Having rode everywhere in search of him, Matriarch Riteinia was reaching the limits of her patience. The other amazons, who were forced to follow her to chase down a small group of people they never met before, were also tired. They had travelled all the way from Mountain’s Peak Forest to the center of Ofauvra. After their Matriarch came back from her walk in the forest, she was fuming mad and became obsessed with this group, or more specifically, with one man.

“Where are you?” [Riteinia]

Riteninia whispered between her teeth, almost like a growl, as she remembered his unimpressive appearance, his sleepy expression and-

“TACTICAL RETREEEEAAAATTT!!!” [Ryner]

His annoying attitude.

“Matriarch!” [Amazon]

The brown-skinned, black-haired amazon riding next to her shouted and pointed in front.

“I see it.” [Riteinia]

There was an object in the distance, moving on the road. Her tribe had encountered other people while on the move and each time, Riteinia would raise her expectations, thinking that she finally found him. However, it was never him. Some men that she encountered were visibly experienced warriors and her tribe would ask her if they should use them to increase their numbers. However, not wanting to waste time, she told them to move on and to make do with the men that they had captured before. Right now, she was solely focused on finding that black-haired human to rip his guts out.

Riteinia wondered if this time too, it would be a miss as she used magic to strengthen her vision and see what the object on the road was. Her heightened sense of sight told her that it was a carriage. Furthermore, the man that was sitting on the driver’s seat was the one she had been seeking. After hunting him down with no clue to guide her except for the general direction he escaped in, she finally found him. Her eyes locked on to his detestable face and a huge smile split her face.

She found him. That fact brought her joy followed by an intense thirst for battle.

“I’m going ahead! No one touches that man! He’s mine!” [Riteinia]

Once she hurriedly gave her orders, Riteinia jumped off her horse and began running, leaving behind her tribe who couldn’t keep up with her speed. The man that so easily threw her through the sky had gotten off the carriage with the blonde-haired woman from before as well as a small dog. Then, after detaching the horses, he made it disappear in a weird blue circle as if it was sucked into it. Although her mind registered that he possessed some unknown power, she was too preoccupied with the fact that he was right in front of her. Riteinia jumped high in the air and fell towards him like a comet.

“I’VE FOUND YOU!!” [Riteinia]

She screamed as she threw a punch at him with all her might, unleashing her fury and the excitement that came with finding him. Just as she expected, both he and the woman dodged, moving out of the way before her fist hit the ground and formed a small crater.

“Oh, I remember her. She’s the crazy lady.” [Ryner]

“I’m glad to hear that, but please be more cautious, Ryner. She is rather strong.” [Evelyn]

Ryner. That was the man’s name. Riteinia clearly heard it and committed it to memory.

“Oi, crazy lady, don’t touch my dog or I’ll rip your head off.” [Ryner]

The insufferable man, Ryner, told her in a laidback manner while holding onto the small red puppy in his arms. His attitude ticked her off.

“Do you have any idea how hard I searched for you?!” [Riteinia]

“What? You have some business with me? Then make an appointment with my secretary. Ah, wait, I don’t have a secretary. Evie, I need a secretary. A hot one with a nice, busty body, if you can.” [Ryner]

“Ryner, now is not the time to joke. I swear, you have always been like this… And there’s no need to find someone to do secretarial work, I can do it.” [Evelyn]

“Well, I kinda wanted her to do stuff other than paperwork for me.” [Ryner]

“All the more reason why it should be me. I’m confident that I know you better than any random bit… Excuse me, woman. So I can take care of all your needs, even those outside of paperwork.” [Evelyn]

“No, read between the lines. My ‘needs’ aren’t stuff like making my meal or massaging my shoulders. I was implying other really personal matters. And were you about to say bitc-?” [Ryner]

“ENOUGH!!” [Riteinia]

Riteinia jumped in angrily, interrupting Ryner and Evelyn who began talking to each other while ignoring her.

“You’ve got some anger issues, crazy lady. I know a great old-school remedy for you. It’s called a punching bag.” [Ryner]

Ryner said after dodging her angry fist.

“I will tear your guts out and feed them to you!” [Riteinia]

“… Oookay, maybe you need help instead.” [Ryner]

Riteinia lunged at him again, but Evelyn stepped in from the side and stopped her. She swung her sword and the light green-haired amazon retreated back to dodge it. Black smoke trailed after every swing of the vampire’s sword, causing alarms to ring inside the Matriarch’s head.

