Kai's footsteps echoed down the long, white corridor, accompanied by six other pairs, as he was escorted to the exit of the detention centre.

Across Kai's body, passing through the thin, black robe, small bolts of black lightning, occasionally interrupted by one that was white, flickered giving the young dragon an eerie, ominous appearance.

While the corridor wasn't that wide, the six guards, three on each side, tried to keep as much distance as possible from Kai while still keeping him secure and in their line of sight.

While the drake was being released, until they reached the door, he was their responsibility.

Having learnt that mana projectiles were almost useless against the strange creature during the rampage when they had attempted, and failed, to take a sample of blood, the guards had swapped out their new-age weapons called guns for short swords and light, magic-repellant jackets for plate armour.

While looking impressive, it felt like they were dressing up for a historical re-enactment. However, none of them thought displeased by their superiors decision. In fact, the armour had already saved them from serious injury, and so their appreciation of this antique, magical armour had risen dramatically.

Watching Kai like hawks for any indications that he was losing his temper, the guards were all looking forward to getting rid of what they saw as a ticking bomb and returning to their normal duties.

Five days had passed since Kai had arrived with Mellisa and Eldric and while the young dragon couldn't blame them for his current predicament, having got into immense trouble and been recalled by their superiors after attempting to stand by his side, saying that Kai wasn't livid at his current treatment would be an understatement.

An emotion that, more than once, when pushed or when he felt he was being taken advantage of, Kai had let his captors know well.

If Mellisa hadn't explained what was going on and spent so much time and effort in trying to resolve the issues, as well as Eldric having nearly gone on a rampage when she had almost been put in handcuffs, Kai would have already made things completely irreparable and fought to the death to regain his freedom.

Now, like a bad dream, it was seemingly all over.

From what Kai had overheard, the local monster population had been in an uproar about one of their own's unfair imprisonment, especially a clan of red drakes, and amongst other pressures, Kai was being released.

Kai sneered as his right eye twitched.

Even without the so-called pressure, apparently, without evidence or cause, they could not keep him detained for more than five days.

After that, they were forced by their own laws to release him.

That was one of the reasons why after being told by a man called a lawyer, Kai took extra care not to kill or permanently injure any of the guards and escape.

It would give them a just cause to continue, at least in Kai's eyes, his persecution.

Even then if it weren't for the red drakes having a high social standing and taking responsibility for Kai and his actions during his stay, he would have been expelled from the city and its borders.

Not that Kai cared much.

He was already so fed up with the city and its bureaucracy that he wanted to burn everything to the ground. He had been forced to maintain his uncomfortable, human form with a metal collar around his neck, that would apparently kill him if he transformed.

Yet, he still had objectives and so, continued to restrain himself

A low, rumbling growl resonated from his chest, causing his captor's heart's to beat rapidly as their footsteps sped up.

Taking a deep breath, Kai tried to calm himself. While he doubted he would ever visit another human city, he was still logical enough to know that the cause of all this was himself and his pathetic excuse for a plan.

He had made a lot of assumptions about this world based on his inherited knowledge, nearly all of them being wrong and, deep down, he knew that if he had made this sort of blunder in a more turbulent time, he would have found it challenging to live let alone be released after five days of interrogation.

Kai felt that the largest mistake he had made was that he come up with, at least to his past self, a convincing story to why he didn't understand much of the current world yet wasn't as stupid or weak as a newborn.

While a few other monsters had ancestral memories, they were nothing like a dragon's so, he stated he had been dropped to this world via a portal as a part of his coming of age ceremony. He would need to find his way home without the aid of his clan, and then he would then be considered an adult.

While rare, in Kai's mother's time, it wasn't uncommon for the long-lived races to carry out this practice, normally sending them with a guardian. However, it seemed that in this age, it wasn't just rare, it was impossible and so caused, after a brief round of doubt, an uproar.

During the rebellion against the gods, the methods to travel between worlds had been lost and after a few thousand years, most had given up on it, stating the gods had done something to the dimensional structure during their retreat making cross-world travel impossible.

After that, it seemed everything that Kai said or did was just another bombshell that caused everything to escalate to the point that gaining a simple immigration card, was unthinkable.

One of their tests, a simple crystal Kai had to place his hand on, revealed the level of his monster core and his age, caused the surroundings to go into an uproar. He was only eighteen years old but already was at the cusp of breaking into the fifth stage of the monster core and, without a doubt, unbound.

This level of strength, including the ability to take on human form, at such a young age, was unheard of and raised a lot of fears and concerns from the humans, while joy and expectation for beasts and monsters.

Not only that, the stone indicated that Kai's true strength was much, much higher. It predicted that he could fight up to and including level eight monsters, putting him in a category that was considered a direct threat to the safety of Netherspire City.

Kai was escorted, along with Mellisa and Eldric, to the detention centre not long after that discovery, yet no matter how much the city officials tried to cover it, news about Kai spread like wildfire.

Kai's pupils narrowed.

He had not expected his presence to cause such an uproar and was concerned that those that had been chasing him in the Frozen Forest would quickly discover his whereabouts.

Reaching the doorway, the guards slouched in relief as Kai continued, however, after taking no more than four steps outside, the young dragon was forced to stop in his tracks.

A wave of noise, lights and sounds assaulted Kai's senses as hundreds of eyes focused on him as if he had appeared from a bolt of lightning.

Outside the door, kept away by a line of men that appeared to be in a strange, military uniform, red scales appearing sporadically on their necks and faces, were hundreds of people, now seemingly surging towards Kai.

Protected from the swarm by the scaled men, an old man approached Kai and bowed deeply. "Lord Kai, please allow me to lead you to the Clan headquarters."

Kai had met this man once before, the representative of the red drake clan and the only reason that Kai had not immediately left the city. That and they had promised that they would remove the metal collar unconditionally when he met with their leader.

Restricting his senses even more than his human body naturally did, Kai's eyes finally focused on the man. "What is this?"

"News of your Lordships pure bloodline, strength and unimaginable origin, has unfortunately made its way to the press. Like any uneducated mass, they fawn and desire to know more about your Lordship. They-"

The old man stopped, noticing Kai's displeasure at his flattery. "Please follow me. I will lead you to the Clan master, and then you will gain access to the clan library."

Information.

This was the one thing Kai lacked in this world and, even if he were momentarily dancing to another's tune, he would use this opportunity to gain as much as possible so he wouldn't make a similar mistake again.

"Lead the way," growled Kai, his bad mood and temper barely restrained. Five days of being stuck in a human body, interrogated and forced to submit to others had left him dancing on the edge of giving in to his primal instincts.

In dragon standards, still keeping his calm would be a feat that would have been lauded as exceptional patience and willpower, yet in this day and age, it seemed to signify his acceptance of the law of man.

Kai followed the old man towards a large, horseless carriage without another word.

In a village tavern, hundreds of miles away, a badly scarred, blond haired woman watched the television, a glowing crystal embedded in the wall, intensely.

On the screen, Kai walked out of a building, his blazing golden eyes, the slit-like pupils causing most to shudder at the repressed fury hidden within.

Eyes that she would never forget. The eyes of an enraged dragon.

Words that she could not understand appeared underneath him as a female voice droned on about the strange new monster that had captured everyone's attention.

"Netherspire City," said Mira slowly, standing up and walking towards the exit, ignoring the barman who was too terrified to ask her to pay her tab.