Aurina crouched low in the grass, her limbs pressed to the earth, eyes locked on her prey with the patience of a predator.
Crack, crack, crack.
The whip lashed across his unyielding back, each strike delivered without hesitation, as if not merely scourging his flesh but venting fury on some despised foe.
In one hand, he clutched the Holy Hammer amulet.
It resembled a necklace, though its chain was a brutal thing, studded with iron thorns.
Richard had wrapped it tightly around his forearm, the barbs biting into his skin.
His grip tightened on the hammer, and with a flex of his hand, the spiked chain dug deeper, drawing blood that dripped steadily along the links.
His lips muttered something, barely audible—phrases like “I bear original sin” tumbling from his mouth.
Aurina couldn’t fathom why anyone would choose to harm themselves.
But then, she mused, Richard was a fool, and fools were capable of anything.
She licked her lips.
Heh, the stupid little insect’s exposed his weakness, hasn’t he?
Slipping silently from the grass, her belly nearly grazing the ground, she crept closer, moving with the stealth of a cat stalking a dove.
Closer, ever closer, until she could see the scars crisscrossing Richard’s back and the nape of his neck, mere meters away.
Perfect.
Now, she’d pounce and sink her teeth into him.
Aurina’s thoughts raced, her hind legs coiling with power.
Wait.
Why was she pouncing?
Wasn’t the goal to find his weakness?
Her mind stumbled, caught in a tangle of instinct and intent.
Oh, whatever.
She was here now—might as well pounce.
With a surge of strength, Aurina launched herself, humanoid yet as swift as a leopard, aiming for Richard’s back.
Her timing was impeccable; she leaped just as the whip cracked, the sound of splitting flesh masking her movement.
Yet Richard, as if blessed by some divine instinct, sensed her.
He threw himself to the side, tucking his neck and spinning, his arm raised as he roared, “Who’s there?”
But Aurina was no ordinary dragon.
Her arms shot out, wrapping around his back, her legs clamping tightly around his waist.
Together, they crashed to the ground.
Her head popped over his shoulder, and in the faint moonlight, she bared her teeth—sharp, porcelain-white, shark-like, her pink tongue flickering in her throat.
Aurina exhaled against his neck.
“Ha!”
A faint scent of dragon’s breath washed over him, and Richard’s neck flushed crimson.
“Aurina?”
He gripped a disc-shaped dagger, its conical blade glinting, designed for close combat, meant to pierce the weak points of armored foes.
Paladins, bound by honor, didn’t shun daggers—only their use in deceit or assassination.
The blade’s tip caught the moonlight, but Aurina merely grinned.
“You lose.”
“Aurina, get off my back,” Richard panted, his breath quickening as a congenital condition, long suppressed, began to claw its way back.
“Now!”
“Gahaha!”
Aurina laughed.
“Admit defeat!”
“I yield,” Richard gasped.
“Kneel,” she demanded.
“Kneel to the supreme Red Dragon King, and you’ll be my slave—gah!”
Before she could finish, Richard’s hand shot toward her dragon horn.
Aurina jerked her head aside, dodging, but his hand found her neck instead, brushing the golden collar she wore.
Fearing he might choke her, he shifted, grabbing the thick flesh at the nape of her neck—cat-like, unyielding.
“Get off!”
Richard growled, shoving her backward with force.
But Aurina clung like an octopus, her limbs locked around him.
“Don’t cheat! I found your weakness!”
Richard’s breaths came in heavy gasps.
“Stop this, or I’ll hurt you.”
“Gaha, try it!”
Aurina taunted, her thighs tightening, her head straining forward to peer over his shoulder.
“You’re hiding something, aren’t you? Trying to keep your weakness from me!”
“Don’t look!”
“Let me see, gaha!”
Richard’s grip on her tightened, veins bulging.
He yanked the hand covering his lower half away, seizing her horn and pulling back.
But Aurina’s small frame held terrifying strength.
As they lay tangled on the ground, Richard’s arms strained, locked in a stalemate with her.
“Stop it,” he pleaded.
“I don’t want to strangle you with that collar.”
“All excuses,” Aurina scoffed.
“You’re scared I’ll find your weakness, gahaha!”
“Aurina!”
Richard gritted his teeth.
“I swear, it’s not a weakness. It’s a condition—a shameful one. Don’t touch me, or I might lose control and hurt you.”
His desperate pleas fell on deaf ears.
Aurina never listened to reason.
Their bodies pressed close, her flat chest against his back, the thin fabric between them no barrier to her heat.
