Though the battle that incurred explosions intermittently was roughly more than ten kilometres away from where Henry and Iluna were, the intensity of the battle brought an inexplicable feeling of being too close for comfort. As the two watched on, they noticed the battle was between creatures of the forest and a humanoid individual they couldn’t get a good glance of.

The longer the intense battle went on, the closer it seemed to wiggle towards the cliff. Henry had thought it to be a coincidence but the humanoid individual was clearly heading towards their way with the destruction it left in its wake.

“It’s coming right for us,” Iluna gasped.

“Damn it,” Henry cursed and shifted into his human form. He went over to the fire and quickly doused it.

“Lord Henry, what are you doing?”

“It most likely saw the fire and my idiotic large figure, which is coming towards us.”

“But why?”

“I wouldn’t know, Iluna,” Henry retorted with furrowed brows.

“Ah… I see,” Iluna mumbled in response when she realised how stupid her question sounded.

“We can’t stay here. Whatever or whoever that is, I don’t think it’s friendly.”

“I understand, Lord Henry.”

Without asking, Henry scooped Iluna into his arms and ran towards the edge of the cliff. Iluna was around the same height as Henry, so he didn’t have much trouble carrying her princess style.

“Lord H-Henry?!”

“Just hold on to me tight like before,” Henry said and leapt off the edge before Iluna could voice any complaints. At the same time, a pair of ethereal wings sprouted from his back. He spread those wings of his and soared into the sky.

Iluna screamed with her eyes closed shut. Unlike when she was riding on Henry’s back in his dragon form, being high up in the air in just someone’s arms was a whole other kind of experience. The glaring difference was the empty feeling around her feet. There was barely any sense of security without feeling something solid below her feet. It felt like the slightest tremor or imbalance could make her fall. But after some time had passed, she gradually got used to the feeling and uncovered her shivering gaze.

Iluna froze at the sight below. Or rather, she froze at the long distance between her and the ground. Her hold around Henry tightened and she closed her eyes.

Henry groaned. “Take it easy, Iluna. You’re not going to fall.”

“That’s easy for you to say!” she snapped back.

Henry glanced behind to see if he was still being followed. The battle was still raging on but it didn’t seem like the humanoid figure saw Henry slipping away. If it did, it did not give chase.

“Um… Lord Henry?”

“What is it, Iluna?”

“Am I a burden?”

“What? What makes you say that?”

“...You’re running instead of fighting. My sister had told me that you’re strong and I have also seen your ability with my own eyes just now. You’re strong, way stronger than the time we met. But you are running instead of fighting the threat we face. I can only guess that you run because I might get hurt if you fight.”

Henry smiled wryly in response. What Iluna said wasn’t exactly wrong. One of the reasons he was running instead of facing the threat head-on was indeed as Iluna had guessed. He didn’t want to put her in danger. The second reason was that he knew nothing about this world or the living beings here. He did not know how well he would fare against them. After his experience of getting enthralled by Rayne, he became extremely wary against any opponents he knew nothing about, lest he got himself enslaved again or something worse.

“I’m right, aren’t I, Lord Henry?”

“Partially, my dear,” Henry answered.

Iluna frowned. “...This has been bothering me, Lord Henry.”

“What has?”

“Is it in a Dragon’s nature to address an acquaintance so intimately or do you wish to court me, Lord Henry?”

Henry was not expecting such a straightforward question. His way of addressing her was laced with frivolous sarcasm but her latter inquiry did hit the mark. He could just tell her the truth but she was right about them being mere acquaintances. He didn’t want to come on too strong in case his advances repelled her. Before he could come up with an answer, his nose picked up a scent. It was a familiar scent. He stopped in his flight and stared in the direction where he smelled the scent from.

“What is it, Lord Henry?” Iluna asked upon noticing the sharp change in his tenor.

“I smell someone.”

“You smell someone?”

“I know this smell.”

“An acquaintance? That’s impossible, right? Or have you been here before, Lord Henry?”

“This acquaintance… I met her in Ulrum.”

“A woman? From Ulrum?” Then, a realisation struck Iluna. “What if… that isn’t the only rift in Ulrum and someone else in Ulrum was swallowed by it and transported to this place?”

“...No, that’s not it. This woman, though I met her in Ulrum, was no longer in Ulrum as far as I know. Where she went, I do not know but this scent, it’s undoubtedly hers.”

“Then, what are you stalling for, Lord Henry? Shouldn’t we quickly find her?”

“She’s an acquaintance… but we didn’t exactly part on good terms. No, we weren’t even acquainted on good terms.”

“She’s an enemy?”

“Not to my knowledge but we fought. She’s here, for some reason.”

“She fought you, a Dragon, but she lives? She must be a very good warrior.”

Henry chuckled with mild self-deprecation. “The best fighter I have met, I dare say. Probably the strongest individual in all of Ulrum, not counting the beasts and the creatures, of course.”

“Who exactly is she, Lord Henry?”

“A Zeva, you could say.”

“A Zeva? Is it Rayne?”

Henry laughed inwardly. “No, it’s not her.”

“Speaking of Rayne… we received a letter from the Kivus. Apparently, they claimed Rayne has been exiled from her clan for harming the saviour of their princess. And she’s now been given over to the princess’ saviour as reparation for her crimes… Is it true, Lord Henry? They claimed the princess’ saviour was a Dragon. It must be you, right?”

