Pretty quickly, the old man crept up to Aidan's body and sat down beside him, examining his condition:

"Hmm, like an ordinary boy ... How did you end up here?" - even Anu could not feel the currents of magic in Aidan's body, not even a tiny particle of magical energy. But even so, it made him wary even more. How could a common man find himself in such a terrible environment? He was clearly connected to everything!

"Hmm, couldn't he gobble them all up? It seems to be in blood, but ... Who knows "- touching the forehead of the magician, the old man grunted: - Nothing ... Simple kid. It doesn't matter ...

Although Aidan smelled of blood, the old man was not going to wry his nose now, he simply threw the guy's body over his shoulder and quickly left the anomalous area, and then quickly loaded him onto his horse.

- Phew ... Master, I'll probably blow it up! - Cedric grimaced and was already preparing to cast spells, but Starkey stopped him.

- No, bear with the little hand. Better to have him covered in blood, more evidence for the General and less problems for us. Saddle up the horse and hurry, it's better to get to the capital by the evening.

The guy sighed heavily:

- Okay ... But I'm going ahead.

- As you wish.

So, Aidan fell into the wrong hands again, he was tied to a horse next to a half-dead dragon slayer, and then taken to the capital. He could not even imagine what kind of meeting awaits him soon ...

*

After the Festival of the Dragon King, the queen was imprisoned, it was General Rank, being her husband, who was responsible for the security of the state. He was in charge of hunting down the remaining Dragon Slayers. For over a year now, they have been tracked across the continent ...

In a spacious stone hall, the General received two arriving guests. Today they brought back two dead Dragon Slayers and an unknown bloody youth. A multitude of warriors in silver armor stood guard at enormous stone columns throughout the majestic throne room, while Rank descended from the stone throne and stood next to two bowed magicians:

- This time three, Anu, not so bad ... Have you interrogated them?

The old man just sighed and began to gradually recount the details of his journey, starting from his hunt for the Dragon Slayers, and then about the fate of the Order of the Black Flame. He spoke in a collected manner, did not admit theories or guesses, and could prove every word he said. No unnecessary chatter or servility - this magician really deserved respect.

As a result, after all that has been said, the Rank has changed in the face more than once, as have the soldiers along the perimeter. Everyone knew how strong the people of the thirteenth division of the Order were, but only parts of bodies and organs remained of them, along with dried blood ...

How is this even possible ?!

The rank darkened, he personally gave the Commander of the Thirteenth Division a task, and in the end he simply died a terrible death!

- You two ... You can go. The Quartermaster will give you a reward. Lemar, take them, "the General growled. After all he heard, his hands trembled slightly. Ranga was not very upset by the death of the Order's people, but he was very much frightened by the news of a terrible enemy, who most likely was a dragon! Even in ordinary life, he shuddered at the mere mention of dragons and woke up in a cold sweat from terrible memories, and here it is ...

Rank no longer wanted to look at the face of Aidan and the dead Dragon Slayers, so he simply ordered: - Into their dungeon! Interrogate, and then execute! Throw the boy in blood to death row, Gonzalez will deal with him!

Orders were issued, and what happened next was not so important, since Aidan was grabbed by the arms of two guards and simply dragged into the dungeon. He still couldn't wake up and looked almost like a bloody corpse.

Quite quickly, the body of the magician was lowered into the dungeon, the guards walked past the guards and the jailer, and then dragged him along the dusty gloomy corridor. This time they were joined by a tall, bald man with a thick black mustache. In his silvery chain mail and with an ax on his back, he looked quite impressive, even a couple of the guards were afraid of him, but continued to follow him. It was this man who was in charge of the death row, the so-called place for those sentenced to posthumous torture. Often such people were not sent to execution, only in rare cases did they get such an "honor". Basically, Gonzalez just tortured them to death.

Aidan was being dragged down a long corridor lined with dozens of metal bars on the right side. The light barely penetrated these gloomy chambers. Since the hunt for the Dragon Slayers, there have been almost no "visitors" in these places. Gloom, steel bars and a small pile of straw, that was all that belonged to the inhabitants here. However, Aidan was lucky, he was already half-naked in some torn trousers, because of the thick bloody smell and dirt, he was not even searched. What values ​​can a half-dead ragamuffin have?

In one of these cold cells, as in many days before, the scarlet-haired girl froze in rags and tenderly stroked her belly. Irene Belserion, the queen herself, practically rested in her own dungeon. She had practically lost hope, only the child inside, forced her to live on, ignoring her former pride and her humiliating position.

When Aidan was dragged alongside, Irene's gaze was faintly caught by a glimpse of violet radiance and she involuntarily raised her tired eyes.

"Human?" - when the girl concentrated, all she could see was a completely exhausted back, covered in thick blood, as well as dark hair with light gleams of purple hair. He was incredibly weak. Probably at that time, he faced one of the worst days of his life. Fairy Tail's mark was barely visible due to the adhering mud, so Irena hardly managed to catch her faint outline ... That day and that very moment, in the future, will not give her rest for centuries. If only she looked more attentively ... If only she could see ...

But, to her bitter smile, Irene's interest faded as quickly as the door of the next cell slammed shut. Aidan's body was thrown inside, and then the guards hurried away.

Gonzalez stopped nearby, and, as if recalling something cheerful, turned in the direction of Irene with a sneer:

- How is the face, your majesty? On the dragon spawn, everything heals too quickly ... Heh, we'll fix it soon! - laughing, the jailer drove the guards and quickly left this gloomy place. Irene involuntarily touched a bruised eyebrow and a black blue eye, and then gritted her teeth until she crackled. Almost every day, this bastard beat her with his fists and legs, day after day ... She often covered her stomach, but she could not close her face.

"Hush, everything is fine ..." - Irene mentally whispered, covering her tired eyes. All she had to do was endure and continue to gently stroke her belly. She wanted to cry, from the bottom of her heart, but there were no more tears left ...

What to do? Is this the end? Such thoughts led to despair ...

All she could do was to continue to slow down the growth of the child, but with each passing day, her heart and soul were losing the rest of their strength. She lost hope long ago ....