Chapter 18: True Flames, False Smiles

"To think you'll manage a true dragon, that's incredible!" Ken expressed, Rin resting in his head.

"Right! Nobody thought that there would be two true dragons summoned in one day," Fiora said.

"Yeah, everyone was like-- 

'Three dragons a day? And above them, two are true dragons.' 

'Are there any events going on for true dragons to be summoned?'

'No, there must be some magic chants or something.'

'I still cannot believe what happened.'

Bruhh." Ken was trying to compare with them.

"Hahah, never thought you could imitate people that much," I grinned.

"Don't underestimate me!" he said, stylishly lifting his glasses.

"There is more? Like you can eat noodles with your nose~"

"Who told you about that?! You should not know about that!" he blushed.

"I just guessed."

"Wait, don't tell me... You really did that?!" Fiora teased. Flora, Fiora's lesser, was picking on Rin.

"Chyuuuh," he responded, like telling her to let him sleep.

"Stop teasing me! And my bond!" Ken replied.

"There, there!" 

"You are the one who started, Blaze!"

"Yes, yes. That's a revenge from that time, I remember quite well, the time Mari was teasing me." 

"Okay, now we are even," he said.

"Even? Why? I just started."

"Whaaa--?!"

"The weather! The sky is getting dark with stormy clouds again. It's just like when Nith was summoned," Fiora said. "And look how the wind is acting."

"What's all that chaos over there?" Fiora asked.

"Who knows?" I replied. "Let's get a peek."

"A true dragon?! Wait, it can't be real. I heard that three dragons were summoned in the other temple, and two of them were true."

"Wait, what?! Then, this is the third true dragon! And in one day!"

"You heard what they said?" Ken asked.

"Yeah, there is another true dragon, summoned in this Familiaria," Fiora mentioned.

"Another?! Let's go." I said, being surprised.

As we went ahead, we saw a boy with blue hair standing in front of a dragon.

The dragon towered over him, its massive body radiating heat and power. Its obsidian-black scales shimmered like molten rock beneath the sun, glowing faintly with deep crimson veins that pulsed with each breath. The very air around it twisted and shimmered, heavy with embers and fury, as if reality itself trembled at its presence.

Its wings were vast and jagged, each flap trailing sparks and trails of ash like a wildfire in the sky. Long, twisted horns curved from its head like scorched thorns, and firelight flickered deep within its burning red eyes—eyes filled not with calm, but with rage barely restrained.

It exuded primal force, like a storm of flame and fury caged in flesh.

The boy stood still, his blue hair fluttering in the dry wind. His expression wasn't one of fear, but awe, and perhaps something deeper.

Fiora whispered beside me, "That... that's another true dragon, isn't it?"

Rin and Flora are acting strange again. They got in their true form.

"Wait, Rin. Are you alright?" Ken asked in concern.

"Flora? What happened?" Fiora asked her with a tense tone.

But they started roaring.

Nith, on my shoulder, tensed slightly. He let out a low prrhh... like a snowbell chime dipped in warning. His body shimmered faintly with frost, a soft swirl of cold rising around him.

"Wow, awesome," I muttered, watching the blazing behemoth stare down at the boy like it was choosing whether to incinerate or accept him. The ground where it stood was blazing with fire. Then it lowered its head toward him.

"Is that--Nio?" Nio? Is he here for a dragon? Wait, he also got a true dragon.

"Hey! Nio! Is that you?" I went ahead of the crowd, but before I could reach him, he went flying with his dragon. "That was Nio, right? And he saw me, right?" I asked myself. "He saw me, but still didn't stop?" It's been eight years since I last saw him, but I am sure that it was Nio. But that expression on his face... was that really his?

As they flew away, the weather and the dragons returned to stability. 

"--That was Agnirith--" Nith said.

"Huh, whose talking?" I asked, being surprised.

"--It's me, Nith--"

"Ohh, it's you."

"--I can talk with you since our mind is connected--"

"And Agnirih? That dragon, do you know him?"

"-That's my younger brother--"

"Your big brother? He looked pretty strong."

"--Yeah, he is--"

"That dragon. I've never seen that one, too." Mr. Ragnar whispered behind me. "It's way too many true dragons summoning in one day, fhuuhh."

----------------

"Uwaahh! Good morning, Nith." I said while stretching my body to get back to life after sleep. "I got a good time sleeping. Wait, what's the time?"

When I glanced at the sky through the window, the sun was already at the top. "What?! They must be waiting. Let's go, Nith."

As I said, Nith jumped on my shoulder, taking the place, calling his own. Then, we went to Ragnar's office. 

"Sorry, I am late!"

"Leader! You are one and a half hours late," Fiora frowned

"Sorry, sorry. Let's go." I said while scratching my head.

