Isa couldn't maintain her cool demeanor as her stomach churned. The next second, she was vomiting a fresh batch of blood onto the ground.
The baby dragon shifted to its humanoid form and cautiously stepped toward Isa.
"Are you okay?"
Isa chuckled at the worried tone of the woman, who appeared around her age but might, in reality, be double it.
"I'm fine. I just need to heal myself."
During the battle, Isa suddenly recalled how the protagonist would scream "heal" at herself or someone else to restore health to a certain extent. The hybrid woman took a chance and bet on it, nearly costing her life if it hadn't worked.
Isa uttered the word "heal," and her abdomen visibly closed before Claudia's eyes, who looked very surprised at the demon woman.
"Easy peasy."
Isa said, standing up and brushing the dirt from her clothes. The woman with beautiful, soft blue hair stared at the other woman with curiosity.
Nonetheless, she cleared her throat before smiling at the woman in tattered clothes.
"My deepest gratitude for preserving my life. I find myself profoundly in your debt. Pray, share your name, and I shall ensure you are richly rewarded—"
Isa suddenly held her palm up to the dragon princess, interrupting her. Though it seemed offensive at first, Claudia chose to observe what the demon woman intended.
Isa, meanwhile, quickly returned to the dead body of the Voragoth Thrasher.
"Now let's see if I can store this... hmm, ah, gotcha."
With a swift hand movement, her hand sucked up the dead body of the monster, storing it within her special storage.
Claudia's mouth hung open at such a display of magic. Before she could pry into Isa's business, though—
"Please pardon me."
In the blink of an eye, Isa was beside Claudia, dragging her across the forest. The dragon princess raised an eyebrow, not looking the least bit disgusted at the touch of a filthy demon.
When they reached a lake, Isa finally calmed down. She politely bowed.
"I'm sorry for touching Your Highness, but the Voragoth's dark energy had fused with the air in that place, which could have attracted more beasts. That's why we had to leave."
Claudia's mouth twitched, seemingly impressed with the cautious demon's perception. She nodded.
"Your apology is graciously received. As I was remarking earlier, I ventured here to gather rare herbs, only to be beset by a ferocious beast that menaced my person. It pursued me relentlessly until, by fortune, our paths crossed, and you gallantly engaged the creature in combat."
Isa's eyes twitched at the graceful woman's grammatically complex but elegant words. She was never good with languages; she only knew how to calculate, having been a math teacher in her previous life.
"Please, don't make it a big deal, Your Highness. Nonetheless, would you tell a stranger such details about your reason for venturing into this horrid place?" Isa's tongue nearly twisted as she spoke those words.
A smirk hovered in Claudia's lips as her sapphire eyes formed a crescent shape.
"Why? Perhaps you're planning to harm me?"
"Haha, I wouldn't dare, Your Highness."
A sudden darkness fell over the princess's eyes as her mouth tightened.
"Oh, are you sure?"
In the blink of an eye, Isa was roughly thrown to the ground. Instantly, she got to her feet, confused as to why the elegant woman was suddenly attacking her.
"Move, and I'll slit your throat," Claudia threatened with a hostile tone, bringing her claw near the poor woman's neck.
Isa held her hands up in defeat.
"May I know the reason for Your Highness's hostility?"
"Do not misunderstand. I'm truly grateful to you, and I shall reward you for it. However, it seems you have something that belongs to my family."
Isa couldn't make sense of the hostile princess.
"Princess, I literally have no idea—"
"Do not act like a dolt. Bring forth your dagger."
"What?"
"I shall not repeat myself."
Bravely rolling her eyes at Claudia, Isa pulled out her dagger from the special storage, which looked like something being pulled out of thin air to the surprised princess.
Claudia snatched it from her before examining it thoroughly.
"Just as I suspected, the lost dagger of the great Magnificent."
Suddenly, something clicked in Isa's head. After killing the Voragoth, she had gained more HP and SPD, making her far more agile than before.
Taking the chance, she dodged the princess's claws and side-stepped behind her in the blink of an eye.
"Now, you move, and I will... uh... um..."
Isa stopped stuttering and resorted to staying quiet. She had no weapon on her, so what threat could she even blurt out?
'Way to go, Isa freaking Dora the Explorer...'
Claudia let out a chuckle but didn't move from her place. She clapped her hands in amusement.
"Um, can't we just calmly talk about it? You saw me, right? I'm literally new to this wor—land with no weapon but this dagger on me."
Claudia finally turned around, seeming unconcerned by the woman standing before her.
"How can I trust you?"
"Oh, please, Princess, it might not have been known to me, but I did save your as—ahem, you out there."
"Fine, then tell me, how did you get such a valuable dagger?" Claudia crossed her arms.
But just then, she noticed something peculiar. The dagger in her hands had suddenly vanished into thin air, right before her eyes.
"What?!"
Her eyes widened in shock as she stepped back, a look of confusion passing over her.
"How did you do that?!"
"That's where you're wrong, Princess. I didn't do anything, but the dagger itself came back to me." Isa smirked before pulling out the Versatile Dagger from thin air.
"Stop playing absurd tricks! Reveal your secret this instant!"
The demon woman sighed. She was starting to get a headache from the princess's constant questions, so she said what had to be said.
"Look, one day, this dagger just appeared out of nowhere along with a voice telling me to use it wisely since I've been 'chosen'." Isa emphasized the word 'chosen' so the princess might recall a certain quote from the dragon scriptures.
"Chosen... 'A dagger of a god, lost upon the Magnificent's death until it chose someone again.'"
Claudia's eyes widened again, this time in pure shock.
"You—"
"Bingo."
"Are you saying the dagger chose you?"
'I don't know. I'm just spamming what the enchantment said.'
I shrugged at Claudia having a smug look on my face.
"But you're a demon..." she pointed out.
"Ask the Gods about it then."
Claudia rolled her eyes at Isa's statement.
"You're coming with me," she sternly stated before dragging the demon woman away this time.
"Wait, what?! Where?!"
This time, Claudia gave a smug look.
"To the Court of Dragons."
"EH?!"
Isadora was caught off guard. She anticipated Claudia bringing her to the Dragon Court to reward her with a special item, but not for a reason such as this.
But most of all, what scared her was that it could lead to a confrontation with the story's villainess, the Demon Queen, who was currently pursuing a political deal at the Court of Dragons at this point of the story.
"The story wasn't supposed to go like this!"
TO BE CONTINUED...