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The young black dragon couldn't help but frown as he listened to the song the weak, red-haired human was singing. His chubby black paws clenched into round fists; his insides knotted uncomfortably.
'Why,' Raon wondered, 'is the human singing such an ominous song?'
Raon didn't mind Cale singing--in fact, he loves to hear Cale sing even with the usual nonchalance he always possessed--but it was the song--the lyrics--that he disliked. The message it carried was a red flag for all of them--especially when the one singing was someone who has a penchant for bleeding and going overboard.
Raon, On, Hong, Choi Han, and the others--everybody--nervously shifted on their seats and fidgeted as Cale continued the tune. Their insides whirled with uneasiness.
Finally, when he could no longer stand it, Raon called out for Cale in a high-pitched shriek.
"Hmm..what is it?" Cale asked once he had returned to his usual calmness after being surprised by Raon's call.
Raon zoomed past the heads of the others in a blur and then stopped directly in front of Cale's face. Dark blue eyes met reddish-brown irises. A calm gaze looked back at the round orbs swirling with a tornado of anxiousness.
"Do not sing that song!" Raon exclaimed in a voice laced with concern and heart trembling with fear of losing the human before him.
"What song?"
Raon began flapping his wings faster, causing a gust of wind--however, its strength was still meager compared to the force of his flipping insides.
He opened his mouth and shared his honest sentiments to the red-haired man, who seems to have low self-awareness.
"The one you sang just now! I don't like it! None of us like it!"
I hate it.
Raon hated how that song talked about dying early, and he especially hated the fact that Cale was singing such a song.
Raon stared at the red-haired human who saved his life from the dark cave--Raon's prison--and protected him during his first growth phase. This was the same man who coughed blood and fainted many times. This was also the same man he's determined to protect and cherish.
As Rosalyn and the others shared their agreement with Raon's declaration, the young black dragon quietly surveyed Cale's condition--the worry Raon felt still not disappearing.
"I plan to live as a rich slacker! Why would I let myself die?" Cale remarked, trying to reassure them that he has no plans to throw away his life.
They stared at him, gazes unbudging. Raon's dark blue eyes never left Cale's face as he contemplated the words that left his weak human's mouth.
This man who resembles a blooming red rose was someone who keeps his promises--someone who wouldn't say empty words. Raon knew that Cale truly wanted to survive and live a life of peace together with his family. That was something Raon wants as well--and all of the people inside this room, too.
"You're still too young to embrace death, young master-nim. This senior butler of yours wishes to see you get older," Ron commented in a benign voice that--Raon noticed--gave Cale the chills.
Raon puffed his chubby belly to look more majestic and agreed with Ron's statement. Cale was indeed too young--even when he's years older than Raon--compared to the adults here. Raon wishes for Cale to reach his dreams, that they would live together in their home filled with happiness and peace. Cale's wish for a peaceful life was also Raon's wish.
The young dragon who grew up isolated and tortured wants to spend his days with the people who showed him the world and love at the same time.
"I promise to live. I won't allow myself to die," Cale's calm voice resonated in their ears, the statement etching itself into their hearts.
'Most of all,' Raon thought, determined. 'I wish for the weak human to live.'
The weak human who keeps on teetering between life and death, the weak human who keeps getting involved in plenty of chaos, he wants this weak human to live.
"We will survive together~!" Raon, together with his big sister On and big brother Hong, cheered in unison. Hope was evident in their voices--hope for the future together with each other.
***
Everywhere Raon looked was a catastrophe. Dilapidated buildings, mountains of rubble, and different forces--magic, ancient powers, and elementals--ran wild in every direction. Flashes of lightning and rumbling of thunders filled the sky. There was blood everywhere, corpses scattered. Thankfully, they were mostly from their enemies--White Star's side.
Raon Miru, who was sporting various sizes of wounds--thankfully, none of them life-threatening--on his body, looked down at his paws as he panted. They were shaking, and so was his entire body. Fatigue was slowly creeping into his system, slowing him down.
However, he couldn't stop.
Raon averted his gaze at Cale Henituse, who was persistently clashing with another red-haired man in a white mask, the White Star.
