Chapter 77 - Stare Down

Arga had the same look I did, she seemed just as worried. That dragon—her brother—just said they were about to leave. Did he plan on taking her away, just like that?!

My heart was racing, beating faster with each passing moment. I stepped forward hoping I’d make it in time to intervene but it seemed that I didn’t have to.

“I don’t want to.”

Her voice was next to silent, her words choked behind a tear.

The dragon’s compassionate eyes were erased and turned cold.

“What do you mean?” he inquired.

Alice kept her head down, she couldn't even bring herself to look up at him. I get it, he went beyond intimidating, he was downright scary, but it was something else. She didn’t look afraid of him, she looked afraid to speak her mind.

It was the same expression she wore when she met Mister Ed and the rest of Heavens Gate arrived. That look that the crimson dragon gave her brought her back to that state.

It was killing me that I couldn't help her; that I couldn't stand up for her. Even if I decided to go over there and say something it wouldn’t be right, it wasn’t my place too… I knew it was selfish of me to think but—I just hoped she wouldn’t go with them, not just yet!

I clenched my fists into a tight ball, squeezed so tightly that my hands shook. Just looking at Alice made me feel nervous like all the anxiety I could see coming off of her was flooding into me.

Her lip trembled almost as relentlessly as her legs, she must have been seriously nervous to be that fidgety. I expected her to cave and go along with what he said. I didn’t want to believe that that would be the case, that we would lose her so soon.

The crimson dragon's stare was enough to make any person afraid, even an adventurer like me. For Alice who was right at the brunt of that glare, I couldn't imagine what was going through her head.

“…I said no.” She uttered once more.

My eyes jolted wide open in disbelief.

The crimson dragon went with a more subtle response. His glare turned sharper, almost cold.

“What do you mean no?” He repeated with an even scarier voice.

It seemed to even affect the blue dragon beside them, just hearing that voice put him on edge as well. The smaller dragon flinched at the sound of his brother’s scary tone.

Alice raised her head but there was no sign of backing down. She was still a little teary-eyed from the nerves but her wriggly frown stayed determined. She looked ready to fall apart—just barely keeping it together—but she stood her ground.

Alice forced her mouth straight and arched her eyebrows, she pulled off a pretty intimidating look. I was impressed, I didn’t think she had it in her. I was proud and happy but the only thing that raced through my mind was, ‘way to go!’

The crimson dragon that hovered over her didn’t seem as pleased by her burst of courage it seemed the opposite. He looked ready to scorch the earth and lay waste to all life in the area. A hefty red aura surrounded him, his eyes lit up with a fierce green glow.

It was the scorn of a dragon—a real dragon.

I wanted to rush in there and help her but my body couldn't move…I cursed my cowardice.

My hand froze at my side and refused to cooperate with me. Sweat began to roll off the sides of my head like liquid marbles escaping my skin. Not a single inch of my body wanted to help.

Alice didn’t back down even though her face turned as pale as a ghost. If it were me in her place I wouldn’t have been able to stand, nonetheless stare him back in the eye.

She lowered her head for a second and started with a whisper. “Brother…” her head shot back up with all the fear erased from her face, “I won’t leave my friends behind!!” she screamed.

I didn’t recognise the Alice yelling like that, she looked like a completely different person. It was still her but…confident. It was the part of her that I felt was missing, her real voice.

The red aura of the dragon dissipated and with it, the pressure he brought. His long neck rose back up into the air, his horns aimed towards the sky as if they were pointing upwards. Two large horns with a slight curve hung just off the sides of his cheeks, both glimmered the same brilliant glory that his scarlet scales did.

Each scale illuminated a bright red glimmer that lit up the air around him. A subtle flame wrapped itself around his body like a sheet until he was completely engulfed. The dragon beneath its lively flame became completely hidden—it was a mesmerising sight, to say the least.

The flames circled over his body into a large ball of scarlet fire, at its centre was the dragon. The confused mutters and murmuring all harmonised into a cold dead silence once the ball shrunk.

Suddenly all the flames surrounding that double-story, house-sized dragon had shrunk into one no larger than an average person. The rotating mass of scarlet stopped with an abrupt halt and vanished into a scatter of embers and loose flames.

What was left, was a man. His hair was a deep crimson much brighter than any other I had ever seen, almost as if it were bursting into flames at every moment. Green eyes, both as sharp as a warrior’s dagger and a masculine face to pull it all off.

He was dressed in robes with a similar kimono style to what Alice wore, it wasn’t quite as outlandish in design as hers was but it seemed elegant—definitely royalty—the baggy sleeves and long hanging ends didn’t seem very efficient for fighting though.

“Rei, take a look. See what’s on his head?” Arga pointed towards the man surrounded by embers.

Two large horns similar to the ones on the crimson dragon sat on the sides of his head. It was a perfect match, down to every detail.

I took a large gulp before replying.

“Yeah… Looks like Alice isn't the only one able to look human.”