Dragon

"This road is incredibly dangerous."

"That's only for you humans."

The two of us are currently crossing a very rugged road with almost no foothold, beneath which is a very clean but also very cold body of water, with caves scattered everywhere.

In general, it's very easy to lose one's life.

"I think you should dismount and walk. This road is not easy to traverse at all."

I dismount from the horse and walk slowly.

"Even though I know this place is dangerous to you but you don't need to be so careful."

"Mind your own business!"

Halfway through, suddenly the caves around us start to tremble, and the water surface bubbles up a lot.

'I have a very, very bad feeling' I sweat as I look down at the water.

Grrrrrr

The water surface bubbles more and then something emerges.

A dragon, with an eastern blue and white hue, bright yellow eyes, it's huge, and chains are tied around its neck.

"Oh, it's a dragon! Haven't seen one in ages," Wukong exclaimed in surprise.

The air emanating from the dragon is powerful, and a storm gradually forms around it.

I channel energy into my eyes and look at the dragon.

With this white energy flow and those strong winds, there's no doubt anymore, this dragon is of the air element.

'A wind dragon living underwater... Gyarados 2.0'

For some reason, the dragon squints at me as if it knows I just said something about it.

'Do you also have the instincts of a woman?!' Its jaws open, seemingly ready to devour us.

"No chance! With me here, you're just a snake!" Wukong rises, wielding her staff as if intending to attack the dragon.

Before Wukong could react, the storm closed in on her at a dizzying speed.

The dragon began to exhale a chilling stream of air, followed by a massive surge of energy gathering right at its mouth.

"Wukong! The dragon intends to shoot that thing at you! Please be careful!"

"Thanks for the reminder!"

Similar to the other dragon, Wukong started to emit a reddish-orange energy aura... and even a purple one.

'For some reason, every time I look at Wukong's purple energy, I feel uneasy.'

The temperature around us rose, Wukong pointed one hand at the dragon while wielding her staff, swinging it towards the storm, disrupting it.

"Now... feel the wrath from this old man!"

"Wukong, you're a girl, don't refer to yourself with 'old man'."

"Be quiet! I'll call myself whatever I want!"

Wukong's hand shot out a burst of orange energy, causing the water surface around us to almost vaporize.

The dragon also unleashed energy, causing the water surface to freeze.

BOOM

The explosion was enormous, sending me flying far away, almost falling into the water.

But the horse didn't.

"LITTLE HORSE!!!!"

Fortunately, as it fell into the water, the horse managed to stay afloat.

"Little horse! You're okay! That's lucky—" Before I could finish expressing my relief, the dragon appeared out of nowhere, intending to devour the horse.

"MY LITTLE HORSE!!!" I cried out in agony as I watched the horse depart. Although I had only ridden it for a day, it was enough to create precious memories with it.

"Rest in peace, little horse," tears streamed down my face, sticking to the dragon's eyes.

"What the-"

ROAAAR!!! The dragon charged straight towards me.

"Tang Sanzang!!" Wukong appeared in front of me, hoisting me onto her shoulder and running so fast that the dragon couldn't catch up.

"Wukong! Why didn't you keep fighting just now?!"

"Because I'm not used to protecting others, especially those who are on the brink of death with just a slight touch."

"..."

'Well... she's right. I can't argue with that.'

I sighed, paying no attention to the glowing characters in my hand.

***

We landed on an empty stretch of land.

"That was scary..."

"Tang Sanzang, I think you should stay here. I'll take care of that dragon and roast it for us to eat!"

"What?!! But-"

"But what?"

"What if you get injured?"

"If you get hurt, who's gonna save me then?!"

"Pfft, you worry too much! And don't worry!"

She looked into my eyes, her red eyes full of confidence and arrogance, mixed with a hint of something sinister.

"Because I am the strongest~"

As she finished speaking, Wukong vanished.

"Sigh, if that monkey is confident she won't get hurt, what am I, worrying about someone who's killed a few gods..."

But unease lingered in my mind.

"Though she's very strong... that dragon seems rather suspicious."

The first time I saw the dragon's energy emanate so powerfully, I didn't pay attention to some details.

'... That purple energy is also present in the dragon, but not as abundant as in Wukong.'

My hand naturally emitted a vibrant yellow energy, surprising me.

"W-why did my power just activate automatically??"

A few days ago, I tried to activate my power to no avail, even Wukong didn't know and guessed it needed certain conditions to activate.

"... Could it be because of that purple energy source? But if so, why didn't it activate when I saw Wukong's purple energy?"

Questions swirled in my head, then I looked towards where the dragon was.

"Not entirely sure, but... perhaps my abilities have some effect on the dragon or even Wukong. I need to go back there..."

If it were my usual self, I wouldn't risk my life for something I'm not sure about.

But curiosity was overwhelming me, giving me an unusual sense of calm and daring.