"The hell did you just say...?" the girl asked while pointing her blade at Lian Garen's neck.

The dragon that was now appearing in a human form simple raised his arms to show he meant no harm.

"Just... Just listen to me..." he begged.

"Listen to a murderer like you? Why should I??" she asked while kicking him down and stepping on his face.

"This again? You forget, you also took a life from one of my kin... Yet you dare label me as a murderer?"

"Oh, please... Taking a life for self-defense and taking a life just because you were in the mood are two different things. I would be more than happy to leave that dragon alone if it hadn't come after me first! What's your excuse??"

"Foolish child... We are at war... What kind of war is that where enemies don't take each other's lives??"

Her anger began to rise. He dared to argue about war when Thomas was just a regular villager just minding his own business and not bothering anyone.

The girl tilted her head and shoved her sword in his chest, making him spill blood again.

"Gaaaarghh!!"

"You better choose your next words carefully... I might not be able to kill you, but I can still make the rest of your life a living hell..." she claimed.

The girl was surprised at how quickly to retort to violence she had become. These last few weeks fighting with the red dragon non-stop seemed to have shrunk a part of her humanity.

She started to worry that she might forget even more of it should this keep on.

Lian began to heal his wound and cleaned the blood that was spit from his mouth before talking again, "Perhaps... But you will also suffer with me... We both are each others' prisoners... Is this really the kind of life you want? Mutilating me over and over for all eternity?"

She did not respond and simply continued to hold him against the ground.

"I can bring you home..." he whispered.

"Wh- What?" she gasped.

"You are a guest, right? I can find a way to take you back to your old world!"

She hesitated for a moment but soon began to compose herself again, "I died in my old world... If I go back, I'll just go back to the bottom of the ocean..."

Lian stared at her, "There are ways around that... Just look at us! You know that death isn't so absolute as one might think!"

The girl flinched again but just like before she tried to regain her focus, "Doesn't matter... I promised Thomas that I would protect the humans from the dragon faction. And you are definitely a threat to them..."

"But I don't have to be!" he stated while trying to pull the sword away from his body but failing, "We can join forces!"

"You mean that bull about you fighting for the humans? You think I'm a moron?"

She began to shove the blade even deeper.

"Aaarghh!! It's not a trick! I just want to propose a way where we both can aid each other!!"

"Aid each other...?"

"Just- Argh!! Could you please put the sword away for a second?? All I want is for you to hear what I have to say... You can make your own judgment after that..."

The girl did not like it, but she was sadly too curious to hear what he had to say to simply ignore his words.

Trusting him was of course a foolish idea. For all she knew, he could just spout a pile of lies in order to escape from her. But on the other hand, the idea of being forced to fight him endlessly was also something she was still not a big fan of.

There might be a clue in his words on how to find a better solution. All she had to do was not let him deceive or get away from her.

She then finally pulled the sword away, but still keeping at a safe distance in case she needed to stab his skin again, "Talk. Briefly. Make me feel like I'm wasting my time and I'm going to waste your bones and skin."

Lian finished closing the wound in his heart and stared at her intimidating posture to make sure he wasn't making a mistake, "I can help you get the humans to win the faction game... You just need to let me join your faction..."

"Join my faction?"

"Yes. The moment you decided to play the game, your ruler recognized you as the leader of your faction... That means you have the right to choose your five warriors to fight by your side! You can go ahead and make me one of them! Someone who cannot die will surely prove useful in the competition!"

She tried to read his expression but the dragon had an absurdly good poker face. The girl couldn't tell if he was just making fun of her or actually telling an actual fact about the game.

"Sounds way too good to be true..." she commented.

"Not at all. If I join your faction, I'll be subjected to the same weakness as you! If something happens to your ruler, I will also lose my life!"

The girl flinched. If that was really true, she had just found the only way to get rid of him for good. Instead of being stuck in an endless battle, she could just end both of their lives together.

"That sounds like a really big piece of information for you to just hand over so easily... What's the catch?"

"My freedom means way more to me than you can imagine..." he replied while standing up and cleaning the dust from his clothes.

The girl did not like that and just stepped on his chest, forcing him to drop again.

"Ugh!"

"I did not give you permission to move, murderer..." she stated while aiming her blade at his neck.