Her body burned like a furnace, its warmth seeping into him.
Her chin grazed his shoulder as she fought to overpower him, her hot breath grazing his neck with every exhale.
Aurina watched his neck and face flush red.
Must be my dragon’s breath scorching him!
“Liar.”
“I swore an oath of honesty!”
“Lies are lies.”
Aurina stretched her neck forward, inching closer.
If she uncovered his darkest secret…
Richard couldn’t bear the thought.
With a burst of strength, he pushed her head back.
Then, in the corner of her eye, Aurina glimpsed the scars on his back and neck.
A memory flashed—something she’d read about his weakness.
Lick the wounds.
“Gah! Watch me lick you to death!”
Her limbs tightened, and with a sudden dip, her pink tongue darted out, lapping at his open whip wounds.
A warm, soft, wet sensation slid across Richard’s skin.
The heat filled the valleys of his pain, melting the sting, seeping into his veins.
His heart pounded—faster, fiercer than it ever had, even facing a dragon of dread.
The warmth mingled with his rushing blood, spreading through his body, flooding his mind.
The thorns of the Holy Hammer, the agony of the whip—all dissolved in that soothing tide.
It felt… good.
And Aurina kept licking.
But pain had anchored his condition.
For a moment, his mind clouded.
No!
That’s a sinful serpent!
He bit his tongue, barely holding on.
But that moment of weakness let Aurina gain the upper hand in their awkward struggle.
“Let me see!”
Her head finally cleared his shoulder, her gaze darting downward.
Richard felt her stare, like a physical blow, stripping away his carefully guarded secret.
“No!”
His eyes widened in panic.
Aurina saw a glowing fist hurtling toward her.
Before she could react, it struck her forehead.
Thud!
Her head snapped back at an impossible angle.
Holy Fist, huh?
That was her last thought before darkness claimed her.
Aurina’s eyes flew open, a strange taste lingering in her mouth.
She smacked her lips—meat porridge, maybe?
The sky was bright; it was noon, and she’d slept deeply.
She bolted upright, only to feel a tug at her neck.
Her golden collar was chained to a tree.
Richard, clad in armor, sat by a campfire, a pot of porridge simmering.
He turned, his face haggard, dark circles under his eyes.
“You’re awake? I thought you were dead—you stopped breathing. I’m sorry, so sorry.”
Seeing his wretched state, Aurina’s tail flicked with glee.
What did this mean?
She’d found the right path!
Licking his wounds worked.
“Gahaha!”
She tugged at the chain.
“Let me go.”
“No,” Richard said.
“I’m sorry for endangering you to hide my secret. But you’re the one who should apologize for relentlessly prying. You won’t listen, so I have to restrain you for now.”
Too long, didn’t listen.
“Oh.”
Aurina tugged again.
“Let me go.”
“If you try to pry again,” Richard warned, “I’ll hurt you without hesitation—non-lethally, maybe your stomach.”
“Gah, that’s it?”
“Your backside.”
“No!”
“Then your backside,” Richard said.
“Got it?”
Aurina nodded.
He stepped forward, unfastening the chain, which retracted into her collar.
He wanted to pretend nothing had happened—when faced with an unsolvable problem, bury your head in the sand.
But seeing Aurina’s smug grin, he couldn’t help himself.
“Aurina.”
“Gah?”
“Did you find my secret?”
She thought for a moment.
“Licking your wounds—that’s your weakness, right? Gahaha, if you don’t want me licking you again, you’d better obey.”
Richard exhaled, relieved.
His blow must’ve knocked out her memory.
Guilt followed, but it was rational, not emotional.
He reflected, reaching a chilling conclusion.
Between Aurina uncovering his secret and her life, he’d chosen the former.
The thought of her discovering it, sneering in disgust, spreading it everywhere… it made him want to flee this world through death.
“That’s all?”
“That’s all.”
Aurina spat fire to clean her hands, her white dress stained with Richard’s blood, blooming like red roses.
“Unless it’s that you’ve got two little things down there.”
What use were thin things, no matter how many?
The bulge in the cloth was barely thicker than her current female forearm.
Nothing compared to her magnificence, the pillar of her palace.
Aurina puffed out her chest with pride.
Richard’s face darkened, his iron hand resting on his sword hilt.
Aurina’s instincts screamed danger.
The cunning insect had covered his wounds with armor, COVERING his weakness.
She faltered, laughing nervously.
“Gahaha… you look like you’re about to slay a dragon.”