“I told you last time. Do not touch him.” [Evelyn]

Evelyn said while glaring at her enemy. Her red eyes seemed to glow faintly and sharp fangs peeked out from her mouth.

“Then I’ll start with you.” [Riteinia]

The amazon declared in a cold voice with her hands clenched tightly into fists. The two women dug their feet in the ground, ready to dash forward with the goal of killing the other.

“Wait!” [Ryner]

However, one person’s voice broke the tension as he stood next to Evelyn and tapped her shoulder twice. He raised his index finger and wore a serious expression as he looked at Riteinia.

“Stop me if you’ve already heard this before.” [Ryner]

Evelyn slightly raised her eyebrow at his words while Riteinia narrowed her eyes. Ryner opened his mouth, sucked in a deep breath and-

“TACTICAL RETREEEEAAAATTT!!!” [Ryner]

He bolted off in the opposite direction with Mi in his arms. The vampire followed after him. The amazon was left behind again with her tribe approaching from the rear. Her wide open eyes showed her stunned state, but she quickly recovered since it was the second time this happened.

“… RYYYNNEEEEERRRR!!!” [Riteinia]

She howled his name like a mad beast and chased after the escaping two at a speed impossible for normal people.

“Hey, she’s still chasing us.” [Ryner]

Ryner casually remarked as he looked behind him.

“That woman doesn’t know when to give up.” [Evelyn]

“Yeah. This feels a lot like the time a certain girl’s first love went bad… But unlike us, the guy couldn’t escape in the end. From the girl and her hammer.” [Ryner]

The sleepy-looking man stared at the sky while reminiscing about the past which sounded rather dangerous.

“Evie, if you ever suffer unrequited love, make sure you don’t turn out like her.” [Ryner]

“… I will keep it in mind.” [Evelyn]

Evelyn answered after looking away from him.

“Anyway, we should avoid amazons, but if we’ve already got someone like her on our tail, then I guess escaping doesn’t do much now. Besides, the dog can’t handle this forever.” [Ryner]

Ryner shrugged his shoulders as he said so before he looked at Mi who kept her eyes closed because of the wind pressure.

“Then, can I fight her?” [Evelyn]

The vampire raised her sword menacingly. Her thirst for blood was obvious on her face.

“Even if we kill her, the rest of those amazons will still chase after us. That means we’ll need to wipe them all out. So let’s scare her off first. Show her that she shouldn’t mess with us to make the rest of them give up. And if it doesn’t work, then we’ll decimate her specie.” [Ryner]

He suggested to her, but then added something scary at the end.

“Intimidation through overwhelming might. Very well.” [Evelyn]

The two stopped, sliding on the ground for a bit because of their speed and turned around.

Riteinia was fast approaching like a bullet.

“I’ll scare her, Evie. Stay back and hold the dog for me.” [Ryner]

“Will you be alright wasting your power on her? You said it doesn’t replenish itself.” [Evelyn]

Evelyn asked while receiving Mi and backing away.

“Ah, it’s fine. At this level, it’s like shaving away a mountain. I just need to make sure I don’t shave it to the ground.” [Ryner]

They exchanged a few quick words before the enraged amazon reached them. Once again, she aimed for Ryner. Her right hand was like a vicious claw that went straight for his abdomen, intending to tear through his flesh and rip out his innards. However, instead of the usual bloody and gory scene, Riteinia’s hand was stopped.

“Tch!” [Riteinia]

Ryner, who caught her wrist with his left hand, followed up with a punch to her face. Although the amazon was initially surprised, she reacted to his attack and grabbed his fist.

“Again, you stopped me. But this time, you can’t escape…!” [Ritieinia]

The short exchange had become a test of strength as Riteinia tried to overpower the detestable man by crushing his right fist and pushing him back. However, he remained unperturbed and stared at her with half-closed eyes. His fist wasn’t crushed nor did he move an inch. Rather, she was the one being pushed back as his grip strengthened on her right wrist.

“Guh! You…!” [Riteinia]

She groaned in pain and increased the amount of mana being used for body strengthening to become stronger. Her turbulent mana was being burned at a greater quantity, making it more difficult to control and keep the spell going. She gritted her teeth to not lose her concentration all while pushing Ryner back. Finally, his arms budged and they started moving backwards, but that was only for a second.

