While everyone else who swore to fight Dragon Storm along side Miko was fighting for their lives and overcoming personal hurdles, there was one person who was exempt from that hellish activity. This person was none other than Alec Dragna.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been here.”

He said while walking on a highway. This highway connected Jara Jungle with the rest of Renacido. The highway was busy with vehicles and people moving between the jungle and the mainland. Most of these vehicles were involved in construction.

“Looks like she’s really keeping herself busy, despite not receiving any orders from Miko in a while. Or maybe it’s because of the lack of orders she’s so motivated.”

Alec smiled.

“As I thought, I really can’t help but find people interesting.”

He crossed the highway pretty quickly despite taking his time. He was now standing in front of a sign that said that construction was up ahead.

“Hey, Vert.”

He called out to a gnome who was walking with a stack of plywood.

“Huh? Do I know you?”

“Nope. This is our first time meeting.”

“Then how do you know my name?”

“I know the names of all of the residents of Jara, but that’s not important. Where is Layla Song?”

“Boss Lady, isn’t here right now.”

“It’s good that you’re on your guard after what happened, but look closely. I’m a member of the Dragna clan.”

“She’s not here.”

“…..”

Alec smiled. Even a simple worker would try to protect Layla in his own way.

“I guess that’s a reflection of her leadership skills.”

“Did you say something?”

“Nope.”

Alec shook his head and then place his hand on his hip.

“I guess I’ll have to fine her myself.”

His eyes flickered between blue and scarlet.

“I picked up her heat reading a few miles away from here.”

He patted the dwarf’s back.

“I hope you can remain loyal in the future.”

Before the dwarf could respond Alec disappeared in a flash of scarlet light.

At the same time, Layla was in the center of the jungle talking with the leaders of the Jara Residents. That’s when an alert popped up on her communicator.

“A mysterious scarlet light is moving towards us?”

*BAM!*

She heard a loud sound and calmly turned around. There she saw her bodyguards, the former guardians of Jara holding down someone while Oden was pointing a gun at them.

“Well, it looks like you guys have improved a lot.”

Alec said while being stepped on by Aiden.

“Alec?”

When they saw who it was, the guardians got off Alec and even helped him up.

“Sorry about that.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s great to see you all so alert.”

Alec smiled while dusting off himself.

“So it looks like you all are busy.”

He looked at the jungle that was mostly burnt down.

“I saw a few new houses being built on my way here. Are you guys perhaps building a town?”

“A city actually. The leaders and I talked about it and decided to build a city on Jara’s ashes. One that caters to all beasts.”

“Oh? Without Miko’s approval?”

“He’s busy with other things. As his partner, I’m acting on his behalf. I believe we share the same vision for Renacido.”

“What a bold thing to say.”

Alec chuckled a bit.

“Well, I think he’ll be pleased.”

“Why did you come here, Alec? Were you searching for me?”

“Yup. I’m here to relay a message from Miko who is currently in a hellish training himself.”

“A message?”

“It’s an order actually.”

Layla’s eyes lit up. This didn’t escape Alec’s eyes.

“What does he want me to do?”

“It’s something very important. He wants you to find Dragon Storm.”

Layla paused for a bit before a big grin appeared on her face.

“You look happy. Is it because Miko hasn’t given up on you?”

Alec asked with a sly smile.

“You felt guilty because you believed everything only happened because you didn’t inform Miko from the start, right? What made it worse was that Miko has yet to come see you since he woke up. You thought he lost faith in you and to restore that faith you chose work hard to clean up the mess you caused. That’s why him giving you a mission and one concerning Dragon Storm makes you happy. It shows that Miko still believes in you.”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“…I see why Miko warned me about you.”

“Huh? Miko did?”

Alec looked bothered.

“Hey, what did he say?”

Layla turned her back to Alec and started to think to herself.

(This is my chance. If I find their base then we can get our revenge. We might also be able to get back our citizens they stole.)

“Hey, what did Miko say?”

Alec started circling around Layla.

“He just said you sometimes see people as specimens to observe rather than people.”

