"The Dragon Redeemed"

"The Dragon Redeemed"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

The night provided perfect cover for the 5 figures who was on their bellies awaiting a black van which was the designated target. The Yuu have countless such squads all over the world but this one was handpicked for this mission. While they have warriors that could go all out these 5 were known for their precision and control. 

"Why are we doing this again hyung?" The red headed man asked as he peered through his scope.

"Because the Elder ordered it you idiot." The Hyung was the oldest in the squad but only by a couple of months than the first man.

"So the head of our clan wants the princess of our clan , who represents our future to be ambushed on the road as she is on her to perform to a college?" The idiot who was not beginning to sound like an idiot asked. "And so to make it clear we are not supposed to hurt her but scare the hell out of her when it was the elder himself who sent her on this mission 2 years ago?"

"You think way too much for a soldier of the Yuu , Junsun. You carry out the order or you become a traitor to the clan."

"Hmmmm and we aren't so big on traitors right?" Junsun fingered the sleek black rifle in his hand that was only made possible by the betrayal of the Yuu against the dragons."I guess we don't expect any dragons on this expedition right Hyung? Otherwise we would not have these dragon piercers with us."

The hyung was already losing patience with the dongsaeng known as Junsun.

"Shut your mouth.It is not your place to think.Everyone is in their position. The van is approaching."

"Yes, Hyung." Junsun said without much conviction.

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Encounters with dragons normally ended in two things for the Yuu. The Yuu Kills the Dragon or the Dragon kills the Yuu.When Junsun felt the punch penetrate his chest squashing his heart he knew that the latter was true. There was no dramatic pause , no blood spurting out of his mouth like he has seen in so many kung fu movies. Nothing of the sort. Just him falling on his back and him laughing at the notion of the dragon while being human form able to do this without even a drop of a sweat breaking down his brow. 

He laughed at all those hours of training , honing his skills to the point of perfection only to be killed 10 seconds into this fight. "Oh well. At least it is over." Junsun whispered to himself as he felt the ground on his side and saw the body of his Hyung fall beside him as well.

This was not death though. Junsun found his thoughts way too noisy for someone who had just died. Wasn't there a death god who was supposed to lead him to the other side by now? For all 5 of them who attempted this fool hardy mission of scaring a princess into submission but was met by a dragon body guard out of nowhere? 

A strong wind was blowing now here on the side of the road and the hollow in his chest made a sound as the air circulated in it. He reached out to this void and confirmed that he was missing a beating heart but he could still feel. And then he felt something warm beating. He removed his hand and he felt the hole in his chest close and he sat down suddenly to breathe in air and coughed.

All around him the other 5 stirred and looked confused that they were still breathing. Then he saw the disc of silver  that was on his chest that sealed his wound.He had never heard of a dragon sparing the life of an opponent. He had read about the mark of the Silver disk though. The Yuu branded their traitors with it but this was different. They had encountered a Silver Dragon. A creation dragon. Something that was not seen in hundreds of years. And it was with the princess. How in the hell did that happen?

The others were looking at their Hyung for instructions. The Hyung looked at Junsun. "We are all traitors." He said in horror. "The brand of the Silver disc."

"No Hyung. We are Redeemed. I do not know what the Elder wanted but if a Dragon would protect a princess from her own clan then that is saying something isn't it?"

"What are we supposed to do now Junsun? When we return to shrine we will be murdered as Dragon collaborators."

"Then we will be neither Yuu or Dragon collaborators. We will be Redeemed and ask this Silver Dragon the truth of why he spared us when he should have not."

The 5 rose and gathered their gear. They would need to approach the dragon a second time and this time with more caution.