Dash raised his hand and shoved the sword out of his way. Then he gently placed Shel on the ground and stood up. After that, he turned around, staring at the people behind him.
"What do you want?" Dash asked in his husky voice, glaring intensely at the five people behind him.
"What kind of creature are you?" asked the hunter pointing the sword, who now looked hesitant.
"A Dragonkin. Why?" Dash asked, continuing to stare without blinking.
The five hunters glanced at each other, then suddenly lowered their weapons and looked back at Dash.
"Sorry, we thought you were something else. It's the first time I've ever seen a Dragonkin," the man said, sheathing his sword at his waist.
"Okay, that's fine. Now please leave," Dash replied without shifting his gaze.
"Sorry, but can we take that Half-Orc? There's a pretty big reward in the city for her head," the man said, pointing at Shel.
"What?" Dash asked, now standing tall and turning to face them.
Looking up at Dash's massive body, the five people in front of him craned their necks, as Dash was clearly bigger than them and looking down. Dash's face was intensely angry, and both his hands were clenched into fists. Suddenly, the man in front of him smiled and raised both his palms up.
"Okay, okay… sorry, we were just asking. The five of us are bounty hunters, so it's natural for us to hunt targets listed at the guild," the man said.
"Go," Dash said curtly, his voice heavy and hoarse.
"Answer my question first. You won't gain anything by taking her, anyway. If you want to hand her over to the guild yourself, at least share the bounty with us," the man said, smiling.
Since it was clear the five people in front of him couldn't be reasoned with, Dash suddenly punched forward fiercely. "WAAAAH," the five people were immediately thrown backward, knocked away by the shockwave of Dash's punch. Without further delay, he immediately crouched down, picked up Shel, and leaped away, leaving their previous location.
Dash landed deep within the forest. Then he saw ancient ruins all around him. After looking closer, he realized the ancient ruins looked like temple buildings on Earth, with many pillars and columns. The area he was in seemed to be an old temple complex that had been buried in the area for who knows how long.
Many of the ruins had large trees growing on top of them, with roots penetrating the roofs and filling the rooms. Of course, Dash was captivated by the surroundings, a sight he had only now witnessed firsthand without having to travel to another country by plane and spend money on airfare.
"Wow… where am I now… but this is awesome… I've never seen anything like this… usually, I only see this stuff in books or on the internet, and then only a quick look," Dash said.
Shel opened her eyes. She was immediately shocked to see herself being carried by Dash, but then she went pale looking at the surroundings. She quickly wrapped her arms tightly around Dash's neck.
"Da-Dash, hurry and get out of here… before they arrive," Shel stammered, trembling.
"Huh? They?" Dash asked, confused.
"Hurry, Dash… I told you yesterday about the forgotten spirits from ancient times, right… We are standing right in their nest," Shel replied.
"Oh… really?" Dash asked, immediately looking around.
Before Dash could even move, the ruins let out a dark, ghost-like aura that then seeped into the ground. "GREEK," suddenly, hundreds of zombie-like creatures with pitch-black eyes and sharp, jagged teeth emerged from the ground. They were from several races that once existed, like Dwarves, Dragons, and Angels. Dash's eyes widened at the sight of a row of Dragonkin zombies that looked similar to him, except their heads were still fully or half-dragon, even though their bodies were human-like.
"Oh, so that's what a Dragonkin looked like," Dash thought.
Dash and Shel looked around. They were truly trapped and couldn't even escape by air because of the flying Angel zombies.
"It's too late. Put me down, Dash, we have to fight them," Shel replied.
Dash put Shel down. Then they immediately stood back-to-back, settling into their ready combat stances.
"GRAAAH!"
The zombies immediately charged at both of them. Shel unleashed her magic and then slammed the ground with both hands. The entire ground vibrated, and several roots shot out from the earth, binding the zombies around her and then crushing them. But shortly after, the zombies that had been crushed and severed reconnected and merged into a grotesque giant zombie, a horrifying and disgusting mix of several races, with many heads on its body.
The giant composite zombie attacked Shel, who immediately leaped, avoiding its strike so its massive foot slammed into the ground. Shel turned to look at Dash, who was standing still, hands clasped over his chest, eyes closed, and completely motionless.
"Hey, Dash!" Shel screamed, constantly avoiding the giant zombie's punches and the attacks from the zombies surrounding her.
Shel saw many zombies approaching Dash. She immediately raised her hands and fired rocks at those zombies. Even though their heads or bodies were pierced by the stone projectiles, which were like bullets, and they fell, the zombies got back up and advanced toward Dash.
"Dash… please don't just stand there! There are a bunch of Fallen Shadows right in front of you!" Shel yelled, blocking and dodging while attacking with her magic.
Shel kept watching the zombies she called Fallen Shadows approaching Dash, until she forgot about the biggest threat in front of her, the giant composite Fallen Shadow. The giant Fallen Shadow swung its massive arm toward Shel.
Startled, Shel immediately created an earth wall with her foot and covered her entire body with a yellow aura to strengthen her physique. "CRASH," the massive palm smashed the earth wall into ruins, and when the palm shot toward Shel, she raised her arms and closed her eyes, resigned.
"BOOM," Shel opened her eyes. She saw Dash blocking the palm with his forearm. But what shocked Shel wasn't Dash being able to block the enemy's palm, but Dash's form, which had become purely Dragon, with a Dragon head and a body enveloped in a gray aura.
"HAAAH,"
Dash opened his mouth; white smoke immediately escaped. Without hesitation, he slammed his shoulder into the giant Fallen Shadow's body and shoved it backward. Then he leaped up, carrying Shel, who was sitting on his shoulder like a child.
As he shot upward, several Fallen Shadows from the Angel race that blocked him were instantly shattered and fell to the ground. Then Dash hovered in the air, looking down. Both his arms immediately straightened forward, then he spread his arms and slowly made a circular motion with both his palms.
A large gray energy orb immediately appeared in front of him. Then he lifted his leg straight up and kicked the energy orb downward with his heel. "BOOOM," the orb instantly exploded upon hitting the ground, creating a semi-spherical dome that covered the entire ruin area below.
Shel, sitting on Dash's shoulder, was stunned and stood frozen, looking at what happened in front of her. Her mouth was agape and her eyes were wide, then she looked back at the back of Dash's head, where gray smoke was still coming out of his mouth.
Meanwhile, Dash remembered all the training he underwent every day during his sleepwalking dreams while he was still in his previous world. After the dome vanished, Dash landed back on the ground. Shel jumped down and saw Dash's entire body covered in smoke and shrinking back to normal with his human head.
Then she looked around. There were no Fallen Shadows left at all; both the zombies and the black shadows that accompanied them were gone, utterly destroyed.
"Wow… you're… amazing, Dash," Shel said, full of awe and respect, then walked up, hugged Dash, and looked up at his face with a wide smile.
"Huff… I'm sorry I scared you. I just remembered some techniques I used to know," Dash explained while hugging Shel. "Now I clearly remember the training I went through from age 8 to 22; it's giving me the creeps… even though I managed to wipe out the enemies," Dash thought.