It took Aoi two days to finally arrive on Apsychos Island again. She was accompanied by one of her Elite Guards, Recrin Quin. The final round was an hour away so Aoi gave haste to Fei's room. When she entered his room he was nowhere to be seen. "SOR, tell me where he is" Aoi demanded. Her phone lit up showing her a map of the entire island. Fei was at rocky plains. Aoi complained, "Why did he have to be so friggin far? There's no way I'm heading there. If I leave now I'll get left behind when the final round starts".
Aoi decided not to visit Fei but instead to meet the other person she was dying to see. The man who was responsible for BEA's disappearance. "I find it hard to believe that BEA left my side to follow that boy. Did she get infected somehow?" she wondered to herself. The name of the person she was looking for was no other than Cj Coley. The man who destroyed her cyborg Olga in the first round. Aoi checked all the rooms but Cj was nowhere to be found. While searching for Cj she saw the body bags where Gordon, Ronald, and Malcolm were in. A big funeral was being planned for them behind the scenes. "These three dying is nothing short of a miracle. Who could kill these three at once? That makes no sense to me" Aoi said puzzled.
A girl suddenly stood beside her weeping. "Dad, just to be clear this competition means nothing to me anymore," she said out loud. Aoi recognized the girl and asked "Your last name is Matar right? Alisa Matar?"
The girl nodded yes in reply. Aoi pulled Alisa in her arms and said "This competition meant nothing to you in the first place. Knowing Ronald, he probably brainwashed you to participate. You better thank him. If you didn't take part in this year's Dragon Hunt then you wouldn't have had better control of your powers as you do now". Alisa pushed Aoi away and puffed her cheeks. "Whatever, in the end, I'm doing what dad wants me to do. He wants me to avenge him so that's my top priority" she said strongly. To Aoi, Alisa is a girl subjected to Ronald's brainwashing. "Poor girl, even when he's dead he still has control over you," she said feeling pity. Aoi visited the Golden Circle members who still have their candidates participating. King Almon, Miya Almon, Ragnah Hallot, and Ethan Quin were the remaining members with candidates. Two hours later it was 8 am. Everyone was gathered in front of the cave ready to hear the details of the final round. Fei checked up with everyone before the king started his announcement.
"Hey Isaac, how you've been?" Fei asked.
"Fine, sucks to hear that my brother is dead but I'll manage" Isaac replied. His words contradicted his look. His eyes looked very dry as if he finished crying a river. "Your brother? Who?" Fei asked surprised.
"Ronald is my brother. We have different last names though" Isaac said with his eyes twitching. Fei brought Lethal and Alisa to join their chat. "These two lost their loved ones yesterday too. I heard a lot of things yesterday I still can't process it all. I thought that this competition was all fun and games and the winner gets all but I was wrong. I really feel sorry for you three" Fei said depressingly. Lethal pinched Fei and asked, "What gave you the idea to bring me close to Isaac?"
"He lost his brother Ronald, you lost your uncle Gordon and Alisa lost her dad Ronald. I thought you three should be in touch with each other" said Fei. Lethal took one look at Isaac and told him "Drop dead now if you know what's best. Today is the last day you have left to live".
"Oh no, Fei save me from this crazy chick," Isaac said provokingly. Alisa looked at Isaac disappointedly. "I always wondered who my uncle was but I never imagined it to be you. Can't deny you have a little resemblance to my dad" Alisa said. Alisa was so depressed she could lay on the floor and never get up. While cheering up Alisa, Fei looked at Cj from afar, and in that instant the two locked eyes on each other. Fei remembered the things Cj told him yesterday. "He wants me to protect Alisa after this competition is over. This storm might rip me apart" Fei thought
The king clears his throat and shouted "I KNOW MY FELLOW PEOPLE DIED YESTERDAY BUT WE MUST FORGET THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TODAY"
"I PROMISE YOU IF YOU DON'T CLEAR YOUR MIND OF ALL UNNECESSARY THOUGHTS YOU WILL END UP DEAD"
"THERE WILL BE ONLY ONE WINNER!"
The King stepped back and let a hologram of Harriot take care of the rest. "Have you guys ever wondered why this competition is called the Dragon Hunt despite there being no dragons? Hahaha, I find it hilarious that Dante hasn't shown herself to you all despite the name being Dragon Hunt. Have no fear because all of you finalists will get the opportunity to see Dante face to face. Must be exciting, seeing a mythical creature for the first time in your lives" said Harriot.
"Each of you will take turns and battle the dragon. After everyone finished their turn, Dante will decide who he wants to give the potion to. Dante loves a good fight but she also loves a good person as well. Even if you do little damage to her you can still win her approval" he added.
Terry raised his hand and asked, "So it's the person who Dante likes more will be Victor. That's highly unfair".
"Shut it, it's Dante's potion remember. She decides who she wants to give her potion to. The first two rounds were just to reduce the numbers of people Dante had to decide on" said Harriot.
Fei raised his hand and asked a question as well. "Where is Dante? I looked everywhere on the island on multiple occasions but never laid my eyes on her. I imagine a dragon to be huge so there shouldn't be places to hide from me" said Fei. Harriot pointed inside the cave everyone just exited. "Ooops, never mind I forgot that Ronald is no longer part of the living. Normally we would expose Dante's location than those who didn't win Dante's approval simply get their memories erased. This time is different. Ronald isn't here to erase your memories and we can't trust you, people. You might leak Dante's whereabouts on social media after all is said and done" Harriot replied.