Raon swept his gaze over the battlefield and saw his allies forcing themselves to stand up, to fight back, to keep pushing forward. How could he stop when his friends--his family--won't?
Besides, they promised to survive. To do that, they have to defeat their nemesis--the greatest obstacle towards their peaceful living.
Raon couldn't stop even when he was trembling. He won't stop. For his family, for his companions, for the weak human, he'll fight and then win with them.
He'll survive with them.
Clenching his quivering front paws, he firmed his resolve. His dark blue eyes began to blaze with determination once more. Black mana wrapped around his frame and fluctuated violently.
Attack the enemy.
Protect your allies.
Raon continued fighting. So young, yet so strong-willed. So small, yet so firm.
Devastating destruction spread around them; it was a nightmare on land. The forces of nature ran wild; the sky and earth had become unrecognizable.
Attack.
Protect.
Support.
Time seems to have been forgotten, all Raon and his companions' attention focused on defeating the masked man before them--determined to survive.
Everything went by in a blur--or more correctly, in a typhoon of ear-piercing explosions, heart-trembling fierceness, and unrelenting forces.
It was the Final Battle, indeed.
And their final enemy has now stumbled down to his knees. The white mask the White Star was wearing was now nothing but broken pieces scattered across the ground, mixed with his very own blood.
Raon landed a few meters away from Cale, who plopped to the ground just like the White Star. Raon's black wings collapsed unenergetically at his sides. Just like his weak human, his breathing was ragged and his eyelids felt heavy. His whole body was trembling, fatigue swallowing his entire being.
Yet he kept his eyes opened, his senses alert. He needs to persevere for a bit more until everything--all of these--ends.
His half-opened eyes stayed on Cale's tattered figure.
Just a little bit more. Victory is now within their grasp.
The earth was rough, but Raon paid no heed to the discomfort and remained vigilant of his surroundings.
The majority of his allies--his friends--were slumped on the ground, on their knees, or their bottoms. Their gazes directed at their adversary were overflowing with hostility, even when their bodies were worn out by the grand battle.
"Perish...already..." Cale panted, his cold glare never leaving the White Star.
Mad laughter echoed throughout the battlefield. Raon felt a foreboding sense of danger as soon as that laughter reached his ears. His heart began beating wildly, and anxiety began flooding into his system like a tsunami ready to swallow him whole.
The darker shade of brown irises that held undeniable contempt remained on Cale Henituse's figure across the open field littered with the remnants of a great war.
An odd and sinister sensation began growing in Raon's system as he watched the White Star open his mouth and wheeze out, "Haaa...If I'm going...going to die...I...I'll drag...I'll drag you with me..."
It lasted but for a millisecond--that was how quick the disastrous force was created and began shooting towards Cale Henituse.
Small boy, show me how much you care...
"No...!" An inaudible squeak left Raon's parched throat.
His sagging wings began flapping rapidly; his limp body regained its strength he didn't know he still had. Panic rose in his system, adrenaline rushing like a violent wave.
"CALE HENITUSE!"
"CALE-NIM!"
"YOUNG MASTER!"
"WEAK HUMAN!"
Raon screamed. He desperately called out for Cale Henituse, whose body refused to move and avoid the approaching force bringing absolute death. His throat hurts--dry and tight.
Faster. He needs to go faster. Raon Miru needs to protect his weak human.
Little guy, what are your true desires...
Raon Miru does not wish for Cale Henituse to die.
The red-haired human who saved his life must not die. He won't allow it. Absolutely not.
His desire to save Cale grew and grew--providing Raon explosive energy to rush towards Cale despite the fatigue that clung onto his system.
Forget his wounds, Cale comes first.
Dear lad, how much do you love his warmth...
As he closed the distance between him and Cale, Raon could clearly see Cale's trembling body. Cale's feeble physique looked extremely terrible; he was bathing in blood--both his and his enemies'--and various wounds decorated his pale skin.
The same arms that carried Raon out of that prison-like cave were violently shaking.
Another realization dawned upon Raon at that moment.
If that lethal force reaches Cale, it would rob away his warmth. Cale would turn into a cold corpse. The warmth that Raon felt whenever he clung onto Cale--whenever he was wrapped around his feeble arms, whenever his head was patted by his weak human's thin hands--will disappear.
