Chapter 95: Chapter 094

“Say, Nadea. Why couldn’t I feel the internal rift when it appeared?” Henry asked while he was flying back to his home in his true form and size.

“You can always feel it. It’s just a matter of distance and the terrain around it. Kinda works like cell reception. You didn’t feel the last one because it appeared at the bottom of a deep and narrow gorge. And the internal rift itself was small.”

“That was considered small?”

“Yes, that rift can be considered to be on the smaller side.”

“Then how big can an internal rift get?”

“Very big. More than enough to fit ten of your original size through.”

“Oh… damn. That is very big. Let’s hope—” Henry’s train of thought was interrupted by a dreadful feeling. “Nadea, did you feel that?” he asked.

“Yes, I did. An internal rift has appeared and it’s quite close.”

“It’s not just quite close… It’s near home!” Henry picked up his pace and rushed back home, splitting the clouds and tearing through the winds. If he flew at his usual relaxed pace, it would take him ten minutes or so to reach but pouring all his might and strength into his wings, he reached home in just a single minute.

Immediately, he saw a sight that was much too queer even for him. At the same time, the sight was not supposed but it was due to his time in Ulrum.

“Humans?”

He saw humans and they were in the clearing that he had come to call his home. The humans were armed with various weapons. There were a swordsman, a shielder, an archer, a dagger user, and a staff wielder. It was the staple party of adventurers, much like the ones he remembered reading about in fiction in his past life.

The humans were having a stand-off with his women, Rayne included, though not in the romantic sense. It didn’t look like either side had thrown the first punch yet but the tension was high and it could turn bloody at any given moment.

Henry shifted into his humanoid Dragon form and landed right between the adventurers and his women.

The adventurers shrieked in terror and instantly backed a few steps away. The group immediately cowered behind the shielder, who was doing his best not to drop his shield out of fright.

“Henry!” Yula exclaimed in joyous relief.

The mage individual of the adventurer party began casting a spell but a growl from Henry made the scrawny man think twice. The archer was also pulling on her bow’s string but after Henry growled, she eased the string back into place. As the archer had a hood over her head, Henry couldn’t see her face clearly but he could perceive her strangely enchanting emerald eyes.

“Is anyone hurt?” Henry asked.

“No,” Sarynn answered. “But if you had been a minute late, there would have been and it wouldn’t be one of us.”

“Henry, there’s a rift nearby. The humans might have come through that rift,” Nadea said.

“I know but I have to deal with these humans first.”

“Henry, allow me to help,” Sarynn offered as she stepped up.

“Suit yourself but be careful, there might be more coming.”

“Huh? How would there be more coming?”

“I’ll explain later. For now, just be wary.”

Sarynn nodded. “Understood.”

“I’ll help too,” Yula said. She didn’t wait for Henry’s approval and gathered shadows around her.

The adventurers saw that and they backed away even more. They were muttering to each other as they backed away and their eyes locked on Yula. Their faces turned pale.

“Nadea, do you understand them?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then, can you—”

“...I shouldn’t be doing this but I suppose this can be considered a reward for a job well done being my apostle. Yeah, let’s go with that reasoning.”

Saying so, the human’s chatter immediately became comprehensible to Henry.

“W-what the hell are they?! This… lizard thing. It’s humanoid and it has wings! And that woman, she controls shadows! Just where the fuck are we!?”

“H-how should I know!? You’re the one who wanted to step into that strange magic hole!”

“Hey! I asked for all of your opinions and you all said yes! So why are you blaming me now?”

“You’re the one who put that idea into our heads! If you didn’t propose to—”

“Enough, you two!” The swordsman shouted at the thief-looking person and the mage who were arguing with each other. “What’s done is done. Right now, we should be concerned about our survival. These… beings in front of us are not friendly. Just be prepared for any—”

“Do you know why we are being unfriendly towards you?” Henry asked, shocking the adventurer party.

“I-it spoke? The winged monster spoke!” the mage cried. “This appearance… you look like a drake with wings but drakes don’t have wings…”

“A dragon,” said the archer.

“Don’t be absurd, Lilian,” the shielder rebuffed. “Dragons don’t exist, not anymore. And that thing does not resemble a dragon at all.”

“It matters not what I am,” Henry said, “All you need to know is that you are trespassing.”

“T-trespassing? What are you talking about, monster?” the shielder scoffed. “The Reyan Forest is a hold of the Brynum Kingdom, you lizard. It’s open to all adventurers. Monsters such as you have no claim to—”

“Silence, you idiot!” the swordsman shouted. “Use your brain for once. We are obviously no longer in the Reyan Forest. Just look around you, those trees are not from Reyan Forest.”

The shielder snorted. “They all looked the same to me.”

“Just be quiet, Geron. You’re going to get us all killed.”

Henry stared at the adventurers intensely. “I will only say this once. Leave this forest at once. You people are not supposed to be here.”

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“But we don't know where we are. We tried going back through the… portal, but we couldn’t.”

“Nadea?”

“They speak the truth. Most of the rifts are one-way.”

Henry narrowed his gaze. He raised a forelimb and pointed to the west with his claws. “Head straight in that direction and you’ll find your way out of this forest. Don’t stray or wander if you value your life. If you wish to get out of this forest in one piece, don’t even think about stopping or taking any detours.”

