No matter how loud Henry pleaded in his head for Nadea’s intervention, no divine aid came for him. With the altercation before him, his time in the modern world was slowly beginning to feel like a vacation. While the turmoil continued to brew within his heart, the bickering and quarrel between women grew ever fiercer until Sarynn snarled at the others with her fangs bared.

  Vira drew her katana-like sword and rushed beside Rinea. Yu stumbled backwards in terror and raised tendrils of shadows in response to Sarynn’s hostility. Though the Augrus weren’t included in Sarynn’s dispy of hostility, they were still intimidated and they assumed their combat stances.

  Alright, that’s it. Fuck being nice.

  Henry stomped his foot hard and loud, shaking the earth and drawing everyone’s attention. He scoured the gazes he reeled with his immense dispy of strength. Everyone stared at him with bated breaths, including Sarynn. For once, her smugness was nowhere to be seen. She was prudent enough to know now was not the appropriate time to be smug about anything.

  “H-Henry?” Rinea called out, treading forward.

  But she was pulled back by Vira. “Princess, don’t.”

  “All of you here are trespassing on my abode, my territory. For the sake of our future acquaintances, leave now on your own accord before I am forced to take the appropriate measures.”

  “My lord.” Eria stepped forward and knelt before Henry. “Forgive our impudence but we came here to—”

  “I don’t care what you came here for,” Henry cut her off. A small patch of darkness enveloped a few parts of his body. “Unless it has something to do with Demons, I strongly encourage you, all of you, to leave my sight and my territory now.”

  “But my lord, it isn’t about Demons, but it is—”

  “Then deal with it as you would as if I had not existed. Do not treat me as a convenient means to solve your problems. We are not friends.”

  Henry’s words stunned the Augru’s warchief into silence and she lowered her head.

  The Princess of Kivu was about to make her case but she was shut down by a sidelong gre from Henry. Her shoulders quivered from being stared at intensely by Henry.

  “As you will, Lord Dragon,” Eria said with a bow and took her leave with her companions. They left without any further compints or rebuttal.

  Princess Rinea was a bit hesitant about leaving. She was gradually becoming more and more accustomed to Henry’s unwelcoming gre. Hearts were forming in her eyes as she started trembling with excitement from Henry’s gre. It took some persuasion from her guard before she was willing to disappear out of sight.

  Sarynn was the st to leave. “I have offended you, Henry. I apologise,” she said.

  “You bared your fangs against my mate. Do that again and I’ll have your fangs.”

  “Your lenience has been gratefully noted, dear husband of mine.”

  The dark patches on Henry grew. “For the st time, I am not your husband.”

  “Not yet.” Sarynn left such daring words and slithered into the trees, disappearing from sight.

  “What an unpleasant bunch of acquaintances,” Yu grumbled with her arms crossed once all the unwelcome guests had left. “They just strut right into your home and still have the galls to snap back. Is it always like this?”

  “No,” Henry answered promptly. “Thankfully.”

  “So they took advantage of the fact that you weren’t home to intrude upon your abode?”

  “It would appear so.”

  “Now this is concerning but the fault doesn’t lie completely with them. You haven’t exactly drawn a clear line between your abode and territory. They’re no animals. I don’t think piss and shit would deter them. Where are the walls and fences?”

  “Never needed one.”

  “Considering what just happened, you definitely need one.”

  “But do you know how to make fences and walls?”

  “No…” she admitted. “But I can try. I have these babies,” she said and twirled her shadow tendrils around.

  “I have the strength and you have the precision. Maybe we could build something out of all these abundant resources around us.”

  “Maybe, but first—” Yu skipped towards the entrance of the cave. “I have yet to take a look inside your cave, Henry.”

  “Ah, Yu. I—” Henry wasn’t fast enough with his words as Yu had already merrily skipped into the cave.

  “Whoa…” she gasped. “This is nice.”

  Henry was confused over Yu’s strange remark of awe but he quickly came to an understanding when he peered into his cave. Much like the outside, the interior had also received huge outstanding changes in design. The filth, trash, and excrement had all been cleaned and cleared away. The walls were carved and polished with engravings that seemed to tell a meaningful tale. There was furniture present, such as beds and benches. They were all carved out of rocks and boulders. There were also baskets aligned in a straight single file, crafted out of branches.

  “I’m guessing you didn’t do any of these?” Yu asked.

  “Certainly not. Though I wish I had. But as, such expertise is out of my field. I don’t think I even have a field.”

  “Who do you think did all of these?”

  “No idea but I hope whoever did this won't come asking for payment.”

  “They might be trying to garner your favour.”

  “They certainly have but unfortunately, the favour is voided by the fact that they trespassed on my territory, my home, and made changes to it without my say-so. If I were any less humane, I would have hunted them down like the beast I could have been. But at least they did make my abode look nice. Perhaps I was too harsh with them.”

  “Nonsense. Nice or not, it's not their call. They don't get to intrude upon your home willy-nilly.” Yu giggled and cast an amorous gnce at Henry. “Hey… do you remember our bet, Henry?”

  Henry clicked his tongue. “Yes, I do, but does this even count?”

  She tittered. “Of course, it does.”

  “Fine.” Henry sighed. “What are your wishes, midy?”

  “Hmm… Turn back into your human form for starters?” Yu said after a short mulling as she propped herself onto a bench.

  “Huh… How do I do that again?” Henry asked no one in particur with his head tilted. It had come so naturally when he was in the other world but now that he was back in Ulrum, the feeling was different. It no longer felt as easy as it had been. Nevertheless, he recalled the moments he was in his human form. He reached out and touched the feeling of those times. He strained his mind to imagine how it felt when he was in his human form.

