"I'm not eating." Evelyn's voice had softened considerably.

  "Mo…" Lyra paused, holding the magical crystal in her tiny hands. She was about to say the full name but abruptly swallowed the rest of it. Her small body tensed slightly.

  She cautiously lifted her eyes to glance at Evelyn. Seeing no trace of displeasure, she quietly exhaled in relief.

  "Eat… eat…" Lyra pushed the piece of magical crystal, now only the size of a fist, toward Evelyn's mouth again. Her little face was full of stubborn goodwill, clearly wanting to share her most treasured treat.

  "I said no." Evelyn refused once more. To her, this was just normal behavior toward others, without the slightest intentional harshness.

  But to the naive, innocent Drake hatchling, it seemed as if mom disliked her.

  Her small mouth involuntarily pouted. A layer of moisture quickly clouded her eyes, yet she forced back her tears, obediently withdrawing her hands holding the crystal and hugging it back to her chest.

  Lyra sat back beside Evelyn, pitifully lowering her head, nibbling at the remaining crystal in tiny bites.

  This time, even her chewing was barely audible, as if she feared any movement might upset mom. Her small body remained tense, not daring to make a sound.

  Evelyn observed all this, thinking to herself how remarkably simple and sensible this little Drake was. Despite being wronged, she only thought to reflect on herself, which stirred a bit of sympathy in Evelyn.

  "Lyra." Evelyn hesitated slightly, then softly called her name.

  Upon hearing her name, Lyra immediately lifted her head. Her eyes were still slightly red, carrying lingering grievances, and she looked at Evelyn imploringly.

  The disappointment from being refused earlier had not completely faded. Now, hearing Evelyn call her herself, her face lit up with a mix of surprise and confusion.

  "You like calling me mom?" Evelyn's words felt slightly awkward even as she spoke them, her ears tingling with warmth.

  Lyra's slightly reddened eyes were full of wonder. She blinked in confusion, seemingly not fully grasping the depth of the question, but instinctively nodded.

  She truly loved this name, which made her feel warmth.

  "Dad, mom, Lyra," Lyra tried to form sentences. By the end, she finally managed to stammer out her own name.

  Having heard these simple words many times, she had naturally remembered them, though she was still clumsy with them.

  Watching her earnest attempt to speak, Evelyn thought: for a young hatchling like this, overly complex words would only confuse her.

  After a moment's thought, Evelyn slowly extended her arms. Under Lyra's completely bewildered gaze, she gently lifted the little Drake into her embrace.

  Her touch was soft. Lyra's chubby little face was especially adorable, stirring a flicker of fondness in Evelyn.

  After all, no one could resist something both cute and obedient, especially a hatchling so sensible and well-behaved.

  "You can call me whatever you like." Evelyn's voice softened further.

  Lyra blinked in surprise and delight, her big eyes wide.

  Just moments ago, she wasn't allowed to call her mom, and now Evelyn had suddenly agreed? Her tiny mind was full of confusion, leaving her momentarily speechless.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Lyra nestled in Evelyn's arms, raising her small hands to stuff the last bit of magical crystal into her mouth, her cheeks puffing adorably.

  After finishing, she obediently patted her hands lightly, brushing off any remaining crystal crumbs from between her fingers.

  Evelyn watched this charming scene, her heart touched. She couldn't resist reaching out her finger to gently poke Lyra's soft little cheeks.

  Lyra swallowed the crystal fragments, raised her little head, and cautiously glanced at Evelyn.

  Seeing that Evelyn only watched quietly, without the slightest displeasure, she fully relaxed. Turning, she curled into Evelyn's embrace, hugging her neck tightly and closing her eyes.

  For the little Drake, a full belly and sleep were the ultimate comfort.

  Her little world was simple: dad, mom, endless magical crystals, fun things, and safe sleep.

  Lyra's tiny face pressed against Evelyn's shoulder, lips puckered, hands wrapped tightly around Evelyn's waist, breathing gradually steady and deep, finally drifting into a peaceful sleep.

