Chapter 24

I look at the village in front of me and smile a little. I can feel the pure air around me and take a deep breath, feeling the cool and comforting energy through my body. I decide to stop before I get myself into Dragonforce mode without knowing it.

I shake my head, park my bicycle in front of a cafe, and enter the building.

I wait in line, and after a few seconds, I arrive in front of a bird youkai. I smile at him and say.

"Can I get a Caramel Macchiato?"

"Of course. Which size do you want?"

"I will take a medium."

"Milk? We have almond, whole milk, and vanilla sweet cream."

"I will take vanilla sweet cream."

"Take out, or do you want to drink your coffee here?"

"I will drink it here, on the second floor."

"Of course. Anything else?"

"Can I also take waffles? Two of them. I also want chocolate sauce instead of regular syrup."

"Of course."

After paying for my drink and food, I walk to the second floor and use the balcony instead of sitting on the inside. I don't mind the sun and like it when the wind hits my face. I wait for my drink and food patiently before something hits my senses.

I can smell a foul energy; it smells like a snake, but the snake is coated by the worst smell I have ever smelled in my entire life.

I look in the general direction of the smell and jump out of the balcony. I start to run in that direction. While running, I can hear an explosion coming from the direction I'm running toward, and I increase my pace.

While running, I take as much air as possible and enter Dragonforce. I can feel the connection between me and Greendeney get stronger. I can feel her watching and feeling what I'm feeling.

|What a foul energy|

'Greendeney? Is that you?'

|Yes. It is me. What kind of thing releases this kind of energy?|

'I don't know, but I want to investigate it. I can also hear explosions from here. That means there is a fight.'

|Careful, Ryan.|

'I will, Grandeeney.'

I continued to run toward the outside of the village, and after a few minutes, I arrived at where the fight was. It is already done. I look around for a couple of seconds before my eyes land on a small figure the people in robes are carrying.

I am about to charge in rage, but a voice in my head stops me.

|STOP|

'Why?! They have Kunou! I need to save her.'

|Look around you. Those people are willing to kill without remorse. They will fight you with the intent to kill.|

'But Kunou needs my help.'

|She is, but you cannot beat them all. I can feel it. The man leading them is powerful, at least as powerful as you when you enter Dragonforce. Combine it with the other people; you cannot defeat them.|

'Then what should I do?! I cannot just stay here and let them take Kunou.'

|Follow them and hide yourself using your natural energy. By looking at the people they kill, they need her to do something. They will not kill her. Follow her and wait for a chance to attack|

I hesitate for a second but decide to follow Grandeeney's suggestion. I coat my body with natural energy to make myself invisible to others and follow them. I follow them to the small clearing of the forest and see them putting Kunou on the altar that is already prepared in the middle of the forest.

I get close enough to them so I can hear their conversation.

"Make sure not to damage the goods. She is still valuable to us even when we already suck dry momma fox. We can sacrifice her after we resurrect Lord Orochi."

Orochi Cult, huh? That is bad news.

|Orochi cult? Who is Orochi.|

'Orochi is an evil dragon that is known as Ethereal Devouring Mad Dragon. He is a dragon that kills thousands of people to satisfy his hunger for all living things. He is killed by the God of Storm, Sea, and Thunder of Japan, Susanoo.'

|I see, and these people want to resurrect that dragon. |

'Yes'

I look at them as they put Kunou on the altar. I continue to wait. After a few minutes of waiting, I can see Yasaka appear in the middle of the clearance. When she appears, I can hear the people laughing at her, and a second later, a powerful barrier gets past me and creates a dome to trap us.

I continue to wait, but when I hear Kunou screaming, my body reacts and is ready to move. However, it did not obey my command.

|Stop it, Ryan! I know you are angry, but trust me! Please! Your time to defeat them will come! Just a little bit longer! I know. I know you are angry, but please think of yourself. You cannot win this fight; if you attack now, they will kill the little girl.|

I grit my teeth as the man fighting Yasaka laughs at Kunou's pain. I can see Yasaka fighting the man in close combat, using magic, and even turning into a massive nine-tailed fox. I can see him throwing an orb into the air.

|Now! Go! This is your chance!|

I happily obey her order and appear next to the ground around Kunou. I appear in front of them and use [Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang] to rip their throat one by one. After killing them all, I make sure Kunou is okay. I use my Sky Dragon Slayer Magic to check on her and heal her. Luckily, she was not injured. The group only attacked her pain receptors and did not deal real damage.

I pick her up and look at the orb floating in the air. I take a deep breath and jump. I release a jet of air from my back and fly at a high speed.

"Sky Dragon Dive!"

I destroy the orb and land on the ground with Kunou in my hand. I look at the creep and say.

"Man, predators these days are willing to kidnap their target even if the sun is still up, huh?"