Reincarnated as a Dragon – The path of the Dragon God

The girl’s eyes widened to their fullest at Henry’s approach. Her gaze veered to the shore and back to Henry, bouncing between the two.

Henry followed the girl’s gaze to the shore. He caught sight of the girl’s clothes and gears. Amongst those things, he saw a two-pronged spear, a cleaver-sword, and a longbow. All three of these weapons were as large as the girl herself and didn’t seem like something she could even lift properly. But considering this was a world of magic, Henry was convinced she was more than capable of swinging those weapons around with ease. 

Henry swallowed a lump in his throat at the thought of what would be transpiring in the next minute. As he inched closer to the girl, she leapt out of the water and began running across the surface of the water, darting for her weapons in the nude. Though it was boorish and uncouth, Henry’s eyes were fixated on the pair of bouncing supple buns that seemed to be covered in a thin layer of icing sugar.

No no no no. What the fuck am I thinking now of all times? It’s no time to be horny, damn it!

Henry reprimanded himself and while he was doing so, the girl reached the shore. She draped a cloth around her waist, forewent the rest of her garments, and simply put on her leather halter brassiere, before scooping her weapons into her hands. She slung the spear and cleaver-sword over her back and brandished the bow at Henry. An arrow was magically formed and nocked as she pulled the string. He could see the hostility in the girl’s eyes. 

When he was just a few feet away from her and his limbs were touching the bottom, he threw up his forelimbs to signify his non-hostility.

“Wait! Wait!” Henry exclaimed in his Murux Voice. “I come in peace!”

The girl flinched. “It talks?” she blurted in amazement but she quickly shook herself out of her daze and regained her composure. Her scowl deepened. 

Henry squinted his eyes in response. The girl’s gaze didn’t seem to be focusing on him but rather, on something behind him.

It was only then Henry felt it. He had been so absorbed in the girl’s presence that he didn’t sense the threat creeping up on him, coupled with the fact that he had become complacent just because the creatures he met so far weren’t a big threat. He turned around and saw the faint contour of a serpent with a pair of forelimbs streaking towards him at a sharp speed. The serpent was in camouflage and even now, Henry could barely feel its presence despite knowing it was there.

A Lindwurm?

That was Henry’s conclusion about the monster that was charging at him. It looked fairly similar to the dragons depicted in the eastern culture but the head was that of a dragon of western depiction and it had a pair of forelimbs, no hind limbs. It was as big as Henry, a little bigger, and significantly longer than he was.

Henry straightened his claws, the tattoos glowed, and he swung his limb upwards as the Lindwurm rammed into him. To his surprise, his claws barely drew any blood as all he could see was a light scratch under the Lindwurm’s chin. Still, the Lindwurm went staggering from the blow. It wrapped its tail, which was basically the lower half of its body, around Henry as it stumbled backwards. When it recovered from that blow, it drew Henry closer in and struck with its fangs bared.

Henry threw Aura Blades at the Lindwurm but due to them being underwater, the strength behind the ability was greatly reduced and barely made the Lindwurm flinch. He then used his Jetstream Breath, which also produced a similar result. However, the successive attacks stunned the Lindwurm for a short moment, enough time for Henry to sink his fangs into the Lindwurm’s tail that was wrapped around him. 

Fuck…!?

Henry was surprised but he felt like he shouldn’t be. The Lindwurm’s hide was tough, though not tough to the level of his hide’s toughness, still tough enough to require him to put effort into his bite. However, the Lindwurm had recovered and it flapped its tail, preventing Henry from sinking his fangs into its flesh. The Lindwurm emerged to the surface and flung Henry out of the water, sending him tumbling across the gravel and pebbled lands of the shore.

This is the last fucking time that I will be complacent.

Henry swore to his heart as he pushed himself shakily to his feet. He had let his guard down because he couldn’t see or feel any threat around him, not to mention he was further distracted by the girl’s beauty. This was one of the aspects that bothered him immensely. He was still attracted to the beauty standards of when he was a human.

The Lindwurm sprang out of the river and Henry jounced out of his musing. The Lindwurm, with its camouflage broken after leaving the water, slithered towards him like a snake propelled by rockets, though it was more accurate to say it was propelled by magic but that was a nonsensical debate Henry didn’t want to have right now in his head.

