"How was your day at work?" Sekka asked Valiant, her golden dragon head swaying slightly side-to-side. She smiled with her teeth showing while Leaf rode on her back while watching off into the distance.
"Boooooring," Valiant said with a deep sigh; he stuck out his tongue and rolled his eyes. "I thought I would fall asleep if I didn't smack myself a couple of times. A couple of times, I almost sloshed my drink on my face because I didn't pay attention."
"Boring is a good thing at work," Sekka replied, her voice slightly jealous of her boring day. "You don't know how lucky you are."
"What are you talking about?! Boring is the worst day ever! My mind keeps going into overdrive, making me overthink things! I need to occupy my mind, or else I will start thinking about random things I shouldn't even be thinking of."
"Like?"
"Should I feed my fish cake or not?"
"What in the world?!" Sekka looks at him funny. "Why would you feed your fish cake?!"
"Well, that's what my mind thinks when it has nothing to do." Valiant sighed. For a black dragon to sigh so deeply, he gave off a terrifying feeling. Anyone watching him would think something was seriously wrong with the world if they saw Valiant sigh so deeply like that. Not only that, the skeleton army would start to creepily chatter with their bones and come closer towards Valiant as if they were some danger.
Sekka and Leaf looked over their shoulders worriedly as they saw the skeleton army eyes glowing green, making Sekka a bit antsy. She unconsciously drew up a holy aura around herself and Leaf just in case of a possibility of a skeleton attack. Even Reed stared at Valiant funny when he spoke such weird thoughts.
Valiant finally gave another reply. "Plus, there are times when I wonder if I should fatten it up and eat it for dessert." The skeletons chatted with approval with Valiant's answer as if what he said was the brightest idea in the world.
"Okay, now you're talking crazy." Sekka shook her head side-to-side in disbelief. She wasn't sure if she should stop talking with him entirely or continue entertaining his strange thoughts.
"Exactly! I am going crazy from boredom!" Valiant whined; he then grumbled a few words and shook his head. "I think I'm going to go get a snack. I'm way too hungry from overthinking."
"Go ahead, but you do know you got, what, five minutes you're allowed to stay away from the game before it forces you out." Sekka replied, "why don't you get something for Leaf too."
"I am. She's the one that messaged me to get her some cheese fries; her lazy butt doesn't want to move, and she's been poking me in the back to get her some food."
Reed punched Valiant by the back of Valiant's neck, and she then scowled at him.
"Ow, Reed. It hurts, you know." Valiant snapped towards her, glaring at her. "You're the one that's asking for me to get you your food! Be a grateful woman!"
"You don't need to tell everyone!" Reed stuck out her tongue at him. "If you keep telling everything we say, I will hit you harder!"
"See!" Valiant looks at Leaf and Sekka in a half-gasping voice. "She's violent! After she's been taking martial arts class, she beats me up whenever she has free time! I can't take this anymore."
The skeleton army started to inch forward, but they needed guidance about what to do. They couldn't defend their master, especially when their partner was a part of them. So instead, they look upon the two with confusion, waiting for Valiant's approval to attack.
Leaf snorted, shook his head, and crossed his arm. He was staring at the two as if they were some comedic duo.
"Be a man and stop exaggerating. She's doing you justice by making your move." Sekka replied; she winked at Reed and chuckled.
"Damn, woman. Making me do extra work." Valiant grumbled, "I'm going AFK for a bit. Watch my body for a minute."
"Will do." Sekka gave him a brilliant smile with a hint of mischief in her voice. Reed caught it, and her eyes glistened while Leaf sighed at the two.
The swarm of skeletons marched towards Valiant, surrounding him like he was under some special protection service. Several of them paws at the ground, grunting angrily at anybody who gets too close to Valiant. Only Reed, who was on his back, could do anything to stop the skeletons from going out of control. However, they still listened to her because she also had decent control of necromancy.
Agnes and Zeraph were watching and walking beside them, they were listening in on their conversation, but they didn't join in. Zeraph was looking around, watching for any sudden movement and suspicion. On the other hand, Agnis had her hand over her head, enjoying the walk as if it were another lazy day.
Zero was listening to the whole time, but he didn't show his presence yet. He had a keen hearing and could hear a good distance off; when he arrived, the others noticed his presence. They stood up sharper, paying attention to every dazzling movement of Zero's step. Something about Zero's presence commanded attention, even if Zero didn't attempt it. Sekka's slyness vanished, and her eyes hardened as she stood straighter. Leaf and Reed both turned towards him, becoming silent as they waited for him to speak.