“That’s….Ok, that’s true. But I’m not a shady person.”

“Yeah….”

Layla didn’t really seem to care. She was too busy thinking how she should go about finding Dragon Storm.

“I have an idea how to find them. It’s something Miko thought up and shared with me. If you want-”

“We’ll find them ourselves.”

Layla cut Alec off.

“This is a mission Miko gave us. We’ll accomplish it with our own strength.”

Alec looked at her determined expression and smiled.

“Alright. Make Miko proud.”

*******

Let’s talk about origins for a bit. There’s a famous saying that states one’s future is determined by their past. This could also mean that one’s origins is what decides their life. Whether this is true or not is dependent on the person. That being said, it is true your origin plays a big part in your future. For example, the origin of the group known as Dragon Storm.

Dragon Storm came about over 1000 years ago when a pair of orphaned siblings created a gang to ensure their survival in their country. These siblings were descendants of Shenlong, but they weren’t able to enjoy his prestige like the rest. These two became stronger after fighting for their lives over and over again. Eventually, the number of those following them increased and they gradually became recognized as a powerful group in their country. Through the generations, it has built itself up from the ground up until they gained international recognition. Their rise in power followed their founders’ origins and principles.

“Be proud like a dragon and as forceful as a storm. Crave your own path without care for the world.”

For years, Dragon Storm has shown the world they were a ferocious group that shouldn’t be underestimated, and that stands until today.

Somewhere in the world, the executive members of Dragon Storm were gathered together. In the room, there were 4 people each sitting on one side of a table.

“So the young master wants to us to prepare for war against the Dragna Empire? How bold.”

One of the executives laughed.

He was a slim built elderly man with a long goatee and mustache, which he rubbed while laughing. He was dressed in a Changshan with white leopard markings on it.

“Old Man Xue Bao, it’s because you’re like that why the Young Master believes he can do as he likes.”

A woman with a claw scar across her face and was dressed in a black Chinese dress, retorted the old man.

“The Young Master do as he pleases because that’s the behavior fitting of a king, Xiao Zhi.”

The old man countered.

“It doesn’t matter. Orders are orders. We’ll just crush our enemies like usual.”

A muscular man with a brown lumberjack bread and a bald head added. He was dressed in casual clothing of a tank top and jeans.

“You don’t understand the scale of this upcoming battle, Kane.”

Said the woman.

“There’s nothing to understand. The strong will win and the weak will become food. That’s it.”

Kane looked at the final person.

“Isn’t that right, Lord Fang?”

The final person had a muscular yet lean build. He was dressed in a suit and hat to match. He had azure hair and eyes that looked more like a beast’s than human’s. This man was Fang Xian, Tang’s father and former leader of Dragon Storm. He’s notoriously known across the globe as the Bloody Fang. A Divine Level warrior.

“Hm….Tang picking a fight with the Dragna Clan may seem insane, but if you look back on our history haven’t we’ve done countless insane acts only to grow from them? So Kane is right. We just need to crush our enemies like always.”

His voice was powerful and commanding.

“Besides, I have faith in my son. He can be a little whimsical but he knows what he’s doing. As proof of this we’ve made a lot of money from the Parasite Demons we sold and that drug we stole.”

He added.

“Tang is a true leader. It’s too bad that he can be a little weird at times.”

“I agree with that.”

Xiao Zhi nodded in agreement.

“But is the Dragna Clan our only enemy? Didn’t the Young Master also get into altercations with the crown prince of Vritra and the heir of the Black Bone Tribe? They’re allies, so what if they team up to get revenge?”

“If it comes to that then what we need to do hasn’t changed. Only thing that has changed is the number of heads we have to roll.”

Fang stated.

“Either way, it looks like we have a huge battle on the horizon. That Miko kid also got into altercations with the same boys you mentioned, so a battle royal is possible.”

“A battle royal huh? How exciting. It’s getting my blood pumping.”

Xue Bao laughed.

“Speaking of exciting, I heard the Young Master is retraining himself.”

“Yes. He’s preparing himself for his battle with that Miko kid.”

