'Weak. So weak. These humans are pitiful. They struggle against insects yet they wish to call themselves rulers? It's disgraceful. Only the hero was worthy of being a ruler but he is dead. Slain by his brother's hand in cold blood. What is it you wish to accomplish with these filthy humans young one? Why do you follow they're whims so easily?'
'I've told you before, it's their heart. These humans are pure, untainted by corruption or greed. I understand that you can not see the same as I do, but believe me on my position as king, these people are crucial for my future plans.'
'Yes yes, you told me your plans for creating a peaceful space for the beasts and creatures of this land. But I still don't understand why you need the humans? Their magic abilities are far lesser than that of your own. They couldn't possibly have more knowledge than you possess.'
'You are wrong. From what I've learned, the humans possess places of study for a variety of different purposes. Academic, physical training, and even trades are all within the teachings of what they call academies. They even promote research there. Those places will provide me with the knowledge and tools I will need for my goal. Besides, a peaceful space for beasts is no where near the extent of my dream.'
'Hmm, I see you still wish to maintain your secrecy on what your true plans are? Very well, I will continue to support what you are doing as long as you fulfill my final wishes.'
'And I've already told you that I will uphold your final wishes to the best of my abilities in return for granting me this power and body. Now leave me be while I go save these humans.'
'Very well young one.'
Hayan's mind became clear as the former beast king's voice faded into silence.
Hayan flapped his wings, gaining speed as he soared towards the edge of the mana storm. The chaotic elements churning within were powerful enough to injure him even while in the form of the white dragon. And as a human, with weaker natural defenses and lower magic affinity, he wouldn't stand a chance.
After soaring for a few more minutes over treacherous land that would take hours if not days to walk, the Duke's men came into view.
'Am I too late?'
___
"GO! GO! PUSH TO THE CAVE! I'LL HOLD THEM BACK!"
Blood dripped from the Duke's right arm where a nimble centipede had snuck past his defense, injecting him with a slow but lethal poison. His arm had gone numb but he held his greatsword tight thanks to his decades of muscle memory.
With each swing of his sword tens of insects were either burned to a crisp or split in two while some experienced the misfortune of both from the Duke's flaming blade. The other seven remaining men continued to charge through the ranks of bugs towards the rock face, only a hundred meters away, but in this chaos, one hundred meters was an incredibly long way.
"MEN, WITH ME!" The champion Anton cried out, bringing his tower shield up and slamming it back into the ground to creat another large shockwave, stunning the creatures before them. Taking the opportunity, the soldiers charged forwards, fear and a desire to live fueling their energy while the Duke held back the creatures behind them.
'If I die today, I only have two regrets.' The Duke thought to himself as he slashed and cut while the bugs tried to do the same to him.
*Snap
'I should have spent more time with my children.'
"Oof!" An ant body slammed Duke Reinehre as he flew into the throng of bugs, knocking the wind from his lungs.
*Crackle
'And I should have brought some bloody mages!'
*BOOOOMM!
The earth shook as he lay on the ground struggling to fight back under the weight of the massive insects. But, something had happened. Their previous strength and determination to eat the Duke's men had vanished along with the reverberation in the ground. Glancing up at the sky, Ludwig Reinehre expected to see the mana storm now churning overhead thinking that a lightning bolt had been the cause of the noise, but it was that same ominous red sky that lay above.
He threw the large bugs off him with the remaining strength of his right arm before it became unusable. Their attack had now completely ceased as the insects slowly started to retreat leaving the Duke and his men bewildered.
But then a thought hit him, in the Savage Lands, the only time a monster will give up its prey is when an even greater beast appears. He whirled around on his feet, grabbing his fallen sword and searching the surrounding rocky landscape for any sign of the superior creature. He didn't know if he stood a chance against a beast who could scare off tens of thousands of insects but he wouldn't just lie down and accept his death, not until he knew his daughter was alright.
Then he felt that same uncanny feeling he had while traveling these treacherous lands. It was the feeling of being watched, but not being able to find who was watching him.
Then he saw it. A small boy with snow white hair and icy blue eyes that froze the Duke in place as it searched what felt like his soul. He stood atop the rock bluff that he and his men had been aiming to reach. As he was preoccupied with the strange metaphysical sensation, he didn't register the poison that was carefully being extracted from the wound on his arm. Only when the pain of the wound returned did he notice that he could feel his arm again.
Looking down, the Duke spotted the small puddle of poison that had pooled at his feet.
"How-" Tilting his head back up, the mysterious boy had disappeared, as if he were only a trick of the Duke's mind.
"My lord! what is going on? Why did the bugs retreat?" One of the soldiers jogged up to the Duke now that the bugs had disappeared from sight. The man was covered in purple and green insect blood from head to toe. The Duke was certain he appeared the same but brushed aside that fact.
