I woke up in a bolt and looked around me.

I was in a modern-day hospital room. How did I get here? I wasn't so sure.

The last thing I remembered was fighting head-to-head with the Black Gryphon, buying some time for everyone to get back to the town.

A sharp pain could be felt on the side, and I pulled up my shirt. A thin white line with stitches could be seen.

I was still in my child-like body. It made me sad to know that I was not back in my usual form. Wait, the question is, was there such a place in Torren? I thought there wasn't such technology here. Everything just looks so familiar.

The door opens, and both Don and Phil step in the doorway. They were both in modern-looking clothes, especially Phil, who looked even more stunning than before. I couldn't help but stare. "Berry?" Don was the first one to speak.

"Are you okay?" He was worried as he came over.

"How did we get here? What happened?"

I was completely lost on where we were. Is this modern technology? Did I just dream everything, and I'm finally back on Earth? Was all that a nightmare, and this was a continuation of my modern school journey?

"Phil carried you back heavily injured. The red potion that we had was not strong enough to heal everything. We had to make a drastic decision on the spot and bring you over to the modern world to get you stitched up. You scared us."

"Modern World?" I asked, dumbly still not getting it.

"Yes. We're back on Earth."

"Earth?" It finally hit me. So everything that had happened was not a dream at all.

"Are you out of your mind, pipsqueak!" Phil roared and pulled on my ears sharply.

I yelp out in pain. "Ow. Ow. Ow! I was only trying to help!"

"Your help almost got you killed!" Phil wasn't happy with the decision I had made.

"But everyone is safe now. Azazel is trapped in a crystal!" "Azazel? Who are you talking about?" Phil let go, confused. Then it hit him.

"Are you talking about the Black Gryphon?" I rubbed my ears from the ringing pain.

"Yea. Did you pick him up?"

"No." Phil slowly stated. "All we found was you bleeding out on the ground."

"What?" Bolting up, I let out a cry of pain. The spot where Azazel had left a gaping hole was still throbbing. I silently cursed at him for being the cause of my problem.

"How? It was just a few feet away from me." Tears almost escaped my eyes.

"There was no one there. Though we did find some black feathers, they would make fine materials for weapons." Phill pulled out a black feather from his pocket, showing it off.

I could see a heavy energy permuted from the feather, giving off a chilling feel. "

Also, your scales were gathered up too. I did not think it was wise to leave your scales behind."

"You're already thinking about using them as materials?" I stare with open jaws. Why didn't I think of that? Wait, this is not the time to think such thoughts.

Don's voice was soft with concern. "You've been out for a week." "A week?" I exclaimed.

"Wait, wait, wait. Weren't we only allowed to stay here for three days?"

"Don't worry about that. It seems the Goddess of Light is using her power to allow us to stay longer. The power in the past has not diminished yet." "Oh," I let out a sigh of relief.

"Here, take another Red potion." Don threw me a Red Potion for me to drink.

I opened the cap and drank it. A flash of burning sensation could be felt throughout my body, but it was not as painful. It was warm, almost comforting to me as it told me that I was still alive.

"It doesn't hurt as much." I curiously peered at the half-empty bottle. My mouth smacked my lips as I licked the edge.

"Your world doesn't have powerful magical energy in the air." Phil finally spoke. I couldn't tell if his poker face was angry, upset, or even worried.

"It seems from my understanding of the pollution that Don spoke of caused by your people had drowned out the energy."

That explained quite a bit, but what was more surprising was that the Red Potion worked here. This would cause quite a sensation if we sold this on the market. Such thoughts crossed my mind, even now, I was still thinking about how to earn income, but I knew that wasn't a good idea.

"Where have both of you guys been staying?"

"At a hotel," said Don. "We had to go to the bank and trade in gold for some currencies. I did not expect to be treated like a V.I.P when I brought in the gold. Did you know that the regular one Draconian coins cost over ten thousand dollars, while the one Ancient Draconis coin cost one hundred thousand dollars? I set up a personal account for us so we can pay off the medical bill. Your surgery was quite expensive."

"Wait, we're in America?"

"What? No. I never said that."

"But you just said it in dollar bills."

"I did not; I told you it was in Japanese Currency." I was baffled. What did Phil mean Japanese Currency when I'm for sure hearing it in American Currency. It hit me the language skill that I had been translating everything into words that I could understand.

This language cheat skill truly was an awesome skill that I never thought possible could even work in this world too.

"So, where are we?"

"Tokyo, Japan."

It felt like I was hit by a bolt of lighting from complete shock. I never understood how we were able to come to Japan of all places.

"How?"

"That would be me." Don raised his hands.

"If I understood correctly, whoever has the strongest desire of where they want to go, they would be taken there."

"Oh." I thought over what he said. It made sense, Don was thinking about his hometown, while I was unconscious, so I had no say whatsoever, while Phil did not know where even to go.

