Chapter 81: Chapter 080

“What the hell was that?” Henry asked after some had passed. The three were still travelling across the sky. After that ordeal, there were fewer giant fishes swimming close to them than before.

Vishara chuckled while she was cleaning herself of her foes’ blood by licking. “My pride was hurt. You didn’t believe what I’m capable of and neither did the Priestess. What am I to do? Let my name be misconceived? I am a warrior, Dragon. My skills and strength are my pride and I wouldn’t have them be misapprehended by anyone.”

“You’re saying it’s my fault that you kill those people brutally?” Iluna asked with a scowl.

“I’m not blaming anyone here, dearie. I’m merely showing you that I’m not a liar or a fraud who’s only living on her past glory. Rest assured, I won’t do what I did to the two of you as I consider you two my allies, for now.”

“Did you need to be so cruel to them? You didn’t even put them out of their misery. You left them to suffer. They were still alive, barely.”

“Consider that as due justice then, if your conscience can’t handle it.”

“Not my conscience I’m worried about here. It’s yours.”

“Mine?” Vishara scoffed. “Don’t worry. My conscience is clear. Those savages would have done worse to us if we fell victim to them. I could have made them suffer more but I didn’t. That’s more than they deserve.”

Iluna frowned coldly in disgust. “How would you know what they would have done to us? You don’t know them.”

“But I do, dear priestess. I know what kind of people they are just from taking a whiff of their scent. Their souls are stained by the blood of the innocents, many innocents. Countless, I dare say.”

“You knew all of that simply by assessing their scent?”

“Surprise? Don’t be. Any proper vampire could do that but as the monarch of vampires, I can do more than that.”

“I didn’t ask about what you can do. I just hope that you would never commit such… atrocity and brutality ever again.”

Vishara sighed. “How naive… little one.”

“Don’t call me little.”

“Hmm… you certainly aren’t little,” Vishara mused, gradually veering her gaze to Iluna’s bosom.

Suddenly, the balance seemed to shift atop Henry and Vishara nearly fell off but her fast reflex allowed her to quickly readjust her balance.

“W-what’s wrong, Lord Henry?” Iluna asked.

“Nothing,” Henry replied. “Just teaching an uncouth individual a lesson.”

Vishara tittered. “Oh, I’m uncouth now?”

“Did I say it was you?” Henry snorted. “Someone’s self-conscious.”

Iluna lowered her head so as to not let her chuckle be heard or seen.

“What a sly tongue you have there, Dragon.”

“If you think this is sly, then I can see why you didn’t see the betrayal coming.”

All of a sudden, the air turned cold and so did Vishara’s expression. “Careful now. You are treading on thin ice, Dragon. The water below will freeze you in an instant.”

“For a leader of a nation, you sure are easy to aggravate.”

“Um… Lord Henry,” Iluna whispered. “I don’t think it’s wise to—”

“You’re not wrong about that, Dragon. I am easily stirred. It is a flaw of mine. I don’t deny. But what are you getting at here, Dragon?”

“Can’t you tell? I’m trying to know more about you.”

“Interested in me, are you?” Vishara smirked. “Did my performance just now rouse a certain part of you?”

“My interest stems from the concern for my own well-being. And yes, it is because of your performance from before but not in the way you thought.”

Vishara clicked her tongue. “I didn’t expect Dragons to be so finicky. Aren’t they supposed to be indiscriminate with their desires?”

“I won’t know,” Henry muttered in response and the rest of their journey continued on in silence until three hours went by. It was nearing the hour for lunch. Henry was far from being hungry but the same couldn’t be said for Iluna. As for Vishara, he didn’t care whether she starved or not. It wasn’t as if she was as helpless as Iluna was.

Henry found a relatively peaceful-looking hillock where he could land. The hillock was devoid of any exotic trees or the presence of dangerous creatures. As soon as he landed there and the two ladies had gotten off, he shifted into his human form in order to avoid drawing too much attention. He then quickly went about setting up a perimeter by leaving marks with his claws.

“We’re wasting time here,” Vishara grumbled upon Henry’s return from his patrol.

“You’re free to go hunt some game. You’re not my prisoner or my slave and I’m not your master, you know that, right?”

“We should keep moving instead of resting.”

“Then, by all means, leave,” Henry gave it to her straight.

Vishara furrowed her brows. “Have I done something to offend you, Dragon?”

Henry stared wordlessly at the vampire in utter disbelief.

Vishara snickered. “Oh, I’m just joking. Gosh, you have no sense of humour.”

“Being ignorant of your own offence is no joking matter.”

“And I wholeheartedly agree.”

Henry sharpened his glare.

“Alright, alright. I’ll go and be useful,” Vishara said and ambled her way into the trees with a face that carried no worries but only leisure.

A few minutes after Vishara had disappeared into the woods, Iluna came over to Henry who was keeping watch on the edge of the perimeter he set up. “Will she be fine?”

“Really? That’s your question? You’re worried about her, even after what you saw her do?”

“I know she’s… unscrupulous at times but we’re still in this together. It’s only right to worry about her.”

Henry sighed. “I suppose you’re right. We are in this together. But know this, she’s a time bomb. When we get back to Ulrum, stay away from her.”

“A time bomb? What’s that?”

“An explosive device that goes off after a certain set amount of time has passed. It’s an expression to describe someone who’s bound to cause some serious trouble or misfortune. You heard her story, Iluna. She’s being chased by the humans and associating ourselves with her would only invite trouble to our doorsteps. It’s a simple equation but you have some doubts about it. What is it?”

“...It’s just… she looks lonely, Lord Henry,” Iluna said.

