Reincarnated as a Dragon – The path of the Dragon God

Rayne’s trial was to be held in three days if everything went according to schedule, Vira had explained. A letter had been sent to the Zeva Clan, requesting their presence at Rayne’s trial. As this was a world of magic, Rayne’s offences were promptly revealed through the usage of magic. The truth was also extracted through the aid of magic.

In the end, the trial was more of a sentencing hearing than the kind of trial Henry was familiar with back on Earth. His attendance at the trial was not compulsory despite being the victim and the plaintiff. The reason was simple. It changes nothing even if he was present due to how a trial functions in this fantasy world.

Henry was extremely grateful for that as he wasn’t sure if he could hold himself back if he ever saw Rayne again. Just thinking back on the brief moment he was under her control was enough to make him tremble in anger. He just hoped the trial would go smoothly and Rayne would get her just desserts. Vira had given her word Rayne would not escape but should she somehow manage to, Henry was free to char her into cinders.

As for Vishara, Nadea was keeping a close eye on her for Henry. The reason she was willing to do so was that Vishara had the potential to cause a calamity even worse than the Demons could. Therefore, Nadea was willing to “meddle” on this occasion. Currently, Vishara was hanging around the ruins in the plains where Henry had once been to.

From what Nadea could observe, Vishara wasn’t doing anything worthy of note. In fact, Nadea saw only sorrow and regret on Vishara’s face as she loitered in the ruins. Naturally, Vishara’s presence attracted the gluttonous monsters but they were all swiftly dispatched by her. Henry put Vishara out of his mind for now as she posed no immediate threat and he needed to give his mind some peace and rest.

“Henry?” a soft and mellow voice called out to him.

“Hmm?” Henry gave a lazy grunt as he struggled to open his eyelids.

“Are you okay?” asked Yula, who Henry felt was nudging him on the head.

“I will be if I sleep some more.”

“The sun is already shining brightly outside. You usually wake up at the first light. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just feel like sleeping in once in a while. Yesterday’s ordeal was way too mentally draining.”

“Ah… of course. But all is well now, right?”

“For the peace of Ulrum, I sure hope so,” Henry replied without opening his eyes.

“Well, I'll go fetch us some water and fruits. You can continue sleeping, Henry.”

“You’re going by yourself?”

“Of course. I can’t have you holding my hand forever, Henry.”

Saying so, Yula rose to her feet from the makeshift fur mat she was sleeping on. She was naked as usual in the morning as they would share their love every night without fail. She was finished dressing herself in an instant by donning her shadows that transformed into a dress once clad on her body.

“Oh, still asleep?” asked a voice that was already all too familiar to Henry. “Are you sick, Henry?”

“No, I’m not,” Henry retorted dryly.

“Sarynn? What are you doing here?” Yula asked.

Sarynn grinned. “I brought fish.” Ever since two days ago, Sarynn’s relationship with Henry had improved drastically. Though she was no longer addressing Henry as her husband, she still made sure to express her love in a different manner.

“You don’t have to.”

“I know but it’s my pleasure. You and Henry like fish, no?”

“We certainly do, Sarynn. But—”

“We’ll take it,” Henry said.

Yula blinked. “We will?”

“I am pleased to hear that, Henry.”

“Well, if Henry has no problem with it, then I won’t reject your generosity, Sarynn.”

“It’s not generosity, Yula. It’s love.”

Yula gave an exasperated smile.

“Ugh…” Henry groaned.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what’s with the barrels of liquor and piles of swords outside?”

Henry unfolded his eyes and rose from his sleeping position at once. “What? Barrels of liquor and swords? Outside?”

“They’re not yours?”

Henry lightly shook his head to snap himself fully out of his sleep and hastily scurried his way out of the cave. Yula and Sarynn followed closely behind him in small steps.

“What the hell is all this?” Henry blurted upon seeing the small pile of fancy-looking swords and approximately six wooden barrels. Once the wind blew against him, he was certain those barrels did contain liquor.

“Offering from the tribes?” Yula ventured a guess.

Henry sniffed at the supposed offerings. “It has a scent that I’m not familiar with. Doesn’t smell like the Kivus or the Zevas.”

“The Lavans or the Augrus then?”

“Most likely the Lavans,” Sarynn answered. “The steel the swords were forged of was no steel that can be found in Ulrum. The same goes for the wooden barrels. The wood is not from this forest. The Lavans are the only ones in Ulrum that trade with the races outside of Ulrum.”

“If it’s them, then it is concerning. They are able to transport this much load right up to my abode without my knowledge.”

“Then, it is unlikely the Lavans are the culprits,” Sarynn said. “Not even I can escape your senses. I doubt they could. And they have no probable reason for this offering.”

“Then who?” Henry mused.

“That would be me,” answered Nadea, who appeared out of nowhere and was now sitting on one of the barrels, swinging her feet casually.

Sarynn sprang away from her and transformed back into her true form, a near fifteen metres long blue-scaled serpent. “Who!?” Sarynn hissed at Nadea.

“Your one true liege, half-breed,” Nadea retorted with a smile.

“Half-breed…?” Sarynn’s voice turned cold.

Henry sighed. “Sarynn, it’s alright. She’s a… friend.”

Sarynn tilted her head. “Truly?”

“A friend?” Nadea tittered. “You’re breaking my heart here, Henry. We’re much more than that.”

“A mate?” Sarynn asked.

“No,” Henry sharply replied.

“Then who is this… whatever she is. She’s no human.”

