CHAPTER 3: THEON

This bloody moon. It wasn’t a weakness or a nuisance to us before. It was a brief moment where we remind ourselves who we truly are, what we truly are.

 I look up to the round object sailing in the night sky; I watch how its reddish color is gradually fading away.

This night is meant for us to glide and fly freely up to the evening sky with nothing but love for each other. And humans, back then, were fond of us—

They worshipped, obey, and were loyal to us.

Back then, we gave them everything, everything that they deserved. We stood by their side and taught them what we know. Dragons secured their safety and swore to give them leverage.

--Until everything had changed.

In the end, what made them thought of betraying us? What corrupted their hearts to do such an unforgivable act?

In a small amount of time tonight, I observed numerous souls, most especially the old ones, go ‘home’ with color depicting sadness. As much as I want to close my eyes, I need to count and remember this scene, remember this day.

We are a creature of two identities, a part dragon and, undesirably, a part human too.

It has been a century of human reign; dragons were held captive and trafficked. They were condemned not to show their human faces and were forced to take the form of a dragon forever. All I could do back then was to watch my kind suffer and die as I blend in with the crowd of foul humans.

It took me years to create a plan, and finally, I managed to do so with some help.

I freed a hundred of my kind from their ruthless hands, and I will make sure those that are left behind would also be liberated.

 I had enough of these two centuries of sickening war. It is time for us to reclaim our birthright and our lands. I will reclaim what once mine and make the dragons the rulers of the mountains and of the seas once again.

I ought to shed and paint this land with flesh and blood once again if I have to.

And my first move was supposed to be wiping out the Slayers troop in order for my kind to feel safe, even in just a negligible amount of time, but right now, because of my lack of information. I am stuck in a difficult situation.

I guess I am forced to blend in again.

Quite odd actually, I don’t know, but why did the king order us to be slaughtered instead of being recaptured?

I glanced back to where I laid her unconscious body down,

---but she wasn’t there anymore.

I felt her tremendous aura behind me and realized, she’s about to decapitate me. I immediately jumped my way out of the blade’s range, and instantly rushed towards her, took her sword out from her grip, and locked both of her bandaged hands on her back.

She had gone too weak now to even move like her prior self.

“You probably wouldn’t want to do that,” I seriously informed her.

“What?” She sarcastically asked, “You think I will give you a thought just because you didn’t kill me earlier?”

Yeah, she, in no second thought, deserves to die. She already slaughtered dozens of my kind. This human did that without a hint of pity or sympathy. And she will be slaying more in the near future if I will not stop her myself.

That is to be expected from a human.

As she struggled from my grip, I took the dagger from her belt before letting her go. She ran a little farther away from me, and before she takes another armless stance, I let the sword and the dagger fall to the ground beside me. It ringed off after the metal reached the rocky ground.

“I told you, you wouldn’t want to do that.” I crucially repeated as I lifted my hand for her to see my wrist. “If I die, you die.”

 “Nonsense,” She disgustingly spat, “I know about the pact and I know it will not be sealed in such a stupid way. You can’t fool me.” She wore that primeval loathing face of hers, and I only gave her a bitter expression.

I sighed.

She is more hard-headed than I thought, and as much as I want to eliminate her, I will use her instead.

‘A’ blood and ‘A’ blood. ---that is the requirement.

I hate anything that connects us to humans.

Why did the ‘pact’ even exist?

Worse was the fact that someone like her, to be the first one to make a contract with me, is even more sickening.

I pulled a dagger from my pocket and stared at it for a moment. I have decided to let her learn what I really meant. I swiftly stabbed myself in my abdomen and expectedly, she fell to the ground, losing herself to the excruciating pain.

After removing the blade from my body, I stiffened myself to let a considerable amount of blood ooze from my wound, and let a jot of pain sting my body.

The pact is not formally and officially sealed so there are some malfunctions, something like that, and the ‘pain’ she’s suffering from right now is just another work of that.

That is, we will share each other’s pain, not exactly to be honest. The line that connects us only flows in one direction, from me to her.

However, thankfully, this pact won’t even last longer than three months if we continue failing to meet the ‘real’ requirements.

Three months of hell, with this beast as my ‘companion’?

I strolled towards her writhing body, grumbling in pain. I squatted down to my heels and pulled her collar to make her face me. She is gritting her teeth with pain. Blood is flowing out from her nose, and from lips to her chin. Her hand is terribly clenching her chest due to the immeasurable pain.

“Feel free to stab me anytime and savor the pain three times more than what you had inflicted on me,” I muttered before letting her collar go, and sat beside her.

--If she dies, it will be the end of the pact and I am free again, but---

“But if you want, there is a way to get rid of this curse, and we will be chasing and killing and each other again anytime soon if…” I paused as I make sure she is listening. She only glared at me and then coughed another round of blood.

Maybe I overdid it, what a pity.

“… If and only if, you are going to help me.” I stated.

“Help you?” She laughed at that statement. "If you think I am selfish enough to keep my life out of the line, you are wrong, YOU heartless demon!”

Ironic.

“Do you know that mystical stone that gives considerable power?” I asked instead of letting my emotion get ahead of me. I watched her quiver for a moment after hearing my query.

She knows about it too. Not all people are knowledgeable about that, at least, that’s what I observed.

“Gaia?” She softly mumbled to herself, but I heard it.

“We need that to break this curse,”

“---And to make you, dragons, unstoppable too huh, how wicked.” She grinned, evilly.

I sighed upon her statement.

She is helpless, and this conversation is also heading nowhere. Well, what should I expect? Humans were all brainwashed after all. But I want to know,

“I don’t know why a Royal like you is leading the troop herself---”

“What makes you think I am one?” She exclaimed that with confusion, or rather, with curiosity and fear from the fact that I guessed her identity right.

“Only a certain bloodline can create a pact with the likes of me, and they are now the people call ‘Royals.’”

She was silent.

What is she, what is her true identity? Is she a Princess of some sort, some important being from that notorious kingdom?

---or otherwise.

The sturdy and towering evergreen trees almost covered the moonlight that I am unable to observe more of her exterior features.

Based on my observation earlier, her current build is quite weak and was not prime for any pact-sealing. But her agility is somehow impressive, and her sword fencing is excellent. Her temperament exudes nothing regal though, nothing but bloodlust.

I wonder.

“Well,” I slowly stood up, “I don’t expect a human to give me a hand instantly after a combat after all.” I should head home for now since my wound is becoming a burden. I turned my back from her and started strolling towards her sword. “Until we meet again, human.”

“Wait,” She weakly mumbled, and then a thud came from her direction. “I will kill you myself next time for su…”

Without looking back, I know she dozed off.

I picked her sword up, walked towards my acquaintance, and took my seat at his back. He flew up towards the sky as I enchanted a spell that made us invisible to any naked eye.

She is an interesting one. I would love to meet her once again.