“Even though he already beat him?”

“That’s how much of an impression he left on Tang. Despite barely receiving any injuries, Tang never said their fight was an easy one. He must’ve seen the potential hidden inside him.”

“Potential, huh? Well, he does have a monster inside him.”

Kane said. They’ve all seen the reports of the day Miko turned into a Satan. They knew what he could do but they also knew that it wasn’t something he could control. Even so, a monster was a monster, especially an uncontrollable one.

“Now then…”

Xue Bao stood up.

“I guess I should go help the Young Master with his training. I am his master after all.”

“What kind of training is he doing by himself, Teacher?”

Fang asked. Xue Bao smiled.

“Image Training.”

Not too far away from where they were having their meeting, Tang was standing on a green field by himself with his eyes closed.

“…….”

He stood there in silence as the wind blew on him. His breathing was calm and steady. After a while, he slowly opened his eyes. Standing in front of him was a boy with girlish features with hair and eyes like his own, and was holding two swords. This person was Miko.

“……”

Tang silently took a fighting pose. The moment he did, Miko moved and swung his swords at Tang’s neck and legs. Tang moved back with a small leap. He moved forward and thrust out his palm.

*Bam!*

Tang’s palm was blocked by Miko crossing his swords in front of him. He had to leaned back to avoid getting kick in the chin. The two swords cut down towards him while his back was bent. He put power in his legs and pushed off the ground in a reverse dive. He rolled on the ground and then got to his feet. As he expected, Miko was already attacking him again. He avoided his slashes with minimal movements. He thrust his hand out when he saw the opening and touched Miko’s chest.

He gently twisted his hand on Miko’s chest.

*Bam!*

A twisting force traveled through Miko’s body and burst out his back creating a hole in his shirt.

“Cough?!”

Miko throw up and mouthful of blood and froze in place.

“?!”

Tang then saw him clenched his teeth.

*Swoosh!”

Tang saw a flash of green and azure and then felt heat coming from his chest. Blood sprayed out from his chest. He looked down and saw a X-shaped wound.

“Ah!”

*Bam!* *Bam!* *Bam!*

Tang started raining a barrage of palm strikes on Miko’s body causing his body to jerk continuously. He then slammed both palms on his chest and blew him back, leaving 2 inch-deep handprints on his chest. Miko’s body fell on the ground and no longer moved.

“Hah~! Hah~! Hah~!”

Tang stood there breathing heavily. He then turned his back to Miko and started to walk away.

*Stab!*

He suddenly felt a stabbing pain and saw two blades sticking out of his chest. He turned and saw Miko on the ground with a bloody smile. His eyes then became dull and his breathing stopped. Tang opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out.

*Thud!*

He collapsed with the swords still stuck in him and then bled to death.

“Young Master.”

Hearing a familiar voice, Tang opened his eyes. He turned around and saw Xue Bao walking towards him.

“Teacher.”

Tang greeted the old man with a bow.

“How was it, your image training?”

“Well, it was a draw with both of us dying.”

Tang said with a bitter smile.

“What type of fight did you imagine?”

“A normal fight without magic or Vita. Just fists and swords.”

“And you drew? Was he your equal in combat?”

“No, the one in my image training was my image of him after he trains himself. I believe he’ll be at least thrice as strong as when we first fought.”

“Oh? So you’re incorporating his potential growth. Impressive.”

Xue Bao praised.

“What other kind of battles did you imagine?”

“Magic ones, ones with only Vita, ones where we only use our dragon abilities…”

“What about the two of you going all out?”

“I can’t imagine that.”

“Why?”

“Because I can’t prediction how much stronger he’ll become and what kind of techniques he’ll learn.”

“It’s seems Young Master Fang was right. This boy has left a deep impression on you.”

Xue Bao grinned.

“Very well, I’ll be your sparring partner. If you can’t predict how he’ll grow then you just then to ensure you’re always ahead.”

“Thank you, Teacher.”

Tang took a fighting stance.

“I’ll be sure to be strong enough to take Miko on no matter how he grows.”