Encounter

"Ugh."

I groaned involuntarily. Blinking my eyes open, I found myself in an unfamiliar place, seated beneath the sprawling branches of an enormous tree. The trunk twisted upwards, reaching for the sky, adorned with plants of vibrant blue, casting a surreal azure hue over the surroundings. A river meandered nearby, snaking through the valley, its waters reflecting the strange cerulean light.

"Where... am I?" I stood up, my mind grappling with the absurdity of the situation.

'This is weird.'

I should have been in my room, comfortably nestled in my bed. The memory is still fresh in my mind, so I was here is nothing but strange.

'What's the reason?'

A sudden realization struck me.

'The light...'

Recollection flooded my mind; a blinding light engulfed my room, having the potential to actually blind me. Then somehow or another, I found myself directly beneath this colossal tree. A  voice broke my reverie.

"Um, Kiyotaka-kun..."

"Hm?"

Her usual composed facade is gone, she stood before me.

"Airi..."

Her eyes dilated as she glanced past me.

I turned to see Akito, another friend, casually dressed and seemingly unfazed.

"Yo, Kiyotaka, Airi. Seems like we're all in the same boat, huh?"

Akito's attempt at nonchalance couldn't conceal the underlying anxiety on his face.

"The hell...?"

Another figure emerged from behind the tree Airi was coming from earlier. Keisei. The tree seemed large enough to conceal a handful of people.

Keisei's confusion mirrored us, his eyes meeting ours in shared bewilderment.

"So are we in the same situation or something here?"

I nodded slightly.

"That's the way it is," Akito confirmed.

Airi began to speak but faltered, uncertainty etched on her face.

"I was brought here by a blinding light," Keisei began. "What about you guys?" 

"Me, too." Akito smiled wryly.

I shrugged. "So am I."

Airi nodded in silence instead of speaking her answer.

"I see," Keisei replied, flat face. "It appears that just Ayanokouji's Group came here. That being said, I'm curious if Haruka is here as well."

"But I'm here all the time, you know?"

"Wah!?"

Keisei's shock echoed through the group as Haruka's voice emerged from behind him. She had been there all along, a fact that astounded only the bespectacled guy. Airi, having noticed Haruka's approach earlier, was a little doubtful to mention the case, but eventually went along like us.

Akito laughed out loud. I was silent, of course.

"S-Since when were you here, Haruka!?" Keisei exclaimed, his patience wearing thin.

"Well, well, no need to get angry, right? It's just a joke," Haruka said, her tone was light.

"In this uncertain situation?" Keisei replied, his disbelief palpable.

"It is precisely in this situation that such a joke is needed!"

Haruka's levity, albeit odd given our circumstances, managed to alleviate some tension. Nevertheless, the pressing questions about our predicament still hung in the air.

"Well, setting the joke aside, we have to decide what to do, right?" Akito voiced what was on all our minds.

Keisei, regaining his composure, adjusted his glasses, ready to address the matter at hand.

"You're right. First and foremost— Huh!?"

His words were abruptly cut off by a violent tremor beneath our feet. We quickly turned our attention to the origin of the quake.

'Where exactly am I...?' I found myself frowning without meaning to.

What met our eyes was nothing short of astonishing.

To describe our surroundings further, we were in a lowland forest near a colossal tree, mere meters away from a wide river. The river spanned seven to eight meters in width and one to two meters in depth, its current swift enough to drag anyone away. Enormous stones, scattered haphazardly, formed precarious bridges between different territories. The massive tree's base eluded our view, but its girth was astounding, likely measuring twenty-two or twenty-three meters. About 40 meters above the trees, there was an expansive open space.

And then, there 'it' was. Towering behind the open space was a colossal creature, an entity beyond our imaginations.

"A dragon...?" Akito's tone filled with disbelief.

'That's right.' I'd say the same either.

Fiery eyes, gentle yet intimidating, were set deep within its rounded skull, giving it an unexpectedly considerate expression. Six enormous horns adorned its face—two atop its head and four along its jaw and chin. Crystal growths lined its jaws, accentuating the beast's tough presence. Its stubby nose featured wide, angular nostrils, and a small horn protruded from its chin. Rows of large teeth peeked out from the corners of its mouth, hinting at the anguish it concealed within.

