Chapter 8

I slowly land on the ground and walk to the small village before me. As I get closer, I can feel three people run toward me, and one of them puts a knife near my neck.

"Who are you?"

The group leader (I assume) put her knife closer to my neck as she put her leg around my waist. The other two nekomata are ready to attack me if I even move an inch.

"I come here to ask you if you have some kind of book about the Dragon of Infinite."

"Is that it?! There is no way you only come here just for that!"

"I swear I don't want anything to hurt you or anyone in this village."

I can feel the movement behind me and see the man nodding his head to the side. A second later, the woman on my shoulder gets off me and says.

"Sorry about that, but we are on high alert because of the recent attack."

"Don't mention it. Also, recent attacks?"

The woman made a gesture that told me to follow her.

"Yes. A group of devils decides it is their right to enslave us and take whatever they want."

"What? Why in the hell do they think they can do whatever they want? Are all devils like that?"

"I hate to admit it, but no. Not all of them like that. Only the people on top are like that. They think that they own anything and can take whatever they want."

"I see."

"Anyway, you want a book about the Dragon of Infinity?"

"Yeah. Anything about that dragon will be appreciated."

The woman nods her head and leads me to the small library. When we arrive, the woman looks at me and says,

"Don't do anything stupid, and we are good."

"Thank you."

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|3rd POV|

Okayu, the elected leader of the village, looks at their new guest with a serious expression. He is an enigma that she wants to figure out. He looks like and feels like a human, but her instinct tells her otherwise.

"What do you feel, Elder? Tell me if I'm wrong."

The elder sitting next to her shakes her head and says.

"No. You are not wrong, Okayu. That man's energy feels like nature itself, calm but wild simultaneously."

"Right?! How? I thought that Senjutsu only can be used by Youkai!"

"I don't know, Okayu. I don't have that answer. However, I know one thing. I know that smell around him. Someone has marked their territory on him."

"Oh? Is he claimed?"

"No. He is not yet claimed. However, that is not what I'm worried about."

"What? What are you worried about?"

"It is the smell of the one marking him. I know who it was. It's been a long time since I met her, but I still remember her smell even now."

"Who?"

"Yasaka, the Queen of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan"

Okayu looks at the elder with a shocked expression and then looks at the man sitting next to a tower of books.

"D-Do you think he is willing to help us? Maybe he can help us regain Yasaka-sama's trust once again and let us join her faction like before."

The Nekomata race is a pitiful race that made bad choices in their life. They decide to go and separate themselves from the rest of the Youkai race to join the Devil race thinking that they will get better treatment.

Sadly for them, they get the bad end of the decision. The clan that took them in did not have the best interest of their race. They become guinea pigs for the mad scientist, making them more of a monster than a youkai.

When Kuroka, the infamous Nekoshu turned Devil, creates havoc in the underworld, Okayu and the rest of her village decides to return to their hometown. It has been years since they returned to Japan and defended themselves against the wildlife and the devil hunting them.

So far, they still survive, but sooner or later, they will be dead if they cannot get protection from one of the two rulers of Youkai.

"Nurarihyon-sama is a great choice, but some of us did not want his more militaristic approach to ruling. We are all tired of fighting and want to find peace. Yasaka-sama is our best choice."

Okayu looks around the room, a hidden room in one of the elder's houses that Jordan thinks is a library, to see that the other is thinking of her words. They know they cannot survive for another decade as the wards around their village weaken.

The goblin is kind enough to trade with them, but it is just enough to make them survive but not thrive.

After thinking for a few seconds, one of the elders says.

"There is nothing wrong with testing it. We can ask him to deliver the message from us."

"Hmmm, that is not a bad idea. However, what kind of letter do you want him to deliver? Yasaka-sama is not like many leaders who like their feet licked. She is direct and appreciates a short and to-the-point letter."

Okayu nods and says.

"Then we will write a simple and to-the-point letter. Make it short but not offensively short. Make it to the point but not rude."

The more she says it, the more she knows that it just becomes more complicated. She hates politics even more than before.

"Elder Karin, I will leave the letter to you. I will go and make some conversation with our guest. I don't want to sound rude with our first impression."

"Of course, Okayu. We will make sure the letter is perfect."

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I scratch my head in disappointment. All the information from the book is nothing good. I gained a lot of information, don't get me wrong, but… it is mostly useless.

Dragon of Infinity or Ophis is a Genderless Dragon that resides in the Dimensional Gap, a pocket dimension between the void and living dimension.

What makes the information in the book useless is how Ophis is a Shapeshifter. The last known shape it takes is an Old Man with purple hair and silver eyes. However, it was around three hundred years ago, and I know that Ophis will change shape by now.

I will still look out for the people with the description the book gives me, but I know that it is a hopeless thing.

I release a sigh and look to the side when I feel someone get close to me. I can see a young woman with purple eyes and hair walk to me. She was the one who put a knife to my throat, and by the look of it, she looked nervous. I wonder why.

"Hello there! Is there anything I can do for you?"