"Your hatred for me will get you nowhere... It's nothing but an obsession that will poison your being more than any possible attack from my claws upon your metal skin..."

"Maybe..." she admitted, "Maybe I should just make you part of my faction like you said and kill both of us, right here!"

"That would be a rather sad turn of events for both me and you..." he commented, "An immortal dragon and an unbreakable armor? The human faction might never have an opportunity this good, ever again..."

She couldn't deny he was right. Lian Garen was a horrible creature, but after spending nearly a month confronting him, she couldn't deny he was strong.

Should she try to swallow her feelings for the greater good?

"Why would you betray your own kind? What if I win the game and request for the dragon faction to be erased?"

"Well... I guess that's the advantage you would have over me, right? What better way to get you to trust me than to show that I trust you?"

The girl understood. Lian was right now like a knight that had given up his weapon and shield in order to have a fair discussion. He changed into his weaker non-dragon form, he revealed a way to end his life, and he even placed the entire safety of the dragon faction in her hands.

He was a gambler. Giving her every possible advantage to make her know he was not afraid of her.

"And what exactly do you gain from that?" she continued, "Let's say I don't make every dragon go up in smoke after I win... You will still be considered a traitor among them. They will reject you forever!"

Lian Garen smiled upon hearing that, "Not if I don't reveal myself..."

"What do you mean?"

"Let me inside of you!"

"Eww!! GROSS!!! No way!!" she twitched while rubbing her metal plates.

"Not like that, you fool! I mean, let me wear you as my armor! You can hide my face and together we would be an unbeatable force!"

"Still no. I still have my principles. I might consider working with you... But no way in hell I'll give you access to my... Well... Me!"

"I see..." he sighed, "That's rather unfortunate... But I suppose there are other armors I can use to cover my appearance."

"Please do. Looking at you makes me wanna vomit."

"Lovely..."

"But still..." she pulled her sword away for a moment, "I still have a hard time believing you would just betray the dragons like this... Don't you have any sense of honor?"

"The only honor I have is with my own desires" he stated, "I did not come here today to kill your ruler due to my eternal loyalty to the dragon race... I came for the glory of eliminating a threat and secure our victory. But now that I'm stuck with you, my own safety takes priority over the safety of my race."

"Wow..." she mumbled, "You're a total asshole..."

"Do you think little of me for prioritizing myself over others?"

"Hey, I'm just a talking, walking, empty armor... And even I am not as cold or heartless as you."

"True... You did go to great lengths to protect these villagers even though they did not seem very fond of you..." he noted while rubbing his chin, "I suppose we just differ in where we place our values... You care about others more than about yourself, while I choose to not be such a fool..."

"Being insulted by you feels like I'm being praised. You know that, right?"

"Suit yourself... In any case... What do you say?" he asked while extending his hand towards her, "Will you be able to put aside your hatred towards me in order to protect the lives of innocents?"

If the girl had eyes, she would be glaring at him. She could tell that he managed to read her like an open book.

Even though she had no face, Lian Garen knew exactly what he needed to know about her just from observing her actions and words, and he used that to his advantage.

As he said, she cared about others, and he cared about himself, so he needed to let her know that his existence would be of great help to others.

She hated this. She hated how much sense there was in his logic. She hated how useful to her he sounded. A dragon? Someone that could provide valuable information from the most dangerous faction? Someone unable to die in battle? Someone with plenty of combat skill, knowledge, and this good at negotiation?

And she hated the fact that it seemed like there were no disadvantages in this deal for her. It all sounded too good to be true.

Too good.

Her only cost would be to work with someone that saw zero value in human life and that even killed someone close to her.

Would she be able to do it? Would she be able to conceal her anger in order to fulfill her duty? On top of that, he even said he might find a way to get her back home. Should she dare to hope?

"So... what do you say?" he smiled.

She wanted to say no. For all that is sacred, nothing would give her more joy than saying no. But sadly, she was just not familiar enough with the situation to have a good reason to refuse.

The girl thus decided to wait. She would work with him until he proved useful and should he betray her, do everything in her power to stop him.

This was the risk she decided to take.

"Very well..." she whispered, "I'll play your game... For now..."

"Wonderfull!"

That marked the day the girl ended her life as a prisoner of the oak hill... And started her life as a prisoner of the red dragon.

"Young lady... I get the feeling we are going to have a wonderful time together!"