"Hmm...*Yawn*...My head…how long did I sleep"

In a room inside the mansion, a woman with long silver hair awoke from a deep slumber. Stretching her arms, she looked around at the unfamiliar place.

"Eh? Where am I?" Failing to recognize the place, Freya immediately raised her guard. However, the moment she focused her senses on her surroundings, she felt a deep connection above her, a sensation she couldn't quite place.

"What is this…feeling?" Freya was confused, raising her head to the ceiling and focusing more on this connection. The connection grew deeper and clearer until suddenly

ROOAAR!

A massive beast made from shadow and flames with crimson eyes flashed for a moment before her. However, Freya's reaction was far from fear. In fact, she felt extremely happy. She recognized this beast, and when she gazed into those crimson eyes, her neck started heating up.

"My partner," Freya whispered, the dreamy look in her eyes and the seductive voice enchanting to anyone who might see and hear her.

Unable to contain her instinct and excitement, Freya dashed out of the room. The room was on the first floor and also the first one in the corridor. It didn't take long for Freya to turn right at the end of it, and the moment she did...

She was met with a long table filled with various foods and drinks. But what caught her attention was the people seated around the table.

"Hmm? Oh, Freya-dono, you're awake! Come join us," Kasumi was the first to notice Freya standing in the doorway. The other women turned to look at her as well.

"Finally, the wet dog awakens. Heheh," a teasing voice remarked.

"Scarlett!!" Freya growled, hearing Scarlett's voice suddenly reminded her of something.

"What? Oh, before I forget," Scarlett continued with a sly smile, "Congratulations on your wedding. I'm so happy for you; Aron is a good man."

"WHAT!" Freya, along with the other women, screamed in disbelief.

"Scarlett!! What do you mean by that?"

"Impossible!"

"I lost my chance NOO!"

"Wow! I didn't expect this reaction," Scarlett was stunned, seeing the fierce look on the women at the table. All of them, with no exception, were piercing her with their intense gazes.

Pethra, Kasumi, Elina, and surprisingly even Luna, the only one who didn't show much of a reaction, was Mia, and she was also the only one who didn't sit at the table; she kept standing at the right side of the chair at the head of the table.

"I…" Before Scarlett could explain or add more fuel to the fire, the sound of approaching footsteps diverted their attention.

"Morning, everyone…Hmm? Freya, you're finally awake," Aron greeted them with a warm smile as he came down the stairs. But when he and Freya's eyes met, both of them froze.

Badmp. Badmp.

Freya's heart raced, and her neck grew warmer. She lost track of time and her surroundings and kept gazing at Aron. Her blue eyes started to glow. However, something strange happened; her right eye, instead of her usual blue color, turned crimson, matching Aron's crimson eyes.

"..."

Seeing the awkward scene, the girls' cheeks slightly reddened, and they were able to lift their eyes off Aron and Freya.

"Cough…" Mia faked a cough, bringing the two from their world.

"Mister Aron, breakfast is ready."

"Ahem...Glad you're okay, Freya. Come join us. I bet you're starving," Aron quickly recovered.

"..." Freya didn't utter a word and began walking to an empty seat next to Scarlett. Her walk was awkward and funny at the same time, like a doll being controlled by someone.

'NO, No, this is bad, really bad. I'm losing control over myself,' Freya was freaking out. For a moment, she almost jumped at Aron, her werewolf instinct demanding it extremely hard.

Meanwhile, Aron took his place at the head of the table and inquired about the women's first night in the mansion. All of them expressed their delight at the comfortable beds, their first peaceful night's sleep in a long while.

As breakfast prepared by Mia was served, Aron turned his attention to Kasumi.

"Kasumi, it's time for you to start training the girls. I hope you haven't forgotten about it."

"!!!" Kasumi flinched and nearly choked on her food. Honestly, she hoped that Aron had forgotten about that, but apparently, he didn't.

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"Ahem…No, I didn't forget about it, Master."

"Good. There is an open space behind the mansion; use it," Aron instructed. He then addressed all the women at the table, "All of you are going to train, no exceptions."

"Even me?" Pethra raised her hand.

"Especially you."

"Huh?" Pethra was dumbfounded. "Why?"

However, Aron didn't answer her and gazed at his hand for a time.

"I need to train too."

After defeating many opponents, including the goblin champion, Josh and his party, and the Rats, Aron had grown a little overconfident in his powers, which was a dangerous mistake. His encounter with the Number 3 or Peaceful hand, reminded him that there are many strong and dangerous people out there.

Finishing breakfast, Aron informed the girls that he would be heading to the mercenary guild. Pethra suggested accompanying him, but Aron declined, stating that he needed some time alone.

Aron exchanged a meaningful glance with Scarlett before departing for his room. Scarlett understood his unspoken message and nodded in response.

Equipping his Dark-steel armor, Aron tried to grab his Greataxe. However, the axe suddenly moved away from him.

"Eh?" Aron blinked twice, he closed his eyes and sighed. "What's wrong with it?"

