The Evil Emperor's Fragile Heart

"Uncle Jules, big magic!" Azar said to Jules, his emerald green eyes shining as if seeing his favourite treat. (Well, in a way, a large and powerful magic array was Azar's favourite treat – Alya's too.)

"King Corvus and your grandfather are about to break the array," King Jaren said to Jules. "It is an ancient array of the Amber Kingdom and it has gotten us trapped within itself. It seems to be called the wheel of dust and shadow."

Jules immediately understood King Jaren's dilemma. So, the two old men wanted to show off and destroy the array, and the two little dragons wanted to eat it instead. However, the fact that the two little dragons could eat magical arrays was a matter that was known to only a small handful of people, and neither King Jaren nor Jules wanted more people to know about it. Their little baby dragons were precious – and they didn't want other people to start eyeing them because of their powers! It was already bad enough that they were so cute and adorable that tons of people wanted dragons of their own now.

On top of that, right now, thanks to King Corvus and Grandpa's conversation, a number of people around them were already aware that their entire group had become trapped in an ancient array of the Amber Kingdom – the wheel of dust and shadow. The older people from amidst the crowd wore very sombre expressions on their faces the moment they heard the name of the ancient array, and Jules had no doubt that by the time he blinked a few more times, the entire crowd would get to know exactly what was happening. Bad news always had the habit of spreading extraordinarily fast everywhere.

But the bad news for Jules wasn't the fact that they were trapped in an array – if King Corvus and Grandpa said that they could destroy it, he had absolutely no doubt that they were perfectly capable of doing so. What worried Jules was the two little dragons, and he wondered seriously if they had been spoiling the two little ones a bit too much. It's not like their family was staving Azar and Alya, was it? Then why were the two little dragons drooling like this at the sight of the array?!

"Azar, Alya, come, I have a treat for you," Jules said, holding out his arms.

Azar and Alya pouted at the same time.

"But, Dad, big magic!" Alya said to Jules.

Jules resisted the urge to rub his temples.

"Yes, yes, Crown Prince Jules, let the two little ones see some big magic," King Corvus said happily. After all, little Azar was also the Royal Dragon Prince Azar of the Obsidian Kingdom and his great grand child, wasn't he? King Corvus wanted to show off, too!

King Corvus was too proud to say it out loud, but he wanted the two little dragons to like him as well. Of course, he knew that the two little ones would never like anyone as much as they liked King Jaren, but still, even twenty five percent of that would be good enough for King Corvus!

"Azar and Alya, do you want to see a bout of heavenly thunder?" King Corvus asked.

"Heavenly thunder!" Azar said, drool dripping down his chin and his eyes wide. "Big, big magic!"

Alya was drooling, too.

King Corvus thought that the two little dragons were excited about this heavenly thunder magic of his and nodded happily.

"Not just heavenly thunder, but also the flames of hell," Grandpa said proudly. "We need both to destroy the ancient array of the wheel of dust and shadow."

"Flames of hell…" Alya repeated, her eyes glowing. "Very big magic!"

Azar's eyes glowed as well.

Looking at the two drooling little dragons, Jules suddenly had a very bad feeling rising up from the pit of his stomach.

As for King Jaren, he was caught between the urge to facepalm and laugh out loud.

"Let me get Mana and Raven and Bella as well," Jules said quickly. "We would all want to see that."

Neither King Corvus nor Grandpa had any objections to that, of course.

Jules hurried back to the others right away.

"What's wrong, Big Brother?" Mana asked as soon as she caught sight of Jules's face.

"It's an emergency," Jules said. "We are trapped in an array called the wheel of dust and shadow, and King Corvus and Grandpa know how to break it, but…"

"But…?" Bella asked curiously.

"But Azar and Alya are drooling over this big magic. King Corvus is also going to use heavenly thunder and Grandpa is going to use the flames of hell," Jules said, rubbing his temples.

The other three froze for a second and then sighed. No one knew better than Mana, Raven, Bella and Jules what kind of gluttons their two little baby dragons were!

And right now, if the two little dragons ate up the array and the heavenly thunder and the flames of hell in front of everyone – that would be a disaster!

But what could they do? Wouldn't it be too cruel not to let Azar and Alya eat the delicious treats that were laid out in front of them like this…?

Raven frowned slightly. "We could cast our illusion magic," he murmured. "Mana, you take the base, and I'll modify it a bit and take care of the rest. Big Brother Jules and Big Sister Bella, you two have to cover for Mana and I!"

Mana frowned as well. "How would that work?" she asked. "Isn't the range insufficient for what we need to do? Also, Azar and Alya will be within the circle with your grandfather and Grandpa, right? How would we cast the illusion, then?"

"I can modify it a bit," Raven said. "See, if we do this…" He spent the next one minute explaining what changes he would make and the exact role of Mana and Jules and Bella, and how they would ensure that their two little baby dragons got to eat the ancient array of the wheel of dust and shadow, as well as King Corvus's heavenly thunder as well as Grandpa's flames of hell – while everyone else, including King Corvus and Grandpa, would be under the impression that it was the combination of the heavenly thunder and the flames of hell that had destroyed the ancient array of the wheel of dust and shadow!

Jules and Bella were slightly sceptical, but they believed that Raven would not suggest it if he was not able to execute it. As for Mana, she had full faith in whatever Raven said.

The four youngsters went over to where King Corvus and Grandpa were discussing the best and most impressive way to destroy the ancient array of the wheel of dust and shadow, while King Jaren was trying his best to keep the two little dragons from gobbling up the array before the two old men could destroy it!

King Jaren heaved a sigh of relief when he spotted Jules coming back with Mana and Raven and Bella.

"The children are here," he said to King Corvus and Grandpa.

"Then we will start now," Grandpa said. "Corvy, at the count of three, we will attack the central point of the array at the same time. You, with your heavenly thunder, and me, with my flames of hell. All right?"

"Yes, Ducky," King Corvus said with a smirk. "Let's get this ancient array out of the way!"

King Corvus raised his arm, and purple lightning (that was sometimes seen around Raven when he was really, really angry) gathered around his wrist, looking as if it was coming straight down from the heavens.

Grandpa held out his hand as well, and bright red gold flames, the same shade of amber as Grandpa's eyes and one of Jules's eyes, and the specks in Mana's eyes, gathered around his wrist as well.

Azar and Alya were drooling so much by now that King Jaren had pulled out a pair of handkerchiefs and spread them on each of his shoulders to avoid his shoulders getting wet from all the drool of the two little dragons! It was rather amusing for those in the know (namely Mana, Raven, Jules and Bella – who were caught between wanting to burst out laughing and worrying about the fact that their two little dragons had become such gluttons already…

"One, two, three!" Grandpa called.

King Corvus released the heavenly thunder and Grandpa released the flames of hell. The ancient array of the wheel of dust and shadow glowed brightly for a moment, and, simultaneously, Mana, Raven, Jules and Bella sprung into action just as Azar and Alya opened their mouths really wide.

The whole thing became unclear immediately.. In the eyes of most people, the heavenly thunder and the flames of hell, released by King Corvus and Grandpa at the same time, hit the centre of the array and then everything was covered in multi coloured magical lights.