The Dragon seemed to consider the proposal for a moment, before looking at Brian in interest, seeming to agree.
“Okay, I’m going to partially free you,” he said, “But try anything, and I’ll stop your heart cold in your chest, then poison you and Curse you for good measure as well.”
The Dragon rolled its eyes at him, as if it didn’t believe that any of his magic could actually harm it, making the man sigh. Carefully, he removed the Paralyze effect from the Dragon’s mouth and vocal cords, allowing it to speak.
“You would truly believe yourself powerful enough to slay a True Umbral Dragon, mortal?” the Dragon hissed, “I would very much like to see you try.”
“I can hold you in place like this for hours still, so stopping you heart and poisoning you don’t seem like they’d be too hard,” Brian replied, refilling his mana from his staff again, barely enough left to hold the dragon for another few minutes, “So, why are you after me?”
“You broke the protections on my Ancestor’s tome, defiled it with your mortal eyes!” the Dragon growled, “Do not try to deny it, I can smell the scent of the Umbral upon you!”
“You’re right, I did,” Brian nodded, swallowing as he felt the sweat start to run down his forehead and back, struggling to keep the Dragon frozen, “But why does that make you want to kill me?”
“No mortal can withstand the power of the Umbral,” the Dragon laughed, the sound booming and loud, “I have simply come to put an end to your life before it is taken by your own stupidity.”
“That’s a lie,” Brian said as he narrowed his eyes at the Dragon, who glared back at him, “There’s something more you want from me, isn’t there?”
“Yes,” the Dragon admitted, “I feel that if I eat your heart, I may be able to better understand how you even learned Umbral Abilities to begin with, and then use it to further my own gains.”
“Oh,” Brian blinked, not having expected such a straight forward answer from the monster, “Okay, fair enough. But what good will it do you? I got the Ability I used to learn Umbral Magic from a Title, and you can’t steal Titles, can you?”
“A Title given Ability?” the Dragon mused, “Then…no, I cannot. A pity. Then I shall simply kill you and eat your heart for a portion of your power.”
“And what good will that do you?” Brian asked, “I’ll let you know, I’m only level seven, so there’s not much power to gain.”
“A lie!” the Dragon snarled, “I can feel your mana! You are far stronger than any mere level seven mortal has any right to be!”
“I’m from another world,” Brian shrugged, “And I kind of broke the system when I was brought over, so I have a lot of max-level Abilities.”
“Another world, you say?” the Dragon blinked, Brian almost swearing as he felt his grip on his Ability slip slightly, “So, you are a Hero? They only summoned a single Hero? Did they not have enough cattle to slaughter for the ritual?”
“No, they summoned like twenty kids…wait, cattle to slaughter?” Brian blinked, “What are you…no, you can’t mean...people, can you?”
“Mortals, yes,” the Dragon chuckled, turning its head slightly to look at him, “While mortals are inherently weak, their Souls are powerful things. They can be used to strengthen creatures, power grand magical devices, or even summon other Souls from worlds outside of this one, creating new, “perfect”, bodies for them.”
“Great, I’m made of the souls of sacrificed people,” Brian muttered as he looked away, snapping his head back a moment later as he felt the Dragon shift slightly.
“It would seem that you lied about being able to hold me for hours, though, Mage,” the monster hummed, slowly pulling its claw back out of the barrier, and placing it on the ground, “However…you have piqued my curiosity. I would learn of your world and its people before I devour your heart.”
“Really?” Brian sweated, deciding he might as well just release the Dragon now, as it was already mostly free of his Ability, “Is that all?”
“Perhaps I would also like to wait until you are stronger to consume your power,” the Dragon shrugged, shadows gathering around it as its form began to shrink, wings and tail receding until they were a tenth the size, the body doing the same as the figure’s proportions became distinctly humanoid.
“Oh shit,” Brian groaned as the shadows withdrew, revealing a woman that looked to be in her late twenties, long black hair hanging over her shoulders and black scales covering her hands and feet, with stripes of them lining her back. A pair of black draconic wings stuck out behind her, as well as a long reptilian tail.
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She was also completely naked.
“Not more of this shit,” Brian groaned as he pulled a robe from his bracer, tossing it at the Dragon in annoyance.
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“I do not understand you mortal’s obsession with these “clothes”,” the Dragon growled as she sat around the fire with Brian and Grisha, both of them on one side as she looked at them from the other, wearing the robe Brian had thrown at her earlier, “They are an annoyance and restriction.”
“Not all of us are beasts used to running around naked all the time,” Grisha replied, squeaking as the humanoid woman glared at her, trying to look brave despite her obvious fear.
“Enough,” Brian sighed, “My name is Brian, and this is Grisha. What’s your name?”
“Karenux de Kalagash,” the Dragon replied, smiling at him, revealing her still sharp fangs, “A direct descendant of the all-powerful Kalagash the Umbral, first of the Umbral Dragons!”
“Great, a Karen,” Brian sighed, “As long as you don’t keep asking to see my manager, I think we’ll get on fine.”
“I do not understand?” the woman said slowly, “Are you making a jest at my expense, mortal?”
