Early the next day we went back into the forest to hunt the dragon after making sure that our gears were fully charged up to par. I was still worried about my sister, so I kept looking for her everywhere I could.

Aiden noticed my distracted state and commented with concern, “Hey, you alright? You seem a little down today. What's wrong?”

“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to act that way. I just feel guilty for leaving my sister behind."

"She's a grown woman and she has her man with her. She can take care of herself. You don't need to worry. After all, we are Dragon Hunters. We can handle any monster that comes our way, no matter how scary it may be.”

“Thanks. That makes me feel better.” I smiled.

We continued walking through the forest, not knowing that our enemy was out of its nest. A huge shadow appeared over us all of a sudden. Looking up, we saw a mighty creature with wings flying by. We were so tiny compared to it that it didn't notice Aiden and me.

"It's the dragon!" Exclaimed Aiden.

"Where do you think it's going?" I asked.

"I'm not sure but by the looks of it, it's going down the mountain. Maybe it's going to attack another village."

I looked at the mountain ahead of us, then at the map in my hand. There was nothing else on it except for the name of the village that we had just come from, 'Kasala Village'. That meant it was heading towards Kasala. We needed to stop it before it got there.

Aiden looked at me with a serious expression and said, "Let's get ready. We're not going to let it destroy that town."

With a nod, I said, "Agreed." But we were too late.

The dragon travelled by wings so there was nothing we could do to warn the townspeople in time. We stood on high ground and watched as the dragon swooped down at the town with its belly filled with hellfire. It opened its mouth really wide then fired its deadly flames on the town. Smoke rose from the burning buildings. We could see people running from the fires with their children following close behind. We heard screams of panic and despair. I felt sick watching all this.

Suddenly, I felt the same fear that the people felt. I wanted to run away too, to save myself. However, that wasn't possible. We needed to stay and fight. We couldn't let these innocent people die because of our negligence.

Aiden noticed my fearful expression and called out, trying to calm me down. “It's ok. We can still help them. Its fire-blasting breath is almost over. Let's charge it!”

He was right. We should fight. We were Dragon Hunters, weren't we?

“Alright, let's do this.” I said with confidence, gripping my bow tightly.

Aiden grinned, saying, “Go get'em, tiger!”

We ran forward and dove towards the dragon. Just like last time, it turned its attention to us as soon as it sniffed us out. Aiden and I stood tall before the beast and brandished our weapons.

The dragon gave us a wicked grin with its jaws open wide. Its eyes glowed red in the flickering light of the fire. It raised its front legs up and prepared to unleash its most destructive attack.

“Now!” I yelled.

We attacked the dragon together. Aiden swung his sword, while I aimed ice arrows at the dragon's body. Each arrow hit the beast hard, piercing its skin and causing it to bleed. At the same time, I shot more ice arrows into its eye sockets. It roared in pain, thrashing its body left and right. But even though it was injured, it was still a formidable opponent. It flapped its wings and took off into the sky, avoiding our attacks.

Aiden tried to follow it, however, the dragon flew so fast that he missed. We both watched as the dragon disappeared into the sky.

I told Aiden, “Let's go back and check if anyone needs our help."

"No, we should follow the dragon. It's heading towards the mountain. Maybe it is going back to its lair to heal itself. We should strike while it is wounded."

"But these people need our help." I couldn't believe how heartless Aiden was. He ran off behind the dragon without listening to what I had to say.

“Wait up! You bastard!" I yelled his name but he left me behind. "After sharing my body with him, this is how he's going to treat me? Is chasing that dragon more important than helping these wounded people?"

I turned my head away from Aiden's distancing figure and observed the chaos around me. Wounded individuals were everywhere. Burnt bodies were lying on the ground. Children cried for their parents who had perished in the fire. Some women were crying hysterically while some men were shouting angrily. I could hear the sound of alarms approaching from afar. It seemed like the villagers had called the authorities to deal with the situation or perhaps the hunters who showed up had come because of the dragon. Either way, they were a big help to the worried people.

This was not how I expected my adventure to be. Instead of hunting a dragon, I was caught up in a chaotic situation where innocent lives were lost and there was nothing that I could have done to prevent it.

I looked at my hands and felt ashamed of myself for not doing more to help these people. I was a Dragon Hunter, yet I couldn't do anything when faced with a crisis of this magnitude. I was useless!

I looked around for my sister to see if they were among the dead bodies. So far I didn't see them. This meant that they were either burnt to ash or were never in the village to begin with. I was hoping it is the latter.

As I continued to look around the infernal blaze, helping whoever I can, I heard my sister's voice calling out to me. I turned and spotted her with Benzo by her side. She was safe; they were both safe.

I ran toward them quickly, jumping over burning debris and scorched earth. When I reached them, I hugged Lidia with tears streaming down my cheeks.

Lidia pulled away from me, saying, “What's wrong, Eira? Why are you crying? You aren't hurt, are you?"

I shook my head, unable to answer her.

Benzo comforted me, holding me tight, saying, “Don't cry. Everything is alright now. Come, let's move out of here.”

I nodded, wiping away the tears from my face. I wanted to thank Benzo for saving Lidia, however, I couldn't find the words.

Benzo handed me a cloth to wipe my face. “Here, use this. I can tell you're tired. I'll take care of your sister.”

I smiled at him gratefully, thanking him. I sat down on a nearby log and wiped my face. Then I took a deep breath.

Benzo noticed that Aiden wasn't by my side and said, "Where is that guy you were with? Did the dragon kill him back at the cave?"

"No, he's fine. He is still looking for the dragon's lair. He thinks that the dragon might be injured and weakened, So before it rejuvenates, he's gone off by himself to kill it."

"By himself? Is that guy nuts?" Benzo found what Aiden did to be really foolish. "He must have a death wish or something. That dragon isn’t so simple."

Lidia chimed in saying, "On our way here, Benzo and I have been updated on the type of dragon who burnt this town to a crisp. Its name is Lucarius, one of the most formidable dragons of its kind. It came from a rare species that can regenerate itself using the light of its scales. Even though we've seen it only twice, we know that it is definitely stronger than Aiden. He is just running away from it. There is no way he can kill such a beast alone."

It's true. Aiden was making a big mistake, yet I could understand why he would want to go after the dragon so badly. I get that the reward and clout were great, but none of that was worth it if he died.

I asked, “How much time does he have before the dragon regains full strength again, Lidia?"

She replied, “About half an hour, maybe less. It depends on how fast the dragon can heal itself. It's going to be a close fight, so we better hurry.”