"Did you get to contact your parents?"

"Well, yes. They were happy to hear my voice."

"Did you also go visit them?" Don shook his head.

"I wasn't able to, though Phil and I did enjoy our sightseeing. You wouldn't believe how excited Phil got when he saw so many new things." He was laughing, patting him on the back.

"Phil's like a child that just saw a new toy, every direction he saw."

"I was not." Phil flatly denied. "Sure."

"I was just experiencing the unique culture your city has to offer." He bluntly replied.

"If you say so." Don shrugged it off. "Now that you are awake, we need to make sure that you can travel back." He rummaged through his pants and pulled out a bracelet and handed it to me.

"This is?"

"This is our ticket back. Each stone represents how many days we can stay here on Earth, and the soft glow that it's radiating on one of the stones means only three more days by sundown."

"So soon?" Don nodded. "At first it was another week, but when you woke up, the number of stones being lit up decreased by a lot. That's how we knew that you were awake."

"Oh." I couldn't help but feel like it was my fault that their stay on Earth was cut short.

"Don't worry about it. Just being back here makes me very happy. All good things do come to an end."

"Then let's check out. I don't think I can stay here any longer." I replied.

Pulling away the blanket, I got up. My legs felt wobbly, and I almost collapsed. If it weren't for Phil, I would've fallen.

"You alright?" Phil asked, holding me up just enough for me to get my legs in order.

"Yea, it feels like it's been a long time since I walked on my own two legs." It took a couple of trial and error to get where I needed to go. We headed towards the front desk.

A lot of females were whispering out loud as they stared at Phil. Each one seemed to blush or excitedly point out a foreigner was present. We finally made it to the front desk, and Don pulled out his card to pay.

"Look. Look. It's that hot looking guy. He came to pick up his younger sister."

"Did you get his number?" The nurses squealed as they whispered to one another.

"No. He didn't even seem to want to talk with me."

"Maybe it's because he doesn't understand our language."

"I wish I had a boyfriend like him."

I couldn't help but look up at Phil and then shook my head in disapproval. His looks can make any female fall for him in seconds. The trait of an elf does not compare to the regular humans that are out there. Even models and actors would pale in comparison.

"What is it?" Phil asked. He could feel the intensity of my stare.

"The girls are talking about you."

"I assume as much."

"They say that you look amazing and wish you were their boyfriend."

"I'm going to have to decline," Phil replied, not phased by what I had said.

"Really? Why?"

"What do you mean why? I already have enough on my plate as it is. I must go back home and make sure my grandfather and mother are doing well."

Sometimes the things that come out of Phil's mouth surprises even me to this day. He had no interest in females as of right now.

"Wait, does that mean you swing the other way?" I couldn't help but ask him out loud. Phil scowled at me.

"I do not. I enjoy a woman's presence."

"Oh,"

"Why, do you want to be in my strike zone?"

"Hardly." I let out an indifferent answer with a slight hiccup. What the hell? Why did I even hiccup in the first place? I quickly covered it up with an answer to his question.

"You're too beautiful for a guy, so it grates on my nerves."

Phil barked out laughing.

"Don't worry, chibi. I don't swing that way either."

"Oh no, you didn't." I glared at him. Did he just call me small? I turned towards Don and kicked him.

"Owwww!" Don was hopping on his leg in pain.

"Why did you do that?"

"You taught him an unnecessary word. Now he'll be calling me that for the rest of my life!" I peeved.

"I didn't teach him anything. He just picked it up with the locals!"

I growled.

Lies! People don't just suddenly spout out words like that without reason. He must have watched some kind of drama, anime, or something to even hear such words. Don was the one who probably taught him the meaning because he was the closest that understood the Japanese language.

A flock of girls and nurses came running over towards Phil, blocking our way.

I swear these females are scary when they see someone handsome and beautiful at the same time. It reminded me of celebrities being swarmed when they arrived in the locals.

"What's your name?"

"Do you have a number you want to exchange?"

"How old are you?"

"Which country did you come from?"

"Would you be my boyfriend?"

I was roughly pushed out from Phil, and I landed on my butt.

Why these ingrates! My temper was skyrocketing through the roof. I'm the patient here, and this is how they treat me?

Slowly getting up, I wipe the dirt off myself. I breathed in deeply and let out my breath. With the most adorable voice I could muster, I called out to Phil. "Brother! Brother!"

I pushed through the squealing girls.

Phil looked down at me, confused, wondering who I was talking to, and looked at Don.

Don shrugged it off as if he did not know what was going on.

"Brother! I'm hungry!" I wail like a little girl. I started to tear up. "Brother, did you forget all about me again?"

All the girls stopped and looked downwards. They all finally noticed me. Slowly, they parted ways to let me through.

"Big brother, you're so horrible. You promised!" I bawled out crying and tried my best to make the most adorable face possible. The girls swooned and even tried to pat my head. Some are trying to quell me from crying.

