As a new day dawned, Henry’s routine quickly returned to normal, as much as it was possible with the unexpected addition of a new resident to his abode and lair. Suffice to say, Yula was not happy with Rayne’s presence. Sarynn had the least animosity among the three towards Rayne but the animosity was still there. Unlike Yula and Henry, Sarynn wasn’t as wary since she was way stronger than Rayne even before the Zeva slave’s degradation at the hands of her supposed ancestor.

According to Tiana, the Queen of the Kivus, not only her vitality was drained but also a good portion of her power was taken. As a test, Henry lightly hit Rayne with the back of his paws and a bruise easily formed on her shoulder. She was severely weakened. If she received a full brunt attack from Henry, she would meet her end.

As additional compensation for Rayne’s offence and also a form of a bribe, Roven had gifted Henry a large crate full of wine in casks. The wine was made from berries that grew only in the mountains where the Zevas resided. Though not as good as the rum he received as offerings from the other world, the wine could still be considered a delight. Apparently, the reason they chose wine as an offering was that Dragons were known for loving alcoholic drinks and jewellery. Since they didn’t have any jewellery they could offer, they chose their homemade wine instead.

Henry graciously accepted the wine of course and he could feel the relief oozing off of the envoy group including the queen herself. They were really dreading the possibility of offending Henry and incurring his wrath.

Once everything was resolved, to some degree, the envoy group took their leave and as could be expected, Roven kept glimpsing back as they left, right until they disappeared into the distance.

Rayne’s expression stayed the same throughout the night, even when she was forced to sleep outside the cave. Henry wasn’t so heartless as to let her freeze to death outside but he didn’t need to do anything as he could tell Rayne wasn’t bothered by the cold. She had lived in the mountains where snow was an everyday occurrence. A little bit of cold was nothing to her.

When the next day arrived, Henry brought Rayne along on his hunt. He wanted to see how she fares in her current state and also to gauge the control he had over her. Henry trod further from his lair than usual. After nearly an hour, the two eventually came upon an ape with runes etched on its fur and skin. At a closer look, the etched runes were actually birthmarks. The ape had grey-coloured fur and it was only a tad smaller than Henry who was now the size of a double-decker bus.

Henry took a whiff of the ape and he was already curling his face in disgust over its scent. He shuddered to imagine how the ape would smell after its death. He immediately gave up on trying the ape’s meat.

“That’s a Rune Ape,” Rayne muttered softly with her now-usual hollow gaze.

The Rune Ape was munching on a deer it caught, taking no notice of Henry and Rayne’s presence.

“You have these in the mountains?” Henry responded dryly.

“At the foot. They sometimes climb up the mountains but rarely. Their hide is tough but not as tough as yours. They’re strong. They could easily shatter rocks with a single punch. They have excellent self-healing abilities too.”

Henry raised his brows. “How nice of you to tell me all these. What gives?”

“Isn’t that why you brought me along the hunt?”

“One of many reasons but I didn’t think you would be so… compliant.”

“Is there a point in being defiant with this accursed spell on me? I don’t know what you think of me but I dislike suffering.”

Henry grinned. “But that’s the point of you being here, Rayne. You are going to suffer.”

Rayne’s face twisted into a grimace but she said nothing.

“Have at the Rune Ape.”

Rayne stared at Henry as if expecting him to retract his orders.

“I’m serious. Fight that monster now.”

“I don’t have any weapons on me.”

“Good.”

“I’ll die.”

“I doubt that. You’ll die only if you want to. I have seen you fight. You won't be that helpless. Now go before I compel you to.”

Rayne glared at Henry with her teeth gritting and her fists clenching. If looks could kill, then the current state of her expression would certainly be a strong candidate. Eventually, she snorted and relented to Henry’s orders. She approached the Rune Ape in stride.

The Rune Ape finally took notice of the two’s presence and turned around. It barely gave them a proper glance before roaring and throwing the half-eaten deer at Rayne. She hopped over the carcass being flung away and kicked a stone into her hands when she landed. She then threw the stone at the Rune Ape, striking it in one of its eyes as it charged toward her.

The Rune Ape went staggering and screeched out in pain. Rayne used the boulders as a foothold to leap up to the Rune Ape’s height. With a twist of her body, she slammed a kick into the Rune Ape’s head. It went staggering further but that kick snapped the Rune Ape out of its agony. It bellowed in rage and threw itself at Rayne. She dove out of the way and let the Rune Ape crash head-first into the boulder.

“Wow… she’s good.” Henry couldn’t help but praised her in his heart despite the enmity between them.

The boulder had cracked in half but the Rune Ape’s head was still intact. Rayne clicked her tongue and began running in a circle around the Rune Ape after picking up a stick. It shouted at her in indignation and chased her down. She stopped circling around and rushed directly at the Rune Ape. She slanted her body backwards and let her momentum carry her through the opening between the Rune Ape’s legs.

