Novel's Extra: The Lost Heir of Dragon Queen-Chapter 88: Another Pawn

The forest was eerily silent as Kael ventured deeper, the only sound being the soft crunch of leaves beneath his boots.

The further he walked, the thicker the canopy grew, blotting out the faint moonlight that trickled through.

Shadows seemed to writhe in his peripheral vision, but when he turned to look, there was nothing there.

He exhaled slowly, trying to focus his senses.

The faint trace of magic lingered, but it was fragmented, scattered across the forest as if deliberately masking the caster’s movements.

Kael tightened his grip on Aethral Fang.

This isn’t an ordinary opponent.

His mind wandered to the bigger picture, piecing together the fragments of the story.

The demons were merely the tip of the iceberg.

They were pawns of the Demon King, a figure whose power transcended worlds.

The Outerworlders—the ones responsible for incidents like this—weren’t native to this realm.

They came from other dimensions, each one bringing chaos and discord, exploiting the cracks between the worlds that the Demon King had widened.

Kael frowned, his thoughts turning darker.

The Demon King’s influence runs deeper than I imagined.

Even now, his forces are preparing the world for his return.

This incident was a symptom of a greater disease, a carefully orchestrated plan to destabilize the balance between humans, beasts, and magic.

What unnerved him most was the presence of the pills.

In the novel, these strength-enhancing pills were a creation of the Outerworlders.

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They were meant to corrupt, to tempt the weak and the ambitious into becoming pawns.

The pills granted immense power but at a devastating cost, eroding the user’s body and mind until they were nothing more than husks controlled by the Demon King’s will.

Kael’s eyes narrowed as he pressed on.

How many lives have already been ruined by those pills? He had seen the aftermath before—students who had collapsed from overuse, their veins darkened with unnatural magic.

Mostly staff and teacher are silent it seems vice principal or someone at upper post than him is demon.

Some teachers are investigating this but on their own.

The faint magical signature flickered again, pulling him out of his thoughts.

It was closer now, but still elusive. Kael slowed his pace, his eyes scanning the area.

Every rustle of leaves and snap of a twig put him on edge.

This wasn’t an ordinary hunt—it was a test.

The demon, whoever it was, wanted him to feel uncertain, to doubt himself.

Kael’s lips curved into a faint smirk.

Nice try.

He stopped in a small clearing, letting his senses stretch outward.

The faint scent of something metallic lingered in the air, barely noticeable but unmistakable to someone as attuned to magic as he was.

Blood, though not fresh.

It was likely a trap, but Kael didn’t care.

If the demon thought they could outmaneuver him, they were sorely mistaken.

Resting his hand on Aethral Fang’s hilt, Kael let his thoughts drift back to his team.

He trusted them to handle their assignments, but there was still a lingering sense of unease. Shirone, Marcus, Ren, and stellan—all of them had grown since their first missions together except stellan, but this incident was on another level.

If things spiraled out of control, they could easily find themselves overwhelmed.

Kael’s sharp hearing caught a faint rustle from the bushes to his right.

The sound was deliberate, not the aimless movement of an animal or the wind.

His eyes narrowed as he shifted his stance, hand firmly gripping Aethral Fang.

The air grew heavier, charged with a faint malice that seeped through the forest like an unseen fog.

Another rustle came, this time from his left. Kael turned his head slightly, scanning the shadows.

The movement wasn’t random.

Whoever was out there wanted him to notice, to feel cornered.

Sloppy.

Too much noise for someone skilled.

This isn’t the main player.

A figure finally emerged from the brush, cloaked in darkness.

Its form was humanoid but twisted, its arms unnaturally long and fingers ending in sharp claws.

The faint glow of its crimson eyes pierced the gloom as it snarled, a guttural sound that reverberated through the clearing.

Kael sighed, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly.

"Another one of his lackeys, huh?" he muttered to himself.

This wasn’t the first time he’d encountered one of these subordinates.

In the past week, he had already dealt with two. The first was Elise.

The second, a shadowy enforcer, had been much more challenging—a creature infused with dark energy, its body barely holding itself together.

Kael had tracked and killed it, leaving no room for escape.

And now, here was another.

The realization annoyed him more than it relieved him.

He had been expecting something bigger, someone more significant.

In the novel, it was Stellan who had uncovered the true culprit behind this chaos in the forest.

Kael had assumed that Stellan’s words about the forest had pointed to the mastermind, but now he realized his mistake.

"This isn’t the main one," Kael muttered, his voice low. He adjusted his grip on Aethral Fang, the blade humming faintly with anticipation.

"The real demon wouldn’t fight like this. Coming from bushes, making all this noise? That’s not his style."

He stepped forward, his gaze locked on the creature in front of him. "Let’s get this over with quickly."

The demon’s claws scraped against the bark of a nearby tree as it let out a low growl, crouching in preparation to strike.

But Kael wasn’t about to give it the chance. In a flash, he surged forward, Aethral Fang cutting through the air with precision.

The creature barely had time to react as the blade sliced through its defenses, a burst of dark energy erupting from the wound.

Kael didn’t stop.

He moved with ruthless efficiency, his strikes precise and unrelenting.

Within moments, the demon lay crumpled on the ground, its body dissipating into shadows.

Kael stood over the fading remains, his expression cold.

"Another pawn sacrificed for nothing." He sheathed his sword, turning his attention back to the forest.

He couldn’t waste any more time.

The real enemy was still out there.