"Okay, let's go to the next Island," Ken said as his eyes were sparkling.

"Be careful in your way, Fiora, Ken, and Blaze." Mr. Ragnar said, standing ahead of us.

"Yes, Uncle, we'll be alright. And also, you don't have to cry," Fiora said.

"I am not crying!" *sobs*, he said.

"Yes! I can see that," she replied.

"Okay, Rin!" "Flora!" "Nith!"

As we called them out, they grew in size.

"Wait! Is that only me, or are they looking different from the time of summoning?" I asked while examining Flora and Nith.

"Yes, they just got bigger in size this time. They can go to their true forms when it's necessary," Ken replied.

"When is it necessary..?" I asked.

"Yes, like fighting," Fiora added.

After that, we mounted our dragons and flew to the sky, enjoying the air and the scenery.

"We have to go straight left from here," Fiora said, watching her blank paper.

"Can you really see the map on this blank piece of paper?" Ken asked with doubting eyes.

"What's with you, four eyes?" Fiora replied.

"Who are you calling four eyes, Miss Blank Paper?" Ken replied.

"You two!"

"Ohh, no! My glasses!" Ken screamed as his glasses fell and went to retrieve them with Rin.

"Hahah, karma," Fiora smirked. "Look, I can see the island."

"Yeah, and also the city in the middle of the Island," I said as I glanced at the city from the sky.

"Yes! This is Elarien. It's called 'The City of Blooming Tomes'." Fiora looked pretty excited about this city. "I have been waiting to visit it, the Floating-tree Library."

"What?! The Floating-tree Library?" I asked.

"Yeah, this is one of the ancient Libraries in the verse," Ken said as he returned from his conquest of glasses. 

"You are back," Fiora said with a pale look.

"Wait, what's with that look? It's like you are saying, 'Why did that four-eyed come back, again?'" He said, mimicking Fiora.

"Whaaa-- How did you know?" Fiora replied.

"Seriously!" Ken frowned.

"Okay, it's landing time," I warned.

After we landed in front of the city gate, "Whooa, look at those stairs. We've to climb all the way up?" Fiora frowned.

Just then, a sharp glint sliced through the air—a blade hurled straight at Ken's eyes.

In a heartbeat, Ken's fingers snapped upward.

Clang.

He caught the flying knife between two fingers.

"...Whoa." I stunned.

Ken didn't flinch. "Am I supposed to be impressed?"

Blaze stepped forward, narrowing his eyes.

"And? Who the hell are you?"

A man in a black coat leaned casually against a post, half his face swallowed by the shade of his hood. The other half bore a mocking smirk and a crescent scar beneath his eye.

"Who knows," he muttered, voice oily and amused.

Blaze gritted his teeth. "That guy... was aiming to kill."

"I was thinking that the weather was pretty great today, and you guys had to show up," Ken said as he threw the blade in their direction.

"Bounty hunters? I am gonna take care of them," I said. But--

"Wait, Blaze. He is mine," Ken replied as he lifted his glasses.

"Come on, thirty-five thousand," the bounty hunter said.

"Bounty hunters like you should think five times more before attacking an adventurer." As he went ahead, his fists started to be enveloped in fire. Then, with a split second, Ken flashed toward the bounty hunter, but he stopped him by throwing blades in front of him. 

"Not so fast," he smirked. Then, a dark shadow surrounded him, and he disappeared.

"Where did he go? And what was that magic? Teleportation?" I asked while looking for him.

"No, that's just a normal spatial magic; with that, he can pop up in any place within a ten-meter range," Fiora mentioned. "And you don't even know about that?"

"Ah-hh, uhm. Is that a common sense that everyone has to know about?" 

 When Ken was looking for him, he popped up above Ken and threw another blade. He somehow managed to dodge that, but the bounty hunter disappeared again.

"Where did he go, again? What can I do to catch him? Uhhh, okay." Ken was muttering to himself.

Then, suddenly, he sprinted to his left but tripped on a rock. "Ohh, no!" he said with a worrying expression.

"Ken, you idiot!" Fiora yelled.

"Ken!"

Then, suddenly, the bounty hunter appeared above Ken, smirking.

"Hahah, this time I got you, thirty-five thousand. All those rills are mine, hahah, I am gonna be rich now!" His eyes started to glow with money. But--

Ken grinned, "You fell for it, you little cockroach," and threw the fire he was gathering in his left fist by punching in the air. 

"Whoa-- safe!" he somehow managed to escape that. 

But as he landed from the air, "Thank you for dodging that, I was thinking all the mana I gathered in my right fist would go to waste," he flared, and the last hit.

"Wait, time ou-uhh." He fainted.

"Well, that was a good welcoming party," Ken said.

Fiora from behind, 'Bam!' in his head. "That was dangerous," he frowned.

"Ahh, that hurts."

