Reincarnated as a Dragon – The path of the Dragon God

Sensing the rapid approach of Vishara’s lackeys, Henry was forced to put an end to this earnest act that had somehow devolved into a charade.

“Well, clearly it’s your loss,” Henry declared in an offhanded tone. “I would love to have a rematch but… circumstances have turned grave and dire.”

Henry did not wait for a response from the boy or his companions. He took Alani and Rayne into his arms and took off into the air without caring about the fact that he had exposed a part of his true self.

“We’re dropping the surreptitiousness?” Rayne asked.

“Not by choice. Even if we keep staying covert, it won’t make any difference now. Vishara’s minions are onto us. From this day on, this world will surely learn of my existence.”

“That sounds like a lot of trouble for the future.”

“I know… but who can I blame?” Henry smiled while looking at Rayne. “I should have killed her then.”

Rayne snorted, understanding the double meaning in Henry’s words.

“Do we have a plan?” Alani inquired.

“I have one but you two won’t like it.”

“What is it? Tell us.”

“...I will take care of them myself,” Henry answered after a brief silence.

“No,” came the immediate response from Alani. “You are not stowing us away in that subspace of yours as if we’re just pieces of luggage. You don’t want us to be just your trophies, right? You have to let us fight.”

“Alani, I—”

“Incoming,” Rayne exclaimed dully.

Far off into the distance, gigantic winged creatures emerged from the clouds. There were tens of miles between Henry and the vampire thralls but that distance could quickly be covered when one was travelling by air and flight.

Vishara’s minions, the vampire thralls, there were hundreds of them, almost a legion. There was an Amphiptere amidst the approaching horde. The largest mount amongst the others. Its body was flatter than the Amphiptere Henry had encountered before, perfect for transporting a huge force of soldiers.

“Oh god…” Alani gasped. “That’s practically an army.”

“An air force, technically,” Henry muttered.

“What?”

“Nothing. I mean— Do you have a change of mind?”

“No,” her answer was immediate. “If this is what it means to stand by your side, then so be it.”

“Allow me to have the first assault,” Rayne said. “Toss me over to the Amphiptere. They’re mine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

“What if they are more than you can handle?”

“...I have you, Henry. I’m sure you wouldn’t allow anything to happen to me.”

Not only Alani but even Henry was shocked by Rayne’s words.

Henry would love to tease Rayne about this sudden change of hers but now was not the right time to do so. He only smiled warmly at his new lover. “Give them hell,” he said and perched Rayne onto his arm. Once the vampire army was close enough, he flung Rayne straight at the Amphiptere.

Even from this distance, Henry could hear the confusion quickly spreading among the vampire thralls. Rayne’s initiative was completely out of their expectations.

Rayne reached the back of the Amphiptere in seconds, skidding and rolling to a stop just right in front of the group of vampire thralls.

“It’s you…” muttered the thrall at the guard, wielding a shield and a greatsword.

“You know me?”

“We do. Her Majesty had warned us extensively about you and… the True Dragon.”

“I’m honoured that my traitorous ancestor thought so highly of me.”

“Traitorous!? Watch your tongue, you filthy—”

Rayne didn’t let the thrall finish. She shot towards him and took his head with a kick that no one saw coming.

Without a head, the thrall’s body went limp and the rushing winds carried the corpse away.

“Well, colour me impressed,” Rayne scoffed in delight. “I should have lain with him much sooner.”

While Rayne was in awe over her newfound strength, the rest of the thralls charged at her, snarling in rage over the death of their fellow compeer.

The thralls were of different races but they all shared three distinctive traits. A pair of sharp fangs, bloody red eyes, and the taste for blood.

Half of them went for a bite, trying to get a taste of Rayne’s flesh and blood, but none succeeded, to the surprise of the thralls and Rayne herself. She was astonished when claws slid right off of her skin and fangs failed to even draw a drop of blood.

She deflected a sword with her bare arm. She felt a sharp pang but it was only a shallow scratch that drew little to no blood. Her skin might not be as tough as Henry’s but strong nonetheless in its own right.

In a short amount of time, she had defeated nearly a quarter of their number with more than half of the fallen ending up in grotesque states.

A thrall managed to land a punch on her face but it was the thrall who screamed in pain, having broken his own knuckles.

Rayne sneered with a chuckle at the foolish thrall before kicking him off the Amphiptere.

Another thrall seized the opportunity and hacked at Rayne’s head with an axe but the axehead broke off the handle.

Rayne turned around with a kick that sent another poor thrall flying off into the rushing winds. She tutted as she stared at the remaining thralls that were now backing away from her. Though she was stronger than ever, she wasn’t satisfied with the fact that she had been too careless in the fight. She had made many mistakes but she didn’t suffer them due to her enhanced natural defence.

“No, I cannot be conceited,” Rayne told herself. These thralls were just appetisers. The real challenge lay ahead.

Rayne’s belief was soon to be proven true as a figure standing near the Amphiptere’s tail made its move after Rayne had dealt with every other thrall on the back of the quasi-dragon.

“Oh… how did you even manage this, my dear ancestor?” Rayne muttered in disbelief at her opponent, which was a Slayer, but it was evidently corrupted by Vishara’s magic. Unlike the usual dark greyish tone and hue, this Slayer was black from head to foot, with blood-red markings covering its body.

