Meanwhile, as two figures rushed to cover up the lapses in their wrongdoing, back at the MBE, two sighing children were voicing their grievances.

"Little sprite, how long do you think they’d be gone this time around?"

Orien asked the question without looking up, his attention still fixed on the handheld device in his hands as his little person continued moving on the screen.

Beside him, Liam let out a slow, drawn-out sigh, his body slumped in a way that made it clear he wasn’t enjoying the wait either.

"Hopefully, not too long..."

He said it, but even he didn’t sound convinced.

Orien’s fingers slowed before stopping completely.

"...It’s probably going to take a while," he muttered under his breath.

Liam turned his head slightly.

"Why?"

Orien’s lips pressed together as if he were debating whether to say it, but then he answered anyway.

"They said something about infiltrating the nest today."

"...Oh."

That was enough.

The weight of that single statement settled between them, and just like that, whatever interest they had in reaching the lowest mining level seemed to momentarily fade, replaced by a different kind of worry.

Almost at the same time, they both stopped playing.

Their eyes drifted down to the corner of their screens.

Battery.

Orien blinked.

Liam squinted.

Then, slowly, they turned to look at each other.

"..."

"..."

They didn’t need to say anything.

The understanding was immediate.

Then they both sighed.

"...We’re not going to last the whole day," Liam said, his tone flat.

Orien slumped further into his seat, his grip loosening around his device.

"...Not even close."

Normally, they wouldn’t have been caught off guard like this.

As children who had long been prepared for the worst, they knew better than to let something as simple as battery life become a problem. It was the kind of oversight they avoided on instinct.

But today had been different.

No one had expected things to escalate this quickly.

After all, none of them had predicted that the Chancellor himself would leave the nest.

Even from what Orien knew, the Chancellor wasn’t someone who could just come and go freely. He was rarely—practically never—allowed to leave the nest unless something serious was happening.

Which meant his absence wasn’t something that should have been easily noticed.

And yet, they noticed.

Because Riley, his Auntie, had long since suggested using modern technology to monitor the head of the nest. Magic and mana wouldn’t have worked. Someone like the Chancellor would have detected that immediately.

But technology?

That slipped through.

Still, they had to be careful.

They couldn’t just bug everything, even if they were certain that the Chancellor had a habit of stepping out when it suited him.

Thankfully, they were lucky to have caught wind of it this time around because it seemed he’d be gone longer than expected and needed to leave instructions with his special attendants.

The kids didn’t really know all the details. But they had been told just enough to understand why they were suddenly being hauled into the MBE for their own safety without advance notice.

As children who claimed to be mature and knightly, they made no complaints and simply hauled what they could still pack within the limited time they had.

Unfortunately, that only amounted to a rather sad collection of snacks and a complete lack of a proper battery pack.

It was devastating.

And even this early, they could already tell.

It was going to be a loooooong day.

Orien glanced at what they had.

Then, at the little sprite before him.

Liam glanced at the same pitiful pile.

Then back at the great golden dragonling.

"..."

"..."

They were just about to sigh again.

Probably for the sixth time.

But before they could—

"There seems to be a commotion outside."

Lawrence Hale’s voice came from behind them, calm but clearly alert.

As someone who used to work at the MBE, he was definitely familiar with the workings of the dragon lord’s office and had been tasked with monitoring the place. This was even the reason why, instead of staying inside Kael’s private space, they all gathered in his office while waiting for the return of the Dravaryns.

Suddenly curious about this commotion, both children looked up.

"Huh? Is something wrong outside, Dad?" Liam asked.

But before Lawrence could even answer—

Both children suddenly flinched.

"!"

Backs tingling and shoulders jerking, their heads snapped toward the same direction, their expressions tightening as something brushed against their senses.

It was heavy.

And unfortunately close.

__

"KYAAAAAA!"

The scream tore through the air so suddenly that several people froze in place.

Then another followed.

And another.

What had once been a relatively peaceful entrance quickly became the center of pandemonium.

"Oh heavens!"

"What is that?!"

"Move! Move!"

"Get away from there!"

Outside the MBE, the steady flow of people collapsed into chaos.

Footsteps pounded against the ground as individuals shoved past each other, some stumbling as they tried to put distance between themselves and whatever had just appeared.

"Don’t just stand there!"

"I said run!"

Someone dropped a bag.

Another tripped and barely caught themselves before being dragged upright by a panicked companion.

"Look up—!"

"I said don’t look!"

"Why is that here?!"

Voices overlapped, rising in pitch as more people began pointing toward the same spot, their hands shaking as they tried to make others see.

"It’s too close—!"

"Hey! Hey! Wasn’t this place supposed to be safe?!"

The air grew heavy, not gradually, but all at once.

Like something vast had pressed down on the space, forcing every breath to feel just a little harder than it should.

A few people froze where they stood, eyes wide and bodies locked in place as fear crawled up their spines.

It would have been better if they hadn’t recognized what they were seeing.

But they did.

And as if witnessing it up close hadn’t been enough, the confirmation came anyway, cutting through the rising murmurs and leaving the air in a stunned, suffocating silence.

Then a roar, one no one ever hoped to hear, split the sky.