The purple canopy flitted below Ethan as he beat his wings and flew deep in the cave. From this high, the stalactites of the cave’s ceiling were a bit more visible, and Ethan eyed them with concern. Was this something he was going to care about? If any of those things could drop at any time, he’d have to do something about it.

  I can fly now. If I’m going to rest somewhere, I can just go up and knock a few down.

  Ember adjusted her grip on his shoulders and he went back to watching the battles below. It was mostly lizardlings and monitors, but soon enough, he started to see more and more of the new variants, until finally, he lay eyes on the largest creature yet.

  [Lord of the Swamp (II) - Level 70]

  That’s a big one. And tier-2?

  It was being bombarded by fire and spears, but it was as if the creature was made of metal. The spears couldn’t pierce through, and the fire of the lizardlings and their drakes couldn’t even manage to singe the sparse coating of moss of the monster.

  Though a bit beyond, Ethan noticed some movement.

  People?

  “[We probably shouldn’t get too close just yet…]”

  Ethan raised a brow and tilted his head back, but he couldn’t get a good angle to see the cat. “Why?” he shouted over the wind ruffling his hair.

  “[It’s a tier-2, and it has nearly 20 levels on the both of us. We’re not ready. And they most certainly are not, either.]”

  Ethan hummed and looked away from the monster, focusing instead on the movement he perceived. The cat wasn’t wrong about the gap being still too wide, but he wanted to give it a shot. Especially now that he was rested and had just gone through a round of upgrades.

  Plus, this could be a good test for Scorching Ascendency. And…

  Ethan’s thought trailed off as he saw the first person step out of the brush, followed by one more, and then a third he recognized. A man with a black eye, multiple contusions, and a concerning discoloration on his left arm.

  Diego?

  The lively man he’d met a couple of days ago looked dead on his feet, and as he looked at the new people being forced into the battlefield, he noticed all of them were showing all kinds of signs of distress. Some had torn clothes. Some were shaking, the white of their eyes showing as they took into the beast ahead, and Ethan realized that all of them had decent levels.

  The lowest was level 35, while the highest was Diego with 49 levels.

  Then a sixth person was pushed out in the clearing at the end of a spear, and Ethan knew then he might have just found a new and dangerous group.

  Amanda came tumbling into the clearing, face muddied, but she quickly and smoothly got back up and eyed the battlefield—

  “[Watch out!]”

  Ethan dropped out of the air, instantly disabling his wings’ thrust and letting gravity pull him down, and a flare of purple zipped above him. To his alarm, he saw it hit the ceiling and flash toward him once more, intent on hitting its mark.

  Bring it.

  The [Draconic Wings] were supposed to shield him from spells, so Ethan wrapped the giant limbs around him and Ember and took the bolt of jagged magic between two joints, on the almost black, leathery membrane.

  It was like the wings had been hit by lighting, mighty and powerful, but he was also connected to a grounding rod. The magic spread instantly up his joints, making them twitch and burn for a second, and almost as quickly as it came, it faded.

  Ethan looked down to see three more identical spells coming toward him and past them, a man was staring up at him, a mane of purple hair crackling around his features.

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  Military?

  The man was wearing thick boots, cargo pants, and a black t-shirt riddled with holes. He raised the wand, and shot more of the jagged purple spells while shouting something behind him.

  [Human (I) - Level 51]

  Ethan dropped out of the air, mind churning as a few more people wearing a mishmash of para-military garb popped out of the woods. Should he head toward these new people or back away? He could use this distraction to rush for the rift, which he could finally see from this height, like a scar in reality itself that distorted the air around it.

  As soon as the thought came to him, he knew he couldn’t do it. Something within him revolted at the idea of allowing others to be subjugated in such manners. Something deep inside blazed, seeking to burn such chains, even if Ethan himself wasn’t subjected to them.

  While air rushed around his face as he lost altitude, Ethan stole a glance at the giant monster still nearby. It was still being bothered by the lizardlings, but aside from the occasional swatting, it didn’t seem to care much for the buzzing insects around it—including the scheming humans—so Ethan turned his attention back to the ever-closing ground.