“That’s not good,” Henry, too, muttered in disbelief when he saw the Slayer that had fallen under Vishara’s control.

“Henry, they’re surrounding us.”

Alani’s words brought Henry back to their own situation at hand.

The rest of the thralls converged on Henry, encroaching on him from all sides.

“Alani, hang on tight to me.”

Alani nodded and wrapped her arms around Henry’s neck as tight as she could, knowing full well what was about to transpire.

The seemingly puny human the thralls were swarming suddenly transformed into a colossal monster that cast darkness upon all of them. A striking glow could be seen brimming through the small gaps across its closed jaws. The thralls shook in terror. They were warned of this but hubris was a trait that could be found in all intelligent beings, a by-product of intelligence.

In the blink of an eye, a blazing inferno erupted, swallowing half of the thralls that had drawn too close to Henry. The dying throes and screams of the victims resounded across the sky. In the ensuing panic and chaos, Alani leapt the nearest enemy mount, a Wyvern with dark orange scales.

Alani kicked the rider off of the mount and cut down the adjutant, who had been too late in noticing Alani’s presence due to him being distracted by the deaths and panic around him. She then took the reins and pulled on the Wyvern, who struggled against her effort. As Alani had gained a portion of Henry’s strength, she did not get flung off of the flailing Wyvern.

While Alani was wrestling with the Wyvern for control, Henry was chasing down the thralls that were fleeing from him. In the face of a supreme existence such as a True Dragon, the minions of Vishara were not hesitant in making their retreat. They had been told and informed of him but the reality was often the best teacher.

Only a few of these thralls remained steadfast in their resolution. They feared disappointing their sovereign more than they did death. However, their commendable courage and loyalty meant nothing as Henry’s flame reduced them into cinders and ashes all the same as their cowardly compeers.

Henry was about to give further chase to the thralls that had fled quite a considerable distance when he suddenly saw Rayne flying past his sight.

He forewent chasing after the fleeing thralls and swooped into Rayne’s aid, catching her in his grasp.

“Argh!” Rayne groaned loudly.

Henry felt his blood freezing when he saw the state of Rayne’s left arm. He quickly spat a small drop of his drool onto her arm. The effect was immediate and her arm returned to its original state.

After making sure Rayne was fine, he turned towards the culprit of Rayne’s peril, the corrupted Slayer.

“I didn’t even last a minute…” Rayne muttered self-deprecatingly.

The Slayer met Henry’s glare. Without breaking away from their locked sights, it took the reins of the Amphiptere and steered the quasi-dragon towards the Henry. The Amphiptere was reluctant but it became obedient when the Slayer lightly grazed its foot-talon on the Amphiptere’s head. It was a warning and a threat, obey me or die, the Slayer seemed to have told the quasi-dragon.

A red aura began to rise from the Slayer, burning like a growing blaze. The markings on it were glowing along with the appearance of the aura.

“Vishara seemed to have given this Slayer more than just her power,” Henry observed. “Maybe even a part of her soul or consciousness too… But is something like that even possible?”

As the Slayer approached Henry on the Amphiptere, it conjured a spear out of the red aura that was emanating from its whole body. It raised the spear above its shoulder, preparing to throw it— when suddenly, something rammed into the Amphiptere, a Red Wyvern.

“Got you!” cheered Alani, who was on the back of the Wyvern, holding the reins.

The sudden impact threw the Slayer off of the Amphiptere and Henry seized this opportunity to douse it in his flames when it had no capability of repositioning itself as it was freefalling through the air.

“Are you alright?” Henry asked. His jaws weren’t moving but his voice came out of his mouth nonetheless.

Alani gave a thumbs up.

Before Henry could sigh in relief, his attention was drawn to the falling Slayer. The flames that engulfed the mechanical being had been extinguished. Parts of its body had been blackened or melted off but it was still fully functional.

Then, the most unexpected thing happened. The Slayer sprouted a pair of wings from its back but not actual wings. It was a manifestation of its aura.

“Slayers can do that?” Rayne questioned incredulously.

“Probably only this one.”

“...So this is what my people were once capable of,” Rayne mused. “It really makes you wonder what the world would have been like had she continued her reign.”

“Somehow, I don’t think it would be a very peaceful world if her reign had continued.”

The Slayer charged at Henry with a gaze that seemed to be glued to him.

“Henry, let me.”

Henry frowned. “Are you sure?”

“I was careless and I underestimated it. I won’t lose so easily this time.”

Henry wanted to say no but knowing what lay ahead in their journey, he couldn’t deny her request. In the end, he gave a nod, reluctantly.

“Thank you.” Not only did Rayne thank Henry, but she even snuck a kiss on his lips, flashing him a smirk, before jumping off of his palm and diving straight towards the Slayer.

“...What a one night of intense heat and passion couldn’t do,” Henry found himself wondering in awe.

“Are you sure about this?” Alani asked, who had rushed up to him on the Wyvern.

“It’s not up to me,” Henry said with a wry smile. “And I see you have found yourself a nice pet.”

Alani grinned proudly. “Her name’s Jeniva.”

Henry raised an eyebrow. “You named it?”

Alani nodded. “It’s nice, isn’t it?”

Henry looked at the Wyvern, who was shivering uncontrollably in Henry’s presence. “Yes, it’s nice indeed.”