The Lindwurm lunged when it had gotten close enough. It had a pair of fangs like that of a snake. It was throwing itself directly at Henry but as his throat was drenched, he could not use his fire breath. Instead, he used his jetstream breath but it was easily dodged since the range was narrow and the Lindwurm had a willowy body. This time, it successfully rammed itself into Henry but its fangs couldn’t pierce his hide. It bit down harder but to no avail.

Taking advantage of its confusion and plight, Henry gripped the Lindwurm tight by the neck and before he could squeeze the life out of the two-legged serpent, its tail moved to wrap itself around him. Before such a thing could happen again, he pried the Lindwurm off his shoulder and tossed it away from him, ploughing through the snow and shed trees.

Snow?

Henry raised an eyebrow. He looked around. It was snowing and there was a thin sparse layer of snow on the ground like icing lightly scattered on some chocolate pastries. It was a terrible description comparison that was the first thing that came to his mind when he looked at the snow-covered grounds.

The Lindwurm’s screech drew Henry’s attention back to it and he muttered a silent gratitude for the two-legged snake’s stupidity. It could have landed a significant blow if it had lunged at him without making any sound.

Henry threw an Aura Blade but the Lindwurm went around it and swooped back in with a swipe of its tail.

Fast!

Henry ducked low, avoiding the tail strike, but not the strike of the Lindwurm’s head. He went staggering but only a bit. The Lindwurm’s speed was the only attribute that surpassed Henry. Its attack power was still lacking. Henry had actually thought those fangs would be able to pierce his hide but they couldn’t. Unlike him, he felt that his fangs could pierce the Lindwurm’s hide. He just needed to bite harder on the next opportunity.

Yeah… Just bite harder. Pft. Easier said than done, Henry.

Henry scoffed at himself. He thought the Lindwurm was fast in the water but now that they were on land, it moved even faster. The only comfort he had was that its attacks weren’t too heavy. The Lindwurm was light, extremely so. In exchange, its attacks barely did anything to him. It was just plain annoying until he saw the inside of its mouth begin to shimmer.

Oh crap… A breath attack.

Henry gasped.

Lights spilt from the Lindwurm’s open mouth as a beam of energy devastated the ground in a line.

Henry returned fire with his Jetstream breath but the result was the same as always, the Lindwurm was too quick with its movements. The streams didn’t even graze it.  The Lindwurm could wind up its breath attack twice the speed Henry could. It was able to use its breath attack right after the moment it dodged an attack. 

Henry couldn’t avoid all of its attacks. The beam was nearly as fast as the caster itself. Thankfully, the energy breath of the Lindwurm was more of a concussive blast rather than a disintegrating beam. The wounds incurred by the breath attacks were shallow. It couldn’t be compared to his own Jetstream Breath or Fire Breath but even if that was so, the damage would eventually accumulate to a lethal amount.

In addition, the Lindwurm was playing it smart. It learned its lesson and no longer engaged in close combat with Henry even if Henry himself was the one trying to.

Why are you all so fucking intelligent?! Be a dullard, for god’s sake!

Henry huffed and puffed as he flipped and twisted his body out of the way of the Lindwurm’s onslaught of energy breaths. He couldn’t tell if this battle was easier than the other or harder. It had its pros and cons. The only thing he could agree on was how tedious the battle was. Quite some time had passed and the victor was still unapparent. 

The Lindwurm had landed quite a lot of hits on Henry but his hide showed no sign of breaking. Henry could not, for the life of him, even graze the Lindwurm due to its superior speed. It became a battle of attrition with no apparent winner. 

But if the current course of progression was to be taken as the measurement, Henry surmised he would most likely be the winner as the Lindwurm appeared to be slowing down and its breath attack did not pack the same punch as before. Still, the Lindwurm was still way too fast for Henry, perhaps due to its body shape.

Regardless, I will be the victor. The Lindwurm will eventually exhaust its Murux if he keeps using its energy breath. I just need to wait—

Henry’s planning was interrupted by the cessation of the Lindwurm’s offence. The Lindwurm was panting and glaring at Henry with indignation clouding its gaze. Henry prepared for the Lindwurm’s next gimmick but… the Lindwurm turned its back to Henry and slithered away from him, returning to the river.