"Is she your sister? She must be hungry."

"She's so cute."

"Ah~ I wish I had a cute sister. All I have are annoying brothers."

"Big brother!" My voice wailed out and spread out my arms towards Phil to pick me up.

Phil looked so confused that he was having a hard time comprehending what was going on. If anyone saw his face now, they would laugh their head off. It was just priceless.

Without a second thought, he gently picked me up.

"Big brother, I'm hungry. You promised to feed me when I get out today. Did you forget your promise?" I gave him the best cutest smile I could do, which made him frown.

"I-" Phil could not say anything but instead stared flabbergasted.

"Phil, come on. We should go out and eat. You don't want your little sister to be hungry, do you?" Don was chuckling so much that it made me wonder if he was going to fall over laughing.

Phil slowly nodded his head, concerned for both Don and me. 

"Thank you!" I cried in joy, wrapping my hands around his neck, rubbing my face against his. Wow, his skin is so soft that I couldn't help but be a little jealous. Damn you, Demon Lord! You make me resort to such a corny act.

You're going to pay for all the hardship I went through today. You want me to get trampled by your horde of fangirls? Instead, you're going to carry me out the rest of the way. I'm not going to die from being stepped on! My eyes dangerously gleamed, hoping that he would get the message across. Let's go you fool of a Demon Lord. I don't want to get mobbed by your fangirls again. I wanted to throttle him then and there but instead gave me a cute smile.

"I want Tempura!" I pointed towards the exit. I hope this damn fool gets what I was implying.

Phil pushed his way past the girls, not even giving them a second thought. Don followed, chuckling behind with his hand on the back of his head until we finally left the hospital.

"Finally!" The breath I was holding was released. That was such a long and awful task just to leave there that it was suffocating.

"Stupid Demon Lord!" I shouted and head-butted him on his head. Gah, the pain. I held up my hands on the bruise that was forming on my head. I shouldn't have done that, but my anger towards him was high. Just the thought of being trampled alive by his fangirls made me peeved all over again.

"Bwhahahhaha!" Don burst out laughing so hard that he almost fell over. "You guys are a riot!" He was holding onto his stomach.

"It's not funny," I said. I rubbed my hands against my head, hoping the bump would go away.

Phil was deathly quiet. I felt a sudden shiver run down my back. Looking up, he gave me the most enchanting smile that I have ever seen in my life. Already, any females' who saw the smile around us were trapped. Even I couldn't help but gulp in fear—the infamous Demon Lord's smile of doom.

"So, this is how we are going to play? I'm a demon lord?" Phil's voice was low and chilly. His face was getting closer to me as he raised me to his level.

"Brother and sister, is it? Okay. Your big brother will take good care of you today." I gulped. What the hell did I bring myself into again? Take good care of me? Crap. Was this my death sign today? I couldn't help but tremble in fear.

"Don, where is this so-called Tempera?" Phil asked. He slowly patted my head a little too strongly, where I bobbed.

"I know a place we can go to eat. Come on." Phil did not drop me back on the ground and instead continued to carry me in his arms. I couldn't run nor hide, and instead stay still without saying a single word. We arrived at a small shop where we took a seat. Still, Phil did not let me go and instead kept me on his lap. I squirmed, trying to get away, but his hand pushed down on my shoulder.

"Are you trying to run away from your brother?" He softly spoke. I could feel a tense air when he spoke such words that I nodded my head no. "Good girl."

Looking down the menu, I couldn't help but stare with hunger. All the pictures I saw made me want to eat everything on the menu.

"I'll pick for you guys. This place has the best noodles." Don happily replied. A young waiter came over.

"Hello, how may I take your order?" "Zaru soba for me, Udon, for my friend over there, and Shrimp Tempura for the little lady," Don spoke.

The waiter looked towards Phil, and she swooned. I already could tell that Phil's appearance hit a bullseye mark on this lady as well. Poor fool, to be drawn in by just his looks. If he became the true Demon Lord, you all would probably die from his wrath if you are not careful. Such thoughts made me shudder as I stared at him.

Poking his face a couple of times, I wonder how he was just naturally able to draw girls to his side. Even if he looks impressive, it doesn't mean everyone will like him, but he is a whole different case. Everyone, both male and female, are drawn to his charisma like a moth to a flame. "

What are you doing?" Phil stared down at me and squinted. He did not like how I kept poking him on the cheek.

"I want to sit down by myself." I quickly came up with an answer. Sitting here on his lap was making me very uncomfortable.

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"No." Phil flatly denied what I wanted.

"What! Why?" I bleated like a sheep, hoping he would let me go. But it didn't seem like he was going to let everything go.

"Because your big brother needs to take care of someone like you. Do you not understand how it hurts me to know that you do not want to sit on your brother's lap." Like a doting older brother, Phil continued to give a heartfelt sadness.