She quickly spun around and plunged the stick into the rear hole of the Rune Ape. It howled agonisingly, sending the birds scattering to the skies and the small animals scampering off.

Henry winced at the merciless act of Rayne. Though she was weakened, she was still very much experienced in the arts of battle.

The Rune Ape spun around furiously and slammed both of his down on Rayne, who flipped upwards and landed on the Rune Ape’s head. Without a shred of hesitation, she plunged her arm into the Rune Ape’s remaining eye. It shrieked sharply and flailed around wildly, throwing Rayne off of its body. She managed to find her footing as she landed but the Rune Ape’s strength was no joke. Her legs were numb from the harsh landing.

The Rune Ape bent its legs before jumping straight into the sky.

“Oh, fucking hell…” Rayne swore as she watched the Rune Ape fall straight back down. There was no use running as she doubted she could outrun whatever was to come.

When the Rune Ape made its landing, a shockwave exploded radially with the Rune Ape’s point of landing as the epicentre. Rayne could only brace herself against the shockwave. It swept her off her feet and carried her off like a tidal wave.

The Rune Ape, using its hearing, tottered towards her in a frenzy before Rayne could get back on her feet. The Rune Ape sent a fist but Rayne tossed herself out of the way just in time, though her hasty evasion left her no leeway to dodge its next attack. She could only soften the blow by tilting her body and throwing herself along with the force. She bounced across the ground and slammed into a tree. Blood spouted from her mouth as she lay at the roots like a rag doll.

“D-damn it…” she cursed. She tried moving her limbs but they weren’t listening to her. She could only slightly move her head and watched the Rune Ape slowly lumbered its way towards her. It no longer had eyes but it could still hear and smell which both aspects were something the Rune Ape excelled in.

But before the Rune Ape could reach Rayne, a stream of high-pressure air streaked through the Rune Ape, cutting it in half.

“Not bad, Rayne,” Henry said as he ambled towards Rayne. “Not bad at all. Unarmed and enfeebled but you still fought better than I could.”

“Glad to know you’re aware of your faults,” Rayne scoffed weakly, clutching at the spot under her armpit. “Couldn’t you have intervened earlier?”

“I could but I chose not to.”

Rayne tutted. “What a sadistic fuck you are, Henry.”

“I don’t want to hear that from someone who enthrals animals and creatures for her own gain and pleasure.”

“It was never about pleasure," she snarled. "I won't deny what I have done but that doesn’t mean I enjoy it. I did what I did because it was what the world demanded of those who wished to thrive. My father and my brothers are no different from me, you’ll come to learn that. They are just constantly in denial of their nature. They enslaved animals and beasts too but unlike me, they hid their misdeeds under the pretence of for the sake of some stupid greater good.”

Henry chuckled. “And what of it?”

“Huh?”

“I don’t care if that’s really who they are as long as they don’t provoke me. You’re in this situation because you fucked with the wrong person... well, in my case, you aggravated the wrong Dragon.”

“So this is just revenge?”

Henry snorted. “Of course. Be grateful for your father and the Kivus.”

“Why? Because they turned me into your slave instead of giving the sweet release of death?”

“Sweet release… Do you truly believe death is a sweet release? How do you know? Have you experienced death before?”

“No… but—”

“What if death is worse than living? What if death is only the beginning? What will you do then?”

There was no retort from Rayne. After all, the sweet release of death was just a common belief without any proper foundation. She could only scrunch up her face and looked away from Henry’s smirk. But Henry’s words did cause some doubt in her. What if something worse awaited her after death?

She had heard about it from elderlies in her village that judgement awaited the dead and depending on their deeds during the time of their living, they could either find peace or suffering. It was believed such stories were just a way to educate the children but now that she was threading the line between death and living, the stories were starting to haunt her.

“Open your mouth,” Henry said.

Rayne didn’t struggle or defy and simply opened her mouth lazily. She then felt Henry’s claw under her chin, tilting her head upwards. She widened her eyes when she saw Henry’s open mouth over her. A drop of saliva dripped from his outstretched tongue and slithered down her throat.

Rayne wanted to shout and moved herself away from Henry but she was too hurt to scream or move herself too much. She could only shudder in her silent outrage from being defiled in a queer manner. At first, she thought Henry was about to kiss her but he did something just as bad.

“Fuck… To think I would be defiled by the Dragon I enthralled out of all possibilities. This is— huh?”

Rayne blinked a few times to ascertain if she was grasping the feeling right. Her body was as light as when she was unhurt and the pain in her body was no longer present. As she heaved herself up, she was able to stand without any sharp ache. Her wounds had healed.

“You’re welcome,” Henry said.

“You healed me?”

“I did.”

“Your saliva has healing properties… If only I was able to enthral you properly…”

“You’re still thinking about that…”

“I will only be lying if I deny it and it’s not like you aren’t aware of what I’m thinking. I’m sure you can guess my thoughts from knowing my emotions.”

“I sure can, Rayne. You best remember that.”

“Definitely, milord.”