As the ebony greatsword swung horizontally at the rider’s direction yet again, he took a step back. Then he kicked the flat surface of the blade upward, making the flat surface line up with the Knight, and punched it with his draconic arm. The Knight was sent a few centimeters back before leaping forward and thrusting his sword. The rider could dodge it with ease, but his goal wasn’t to survive.

  He planted his hand into the ground and, combined with Green’s magic, summoned humongous vines to hold the Knight back as it was moving at full speed. The ebony monster roared as the sickly black aura on its body grew in size, and it tore through the vines the size of a trunk with its sheer arm strength. Once its arms were free, it used its greatsword to slice off the rest of the vines locking itself before bolting in the rider’s direction with even greater speed.

  The human attempted to leap back again, but the Knight dashed forward, grabbed his leg, and slammed him on the ground. Instead of a loud bang, it was a soft thump instead as both of them started sinking down into the ground. The Knight, not wanting to descend any further, let go of Ryder and thrust itself into the air. Brown took the opportunity to move the puddle of mud her rider was still lying on away from the piano. When the phantom landed back on the ground, instead of chasing after the gang, it returned to the piano and stood in front of instrument.

  Ryder groaned when he arrived at the main road and pushed himself up from the mud. The earth dragon approached from the back and used her magic to remove the mud that had stuck itself to his back.

  “Uck. Even though you can remove the mud afterwards, it still feels disgusting to lie on it. Makes me want to shower immediately.” The teenager formed a thin layer of water that rubbed through where the mud was previously at. The color of the water changed only very slightly to brown.

  “It would appear the best strategy is to not engage with the Knight too aggressively.” Brown gathered the mud on his body into a ball and left it by the roadside.

  “Ugh, this is going to end up more like a dance than a proper fight.”

  “Oh you’d wish it’d be like a dance instead of a fight.” Purple walked up to his rider and stood akimbo. “A curse would often do anything in its power to ensure it remains unbroken. So, the Knight will fight even more aggressively as the curse comes undone.”

  “Did you have fun sleeping in your moss bed?” Ryder gave him a side eye.

  “I did.” The dragon grinned. “So, when’s the exorcism?”

  “After lunch. I’ve been learning the Knight’s move, and I’ve gotten ideas for a few strategies we can use to distract him, even when he gets aggressive. For the first one, you-”

  Purple cleared his throat loudly and interrupted him. Initially, Ryder looked at him with confusion, unsure of what his companion wanted. The dragon stared down at him and licked his lips before the rider understood with annoyance.

  “Do you promise to stop flying away in the middle of the night?”

  “Even if it’s done to survey the danger that may be lurking around?” The dragon grinned.

  “You- Why do you have to be so difficult? No! You aren’t getting any meat from me unless you stop unnecessarily waking me up when I’m already having a hard time sleeping!”

  “Are you saying you rather risk your life in exchange for a good night’s sleep?”

  Ryder opened his mouth, but forcefully closed it once a realization struck him. Purple cackled as his rider sighed. “You’re driving me crazy, Purple. I’m going insane one day if you keep doing this.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll stop right before you do. Oh, Ryder. You can’t expect me to resist the temptation to mess with you if you fall for it every single time.”

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  Green barked at the higher dragon before growling at him.

  “I’ll stop when his reaction fails to entertain me anymore.” Purple winked with a shit-eating grin.

  The rider shook his head resignedly before recalling something. “How’s the… entity living in the jungle? The pulse of mana last night was because of that thing, right? How powerful is it?”

  “Powerful enough to give me trouble in my current state, but definitely not enough to defeat me. The city walls, however, might not be strong enough to withstand it should the creature decide to launch an attack.”

  “Damn it.” The human bit his lips. “Is it going to wake up soon?”

  “It has been keeping quiet for now, so I expect it won’t be causing any trouble until after your quest is done. Maybe a day or a couple of days from now.”

  “Okay, good. The Guild will also have enough time to gather enough people to deal with it. Have you tried to find it?”

  “I did, out of boredom, but it was more slippery than I thought. It blended itself into the jungle so well that my senses couldn’t discern it from the flora and fauna.”

  “Oh? So there is something that can escape the great Terror of The East’s detection after all?” The human smirked.

  “What an astute observation, Ryder. Should I give you a rounding applause for pointing out I’m not omnipotent? Maybe you’d like a tiny hat that reads ‘I’m the smartest boy in the whole world’ as a prize?” The dragon snorted.

  “I’ll stop being an astute observer when you stop being a jackass. So, are you going to help us with the Knight?”

  “Is there-”

  “No.”

  “Then good luck.” Purple gave one last cheeky smile before flying back to the jungle, presumably to enjoy the comfort of his moss bed further.

  “Truth hides in his sarcasm often.” Brown commented.

  “He could’ve floated himself into the air before flapping his wings.” The human clicked his tongue. “Although, sometimes, I can’t help but feel like he’s pissing me off on purpose.”

  Green growled with confusion.

  “No, no. Well, that too, but I don’t think it’s only because he likes to see my reaction.”

  “Best not to dwell on it too long, Ryder. He’s a demigod that had killed for fun in the past, after all.”

  “Hmm, I guess you’re right. We’ll, I’m hungry now. Let’s meet up with Findir and enjoy a nice lunch.” Ryder glanced at his companion. “Have you-”

  The plant dragon yipped.

  “Glad you’ve finally figured it out.” The human patted the dragon before both of them started walking back toward the city.

  Brown glanced back at the direction Purple flew in before strolling behind the duo.

X

  Aoede gulped as she stared upon the imposing Knight through her helmet. Her grandmother found one for her during the morning and demanded that she wore it, despite her insistence not to, as the weight would slow her down.

  “Are ya scared?” Findir smirked as he gently knocked on the helmet.

  She flung his hand away. “No! He just looks… bigger than I thought. I only saw him before with my binoculars. I’m still not afraid of him!”

  “If ya got cold feet later on, it’s okay to ask the Drag’n Rider to get ya out. It’s good to be brave, but bein' stubborn will only get yerself injured.”

  “I’m not getting cold feet! Stop looking down on me! I can do this!” The girl pouted and stomped her feet.

  “I’m not doubting ya. Just letting ya know ya don’t need to succeed on the first try.”

  “Alright, time to pay attention, Aoede.” Ryder turned around once they stopped in front of the old Miuzika family home.

  “I’m listening!” She stuck her tongue out at the yellow-ear before standing straight in front of the rider.

  “My dragons and I will head out to distract the Knight first. Once we lure the Knight far away enough, I’ll shout at you, which will be your signal to run over to the piano and start playing. If the Knight starts to act differently, that means the curse is breaking. If the Knight acts a little too crazy, and we think we may not be able to hold him down, Findir will let you know when to start running. It doesn’t matter if you only have one note left to play. When we say run, you run. Got it?”

  “But Grandma said you can deal with the Knight no problem.” She crossed her arms and peeked at the two dragons behind him. “She also said you have three dragons.”

  “My third dragon is being a prick right now, so he’s not helping us. Don’t worry, the three of us can still hold the Knight down long enough. Probably. Anyway, just be prepared to run.”

  The green-ear lifted her eyebrow but remained silent.

  “Alright, time to work.” Ryder cracked his neck and strolled in the direction of the Knight. Green growled with excitement while Brown looked as composed as ever.