Reincarnated as a Dragon – The path of the Dragon God

The feast was tomorrow and to his very own surprise, Henry found himself getting nervous. Not that he had any problem with a large crowd, but that something could go wrong tomorrow and essentially ruin the feast that he had been looking forward to for far too long. Just thinking about what kind of novel and delectable dishes would be present tomorrow at the feast was already making him squirm in anticipation.

To make sure nothing would go wrong tomorrow, Henry woke up earlier than usual. He went on rounds after rounds of patrol. He eliminated whatever problem that might bud into something big or complicated in the future.

Perhaps the fauna had also sensed the shift in the usually tranquil atmosphere, Henry was stumbling upon more invasive game than normal. They were not creatures that were supposed to be in his territory and they were not the friendly kind. He came across a half-eaten squirrel during his rounds and following the tracks left by the predator, he found the culprit near the nest of some small rodents.

Another sadistic fuck… Henry sighed inwardly. Why do they like to play with their food so much?

The culprit was a pup-sized canine creature of sorts, though it was not as gentle and tame as a pup. Saliva was constantly dripping from its gaping mouth that was filled with razor-sharp teeth. Its eyes were bloodshot as if consumed by a hungering madness. Henry had encountered such a beast before and he had initially thought the condition of this beast was a sickness but Sarynn assured him that this was simply how the default nature of the jittery beast before him.

Be that as it may, this abominable creature was still something Henry wanted gone, natural or not. Now that he had given the creature a closer and clearer look, the creature was incredibly scrawny but that was only in appearance. The creature was not malnourished or anything. It was just how it looked. Probably a way to trick its prey into thinking it was too harmless to be of any threat.

Henry did not delay the jittery beast's demise any longer and promptly ended its twisted life with a Jetstream Breath. Henry shuddered immediately after he bisected the creature due to its extremely pungent odour. It was as smelly as it looked. Even the small rodents hiding from it could no longer stand it. They came out of their nest and ran off without caring whether the threat was still present.

Henry took care of the jittery beast’s remnant by reducing it into ashes with his Fire Breath. He then took care of the ashes by burying them in the soil in hopes they would be useful as fertilisers for the floras around.

Well, that takes care of that. Henry heaved a sigh of relief as he looked around. He had completed his rounds for the morning. Fingers crossed. No more shit, please.

As if mocking his wishes, Henry felt something akin to a transmission entering his mind.

“Henry, I hope this isn’t a bad time,” said Nadea.

Henry’s shoulders slumped and he sighed once more, not out of relief this time. “As a matter of fact, it is a bad time,” Henry didn’t mince his words. “Are you aware that a sumptuous feast will be taking place tomorrow?”

“No, but now I do. However, I came to you with urgent, yet great news.”

“That is?”

“The one responsible for the appearance of the rifts had been located. Or rather, I should say we finally caught up to him, with some help of course.”

Henry raised an eyebrow. “Well, that is certainly good news… but given tomorrow’s event, it doesn’t feel like one at all.”

“I’m sorry, Henry, but this can’t wait. You need to apprehend or subjugate him, fast. If you took off now, perhaps you would still make it for the feast tomorrow.”

“That’s a big “if”, Nadea.”

“This is a big issue, Henry. The fate of the world is at stake here.”

Henry sighed again. “Fine fine fine. I’ll leave as soon as I tell my girls. Now, where will I be going this time? Some ruined world or something?”

Nadea giggled. “In a way, it is a ruined world and it’s a world you have been to.”

Henry raised both of his brows. “Huh?”

****

“Oh, dear god…” Henry groaned as he took in the twenty-first-century cityscape that was spread out before him, complete with high-rise buildings and skyscrapers. The city before him was the very same city he visited in his first interdimensional travel. The air was as foul as ever but since he had gone through some evolutions, the smell didn’t bother him as much as the first time.

Not to say his sense of smell dampened, but he merely had better tolerance towards the unsavoury stuff.

This was also the world where Yula was from and where he met her. Though it had only been no more than a few months or so, it felt like a long time ago.

Yula had tagged along with Henry when she heard he would be travelling to this world. Though she didn’t have any strong attachment to this world, it was still her native world and her birthplace.

It went without saying that Henry was in his human form and the two of them were dressed in clothes befitting this era, courtesy of Nadea. Henry was wearing black trousers and a simple white dress shirt. As for Yula, she was wearing a two-piece, consisting of a white blouse and a beige skirt.

“Wow… it doesn’t seem like much has changed except for a few new skyscrapers,” Yula muttered as she took in the view with a melancholic gaze. “I’m home…”

“Say, Yula…”

“Yes, Henry?”

“Do you have any regrets?” Henry asked.

“Lingering regrets?”

“No, not that. I mean… Have you ever regretted following me to Ulrum?”

Yula smiled and cupped Henry’s cheeks, turning his gaze to face her. “I do have the occasional thought of wondering what my life would turn out if I chose to stay here, but the answer is no. I have never regretted following you, Henry.”

“Truly?”

“Truly, Henry. Life in Ulrum was relaxing. I thought I would miss the convenience and luxuries offered by modern technology but I didn’t. I’m not meant to be around technology, not with the powers I have. And I certainly don’t miss those internet trivia, celebrity gossip, and social media shenanigans. I won't lie, it's sort of difficult at first but the sense of liberation afterwards is really... comforting.”

“Well, if you put it that way, Ulrum does seem like an obvious choice for a better life.”

“Enough with the trip down memory lane. Where’s the guy we are supposed to catch or... kill?”

