Arad sat beside Isdis, staring at her with a stern face. Something kept boiling inside his head, and it never seemed to calm. Killing those assassins only fuelled his rage further. They were hired to do the job, but the one hiring them was still out there.

Thud! Gojo smacked Arad’s head with a chop, “Still angry? Dragon’s rage isn’t that easy to deal with.”

Arad stared back at him, sighting, “Do you know anything?”

“Nothing about the attack, but I can help you deal with rage. It isn’t healthy for a dragon to remain angry for long. That’s how kingdoms get burned to the ground.”

“Did he calm down?” An old hag approached them, a red mark still on the side of her face.

“Still angry,” Gojo replied, “The one after the attack is alive. So he can’t get the rage to fade away.” He looked at her.

“Our leads are all dead?” The old lady looked around, “It was a rash decision to kill all the assassins.”

Gojo stared at her, “What would a chromatic do?”

“Burn the whole capital and nearby villages,” The old lady replied, “But we metallic try to rightfully hunt and judge the mastermind.”

“We aren’t metallic,” Gojo stared at her with a smile, “You’re already asking too much of him not to burn the city. All dragons have anger issues, most more severe than the others.” He looked at Arad, “He’s far more in control than I was,”

“You raged before?” Arad asked.

“Several times,” Gojo replied with a smile, “The last one was with Vars. I erased him with those.” He pointed at the burned mountains, “Do you know how many lives were there? Animals or adventurers? I don’t know since I didn’t check. I just blasted him away.”

“He at least checked first and only killed those responsible.” The old lady stared at Arad.

Thud! Gojo tapped Arad’s shoulder. “I will take care of everything here. You go to the forest, build a temporary lair, and gather minions. There are plenty of monsters and bandits to enslave. Amass power and track the one who hired the assassins to kill Isdis. You will only calm down when they are dead.”

“There is no need for that,” The old lady stared at Gojo. “Judgment will be served. He should wait for the city to investigate and find the one behind it. We’ll eventually get them. It’s not like we dragons don’t have enough time to wait.”

“You should know that we don’t wait for our rage out. Arad would snap again before they could find the culprit. And let me tell you,” Gojo pointed at the city, “They have enough to deal with now. An investigation might not start until months later.”

“I will find whoever did this,” Arad stood, “I’m a druid. It won’t take long,”

Arad shifted into his draconic form and flew into the forest.

“I hope he doesn’t go overboard,” The old hag sighed, walking away.

“Dragons always go overboard. What else could humans expect from trying to kill the wife of an apex predator besides blood?” Gojo stared at the old lady, “Don’t get in the way, metallic. I will not stand for anyone getting in my brother’s way.”

“You better not drag the whole city into this,” The old hag glared back at Gojo, her eyes glowing green.

“Show scary, show scary,” Gojo looked back at her with a smile, “I’m shivering,”

“About Arad,” Aella stared at Gojo, “Will he be fine?” She asked.

“He will be fine. Just let him vent his rage first. Kill whoever tried to assassinate Isdis.” He stood, “He isn’t just angry, he’s scared.” Gojo said, looking at the sky.

“Scared of what? He’s a dragon,” Aella looked at Gojo.

Zephyr emerged from her head, “He’s afraid this is going to happen again.” She sighed, “Each second, he can’t help but imagine all of his wives dying in the same way. As long as the main threads remain alive, he can’t rest.”

“We’re weird creatures, aren’t we?” Gojo stood, walking toward the castle, “WE cook up hundreds if not thousands of plans for one thing, making sure everything goes down as we want. All to fight our fear of losing our wealth, life, and freedom.” He looked back, “I give Arad a week. Whoever did this would know the horror of being chased by a dragon to the end of the world.”

“Won’t it be against that purpose to leave us alone?” Aella stared at Gojo.

“He didn’t leave you alone. I’m here after all.” Gojo replied with a smile, “My eyes are on all of you until he comes back,”

****

FLAP! FLAP! FLAP! CRACK! Arad landed in the forest, shaking the trees. The animals and monsters around him froze in place, knowing that he would come after them if they ran away. Dragons were like big cats. Running in front of them means you’re a prey.

