The World Below - White Gold Dragon

Mana was an invisible energy to the vast majority of living beings.

However, if there is a large concentration of this energy at one point, it becomes visible.

Hercules was experiencing this experience at this time.

He had never seen what mana was actually like, and was bewildered by the scene he was seeing.

Athena was sitting on the floor, her eyes closed and a veil of gold, white, and azure blue emanated from her body, covering a large area around her.

The energy was dense, calm and yet wild. It flowed upward like a water veil up to the sky, shuddering in the wind.

(What is this?) Hercules took a wary step back.

Inside, Athena had achieved her goal of connecting the three mana.

The mana were glued together in a ring shape. But Athena couldn't control the power that came with that feat.

(Even though I put in so much effort... In the end I can't control it like that too... How much wasted effort.) Athena opened her eyes and looked around her. (Hmm?!)

While Athena had her eyes closed, Hercules widened his eyes more and more as he followed Athena's body.

The young man looked up.

Where there was an absurd amount of mana, were now white scales that glistened even in the low light of dawn.

Athena looked around her. Everything was so small it was small and where there was snow until recently, melted into black mud.

This was due to the earth being turned over as Athena transformed without realizing it.

(What happened to my body?) Athena looked at her arms, legs, wings, her long neck and tail. (Again? I didn't even use that spell... Ah! Never mind...)

"W-what the hell is this?" Hercules yelled in a shrill voice. "Y-are you a dragon?!"

Athena was in the form of a huge white dragon. She was so tall that Hercules looked like an ant.

The woman- no. The dragon brought its huge head up to the front of the young man and opened its mouth full of teeth.

"Iiiih! W-what do you want?!" Hercules leapt back, feeling the wall inside the hut, looking for his katana.

The dragon's hot breath sweated his skin and its gigantic teeth frightened him. He had never seen a creature so big.

(Is he scared?) Athena narrowed her eyes, growing even more menacing. (Do I have to talk to him...? Hm? Do I?) Athena lifted her head and looked up. (But I owe him... Um...) She looked back at Hercules and...

When she tried to speak, a loud, deep growl came out in place of her voice, startling Hercules and waking the three children awake.

Terrifying fear flooded the mind of the young man who automatically attacked the dragon's leg with his katana at the sound of the children's screams.

Hercules lost track of what was going on and his body moved out of pure survival instinct. He activated his most powerful skill and made a cut in the dragon's scales.

Well... He tried...

Athena's scales were much harder and thicker than Hercules' thin, worn katana.

The blade flashing orange light hit Athena's foot and shattered like glass.

(Huh? I... I can't speak in this form?) Athena kept roaring, confused by not being able to speak. (It was just what was missing... I can't use magic or skill, but I can't speak either...)

This caused Hercules and the children to lose consciousness.

(That's not possible... I need to go back to my human form.) Athena thought and concentrated to unbind the mana.

But then she smelled a strange smell of rotting meat. She could smell her own scent and it wasn't one of the nicest ones, just like the scent of Hercules and the children. But it didn't even compare to the scent that was approaching with speed.

(I won't be able to fight without mana or a sword... I'll stay like this for a while.)

When Athena thought this, she saw a group of humanoid monsters coming towards them.

(That's...) Athena narrowed her eyes and her vision traveled up to the creatures as if zooming in on them. (Um.... Dragon eyes are quite convenient...)

What she saw were monsters with extremely white skin, dark red eyes and long limbs as if they had been lengthened.

(Ghouls? Ignorant creatures, driven only by hunger. I will crush-)

Athena started to get haughty when she thought about stepping on the monsters and suddenly she felt her her mana scatter again.

(Eh? N-no! Wait-)

Athena had returned to her size and now in addition to being unarmed, she was naked.

"Are you kidding me?!" Athena screamed at the energies within her. "How am I going to fight?"

Athena looked to the east and realized that the monsters were still far away. She considered trying to connect the mana again, but she knew that she didn't have much time and rushed to wake up Hercules.

