Is this the end? Am I going to die for real?
No.
I looked down and, to my shock, saw that despite the agonizing pain I felt, my injuries healed by themselves.
Regeneration ability.
This freaking body has regeneration ability!
I can't die.
But I can suffer from pain. It is a fate worse than death!
Suddenly, my sense of rationality returned from vacation.
Why am I fighting against the pack? It's not them that I should be fighting against! And why am I acting stupid? I let my emotions and impulses get the best of me!
THIS IS NOT ME!
With a huge roar from me, I clenched my claws into fists and absorbed the fire into my body.
How did I do that? Nevermind. I can think about it later.
For now, I need to get away.
Unexpectedly for everyone, I abruptly punched the ground, sending shockwaves and sand everywhere, then immediately flew away from them at a fast speed before they could realize what was happening.
I should change my appearance. I know that I can't run away forever but at least I need time to process my feelings and thoughts. They almost killed me back then. I lost my sanity and injured them. This isn't me at all!
HEY, STONE! CHANGE ME INTO SOMETHING ELSE BESIDES THIS HORRIBLE APPEARANCE!
Of course, no one responded.
I should hurry.
I tried to think all sorts of creatures and beings' appearances until common sense gave me a kick and I realized that I'm still in the desert.
Right. I know what should I transform into.
Then in an instant, the transformation stone seems to cooperate and changed my body into a deserter.
With a crash towards the sand, I rolled over and over until I stopped rolling.
Ow, that hurts! But it's alright.
I hurriedly glanced around and to my delight, I saw a caravan at a distance near an oasis.
I'm naked and I should find some clothes before I can continue on my escape.
Escape to where?
No idea.
But this world's my playground for now.
Until they catch me.
....
I have no idea where to go but after observing the suns...
Not reliable to use them as a means to know my direction.
Still, I continued on my journey to the beyond.
With my forehead covered by a cloth, I wrapped my entire body in a cloak and the clothes I stole earlier.
I saw my appearance and was pleased with what I saw.
If I didn't know any better, I would fall in love with myself more.
I'm just kidding.
Yeah, I'm that handsome. I'm just being honest!
It was fun customizing yourself! It's as if I'm making myself a new character in a game...
Yeah.. a game..
No negative thoughts for now!
Anyway, I was always intrigued by the man bun hairstyle, so you guessed it. I've got myself a man bun. I was inspired by Sly's handsome, rugged appearance and copied it, with some few modifications of course.
Andddddd I made myself taller than Alpha.
The look of my body is attractive enough but I can improve it with training and exercises.
Heh.
I'm a male now. A male deserter to be exact. One of the many, many deserters in this land.
An ordinary wanderer to others.
....
I continued to travel south. Yes, I finally knew where I was headed.
The longer I traveled, the fewer dunes of sand I encountered. The air is cooler and there are more trees, with vegetation all over the ground.
I don't have the means to buy stuff so I take as many fruits as I can find and stuffed all of it inside the bag that I stole.
I'm a thief but I have no choice but to become one in order to survive.
It's been more than a week since I've escaped.
At first, Asmodeus and dad tried to communicate with me inside my mind as they were trying to find me. The transformation stone somehow protected me from them and I can't hear their voices anymore.
Lonely but it's my choice. I don't want to go back yet.
No, I'm not angry, nor being spiteful. I just.. wanted to.. get away.
I don't care if anyone calls me a coward or stupid but yeah.. I think I've done this before.
A long time ago.
But I don't know where I ended up though. I remembered that I made a deal with Subus at that time and I was transformed into a werewolf.
Too bad, I still don't remember what happened next.
No matter.
Soon, I encountered all sorts of trading hubs, villages and more caravans.
I joined some caravans, worked in other places for my needs and even stayed for a day in some villages.
I met so many interesting deserters, creatures and beings, and formed a friendship with some of them.
In order not to stand out, I tried my best to keep myself average and only work manual jobs.
It is hard but it's better to live an honest life than to steal.
So many interesting jobs I've tried, one of which that stood out was being a hunter.
Of course, I had a hard time at first, making the rest of my companions roar with laughter at seeing my efforts. It made me appreciate the pack more with their attempts on trying to feed me.
I.. miss them.
But as much as I wanted to go back, I'm scared to face them.
Maelsa thinks that everything is amusing so I don't think he will tell them that it was me.
I'm cruel to the pack.
That evening, after I hunted a considerable amount of pests, I excused myself and went to a place where I can be alone.
There I sat down on the ground, leaned my head back on a boulder and looked at the night sky.
The night sky is beautiful.
Even the moons are more brilliant than usual though it's not mating period yet.
Everything reminded me of Lion.
How is he? I'm quite cruel to him. Not only him but to Sly, Alpha, Orm and Ghost as well.
A gentle voice seems to whisper in my mind, telling me to go back before it's too late.