Arad turned his head, staring at the side to see three goblins standing in place, sweating as he approached them. He could sense it from them. Terror. “Zoho, Vagin dil moris?” Arad growled, and the goblins started shaking, “Daros vim Ohz Sarih!” He approached them.

They can’t understand draconic, yet they understand his words. “Ants, you aren’t alone. Where is your lair?”

One of the goblins turned toward Arad, “What do you want from us? We aren’t worth eating,”

Arad’s eyes stared at them, glowing with a horrifying intellect. Those goblins spoke a different tongue than the one at his lair, but it was similar enough for him to pick up on its meaning. “I seek servants, one who would patrol the forest and report on any humanoid passing by. Arad glared at them. GO!”

The goblins ran away as fast as they could, rushing back to their nest. A dragon appeared in the forest, a new Alpha predator. If they don’t serve him. They will end up on his dinner list.

FLAP! Arad lifted his wings, “Birds of the sky, gather!” He roared, and flocks of ravens, sparrows, eagles, and pigeons flew in, all landing on the trees, heeding the call of the druid dragon.

“Be my eyes, survive the city.” His magic extended to all the birds as he did to the rats before, sending them back to the capital as he looked for a cave to set base.

Arad walked through the forest, making sure to order every animal or monster on his way. In less than two hours, his mind was already flooding with visual information from all the animals he linked with, looking and hearing through their senses.

He stopped, sensing several humans on the other side of the forest. He lowered his body and started approaching them, skulking like a cat of prey.

Dragons are adept at hunting on the ground as well as they are in the air. The soft tissue padding on the palm of their claws resembled that of a cat’s paws, silencing their footsteps. They use their tail for balance while making sharp turns, and use the extreme power of their wing muscles when jumping at their prey for a finishing bite with their powerful jaws.

Arad lacked only one thing adult dragons have, the ability to camouflage themselves like lizards.

Some humans had the misconception that most dragons are loud, and always come roaring. That couldn’t be further from the truth, as dragons are practically silent and invisible when hunting. They are like tigers, solitary ambush predators.

On the other side of the forest, bandits were setting their camp, getting ready for the night.

“Boss, should we really get close? The undead just disappeared.” One of them said with a worried face.

“You fool, we’re stealing everything of value we find in the rubble. It’s our golden chance,” The boss replied, glaring at the man, “Anyway, you’re always…” The boss saw his men’s faces twist, their knees shaking as they backed away from him.

“I’m not that scary, am I?”…One of his men pointed back, and the boss turned to see Arad standing behind him, a massive black dragon glaring down at him.

“Who’s the boss here?” Arad asked.

“Me…” CRACK! The boss spoke, but Arad bit him in half immediately. “I’m the boss now,” He glared at the bandits, “Any objections?”

“You!” One of the bandits growled, but Arad swatted him like a fly, “No more challengers?” The bandits stared at their friend’s corpse, crushed on a tree like a fly on the wall.

“No,” One of them said, looking at Arad, “No other challengers, you’re the boss.”

“Form an assassin guild, go to the capital, and spread words,” Arad said, “You shouldn’t have any competition. Find clients, and report back to me.”

“Anything we need to know?” One of them asked, carefully picking his words so as to not offend the dragon.

“Mention my presence, and you’re all dead. Run, and you’re dead. Fail to get clients, and you’re dead. Waste time, and you’re dead. I feel you’re trying to trick me, and you’re dead. Go!” Arad growled, and the bandits immediately headed toward the city in horror.

Whoever sent the assassins the first time, he never gave up even when Arad killed them night after another. These times won’t be different, they would look for another killer to do their dirty job.

The moment someone seeks assassins to kill Isdis, they are directly contacting Arad’s servants.

Arad retreated to a cave and lay down, observing everything he set. The birds and small animals fly across the city as scouts, listening to anyone speaking about the assassination.

The monsters surround the city to inspect everyone coming in and out, seeking hired foreign assassins or running nobles.

Humans would take too long to investigate the assassination, they lack resources and leads. A dragon has his own way of doing things.