Only coldness will remain. Cold. Just like that cave he was tortured in.
The awareness of that fact pumped more adrenaline into Raon's entire being. His speed became quicker, frantic.
5 meters...4 meters...2 meters. Raon outstretched his arms as if he was reaching for Cale--for someone he doesn't want to fade away.
The force that would take away Cale's life force was only a few meters away when Raon appeared--arms spread as if he became a shield himself--and began casting multiple layers of protection.
"I'll protect you..." Raon mumbled in a tiny voice that nobody heard.
BOOM! BANG! BANG! BANG!
An explosion that shook the earth and sky reverberated throughout the area. It was the representation of the nightmare they'll have to face, the starting point of the end they never want.
Raon could feel his shields breaking, his mana weakening, and his demise approaching. He could see death's jaws widening themselves towards him.
Raon wants to survive. That fact didn't change even as he glared back at the monster drawing near. However, if his survival entails Cale's death, then he'd rather perish than Cale.
The force growled at Raon and began devouring his tiny frame, squeezing his life force out of him.
Raon felt like he was being strangled; his insides twisted in painful ways. He felt like burning and then freezing.
'It hurts.'
He felt like drowning. Intense pressure squeezed him from every side. He was losing strength--all his muscles became limp. Raon felt every horrible sensation one could feel.
Raon doesn't know what's going on with his body or how he twisted in different directions. All he knows is that he's dying.
He's dying.
A sorrowful chuckled left his lips. Tears began streaming down his face.
'I guess I'm similar to the weak human as well,' Raon thought. 'I'm sacrificing myself like what he does.'
For the sake of saving Cale, for the sake of keeping him alive, Raon was willing to die in his stead.
'I'll protect you...'
The killing power slowly faded away, and so did Raon's life.
The fangs of death dug themselves into Raon and dragged him down just like how gravity was grabbing his now limp body. The forces of death and gravity mercilessly pulled him, not caring whether or not he was so young.
However, before his body could hit the rough earth, warm arms caught him and cradled his dying frame.
Raon didn't need to open his eyes to know who's the owner of the trembling arms that embraced him.
'Weak human...'
A small and weak smile graced Raon's lips as he savored Cale's warmth for the last time.
Young child, your heart stopped so that his could keep on beating.
Raon could hear Cale's drumming heart and became well-aware of his own fading heartbeat.
He did it. He saved the man who saved him.
'Cale Henituse...I'm sorry...please live...'
Darkness entirely claimed Raon Miru and his tiny heart stopped beating.
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Bonus scene:
A man sporting an all-black attire looked up from what he was reading and gazed at the young, black dragon that appeared in the middle of fluttering petals.
He could see the joy etched onto the child's face. He also caught sight of the silver sparkle on the boy's cheeks--tears.
Dark blue eyes averted to the man sitting before a desk. The owner flashed a grateful smile towards the man and said, "Thank you, Mr. Death! Thank you for granting my wish!"
The God of Death--also called Mr. Death by the great and mighty Raon Miru--nodded as he began reminiscing about the times Raon would pester him non-stop to grant the young dragon's wish.
"I'll go to my space now, bye Mr. Death~!" Raon left for his room that the God of Death provided him as the said God of Death sighed.
"Ah right!" Raon suddenly exclaimed.
"Hmm? What is i-"
SMACK!
Before the God of Death could finish his inquiry, a strong force hit the back of his head and drove his face onto his table. A loud, disturbing sound echoed while the desk snapped into two and the documents he was working on flew in various directions.
"I'm sorry!" Raon's cute voice said. "The weak human told me to smack you for him! You know that I can't refuse him."
The God of Death raised his head, his whole system clouded with shock as he stared at Raon Miru.
"What the fu-"
"Oh! Are those cookies?" Once again, Raon cut him off and flew towards a basket of cookies. Shamelessly snatching them with his paws, Raon turned to the God of Death again. "I'll take this! Thank you! Bye!"
And off he went, leaving a frozen--assaulted--Mr. Death, a broken desk, and scattered files spread all over the place.
Fin.