Henry pointed Northeast. “Somewhere there,” he said.

“Did the mighty goddess give any more specific details? Like, what does our target look like?”

“I will know once I see him, or so Nadea said.”

“Ah, that’s hopeful.”

****

It was a twenty-minute walk to reach the area where the culprit roughly was, which was a rundown commercial district. Though it was rundown, it was still quite a busy area for a rundown area. It would have taken less than ten minutes if they had hailed a cab but the interior of a vehicle proved to be much for Henry to bear. He had only opened the door when the intense whiff of various smells assaulted his nose.

“How do dogs even bear to linger around here?” Henry muttered as he caught a few sights of stray dogs wandering around the streets while they were walking down the street, hand in hand like a normal couple. Yula had always wanted to do this.

“Maybe they’re used to it? Like how I’m used to the smell of your seed but Rayne absolutely abhors it whenever I come out of the cave smelling like your baby batter in the morning.”

Henry frowned with a cramped and awkward smile. “R-really?”

Yula nodded without looking bothered by what had just come out of her own lips.

“Then I better make sure to not overdo it the next time.”

Yula tittered. “You need not do such a thing, Henry. What she likes or dislikes is of no concern to us. Anyway, where’s our guy? Or girl. Anyone who looks suspicious?”

Henry let his gaze wander around. “I’m still looking. Is there anyone who looks suspicious? None. However, it’s not the appearance that tells me of their intentions, but their scent.”

“Their scent?”

“I can sort of smell their emotions and their emotions can tell me their intentions. Sort of.”

“Oh, right. You can smell people’s fears.” Yula’s eyes twinkled and she looked around enthusiastically. She then pointed a finger in a certain direction. “What about that guy on the bench there with his head hanging low and biting his nails? What's his story?”

Henry looked towards the guy Yula was referring to. He took a few whiffs of the guy’s scent which drifted his way. “He’s anxious… extremely nervous. And I can smell perfume on him.”

“Ah… got caught cheating?”

“Could be but I won't know for certain with just this much information.”

“What about that old man there?”

Henry once again followed Yula’s cue and found a lonely old man leaning against the pole of a streetlight. The old man wasn’t wearing anything fancy but nothing too shabby either. “...Sorrow. I can feel a great amount of sadness for him. I can also smell the scent of flowers and… the dead.”

“The dead and flowers? And great sorrow… Ah, I got it. He just came back from visiting the grave of a loved one?”

Henry shrugged. “Once again, I won't know for sure with so little information. And I don't think a cemetery would smell like the dead.”

Yula giggled delightedly. “This is kinda fun.”

“We’re not here to have fun.”

“No, but it’s not like we can’t have some fun.”

“I suppose…”

“What about that boy over there by the traffic light?”

“Hmm, that boy with a beanie and a zipped-up jacket that looks to be too stuffed?”

“Yup.”

Henry chuckled. “A thief.”

“A thief?”

“What do you think he’s hiding under his jacket and in those pockets?”

“Oh… Should we do something about that?”

“Do you have a phone?”

Yula shook her head.

“Then just leave it. We have much more important matters to—” Henry’s sentence was left unfinished as he stared firmly across the street.

“What is it? Did you find our target?”

“No… but I found someone else.”

“Hmm? Who?” Yula followed Henry’s gaze and found a girl around her age at the end of it. The girl had pale blonde neck-length hair and she was wearing a strapless crop top under a jacket, paired with blue denim jeans. “Dear me, Henry. Seriously? You found another one already? We’re on a job here, remember?”

“That’s Chloe,” Henry said.

“Chloe? Who’s Chloe?”

“The girl you thought I was cheating on you with?”

Then, everything clicked in Yula’s head. “Oh… her. Yeah, I remember her. So, that’s Chloe. I thought she would be a bit more… conservative.”

“Where did you get that idea from?”

“Just my own bias of a thieving cat that could grab your interest.”

Henry rolled his eyes. 

“So… you wanna go and say hello?”

“...It’s best that I don’t,” Henry said after a brief contemplation. “Who knows what kind of questions she would ask?”

Perhaps she was just looking around on a whim or drawn by the beckoning of fate, Chloe’s gaze landed on Henry just as he planned to walk on and ignored her presence.

“H-Henry?” Chloe uttered.

“Well, too late,” Yula said with a titter.

Chloe’s eyes turned wide and she immediately rushed over to Henry. She crossed the street without looking left and right but fortunately, there were no cars at the moment.

“Damn it,” Henry muttered under his breath.

“Henry… H-Henry…” Chloe said in between her breaths. “It really is you…”

Henry smiled wryly. “Hello, Chloe. It’s been some time. How have you been?”

“You looked… younger?”

“I have been well. Have you?”

“Yes, I’m well, but no thanks to you.” A frown suddenly crossed her face.

“Is there something wrong?”

“Are you serious?” Chloe scoffed. “You just… disappeared. You left without saying goodbye. And you’re asking me what’s wrong?”

“Hey now, I tried to call you but you didn’t want to pick up my call.”

“That was because you… you…” Chloe’s voice trailed off as she recounted the day when they parted ways. “There was a lot to take in at that time. I didn’t know how to— You know what? Forget it. It’s all in the past now. And I can see you have moved on.” Her gaze fell on Yula. More specifically, the latter’s impressive bosom.

“Nice to meet you, Chloe. I’m Yula, Henry’s wife,” Yula introduced herself proudly and sweetly with her hand extended.

Chloe blinked. “W-wife?” She then cocked her gaze to Henry. “Y-you’re married?!