“You seriously believe I’m your prey, don’t you?” [Ryner]

He suddenly spread his arms to the sides, causing Riteinia to lose balance and to stagger forward. Before she could react, he delivered a powerful headbutt to her forehead, stunning her and making her bent backward. But, even in that precarious position, she stubbornly held onto his right fist. So, using his left hand, he sent a palm strike to her solar plexus, taking her breath away before finishing with a frontal kick. The Matriarch was sent rolling on the ground a good ten meters.

“*Cough cough* You damn man…!” [Riteinia]

The moment she got on one knee while coughing, she felt that he was approaching at high speed from the front, so she reflexively punched without looking. Her fist cut through the air and hit nothing.

“Over here, idiot.” [Ryner]

Ryner was squatting down right next to her and was lazily staring at her with one hand supporting his chin. Reacting to his voice, she wildly swung her left arm, but he stretched his left hand out and caught her elbow, stopping the swing at its early motion.

“Do you still feel like you’re hunting prey?” [Ryner]

Ryner asked nonchalantly while applying enough pressure to crush steel beams with his bare hands.

“NgghrraaaaAAAHHH!!!” [Riteinia]

Refusing to back down, the strongest amazon endured the pain and sent a right punch to his face, but he easily diverted it with his right hand by pushing it upward.

“You have no idea who you’re messing with, brat.” [Ryner]

This time, Ryner’s voice was as cold as ice which made Riteinia pull her head away as if there was a sword in front of her throat. However, what happened next caused her to forget her position as Matriarch of the amazon tribe. Incredible bloodlust was released from the man’s body. She was familiar with it because of the number of times she came face-to-face with it. The killing intent of an enemy was no stranger to her and her senses had grown sharp enough to detect it, allowing her to feel when a hidden predator wanted to pounce on her.

“(Wha…)” [Riteinia]

However, this was different. It was like a wave, an unceasing torrent of blackness that fell on her. It made her wonder how anyone could release such bloodlust.

“(What… Is he…?)” [Riteinia]

Her body shivered in fright and cold sweat covered her body. Her focus was interrupted, causing her body strengthening spell to wane. Even her desire to battle disappeared and she felt like she was staring down the maws of death. But, that only lasted a few seconds. The distorted blackness being released by Ryner ceased to torment her as it dissolved into thin air. However, she didn’t have time to catch her breath as she was suddenly pushed on the ground with her left arm held in place.

“You get it yet?” [Ryner]

His voice that had gone back to a laidback tone sounded right next to her ear as her cheek was pressed on the grass. Ryner was on top of her, holding her arm straight with both hands.

“I’m not your prey, and you’re not my predator.” [Ryner]

“Urrggh!!” [Riteinia]

He bent her arm in the opposite direction with quick and experienced movements, breaking her elbow joint. The Matriarch clenched her teeth to suppress her voice as pain assaulted her.

“Next time you come after me, I’ll break more than every bone in your body. Your spirit, your heart, your soul, I’ll annihilate you… Then, I’ll kill you.” [Ryner]

He whispered to her and shivers went down her spine. Although her heart was beating fast because of the earlier monstrous killing intent, her will wasn’t broken. She pumped as much mana as she could into her body strengthening spell and struggled to get him off her back. In response, Ryner struck the back of her head, stunning her for a second, just long enough to quickly get up and flipped her over. Then, he pinned down both her hands and stared at her face from up-close.

“Still don’t get it?” [Ryner]

“Uurraarggh-GAAH!!” [Riteinia]

Ryner gradually increased his grip until he broke the bones in her left forearm.

“You are my prey.” [Ryner]

Gazing into his eyes of different color, Riteinia once more shivered in fear.

She felt fear.

This man invoked such a feeling in her. Her breath caught in her throat and she couldn’t tear her eyes away from his face. While she was in that stunned state, Ryner got off her and grabbed her leg.

“Seriously, this time…” [Ryner]

He threw her like a rag doll towards the horde of amazons that were galloping their way.

“DON’T COME BACK!!!” [Ryner]

Now that the chore was over, Ryner slapped his hands together a few times and turned around, heading towards Evelyn who was observing from a safe distance.