“T-thank you…” the swordsman said with a slight bow.

“H-hey, are we just going to listen to the monster?” asked the thief in a whisper. “How do we know it isn’t tricking us and merely luring us into a trap to… kill us or something?”

“I concur,” said the shielder. “That thing’s a monster. We can’t trust its words.”

“What other options do we have?” the swordsman retorted. “We can’t fight that monster. It approached us without being detected by Mitch. We didn’t even see it coming from the sky. We are no match for the monster and that isn’t even including the women behind him. They’re no humans, that’s for sure.”

The shielder sighed. “Such a shame. We’re backing down without a fight…”

“You’re free to stay and battle it out with the monster if you so wish.”

The shielder tutted. “The lizard’s hide looks tough. I bet it can rake in a lot of money.”

“Geron. That’s enough talking.”

“And those women behind the lizard looked ravishing. Especially the black hair. Did you see her tits? They’re fucking huge. I would love to s—”

Henry cut his words short with a roar.

The adventurers squealed in response and they trained their weapons on Henry.

“I heard every single word you lot are whispering.”

Henry’s words sent chills down their spine and shivers across their skin. The shielder looked the worst out of the group. He opened his mouth and tried to say something but fear had caught his tongue. His lips moved without any sound coming from his open-mouth.

“F-forgive us,” the swordsman said. “My companion here didn’t mean what he said. It was just a careless and random musing of his. He meant nothing by it.”

Henry growled, unleashing a small puff of black smoke from his closed mouth. “Disrespect my women once more, I shall kill you all right here and now and no one would ever know of your pathetic fates.”

The adventurers gulped. None of them dared to utter a single word. They just nodded.

“Whatever sickening or twisted desires you have in your heads, keep it that way. If I hear another word from you,” Henry brandished his claws for the adventurers to see, “there will not be a second chance. Understood?”

The adventurers nodded again.

“Now, begone. Don’t stray or wander. Just head west.”

The adventurers nodded once more and they scrambled out of Henry’s sight.

****

“For a moment there, I thought you were going to let them go just like that,” Sarynn said. She was currently sitting on top of Henry’s back while Henry himself was flying high above the sky, trailing behind the adventurer party’s steps. Of course, Henry had sealed the internal rift before he went to stalk the adventurers.

For now, the adventurer party was westbound. They did not stray from their path, yet. But Henry could already smell their eagerness to take a detour as soon as they deemed they were far enough from his abode.

The adventurers did not take notice of Henry’s presence since he was using his camouflage ability. After having gone through evolutions, his camouflage ability had naturally grown with him. He was now able to use it even while flying but if he used any ability in tandem, it would break the camouflage. As of now, he could only use it for stalking.

“Their greed would most definitely win over their sense of self-preservation. They can’t help it. There’s also their pride. It would leave a bitter taste in their mouth if they are so compliant to the words of a monster.”

“You truly understand humans, Henry.”

“I was a human.”

Sarynn chuckled. “So you were.” Her amusement did not stem from disbelief but from her imagination of her lover’s life before this. Henry had told her everything the night after they consummated their relationship. Sarynn was quick to accept the revelation as if it wasn’t a big deal in the first place. In a way, it truly wasn’t a big deal.

After crossing over a small mound, the adventurer party stopped in their tracks.

“They have stopped,” Sarynn said.

“So they have,” Henry mused. As he and Sarynn were far too high in the sky, he could not hear anything from them even if he strained his ears. If he flew low, they would surely notice him now that they knew of his existence.

From what Henry could tell by their body language, the adventurers appeared to be arguing with one another. Henry didn’t need to hear their words to know the contents. It was obvious the shielder and the thief wanted to explore the forest while the swordsman wanted to leave as soon as they could. The archer and the mage looked to be neutral in their stance.

Their discussion went on for quite a while. It had been roughly five minutes since they had stopped moving. Most likely due to the loud noises of their row, Henry could see monsters approaching them from their surroundings. The mound they had just crossed over was actually the denotation of Henry’s territory border. The monsters did not dare to attack the adventurers since they were still in Henry’s territory but no longer.

“Oh, dear. They are lunch for those hungry beasts. Pity. Will you be helping them?”

“I have no reason to. I warned them but they chose to ignore it. The monsters are not trespassing.”

Sarynn tittered. “Well, this is the end for them.”

The adventurers soon realised monsters were approaching them from all sides but the realisation came all too late. The mage began casting a spell but his head was smashed wide open by a rock, thrown by a baboon monster. The death of their mage companion sent the rest of the party into turmoil.

The shielder was the first to betray his companions to save his own skin. He kicked the thief to the monsters and ran westwards. The swordsman was baffled and shocked by his companion’s decision but not for long. While he didn’t kick the archer to the monsters as bait, he did run off without telling the archer. The archer was the only one putting up a fight and she didn’t realise her companions had run off until she turned around. Seeing the empty spot where her companions had been, despair sank into her and she let go of her bow.

The archer fell to her knees, resigning to her fate.

“Shall we save her, my dear?” Sarynn asked.

“Why would I do that?”

“Because she seems to have caught your fancy.”

Henry sighed. “I suppose she did,” he said and immediately dove down towards the archer who was just seconds away from becoming the monster’s lunch.