Flying over the Sorcha Peninsula was unlike the Suzihua Sea near the water dragons’ district of Xianyang. While there weren’t any water demons circulating through its waters and it was missing a briny scent, the water was clearer and glowed brighter than anything I’d ever seen in Wuzhen.

The elves were like the nymphs, their powers were fueled by nature. Nature was their goddess and they would do anything they could to make sure their deity would remain pleased. The illustrious shine of the peninsula was only the result of their absolute devotion.

Sun Fang snored rather roughly within my grasp, despite being several feet high in the air. ‘How could you possibly sleep at a time like this?’ I thought. His timing was always impeccable.

We arrived a couple hours later on the shores of the Sea of Porikoroa, just off the northern coast of Mutsushina. Sun Fang had already woken up and was apologizing for his weak resolve. His apologies meant nothing and all I wanted was for him to shut up. 

“My Lord, maybe this is not the best idea. Perhaps we should return to Wuzhen before the Emperor finds out. He might lessen the severity of your punishment?” Sun Fang suggested, his head turning all around nervously.

The water had grown darker, like it was doused in a thick cloud of miasma. That’s when I knew something wasn’t right. A demon was hiding in the midst.

Looking ahead, I saw nothing but evergreen and cherry blossom trees around us. Rain started to fall, pelting against the lush green leaves on the tree branches. Every few drops, a petal from the cherry blossom tree would float to the ground.

“Taizi, we should apply for an audience with Lady Azusa. It would be rude for us to intrude on their lands without properly greeting their Empress,” Sun Fang said.

Azusa was Mutsushina’s current ruler. There were three different tribes of kitsune: the zenko, nogitsune, and tenko. The zenko were benevolent fox spirits who only sought to maintain the purity of the shrines they kept watch over. Whereas the nogitsune were fox demons, their intentions were less than positive as they enjoyed teasing mortal beings like the humans.

The tenko were the strongest beings, as they were the nine-tailed Celestial foxes with seemingly boundless wisdom and an opportunity to reincarnate.

Because the kitsune could live for thousands of years, the rule didn’t change as often. The current year would be Azusa’s three hundredth year of rule. If she were to perish in the next century, the next kitsune to reign Mutsushina would be one of the zenko tribe.

“Shut up, Sun Fang,” I said, my gaze affixed to the still trees. I found it strange that the breeze didn’t jostle the leaves. It remained still in the wind.

Suddenly, a spear shot through those trees and I half-shifted instinctively to dodge. I hadn’t shifted fast enough, so I felt the blade graze my arm. It was a minor scratch, not major enough to warrant concern. The spear landed in the ground, and upon closer inspection, I noticed it glowed an ominous green.

“Taizi!” Sun Fang exclaimed, running towards me, wide-eyed. “You’re bleeding!”

I wiped the blood away. “I’m fine. You should partially shift, Sun Fang. The enemy is still out there, and I doubt that was their last attack.” I turned towards the trees and shouted, “Why don’t you come out and introduce yourself? These sneak attacks won’t do you any good.”

The trees rustled before revealing one enemy dressed in black. When the sunlight hit his dark hair, it had a green tint. Crazed madness filled his deep violet eyes as he leered at me. In his hands, he had a book, but the title was in a language I didn’t know. I assumed it was a grimoire. “Interesting. That should have split you in two.”

“D-demon?!” Sun Fang gasped out.

“It seems you overestimated your ability,” I replied with a coy grin. My first thought was he was a demon because of his purple irises. Every demon had a distinct scent, so there was no way to confirm unless I heard it from him.

“Don’t worry. I’ll get you next time.”

“You’re bold to invade Mutsushina, let alone attack the Crown Prince of Wuzhen. Who are you?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know? I don’t smell like a kitsune, do I? What do your kind call them? Yaoguai? Maybe I’m a demon.”

“Stop toying with him, Baʿal Berith,” a second voice said, the owner appearing at his comrade’s side in an instant. “

My eyes wandered to the newcomer, who also had dark hair and violet eyes. However, when the light hit it, I caught a deep scarlet. He didn’t carry any weapons, but his aloofness kept me on guard. And then I noticed his black wings when they spread out behind his back. They were creatures of darkness, but not an average demon. No, they were fallen angels who led demonic covenants. 

“That’s rich coming from you, Olivier. I thought you enjoyed games, or are those playthings of yours simply illusions?” Baʿal Berith asked.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Master has given us a task. It is our duty to see it through,” Olivier replied, his gaze shifting to me. His eyes were cold and empty as he glanced at me, his composure not faltering once.

One fallen angel was problematic enough. They always had fail-safes in place in case the battle didn’t go as planned, just like the pixies and their resurrection spells. With Sun Fang being a weak fighter, he would only get in the way. Dealing with two fallen angels on my own would be difficult. However, it wasn’t impossible.

“Sun Fang, prepare for the battle of your life. Any hesitation and you could wind up dead. Do you understand?” I said. He nodded, but the fear was evident in his eyes.

“Oh my, your comrade looks terrified. I almost feel bad we’ll have to kill him. Almost,” Baʿal Berith said, his smile growing larger. The book in his hand glowed furiously brighter, manifesting swords and daggers, all of which floated in front of him.

I fully shifted, letting out a fierce roar in my dragon form. Sun Fang returned my roar. I peered at him and caught sight of his azure scales. He was significantly smaller than my dragon, but being in that form would make it harder for our enemies to kill him. Sometimes I let my dragon keep most of the control of my body, but these opponents were unlike anyone we’d faced before. His instincts were powerful, but too impulsive, leaving us impervious to simple injuries.

With a flick of his wrist, the weapons soared through the air at us. When I tried to dodge, it followed me. It forced me to move my wings in front of me to deflect the attacks. Luckily, dragon scales were difficult to penetrate.

When my wings moved away from my face, Olivier had grabbed one of the floating weapons and charged at me. I raised an arm, hoping his sword would bounce off my scales, but the scales shattered beneath his powerful blow. The broken scales fell to the ground as I jumped back. Blood trickled down my arm and onto the ground. It was rare for anyone to draw blood from me. These weren’t ordinary opponents.

“You’ve lost your touch, Olivier! Normally, that would have taken their arm off. If only the Master were here. She would be disappointed in how far her subordinate has fallen,” Baʿal Berith said, goading his teammate.

He was right. If I wasn’t fully shifted, I would have lost that arm. Just who were these fallen angels?

“Shut up. I’m allowed to have some fun, aren’t I?” Olivier asked.

“Oho… don’t you know it’s wrong to play with your food?” Baʿal Berith retorted with a snicker. “Then again, I guess you can’t help it. I might as well join in on the fun!”

His grimoire glowed once more, this time summoning demon-like creatures, some animal-like, some humanoid, and some chimeric. He didn’t need an incantation to bring them to life like most magic users. Some of them were creatures I’d never seen before, so I didn’t know what to expect. Any other dragon would have feared for their life, but I couldn’t think of an end more glorious than on the battlefield.