Leaving the monster ant behind, I continued on my journey passing through the changed forest. My eyes kept scanning my surroundings for any signs of danger. The ground below was filled with all manners of creatures fighting for supremacy.

The strange thing, however, was the lack of presence in the sky. After my not-so-pleasant meeting with the harpies, I was half expecting my flight to be full of obstacles and monsters. Still, it was quite peaceful which was quite surprising.

Almost as if on cue, the sound of something cutting through the air was heard. As I was already on guard, I quickly spotted the spear rushing my way and easily dodged it. Although I had faith in the strength of my scales, I still did not want to risk anything.

My scales tingled as the spear passed by my side. I could sense a strange power enveloping it as a frown quickly made its way onto my face. My gaze turned downwards, only for my eyes to widen slightly in surprise.

"A human?" I mumbled in surprise.

The person standing below, staring at me was a human woman. She had long blonde hair and deep azure eyes. She donned a white shining armor, as a dangerous aura surrounded her. As I was still baffled by the appearance of a human in the astral plane, the spear that passed me turned mid-air and came rushing down.

I subconsciously used my mana to divert it to the side and sent it back to its owner. To my surprise, she extended her hand and effortlessly grabbed the long spear. Her gaze locked with mine for what seemed like an eternity.

'No, she's not a human. This aura ... A goddess?' At that sudden realization, my frown deepened as I glare at my assailant.

"What is a Goddess doing here? And what's the meaning of you attacking me?!" My voice rumbled from above.

The goddess didn't seem too surprised, however, as she simply continued staring at me, unblinking. With me in the sky, and her on the ground, both sides glared at each other, none making the first move.

After a while, the Goddess surprisingly spoke. Her voice was devoid of any hint of emotions, "What is a little dragon doing here? This is the Astral plane, not your world,"

"And neither is it the land of the Gods. So I can ask the same about you. And you still didn't answer me, why did you attack me?" I growled as water mana slowly surrounded me, causing my body to lightly glow with a blue hue.

Seeing that, the goddess' frown deepened. She suddenly exerted strength on her foot causing the ground to crack and a large crevice to appear, before abruptly launching herself in the air. Wielding her spear, the goddess aimed at my neck without saying a word.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

I hastily brought my claw, using water mana to reinforce it, and attempted to block her attack. Once her spear collided with my claw, however, water mana didn't seem to be able to handle the impact as I was sent flying to the ground.

A vast open area was created as my body knocked down a large number of trees. 'Shit, water mana isn't that good with defense. Should I switch to earth?' As I was thinking about such matters, the goddess came flying at me with her spear pointed at my head.

I subconsciously summoned a water pillar from below, in hopes of interrupting her attack. To my surprise, however, the goddess simply cut right through it, her spear glowing momentarily bright as she continued.

'Fuck! What sort of weapon is that?!' I inwardly complained about the unfairness of the situation.

My body though moved almost immediately. The split-second she used to cut the water pillar was what I needed. I instantly pounced on her with my jaw open and bit down at her head. She must have not expected me to suddenly attack, as the goddess was taken aback.

She didn't have enough time to move her spear to block. Still, she hastily stopped mid-air and narrowly avoided getting her head chopped off. Her left arm, however, wasn't so lucky.

Golden blood spurted as the goddess flew backward with a dark expression on her face. My mouth contorted into a savage grin as I relished the surprisingly good taste. I licked my lips and gulped down, all the while glaring at the goddess.

"So that's what a goddess taste like," I said in an attempt at provoking her.

The goddess simply frowned, and remained surprisingly calm. She glanced at her missing left arm and moved her right hand over it. Soon, her hand glowed brightly as her missing limb quickly regenerated.

Though, part of her armor was ruined. It wasn't surprising that I managed to cut through it since I coated my teeth with mana. Still, I had no idea how to take down a deity. Did they have a weak spot? 'Of course, they do. Everyone and everything has a weak spot. Though the question would be, where exactly?'

With that in my mind, I slowly circled the goddess. My gaze studied her every movement, careful should she make another move. "The little dragon bites back," She said, to which I simply chuckled.

"I wonder, would you would survive if I eat you whole?" I said, to which she rolled her eyes before replying.

"That arrogance. Just what I'd expect from a dragon."

With that, both of us pounced at each other almost simultaneously. I first sent a few ice spears trying to throw her off, yet she handled them with ease haking her way towards me. Just as I was about to meet her with a claw to the face, her azure eyes suddenly widened emitting a blinding light that forced me to avert my gaze for a split second.

The pain quickly followed as a large gash opened on my left side. I growled as I turned to face the goddess who brought her spear to her mouth and licked my blood off.

"So this is what a dragon tastes like."

"Oh, you bitch!" I gave a savage grin as I willed my water mana to close my wound.

"Come little dragon. Show me the strength of you so-called chosen ones!"

I didn't bother replying as I launched myself at her. The goddess's body began to glow as she stood her ground and pointed her spear at me. Using water mana, I chopped at the air before reaching her sending out a ranged attack of a water dragon claw.

The ground was torn as claw marks were left behind. The goddess's eyes glowed as she decisively sliced at my attack, causing a big boom to follow.

'Ah, shit. This is going to take a while."