The waiter was unable to move, and she gave me a disappointed and jealous look at me, telling me to listen to my so-called brother.

What the hell? Why am I being stared like that? I did nothing wrong; this damnable Demon Lord is twisting every word that I say. I gritted my teeth and let out a sad sound.

"B-b-but I'm a big girl now. I can take care of myself."

"All I see is still a baby sister. Until you grow up, let this big brother take care of you. This is the last of little joy that I can enjoy until you are grown up." A single tear fell down his face.

Everyone who was watching couldn't help but hold their breath from the mesmerizing scene before them. Is he some kind of monster that attracts the sympathy of everyone around him? I couldn't help but have a small squeeze of emotions from seeing him tear up. It even made me want to be a good sister just for him today.

No. No. No. This is not the way it should be going. I'm supposed to make sure he's the one that's teaching him a lesson, not the other way around. Finally, the waiter brought us our food. I couldn't help but feel ravished from the one week of sleep.

My mouth salivated. Reaching over to get the tempura, Phil picks up the first piece. Is he going to eat my food? I couldn't help but sob in sadness. Is this how he means to repay me?

"Say ahhhh~" Phil smirked as he dangled the tempura in front of me. I shuddered when he smirked.

Without a second thought, like a newborn chick getting fed by the mother, I chomped down onto the food.

Wow! The food is entirely different from back at the castle. I need to bring some recipes over so Tart can cook this delicious meal. I heard Phil and Don both chuckling.

Phil continued to feed me until I felt stuff. It didn't hit me until now that I was dancing in his palms. How could I fall for his tricks?! I couldn't believe that food swayed me so easily. It was like stumbling into the lion's den and never coming out. The abyss was scary.

"Oh my, it seems my little sister has been starving." Phil wickedly smiled. It was a smile that was enchanting where anyone who was watching would be fooled by it in seconds, but for me, I knew what it meant. Death!

"Thank you, older brother, for taking care of me." I nodded. This was my last resort! I can not think of anything else but this.

I reached up and kissed him on the cheek. With the best of my ability, I gave him the most beautiful smile. Eat that you damnable Demon Lord! I continued to curse in my head.

There was dead silence in the shop. I didn't realize that both Phil and I both attracted everyone's attention. When I say everyone, I mean it. Maybe it's because Phil looks so fantastical that he drew the eyes of everyone around him. I don't know, but it made me very uncomfortable.

Don burst out laughing so hard that he literally fell off the chair. I couldn't help but stare at him funny. I'm not sure what he was laughing about. I swear any more challenging, and he's going to die from laughing.

"You guys are always like this?" Don pushed himself up and sat back up.

"No." I quickly stated. If it was like this every day, I'm going to have a heart attack one of these days. This gave me a chance to slip in my chopsticks and steal his food. Kuhhuhuhuh, I chuckled to myself. Now I'm going to eat all of your food!

Phil reached over and flicked me on the head before I could take anything. "If you overeat, your small belly is going to get chubby. If you're not careful, you'll have an upset stomach."

Hyuck. Phil hit a tender spot. I unconsciously looked down upon my stomach and noticed that he was right. He just called me fat! Why I ought to-

"Little sister, you shouldn't scowl so hard. Were you so hungry that you wanted to eat the rest? I can not let you do that. I must watch over my little sister's health." Phil patted my head again. I think he was getting used to this.

This is foul! I screamed in my head. Don't you see that I'm a growing girl? If you're going to play the sister and brother role, feed me more! I disapprovingly place the chopsticks down. All I could do was quietly watch him eat the rest of his food.

Well, no matter, my hands slipped into my pocket. Hoping to find a gold coin, my hand felt an empty space. This is not good. I don't have a single gold in my pocket.

With lunch done, we went out into the streets. It was a busy day, where large crowds of people were walking. The loud honking of horns, the blaring noises, and the chattering of people's voices could be heard. I couldn't help but look around with interest. I have never been to Tokyo, Japan, before.

"Come on. Let me show you around the mall." Don pointed towards a ten-story building. "It's one of the best there is."

We entered the store. Something glimmer in the corner of my eyes. It was a jewelry shop. I couldn't help but stare through the window. Hundreds of different types of jewels, gold, and silver, danced in front of me. My eyes were glued to the vast amount of treasures.

I couldn't help it. My feet automatically brought me into the store. The smell of gold was irresistible.

"Hello, welcome to the Blue Sea Jewelry store." A young woman called out but stopped when she saw me. My face was glued to the glass in front of me, drooling at the gold necklace and rings.

"Berry." Phil and Don came up behind me.

"Buy me this one," I commanded, pointing towards the gold coins there.

"You're kidding me, right?" Phil stared at me.

"It just looks so delicious." I couldn't help but pull back my drool from spilling over.

"Delicious?" The lady asked, confused. "These are the purest quality of gold coins that we have. It cost about $2058."

