Reincarnated as a Dragon – The path of the Dragon God

Rayne had never looked so lovely, Henry thought. In fact, he didn’t think she was even capable of looking lovely and so… vulnerable. But alas, here she was, looking like the fairest maiden he had ever laid eyes on.

If they weren’t in such a perilous situation, Henry reckoned he would pounce on her and ravish her right here and now.

“Dear me, am I that enchanting?” Rayne asked with a smirk as she noticed Henry’s enamoured gaze.

“You are, indeed,” Henry answered honestly.

Rayne’s smirk vanished. “Oh… I see.” Her voice and tone had turned meek. She didn’t think Henry would be so unabashed and forthright. “Um… you can let go of me now.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Let me go.”

“No. I won’t. You are mine. Mine alone and mine forever.”

“I concur but just not in a literal physical sense please.”

“Do you dislike me holding you?”

Rayne shot him a glare. “I should be the one asking you that question. Don’t you hate me?”

“Hate is a strong word. I won’t say I hate you but I do disagree with your… past actions and I do still firmly believe that you owe me an apology.”

Rayne snorted. “In the end, it still comes down to my apology…”

Henry smiled. “Well, you may take your time.”

Rayne frowned in confusion. “W-what?”

“I don’t believe your apology would have any meaning if I forced it out of you. My door is always open. If you’re ready, I will accept your apology at any time.”

Rayne tutted and looked away. “Damn you…  Now you’re making me feel bad.”

“That means we’re making progress.”

“Wow. Is this how you always felt?” a voice from in front of them. It was Alani.

Rayne immediately sprang out of Henry’s arms and distanced herself from him. “How long have you been there?” she asked with a wary gaze.

Alani tittered. “Long enough. You were so engrossed in Henry that you didn’t even notice me jumping off Jeniva and landing right in front of you.”

“Jeniva?”

Alani pointed upwards.

Rayne looked up. There was a Wyvern hovering just above the trees. “How in the world… You tamed a Wyvern.”

“I did,” Alani said, looking all smug.

Rayne glanced at Henry.

“Please don’t tell me you are envious now,” Alani taunted flippantly.

Rayne ignored Alani’s jab and walked up to Henry. “Are you aware of how dangerous this is?” she asked in a whisper.

“What is?”

“The woman you bedded, they all gained strength and powers far beyond what anyone could imagine. Set aside the increment in our strength, durability, and speed. I can use Fire Magic and Rapid Healing. Alani can tame a Wyvern.”

“I’m aware but I don’t hear your question.”

“The question here is how does a person acquire these augmentations from you? Is it simply your favour or do they need your… bodily fluid? Or both? Depending on the answer, this could become a huge problem.”

“Ah… now that you said it, this is a cause for concern.”

“What is?” Alani asked.

“If all one needed to augment themself is just a drop of essence from within my body, this could easily get out of hand.”

“Oh, that is concerning. It’s worrying— No, it’s alarming. I mean, what’s gonna happen if Vishara had a drop of your blood if that’s true? She’s a vampire. If a fight happens between you two, it’s inevitable that she’ll get at least a drop of your blood.”

“We can only pray that the augmentation isn’t as simple as just getting my blood or essence. Or pray that she can’t break through my defence.”

Rayne made a grim expression. “If she’s as studious as the ancient texts claimed, it’s likely that she had already known and procured the means to make you bleed, Henry.”

“If she already did, why didn’t she arm her thralls with those means?” Alani questioned.

“Maybe there isn’t enough to go around,” Rayne answered, shrugging.

“Or maybe she still hasn’t figured it out,” Henry said hopefully. “Let us hope such is the case.”

“Hopefully,” Rayne mumbled.

Suddenly, the Wyvern screeched.

Alani’s face turned ghastly. “Someone’s coming. Enemy.”

“Strong enough to frighten a Wyvern,” Rayne mused.

“Skilled enough to evade my senses until it came so close,” Henry added.

The trio stared into a certain direction, where the trees were sparse and the path was naturally paved by the weather over a long period of time. From that path that was faintly hidden by the mist, a woman with pale yet dark skin strode out. Tall and slender. Dark yet pale. Her hair was a long flow of white that had been tainted by blood.

“Vishara?” Alani gasped.

“No, this isn’t her,” Henry said. “But strangely enough, this woman kinda resembles her.”

Rayne narrowed her gaze. “She has Vishara’s blood in her. This one’s no mere thrall.”

“So it is.” Henry sighed. Without glancing behind him at the two, he marched towards the woman.

“Should we help?” Alani asked.

“No, this one is his fight.”

Henry smiled inwardly. He was glad that Rayne had the mindset of a warrior or else it would be too annoying to convince those two to stand down.

“Lord Henry,” the woman greeted. Her eyes were as red as blood itself.

“And who are you?”

“Nim.”

“Well, Nim. Is there any chance that I can convince you to walk away?”

“Her Majesty wishes to ask the same thing of you.”

Henry chuckled. “Wow, we’re both stubborn in similar ways, huh?”

“Her Majesty wishes for you to be by her side in her reign.”

“Reign?” Henry scoffed. “Sorry. Not interested. I had enough problems overseeing a forest, let alone an entire nation or continent.”

“Great powers are destined for greatness.”

“Greatness is relative. I see nothing great about Vishara’s ambition. I am surprised that she’s trying to convince me.”

“You are the only one who rivals Her Majesty’s strength and prowess. There’s no one else who is more worthy of being her consort other than you, Lord Henry.”

“How long have you been serving Vishara?”

“A month.”

“A month. Wow. Feels like you have served her for years.”