“Lonely?”

“Desolate and bereft. It’s in her eyes. I can see it clearly. I have seen those kinds of eyes more times than I wish. Being the High Priestess, the chosen of the moon, one of my jobs is to heal my people and not just the physical wounds but also the wounds of the hearts and minds.”

“Let me guess, retired warriors with no family to return to and their friends have all died while on duty.”

Iluna gave Henry a look of surprise. “You know the people’s plights well, Lord Henry.”

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“I won’t say I know their plights well but I am aware of it. They feel empty and lost after sacrificing so much. They took their own lives?”

“Half of them. The other half decided to blame their desolation and grief on the humans.”

“Did the humans have a hand in the deaths of the warriors?”

“It’s not about what the humans have done. It’s about finding something to unleash their anguish upon. They obviously couldn’t do it to their home or their people, so they decided on the humans. For a time, a war nearly happened due to these circumstances.”

“How was it resolved?”

“It wasn’t. We offered the humans gifts and just tightened our watch over these… distressed former warriors. The humans were satisfied with just those gifts but they vowed that they would need greater gifts should such a thing occur again.”

“You think Vishara is just like the warriors you mentioned?” Henry sighed, again. “I’m afraid that’s not the case. She’s seeking vengeance.”

“Vengeance? Does this have something to do with the betrayal you mentioned just before?”

“It has everything to do with that,” Vishara said out of nowhere.

Iluna jumped in fright at the vampire’s abrupt appearance but Henry was still and calm.

“How rude of you, Dragon. You knew I’m near but yet, you still proceed to vilify me.” Though her words carried indignation but not her tone. She sauntered past them and headed straight for the fire, where she sat down by and began skinning her game.

Henry and Iluna joined her by the fire and the two watched as Vishara worked.

“What are those?” Henry asked, squinting at Vishara’s catch.

Vishara shrugged. “I don’t know but they looked edible and their flesh isn’t poison, though they do possess venom.”

“V-venom?” Iluna stammered. “Is it still safe to eat?”

“It’s safe as long as we don’t eat the glands that produce the venom. Don’t worry, m’lady. I won’t hurt you. I don’t hurt the innocents.”

“Not directly,” Henry muttered dryly.

“I’m sensing a lot of spite from you, Dragon. Was it really that big of an offence that I caused?”

“You were unable to subjugate a murderous and nigh-invincible machine and you led it me and Iluna. You endanger us for your own sake. If you still can’t understand what you did wrong, then I can see why your people decided to usurp your reign. It’s quite hypocritical of you to admonish Rayne for not being a leader when you’re not that different.”

Vishara halted the skinning and threw Henry a furious glare. Her game was being squeezed by her clenched fists. “If you wish to fight me, you don’t have to be so reticent about it. I would gladly accept your challenge.”

Iluna looked at the two of them in dread and she secretly inched herself away from the fire.

“And there you go again. Your mind keeps wandering to violence. You think battle and proof of your strength are all that people want from you.”

“Then what is it that you desire from me with all of your… provocations.”

“An apology,” Henry said. “A sincere one.”

Wrath left Vishara’s gaze in a snap and she stared blankly at Henry as if she was told of a blatantly obvious fact that didn’t need to be said or told.

“Either you’re incredibly slow-witted or you’re not very used to apologising. I’m guessing it’s more of the latter, isn’t it?”

“A monarch does not apologise…”

“Perhaps but you’re a monarch no longer.”

Vishara flinched. She thought she had already come to terms with that fact but when she heard from someone else’s mouth, it shook her nerves. She even felt a little aggrieved.

“So, are you going to apologise or are you going to keep insisting that a fight is all I want from you?”

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“It does feel good to put an arrogant sod like you in their place.”

Vishara narrowed her gaze.

“Um… the… game is getting spoiled…” Iluna blurted out as softly and unobtrusive as she could.

With a bitter expression, Vishara resumed skinning her game as Henry’s judging eyes stayed on her. Once she was finished with the skinning, she drained the blood by sucking it out directly with her fangs and mouth. After that, she impaled the carcasses through a stick and held them over the fire.

As they waited for the meat to be cooked, Vishara eventually relented to Henry’s latching gaze. “What do you want from me?” she snapped.

“You know.”

Vishara clicked her tongue and looked away.

“You are a lot like Rayne, ironically. Maybe that’s why atavism favours her.”

“You won’t be getting that apology from me. I have done nothing wrong, Dragon. I came to you because I’m confident that it would not be a threat to you. Had I not been confident of your chances, I wouldn’t have led the Slayer to you.”

“What if Iluna gets hurt? What then?”

Vishara chuckled. “You adore her, don’t you, Dragon?”

Iluna widened her eyes and stared at Henry in surprise.

“What if I am? That’s beside the point. You do realise she’s essentially a leader of her people, don’t you? How do you expect me to explain to the Lavans should something happen to her because of your indiscretion and inconsideration?”

Before Vishara could retort, both Henry and her stood up to their feet abruptly and gazed in a certain direction.

“Well, they’re fast,” Henry remarked.

“The savages?” Iluna muttered after quickly catching on to the two’s grim expressions.

Henry nodded. “Probably their other kinsmen.”

“You knew they would come?” Iluna questioned.

“Of course I did. We made a fire. They’re bound to notice the smoke.”

“You still made the fire.”

“Well, we have to make a fire at some point. Might as well make a fire now and see what we’re truly up against. We’re obviously in their territory.”

“Should I go and hide?”

“Just stay here. I’m going to go greet the natives,” Henry said and walked towards the fast-approaching savages, who were all riding on the back of whale sharks and there were thrice as many as before.

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