I should and I will.
Definitely.
I told my companions that I'm leaving in spite of their protests and futile attempts to make me stay.
Of course, I made all sorts of promises and enjoyed a bit of liquor with them before I left.
At a far distance from our camp, I transformed myself into a dragon and made my way back to Khamsin's city.
....
Why did I decide to go to Khamsin's city?
Because Khamsin is there and he has a communication device. He can inform the pack that I'm back.
But despite my early bravado, it took me several days to find his city.
I'm really bad when it comes to directions even though I'm a dragon this time and it should be easier for me to identify my surroundings.
Wrong.
I can now say that I should not be alone while traveling.
Making use of my weakness, I saw some creepy looking cultists' towers and burned them. I'm not proficient enough to use my magic to destroy them completely, but at least I've managed to caused chaos until dad can finish what I started.
Sadly, despite my regretful foolishness, dad couldn't manage to communicate with me because my transformation stone works too well, preventing anyone from contacting me.
Until Asmodeus finally succeeded.
He flirted with me, which I ignored, and then told me that although Maelsa is pleased by what he saw, I really need to go back or he will send another reminder under the orders of the demon king.
Unfortunately, my neck cuff reappeared when I transformed myself into a deserter. It disappeared when I was transformed into a monster but returned with a grin as soon as my form was something else.
Sigh. I really thought that I was finally free.
Even now that I'm in my dragon form, the neck cuff somehow grew in size and stayed around my neck.
So weird.
And annoying.
Then Asmodeus became serious as he told me that he knows that I'm filled with fear. If I'm planning to run away, then I should forget everything or I will keep running without an end.
He chuckled then mumbled that he thought I was more than that and that made a lot of individuals intrigued by me, including the dark lord himself.
Do not disappoint the dark lord, he cautioned me.
His final instruction to me is to go back fast.
I don't have any news about the pack as he didn't say anything about them.
...
I finally reached Khamsin's city.
Of course, I turned myself back into my deserter form.
The guards of the city looked wary at me as I'm a stranger to them.
But they are bold enough to challenge me to fisticuffs.
Luckily, I managed to put up a fight against four of them before I was defeated.
They seemed satisfied enough with my efforts and invited me for a drink.
I had some fun drinking with them until we heard the sound of a horn.
They immediately stood up and took out their weapons.
What is happening?!
I asked them out of curiosity and they told me that the monsters are back again.
Ah! I remembered that Khamsin left us when we were about to get the transformation stone. I forgot who told me that his city was besieged by monsters.
Of course, I offered my help to them despite lacking training. They gratefully accepted my help but told me to stay at the back of their formation.
The formation didn't last long though as chaos erupted all over. Most of them are not exposed to monsters and they became like dummies on the field, staring at the monsters without knowing what to do.
Despite my lack of training, I'm already exposed to all sorts of monsters and I have a bit of knowledge too.
I'm still scared, yes, but I can't bear to watch them getting injured or killed by the monsters.
Now I don't know what kind of monsters that I'm facing but I know that they are vulnerable to the cold so as usual, I don't know how I did it but somehow manage to use ice magic, enough to freeze them one by one.
Weak compared to Orm's ice magic abilities but extremely helpful as of now.
I don't have any weapons with me and I can't use anyone's weapons or I'll leave them vulnerable so I somehow transformed my hands into claws and used them to form into fists and shattered the frozen monsters.
The monsters aren't that strong compared to most of what me and the pack faced in the past but they may still pose a threat towards Khamsin's city and its inexperienced warriors.
Speaking of Khamsin, where is he?
After getting rid of the monsters that surrounded the city, I approached one of the warriors that I managed to save. He gratefully thanked me for saving the city and informed me that Khamsin went to the nesting grounds of the monsters by himself.
THAT DUMMY!
IS HE TRYING TO KILL HIMSELF?!
THAT'S A SUICIDE MISSION!
True enough, when I went after him, he almost lost his life. He seemed like he was killing the monsters without a thought of his own safety.
He is seriously wounded and I didn't manage to kill many monsters because I prioritized saving his life.
I'll just return later to finish everything.
But for now, I have to bring him back to his city.
With a huge effort from me, I slung him over my shoulder and hurriedly escaped the place.
He's so heavy!
...
Seeing that their ruler is seriously wounded, the warriors panicked and I had to yell at them before they returned to their senses.
They accompanied me to Khamsin's manor in which the steward, with a terrified expression on his face, hurriedly lead me to Khamsin's room.
Inside his room, I glanced around in dismay as it is filled with all sorts of stuff that it took me a bit of time before I found his bed.
He is a hoarder!
Like Ghost.
I placed him on his bed and immediately used all sorts of stuff to heal his wounds. The steward helpfully provided me with everything that can help him as I don't have any idea which one to use as I'm not familiar with what kind of potions they use in this place.