  He needed a bit of cover. Just a little time to decide how to go about things.

  Amanda’s a schemer and I don’t want anything to do with her, but being used as fodder, even though it might be something she’d do herself, isn’t acceptable. Diego’s a decent dude, and some of those strangers might be innocent. Those last two are enough for me to intervene. Amanda’s just lucky.

  Ethan dipped behind the cover of the mushroom trees, and landed on his feet quietly and stood still, staring north as Ember hopped off his horns.

  Paramilitary? Mercenaries?

  Whatever they were, it seemed like they didn’t take kindly to being refused. Diego seemed like a wildly free person, and being beaten and bruised as he was said a lot about these new people.

  They’re not weak, either.

  Ethan felt a nervous smile creep up the corners of his mouth. Most were in the high forties, and two had cracked fifty. Could he handle them? What were they capable of? Ethan still hadn’t gotten the highest-level crown back. Was it one of them that was holding on to it?

  “[I take it you’re not retreating as I recommended?]”

  Ethan looked down at the cat and at her swishing tail. She didn’t seem that put out. Not even close. In fact, he believed he could see something peeking in her slitted eyes.

  Excitement.

  “Nah. I’ll hold off on antagonizing the big bad monster, but I got a batch of shitty humans to deal with first.”

  These people would have used Amelie and the others the same way. As disposable pawns to be sacrificed, and it seems like their brutal methods had allowed them to amass quite a few levels.

  Ethan cracked his neck and stretched his legs as he looked down at the cat. “What will you do?”

  “[Hmm. I don’t know yet,]” the cat said, licking her paws while her eyes never stepped staring past him. She was acting as if she wasn’t that interested, but Ethan noted she hadn’t even blinked yet. “[Do you need my help?]”

  He grinned. “Maybe. I guess if it gets bad, give me a hand?”

  A bracelet of pinkish-gold appeared over the cat’s ankle, and her sharp stare swivelled up to him for a second before returning north.“[Alright. I want part of the loot, if there’s anything that crappy dagger would give.]”

  Ethan reached down and pulled the Harvester’s Dagger out of his dimensional pouch. The blade was growing more and more chipped by the day, and for a second, he felt a bit of regret at not selecting the looting trait. Then again, this was a scenario where a boost in stat was more valuable than loot.

  Alright, dagger, one more fight. Don’t die on me just yet.

  He changed the grip so it’d point down, and took the first step. “Let’s go.”

  Something pulsed deep within his chest, and in his mind’s eye, he could easily picture this new group as chains. Chains that hadn’t tried to get a grip on him just yet, but they would in time. And he wanted to tear them apart. Melt them. Burn them.

  Ethan ran. Step after step, he picked up speed, and a corona of red-orange light began building around him, trailing in his wake like the tail of a comet. His red scales reflected the light of the bonfires surrounding his black talons and within seconds, the first spell hit him and plinked uselessly against his scaled forehead.

  Ethan grunted. That spell might have had a chance of doing a little bit of damage if he hadn’t been running. After all, his Toughness and Might were being bolstered by the horns.

  Another sharp metallic dart slammed into his shoulder, followed by the jagged purple spells and soon, more and more spells showered him as he kept gaining momentum until finally, he saw their faces, and the face of their leader.

  Some cold ran through his veins, but Ethan didn’t stop running.

  A fit, stocky man. A scar on the right side of a sharp chin. A crooked nose that’s been broken too many times, and frigid blue eyes that had watched Ethan bleed out in an abandoned warehouse before the man disappeared and for years after, Ethan had to constantly look over his shoulders. Waiting for the other shoe to drop. For the man to make him pay for having brought his actions to light. But Ethan didn’t have to wait anymore.

  [Human (I) - Level 56]

  Edwin Davis.

  Ethan roared, and the fire around his black-scaled hands raged along with him. The corona around him flared with fire, shielding him from the onslaught of spells as everything fell away. An old nightmare was back, but this time, he could do something about it.

  I don't usually enjoy flashbacks, but it's kinda needed for the story.

  after that we'll be back to the present.