"Dragon, huh?" Arin muttered.

"Yes," Kiara said.

Arin was already getting a little idea of what was going on, but he wanted to make sure he understood everything right here.

He stared at Kiara and asked:

"Now, why did he call me a Prince? And who is this 'mother' you are always talking about?"

Kiara closed her eyes and opened them again. "That's the thing. Mother wishes to explain everything to you by herself."

Arin squinted his eyes. "So... What are you trying to say?"

"She wants you to come with us to the Dragon Realm, then, she'll tell you everything you need to know," Kiara said.

Arin folded his arms. "I'll pass."

Kiara furrowed her brows. "Why?"

'Why?' Arin thought. He found that question utterly ridiculous.

He scoffed. "What? What makes you think I'll follow you just because you say so? The both of you might even be planning to kill me, and you just expect me to follow you?"

"I know it's hard, but you have to trust me," Kiara said. "I have no reason to harm you. Mother just wants to see you again and tell you everything you need to know."

Arin raised a brow. "And she can't come here to tell me everything? Why do I have to be the one to meet her?"

Arin couldn't lie, everything about this whole thing was suspicious.

He wouldn't just believe them like that.

Draka raised his head and turned to look at Kiara.

It was as if they were both communicating even without speaking.

But then...

"Ah, finally!"

Arin, Kiara, and Draka turned to look in a certain direction.

The voice came from someone quite a distance away from them, but because of their enhanced hearing capabilities, they were able to hear it.

Arin furrowed his brows. "Isn't that...?"

The person was sprinting towards them at full speed, but the three of them were still calm because they couldn't sense any dangerous intent from the person.

"I'm sure it's just a person passing by," Draka said, and Kiara nodded in agreement.

But Arin and Seraphine knew otherwise.

'What the hell is he doing here?' Arin thought.

"Is he coming for you?" Seraphine asked.

'I'm not quite sure,' Arin replied. 'I don't sense any malicious intent from him, but still...'

"Him being here is still suspicious..." Seraphine said.

Landon finally reached them because he was running at full speed.

As soon as he reached the three of them, he stopped and bent down, supporting his hands on his knees.

"Ah... Ah... Ah." He kept gasping for air as his chest heaved.

Arin, Kiara, and Draka could only stare at him in silence.

Finally, Landon raised his head and glanced at the three individuals in front of him.

"Ohh, what is going on here?" he asked with a wide smile on his face.

Kiara furrowed her brows. "Are you looking for someone?"

Landon began adjusting his long black hair as he replied, "Yes, actually. I'm looking for a man with black hair, he has a royal uniform on, and a rapier strapped to his waist."

Even though Landon looked relaxed and calm, he was actually having different thoughts... Thoughts about the girl with purple hair and the man with long black hair.

As for the masked dude, there was no need to have thoughts about him.

'These two... They didn't even lower their heads or show any sign of respect... Is it that they don't realize who I am?'

Since he arrived, he noticed that the two of them were acting so casual, and they were even looking at him directly in the eyes, as if they didn't know he was royalty.

Landon didn't like formalities like people bowing when they saw him or trying to act perfect and respectful when they were around him, but even with that, he couldn't help but be curious why these two individuals were acting like this.

'Maybe they're from another Kingdom? That's literally the only answer to this I can think of,' Landon thought.

Though, he decided not to say anything.

Immediately after he finished giving his description, Kiara answered:

"I didn't see anyone like that."

Draka shook his head. "Same here."

"Ah, what do I do now?" Landon muttered.

He shifted his gaze to Arin, who was yet to say anything.

Then his eyes went to the ground where Vake's body was lying a few distances away from Arin.

He instantly raised a brow as he pointed to the spot where Vake's body was.

"Oh, I think that's him..."

"Is that so?" Kiara muttered.

Arin's frown was hidden by his mask.

'The atmosphere is so awkward right now...' Arin thought.

