Alex left shortly after the meeting came to an end and everyone could tell from the direction he was going that he was headed for the direction of the new area zorah had opened a way to. there wasn't a need for alex to slow down so the hunters could catch up since his path was through the sky to begin with. it was always interesting to see how abruptly one biome ended and another began in the new world for alex. on earth it was almost impossible to see as similar phenomena naturally but here it was very common.
The tan sand and rock turned into bright coral of various colors in an instant as there was a rough line visible from the sky where one began and the other ended. alex also noticed that the coral highlands were exceptionally colder than the waste even at the border. he wasn't sure why that was the case but it did at least explain the poalumu and legiana living here since both preferred cooler environments. alex easily made out the downed airship that was the third fleets operation center but knew they were unaware of his existence at the moment and may cause problems if he showed up suddenly.
Alex might seem friendly enough from the outside but those who interacted with him most such as the admiral and fleet commander were aware that he was closer to indifferent than anything. it was this knowledge that made them so cautious about any possible conflicts between the people and alex. going from indifference to hostility was a very process if the right actions were taken so they made sure he at the very least stayed neutral to them. it must be understood that none of the other sentient dragons were less than hostile against people when they showed up.
This meant that alex was the only monster known to the entire world to have a functional relationship with people in all of the guilds recorded history. there was a small tribe that remained hidden that tamed monsters as companions but they only made up a tiny amount of people and went to excessive lengths to hide their relationship with monsters from outsiders. as a result as far as the majority of people knew alex was the only "friendly" monster ever and he was an elder dragon to boot making him even more important.
Alex didn't care about any of this however as his main reason for his continued co-inhabitance with the people of astera was so that he wasn't passionately hunted down like the other sentient monsters in the past. this was why sentient monsters were so rare , thanks to the danger they posed and their hostility to people they were swarmed by hunters and killed before they could pass on whatever mutation had given them sentience to the next generation. natural selection had no choice but to bow out since people cut it off from the source almost always immediately.
Alex felt his decision was the best one he could have ever made in this world as it meant the only dangers to him were the overzealous and other monsters. thankfully no one in the new world could be considered overzealous in their bias against monsters so he was mostly safe from people at the moment. the dark blue patterns on a tan and cream colored back drew alex's attention out of his thought's. 'time to hunt' he thought with a bloodthirsty glint in his red eyes as he angled himself over the unsuspecting legiana.
The ice wyvern didn't even know what happened as a thick bolt of electricity dropped out of the sky above her into her wing putting a huge hole in it. she screamed as she fell out of the sky after losing one of her wings usability. she spiraled into the various corals taking more and more damage along the way before she finally slowed enough to slam to a stop a few coral platforms above the ground. she was horribly injured but still alive and looking pathetic but alex had no mercy and slammed into her small head crushing it and killing her instantly.
Alex roared triumphantly and his voice echoed through the highlands sending shivers up the spines of the third fleet and the human wanderer nearby. they had never heard any monster that sounded like alex but knew from ages of experience that it was the roar of an incredibly powerful monster. this was worrying for them as they didn't have many hunters with them since the third fleet was almost entirely researchers. a new powerful monster might decide to attack their base and there was nothing they could really do to stop it so they defensively camouflaged the base with broken corals to hopefully blend in.
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