“Something like that,” Brian muttered, before continuing, “Anyway, what are you going to do now?”
“Now? What sort of question is that?” Karen laughed, “I shall travel with you. Be grateful a being as powerful as I am willing to mingle with pathetic mortals such as yourselves at all!”
“Yeah, no,” Brian replied, making the woman stare at him in confusion, “Firstly, we’re heading to the Dwarf Lands, and last I checked, they absolutely hate anything to do with Dragons. Secondly, you're a murderer, killing at the drop of a hat without remorse. Thirdly, I already have enough trouble with Grisha.”
“This is true,” Grisha nodded, “We cannot be seen with even a Lesser Dragonkin, or they will slaughter us all, and as a Dragon, she would see no value in mortal life. And what do you mean by that?”
“Then is this form more pleasing?” Karen asked, interrupting before Brian could try explain, her body once again being covered in shadows as the shapes of her wings and tail under the robe vanished, the light scaling on her cheeks and neck also disappearing, “It is but a small matter for a grand being such as I to appear as any normal mortal.”
“But will they be able to tell that you’re a Dragon?” Brian asked, “Like, I don’t know, some sort of magical detection device or array?”
“No such device exists, nor magical array of that nature,” Karen chuckled, “And even if it did, all Dragons would band together to destroy it and all knowledge of it immediately.”
“Why?” Grisha asked.
“Because it would be inconvenient,” Brian answered, “Or, at least something like that, right?”
“You are not incorrect, mortal,” the woman nodded, eyeing Brian in interest, “Perhaps there is even more to you than I first thought after all.”
“Please do not fall in love with me, or anything,” Brian groaned, making Grisha gasp and scowl at the Dragon, as the woman across from them just laughed.
“Me? Fall in love with a mere mortal? Preposterous!” she replied, “I would sooner take my own life than be part of the creation of the lesser Dragonkin.”
“I’ll hold you on that,” Brian nodded, letting out a yawn, “Any way, if you’re not going to kill us, then can we go back to bed? We have a long way to travel, and being tired on the journey isn’t going to help.”
“Ah yes, the mortal need for frequent rest,” Karen hummed, “I do not see why you cannot remain awake for a century, then simply sleep for a decade or two to recover.”
“We’d be long dead before that,” Brian sighed, “Anyway, we’re going to bed then. Good night, Karen.”
“Karenux de Kalagash,” the woman huffed, watching as the two re-entered the tent, “Very well, then I shall meditate here until the morning.”
------
“Why must you mortals be so weak? Could we not simply fly to your destination and be done with all this tiresome walking?”
“And risk the Dwarves seeing us arrive on the back of an Umbral Dragon? We’d be killed on sight,” Grisha huffed as they walked down the road.
“Silence, brat. You have no right to speak to your betters in that tone,” Karen growled.
“No right? I am Grishavalsa von Astralion, fifth daughter of Vergut von Astralion, king of the Demon kingdom of Astralion!” Grisha shouted back, “I have every right to speak to you as I wish, you…you fat-chested lizard!”
“Oh? Is the brat jealous of my current form?” Karen chuckled as she pressed her arms together, showing off her shapely chest, “I can easily make them larger, should that be your Master’s desire?”
“Enough you two,” Brian sighed as he turned to the two women, “We’re almost at the next town, which means I’m setting some ground rules. First, no announcing your full names or origins to anyone, understood?”
“Understood,” Grisha nodded as Karen snorted.
“And why should I fear mere mortals knowing my true identity? There is nothing they can do that could harm me!”
“Because I’m asking nicely,” Brian said flatly, making the Dragon blink in surprise, “So please, don’t do that. Next, you’ll be going by human names for the foreseeable future, that means you’re now called Grisha and Karen.”
“Understood,” Grisha nodded again.
“What? You expect me to allow other mortals to call me such a thing? I only allow you to do so because you are amusing enough to not kill instantly!”
“Please,” Brian said, “Do this for me? I don’t want to be chased out of another place.”
“I…” Karen muttered, before standing upright and crossing her arms, “Very well, I shall honor your request simply to ensure you may grow stronger, but the other mortals must show me proper respect, or I shall end them.”
“If a guy tries to touch you, you have my permission to rip his arm off and beat him to death with it,” Brian nodded, the two women staring at him in surprise, “Oh, and third, no calling normal people “mortals” or “peasants” or anything like that. We’re just trying to look like a group of Adventurers, not a band of crazy people. Please.”
“Understood,” both women said, Karen more muttering it than speaking out loud.
“Right, now that that’s sorted,” Brian sighed in relief, “We’re going to try get you two registered with the Adventurer’s Guild to make our story look more authentic.”
“Really?” Grisha gasped, stars in her eyes as she smiled widely, “I get to be an actual Adventurer?”
“Yes?” Brian blinked at her strange reaction.
“Then let’s hurry!” Grisha shouted as she ran on ahead, leaving the other two in a cloud of dust as they stared.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Brian muttered.
“Perhaps you should,” Karen nodded, “The brat seems entirely too enthused by your plan.”