Vaeludar drew closer to the dragon statue. In his own eyes, he saw a stoned staircase going up to a walking platform before another staircase went up to a walking platform. Basically, there were two levels of staircases, going up to the dragon statue. On the second level, four torches were lit and placed in a square shape.
Vaeludar had never seen a gathering like this: people standing in front of a large statue. He was curious as to what these people were doing. He just hoped it wasn’t a dark cult worshipping Lusìvar in a dragon form. If he did come across such a cult, he would only hope he would have to resort to a salutation that wasn’t going to be violent.
In the center of the four torches were a man dressed in a white robe, carrying a golden staff with an eagle’s head and a girl also dressed in a white robe. The man appeared to be in his sixty’s, and he appeared to be the priest of the cult. The girl appeared to be around ten or eleven years old.
Vaeludar’s mind was sparking with a horrifying realization: the young girl was the sacrifice. A girl was going to be sacrificed to this dragon god. “Oh, no,” he exclaimed.
“What?” his companions said at once.
“This girl you see is about to be a sacrifice to this dragon god of theirs,” he answered. “I’m going in and stopping that girl from being sacrificed.”
“But, Vaeludar,” said the Griffin.
“I know I would be breaking their tradition. But at times, certain exceptions could be made. We have morals too, right? If I don’t have morals, then I won’t be doing this.”
“Vaeludar, it’s too risky,” said Flavius. “You may have to reconsider this.”
Vaeludar didn’t want to reconsider this. He had morals just as other human beings. He was human himself, despite being half.
“Why should I back away? I am going to save that girl from sacrificed from this pagan dragon god. She does not deserve it.”
“You don’t mean that,” said Wonomi. “We would be insulting them if we jumped in.”
“I do mean it. In fact, I am going to jump in there. And I wouldn’t be insulting them. Do you know why?”
“Aie, no,” answered Wonomi.
“Because I am half dragon, which is also why I can’t believe I am doing this.”
Vaeludar jumped in the air with wings flapping high as the second level where the girl and the priest was.
“Are you ready to put your life down for the greater good of the future?” asked the priest.
Vaeludar heard the priest’s question and flew fast above, impacting a wind of furry on them. He did this four times before landing between the priest and the dragon statue, with the winds putting out the torches. The darkness covered his body.
“What force of nature dares to disturb the sacred ritual!?” snapped the priest.
“This force of nature,” said Vaeludar, in his dragon voice. Two fireballs lighted the torches from his dark view. In the light, Vaeludar stood tall and lean, with his body with spikes, claws, and horns. In his left hand, he held his white glowing sword.
“I am Vaeludar. I am both human…” He lowered his sword down to his dragon legs. “…and dragon. I am a hybrid of a human and a dragon. In other words, I am half human and half dragon. I am the force of nature that dares to defy this ritual you are about to do. If you’re not convinced I am half dragon, have a look at this.” Vaeludar blew his dragon fire up high, away from the priest and the girl.
Both of them had priceless reactions on their faces.
“You… how dare you interrupt this ritual!” the priest said.
“Yes, I dare myself to interrupt this ritual,” said Vaeludar. Vaeludar flew up and around the dragon statue. At a close distance, the flying hybrid could easily cut the statue’s head. “I must know why you sacrifice little girls instead of animals.”
“Because it is the will of the Crystal Dragon, our God, who demands sacrifices.”
“The Crystal Dragon, eh?”
Suddenly, the blade began to glow brighter and whiter. Shinning bright as the sun, the sword showed the cloud within the blade to the people, which brought them to their feet, of the dreadful village.
“Is that the sword?” asked the priest, trembling.
“What do you mean by this sword?” asked Vaeludar. “I found this in a cave, and I would call it a magic sword. So how would you know about such a thing?”
The priest stepped back in horror. “The sword given to a mortal by a god!”
“What? This sword? You’re telling me the Crystal Dragon left such a weapon in this realm? How I should have known such a weapon exited? A gift from the gods then? Well, now I know why it’s so effective against evil forces and Lusìvar.”
“Don’t mention that name!” the priest exclaimed. “We do this because I want him to stay away. But those witches and that man with a fluting weapon take our girls away. They say they will only spare the girls we have if we give up one of our own instead of bunches of others. There is nothing we can do. And the Evil One! What a Dragon he is!”
“What do you mean by a Dragon?” ask Vaeludar, confused.
The priest looked at the hybrid with a blank face. He was beginning to sweat and his legs shook. “A Dragon with five heads,” the priest said, frightened.
“A Five-Headed Dragon? Like a Hydra?”
“Yes, like a Hydra that can change into five different Dragons. A Fire Dragon, an Earth Dragon, an Ice Dragon, a Water dragon, and an Electric dragon. These Dragons serve the Shadow King as his physical body. When his body takes over one of the Dragons, they all come together in one body. It is necessary for us to provide a sacrifice so that the Crystal Dragon can protect us from the Shadow King, the witches, and the man with a fluting weapon.”
“Un-huh,