Ayanokouji's Group stood in awe, their minds were blank.

'But, honestly, if anything, what 'could' we possibly do in the face of such an overwhelming creature?'

It was too sudden.

The monstrous creature before us stood proud and majestic, its sheer size and intimidating features leaving me awestruck.

"W-We need to run, don't we?" Keisei stammered, panic etched across his face.

I couldn't blame him; even I was taken aback.

Dragons were nothing more than legends in our world, confined to the pages of books and the realms of myth. The existence of such creatures was considered pure fantasy, lacking any tangible evidence.

The stories I had read, the teachings I had received, and the limited information I had gathered from online media... The consensus was clear: dragons were imaginary, the stuff of ancient lore. Yet, here, one stood before us, breathing life into the myths.

The dragon remained still, its eyes observing us in silence. Then, as if our presence was beneath its notice, it spread its immense wings wide and took off in a single powerful swoop. The gust of wind it created sent us stumbling backward.

'That is... amazing.'

A stunned silence enveloped us briefly before Airi's shaky voice broke it, "I thought we were going to die..."

"Yeah," Akito responded in hushed tones, his shock still evident.

"That creature completely ignored us, though," Haruka remarked, her laughter forced.

"Let's just try to get out of this forest as quickly as we can," I interjected. "That dragon might have been friendly by coincidence, but who knows what other creatures inhabit this place."

"Kiyotaka is right," Keisei agreed, his troubled expression shared our worry of encountering more such creatures if we lingered any longer.

We opted to follow the river downstream, where the forest thinned out, offering us a bit more visibility. However, our brief respite was shattered when my senses tingled with an unsettling feeling.

'Someone was watching me.'

And it was more than just an eerie sensation; it was an instinct, a primal warning.

With me taking the lead, Keisei and Akito flanking me, with Airi and Haruka trailing behind.

'I should get the thing off our radar.'

Without a second thought, I leaped backward, narrowly dodging a sharp gust of wind. An arrow whizzed past me and embedded itself in the ground where I had stood moments ago.

"Whoa!?"

"Huh!?"

My sudden movement caught Akito and Keisei off guard, driving them back in surprise. The arrow had been aimed at my head; a moment's delay, and I would have been struck down.

Swiftly turning, I scanned the area for the source of the attack. My eyes locked onto a humanoid figure perched on high ground near the river, seventy meters away. Cloaked entirely in black with a hood obscuring their face, the figure held a crossbow, which they lowered before swiftly disappearing into the trees by the riverbank.

The Ayanokouji Group, now rattled by the surprise attack, looked around in panic. Akito, regaining his composure quickly, took charge.

"Kiyotaka, let's use these dense trees as cover."

It was a rational plan, but I had another idea in mind.

"No, you guys do that. I'll stay here."

"Wait, Kiyotaka-kun, what are you talking about?!?" Airi's concern was evident.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to die. I'll catch up later on. I have some plan in mind."

"A plan, you say?" Keisei asked skeptically.

His doubt melted away when I met his gaze.

"Trust me, Keisei."

Although still reluctant, he accepted my decision with a sigh. "...I understand, but don't be careless, got it?"

"If you die, I won't forgive you!" Haruka added sternly.

With a solemn nod, I saluted them, and the Ayanokouji Group retreated into the trees, seeking cover.

The figure hadn't attacked again, leaving me to ponder their intentions. They seemed to be testing us, or perhaps toying with us, their actions deliberate and calculated.

'This figure seems to have a very flexible physique.'

They jumped from one tree to another, using the surrounding terrain to its best.

I tracked their movements, observing their cautious approach. 

"!"

In an instant, the figure vanished from my peripheral vision, and before I could react, a flying kick came at me. I barely managed to dodge, but as soon as the figure landed, they unsheathed a curved blade from their cloak—a katana.

With astonishing speed, the figure slashed at my neck.