Joseph stared off into the horizon with a frown on his face. The sun was setting, yet Keith and Danielle hadn’t reported back. Although Keith was annoying, and Danielle wielded her dagger way too freely around her allies, that didn’t mean the two of them were incompetent. When they were given a task, they’d accomplish it.

“Are you worried?” a feminine voice asked from the side. It belonged to the woman who was responsible for silencing Keith. She was holding a map she had drawn of the area, and the landmarks recorded on it were ones she had personally created because there were no natural ones in the vicinity.

“Worried about those two?” Joseph snorted and turned around. “Why would I worry about them?” He stomped back to the tents that had been erected as a makeshift camp. In all, they had hired close to a hundred people to help them with the expedition this time.

“They’ll be fine,” the woman who had silenced Keith said, following behind Joseph. “They probably found something interesting and forgot to report back in time. It wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened. Remember the incident with the crabs?”

Joseph ignored his companion and looked around. A frown appeared on his face. Of the twenty scouts they had sent out, only ten had returned before nightfall. Either they were all incapable of following instructions, or they had encountered something troublesome. “Of the scouts that came back, none of them reported any sightings of dangerous creatures, right?”

“Right,” Joseph’s companion said. “They all reported the same thing: the landscape is desolate and brown. It really is a dead continent.”

Joseph furrowed his brow. “Something’s not right. If it’s brown and empty in all directions, they shouldn’t have trouble returning to camp.”

“Do you think it’s a dragon?”

“That’s what we’re here to hunt,” Joseph said and nodded. “Don’t send any more scouts out. If the ones who’re currently missing don’t come back by tomorrow night, then we’ll have to reevaluate how to tackle this mission.”

***

Keith stared at the projected image of light in front of himself with a complicated expression on his face. On the screen, there was an image of two people walking through a brown wasteland. In the background, there was a small holy dragon sneaking up on them, crouching and crawling on its belly like a tiger stalking its prey. As for how the scouts were unable to spot such an obvious sight heading towards them, Keith wasn’t sure, but they were oblivious to the incoming danger. With a pounce, the holy dragon caught the two people, one in each paw. Although there was no sound, Keith didn’t have to hear the screams to know they existed.

“Good job,” the pink-eyed goat standing by Keith said. The screen disappeared, and not long after, the sounds of wingbeats came from above. Ramon came down from the sky and landed behind Kozabokget. He dropped his captured scouts and gestured towards them. Danielle came over and wordlessly cut their clothes into strips, which she then proceeded to use to bind them.

“What are you doing?” one of the scouts asked. His eyes were wide, and his face was pale. If Keith had to guess, the poor fellow had been dropped and caught a few times on the journey over. “Why are you collaborating with dragons to capture us? I knew the Dragon Slayers were up to no good!”

“Shut up,” Danielle said and slapped the scout across the face. She took a strip of cloth and gagged the poor man. Her expression was dark as she glared at him. “If you don’t know anything, don’t say anything.”

Keith cleared his throat. “As you can see, we were captured by the dragon as well,” he said. “As for why we’re helping him bind you, well, we’ll be eaten if we don’t assist.”

Ramon picked up the newly bound scout and dropped him near a field of heads. The ground opened up, and the man’s body sank downwards, leaving only his head free, adding one more head to the macabre crop field. Ramon lifted his front leg and pointed at the heads, counting them one by one. It wasn’t that he hadn’t counted them before, rather, he had to make sure all of them were still there. If any of them got free, then Keith and Danielle would be punished.

“You don’t have to count,” Gloria said from nearby. She was lying on her belly, her chin propped up on her front paws. “I’ve been watching them this whole time.”

Ramon grunted. “It’s your turn.”

Gloria climbed to her feet and glanced at Kozabokget. The goat bleated at the air, but unlike the previous times, no screen of light appeared. The pink-eyed goat tilted her head and bleated again. After a bit, she frowned and looked at the two dragons. “There’s no more humans wandering around in groups smaller than five.”

Ramon scratched his chin. “Then, we’re done?”

“For now,” Kozabokget said and yawned. “It’s time for a break. We’ll see what they do tomorrow and continue from there. Humans don’t sleep for long, but they sleep a lot. They don’t like moving around at night.”

Gloria sat on her haunches and rubbed her stomach. “It’s a perfect time for a break,” she said. “I’m getting hungry.” Her gaze swept over the field of human heads, and all of them shuddered. They stared at the ground, hoping she wouldn’t look at them for too long. Luckily for them, Gloria was influenced by Vur and believed humans tasted bad. She stared up at the sky. “I don’t think the moon will be out tonight. Should we go back and eat? Grandma will get suspicious if we don’t show up for food.”

“Is there still bear meat?” Ramon asked. “The next time Tafel comes, we should ask her to bring some more.”

“Excuse me,” Keith said. “I know eavesdropping is wrong and all, but did you just say Tafel? By any chance, are you talking about a demon?”

Ramon glanced at Keith. “You know her?”

Keith scratched his head. “In a sense,” he said. “How is she related to the two of you?”

“She’s our cousin’s mate,” Ramon said.

Keith fell silent. Danielle asked, “Vur Besteck?”

“You know him too?” Ramon asked, raising an eyebrow.

Keith and Danielle exchanged glances with one another. They weren’t quite sure what to say.