Way of the Knights

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"Uh...what's going on here?" Vendrick was confused. 

He just landed on the Eastern Continent a few hours ago. He had been walking along the edges of the continent to get a feel of the place but so far, nothing. 

Yeah, that's right. Compared to the other continents he had visited so far, the Eastern Continent is the weirdest since he can't feel an ounce of demonic beast aura here. Not even trace of savageness or aggressiveness was in the air, it's clean which in itself is very surprising. 

It looks like he arrived here at the peak of spring. Lush vegetation could be seen practically everywhere.. He could see animals, not demonic ones, regular animals. Deer, boars, hares, poultry, cattle, etc. freely roaming around. The trees are filled with ripe fruits, some of them even fell to the ground since nobody comes to pick them. 

There is an aura of peace and serenity in this place, which is a major sign of the place suitable for humans to live. 

This is something that Vendrick wasn't expecting at all. He had been walking for hours and he has yet to see a shadow of a demonic beast here. How can that be possible? The other continents are crawling with them but this continent doesn't for some reason? This doesn't make sense to him. 

The made Vendrick want to investigate. He started venturing deeper in the vast jungle of the Eastern Continent. He was on a look for any traces of civilization since that's one of the few reasons of this strange setting. So far though, he can't feel anybody around except animals. 

None of the animals attacked him, they looked at him curiously but that's about it. He initially thought that this animals might possess some form of mystical existence backing them but honestly, it was very unlikely. In his eyes, there's nothing strange about them. 

Well, he can't find any humans or any intelligent creatures out here. He also can't find anything weird that might possibly be the reason for the peaceful environment of this continent despite looking around for nearly two days now so he could only bet on his last idea.

"Now, where should I look for that Dragon?" He asked to particularly no one. 

It's weird. He had gotten used to sensing the savageness in the air which allowed him to narrow down his search for the overlord for the other continents but here, since it lacked that particular factor, its somewhat difficult to search for the whereabouts of that dragon. 

At this point, Vendrick could only think that the Infernal Dragon has something to do with the strangeness of the Eastern Continent. Aside from it, he really can't think of anything else. Well, there's that God but it doesn't seem to be so concerned so he ruled out this possibility. 

Vendrick went deeper into the continent. He didn't bother being all sneaky and stuff, if he was to be sensed, then he'll be sensed. It truly doesn't matter at this point. 

His first destination is the center of the continent since it seems that the Deities had a particular liking to these spots. 

With Vendrick's speed, it didn't take long before he eventually arrived at the core region of the continent. There he found one of the tallest mountain that he had even seen in this world. He was currently at the foot of the mountain, squinting as he looked up, his pupils shone with rainbow colored light. 

"Yep, it's there." Vendrick muttered. 

Indeed, he could feel the presence of a very strong Demonic Beast. The likes of which were as strong if not stronger than the previous Deities he fought before. He can't seen the silhouette of the Dragon but he could feel its aura and the faint thrumming of his bloodline. 

A grin appeared on Vendrick's face. He flew up the mountain, not even bothering to hide his presence or minimizing the sound he was making. He shattered the sound barrier a couple of times which should definitely alert the dragon who's probably resting at the peak. 

Although the mountain was high, Vendrick didn't take long to scale it. In a matter of seconds, he arrived at the peak. There, he saw the hulking beast, looking his way with a sharp gaze.

"Ooh!! A Crimson Dragon! Jackpot!" Vendrick grinned as he glanced at the enormous beast in front of him. He didn't look remotely alarmed of the dragon nor its growing animosity. 

"A human with my kin's bloodline?" The Dragon muttered in human language, its words were heard by Vendrick of course. "My, how interesting. I never knew that puny creatures like you can do something like this." 

Knowing the instinctual pride at the core of every dragons, those world probably meant that it can't understand a human managed to slay a dragon and integrate their bloodline successfully without them exploding. Well, Vendrick's not wrong. The Dragon truly thought of it this way. 