"I- I do not know. I think that boy must have scared them off." Ludwig inhaled deeply, trying to catch his breath.
"A boy? I don't mean to question you my lord but how could a boy scare off an army of that many insects. And where did he go?" The soldier glanced around with his hands on his hips, searching for this boy.
"I'm not sure either, but if he is real then I can say with certainty that this boy saved us and we owe him a great debt."
___
'Am I too late?' Hayan observed the battlefield from high in the sky, getting a hold on the situation.
The large burly man at the front of the group slammed his shield down sending the insects into a daze before charging forward once again. A sword of flame swung out from the back of the group, burning and slicing the ants and centipedes.
'They are doing quite well for such a small group without mages, but their leader, that man is poisoned. And he has the clearest soul in the group. It would be a pity if he died.' Hayan descended from the hazy red sky towards the rock bluff that appeared to be their destination.
'I suppose I shouldn't be seen like this. They may think I'm also here to hurt them.' Hayan's entire being shifted as frost and lightning emanated from his body as he fell through the sky, his form splitting into shards.
*Snap
The shards transformed into ice and lightning as the form of the dragon disappeared, replaced by a swirling sphere of the white dragon's main elements and mana that bound it all together.
*Crackle
The sphere continued to fall while Hayan's human form slowly became visible inside the chaotic torrent of magic that continued to be absorbed by his body, slowly reducing in size. A few more seconds of falling, and his human form became complete at the perfect moment.
*BOOOOMM!
Blasting the ground with a burst of mana to break his fall, Hayan landed atop the rock bluff in a cloud of dust which he pushed aside with one swoosh of his hand.
Hayan gazed down at the insects and humans below, allowing the bugs to see the source of the boom. And the bugs knew exactly who he was and didn't dare move an inch.
Hayan searched the crowd of bugs, finding the leader at the back of the pack only just noticing the beast king in his human form standing on the edge of the cliff. Concentrating, Hayan formed a small bridge of invisible mana between his mind and the bug's leader, connecting their thoughts.
'Leave now. I have plans for these humans.'
The lead ant noticeably twitched it's antennae as it understood that all of its siblings death's had been pointless. The queen wouldn't be happy but she hoped she would understand that it was due to this interference. Afterall, there was really nothing the lead ant could do.
'Yes your majesty.'
With the super efficient system of the insects information Network, every bug knew and were on the move in a split second, leaving behind the injured troops.
Hayan turned his attention to the only man who had noticed him despite the rather noisy entrance, and observed his heart, soul, and body.
'I knew from first glance but they really are similar. Ah but that poison has gone in deep. I'll need to extract that first.,' Focusing his mind once again, he tracked the flow of the poison by injecting a portion of mana into his circulatory system from afar. With his eyes, medicine became incredibly simple. He could not only see the heart and soul of a person, but also their anatomy. The only thing he lacked was the magic knowledge to conduct proper healing spells.
Hayan wrapped the mana around the poison, containing it and swiftly extracting it from his arm. It was a technique that required incredible mana control and an even higher level when doing it on another person, but Hayan had plenty of opportunities to practice this unorthodox technique on other creatures.
'There, he should be capable of making it to Katarina's group now. I should head back.' As the man looked down at his arm, Hayan took off, dashing back towards the burning mountain at blinding speeds.
___
"Hayan where have you been? I got worried that you had been eaten by the white dragon!"
Sitting on a low rock on the cliff side trail of the mountain pass, Hayan nodded in greeting as Katarina and her people jogged up to him.
"People needed help, so I went to help." Hayan responded simply while hopping off the rock. "Shall we go?" Leaving no chance to question him, Hayan started jogging once again.
The soldiers glanced at each other, some feeling confused while others felt suspicious of the boy. But Katarina trusted his words since she'd had the opportunity to learn more about him before the others had awoken and throughout their journey. However, because of this, she also knew there was more to the story that Hayan wasn't saying.
Katarina swiftly strode up to Hayan with her long legs, placing a hand softly on his back as she spoke. "Hayan, is there something you're hiding? I know we don't know each other very well yet but one part of being a family is having trust in each other. Before we go any further, I want to know if I can trust you and I hope that you will grow to trust me enough to share what you are hiding." She held her hand up, signaling for her soldiers to stop as she continued down the path further out of earshot.
"Is there something you wish to tell me as my little brother?" Katarina met Hayan's eyes, holding strong against that icy and prying gaze. They held in silence for what felt like eternity to Katarina, but knew was only a couple minutes. Precious minutes that could be spent trying to reach her father if he was out here. But again, she held strong in the face of these worries, after all, she had suffered through severe mental trauma in her past.
Finally, Hayan responded in his usual laconic way.
"Yes."