"Ken, your bounty, it's thirty-five thousand?" I screamed.

"Yeah, isn't that awesome?" he smirked.

"How is having a bounty awesome?" she asked,

"Coooooooooooool, that's fifteen thousand more than mine," I screamed.

"Wait, you have a bounty, too?" Fiora asked.

"Yeah," I smirked.

"Why are you bragging about that?" she asked. "Now, I want one too," she whispered.

"Did you just say something?" I asked.

BAM!

"Nothing."

"Uhh, what was that for?" I asked.

"Just feel like it. Don't pick every small nit." She said.

"But, that hurts."

"Okay, enough for now, let's head to the library. Lalla la la, lalla lala," she went ahead like nothing happened.

"Just you wait, Ken, I am gonna surpass that bounty of yours in no time." I declared to him.

"Just try it," he said.

"Idiots, don't challenge for having better bounties," Fiora yelled from ahead.

"Sorry," we said in unison.

Meanwhile, in the Elarien city... A man with white and red colors on his face arrived..

"Mom, look there, a Joker!"

"Ahh, right, say hi to uncle."

"Hi! Mr. Joker!"

"Hello, my dear. This is a gift for you."

"Wow, a red balloon. Thank you, uncle."

"Take care, my dear."

"Thank you very much for entertaining my child."

"It's my pleasure, just be a little careful, or it will burst like that," he said as he threw another balloon in the sky, and--BAM!

The balloon burst in the sky with a ten-meter radius and a great amount of firepower.

"What happened?" "What was that burst?" People started to go here and there in fear.

"If you don't want that to happen, then come with me with your child, my dear." He smirked.

"Please, don't kill us," the little girl started to cry.

"Please, let my child go, I beg you. I will do whatever you want, please, I beg you." She cried.

"Yes, don't worry, I won't hurt you if you come with me, my dear."

"Please, don't hurt us."

Back to Driftwinds...

"Look, there's the Library," Fiora said as her eyes started to sparkle.

"Wow, that's so big and ancient. That tree's floating in the middle of the city." My jaw's dropped. "I've never seen something like that."

"Right?! Isn't that awesome? And inside that tree is an ancient library, full of books." Fiora snapped. "I can smell the books from here, Uhh." She smirked.

"Look at those buildings and towers, this city is so beautiful."

"Well, how can we go into that library? Using our dragons?" Ken asked.

"No! There is a portal below the Floating Library. I am going. If you guys need something, you can go." Fiora went on saying all that.

"Okay, we'll meet later then," I screamed so that she could hear.

"What should we do, now?" I asked Ken.

"I am going to buy some blueberries for Rin," he said, and then left.

"Looks like it's you and me now, buddy," I said to Nith. "Ohh, yeah. What do you eat to restore your mana?" I asked Nith.

"-Don't worry about that, Blaze. I can absorb mana in the environment to restore, so I don't have to eat anything," he said as he circled and jumped onto my shoulder.

"Okay, then, let's go to the market here."

After going to the market, "Wow, this place is so full of people." 

Look at those swords. Some of them are bigger than me. 

"How do they use something so big?"

Ohh, right, Kaine used one in the battle royale. But his was a little smaller than this. There are people even bigger than him, huh?

Oh, there is a fruit shop.

"How much is an apple?" I asked.

"Thirty rills."

I bought two, one for me and the other for Nith. Well, he said that he didn't need food to recover, but still, eating alone is lonely.

Now, I am starting to remember them. As I walked, the memories of Lili, Mili, Cloudy, Mom, Dad, Ris, Lisa... The training I've done, Master... Happily eating with everyone... How Lisa went on that journey... Then, I brushed the pendant that Lisa gave me with my fingers, and the bracelet Ris gave me that day... Also, the promises I made in Juris...

It's only been a few days... And I am already missing them so much. 

It was so fun at home. But I have to get stronger, and I am gonna become the strongest in the magical verse.

But am I really getting stong? After I left Juris, I couldn't even train for an hour.

"Hey, boy, come here," an old lady called me from her shop.

"Yes, how can I help you?" Is that a fortune teller? What's with that shiny globe? Wow, it started to glow.

"That dragon of yours, so he chose you?"

"Do you know about my bond?"

"Looks like you can't control mana, but you have something special."

"Something special? Like what?" I asked curiously.

"You'll know, just remember one thing, 'Don't get devoured by the abyss.'"

"The abyss? What's that?" Devoured by the abyss? The abyss? Never heard of that. "And what--"

"Help, someone. Please, someone save my child!"

"Look, what's that?" "Oh, no. Someone, call the magical knights." 

"What's all that fuss over there?" I asked, looking there.

And when I looked back, the old lady disappeared. "Where did she disappear, now? And wait, wasn't there a shop, just a second ago?"