“Yes, it’s me and it’s true, she’s now my slave. Which is why I know for sure this isn’t Rayne. No, this is someone stronger.”

“Someone stronger than Rayne amidst the Zevas? Was there such a person?”

“You wouldn’t know about her, Iluna. Her identity is… complicated.”

“Is it something I’m not privileged to know, Lord Henry?”

“As I said, it’s complicated. You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.”

“Just tell me, Lord Henry. I trust you. Tell me.”

“...Well, she’s an ancestor of the Zevas.”

“W-what?” Iluna stammered. “You’re saying an ancestor of the Zevas rose from the grave?”

Before Henry could answer her, the scent became stronger. He held Iluna firmly and made an abrupt descent.

Iluna let out a cry of surprise but she did not question his action this time.

This strange world the two were in was a vast sea of trees. There was no clearing or plains as far as the eye could see. So Henry just landed right below him in spite of the abundance of trees in his way, not that the trees were any issue to him and the trees nearby weren’t of mammoth heights.

“Fancy meeting you here, Dragon,” greeted the woman whose scent Henry picked up. Her appearance was exactly as Henry remembered it to be, except for her hair which she had cut short. “This is really an unexpected reunion.”

“Vishara,” Henry returned the greeting dryly.

“That’s an adorable appearance you assumed.”

“And who’s that in your arms? A princess you kidnapped from some tribe?”

Iluna seemed to take great offence to those words as she lurched out of Henry’s arms and stood on her own two feet. She threw a glare at Vishara and crossed her arms. “How rude of you,” she rebuked. “I am not some damsel that your ill-mannered mind likes to believe. I am a High Priestess, the chosen of the moon.”

“The chosen of the moon?” Vishara raised an eyebrow. “You’re an emissary of Luviera.”

Iluna frowned. “How do you know that name?”

Vishara tittered. “Oh, I know a lot of things, including the names of various divines. Has your swain told you about me?”

“He’s not my swain. I am a Lavan and he’s a Dragon. W-we cannot be l-lovers.”

“But he certainly begs to differ.”

“Stop with your nonsense, Vishara,” Iluna snarled.

“Why are you here, Vishara?” Henry asked, intending on changing the subject. “No, how are you here?”

“It’s a long story.”

“We have all the time in the world.”

“No, we don’t. I’m sure you have already come across the Slayer.”

“The Slayer?” Henry furrowed his brows. “You mean the one causing havoc back there?”

Vishara nodded with a smile.

“Just who—” Henry cut himself off as he turned behind him abruptly. “Fuck…” he growled.

Iluna did not say a word as she understood Henry’s gesture. It would take a fool to not get the picture.

“Well, we can continue this conversation later,” Vishara said, walking in the direction of the Slayer.

“You’re going to fight it?”

“It won’t stop chasing me otherwise.”

“You’re its target?”

“I am. What of it? Doesn’t change what we have to do.”

“There’s no we. I don’t intend to fight it. That’s your problem.”

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple. You see, it kills anyone that it doesn’t recognise as… ally. Hence the name, Slayer.”

Henry failed to see the correlation between the name and its nature but he didn't dwell on it. “How did you get into trouble with that kind of monstrosity?”

“I don’t mind telling you everything after we dealt with the Slayer. You can stay and fight by my side or you can keep running.”

Henry looked at Iluna with a complicated expression.

“It’s alright, Lord Henry. You need not worry about me.”

Henry sighed. “Find someplace safe to hide and don’t come out.”

“I might be able to be of assistance, Lord Henry.”

“I’m sure you can but not right now. We are in foreign territory and the enemy’s abilities are unknown.”

“The Slayer is a walking suit of armour fueled by Murux. It’s fast and strong. It can repair any damages it sustains, sort of, but at the cost of Murux. It can unleash energy bolts with its palm. It’s able to jump very high into the air. It can keep functioning until it depletes itself of Murux but it has a week’s worth of Murux, half a week if it’s in constant combat. There, the enemy’s no longer unknown.”

“Sounds like you know everything about this Slayer.”

“I made a note of knowing my enemies and allies well, lest I’m being stabbed in the back again.”

Henry wanted to retort but the rapid approach of the Slayer veered his train of thought. He motioned for Iluna to quickly go hide. She nodded and trotted over to a thicket. Henry made sure there was nothing that could harm her in that thicket or nearby before leaving her be and rejoining Vishara. He shifted into his true form as he did so.

“What else should I know about this Slayer? Why is it hunting you?”

“...The Slayer is one of those infamous war machines of the humans.”

Henry widened his eyes. “What have you done?”

“I did what I set out to do. To exact my vengeance but the humans… they have made considerable progress in the advancement of their tools. They have become dependent on their tools more than ever before. For the sake of satiating their greed, they have created these despicable and ruinous machines of war.”

“You bit off more than you can chew.”

“I’m not familiar with that saying but if it means I overestimated myself, then yes. I didn’t even get close to the descendants of the ones who colluded with my kin that betrayed me. The moment I entered their lands. Those war machines were upon me in minutes.”

Henry felt a little uneasy hearing that. He was still curious about the humans but he was beginning to contemplate if it was worth the trouble he might incur from sticking his nose into the human world. From what he had heard so far about humans, they sounded like a race where they would shoot first and ask questions after.

“It’s here,” Vishara and right on cue, a tall metallic figure landed harshly in front of them, forming a small crater.

Holy shit… That’s no Slayer. That’s a fucking terminator!