"Screek... screek!" - Kenji's faint cry perfectly expressed its happy feelings. Lying sideways, the little dragon demon looked like a helpless puppy sharing the same mat with its caring tamer.

"I... I don't understand..." Yoichi muttered, turning his head back to Shioko and his master. "What happened? Where are we? How did we manage to get out of the dungeon?" he inquired, unable to remember anything besides Ogai's body wrapped in dragon flames.

​​

"Supreme Ryutaro ran to our rescue, Yoichi. When you lost consciousness, I was desperate, not knowing how to carry the both of you out of there. As soon as Ogai was defeated, the black mud that enveloped everything began to emit a strange smoke and melted," Shioko explained.

"It melted? You mean the Blackblood just disappeared from the whole area? Even outside the dungeon?" Yoichi exclaimed in amazement, unable to believe his ears.

"Apparently, yes. Ogai was the new boss of the Blackvault Mines, and as soon as he was defeated, thanks to the supreme Ryutaro who came to our rescue, we were able to exit the main entrance without any malus. The Demonic Veil was gone, and the level of our demon pets remained unchanged," Shioko reported, explaining the current situation.

"The Blackblood?" Ryutaro interrupted. The old gatekeeper's head turned slightly towards his protectees. His face was covered by the black veil, as usual.

"That's how the warlock of Kamakiri called the substance capable of making wild demons immortal and aggressive, as well as weakening the Crimson Lotus plantations," Shioko immediately intervened, explaining the details to Ryutaro, who had arrived after the battle.

"Ryutaro-sensei..." Yoichi stammered again. The young tamer rested both elbows on the straw mat and, gritting his teeth, sat down. "I thought you couldn't leave the Arena," he spoke, turning his gaze to the man who had told him the truth about his Oracle.

"Indeed I am," Ryutaro replied promptly. Gently lifting his long, wrinkled fingers from Enatsu's abdomen, he checked for the umpteenth time that the damp leaves adhered perfectly to the wound.

"But… how did you..."

"However," the old gatekeeper interrupted, anticipating his young pupil's response. "Something has happened to Therion's Tear. Something I have never seen in my entire life, boy," he added.

"Ther... Therion's tear?" Yoichi stuttered. The last time he had heard the name of that magic fluid, he had just experienced the spirit cultivation techniques of his master.

Ryutaro only had to look at the not-so-stupefied expression on Shioko's face to realize that the red-haired archer already knew the story. Before answering that question, the Emperor's former right-hand gave a few seconds of silence.

"Sensei... I know what you are thinking. It's true, I swore I wouldn't tell anyone about my powers... but the circumstances were..."

"What's done is done, Yoichi-kun. There's no use thinking about mistakes that belong to the past. I'm sure if you chose to confess your deepest secrets to these two warriors, there must have been a specific reason. Well, I don't want to know that reason. I am your master, not your father, nor your friend," Ryutaro spoke coldly.

In his harsher-than-usual words, the gatekeeper showed disagreement. The fact that he would have wanted Yoichi to keep the secret was also evident to Shioko. She didn't know how to hide her face from embarrassment.

"Yesterday, I was immersed in my daily meditation when I sensed an unusual vibration coming from the center of my room. I had never felt anything like it before, so I stopped my meditation, and what I saw startled me. The Tear of Therion, contained within the stone sink, had turned red and was boiling as if it were in a cauldron," Ryutaro remarked.

Next to him, two small wicker boxes seemed to contain ointments and other medical supplies useful for first aid. His speech broke through the minds of Yoichi and Shioko, who were eating out of his hand. Sensing that Enatsu's condition would improve and that the merchant would no longer be in mortal danger, they waited to hear the rest of the gatekeeper's story.

"The Dragon King of Lumya's Tear... was it boiling?" Yoichi asked. The bones in his back and hips creaked from the long period of inactivity. His arms still ached, and he couldn't perform regular movements naturally.

"That's correct. When I sensed that the phenomenon in front of me was directly related to your actions, I imagined that you and your team were in danger," Ryutaro added.

"I don't understand, Ryutaro-Sensei. How did you know when we would leave and which direction we would follow? I don't remember, did I ever tell you we were coming to the Blackvaul Mines?" - Yoichi looked confused. Ryutaro's story made perfect sense, yet, the young tamer didn't remember giving him all the information he needed to know his location.

Behind Ryutaro and Enatsu, two horses were tied to a small carriage. It consisted of a single rectangular shaped wooden wagon, large enough to carry a maximum of three people and a few goods.

"Before I was a gatekeeper, I was a trained soldier, Yoichi-kun. You have no idea how long it took me to learn how to track. I left the sacred Goldhaven Dojo in the middle of the night, knowing that Emperor Nishiyama would punish my actions. However, I could not risk losing my one and promising student. How I managed to get to you in time does not matter," the old guardian reported.

He closed both wicker chests and dried his hands with an old rag. "The important thing is that I managed to save you," he nodded. "Now tell me... is it that so-called 'Blackblood' that infected your companion's wound?" he asked, pointing the finger at Enatsu.

The young merchant seemed to be sleeping blissfully beside his mole demon. The ointments and long fresh leaves Ryutaro used to treat their wounds must have significantly alleviated their pain. Their faces seemed relaxed and devoid of any suffering, but their wounds were still not fully healed under superficial care.