Zero seemed more regal and majestic this past week, like a true Dragon Prince. The way he held himself, the way he gracefully walked and the powerful aura that came out of his body that commanded his presence was instinctively being put out toward any creatures that stood in his presence. Wild animals cowered in fear; low-level monsters ran away before they even attempted to fight against him. Even if they tried to swarm him, they wouldn't dare.
Players and soldiers even felt the power of Zero's dragon spirit becoming stronger in every territory battle that he goes through. The more power he accumulated and protected them, the more respect they gained toward Zero. Even when he stood against the Fallen Angel, Sekka, and Valiant, all felt a swell of pride for being the same species as Zero.
Zero grew into his dragon body much faster, becoming more like a dragon than when he was forced into a human form. However, there was something different about being a dragon twenty-four hours a day nonstop than being human. He could smell, see, feel, and even use most of his strength at his peak ability, while in his human form, he could only exert about fifty percent of its full potential.
"Zero!" Sekka called out with a pleased expression. "Glad to see you here with us."
"Sekka." Zero nodded toward her. "How's everything in the back? Did you see anything suspicious while I was gone?"
"Not that I know of, honestly." Sekka replied, "There hasn't been anything strange. The Fire Hounds tend to keep to their territory, while the Salamanders like to bathe in the molten lava. Other than that, we get less action than before."
"That's a good thing," said Leaf. He patted Sekka on her golden neck, telling her not to get too
excited over fighting. Sekka had a knack for heading into more battles than Valiant. "Too much fighting can get tiring to one's mind. We need to rest for a bit before we dive back into battle. Plus, it's not good for your health in the long run."
"Not healthy for you." Sekka snorted. "I like the blood, guts, and even the bone-crunching sound of monsters breaking under my claws." She evilly laughed, contradicting her whole angelic image.
Quite a few soldiers who heard her gulped as they walked faster to get out of her reach. They didn't want to be near her when she was rampaging.
Leaf choked up and furrowed his eyes. He then looks at Zero, giving him the do-something-about-this-crazy-dragon face. Zero gave him his best dragon shrug and looked away, stating that Sekka was his problem, not his. He needed to improve with women, and now
dealing with an angelic dragon that didn't fit the persona of an angel wasn't his expertise. He wondered why Sekka didn't take the black dragon form instead of a golden dragon.
Zero cleared his throat; he had to ask. "Sekka."
"Yea?" Sekka was finished with her best imitation of an evil dragon.
"Why did you choose to be a gold dragon?"
Sekka thought it over for a moment; a beautiful smile dazzled his senses. "It's because I always saw angels as monsters, and Golden Dragons are close to being an angel."
"Huh?" Zero asked, confused. He thought demons were monsters, not angels.
"Don't you know? For an angel to combat a demon, they must be a monster themselves. A powerful one at that."
"But, you can get the same effect with being a black dragon." Zero coughed, "plus, it fits your image."
"I know." Sekka replied, "but I believe angels are more dangerous than demons. And it's fun throwing people off with my looks. It gets more interesting when they discover that I'm not the good golden dragon everyone thinks I am. To see their twisted expression….. huhuhuhuhu." She broke into a sinister chuckle, making Zero wonder if Sekka was right in the head too.
"Please don't mind her." Leaf was an expression, but Zero could see that he was trying his best not to throttle her then and there. "She gets like this from time to time."
"I see." Zero said slowly, taking a good look at Sekka. He now knew why Sekka was rising so fast in levels. She was a bloodthirsty battle freak. That's the only answer he could come up with, and it didn't fit with the Golden Dragons' image.
"I'm back~" Valiant gave a singsong voice as he proudly announced his return. The skeleton army dissolved and went back into position, trailing behind Valiant and the living army. He glanced around and saw the multiple different expressions installed on each person. "What's going on? Did I miss a good joke?"
"No." Zero replied, "Welcome back."
"Oh! Captain!" Valiant happily replied as he bounded over. Reed squealed, holding tightly on
Valiant's neck, trying not to fall off. "You're back!"
"Valiant. You're unusually happy. Did something good happen?"
"No. Just happy to see you're here with us." Valiant tail thumped in excitement as he glanced up at Zero with awe. He always saw Zero as some hero; the way he fought in his dragon form had inspired him to become more savage and sinister, like any true black dragon. Already, Valiant was given a name as the Grim Reaper on the battlefield.
"We need to be ready," Zero replied. He knew that the leisure mentality needed to be less as they watched their surroundings more. "I think we'll arrive at our destination in a day or two."
"You don't mean the volcano, right?" Reed's soft voice spoke out with concern. "I have been feeling very badly about it for a while now since we entered the area."
"You too?" Valiant was a bit surprised that Reed said such words. "I thought I was the only one that felt uncomfortable coming here."
"Same here." Leaf and Sekka replied at the same time.