Don held back in a gasp. Phil was turned towards Phil and understood right there on how expensive it was.

"I'll cover for you when we get back." I quickly stated. I really wanted to try out what the gold on earth would taste like. Did it have exciting flavors, or did it taste bland, especially out of all the gold that I have seen in the room, the one I was looking at looked the most delicious?

Don sighed and pulled out his card. He slipped the card towards the lady. The lady stared at me with wide eyes and back at Don in disbelief. She quickly wrung up the bill and pulled out the six gold coins in the case. Gently she wrapped it in a case and handed it towards me.

"Thank you for your business." The lady bowed.

I snatched the gold off the counter. Already I could taste them in my mouth. The best treat that the world has to offer is in my hands. Turning around hunched over like a scourge, I picked one up in my hand. I walked out of the store and was already heading towards the exit. The gold was quickly going directly into my mouth until Phil snatched it out of my hands.

"Noooooooooo!" I cried out in complete despair. "My candy!" I was jumping up, trying to grab it out of Phil's hands.

"Calm down, brat." Phil hissed under his breath. "This is not the time and place for this."

"What are you talking about?" I growled. My hands were scaling up his body and bee-lining towards the gold coins.

Phil was viciously pushing me back from trying to get to my goal.

I wanted to taste the gold in my mouth, not only that I was compelled to eat it now. It has been seven days since I have tasted the sweet nectar of gold in my mouth. My mind was frazzled, and the only thing I could see was the gold in Phil's hand.

What's wrong with me? Such thoughts crossed my mind. Why is this urge so strong? I couldn't stop myself. At that moment, I blew a fierce fire across Phil's face. "Give me back what is mine!" I hissed. My skin was turning into white scales with gold markings, and claws were quickly forming.

"Berry!" Don called out and ran towards Phil to grab hold of me.

At that moment, I could see red. How dare he? How dare he take my gold! My body shifted and formed into my original dragon form. With a snap of my tail, the store's glass broke into a million pieces. My claws dug in deep into the ground, and my white wings unfurled.

Screams could be heard from the people as they ran out in fear. People were pushing past each other, others almost stumbling upon one another trying to getaway.

"Phil!" Don ran towards Phil, who was covered in smoldering flames. He tried his best to take out the fire.

A gust of power burst forth from Phil's body, and black energy erupted around him. The flames disappeared in seconds, and his body was unscathed. Only his clothes were burnt.

"What the hell is going on?" Don called out with worry. "What happened to Berry?"

"I don't know, but it seems the curse of gold is true." Phil jumped back as my tail whipped towards him. A thundering like sound continued to echo all around the store.

"Give me what is mine." Red eyes glowed dangerously towards Phil. My tongue flickered out, tasting the air. I couldn't tell who was his foe or friend anymore. Everything swirled, blending in different colors. No more did I see Phil before me, but a different person in front of me. A young lady with black hair and pale skin. She wore entirely in black. Her eyes gleamed wickedly with a hint of mischief.

"I see you are still hung up on gold." The lady in black spoke. "You still choose gold over me. Then so be it." She cackled with laughter.

With a deadly blow of fire, I spat towards her face. The fire cut perfectly in half unharming her. It made me more furious than before. It was her, I knew it was her that cursed me in this state. This was the only sanity that was keeping my mind intact. My anger boiled in rage, and the strong urge of gold made me more fierce than before.

"You did this." My tongue flickered out, stressing out the s. "You cursed me to have this unquenchable hunger." I lunged forward with my claws outstretch. With a swipe, the side of buildings was crushed. The lady perfectly dodged my attack and threw her own black arrows at me.

Each one, I blew out fireballs that explode on impact. "Give me back what is mine!" I roared. A jet of flames spread outwards, making the whole area around me blaze in flame.

"Kahahahaha. You think that your hunger will be quelled? You should have not betrayed me!"

A massive blast of energy punched me in the guts, causing me to fling out of the building itself. I flew backward and hit the nearest building. Cars crashed into one another, people screamed as they ran, and buildings crumbled.

Blood escaped my mouth, and I stared with an evil glint. There were hundreds more of the lady in black swarming around me. The majority of them ran away and only one who caused me this harm. I ignored the black lady who was running out and instead focused on the one that was in front of me.

"Give me what is mine. Give me back what is mine!" Like a chant that was sung over and over again. I pushed up with great difficulties; I could tell my body was not fully recovered, but the urge to eat gold was a hundred times worse. A strong gust of ice blew out of my mouth and all around.

Everything that the ice touched froze everything in seconds. People screamed and ran from cover for fear of being iced.

With a flick of my tail, the cars were thrown aside, my wings unfurled. With heavy beating, a gust of storm picked up around me. The lady in black walked towards me casually as if they were nothing wrong, and instead, she cackled with laughter.

