It wasnât hard for Jamie or Jin to notice the existence.
Even so, they could feel it. There was a sense of presence as if the sea was created in the sky.
And not an actual sea.
To put it bluntly, it seemed as if a wide ocean of mana had spread out. The gravity felt stronger and it felt like their body was being pulled down.
âJamie Welton.â
Jin called for Jamie as he pulled out his blade. He had goosebumps on his skin.
His instincts seemed to be telling him to run away. Fortunately, he was now a Sword Master so he could endure this to some extent.
Jin said, ignoring the trembling feeling.
âWe should avoid this. We cannot handle this.â
Jamie didnât answer. He just looked at the place where the presence could be felt.
And thenâ¦
âIt disappeared.â
The presence suddenly disappeared.
Jin tried to expand his senses as much as possible but something absolute made even his detection falter. If what they were thinking did appear, then escaping from here would be impossible.
It wasnât known what it was, but it was certain that dealing with it or crossing paths with it would lead to a dogâs death.
Jin couldnât help but grab Jamieâs wrist.
âWe need to leave. It is really dangerous this time.â
It didnât matter if the opponent was hostile or not. It was a serious adventure gone wrong to meet this strong being.
Jin had a lot more to accomplish under Isis. So there was no need for him to risk his life here.
As long as the moon had risen, no matter how powerful this opponent was, he could run away.
âHurry!â
As he dragged him, Jamie pulled his hand away.
Shocked at his actions, Jin asked,
âWhat are you doing?â
âWe canât run away.â
âIt is possible with Moonlight Resonance. Under the moonlight it is possible. No matter how good the tracking is, it will be difficult to chase us.â
âIt isnât a race with that skill.â
âWhat is thatâ¦â
âThe opponent is a dragon. This whole mountain range is his realm. It is true that Moonlight Resonance has power, but it is impossible to escape from his realm. Would you still do it and get caught sooner?â
âDragon?â
Jinâs eyes trembled.
Why was there a dragon here? No, there were rumors of a dragon lair but it was only said to indicate that the place was dangerous.
A superior species and absolute race for humans. There was a record of them taking down the human world several times. Because of this, people would never even get close to a dragon lair.
Even if they had to, they would be very careful about it.
It was good to hear about the rumors of the dragon, because people wouldnât try to enter that area.
âBut how come we didnât know?â
âBecause each dragon is different.â
He probably made the entire mountain range with cognitive dissonance magic preventing people from finding his lair. Even if it wasnât necessary, for a dragon who lived close to eternity, such magic wasnât difficult.
But Jamieâs question wasnât whether the lair was known or not.
âThe question is what color is it?â
If it was a blue or white dragon they could pass from here. They were the most docile among the dragon clan.
But the other ones were dangerous. In particular, if it was black or red then being in this place was putting their lives at risk.
Because these dragons were the strongest, Jamie and Jin were not strong enough to defeat the dragon.
âBut where did it go?â
He thought the dragon would come for them.
But the presence had suddenly disappeared. Yet, they couldnât take the chance and run away.
No matter how cautious the dragon was acting now, it could change its nature the next moment.
âIn the worst case, we will have to fight.â
Was there a chance to win against a dragon?
If it was a younger one, maybe the fight was worth it.
âIf it is an older one⦠our strength isnât the answer.â
Dragons got stronger as they aged. If that dragon settled here is over 5,000 years oldâ¦
Jamie decided not to think about it.
Kenji was descending without looking back. It didnât feel like anyone was chasing him.
Go all the way to the kids, and then run to another nation with the help of someone. He had enough money saved to do that.
If he went to another nation and washed up his identity to a new one, no one could find him.
âLetâs move to the northern continent itself. Right. We move to the north.â
Before that, what should he do with the Blood Bringer? As long as it was on his arm, he could never live a normal life.
A skilled magician could help him out if he paid extra money. It was difficult to find things which couldnât be bought with money.
At least Kenji thought so, and he managed to feed the children like this.
âKids, wait a little longer. Daddy is coming.â
The descent wasnât too high. Rather, he couldnât speed up as he went down the path at night. If only there was a flying scroll, he could have gone down easily⦠At that moment, he felt something above him.
Kenji stopped right away and looked up. He didnât know if the mana sensitivity he had was low or if something did happen.
âIs someone pursuing us?â
It looked like this team was quite capable. Even though he surrendered himself to the Blood Bringer he was barely alive.