“Woof woof woof!” [Mi]

Mi energetically barked as if to welcome him back.

“Let’s get out of here.” [Ryner]

“Will they be a problem?” [Evelyn]

Evelyn asked while keeping her eyes on the group of amazons that stopped and got off their horses to check on their Matriarch.

“Probably not. I saw how she looked at me.” [Ryner]

Ryner shrugged his shoulders and raised his hand in front of him to which a blue circle appeared.

“She was scared.” [Ryner]

“Matriarch!” [Amazon]

An amazon called out to Riteinia who raised her upper body and sat on the ground. Her broken left arm powerlessly dangled.

“I’m fine. Where… Where is that man?” [Riteinia]

“He is-.” [Amazon]

“Look!” [Amazon]

“What is that?!” [Amazon]

Gasps of surprise were raised because of the spectacle they were seeing. What seemed to be a giant black bird appeared out of nowhere. With a loud rumbling noise, flames came out from its wings, behind and underbelly as it took altitude, slowly rising in the air. Then, it suddenly flew away at high speed. The golden-eyed women all stared with their mouths agape until it became a tiny dot in the sky.

“… Where is that man?” [Riteinia]

After a few moments of silence, the Matriarch asked once again. The black-haired, brown-skinned amazon snapped out of it and answered her question.

“He, he somehow went inside the head of that thing along with the human woman and their dog.” [Amazon]

“So he flew away.” [Riteinia]

Riteinia said while getting up to her feet. The pain in her arm was enough to make any man scream, but she acted nonchalantly as if it didn’t hurt. An amazon approached from the side and held out a healing potion. The Matriarch took the bottle of red liquid and gulped it down. She could feel a slight itch and warmth in her left arm as her flesh and bones started mending.

“We’re pursuing.” [Riteinia]

“Matriarch, we’ll be chasing them… That thing?” [Amazon]

“You saw it… I was beaten.” [Riteinia]

She crushed the glass bottle in her hand. Her voice contained bitterness over her crushing defeat. That man faced her seriously and showed her the difference between them. No, he was still toying with her. It was the first time she ever felt so powerless. It was the first time she fought someone with such ridiculous power and with such abnormal bloodlust.

“… I want him.” [Riteinia]

She said as she looked into the horizon where the black bird disappeared to.

“We’ll capture him no matter what. Is that clear?” [Riteinia]

“Yes, Matriarch.” [Amazon]

The amazon nodded and spoke respectfully, but she was also excited, just like the rest of her tribe. The women all had sharp eyes like those of a predator as they stared at the sky. They had all seen from afar the short but intense duel between their leader and the black-haired man. He was several leagues above their strongest amazon. To meet such a powerful warrior made their Amazonian blood boil. Everyone now understood why the Matriarch was so adamant in tracking him down.

“As soon as my arm finishes healing, we’re leaving right away. Get me my horse.” [Riteinia]

After giving her order, Riteinia observed her tribe who was now eager to give chase. Her eyes caught sight of three tired beastmen who were on their horses and were being watched by a few amazons so that they wouldn’t escape. They were the three hopeful men that her tribe had accepted and were being used to breed.

“How many of us are pregnant?” [Riteinia]

“None so far, Matriarch. We haven’t had much chance to use the men since we began our chase.” [Amazon]

“I see. Kill them.” [Riteinia]

She ordered their death in a cold voice without hesitation which caused the brown-skinned amazon to stare at her with a puzzled gaze.

“Matriarch Riteinia?” [Amazon]

“They keep slowing us down. And you saw it yourself. Compared to that man, those three’s blood are worthless. They’re nothing more than useless baggage. Get rid of them.” [Riteinia]

“… I understand. After what we witnessed, no one will complain. They’ve probably all lost interest in them anyway.” [Amazon]

The black-haired woman relayed the orders to another tribeswoman. This one walked towards the three hopeful men to carry out her leader’s order.

“(Whoever defeats the Matriarch must be captured and his blood must be spread to future generations.)” [Amazon]

She thought about their old law as she saw off the sword-wielding woman who was about to dispose of their luggage. At the same time, she recalled that human’s appearance, dominating their strongest warrior. When she did, her instincts demanded that he be caught and that his seed be obtained.

