Ira arrived back in the City of Clouds to find it aflame. People were fighting in the streets and mangled bodies were impaled on stakes. Ashes fell to the ground and blanketed the city but no one seemed concerned.

“Get him!”

“You’re not so Blessed now, are you?”

“He’s the son of those slave traders!”

Then the intermingled voices of a group echoed through the streets accompanied by heavy footsteps.

A young boy around thirteen or fourteen years of age turned the corner and began to run before he bumped into Ira and fell.

“Agh!” The boy looked up at Ira with fear in his eyes.

A few seconds later and a mob of people with makeshift weapons had arrived only to see Ira and the boy who had yet to get up.

“There he is,” Someone spat.

Ira looked at the crowd and then to the boy before smiling, “Looks like you’re in trouble.”

“Hand him over and you won’t get hurt,” A man threatened.

Ira simply sighed in response before he flicked his hand. A massive force began to press down on the angry mob and they were crushed to paste in an instant.

“There you go, kid,” Ira grinned. While he wasn’t a hero there were things that bothered him such as poison or groups of people terrorizing young children.

The boy just looked up at him with stunned eyes in response but Ira continued on his way. His real objective was to go save all the pastries that were stuck in the middle of the chaos. As he continued walking, the boy followed behind him.

Ira would stop every so often to loot a storefront and procure pastries while killing a few rioters in the process. If he saw a blessed one who was young being chased he would kill the pursuers. As for the older ones? He ignored them and continued his journey.

After a while, Ira had dozens of kids in tow and most weren’t even being chased. They would crawl out from hiding spots or from beneath debris in order to join his group. It was something out of a fairytale but Ira didn’t pay it any attention as he was too busy eating pastries.

He picked up a tart and tossed it into his mouth before examining his cargo. Two baskets stuffed to the brim with sweets were in each hand and the only reason he didn’t store them away was so he could enjoy them.

Eventually, Ira arrived back at the hideout arranged for him and the kids who had followed him looked a bit clueless.

“Oh! Ira you’re back…” One of the Vulpes moved to greet him but trailed off after seeing the adolescent half-dragon kids.

“Could you take care of them for me? Thanks.” Ira placed a basket on the table before patting the Vulpes man on the shoulder.

“W-Wait...I don’t know if that’s a good idea...They’re not the most liked people around and harboring them could turn the people against us.”

Ira narrowed his eyes slightly while sporting a grin, “I don’t care about the people.”

The Vulpes trembled under Ira’s gaze, “...I understand...We’ll find something for them.”

“Good,” Ira said with a laugh before turning his attention to Kaiden who was standing in the spot Ira last left him in.

“I think...I think I’ve figured it out,” Kaiden said.

“Oh, really?” Ira held himself back from laughing.

“Yeah...If I can clear my mind of all thoughts I’ll pass the first step, right?” Kaiden asked.

“Ahem...Exactly.” Ira cleared his throat while disguising a laugh. “Anyway…”

Ira waved his hand and produced a strange slab of meat which then placed on top of a cookie before handing it over to Kaiden. “Eat this.”

“...Um, what is it?” Kaiden accepted the strange food before furrowing his brows.

“It’s dragons flesh. I should’ve given it to you a while ago but I just managed to get some.” Ira explained.

“Isn’t that too strong for most to digest?” A Vulpes asked.

“Is it? I wouldn’t know.” Ira snatched his cookie back, leaving Kaiden with a handful of flesh. “Make it into jerky and eat it piece by piece.”

“Ah, ok.” Kaiden nodded.

Amelia, his younger sister, ran off and came back with a cloth for him to cover it up. Ira nodded before waving his hand again and dropping an even bigger piece of fresh dragon meat on a table.

“There’s some more...Now, time for me to go.” Ira stepped back.

“Aren’t you going to train me?” Kaiden questioned with a confused expression.

“If you survive after eating all of that then I’ll train you some more.” Ira shrugged and then disappeared before Kaiden could respond.

What was left were a crowd full of kids being funneled into a room and a speechless Kaiden.

…

Charles’ eyes were widened beyond belief and sweat dampened his forehead as his fingers move steadily. On a metal table in front of him was an unconscious Dark Elf. The skin covering his ribcage was peeled back and the rib bones were visible.

Next to Charles were a group of healers doing their best to keep the unconscious Dark Elf from dying. Putting himself completely into his work, Charles continued carving lines into each rib bone before packing it with crushed pieces of mana crystals. He rarely blinked while doing his work and a strange smile was plastered on his face as he moved closer to finishing up.

“Done!” Charles shouted as he signaled for the healers to close the wounds of the Dark Elf.

Instead of celebrating or taking a rest, Charles moved toward a Lycanthrope who was voluntarily strapped to a table.

He grabbed a strange vial of liquid and swirled it around before opening the cork and bringing it to the Lycanthropes mouth.

“Could you drink this please?” Charles asked politely but his eyes spilling over with obsession made anyone who looked at him feel uncomfortable.

The Lycanthrope grunted before complying and opening his mouth and Charles poured the strange liquid in before allowing him to drink it.

The healers who finished with the Dark Elf moved to the Lycanthrope while preparing for any eventuality, but strangely enough, nothing happened.

“I don’t think it worked.” The Lycanthrope exhaled in relief until his veins suddenly began to throb.

“Argggggh!” He screamed in pain as his body began to swell and his bones began to crack eerily.

“Should we heal him?” Someone asked Charles who instantly refused.

“No! Keep waiting!” Charles moved a few feet backward while keeping his eyes on the Lycanthrope.

The buckle to a restraint burst off and went flying across the room, shattering a few empty vials but Charles didn’t care at all.

Fur began to grow out of the Lycanthrope’s body and his muscle mass had more than doubled. His ears became more pointed while his face began to protrude and formed into something more snout-like. The Lycanthrope growled and snarled before he burst out of the restraints completely and fell onto the floor. His heavy breathing filled the room but he put strength into his body and stood up only to find he was much taller than before.

“What...happened...to...me…” The Lycanthrope asked with a hoarse growl as he looked at his fur and claws.

“It worked.” Charles looked as if he was about to cry. There was probably never a time where he had been any happier. “It worked.”

The Lycanthrope didn’t understand what Charles meant but he could tell that he was far more powerful than before. If Sylun was present she would understand that he obtained the ability to transform into a werewolf. It was something most lycanthropes were able to do before the Collapse ended up thinning their numbers and the strength of their bloodlines drastically.

“See if you can undo it!” Charles said excitedly. He heard that Ira was able to transform at will and wanted to know if his concoction could replicate that.

The Werewolf concentrated hard for a few minutes and then his body began to shrink back to its normal size. He found himself extremely exhausted after the transformation had ended and fell to his knees.

“Perfect!” Charles cackled wildly. “It’s perfect!”