Chapter 52: The Secret of Black Dragon Kai

Do Ae Young’s face stiffened immediately when she heard Kei ask that.

Kai’s issue wasn’t simply a matter of health. It involved the very survival of the entire Black Dragon Guild. If that secret got out, not just Kai but every member of the Guild could be in danger.

Do Ae Young didn’t dare reveal it carelessly.

She glanced at Kai, hoping he would understand how serious the situation was. But Kai only looked at her once.

Then, he turned back to Kei. Kai shifted closer, almost leaning his entire body against Kei’s shoulder, completely ignoring Do Ae Young’s flustered expression.

Do Ae Young looked at him, then at Kei.

This fool... doesn’t he realize he’s making things even harder to explain?

Outside the warehouse, Kim Sora was cheerfully selling to a few hunters who had just walked in. Voices and the sound of the door chime drifted over, creating an atmosphere so ordinary it was almost strange.

Do Ae Young stayed silent for half a second. Then, she turned around and firmly closed the storage room door.

Click.

The small sound echoed through the cramped room.

Do Ae Young walked over and sat down in front of Kei. The smile on her lips had vanished, replaced by a rare seriousness.

"Mr. Kei."

Kei looked at her, one hand still holding onto Kai’s collar to keep him from slumping to the side.

"This is a big secret belonging to Kai and the Black Dragon Guild." Do Ae Young lowered her voice. "I hope you can keep it to yourself after hearing it."

Kei didn’t answer right away.

He looked at Kai, who was sitting obediently beside him. The man known as the strongest Black Dragon in Korea didn’t look anything like an SS-rank hunter right now. He was just staring intently at Kei, as if nothing in this room mattered more than him.

"Okay." Kei nodded. "If it’s related to his condition, I won’t tell anyone, because I have no intention of harming him."

Do Ae Young let out a small breath, but her expression remained heavy.

"The Black Dragon Guild wasn’t a large Guild in the past."

Kei raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Back then, it didn’t even carry the name Black Dragon."

Do Ae Young lowered her gaze to her hands, as if sifting through an old memory.

"The Guild was just a small group of hunters back then. No reputation, no high-rank hunters, and not even capable enough to take on dangerous missions. I was the Guild master and also the strongest member. At the time, I had only just reached A-rank."

Kai yawned, his head tilting slightly toward Kei’s shoulder, and once he rested his head on Kei’s shoulder, he squinted his eyes happily like he’d gotten his favorite toy.

Kei instinctively steadied him, but his gaze never left Do Ae Young.

"It happened during a Dungeon raid."

Do Ae Young’s voice slowed down.

"It was supposed to be just a B-rank Dungeon. The mission had been assessed, and the area had been checked. We didn’t think we’d run into anything beyond our capabilities."

She clenched her fingers slightly.

"But in the middle of the raid, the Dungeon began to change."

The air in the storage room seemed to grow colder.

"The stone walls shifted. The magical energy inside surged rapidly. The exits disappeared one by one. Within just a few minutes, the entire B-rank Dungeon had been upgraded to S-rank."

Kei narrowed his eyes slightly.

A Dungeon suddenly rising in rank. That was already an extremely rare phenomenon, but what caught his attention more was Do Ae Young’s expression. She wasn’t recounting this like a dangerous adventure. She was recalling a nightmare.

"We got trapped inside." Do Ae Young continued. "The monsters that appeared grew stronger and stronger. Members of the Guild were severely injured one after another. Some couldn’t even stand up anymore."

"So how did everyone get out?" Kei asked.

"We didn’t know where the exit was. We could only fight while searching for a way."

Do Ae Young looked up at Kei.

"Then, we found a room deep beneath the Dungeon."

Kai suddenly stirred slightly.

Kei felt the person beside him tense up a little, but when he turned to look, Kai was just blinking blankly.

Do Ae Young didn’t notice that reaction.She was still lost in her memories.

"In the middle of that room, there was a stone coffin."

Kei was stunned.

A cold chill ran down his spine.

"A stone coffin?"

"That’s right." Do Ae Young nodded. "It sat among ancient runes. No one knew how long it had been there. Even though the Dungeon was collapsing, that coffin remained untouched. On the contrary, all the energy in the room seemed to be flowing toward it."

Kei stared at Do Ae Young.

In his mind, an image covered in the dust of time slowly surfaced.

A stone coffin, as he, the mage, suppressed his pain and placed the small body of the little dragon inside, after which magic was cast, causing the stone coffin to gradually sink into the ground within the massive dragon’s nest.

It can’t be...

Kei immediately reached out and grabbed Do Ae Young’s wrist.

She flinched, and Kai also looked up at him.

"Wait." Kei’s voice grew urgent. "That stone coffin..."

His hand tightened.

"What color is it?"

Do Ae Young was taken aback by the strange question.

After a moment, she slowly replied:

"It’s black."

Kei felt his heart stop.

Do Ae Young looked at his pale face, unable to understand why a stone coffin could provoke such a reaction from Kei.

"It’s not ordinary black." She continued, her voice lowering. "It was black as ink, but on its surface were veins of golden yellow. They pulsed in rhythm, like... a beating heart."

Kei slowly turned to look at Kai.

That man was still gazing at him with clear yellow eyes, so innocent that it was hard to be wary of him.

But at that moment, Kei only saw the little dragon from years ago.

Its golden eyes soaked with tears, and its small claws gently patted his arm to comfort Kei when its dragon heart had shattered within its chest.

"And then what?" Kei asked, his voice hoarse.

Do Ae Young was silent for a moment.

"Then, the coffin opened on its own right before our eyes."