Kidnapped

Sian looked around the Dark Elf village, which he had visited after a long time, with fresh eyes.

Even though quite some time had passed, the village looked the same as before.

However, unlike before, there was a disorganized atmosphere.

In addition, the Dark Elves’ anxiety and restlessness were also felt.

As a Black Dragon, Sian was sensitive to dark and negative emotions, and all of that touched his skin so clearly.

“Sian, this way.”

“Alright.”

Sian nodded and followed Carli and Ryuisa’s guidance.

Every Dark Elf that Sian encountered bowed to him.

They felt anxious, but their eyes were full of trust in Sian.

They had a firm look in their eyes, believing that he would protect them no matter what.

It was a somewhat burdensome yet familiar look to Sian.

Ever since he decided to accept them, Sian had constantly felt burdened and responsible.

When he fought against the Orta Empire, Sian had just been possessed and was having a hard time adjusting.

However, when he thought that he had to take responsibility for hundreds of other races, he suddenly came to his senses.

If he died alone, it wouldn’t matter, but with hundreds of lives behind him, he felt like he was being driven to the edge of a cliff.

Perhaps Sian was a major character in the novel, so he kept the original work’s coercive power from dying.

He had to die at the hands of Theodore, the protagonist, even if he died.

But it wasn’t just a simple matter.

Fighting for survival with complete strangers was not good mentally.

Sian still often recalled the face of a soldier he had killed for the first time.

A dragon’s memory was really useless, leaving even memories he wanted to forget in his head.

Sian clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“Welcome, Sian.”

“Yes. It’s been a while, Myun.”

“I am sorry that I could not greet you in person.”

“No, don’t overdo it and sit down.”

Sian waved his hand at Myun, who was trying to raise his aging body with difficulty.

Then Myun lowered his head again as if he was sorry.

Myun was one of the three elders of the Dark Elf village.

He was the oldest of the elders.

He was an elf who lived for about 1,000 years, and he was over 990 years old this year, so he was practically on his deathbed.

The two elders next to him were looking at Myun with concern.

“It’s been a while for you two as well.”

“We greet Sian.”

“We greet Sian.”

Lium and Baum, who spoke almost simultaneously, were twins.

Their appearance and hairstyles were so similar that it took Sian quite a while to distinguish them.

Sian stared alternately at the other two elders, Lium and Baum.

These three were the highest decision-makers in the Dark Elf village.

“We are really sorry for making you come all the way here.”

“Well, it must be an important matter then?”

“That is correct.”

The elders nodded at Sian’s question.

Of course, Sian was happy to visit the Dark Elf village after a long time, but the problem was the children in the mansion.

Theodore was inherently a constitution that did not respond well to magic, so it was useless to put up a barrier.

So he was very worried about leaving them alone in the mansion.

Still, he had secretly attached a familiar, so if something happened, he could use the artifact to go to Theodore right away.

Sian tried to suppress his anxious heart.

“Sian is well aware that human adventurers have been hunting in the forest recently.”

“That’s right.”

“But it seems that there is someone among them who has an ancient artifact.”

“What?”

Sian’s eyes widened at Myun’s words.

Most ancient artifacts were relics of the gods.

The best weapons that the gods, who ruled the earth in the mythological era, gave to their loved ones.

Drake was once obsessed with collecting them.

The problem was that most ancient artifacts contained the blessing of the gods.

Then Sian could pass through most of the barriers he had set up.

Even without the person who set up the barrier knowing it well.

Sian had only met someone with an ancient artifact once since he was possessed.

It was the wandering Duke who had made a fortune by spreading stories about his episode with Sian.

He cried and begged Sian, who was trying to take the artifact, saying that it was a precious heirloom passed down from his ancestors.

Ancient artifacts had been around for a very long time, so they were sometimes treated as useless antiques to those who didn’t know about them.

Some people, like Duke, firmly believed that they were valuable items and kept them, but they were useless to those who had no magical power.

Sian briefly recalled Duke’s affairs and sighed.

“Hoo…… Is that really true?”