Running!? It’s running!? After all that, you’re running!? Oh, no, you don’t! Your Murux Heart is mine, you two-legged snake!

Henry roared and chased after the retreating Lindwurm. Though the Lindwurm was faster, that was only in the agility aspect. If it came to a straight race, Henry was without a doubt the superior one. In no time at all, Henry sped past them and arrived at the shore of the river, cutting off its escape route. 

At the same time, his throat was dry enough. When the Lindwurm emerged from the trees, Henry unleashed his fire breath. The fire breath had a shorter reach but it covered a large radius. The Lindwurm wasn’t able to fully dodge the flames and a few sparks caught onto its scales, which quickly turned into a huge blaze that engulfed the Lindwurm entirely. 

The Lindwurm cried in agony, smothered in the flames. It made a desperate dash for the water but Henry kept it at bay with his Aura Blades. As it was already on the verge of completely exhausting its Murux, it no longer had any leeway to fight back. The flames ate away its hide briskly and the blazing ruination seeped into its flesh. In its final moments, it threw its head up facing the sky and screeched.

A cry for help? It had friends nearby?

Henry couldn’t understand the Lindwurm’s speech but its manner of gesture was similar to the time he fought the Ruguth. His assumption was immediately proven true when another Lindwurm shot out of the river. While the one he roasted was grey for the most parts with a tinge of pale red, the newly-appeared one was mostly pale red with a tinge of grey. 

Henry took a swipe at the Red Lindwurm but he darted around his attempts and circled him. Its mouth began glowing red. It was charging up its breath attack.

Oh shit…

Henry didn’t doubt his breath attacks would be stronger but this was a competition of speed and the Lindwurm had him beat. The Lindwurm would have the first strike and that would decide the bearing and flow for the rest of the fight.

Just as the Lindwurm unleashed its energy breath, an arrow streaked through the air and flew into the Lindwurm’s mouth. The bided energy exploded in its mouth and an agonising scream reverberated across the air. Blood was gushed and scattered. The Lindwurm was hurt greatly by the sabotage of its breath attack. Henry pounced at this window and bit down hard into the Lindwurm’s neck.

The Lindwurm shuddered intensely and thrashed around wildly, trying to get Henry off of it but Henry’s fangs were lodged deep and Henry himself was heavy. In seconds, the Lindwurm collapsed with its veins slowly being dyed black.

Immediately after he pried himself off the Lindwurm, he poured his senses into the river, looking out for more threat, if there was any. When his probe returned a negative result, Henry sighed in relief and let himself plop to the ground. But he didn’t let his guard down just yet. There might be any threat in the water but there was a potential threat on land. He hoped he could resolve this quickly and get on with digging the Lindwurms’ Murux Hearts out.

The girl from before, in full attire and gear, approached Henry cautiously with her bow drawn and trained on him. “What are you?” she asked.

“I come in peace, damn it,” Henry snarled. “Put down your bow.”

“Just what are you?” Contrary to his request, the girl pulled the string further back. “You’re not a Water Ruguth. A Drake? No, a Drake can’t swim and an Ocean Drake has fins and gills, you do not, not physically at least. Ocean Drakes certainly don’t breathe fire. Most curious of all, you can use Murux Voice. A variant of a Drake?”

“I am none of those. I mean you no harm, lady. Just put your weapon down. I can explain.”

“Then, explain, but I won’t be putting my bow down. You were creeping up on me. Don’t think I forgot about that.”

Henry sighed in exasperation this time. He was creeping on her and she was butt-naked at that time. It was more than enough reason for her to be this cautious of him. In her eyes, he was still just a monster and his ability to communicate with speeches didn’t deter that conceived notion. “Fair enough,” he said.

“Then, start talking.”

“First off, my name is Henry and I’m a Dragon, I think.”

The girl scoffed. “A Dragon? Dragons are extinct and you have no wings.”

“Not yet, I hope. So, what’s your name?”

“Rayne of the Zeva Clan.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Rayne.”

“Pleasure? Why is it a pleasure?”