"Hey! Wake up, boy!" Athena tugged at the collar of Hercules' half-armor, putting him in a sitting position, and slapped the young man in the face, but he don't woken. "What? Are you dead?" She frowned and checked Hercules' pulse. "No, you are alive..."

Athena dropped Hercules at the hut door and frowned at the broken katana as if looking at a dead animal.

"My nails are better…" Athena said looking at the razor-sharp nails.

It was still a little while before the ghouls reached them. Athena took off Hercules' half-armor and also his clothes and put them on after throwing him to the children and closing the hut door.

"Well, that will do..." Athena monologued as looking at her own body and moving to see how her new robes and armor fit on her. "Now..."

The sound of the monsters' snarls signaled their proximity and Athena came to her guard with a wan smile on her face.

It had been a while since she felt any real imminent danger. Of course, all of the previous dangers would have killed her if she got careless and one in the end almost did.

However, in all these crises, she had magic and skills to use, now all she had left was her natural strength and dexterity.

But that the ghouls had too.

Once they were vampires, but when the miasma spread to the surface where the gates of hell opened, they decayed to these creatures that lived to satiate their hungers.

They ran on all fours like animals and were fast as wolves. But wolves didn't climb trees and they didn't knock it down either.

When they finally appeared to Athena, she felt a cold sweat break out on her back and her open hands trembled slightly.

She couldn't tell if what she felt was fear or excitement, but on her face, the wan smile had turned into a smile of pure ecstasy.

Her heart was beating fast and her breathing was rapid. She felt the hot blood running through her veins and without thinking twice she ran into the monsters.

If someone watched from afar, it would be difficult to tell who was hunting whom.

The more advanced ghoul didn't even notice when Athena severed his arm with her claws and attacked the woman by swinging his available arm at the height of her head.

Athena ignored the first ghoul as she evaded it's attack, and jumped up to kick the other monster in the face.

"This could end up being useful in ending my frustration!" Athena said as she ripped another ghoul's face into four slices.

Athena was fighting more skillfully than she expected.

As she thrust her arm across another monster's stomach, she thought of the first time she'd faced them in the game and how she'd blasted them with {Hellfire} until there was nothing left of them. She wished that she had the magic to repeat the feat, but she didn't mourned it.

Two hours passed, the sun was already in the sky and an Athena bathed in blood was standing around dozens of white corpses.

The air rushed in and out of her lungs with ferocity and turned on vapor as it returned to the cold air, resembling the breath of a dragon.

When Hercules awoke, without noticing his nudity, he walked out the door of the hut and saw Athena.

The woman seemed to be boiling with steam coming out of her body.

Athena walked back to the cabin and patted the silly young man on the shoulder.

"We're not going north anymore." Athena said as she entered in the hut.

"Huh?"

***

In the morning, when Anemus woke up and opened their bedroom window, she was in for a surprise.

In front of the inn, under the window of their bedroom, dozens of carts of flowers of different colors, formed an arrowed heart.

"What the...?" Anemus said in a low voice and the door behind her opened.

"Ah... You saw it." Lunnia said as she pushed open the door with her foot. Her hands were busy with a tray full of fruit, bread, pitcher and glasses. "People were staring at me so I brought breakfast to the room."

"Whose is this and for whom?"

"They said it belongs to the prince of that kingdom and it's for Fotia." Lunnia laughed.

"Huh?!"

"Ah! I made the same face." Lunnia pointed to Anemus' disbelief. "But, well... Fotiá is beautiful. It's not so surprising that it happens."

"Let's go." Anemus decided and threw a gust of wind at Fotiá. Waking her up by throwing her out of bed. "Get up, Fotiá, we're leaving."

"What time?" Fotiá asked when she appeared terribly disheveled from behind the bed.

"It's time to pack up and fly!" Anemus hurried.

They didn't even eat breakfast and leave the inn. While Fotiá complained about her empty stomach, Anemus looked back to look at the girl who was limping.

"Quick! Don't you want to see Athena?" Anemus said and bumped into the icy metallic of someone's armor. "S-sorry."

"Do you know Athena?" An lively voice asked.