“The duration of servitude does not denote or guarantee one’s loyalty or competence.”

Henry shrugged. “You have a point, I suppose,” he murmured.

Nim splayed open her hand and a sword appeared in her hand. The blade was as dark as the night but it gleamed whenever the sunlight was caught.

Although Henry did not know of the material the sword’s blade was forged of, he could feel that it was no simple metal. His instincts screamed at him to avoid the sword at all costs.

“You know what this is?” Nim asked.

“I do not,” Henry admitted. There was no point in acting knowledgeable.

“Such strength but so little knowledge. You will lose, Lord Henry, should you choose to continue defying Her Majesty.”

“She’s the one defying me. I merely wish that she controls her thirst for power and vengeance.”

“The ambitions of the strong should not be confined by the fear and envy of the weak.”

“If she has no intention of being considerate, then neither will I. Enough of this. She and I are all kinds of stubborn. Words will not suffice. Let’s fight.”

“It’s a shame that I will have to slay the last true dragon,” Nim said with her sword pointed at Henry. “Here I come.”

Henry snorted. “Come on,” he growled.

Arrows of darkness spawned around Nim while her sword remained still.

“Oh, this is gonna hurt,” Henry muttered forebodingly.

The dark arrows shot towards Henry. He closed his eyes and received the flurry. Not a single arrow pierced his skin but the pain was still there.

“Ouch,” Henry winced.

The barrage of dark arrows continued, showering Henry like an incessant downpour.

“Annoying,” Henry huffed and flicked his hand. A translucent barrier appeared around him, absorbing the flurry of arrows.

Nim ceased the arrow barrage and flung herself at Henry.

“Gravity.”

Nim shook but it didn’t stop her charge.

“Oh, fuck.” Henry leapt backwards as the vampire swung her sword.

The black blade was no longer than thirty-five inches but its reach surpassed thrice that amount. The trees in the proximity were all felled.

“Holy shit.” Henry looked down at his torso. His shirt was cut. His skin wasn’t but there was a red mark drawn across where the shirt tear was.

“Your look tells me you truly do not know this steel but you are still wary.”

“How did you resist my magic and what steel is that?”

Nim smirked faintly. “You have much to learn, Lord Henry. Her Majesty is more than willing to teach you if you submit to her.”

“Yeah, no thanks,” Henry said and unleashed bolts of lightning upon Nim.

Her hand flashed and her sword only whirled, but the lightning bolts were all cut down in the next second.

Henry widened his eyes. “Fascinating but unnerving.”

“I don’t appreciate being looked down on, Lord Henry. Do you think I’m not worthy of facing your full strength?”

“Only an idiot will expose their hand before they even understand their opponent.”

“I shall not stand for this belittlement of my abilities.” Suddenly, she dispersed into a faint cloud of smoke. The smoke cloud shot towards Henry.

He threw an Aura Blade but it passed through the cloud harmlessly.

When the cloud reached Henry, Nim regained her original form, her sword swinging.

Henry cast Gravity once more but the result was the same as before. However, he made a discovery. The blade was still coming at her but slower.

Nim wasn’t unaffected. It simply wasn’t as effective on her as it was on others. But there was a clear distinction. She wasn’t immune, just resistant.

“Where’s your focus?” Nim asked, coldly, as her blade nearly carved into Henry’s neck, but missed by an inch.

“Just observing,” Henry retorted.

Nim snorted and flourished her sword against Henry. A single blade danced like a thousand edges as they rained down on Henry.

Instead of receiving the cuts, Henry moved himself away from the spot. He retaliated by throwing a ball of fire at Nim.

The vampire tutted and sliced the fireball in half. “Until when do you intend to keep mocking me?”

“How strong are you if you compare yourself to Vishara?”

“Comparing myself to Her Majesty is insolence of the highest degree.”

Henry shrugged. “Well, it was worth a shot.”

“Come at me seriously!” Nim roared and unleashed a storm of sharp blows upon Henry.

“Make me,” Henry jeered and took to the air, avoiding the slashes that might have the capacity to tear into his flesh.

“Do you not fight with honour?”

“Do you want me to fight you seriously or do you want me to fight you with honour?”

Nim clenched her fists. “Both.”

“Not possible. That’s a contradiction.”

“It isn’t.”

“But it is, you sweet foolish naive girl.”

“You are an insult to all the praises and compliments Her Majesty has bestowed you.”

Henry chuckled. “Has Vishara told you anything about herself? Her past?”

“Her Majesty’s past does not matter, only her ambitions for the future do.”

Henry sighed. “Oh, you poor thing. If only you knew…”

Nim grunted. “You’re right. Words do not suffice. Actions do.”

“That’s the spirit.”

Nim kicked off the ground, soaring into the sky, charging towards Henry. The darkness that formed the arrows was now converging around the blade, shedding the lustre that laced the darkness.

“Whoa, she can jump,” Henry muttered. He was hovering around five hundred feet above ground and Nim easily covered that distance with a single jump.

Henry expected a slash but Nim dispersed into smoke and moved behind him before returning to her material form.

Henry turned around with flames brimming in his mouth. He didn’t know how much Nim knew about his flames but from the look of absolute terror on her face, it was evident that she knew enough.

Still, Nim cut the flames, or at least she tried to. She succeeded but the cost was her sword, which was now engulfed in flames.

“Is it over?” Henry mused.

It was not. Nim flicked her sword and the flames came right off along with the darkness that covered the sword, as if they were just mere dirt. Then, Nim once again enveloped her sword in the same darkness.

“Okay. That’s a neat trick.”