  “Oh?” Yu muttered.

  Vermilion bright lights appeared around Henry and they enveloped his whole body.

  “Consider this your reward for a mission well done,” these words rang out inside his head.

  Henry’s form began to morph, gradually taking the shape and appearance of a human. The familiar and tedious feeling returned to his senses, the inferiority of a human’s body. However, it felt worse than he remembered. He felt light but his bance was worse than before. His strength felt way lighter than it already was.

  When the bright lights had faded, Henry found himself canting his head upwards to look at Yu.

  When did she grow so tall?

  Henry blinked in confusion as he questioned himself in his heart.

  Yu’s eyes widened and they were glittering with joy and excitement. “Oh, my, Henry. How adorable you have become!” she squealed gleefully, gazing down at him.

  Wait… She did not grow tall, did she?

  The realisation struck Henry. He immediately looked down and inspected his hands, torso, and legs. They were slightly shorter, a bit tinier, and a tad puffier than he remembered. His limbs and torso did not look like they belonged to a full-grown adult but someone nearing adult hood.

  What. The. Fuck?

  A voice inside his head burst out ughing and the ughter echoed into the head of Yu, who joined in the ughter. Together, they ughed to their hearts’ content until tears were dripping from Yu’s eyes.

  “Why am I a kid now?!” Henry roared. Even his voice sounded high pitch, nothing like the deep and commanding voice he had then.

  “A teenager, to be precise,” Nadea answered calmly despite how hard she was ughing a second ago. “In the years of Dragons, you are but only an adolescent.”

  “But I was an adult in that reeking world.”

  “I gave you an adult body because you can’t possibly be roaming around a modern city as a teenager without adult supervision. Your actions would have been severely hindered. But fret not, you'll acquire that appearance again in due time.”

  “What a load of bull,” Henry growled. "And now you're talking to me! Where were you back then!?"

  Nadea whistled nonchantly in response.

  “It’s not all bad,” Yu said with a chuckle. She picked him up with ease and sat him on her p. She wrapped her arms around his small stature and pressed him deep into her bosom. “I always wanted to do this but you were just too big for me to embrace you fully.”

  “I’m suffocating here!” Henry shouted as he tapped Yu’s back briskly.

  Yu eventually loosened her embrace and released Henry’s face from her voluminous bosom.

  Henry poked his head out with a loud gasp. “Are you trying to kill me?”

  “Oh, you drama queen. As if you can be killed so easily.”

  “I still need to breathe.”

  “Really? I didn’t have that impression considering you seem to have fuck me without the need to take a breather. You wouldn’t have stopped if I hadn’t begged you to.”

  Henry rolled his eyes. “You’re using that against me?”

  Yu chuckled ecstatically and pinched Henry’s cheeks. “Gosh, you’re so adorable.”

  Henry easily swatted her hands away.

  “Ow!” she yelped. “That hurts.”

  “Sorry,” Henry apologised immediately. “Huh. It seems my strength wasn’t reduced as greatly as before. Why is it so?”

  “Because you’re in Ulrum,” Nadea answered. “I see no need to inhibit your strength here more than it already has been.”

  Henry hopped off Yu’s p and trotted up a stone chair. He thrust his foot out and the entire chair exploded into pieces. The debris flew towards Yu but she covered herself in her shadows.

  “Hey, a little warning would have been nice!”

  “Sorry,” Henry said and resumed his inspection of the destruction he had just wrought. The stone chair was completely destroyed. The remnants gave no indication of what it might have been when it was whole. Henry couldn’t help but whistle in awe over his strength. What really caught his interest was the scent he was exuding. Or more precisely, the ck of his Dragon’s scent. He smelled just like a human for the majority. One would need to have an extremely sharp sense of smell to make out the Dragon part of him.

  “Are you sniffing yourself?” Yu questioned.

  “You know what? This actually might be good. No one’s gonna suspect what a child would be capable of.”

  “What are you saying?” Yu asked, casting a worried gnce at him.

  “This form not only masks my appearance but also my scent. There will be annoying foes out there who shirk from my Dragon form, making it difficult to dispose of them. But if it’s this form, I can lure them close and strike when they least expect it.”

  “Should I be concerned?”

  “Only if you’re my enemy?”

  “Am I?” she asked, coyly.

  Henry stroked her cheek. “Only in bed.”

  Yu chortled. “This is so weird. You’re a kid but your demeanour and words are that of an adult’s. It feels like I’m committing a crime here.”

  “We ain’t back on Earth, Yu. The only w that applies here is survival of the fittest. Might makes right in these parts. Better cast away those petty moralities before you get hurt.”

  Yu smiled mencholically. “Speaking from experience?”

  Henry shrugged. “You can say that.” The memory of him being ensved and enthralled was still evident in his mind. His ensvement was a result of him deciding to give a clearly suspicious individual the benefit of the doubt out of the courtesy of his human side. That blunder of his nearly let him to an untimely demise or worse, an eternal fate of sving.

  “Hey, it’s alright now,” Yu whispered as she embraced Henry from behind. She didn’t press him hard into her bosom this time. She let her enormous mounds gently touch him.

  “Things will only get harder from here on.”

  “I know,” she said, rubbing her cheeks against the back of his head.

  “We need to get stronger and reinforce our home.”

  “Our home…” Yu repeated those words with silent glee.

  “But first, we need to hunt for supper,” he said, pried himself out of Yu’s embrace, and assumed his Dragon form. A small tremor shot through the earth upon his transformation.

  “Hunt?”

  “Yes, hunt. And you’ll be coming along, my dear bride.”