CHAPTER 12 - DRAGONS

Though it is said that they exist in all countries, whether it be above, below or in the ocean, dragons are actually rarely seen as they are mostly territorial, never leaving their area. They are known to be a part of the upper echelon of entities in the world of Sai Kido due to their destructive capabilities and the sheer amount of variety. Wazuki and Shinji notice that the beast that is currently flying above them is a subclass of dragon, The Quetzalcoatl.

Seeing that they have not been noticed yet, Wazuki grabs Shinji by the back of his shirt and begins to maneuver through the forest, covered in mist.

"Hey! I can run on my own!"

"Be quiet. I am faster than you and we cannot afford to fight something like that right now."

Wazuki thinks back to the words of his father.

"There will be distractions everywhere, that's just the world in itself but never lose sight of what has to be done."

Wazuki continues to go through the forest, trying to escape the mist.

(I refuse to fall here.)

While escaping, Wazuki notices two shadows rushing towards them in the mist which seem to be human and pulls out his dagger, holding it at the ready.

Appearing through the mist is none other than Marlin and Kibe. They are progressing through the mist while being on guard. Marlin noticed the beast flying above them and notified Kibe. Kibe, on the other hand, believes that he can tame a dragon and while being on guard, they begin to argue.

"What do you mean I can't keep an overgrown lizard as a pet? Do you know how cool that would be?!"

"We are not here to fight a dragon, you idiot. Go tame it on your own time."

"But I'm a dragon too!"

"I am not going to encourage you."

While arguing, Kibe smells other people near them and looks in the direction.

"There's no point in hiding when I can smell you y'know?"

Wazuki, who was well hidden, knew that he was not found. No, the problem was Shinji. Wazuki walks out and lets go of Shinji. Proud of his excellent skills, Kibe smirks.

"You can't hide from m-"

Kibe pauses and looks at them both.

"Shinji?!"

Shinji pauses and stares back.

"Oh, you're Kibe right?"

Marlin and Wazuki look at each other and only come up with one thing to notice about each other.

"He's strong."

Kibe walks over to Shinji and puts his hands on the back of his head, leaning back

"What are you doing out here, man? I thought you lived all the way in another continent."

"I am here to train and get stronger. What about you though? You live on the same continent, you idiot."

"What's with everyone calling me an idiot today? I'm not really here by choice but pops said I gotta train…"

Kibe lowers his head with a single tear falling.

Marlin steps up and finally speaks.

"So you two know each other?"

"Oh! M, meet Shinji. You probably know this but I'm a part of the Kemono Family which is one of the 6 Great Families. They normally hold a banquet to discuss things like peace talks and other stuff and most of the families show up. He is also a part of the 6 Great Families as he is a Yumiko. "

The 6 Great Families are known as powerhouses in the world of Sai Kido. They originate from ancestors who also reincarnated into this world long ago. Because of this, certain practices that they do are similar to other worlds. They eventually created these families without initially knowing just how important they would be in the future. Even though it seems as though their imprint has disappeared from the world, there are a select few individuals who may remember them.

"The half demons?"

Shinji walks up to Marlin with an annoyed look on his face.

"Oi. That sounds like you had a problem with that. Are you sure you should be judging while wearing a mask?"

"And what if I did? What could you do about it?"

Wazuki steps between the two.

"Enough. You two are making Ruka uncomfortable, especially because you left her out of the conversation."

"Oh yeah. I forgot you were travelling with us."

Ruka writes on the paper that was bought for her.

"It happens…"

Kibe looks up at her.

"Wait, Shinji, she looks familiar. Wasn't she also at the banquet?"

"Now that you mention it, she does look familiar."

They both inspect Ruka, who dislikes the sheer amount of attention she is getting. She then jumps back, blushing and begins to write on the paper once more.

"I was always at the banquet as I am a member of the Chikai family but due to my inability to… express myself openly, I stuck to my mother throughout most of it while you both interacted with the other children."

"I see. That's my bad…"

Kibe bows and apologizes.

While talking, a roar is heard from the dragon except, it sounds like it is getting closer. As the entire group looks up, they see the dragon flying down at them. Marlin uses chi stride while Wazuki uses shadow step, a Hyakki family move which utilizes the use of the shadows in the area to increase movement. They both dodge but Kibe, Shinji and Ruka get knocked back by the dragon, slamming each of them into a tree. Kibe is the first to get up.

"Dammit! That hurts!"

Marlin and Wazuki get back beside Kibe.

"We need to figure out a way to leave!"

"I agree. We need to take its eye off us first. Kibe, take the other two and get going."

"But what about you two?"

"We will catch up. We are faster than you. Leave."

"Man, this blows!"

Reluctantly, Kibe picks up Shinji and Ruka and begins to run off.

Afterwards, Wazuki and Marlin look at each other then at the dragon. Marlin changes Excalibur, the Blade Caster to a rapier and gets into a stance while Wazuki pulls out a bow and gets to a tree.

"Let's hurry."

"Yeah."

Marlin starts off by rushing at the dragon, who lets out a breath of ice at him. Marlin uses chi stride to evade the breath and pierces at the dragon's throat. It connects but the tip of the rapier is unable to pierce through the dragon. It then tries to bite Marlin but Wazuki shoots an arrow at its eye which, once again, is unable to pierce it.

"This is getting annoying, honestly! Switch Form! Wind Longsword!"

(Though Excalibur can be switched into most things I want, it takes a large amount of chi to maintain continued switching.)

Marlin then slashes at the dragon once more, using his chi to increase his speed more than previously. He lands a slash, aided by the force that his speed added and chips the dragon then falls to the ground, panting heavily.

"I am at my limit."

The dragon then flies upwards to gain speed, then downwards straight at Marlin.

Wazuki, seeing this, uses Shadow Step to appear behind Marlin, utilizing his shadow and pulls out his greatsword from his spatial ring. He remembers something from his previous life, then smiles.

(My blessing is perfect for this.)

"I am and will always be The Master of all Weapons!"

[END OF CHAPTER 12]