Stranded Stranger

Chapter Six: Demonic Dragon

Florence Elmore told the old man that Ash was possessed due to his inability to control his power. It was natural that he couldn't resist Lynx's possession if he couldn't manipulate his skills, and there was only one solution he could think of to solve this problem.

"What did you say, master?" Ava asked as she suddenly stood up from her chair beside the table inside the dining room where they were having dinner.

"I respect your decision to let my brother join the Adventurer's Guild, but you should know how dangerous it could be for a kid like him," she added.

"Don't worry, Ava. I will protect your brother," Shawn said with a smirk on his face.

"No, I can't trust my brother's safety to a weak stranger like you. Besides, you can't even protect yourself from a single orc, so how can you protect him?" Ava asked in a worried tone.

"I will train harder and become immortal, so that you won't have to worry about your brother anymore," Shawn replied while slightly scratching his nape. He didn't expect that Ava could say those painful words that cut deeper than a knife, but he knew it was the harsh truth.

"But how long will it take for you to become an immortal? It's not something you can joke with. It's my brother's safety, and I'm always ready to sacrifice myself to protect him," Ava added.

Shawn was left speechless. He couldn't understand why Ava was so protective of her brother. But instead of being pessimistic about what she said, Shawn wanted to use them as motivation to become stronger and to survive in this chaotic world.

"You don't have to protect me anymore, sister. I'm already of age to protect myself from danger, so please stop arguing," Ash interrupted. He was so annoyed that they were treating him like a kid.

"Don't fool yourself, Ash. I know what you're capable of, so please don't be stubborn, because I don't want to lose anyone again." Ava noticed that tears were already forming in her eyes, so she avoided looking at them as she didn't want them to see her weak spot.

Ava didn't want them to see that a strong woman like her was crying. "I promised in front of our parents' tomb that I would protect you no matter what happened, even if it took my own life," she said without giving them a glance.

Ava couldn't forget that day when blood was shedding on the ground. She was just ten thousand years old when the demonic dragonoid known as Boris attacked their village and killed her parents.

Jack Robinson and Georgia Rose Silvers, Ava's parents, were praised and remembered for their bravery to save the people when Boris attacked their village and turned it into a graveyard.

The people were screaming in pain, including Ava's parents, but she could do nothing to save them. She didn't have the power to defeat the demon or save her altruistic parents, who even forgot to protect themselves.

Nothing was left to her except for her younger brother. They couldn't even manage to escape if a sorcerer known as the old man didn't come to save them. She didn't know why he saved them but not their parents.

Ava was crying; she was blaming herself for what happened. She never hated the old man for not saving her parents, but rather herself because she was so weak at that time. She was so weak that she couldn't save them, so she promised to train herself in order to take revenge and to protect her only brother.

"Alright, Ava. Let's stop discussing this thing. I understand how you feel, but I just want to tell you not to be so tight with your brother, because that will make it more difficult for him to let go," the old man reminded her.

It was with the old man's help that Ava mastered her skills in a short time, which is why she respects him so much. He trained her to haunt demons and prepared for Boris' comeback. But she could not exchange her brother's safety for that respect.

Ava remained silent, looking right and down. She turned back and got outside the house without saying anything. As she sat down on the stairs, she remembered what the demon said before he left: he promised to come back after ten thousand years to conquer the Land of Dusk, just as he did with the Spade Kingdom.

Knowing that Boris would attack again, the masters decided to form an elite combat force that could protect the people from a certain threat. It was how the adventurer's guild was founded.

There were several guilds where people could train and master their skills. They had programs that trained students to master their skills through competition and face-to-face experience on the battlefield.

It had been almost ten thousand years since Boris attacked the land, but they weren't sure if their preparation was enough to suppress his promised dominion. They only hope that it won't cause as much trouble and casualties as what happened before.

"Geezer, I'm just curious why Ava is acting so strict when it comes to her brother; do you have an idea why?" Shawn asked curiously while pouring water from the pitcher into his glass.

"It's probably because her parents died ten thousand years ago, and she still hasn't moved on from what happened," the old man replied.

Shawn was stunned for a moment after hearing the old man. He didn't expect that Ava and Ash would have a tough time, despite their jolly personalities. They had never told him about their parents, and all this time he was thinking that the old man was their relative. He didn't know how it felt to be an orphan, but he knew it wasn't easy.

"You mean that they were orphaned?" Shawn asked as he became interested in hearing the story behind Ava's attitude. "I thought you were their father."

"Their parents were killed by Boris, a dragonoid. Ava might have remembered that incident again. We should prepare, because the dragon might attack again one of these days," the old man said.

"What?" Shawn asked, his eyes widening in surprise. He couldn't believe that even a dragon existed in this world. "Why didn't you tell me that there was an approaching danger?"

The old man stood up and said, "Stop asking me. You should train yourself too, discover your power, and master it, so that you will be able to fight before the dragon arrives."

Shawn was left alone in the dining room when the old man went outside. All this time, he thought, he had been so foolish that he didn't know what these people were going through. He realized that everyone was truly fighting battles he knew nothing about.

"Are you okay?" the old man asked as he sat on the stairs beside Ava.

Ava remained silent for a while before breaking the silence. "Master, do you really want Ash to join the adventurer's guild? Won't it be difficult for him?" She asked without looking at him.

The old man sighed, then he said, "I don't really want to do that, but you've heard what Florence said. Ash needs to master his skill to avoid being possessed again. I know you're against it, but it's for his safety too. That's what we want, right?"

"Why do you always follow what he says? Besides, you could train him yourself just like you did with me before." Ava stared curiously at her master's face.

"I'm not doing what Florence said; I'm just doing what I think is good for Ash because I'm no longer young to train him by myself. If you don't understand, then there's no point arguing about it, but you shouldn't regret it if he gets possessed again," the old man said.

"I see. I think I have no choice but to cooperate with you. I might not understand you now, but I'm not stupid enough to let that crone touch my brother again. I will never forgive her," Ava replied.

After washing their dishes, Shawn dried his hands with a towel. Even though he didn't have any power, he wanted to be of use to them so that he wouldn't be a burden. He knew it would be easy to do anything if he had magic, but however he would conjure water to wash their dishes, he couldn't summon a single drop.

Shawn looked for Ash to borrow some of his big clothes. He wanted to buy his own, but he didn't have enough money yet. He went to his room, but he wasn't there. So he got outside, thinking that he was with his sister.

"Old Man, Ava, have you seen Ash?" Shawn asked as he got out of the door and walked towards them.

"No," the old man replied, slowly standing up, "isn't he inside?"

"He's not there, so I thought he was with you," Shawn added as he stopped. He looked around. "Where could that kid have gone again?"

"That's weird. It's already dark for him to go outside," the old man remarked, holding his chin. "Don't tell me that he's possessed again!" he guessed.

"Dammit! Why didn't you inform me? He might have gone somewhere dangerous again." A grimace of worry appeared on Ava's face.