Henry shrugged and fought back a sigh. “Fine, it ain’t a pleasure. I’m sorry for intruding on your bath time and—”

“Well, this is interesting. A monster like you knows how to apologise and you know about baths. Are you a warlock, disguising yourself as a monster to peek at a woman taking a bath?” At her own assumption, the girl drew the string some more as her anger rose.

“Calm down, lady!” Henry began to panic. “I am not a warlock, alright?! I don’t even know what the hell is a warlock.”

“You’re not a warlock? Well, prove yourself, then,” she said and slid over a palm-sized black stone pyramid towards Henry that was etched in runes.

“How will this thing prove my innocence?” Henry asked. He could feel an immense amount of magic radiating from the pyramid.

“Touch the tip and the pyramid shall reveal the truth. Do it or I’ll release the string.”

Henry doubted the magic arrow could harm him but for the sake of not antagonising the Zera Clan, whatever they were, he did as he was told. He put his finger, or toe, on the pyramid’s tip. 

But he stopped right before touching the tip. He was stopping to ponder the strange development of the current situation. For some reason, he was being unusually trusting of a stranger. For all he knew, this could be a trap of some kind.

Something’s wrong.

Henry took a whiff and once again caught the sweet and alluring scent emanating from the lady. But as he concentrated on the smell, he gradually realised the scent was coming from her but not of her. It was something like a fragrance.

Something is definitely wrong.

Henry retracted his arm and scowled at the lady.

The lady sighed and then, a smirk appeared on her face. “You can resist the Pale Lotus’ scent. Remarkable.” The smirk turned into a sinister grin. “The hard way, it is.” She said and released the arrow she had drawn.

The arrow flew faster than Henry could react as it was infused with magic. It hit him square in the head but it did not pierce through his hide as usual. However, the arrow exploded and created a blinding flash that robbed him of his vision momentarily.

In his temporary blindness, Henry unleashed his Fire Breath blindly in front of him. 

The lady swiftly dodged Henry’s feral and desperate act of retaliation with movements that Henry would have a hard time following even if he wasn’t blinded. Nevertheless, she was still slowed by his Fire Breath.

When his vision had returned, the lady was within range of her sword and also his claws. Henry roared and thrust at her but she swiftly spun to the side and picked up the pyramid tool.

This girl is infuriating but damn it, she’s good. Henry growled.

He spun his whole body, trying to get her with his tails but she flipped onto his back and ran up to the top of his head.

Oh, fuck!

Henry flailed and floundered around but the lady was far too nimble and poised to be thrown off. In terms of the enemies he had fought so far, she was the greatest threat as her technique and experience were inconceivable to Henry. He thought about flipping onto his back. That would surely get her off his back but he would also immobilise himself and left himself vulnerable. Either way, he knew he had lost.

“With this, you are now mine!” the lady declared as she plunged the pyramid into Henry’s forehead. The pyramid fastened itself onto Henry like it was stuck with elephant glue. “Heed me!” she cried ecstatically. 

The same runes on the pyramid began to appear around Henry’s head, searing themselves onto his hide. Henry screamed as he felt something invading his mind and it wasn’t gentle with the process. It was akin to boring drills into his head.

“I don’t know what you are but you’ll do just fine as my lovely pet.” She chuckled gleefully with a sneer. “You are definitely a creature with Dragon Blood.”

Henry glared but that was all he could as he felt his mind slowly getting encroached. In his rage and fury, Henry came to a realisation. This was the girl’s intention the whole time. The sweet-smelling she was exuding was most likely bait to attract monsters of his familial breed.

“O foolish brothers of mine, with an intelligent monster like you at my command and wish, you will not stand a chance against me in the succession rite.”

Are you fucking kidding me? I’m being enslaved for political purposes?! Are you fucking serious!?

Henry tried summoning the last ounce of his remaining will and strength, drawing his breath and gathering the blaze in his throat.

“Sit,” the girl muttered.

And gone was his breath. He plopped right back down like a good little puppy.

This bitch! You fucking bitch! I will tear you to pieces if I ever rid myself of your control!

As Henry screamed out his indignation in his heart, the girl simply watched on as her will slowly took over Henry’s mind.