How dare she. How dare she! Mad with rage, I bulldozed forward. Red energy formed around my claws and created a sharp talon. It reached outwards and swiped the lady in black in one fluid movement pinning her perfectly into the ground.

"Give me what is mine!" I hissed. Hot blazing energy started to bubble from my stomach and into my throat. Already, I could feel fire ready to burst.

A giant blast of dark energy shot underneath me, the ground cave causing me to lose temporary balance. My hand that was supporting me was kicked, and I started to fall forward. My wings beat furiously, trying my best to not fall down. The lady jumped towards me with her hands above her. Something black like a knife came thundering down towards my heart.

I will not allow it! I roared.

My jaws snaked towards her in a rapid motion. With a vicious chomp downwards, I bite down, but a black force field like magic cocooned her. Only a slight taste of blood entered into my mouth, and another sweet nostalgic taste of gold mixed in with the blood. It reminded me of the taste of honey and metal.

A single piece of white and gold scale fell off onto the ground. Her hand was inches away from her heart with the black knife already nicking the surface of my skin. A red drop of blood slid down the knife and onto her hand.

My vision cleared, and I noticed in my mouth was Phil bleeding heavily. What's going on? Where is the lady in black? I glanced around, confused. No more did I feel the horrible pull of wanting to eat gold; instead, clarity came into my mind.

All around me was in total chaos. Cars were overturned, large chunks of the buildings were missing, people were injured left and right, and police surrounded us.

"Berry?" Phil spoke with difficulty. "Did that work?" He looked at me with painful eyes.

"Why are ou in ma moub?" I couldn't form the words because Phil was stuck in between my jaws, ready to be crushed in any second. I gently place him back onto the ground, letting him get out.

"This is not good." Phil coughed. He staggered to get back into balance. "We need to leave now."

"Where?"

Swarms of police and swat came surrounding us. Their guns loaded and aimed towards me.

I couldn't help but be even more confused at what was going on but noticed that we were in deep trouble.

"Do not shoot yet! There is a human hostage near the monster!" A group of unknown people came out behind the police.

"Are you out of your damn mind! That's a monster for crying out loud!"

"Every life is a priority, we don't want to enrage it!"

"You imbecile! More than a million people live are in jeopardy right now, and you are worried about just one?"

"It's a dragon! This is more than just a monster!"

"A dragon? So what? It's still a monster!"

The bickering between the new people and the policeman was raging on.

I examined all around us, trying to look for a way to escape. If we did not leave anytime soon, who knows what could happen. I did not want to be killed or captured.

"Back me up," Phil spoke, he huddled near me. "I only have enough energy to do this once. When I say now blow fire around us, giving us cover and change back into your regular form. We only got this one chance."

I slowly nodded in understanding.

Phil closed his eyes, and black energy formed around him. "Now!"

I blew fire until my throat was hoarse, everywhere I turned the fire blaze all around me, giving us a blanket of curtain. I shifted and changed back into my small human form.

With a blast of energy, Phil sent a shockwave of energy that blew outwards. All the cars and people were pushed roughly back. Even the helicopter that was hovering around us went out of control.

I took this chance to change back into my human form. It was all in one fluid movement that I did not feel a single pain. Phil roughly grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the back of the building. We weaved through the tight buildings, jumped over fences, and even hid behind a crate of boxes.

With a wave of his finger, Phil motioned his hands around himself and around me. He slumped on the wall, exhausted.

"A-are you okay?" I asked. I could see blood dripping down his side.

"I'm fine." Phil raised his hands.

I felt horrible looking down at his state. This was all my fault and this obsessive compulsion to eat gold. Was this how I would become every time if I don't eat gold for a week? The thought horrified me.

"I'm not going to do that again." Phil chuckled.

Wait, was this the time to laugh right now? We are in trouble and possibly even hunted down.

"Who would've thought you would've gone crazy over one piece of gold," he replied, making me feel guilty.

I didn't know I would go that crazy when I didn't have my dose of gold.

"I didn't mean to. It was a strange obsession that I couldn't break free from. I was never like this before." I couldn't help but be flustered at the whole ordeal. Everything was happening too fast, especially because this was on the first day of waking up on Earth. The Double Trouble skill truly was taking its effect.

No. No. I need to steel myself. I can not let emotions run all over me. With a straight clear voice, I spoke. "I am sorry. I know my words are not enough, but I will do my best to curb my obsession as best as I can."

"Heh, quite formidable of you for your emotions to swing towards a balanced state of mind. I thought you would be crying or bawling from everything that had happened."

"I am barely holding back." This was true, crying isn't going to solve anything. I needed to hold it back.

"That's good to hear." Phil weakly got up. "We need to meet back up with Don. We can't stay here too long."

"I agree with you."

We both walked out and into the busy streets. I searched around for any nearby safe place where we could take a rest. Not too far from us, I saw what we were looking for.

"This way." I took Phil's hands. I did not want to get lost in this world.

"Where?"

"I found a hotel."

