Catato Patch 

The winds blew gently by as death teasingly flicked its cold fingers over the face of Wu Junze, ever so closely but never touching…

 

The girl’s strike never came, instead there was the soft pitter patter of rainwater on his face.

 

‘Hmm? Rainwater?!’ His eyes flicked open amidst his confusion and peered straight ahead.

 

All he saw were tears of a girl, streaming down like rain as she stared unblinkingly in the direction of the tiny abyss dragon, palm frozen in mid-air. It was as if time had stopped for her then, turning her into a standing statue.

 

Confused, he turned towards the dragon and found it just lying there with barely any lifeforce left on its enervated face. Around it, the aura of death grew thicker and thicker by the second like it was about to die at any moment.

 

“Dragon-chan!” The girl seemed to have regained some of her senses and dashed away, leaving Wu Junze behind without a care.

 

“We...we won?” It was then that Wu Junze finally realized what was going on. Not only had they delayed the dragon, they even won…

 

“Hah...haha…” Turning around, he smiled wryly at Han Zhishi. “We’ve...protected the town.”

 

And robbed a girl of her precious companion at the same time…

 

Wu Junze thought to himself bitterly.

 

“We...won.” Han Zhishi had the same shocked expression on his face.

 

“Heey!” It was then that the guild leader, Flanrida, showed up from the side road behind them and hailed the pair. “We’re here! Are you guys alright!?”

 

“You’re late, you b*stard!” Han Zhishi chided the man without reservation.

 

“No, we’re the ones who got here on time, why are you guys so early?! You’ve...defeated it?!” Flanrida exclaimed in surprise.

 

“That’s right, all thanks to you, we were almost about to see our old comrades again.” Wu Junze not-so-subtly prodded at Flanrida.

 

“Hahaha.” Flanrida laughed ruefully. “Sorry, sorry, however, it all ended well, didn’t it?”

 

“Don’t think I will forgive you the next time around!” Yelled Han Zhishi.

 

‘So you’re saying you’ve already forgiven him then…’ Wu Junze chuckled quietly to himself as he looked at his silly partner.

 

However, just as Flanrida was about to flash them another smile, he suddenly noticed something unusual ahead of him. The previously dying dragon seemed to be on the upswing!

 

“BEHIND YOU!” He yelled.

 

The pair whipped their heads around! And the evil dragon pounced!

 

The abyss dragon had revived!

 

“Wha---?!” Never had it crossed their minds that the dying dragon would have so much energy left inside it.

 

……

 

I viciously swiped my claws at the pair, one claw for each as I raised them high into the air in an instant.

 

Having left the ground, there was no stable ground to be had; no matter how powerful they were, they couldn’t use their strength like that!

 

“Why...how?” Wu Junze sputtered in disbelief. “Your aura, it was just...just!”

 

“Hmph, so you’re finally willing to communicate?!” In that instant, I felt my [Soul Link] successfully connect to Wu Junze. “I bet you’re wondering how I can move about like this even though my aura was so weak just now.”

 

“I’m sure that I’m not the first Abyss Dragon you guys have encountered. Think back, what did you see then?!”

 

“I saw you collapse after getting hit by my Crimson Reaper, the aura of death around your body...AH!” His eyes grew wide as if a thought had just occurred to him. “You...you were faking your death!”

 

A dragon that actually faked its own death! Of all the scenarios he imagined, that had to be the last thing on his list. A prideful creature like that actually faked its own death!

 

“That’s right, the moment I was hit by your explosive round, I used a vast quantity of mana to control the aura of my [Death’s Binding] and made it radiate outwards even more than usual. Thanks to that, I was able to weaken the presence of my aura while increasing that of death’s!” I triumphantly explained, reptilian eyes staring directly into his.

 

“Des...despicable!” Han Zhishi forced out a yell.

 

“Quiet! The two of you ganged up on and yet you dare to label me despicable?! Both of you, hanging up on me every single d*mn time I tried to enact a [Soul Link]!” I glared back at them. “It’s not like I wanted to fake my death either, given the choice, I would rather have a match, fair and square! D*mnit!”

 

‘That blasted explosive round almost blew me to pieces, don’t cha know!’