Landon shook his head. "He died, huh?"

He then stared at Arin. "What did you use to kill him that made his body turn out like that?"

Before Arin could even say anything, Landon suddenly felt something.

Instinctively, he leaped backwards.

BOOM!

The ground where he was formerly standing was destroyed as debris flew about.

As soon as Landon landed on the ground, he looked at Draka.

"Huh? Why did you attack me?"

"What the hell just happened?" Seraphine asked, her tone laced with shock.

Arin squinted his eyes. "That Draka guy attacked him."

Arin saw what happened.

Draka released a certain kind of energy from his hands, and the energy exploded on the spot where Landon was standing.

But the question was...

'Why did Draka attack him?' Arin thought.

Arin decided to finally speak.

"Yes, I was the one who killed him, because he attacked me first with the intent to kill," Arin said.

"I know," Landon said, his eyes never leaving Draka. "I should even be thanking you for killing him. That guy is a real pain in the butt."

Arin raised a brow. 'Is he being serious right now, or...?'

"Sir," Landon said, referring to Draka. "Why did you attack me?"

Draka didn't reply. He just stood silently as if he didn't even hear Landon.

Kiara chuckled, making Landon look at her.

"He thought you were planning to attack the prince, that's all," she said, sounding amused.

"Oh, is that so?" Landon muttered. "Okay, then."

"Now, if you may excuse us, we were having a conversation before you arrived," Kiara said, her tone sounding less amused now and more serious. Same with her expression.

Landon smiled. "Sorry, but I also want to have a conversation with Arin."

Both Kiara and Draka instantly shot him a glare.

"Leave," Draka said, a single word, his tone heavy.

Landon's smile widened. "Make me..."

WHOOSH!

In the blink of an eye, Draka was already beside Landon.

His fist zoomed towards Landon's ribs, the force causing ripples in the air.

Quickly, Landon moved his lower body backwards, causing Draka's fist to miss him by a few inches.

BOOM!

The power from Draka's punch caused an explosion of wind.

Landon instantly leaped backwards, his smile returning.

Kiara squinted her eyes. "That boy... He's pretty fast."

At this point, Arin was just a spectator, watching everything unfold.

"So, let me get this straight," Seraphine said. "In a nutshell, they are fighting over who will speak with you first. Ah, Arin, you're so popular."

Arin wasn't even listening to what Seraphine was saying, instead, he was having a certain thought.

'Was Landon always that strong?' he thought.

In the novel, Landon really didn't appear much. And apart from that, there wasn't any mention of how strong he was.

But after seeing how Landon dodged Draka's punch, Arin couldn't help but commend his speed.

"He's fast..."

'The only thing I know about Landon is that he can use the fire element, and he has a playful nature,' Arin thought. 'Apart from that, I don't remember anything else about him.'

Draka glared at Landon. "I do not want to make any rash decisions. This is your last warning. Leave now."

Landon waved his hands. "You still don't understand me. I don't want to fight, but I also want to speak with Arin urgently."

'I don't know if he means that or not,' Arin thought.

"He definitely doesn't mean it. His behavior ever since he arrived here makes it obvious," Seraphine said.

"But even with the threat from Draka, he's still not leaving," Arin said. "I think he really wants to speak with me about something."

Arin felt like Landon wouldn't just ignore Draka's threat for nothing.

Either he really wanted to talk to him about something important, or...

He was just being playful as usual and he was ignoring Draka's threat because he had the strength to defend himself.

'If it ends up being the latter, then does that mean Landon is really that strong...?' Arin thought.

"You don't want to leave, huh?" Draka muttered.

He looked at Kiara who nodded at him.

This was the confirmation he needed.

His eyes suddenly glowed a deep blue and purple.

He clenched his fists as he stared at Landon.

"Like I said before, I don't want to fight," Landon said. "But if I have to fight you in order to speak with Arin..."

He smiled as he continued,

"... Then you leave me no choice..."