"A hotel?"

"Yea, just think about it like an inn. Do you have any money on you?"

"I do. Don gave me an extra card for you and me."

"That's wonderful," I spoke with relief. I did not know where to go to exchange money around here, nor understood my way around. People stare at us, wondering what was wrong, but they did not approach us even still. Instead, they seem to shy away, seeing the amount of blood on Phil.

We walked towards the hotel and got a room. With a card key, we entered into a three-star hotel. It was decent but not luxurious.

"Berry, catch," Phil called out. He threw five sparkling gold coins up in the air. Instinctively I raised my hands and caught every single one of them. "I suggest you eat them sparingly. Three days is a long time, and you only have five gold coins."

It was true. I did not have a single gold coin with me. After the fight with the Black Gryphon, I was unconscious, so I did not bring a single gold coin.

"Thanks." I ate three golds in one bite. The urge to eat gold was still strong, that I couldn't stop myself. With one remaining gold coin, I felt regret. This was the first time when I felt the value of the gold in hand. If I did not eat gold, I would go crazy, but the price of gold is high on Earth. A piece of gold was balancing the faith of humanity. It made me shiver on how scary such thoughts were, and it made me feel more determined now to find a way to break this unholy curse.

"I suggest you not to eat gold outside. Try to curb that hunger as much as you can." Phil was sitting on the bed, ripping a towel. He was bandaging himself around his arms, where the blood seemed to drip the most.

I walked over and sat on top of the bed. I pocketed the last piece of gold. "Here, give it to me." Grabbing the towel, I tied it tight to stop the bleeding.

"I'm not sure this is going to end well, but we need to get back home. Any longer, you might cause a city-wide chaos." Phil chuckled.

"That's not funny. I just did." I frowned. It was true. I did something that couldn't be taken back.

"It's not that bad, is it? Not like Torren, right?" Phil turned towards me. Even though he was pretty beat up, he still looked amazingly gorgeous.

"It's awful. There are no such things as dragons on Earth. Not until today." I spoke quietly. "Even elves, beast-kin, or legendary monsters are not something that lives in this world."

Legendary creatures like me were fantastical, the closest was dinosaurs, and they were extinct.

"I never knew that. So your world is quite peaceful, isn't it."

"Not really. Countries still go to war with one another, our war could be seen as more chaotic and scary than the war back at Torren."

"That's quite fascinating. So do you fight with swords and magic?"

"No. With guns and tanks. We don't have magic here, but it seems that Earth has an aptitude for it."

"I never knew that."

I reached over towards the remote and turned on the T.V.

"Oh, you turned on the black box. Your people have quite fascinating ways to do things. It's like magic, but not."

Black box? The way he named the T.V made me smile, mostly because I didn't think of it until he said it himself.

"Well, we adapted and came up with new ways to improve our lives." I casually replied.

"Don said the same thing. I'm quite glad that you brought me here. I never would've imagined that there was something like this in this world."

"They are so many things that humans created that you would be stunned." I couldn't help but chuckle. Phil was already giving off a look of awe and interest.

"Breaking News!" A young man spoke out loud. "Today in Tokyo, Japan at 4:54 pm, an unidentified monster had appeared. Half of the building of Diamond Mall had been destroyed. The area around has become encrusted with what seems to be ice. A heavy total of 250 people have been injured in this chaos. So far, no deaths have been confirmed."

A screen of smoke arose around the mall, and a black silhouette of a giant dragon appeared in the smoke. Fiery burst of fire erupted out from the smoke covering the whole area.

A smoldering white dragon with its wings unfurled stared down at the escaping people. Even from high up above, the picture zooms in on the dragon's face. Its red unblinking eyes stare with such ferocity that even I shivered.

Was that me? I couldn't help but feel that what happened was just like a dream. "Did I really do all that?"

"Yes."

I turned around surprised that I mumbled it unconsciously.

"Holy cow! It's a dragon!" The news anchor spoke in surprise. My head snapped back to the T.V, watching everything that was happening. "This is truly outrageous. It's not Computer Graphics, right?"

"No." The other anchorman that was at the scene of the wreckage was brought live. "That just happened not too long ago. We are at the scene of the wreckage, but not a single sign of this so-called white dragon."

"Are you sure this is not a hoax? Could this be a new form of terrorism?"

"I'm not sure. This could well be, but we got reports that they found large footprints at the scene of the crime. This could be a major breakthrough that Dragons actually exist!" The man stated with excitement.

"Calm down. You know this could be a hoax. Possibly a bomb that has been planted, and somehow they used a hologram to project it."

"Highly unlikely. We were there when this all happened. The fire that the white dragon had cast is real. It already scorched dozens of cars, and flames still continue to burn around us. Not only that, this could open up the chapter of a whole new species that never existed. Scientists are already flocking on the scene to look into this strange phenomenon. Right now, we are still searching for this dragon that disappeared out of thin air."