Aoi suggested, "Knock them out and carry them to where Dante is located. The order to which they face Dante depends on who wakes up first".
Everyone liked the sound of what she suggested so they agreed. Aoi engulfed the area with sleeping gas causing all the candidates to fall asleep almost immediately. They were dragged one after the other to the secret whereabouts on the island. The place where Dante has enough room to do anything she wants, where she isn't lonely and most of all kept a secret from the public. When all the candidates arrived Alisa was the first to wake up. The others were still out cold. Minutes ago Alisa was surrounded by trees and large rocks but now were eyes were blinded by the bright blue sky. The sound of the waterfall was soothing to everyone's ears. Alisa found herself on a completely different island compared to Apsychos. The dead atmosphere was replaced with birds flying in the sky while chirping. Instead of the rough rocky surface, Alisa stood on short green grass. A river was running at the middle of the island splitting it in two. Alisa looked around and her heart almost skipped a beat when she saw the beautiful flowers. Roses, Violets, Daisies,"Woah! Where am I ?" she said happily. Without orders, she ran and started making daisy chains like a child. When she was finished making one chain, dozens of birds flew down to greet Alisa. "Aww, you guys want flowers too. I'll make one for all of you" she said overjoyed. The atmosphere of this place was so different it made Alisa almost break down in tears. King Almon laughed at the sight. "I understand how she feels. Apsychos has a glooming atmosphere if you think about it. Thanks to that place I grew a hatred for the color green" said the king. After making a daisy chain for the birds, she noticed two apes sleeping next to each other by the river. "Apes! This is my first time seeing one in person" she said surprised. She slowly walked up to the sleeping apes and petted them on their heads. One ape woke up immediately to see who was petting it. The ape pushed Alisa away and continued to sleep. "So you have attitude. That's ok" Alisa said clasping her hands. The nearby river started bubbling up. She held her breath and pushed her head into the river. To her surprise, three fish with long pointed nose was swimming around in circles. "I remember these. What were they called again? Pointy Fish" Alisa said trying to remember. King Almon and the others left Alisa to stroll around the island while they waited for the others to wake up. Aoi tried waking them by force but they would not budge. "They should have woken up by now. They must not have gotten any sleep last night. So they're completely knocked out" Aoi sighed. One hour later, Alisa saw that everyone else was still asleep. "So what now, should I just start without them?" asked Alisa in a good mood. You would never have guessed that her father died yesterday.
King Almon replied, "Sure, I don't see why you should wait on them any longer".
"DANTE! DANTE! We're here!" the king shouted with all his might. A loud roar echoed around the entire area. It was so loud Alisa thought the dragon was next to her.
ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRR!!
The King pointed up at the sky in the direction where the sun was. Alisa looked to where he was pointed and a large black figure blocking the sun from her eyes. The figure got closer and closer until she could properly see what it was. This was not Alisa's first time seeing Dante. She now possesses the memory of her father so she already knew what Dante looked like. But even so, "WOW! Dante, is that really her? She's so massive" she blurted. A purple beast with orange oval-shaped eyes that stares intensely at whatever it gazes at. Wings larger than a two-story building with her rough scales all over her body. ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAARR!!
Dante stared at the sleeping beauties on the floor and roared at them. Suddenly everyone who was asleep was trapped inside a cage made of wood. It was so instantaneous Alisa almost did not believe it. Dante created a cage big enough for everyone without a single gesture. "Is that her gift?" asked Alisa.
Miya nodded no in reply. "Dante is a special case. To her, those supernatural abilities are normal. They are like breathing to her. It's the power of her own species, you can hardly classify any power as a gift to her. Dragons are powerful beings, it is stated that every one of Dante's kings could pull off anything if they tried hard enough" she said. Aoi added more to what Miya said. "Creating a cage isn't the only thing Dante is capable of. In this world, every gift out there was originated from Dante. She has all of our powers at her arsenal" said Aoi.
Alisa pinched herself to what she heard. "You're saying some unbelievable things. If there are a hundred gifts out there currently, you're saying she has all one hundred. She has my gift too" said Alisa feeling dizzy.
ROOOOOOAAAAAARRRR!
Dante moved her head closer to Alisa with a harsh glare. The closer Dante got the more Alisa started to tremble. Alisa's eyes met with Dante's and a voice shouted inside her head. A calm and soothing voice, the voice of someone who shows affection and love. "Who is this?" Alisa wondered.
"Alisa Matar, why do you want my potion? Is it to heal your left eye?" asked the voice. Alisa realized that it was Dante speaking to her through telepathy. She replied, "I was brainwashed into participating. To be honest I don't mind the outcome of this competition. If I get your potion that's great, if I don't get it I'll just live with one good eye". Dante nodded her head and thanked Alisa for her honesty. After hearing Dante's voice she found it hard to be afraid of the huge creature. King Almon petted the dragon on her head then announced "It's about to start everyone. Alisa will fight Dante immediately. Let's give them space".
Dante used telekinis to move the cage of the sleeping beauties farther away. The Golden Circle members did the same and backed a few miles away from Dante and Alisa. "Do we have to fight?" asked Alisa.
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAARR!
"Yes, I love fighting. More than anything I want to enjoy the thrill of a serious fight" Dante replied.
"Oh well, I'll try to meet your expectations" said Alisa nervously. She felt dizzy just from the thought of fighting a mythical beast.