He approached it, trying to grab it, but again, the axe moved away from him. This kept happening over and over, with Aron chasing the black axe all over the room, making for an interesting scene for Raum, who was observing from the blue tree branch.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"The axe keeps running away from me."

"And do you know why?"

"I have no idea—" Aron was interrupted by a signal coming from Python, transmuting feelings of anger, sadness, and disappointment.

Aron opened his eyes in realization. "I see, it's because of the name."

"..." The greataxe stopped midair and instantly made her way to Aron, hitting him on the head.

"Ouch! Sorry, I forgot," Aron apologized, but the axe didn't accept it and continued hitting him on the head.

"Pfff…The mighty dragon Aron is getting beat up by his own weapon," Raum found the situation amusing and couldn't help but tease Aron.

"..." Vines bulged on Aron's head. He turned to Raum, and the moment he did, he took another hit on the head.

"Ughh! Not again…Nightfall, how about that? Your name will be Nightfall."

The greataxe stopped midair. Seconds later, she began hovering around Aron.

"Oh, you like the name, I see," Aron smiled, sensing Nightfall's happiness and forgiveness. With that out of the way, Aron asked the little raven to keep an eye on things. Raum was informed about what happened in the night, and he volunteered to watch the mansion since a bird would draw less attention.

Exiting the mansion, Aron took the road that leads to town. He wanted some time for himself, which is why he chose to walk on foot.

Around 15 minutes of walking, Aron stopped and raised his head to the sky. He took a deep breath before pulling something out of his pockets. A black ball.

Checking the system notification again.

[Analyzing completed]

[Item: @#$&#? Detected]

[Item: Memory core]

Yes, a memory core. According to the system analysis, it contained a memory as well as a hidden function. The function would be unlocked after seeing the memory.

Aron felt uneasy, something inside him urged him to throw this core and not look at the memory. The possibility of the memory being something that Aron didn't like or something that his past self wished to forget is high. After all, even if you lose your memory, the heart still knows and remembers the feeling.

This is why Aron wanted some time for himself; he didn't want to look at the memory inside the mansion, mainly out of fear of losing control if he saw something he didn't like.

[Do you wish to proceed?]

[Yes/No]

"Here we go," Aron took a deep breath and chose [Yes]

Instantly, his vision turned black as he felt his consciousness slipping away like he was being dragged by force.

Then Aron began to hear something. The sound was unrecognizable and seemed far away, but slowly the sound was getting closer and clearer.

Flap. Flap.

Wings. The sound of wings flapping in the air reached him, but when he looked up, he saw nothing. The environment was completely dark, but that didn't last long.

A vivid vision materialized before him—a red sky.

"Huh? Strange," Aron muttered. He sensed something on his back, and moreover, his body was heavier than normal. Even the wind—which is, by the way, for some reason, this vision is letting him feel everything as if it were real—was off.

Aron attempted to move his head but found that the vision restricted his control; he could only experience it as it played out.

After some time in the red sky, which Aron guessed that he was flying, for a moment he completely forgot what he was.

"I guess this is my dragon form? Too bad I can't see it," he was interested to see how big he was, and what color, and he learned from the girls that dragons are massive creatures, and their form is extremely beautiful and noble.

A scene came into view, a battle, a massive bloody battlefield, with thousands, no, millions of creatures fighting against a small group of people.

Aron could see them clearly from the sky. Most of the creatures were undead abominations and zombies of different types. He also saw strange-looking goblins, orcs, trolls, and some hideous-looking beasts with human arms and legs all over their bodies, and many more of that nature.

On the other side, Aron recognized them immediately. Humans were fighting alongside Elves, dwarves, beastmen, and two races that Aron recognized without seeing them before.

One race was human-like with two golden wings, long golden hair, and radiant eyes. The other had black feathered wings or bat-like with gray and red skin, plus horns on their heads.

"Angels and demons," Aron was surprised by seeing the two races fighting alongside each other, and he didn't know the reason why he felt this way.

However, his surprise was interrupted by him suddenly descending from the red sky.

He neared the chaotic battlefield, where the intensity of the conflict was palpable. The clash of steel, the roars of monsters, and the cries of the wounded filled the air.

When he got close to the hordes of beasts, the dragon unleashed his fiery breath. A torrent of scorching red flames erupted from his gaping maw, sweeping across the ranks of the undead and monstrous creatures with relentless fury. The flames incinerated everything in their path, reducing the enemies to ashes.

The soldiers on the ground cheered, seeing the dragon coming to their aid. His flames purified the dark forces that had threatened to overrun them, and hope was rekindled in their hearts.

The vision suddenly changed to the end of the battle, where a few of those beasts remained. However, out of nowhere, a thunderous roar came.

Another dragon appeared. Aron saw a colossal titan-sized black dragon, with massive wings and claws, two flaming crimson eyes. When Aron gazed at the dragon's eyes, his vision suddenly shifted to him, and now he was looking the other way around.

"Huh? What's the meaning of this?" Aron was confused.

He saw the exact same dragon standing in front of the soldiers. Immediately, the two black dragons flew into the red sky and began fighting each other.