The voice of the man was excited at the finding.

I quickly turned off the T.V and flopped onto the bed. "What a mess." I let out a sigh. There was absolutely no way to fix this. "I'm going to take a shower."

Getting up, I went towards the bathroom. Turning on the water, I couldn't help but sigh in frustration.

I felt so powerless to the urge to eat the gold coin. I knew that I needed some way to grasp this insanity before it became worse. Taking off my clothes, I hopped into the shower. Hot water pelted on my skin, and the steam helped me clear my head.

"I'm not going to let this happen again." I clenched my fist. "I'm going to practice. I need to get stronger to hold back this urge."

With resolution confirmed. I decided to slowly work on controlling my hunger for gold. I knew it was a long, difficult road, but I needed to work on this ticking time bomb. Getting out of the showers, I noticed that they were a pair of clothes laid out on top of the sink.

I couldn't help but wonder if Phil had left the clothes in here for me. Picking it up, it was an oversized shirt and shorts. Slipping my hands in the shirt, I quickly put them on. The clothes that I was wearing were still clean.

I picked up my clothes and walked out of the room. Phil was standing with half of his shirt off, walking around, examining each little thing.

"You should take a shower. You look pretty beat up."

Phil turned around with a glass filled with alcohol. "This is pretty good." He took a large gulp of it.

"Wait, is that alcohol?" I have never seen Phil drink before. I worried that he might get drunk.

"This? I'm not sure. It reminds me of a wine, but I never tasted this one before. Want to try?"

I shook my head. I'm not an avid fan of alcohol, nor was this the right time to drink.

Phil placed the drink by the bed and walked towards the bathroom.

Walking over towards the table, I placed the clothes on top. I then made my way towards the bed and flopped in the comfy bed. Fatigue washed over me; even though I did not use too much power, the surgery's throbbing pain was still slightly hurting. Pulling myself into the covers, I fell soundly asleep.

#####

Loud noises chattered in the bar, and music continued to play. A man in a blue and black suit with black gloves sat leaned against the wall. His curly hair covered half his baby face, where a small star-shaped birthmark decorated underneath his eye. Two females giggled as they leaned against his chest. Each one of them picked up a drink and sipped on them.

"Did you hear what happened today?" The girl on his left spoke.

"Yea," the other girl replied.

"They say that Tokyo had its first invasion of a white dragon."

"Really? Sounds too far fetched if you ask me."

"I wouldn't say it's that far off, ladies. You do know they have been sightings of dragons all around the world since ancient times. It wouldn't be strange at all if one so came up." The man in the red suit spoke with a smile.

"You believe in that, Rei? I never thought you were a superstitious person before."

"I'm not superstitious at all. I'm just saying it is a possibility." He leaned over and kissed her on the cheeks. The girls giggled at his behavior.

Another man in black suit and sunglasses walks towards them and stops at Rei's booth.

"Are you Rei?" The man in the black suit spoke.

"Yes. What do you want?" Rei gave him a glare, annoyed that he was interrupted in his little fun.

"Your service has been called upon."

"Who?" Rei pushed back the ladies that were in his arms and leaned forward.

"The rooster that crows during the night with legs that slithers like a snake."

"Abraxas," Rei whispered underneath his breath. He quickly got up and left the two girls behind and followed the man.

They left the bar and headed towards an expensive luxury car. The man in black opened the door of the black vehicle allowing Rei to step in. When he entered, he noticed an old man wearing a white suit and a cane inside the spacious car.

"Were you the one that summoned me?" Rei spoke with a low tone of voice.

The old man with a bald head reached over towards a glass and poured whiskey. He handed it to Rei and grinned. "It seems you knew who summoned you."

"How could I not. With such a descriptive metaphor, who wouldn't know of the organization."

The old man chuckled. "Even still, not many know it would relate to us."

"True, it is an old symbol. Either way, what do you need me for?" Rei bent forward, looking at the old man.

"I have a task for someone like you."

"Do you have the money to back it up?" Rei rubbed his fingers in front of the man.

The old man rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a small leather purse. He threw it towards Rei, and he caught it in midair.

"100 minted gold coins is just the down payment. We know your taste, you don't like paper."

Rei smirked. "Now that's what I'm talking about."

A second item was thrown towards Rei, and he once again caught it. Rei opened his hands and noticed a shimmer of pure white light that reflected off the white scale.

"A scale? I have never seen this before." Rei looked it over with interest. He flipped it over a few times, feeling it in between his fingers.

"You heard what happened this afternoon, correct?"

"You're talking about the dragon that appeared in Tokyo?"

The old man's lips curled up into a smile. "Yes. Find it for me."

Rei looked at the old man. He didn't say anything else but smile.

"My pleasure." Rei chuckled. He pocketed the white scale and left out of the car. "Time to go to Tokyo." With a laugh, he walked away in the dark.