  Evelyn looked at the small figure in her arms, a faint but genuine smile curving her lips.

  This Drake hatchling was pure and adorable to the extreme, so different from Ryan's wild, untamed nature. She silently hoped he wouldn't spoil her.

  Evelyn's gaze lingered on the peacefully sleeping Lyra, becoming distant as memories stirred.

  She recalled reading that human children required the union of male and female and a full ten months' gestation to be born.

  At that thought, her eyes involuntarily drifted toward the doorway, and Ryan's image flashed in her mind.

  Snapping back to reality, Evelyn blushed lightly and quickly dismissed the absurd thought from her head.

  She had no idea why such thoughts kept surfacing, knowing they shouldn't, yet unable to stop them.

  "Evelyn!"

  Startled, Evelyn immediately released Lyra from her arms, adjusting her posture so it appeared Lyra was voluntarily hugging her, and her expression returned to its usual cool composure.

  Ryan quickly approached the doorway, lifted the linen covering the hole, and stored it away. He then dashed over to Evelyn.

  "We have to go, as fast as possible," Ryan said, his expression extremely serious.

  Without another word, he scooped up the sleeping Lyra.

  Lyra looked bewildered. Ryan softly instructed her to revert to her original form and enter the Totem Space.

  He bent down to carry Evelyn on his back. Magical energy silently coursed through him. With precise footwork, he dashed out of the town, eyes of countless townsfolk following him in awe.

  The town was small and had no large intercity teleportation array, only a few small teleportation arrays in the city center connecting to nearby towns.

  "Why are we leaving the town?" Evelyn asked, leaning on Ryan's back."We could have used the town center teleportation array to reach a nearby major city first."

  According to Evelyn's logic, they could have used the small array to reach a large city and then the intercity array to return to the Northern Border Icefield. But Ryan chose to leave the town directly, clearly with another plan.

  "We need to destroy a magical altar first," Ryan said, sensing her doubt, his voice deep.

  The magical map he had taken from Berton marked a secret altar of the Holy-Demon Cult. If they didn't destroy it, more mortals might suffer.

  They raced on for an unknown distance, following the map's guidance, nearing their target.

  Suddenly, from the direction they had come, a deafening roar erupted, shaking the heavens and earth.

  Ryan's pupils contracted sharply. He turned, eyes wide, staring toward the town. The magical energy surge was that of a force above Archmage level!

  The town was instantly engulfed in a thick purple magical flame, as if struck by a falling star's explosion. Violent purple energy waves rippled outward.

  Ryan, carrying Evelyn, ran frantically, magical energy surging to boost his speed dozens of times. The ground beneath him left afterimages.

  He glanced back repeatedly, but in seconds, he came to a sudden stop, eyes fixed on the town in disbelief.

  The destructive purple waves abruptly receded, vanishing without a trace, as if the earlier devastation had never happened. The world returned to an eerie calm.

  "What happened?" Ryan turned to Evelyn. Both were baffled, unable to comprehend the strange scene.

  Ryan's mind raced: the Archmage who struck likely feared attracting the attention of the Sanctum of the Sacred Sword.

  This town was under their protection. By suppressing his aura and magical aftereffects immediately after destroying it, he avoided widening the damage and revealing his presence.

  But why? Why destroy a town for no reason?

  This was not only Ryan's question, but also Evelyn's. They had left only moments ago, yet the town was devastated.

  In a magical continent, towns without mages were easily destroyed.

  For an Archmage, demolishing an unprotected town was as easy as crushing an ant.

  But if it were a mage-populated city like Snowmere or Penney City, it would spark uproar among Central Continent's orthodox magical powers.

  Ryan thought privately that he probably already had some fame in Penney City's magical circles, having once fought through numerous attackers alone and even slain a Ninth-tier Archmage.

  As Ryan turned to continue, a familiar roar echoed from the destroyed town. Both he and Evelyn looked back instantly.

  "You damned fools!"

  The shout came from the direction of the obliterated town. It was the Headmaster of the Sanctum of the Sacred Sword, Derrick's second mentor, Vaelor.