Even then, he had been helped by strangers, and if those people didnât find him he would have died in some ditch. Suddenly, he thought it was luck.
â⦠ridiculous.â
An absurd idea for him. To think he had luck on his side with this thing on his arm. It made him wonder if he had gone crazy.
Kenji moved his legs to clear useless thoughts and head back.
It was then.
âThe smell of blood was strong, so I had to do something, a bug with an interesting thing.â
An unfamiliar voice came from behind him. And when he turned around, a very handsome man was standing there with a smile.
A rare appearance.
His hair was red like lava and his eyes were the same color as his hair but his form had charisma. With a sharp chin and high nose, it was an unbelievable beauty for a man.
And such a handsome man said,
âWhat are you staring at? Well, the beauty must be high by human standards.â
The man spoke this with his own mouth. Kenji wasnât too shocked with the words but he didnât respond to the man.
And the man looked at Kenji. Then smiled while looking at the Blood Bringer.
âYou were eaten by it.â
â⦠do you know this?â
âI donât know. But just because I donât know doesnât mean I donât feel the essence.â
The man, Kairos, raised his lips into a smile and pointed at Kenji. And the Blood Bringer moved freely.
âW-what!?â
Kenji was perplexed as he saw the sudden movement of the weapon. Originally, it tried to steal the ownerâs body from time to time, but it had blood just a little while ago.
Blood Bringer was like a beast, so if it was full it wouldnât hunt again. Judging by the amount eaten, it shouldnât rise for two more days.
âKuak!â
The nerves attached to Blood Bringer began to twitch and take over Kenjiâs consciousness. Kairos looked happy and said,
âThe sword, to put it bluntly, is like a parasite. And parasites try to take away the body of the host to be able to move freely. You would think it snatches your body when it wants and drinks blood, but you are wrong. It is just that whenever there is a chance to snatch the body, it will do it. Just like the chance I gave it now.â
âKuaaak!â
Kenjiâs veins all began to change. Blood Bringer was taking over him again. If it takes control of the nerves, it will slowly extend the influence to muscles, organs and bones.
It would have been difficult normally, but Kairos forcibly increased the output of the weapon. So suppressing it was a problem now.
âIt has been a while since I saw this type of Demon sword. Who made it? It is quite a good trick to stick to the human body.â
Kairos was admiring it.
He wasnât sure if this was done with a human skill. It wasnât an item that a human could make. Maybe a dwarf?
There was also a chance of it being a true demon item too. Dwarfs were known to be scary people.
âBut the most important thing was the output.â
Kairos looked at Kenji.
âKuaaak!â
His whole body was dyed red and he couldnât see if the eyes were turned away. The muscles were pumped up and it was 1.5 times bigger than before. Although he didnât look good on the outside, his nerves were wriggling and it felt like worms were moving around in his body.
âKuak!â
Kenji was completely being taken over and screamed as he ran for Kairos. His brain was taken over so he wasnât conscious anymore.
The body tilted to the destructive power of Blood Bringer.
Kairos smiled when he saw that.
âActually, this will be the first time it has taken over the hostâs body, so I guess the power should be tested for a while. I understand its intent. Butâ¦â
Kairos smiled.
âYou should look at the opponent and then attack.â
Bang!
Kenjiâs body was buried deep in the ground. Kairos did nothing, just an invisible force crushed him.
âKuaaak!â
He struggled to get up but couldnât move.
Kairos squatted down and said,
âBut I praise you for being brave. I didnât know you would dare attack me.â
As the fingers moved, Kenjiâs face was lifted up.
âBut this is the only time you can attack my body without fear. I wonât forgive you next time. Donât forget that I am being tolerant because you are an interesting one. Understand?â
âUhâ¦â
Kenji nodded.
Blood Bringer realized the difference it had with the opponent and Kairos nodded with a smile.
âShould we put your strength to the test? There are too many bugs polluting my realm. I cannot forgive them. But it doesnât look good if I go to catch the bugs right? So you go clean them up.â
âUh?â
âAnd, there arenât all bugs here. Letâs try cleaning the others too. If you clean them up, I will give you a nice thing.â
âKuaaak!â
Kenji screamed.
Kairos liked it, got up and smiled.
âGo ahead and run wild, bloodthirsty beast.â
Kenji soon disappeared.
And Jamie who felt something said,
âBe ready to fight.â
âThe dragon?â
âNo. Probablyâ¦â
Jamie answered thinking of the demon sword.
âThe one trying to repay the favor.â
He seems to have a death wish.