewhere in the city. That much August could assure.
However, where in the city…? Whether it be in a random store, on the side of the street, or at the top of the tallest building, Damien's location would be something August had to actually use his brain to find.
Nevertheless, the first challenge was the same as what everyone else faced.
"Let's find a way out of here without being swarmed."
The crowd outside was filled with vultures, and they needed to escape without alerting even a single one.
***
It was hard to really play games with a dragon. Damien had to find ways to keep his son entertained with things that didn't have to do with training.
Books did a good job. August loved to learn, so it was easy to keep him entertained when he was in the house.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})However, outdoor activities were a bit different.
They could go flying every once in a while, but they couldn't do it too often.
A dragon's version of fun would usually require another dragon to complete, and since Damien wasn't a member of their race, he had to find a way to compensate.
After all, he was still a human. Even if he turned into a dragon when August wanted him to, he couldn't raise him entirely as a dragon.
Instead, he found another way for them to play.
It was, in fact, an elaborate game of hide and seek.
Damien's job was to put himself in a place where nobody would think to look.
Sometimes he would even disguise himself as a different person to throw August off.
Meanwhile, August had to use his mind to find out where Damien was using the clues he left behind, and he needed to exercise his body to run around and actually chase his tail.
The first time they played, Damien found that this game was the perfect way to satisfy all of August's needs. It became a sort of tradition for them, and when he started to get more serious about training, he incorporated the game into it as well.
In the current situation, Damien decided to be even more creative with his hiding spot.
He transformed into a fire dragon in aura and appearance. Once that was over, he found his way into the VIP section of one of the most prestigious institutions in the entire city.
This place was hidden and inaccessible to those who didn't know about it. Logically speaking, it was impossible for August to find him.
'But that boy's intuition can hardly be called logical.'
August was able to infer things that were scarily close to the truth based on little to no information.
Even taking the current situation into account, August was absolutely correct.
Damien had indeed hidden himself in the city and made it harder than ever to find him.
He had already learned that there was a problem with the emblems.
Hell, he had already dissected the problem and unveiled the entire plot behind it.
If it was August, even a place like this wouldn't be able to stump him.
'Anyway, while I wait…'
The problem with the emblems was one of many things Damien uncovered as he journeyed through Arulion to find the Dragon Emperor.
'It's been so long, but that still isn't done.'
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Damien smiled wryly.
He thought it would be easy. With his current power, sensing the locations and entrances of the Holy Clan hidden territories was light work. He could infiltrate any of them if he so pleased.
However, he couldn't find anything at all that led to the Dragon Emperor.
'At first, I thought he was a fake.'
For a second, Damien even believed that the Dragon Emperor was a being that the Holy Clans simply made up to keep their power solid and support their agendas.
'But he definitely exists. The problem is…I think he ended up in a situation similar to Qinglong.'
From what Damien could tell, the Dragon Emperor was basically being used as a puppet by the Holy Clans.
Still, he was trying his best to maintain his influence.
His people had revealed themselves when the heir wars began, surprising and confusing the Holy Clans.
They were put into a situation where they couldn't act against him because his role in society had become absolutely vital.
They couldn't touch the heir wars process either since they were bound by their blood.
The sacred tradition of the Kingdom of Dragons couldn't be interrupted or interfered with by anyone except the Dragon Emperor himself.
No dragon could disobey that rule.
The Dragon Emperor was hidden somewhere in Arulion.
And while Damien took a break to attend August's big event, his clone continued to search unceasingly for clues.
'I guess this isn't the only game of hide and seek going on.'
The Dragon Emperor was doing to Damien exactly what he was doing to August.
It was a bit of a funny comparison.
'Still, if my son can find me against all odds…'
…then he could find the Dragon Emperor.
Was it logical? Not quite.
But, was it true?
Well…