“When we find him again, no one is allowed to touch him. He is mine. I’ll defeat him and bring him back alive. Then, we’ll have everyone bear his child to strengthen our tribe. However!” [Riteinia]

Her Matriarch instructed as she impatiently waited for her arm to finish healing.

“I’ll be the first to use him.” [Riteinia]

“So you have finally chosen a male, Matriarch.” [Amazon]

“Yeah. He’ll be my first.” [Riteinia]

Riteinia said as she stared at the sky, a cold smile formed on her face. No trace of fear was visible in her golden eyes. Rather, what was reflected in them was her fight from earlier as the human overpowered her and pinned her to the ground.

“(Strong.)” [Riteinia]

She recalled how he straddled her and stared at her from so close that she could feel his breath.

“(Violent.)” [Riteinia]

She recalled how he broke her arm and released such thick bloodlust.

“(Cruel.)” [Ritieinia]

When she replayed the fight in her head, a powerful desire to see him again burned inside her and her smile widened. She wanted revenge for her loss and the best way to do so was to get his child.

That was the kind of person Riteinia was. Unfortunately for Ryner, he had made a huge mistake. Scaring her until she trembled like a lamb and breaking her bones after showing overwhelming might weren’t enough to intimidate her, to stop her. Defeating one of their own one-sidedly wasn’t enough to deter the amazons from chasing after him either. It only fanned their strong desire to capture him and use him as a breeding horse. It was especially the case since he beat up none other than their Matriarch.

He should have gone with his second plan and wiped out their tribe. Now, over thirty women wanted to tie him up and bear his daughter.

“Ryner.” [Riteinia]

Riteinia whispered his name as her smile went from cold to sadistic.

“Ack!” [Ryner]

In the cockpit of the black plane he rode in, Ryner shivered.

“What’s the matter?” [Evelyn]

Evelyn, who was riding in the seat behind him, asked while keeping Mi from moving around in the cramp space.

“Nothing. I just suddenly felt cold.” [Ryner]

“Did you catch a cold? We should be careful just in case and have you rest. I’ll make sure to nurse you properly.” [Evelyn]

“No, I’m fine. I don’t get sick so easily. More importantly, make sure you don’t touch anything.” [Ryner]

“I know. But, later on, you must tell me how this thing works. For us to be flying in the sky in a contraption that doesn’t use magic.” [Evelyn]

The vampire curiously gazed at the various buttons, switches and displays around her cockpit. Her eyes were round like saucers when Ryner took a plane out of his pocket dimension and she was as stiff as a statue when they flew off. Outside the glass, she could see the clear blue sky and a sea of white clouds beneath. It was an incredible sight she had never witnessed before.

“What? This is just like Avalon. Speaking of which, we should be able to see it soon. I had it move close to our position.” [Ryner]

Just as Ryner said, flying in the distance, a small rectangular object was visible. But, as they got closer and closer, the object grew larger and larger until it reached a gargantuan size.

“There’s the Avalon.” [Ryner]

“Incredible. Just how can such a thing be built by human hands?” [Evelyn]

The vampire muttered, amazed by the sight of a one kilometer tall structure flying in the sky.

“The greatest minds were gathered from all over the world to make it. I heard it was a pain to design it and they were all spending sleepless nights racking their brains. Not surprising given they built the biggest dreadnought-class battleship in history.” [Ryner]

“This ship is from another world, correct? How did it come under your possession?” [Evelyn]

“This and that happened.” [Ryner]

Ryner evaded the question and adjusted his course to Avalon.

“I see.” [Evelyn]

Evelyn didn’t pry further, mostly because she had other matters she wanted to ask him.

“By the way, Ryner, about that busty secretary you wanted.” [Evelyn]

“What? You still on about that?” [Ryner]

“I am positive I can do the job flawlessly.” [Evelyn]

“No.” [Ryner]

“I can do it.” [Evelyn]

“No. You will not be my secretary.” [Ryner]

“Why not?” [Evelyn]

“Just no.” [Ryner]

“Why reject the notion?” [Evelyn]

“Because it was a joke. I was kidding, messing around, lying. More like, why do I need a secretary?” [Ryner]

“To take care of your personal needs.” [Evelyn]

“Damn it. I can’t see your face so I can’t tell if you’re lying.” [Ryner]

“I am always serious.” [Evelyn]

“Real funny.” [Ryner]

The talks about getting a secretary continued until they reached the Avalon.