After several moments, the danger seems over and we finally breathe with relief.
The steward thanked me profusely for saving Khamsin and their city, offering all sorts of rewards in which I immediately declined.
I was about to leave the room when I noticed a huge painting on the wall that is facing his bed.
I didn't noticed it earlier as I was too focused on trying to heal him. Now that I'm about to leave, I can see that it's a painting of me.
What the..
When did he have Orm make this painting?!
Seeing that I'm looking at the painting, the steward sighed and gave me a sad look.
I simply shrugged and told him that the painting looks great and left the room before engaging in further discussion.
Suddenly, I heard Khamsin's voice trying to call someone in his delirium and the steward immediately hurried back inside his room but not before telling me to stay put.
Okay. I'm hungry anyway.
After a few moments, the steward shook his head as he came out of the room and told me that Khamsin kept calling the female in the painting.
I see.
The steward pleaded for me to stay but I declined. Instead, I asked for a piece of scroll and some colored magic powder.
It took me a bit of time but I finally succeeded.
I made an origami flower and shaped it like an iris. Then using the magic powder, I colored it into a shade of bluish-purple.
After that, I left it by his bedside table and without a word, left his manor.
...
I decided to destroy the nesting grounds of the monsters alone.
Unlike Khamsin, I have a huge advantage since the corrupted transformation stone is still embedded on my forehead.
Then with a huge roar, I transformed myself back into my monster form.
It didn't take me long to destroy everything completely.
Good.
Khamsin's city will be safe for a long, long time.
With a final roar from me, I burned the nesting grounds of the monsters.
I watched the sight before me, not giving a thought to how much time had passed, so I jumped with fright when I heard someone calling me with glee.
To my disgust, it's Maelsa who's calling me.
I'm tired of running away, so I decided to follow him and just go along with the flow.
There's nowhere for me to hide anyway.
He approached me, saying all sorts of praises as he glanced around the destruction I had caused.
Then he fastened a chain around my neck and held the end of it, pulling me somewhere he said everyone was waiting for me.
I simply followed him without a word until we arrived at an area where there was a cage and crowd surrounding it.
Ah. I'm a threat.
The nearer we get, the clearer I can see the faces of those that surround the cage.
Asmodeus, Subus and the magic users from way back are there, along with some new faces that seem to be warriors or something.
Heh. They must have taken extra precautions as if I'm going on another rampage.
I'm tired.
Whatever consequences they impose on me, I'm willing to face them. I know that I didn't do anything wrong except to defend myself but it's exhausting to convince them especially when I looked like this.
But to my dismay, the pack are there as well.
Lion himself is holding the door of the cage.
His hands are trembling while his eyes looked towards me with contempt, mixed with rage as if he's trying to hold himself back from trying to destroy me.
The rest of the pack are snarling at me, saying that if it weren't for the fact that Maelsa warned them not to touch me, I wouldn't last long.
I gave a laugh, happy that I'm in my monster form and also that they are still ignorant.
Then Maelsa caressed one of my claws, telling me that it's okay and he's going to bring me back home.
Despite the fact I was trying hard not to react, disgust filled me to such a point that I unintentionally swatted him hard, sending him flying near the cage.
Oops.
Asmodeus chortled with amusement while the rest of the magic users and warriors averted their eyes, trying hard not to grin.
Subus as usual, looks bored.
As for the pack, they continued to growl and snarl at me. Just as I was about to enter the cage, they tried to tear me apart but Maelsa used a paralyzing spell on them, making them fall to the ground.
After making sure they won't make unnecessary movements, Maelsa removed the spell while laughing maniacally, saying that they will surely regret their actions soon.
With a flamboyant bow towards me, he told me to enter the cage.
As soon as I was inside the cage, the door was slammed shut. A huge magic circle appeared below me, glowing so brightly that everyone averted their faces and shielded their eyes, while I felt intense pain throughout my body.
I kept roaring in pain until my roars turned into high-pitched screams.
I can see myself turning back into human form.
It's so painful! Like some parts of me was being removed and reattached. Hard to explain as all my thoughts were filled with pain, pain and more pain that I lost my sanity for a short while.
I kept on screaming until the glow finally died down and I collapsed on the floor of the cage, hugging my knees towards my chest as I hid my face.
Please don't look at me.
I'm hideous.
I don't have any clothes on and my hair is in tatters, as parts of it were broken when it turned into crystal while I was in my monster form.
I'm dirty and covered with bruises and I don't want to know the state of my face.
The transformation stone was back to its former shape and there it stayed without glowing, as the magic that was placed on the cage seemed to prevent me from using its power.
Engrossed with thoughts, I didn't notice the pack's reactions upon seeing me.
Also, I don't want to know too.
Good thing that Maelsa somehow placed a relaxing spell on me that I felt sleepy and closed my eyes as he ordered everyone to enter the portal.
And with that, we went back to the territory.