Part 51

I didn't need to worry about Jonathan or Evelyn, as they finished their side of the fight shortly after I finished mine. The only one that was injured was Jonathan, with the gash on his arm, but they were otherwise alright. As I looked over at the group, I found that only Icarus seemed happy with the result. He was jumping up and down as corpses surrounded him as if he had scored well on a test.

Both Jonathan and Evelyn, however, had concerned looks on their faces. Jonathan, especially, had an expression of shock and guilt. He was staring at one of the corpses on the ground, his sword embedded deep into the corpse's chest.

"Are you alright?" I asked as I walked over to them. Jonathan quickly snapped out of his gaze, then turned to look at me. He stared at me for a moment before quickly nodding. Evelyn turned her gaze away from me and looked toward the bodies of the Caldwell siblings behind me. Jonathan joined her soon after.

"Jesus," Jonathan gasped as he saw their remains. I turned around, then shrugged. The siblings both lacked most of the muscles that connected their heads to their shoulders. Dave's neck was practically gone, turned into strewn pieces of meat that looked similar to pork. There remained just a little bit of neck that held his head and shoulders together, but it was like string. For Anya, who had been punched more than once, her face was a bit mangled and dirtied. Her neck, where I delivered the killing blow, had a massive hole in the center that ran all the way through.

Their bodies didn't look too good, either. Dave had a small dent on the side of his chest, where I had punched him. Even though he was only hit once, the dent was large enough to be the size of an apple, with small chunks of bloody fur sticking out through small cracks in the dent. Anya's front side was fine, but her back, where she had fallen after I punched her across the room, was slightly damaged.

Jonathan's gaze went from the siblings to the bodies that surrounded them. A few of the bodies were on fire, burning with only ashen remains acting as fuel, while a few other bodies were either squished or cut in half. There was blood everywhere, most of it burning in the little bonfires across the room.

I looked to the corpses of the adventurers that Jonathan and Evelyn fought. One of them, the one that Icarus must've fought, was burning similarly to the bonfires across the room. A few of the other bodies had cuts on them, where blood spewed like a fountain, while a few others were struck with arrows.

None of the corpses were as graphic as the ones behind me, causing me a little bit of disappointment. I looked to Icarus, who was staring at me as he asked for approval and nodded. Icarus jumped into the air once more and bolted toward me as his tail was wagging behind him.

Jonathan put his fist in front of his mouth and gagged as the smell of the fight began to make its way to his nose. Evelyn soon joined in after him, though she tried to keep her expression calm. Both of them turned toward the ground as they tried, and succeeded, in keeping their insides where they belonged.

"How?" Jonathan asked as he looked back up at me, "How are you alright?"

"With the smell?" I assumed. Jonathan nodded. I looked away from him, then took a big whiff of the cave. The smell was atrocious, but it didn't bother me. It smelled similar to how burning, rotten meat would smell, but it felt natural. Like the smell of garbage at a dump. It may have been disgusting, but it wasn't out of the ordinary. I shrugged, "It's whatever."

"God," Jonathan said again as he walked away from the corpses. He moved toward the wall to get away from the carnage, then turned back to me, "Let's go back."

"Yeah," I nodded as I looked at the bodies around me. This was the first time I had fought in my dragon form. The feeling of power that came with the fight was amazing, like a drug that I could get addicted to if I let myself go.

I didn't feel any negative emotions when I looked at the human corpses. No remorse, anger, or even sadness. Instead, I felt happy and satisfied. I smiled as I thought back to the fight. I felt like a god and the feeling was amazing.

"Let's go," I nodded as I opened a portal to the bottom floor. Once it was open, Icarus quickly bolted through, still as happy as before. I turned back to Jonathan and Evelyn, who seemed to be having problems breathing. Jonathan turned to the portal, then walked through. Evelyn followed quickly behind him.

Once the twins had walked through the portal, I took one last look at the corpses around me. As my gaze ran over their faces, I slowly began to realize one particular fellow wasn't there. I sighed in anger, then turned to the portal and walked through.

Once I made my way through, I found myself in the boss room on the bottom floor. Hazel and Aros were already here. Icarus, because he went through the portal faster than anybody else, had arrived long before us and had already started relaxing on Hazel's lap. I turned to the twins, who were hunching down and breathing deeply as they attempted to expel the lingering smell of the room we were just in.

I turned to Hazel, then smiled as I saw the wound on her arm healing nicely. She was almost already fully healed.

"Welcome back," She said. I nodded, then began to walk over to her.

"We have a bit of a problem," I sighed. I looked to the twins, who were finally getting over the smell. However, as I looked at them, I noticed their expressions were awkward and fearful, almost like they were uncomfortable. I ignored it, then turned to Hazel, "Kelvin is still alive."

"Kelvin? How?" Hazel asked. I sighed, then shrugged. I sat down at Hazel's side, then opened the dungeon map. I quickly searched through the caves, dancing from hall to hall as I explored the dungeon. Eventually, I found my target. He was near the entrance, though there were several Kobold groups between him and freedom.

"It looks like he was separated," I said. For a moment, I began to wonder what my next plan of action would be. Would I let him go and use him as bait, similar to how he was used the last time, or would I end him? The thought of letting him go annoyed me, especially because he had already escaped me once before.

The groups that raided every day were different, as they were guaranteed to enter the dungeon once more, but Kelvin was like a scampering rodent that only knew how to hide. Letting him survive would put a strain on my pride.

"I'll send Aros to kill him," I said as I closed the dungeon map, "This time, Kelvin has no chance of making it out alive."

I looked up at Hazel, who was nodding in satisfaction.

"Are you not using him as bait?" Jonathan asked. I looked at him, surprised.

"I thought you would be against the idea. Does it not disturb you? That I'm so quick to kill," I asked. Jonathan looked at me, then shrugged.

"It's alright, I suppose," Jonathan said, "We're friends, aren't we? I think I'll just have to get used to it."

"I'm fine with it as well," Evelyn said. She looked to Hazel, then to me for a moment, "When we agreed to keep your secret, we already chose our side. Even if we have to fight against humans, we'll stick with you."

"Even if I have to fight humans, huh?" I laughed, "What if I decide to go to war with them?"

"What do you mean?" Jonathan asked.

"The Caldwell siblings," I mentioned. The twins looked at each other, confused, before turning back to me, "Why exactly were they here? They mentioned they were searching for me, probably to get Icarus."

"Yeah, what about it?" Jonathan asked.

"It's simple. I wasn't smart when I first went to Hewe. I was naive and stupid. I didn't hide Icarus when I should've," I began to explain, "I should even be careful with my magic, but I'm not. Word is starting to get around. In my experience, human greed will surpass anything else a human is capable of."

"Greed? You think they'll try to take Icarus?" Jonathan gasped. I nodded, then turned to look at Icarus. He was sitting on the ground, next to where Aros stood in silence. I looked to Aros, then turned back to Jonathan.

"In the future, I'll have to go to war," I said, "whether that's against a nation, a guild, or a select few individuals. My race, my tolerance of the human race, and my power won't be allowed to sit idle in the world. People will come for me or Icarus. I will have to defend myself and my belongings in the only way I know how. Will you still be by my side if that happens?"