Nadea snickered. “You are perceptive, young one. I am Nadea, the—”

“The Dragon God!” Sarynn gasped. She immediately lowered her head. “Pardon my extreme rudeness, Your Grace! I didn’t know! I—”

“Alright, alright. Calm down, Sarynn. I don’t particularly mind the formalities.”

“You know her, Sarynn?” Yula asked.

“Of course, I do. All Dragons and Sub Dragon species do. She’s the progenitor of the Dragon species. Her name and existence are seared into our brains the moment we are born.”

Yula shifted her gaze to Henry.

“I don’t know about that either,” Henry responded to Yula’s wordless inquiry. He then shifted his gaze to Nadea. “Is this a good idea? Revealing yourself to someone unrelated to the whole thing?”

“She is not completely unrelated, is she? From what I can tell, you are already beginning to accept her. So why leave her out of the fun?”

“Wait. So Henry… You’re her… avatar?”

“Avatar?”

“It’s just another word for Champion, Apostle, Emissary, and many more other words,” Nadea explained.

“Can’t they just decide on a single word?”

“If the intelligence races ever stop being so finicky and whimsical, then sure, maybe.”

“I knew it, Henry,” Sarynn said proudly. “I knew there was a reason for my attraction to you.”

Henry sighed out his frustration inwardly. “Anyway, what’s all this that you have brought to me?”

“They are offerings from my devout followers of another world.”

Henry raised an eyebrow. “So you’re supposed to be the recipient of these offerings but you gave them to me. Why?”

“I don’t exactly drink and these swords are useless to me. Besides, it’s time for another assignment.”

Yula’s face turned ghastly.

Henry perked his head up at those words. “That was quick.”

“Don’t worry. This assignment will be a short one, way shorter than the last one. It will be akin to a drive-by. So don’t fret, Yula. He’ll be back before supper.”

“I can’t follow?” Yula asked.

“Not to belittle you, my dear but it will be faster if Henry goes alone.”

Yula cast her gaze down. “Oh…”

Sarynn was glancing between Nadea and Henry, looking all confused. “What are you all talking about? What assignment?”

“Henry here is my avatar, as you have guessed. So, I have delegated some of my responsibilities to him in the form of assignments.”

“I see. That’s quite an honour.”

“Henry here disagrees.”

“There’s nothing honourable about this,” Henry grumbled. “I’m only doing this because I owe you my life and I hate Demons, not because of honour.”

“What a pity,” Sarynn sighed.

“Well then, Henry. Shall we leave now?” Nadea said and hopped off the barrel. She then flicked her hand and a portal opened up beside her.

“Whoa…” Sarynn muttered in amazement.

“I haven’t even had breakfast yet.”

“Better hurry, then. You have ten minutes.”

“May I follow?” Sarynn asked.

“That’s not possible. You don’t have a single piece of divinity within you.”

Yula pointed at herself. “But I can though?”

“That’s because you have consummated your relationship with Henry and thereby, receiving a piece of my divinity through him.”

“Oh…”

“It is also the reason that you have yet to break down from the vehement and vigorous nightly activities with Henry.”

“Ah…” Red filled Yula’s cheeks as she quickly looked away.

A glint of opportunity streaked past Sarynn’s gaze. “Henry, can we—”

“No,” Henry cut her off before she could finish her question.

****

It was the same as before. Henry was on top of a hill upon exiting the portal. But unlike before, he was still in his Dragon form as the world he was in was one where magic and monsters are commonplace. The first thing he did upon arriving in this other world was to take a deep breath and assess the air quality.

A look of relief spread across his face. “Thank god… I can breathe in this world…” After his time in that modern world, he became wary of things like these.

“Well, this world is still in its middle ages, give or take.”

“It’s the same as the world Ulrum is in,” Henry mused.

Nadea tittered in response to his musing. “It seems you are under the impression that Ulrum is a medieval-esque fantasy world.”

Nadea’s words hit the mark. Henry had been under the impression that Ulrum was the staple mediaeval fantasy world. “It’s not?” he asked.

“You’ll know when you travel out of Ulrum.”

“Great. Now you got me curious and eager.”

“I’m curious too, of your reaction.”

The hill crest was overlooking a vast dry land without a single green in sight. A large army of around ten thousand strong was currently engaged in a fight with a single individual in black, hovering in the air, who was continuously firing off black spells after black spells as if he was some kind of artillery with infinite ammunition.

“That’s my assassination target?” Henry asked.

“Don’t call it assassination. That sounds too crass. But yes, that’s your target.”

“The magic he’s using, Demonic Arts?”

“Same as Chloe’s ex. He’s drawing power from the Demonic Dimension.”

“Hmm…  those soldiers down there. Their armour had a crest of a dragon head engraved on the chest piece. Are they some kind of religious army like the templars?”

“Well, not quite. They simply worship Dragons. That’s actually the insignia of their kingdom. They prayed to me for their success in this subjugation of that Demon Adherent who had become more than they could handle.”

As a convenient demonstration, the Demon Adherent unleashed a large beam of dark energy that decimated a fifth of the army with that single blast alone.

“Oh, dear…” Henry muttered. “Do you think I can handle him?”

“The Adherent is weaker than he looks. That ability isn’t something he could use repeatedly. Besides, that large beam attack would only scald you at best.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. Can’t you feel the Murux of this world? It’s abundant…”

“But weak.”

“Yes. The quality of the Murux here is significantly lower than Ulrum. The Demon Adherent will be of no challenge to you. So have at him, Henry.”

Henry brandished his ethereal wings. “Let’s do this.”

“Oh, try not to kill any of the soldiers accidentally. It won’t do my reputation any good.”

“No promises,” Henry said and took off.