“Yes, we just discovered traces of humans who crossed the barrier.”

Lium, who answered Sian’s question, showed the appearance around the barrier with a bead-shaped video artifact.

Certainly, there were subtle traces that were difficult to see as belonging to animals left inside the barrier.

“They haven’t been able to come deep inside yet, as they have just crossed the barrier…….”

“Hmm…….”

Looking at the number of traces, not many adventurers had entered the barrier.

Most artifacts only grant abilities to the wearer and a small number of party members, so it was natural.

But even so, it was no ordinary thing that those who clearly had impure intentions had invaded the mountain.

“I will find them myself.”

“But Sian, they are adventurers with ancient artifacts. If there are even excellent magicians or priests…….”

Artifacts containing the power of God were incompatible with Sian.

The elders knew that well, so they wanted to meet him directly without telling Carli.

Sian smiled at their worried faces.

“The most useless thing in the world is worrying about a dragon.”

“Sian…….”

“Don’t worry. I’m not someone who will be easily defeated.”

“……Please come back safely.”

Myun lowered his head with a mournful face.

Knowing that Sian was not the type to reverse a decision once he had made it, he realized that further persuasion was impossible.

“We always seem to be a burden to Sian.”

“No. Thanks to you, I found out that intruders had entered.”

Those with ancient artifacts would not be foolish people like the wandering Duke.

The Dark Elves were able to discover their traces because they were watching the barrier day and night.

It would have been difficult for Sian to notice it quickly alone.

“Now, leave it all to me.”

“Yes, Sian.”

“There haven’t been any other casualties, right?”

He asked in case anything had happened to the Dark Elves who had been looking around the barrier.

However, the elders shook their heads.

“Fortunately, nothing happened.”

“That’s a relief.”

Sian nodded and stood up from his seat.

There was no more time to delay.

He didn’t know what would happen if he left the intruders alone.

First, he would have to look around the area where the Dark Elves had found the traces.

Sian thought to himself and was about to teleport to the coordinates he had just been given.

“E-Elder……!”

“……!”

Someone opened the door and came in with an urgent face.

Sian, surprised, stopped teleporting and turned his head.

Then a woman stood at the door with a pale face.

“What’s going on?”

“…….”

Myun glanced at Sian and asked at the woman’s unusual appearance.

It seemed that the woman was too confused to even know that Sian was here.

Sian nodded slightly to Myun as if to say it was okay.

“A child…… A child has disappeared. We were clearly together…….”

“A child disappeared?”

“Yes……”

At the woman’s words, Lium and Baum stood up from their seats instead of Myun, who was uncomfortable.

The woman seemed to be very shocked and continued to speak incoherently.

“It was outside the village, but it wasn’t that far away.

The child was curious about the wildflowers, so he was more stubborn than usual today…… I went a little further, but still…….”

“I understand, so tell me how the child disappeared.”

“Just…… Just suddenly…… I just looked away for a moment and suddenly disappeared. It was really in an instant.”

“……!”

The four looked at each other for a moment.

They had a bad feeling.

A child disappeared just after they learned of the existence of intruders.

It was too suspicious to be a coincidence.

“Master……!”

“……Tia?”

At that time, a small black flame rose next to Sian.

It was Tia, Sian’s familiar.

Tia continued to speak in a voice that seemed about to break.

“Theo…… Theodore…….”

“Theo?”

“I’m sorry…… There was interference, so I was too late…… to inform you…….”

“What happened to Theo?”

“Humans…… Took Theo…….”

“Tia……!”

The small flame quickly disappeared.

The connection with Tia was cut off.

Sian raised his hand with the ring on his stiff face.

“Sian, could it be…….”

“Yes, it’s probably their doing.”

“……!”

It was clear that something had happened to Theodore and Leon.

Sian gritted his teeth.

“Make sure that the other children are strictly managed so that they never go outside the village.”

“I understand.”

Sian, seeing the elders nodding with stiff expressions, activated the ring.

Soon, the scene in front of him turned white.

‘Theo, please……!’

He hoped and hoped that nothing would happen until he arrived.