"Well, I have my own means." Vendrick shrugged. 

"...I can see that." The Dragon replied. "Speak, Human. Where did you come from? I haven't seen any traces of your kind for at least centuries now, not to mention, someone of your caliber." 

"Do you really need to know that?" Vendrick raised a brow. "I mean, you can probably guess why I'm here, don't tell me you think that I'm that naive." 

"I guess not." The Dragon muttered, its voice sounded calm and composed, its as if everything that's happening so far is under its control. "Were you the ones who killed the other Deities?" 

"Yep." Vendrick nodded, he didn't even think about denying any of it at this point since its practically useless. "Right, can you tell me the reason why there aren't Demonic Beasts here?" 

"I ate them all." The Infernal Dragon replied non-chalantly. 

"Wait, what? Why?" Vendrick was genuinely curious. 

"Nothing much." He saw the Dragon's version of shrugging. "I don't like them, that's all."

"So, you ate all of them?"

"Mm-hmm." The dragon replied. 

"Oh, I see." 

Vendrick didn't pursue the topic. If the Dragon said that it ate all of the Demonic Beast because it didn't like them, then that's what happened. There's no need to doubt nor push this topic any longer. Its not that interesting anyway. 

"Say..." The Infernal Dragon looked at Vendrick and slightly stretched its wings. "If you managed to kill me, what happens next? Are going after the God?" 

"Yeah." Vendrick didn't deny this either. "You and that one needs to go." 

"For what purpose? Why must you hunt us down?" Vendrick didn't sense any bitterness or resentment from the Dragon. There was only curiosity in his tone. Its just genuinely curious as to why he was doing this. 

"To resume the progress of this world." Vendrick replied. 

The Infernal Dragon was stunned, it appeared to be thinking for a brief moment before looking back at him and asking: "...care to elaborate?"

"Sure." Vendrick shrugged. "To make things simpler, you Deities and that God's very existence is causing the world to remain stagnant - which is not good. Let's put it this way, stagnant water will eventually turn bad. Stagnating this world's progress is akin to hastening its destruction. Its too bad since this world is fairly young you know."

"You mean, our very existence is not beneficial to this world? That by living, we are upsetting the balance or the cycles?"

"Exactly." Vendrick nodded. Give to a Dragon to be this open minded. Truly, they are one of the wisest race that ever existed. 

"I see." The Infernal Dragon sighed. It looked somewhat hesitant but it didn't last long. "Then, what about you? If you preach about restoring the balance, then how you be...like this?"

"I wouldn't have been needed if it weren't for you guys." Vendrick snorted. He knows what exactly this Dragon was pertaining to. 

It most likely already realized that Vendrick was an anomaly. Yes, Vendrick, not Tiger. 

The Infernal Dragon looked shocked for a brief second before realizing something. 

"...I see, so we've caused to much damage huh." It muttered, its words were heard by Vendrick though. Its not like its voice was quiet. 

"Any other questions?" Vendrick asked. 

"No. I believe I understand everything now." The Dragon replied, flapping its wings to cause a fierce gale. Normally, this bit is enough to blast away any unwanted visitors but Vendrick isn't one of those. 

"A fair warning, Human." The Infernal Dragon alerted him as it slowly rose to the sky. "The one at the Central Continent...we don't call him God for now reason."

"Oh I know." Vendrick sighed, "I haven't met that one yet but since you guys call it a God, I'm naturally wary about it too."

Demonic Beasts are prideful, especially Dragons, so for one to directly address someone as God. Vendrick knew that things are going to get a bit heated once he arrives at the Central Continent. 

"Be careful, Human. That...thing, is extremely dangerous." The Infernal Dragon said.

"I know." Vendrick nodded solemnly as he looked up at the flying dragon.

Upon reaching a certain altitude, the Dragon suddenly dove down, blasting straight towards Vendrick like a falling comet. Everything happened so quick and by the time they knew it, the entire mountain collapsed and a brilliant light sprawled everywhere.