Let's get back on track and let me talk again, okay? But may I remind you that…oh, the writer gave the details two chapters ago? Alright…but seriously, this is Hal speaking.

          After that small altercation with Yulli (yeah, 'small', as if destroying properties and almost killing innocent bystanders can be considered 'small'. At least nobody's got killed, right?), we set off to find a walled city with an international airport, since we all know Ebony Devil Rocks is not even in this continent (except for you, readers, so yeah…it's not in this continent).

          But still, years after the walls being constructed, we still don't have air transportation of some sort, which bugs me. You want to know the reason? Dragons. Motherfucking dragons. Yes, that feral version of my Mythar race. Dragons. They are territorial as fuck, and they hate jet engine sound. Problem is, until now, nobody even tries to domesticate any and let them be a domestic air transportation. Why, you ask? You know the old fantasy clichés about a dragon rider meeting a dragon by faith, valor, and pride? Yeah, screw that! This is real life, not some fantasy stereotypes. Basically, dragons are as intelligent, or maybe even more, than a Mythar or other races. Their intelligence does not include mastery of technology, but an age old mastery of magic. You'll get the story, but right now we are getting side-tracked.

          While I'm explaining to you guys about our world's dragons, we have reached another town that looks like an old frontier town. The road is not paved, and it is in the middle of a desert. A wooden gate structure hangs above us, with a bell ringing because of the wind. There is a fading white paint writings: Solitude's End. Kind of an irony, giving that it's practically a ghost town from the outside.

          “Never thought there is a town in the middle of the desert," said Art after getting of the car. “This is a big world after all."

          “You'll find more of them along the way." Then Segara pulled out a map. Clearly he doesn't know our phones have a GPS system, but I can't blame him.

          “This place is clearly marked off the map," said Segara. “Since that train system is built, this town is abandoned."

          “Uh, Segara…why didn't we use a train?"

          “You want to risk innocent lives when an assassin attacks us?" replied Segara, which stunned me. “I agree that a train is faster, but given our circumstances, it is not the safest way to travel. It's better if we are travelling by a car cross-country and find more allies. This enemy is not something we can stand with only our current group."

          “But we are capable of fending ourselves," argued Liza.

          “Really? Let's talk about it. We have a nine-tails Mythar who kicked your asses, my daughter who is a lawyer and relying solely on feral instinct, a young human hunter who needs to learn how to not break down during a fight, and a red wyvern Mythar who does not even awaken his Discord ability, though you can pack a punch."

          Segara is known to be very sarcastic, but I know he means it when he says I pack a punch. Men knows it best after trading punches, but in our case, trading claw slashes.

          Right at that moment, Yulli came with her bike and met us here, in this small, desolate town. Clearly this place had its days. Maybe back in the frontier era, this town would be flourishing with people, humans, Animas, Mythars, and Magi alike. Back when the world did not have any arcane technology, wireless, and cars. People would just use a feral horse, while the rest run with their animalistic feet. It was a great time for adventure and danger, with ambiguous characters like bounty hunters and prostitutes brandishing guns. It might not look so different now, seeing that we still have walled cities and the rest of the country stayed undeveloped despite of the passing crisis (I am not sure if there was any crisis in the first place).

          Entering the town, it is apparent that we are unwanted guests. It is not a ghost town, but acts like one. Possibly because they are suspicious of our intentions. This is something that happens in frontier films, and it never is a good sign.

          But as we walk into the town, aware to our surroundings, I see a head popping out from behind some barrels. I decide to approach it to see. It is a small head, and it belongs to a young goat Anima. He is scared, I know. Our group (excluding Art) are carnivorous Mythars, so we are a threat to this goat child.

          “Just then, I can hear clicking sound, and all of the sudden we are being surrounded by a group of townspeople, all of them are goats or goat-like, brandishing guns aimed at us. Segara was all too ready to burn the town down, but fortunately Liza stops him. Art is the first to raise both of his hands, while Yulli does not respond. Me? I stand still.

          “Ya lost? Solitude's End's not for drakes like you," said a male goat Anima by a building. “You don't step in our town with no consent."

          “We just need a place to sleep and eat," said Segara. “We will be gone first thing in the morning."

          “Can't take an honest word from meat eaters, includin' that human kiddo there."

          Well, shit, I forgot about it. Now you might be asking, why are these caprine Animas aiming their guns at us like we are some kind of a criminal? You all know that herbivores are prey to the carnivores, right? While the world is not as it was thousands of years ago, this basic primal instinct is still apparent. These horizontal-eyed, horned grass eaters are very much suspicious, but don't get me wrong. Not everyone is wary of being close with a carnivorous Anima or Mythar. Some of them still have the age old prejudice of our race, and it is even worse when these herbivores have murderous intention (I'm not kidding). The advent of handheld weapons caused them to be equal with us, and in equal means that they have some sufficient defensive abilities we carnivores don't have, like those horns.

          But I know. I can feel their fear. They may not fear Yulli, but they fear dragons. Dragons are the most dangerous creature on this Earth. It is not because of their massive size or their magical capabilities. Modern technologies and latent magic can make them extinct in a matter of minutes (no, I'm not being morbid here). Can you find any other monsters that can talk? Not only did these herbivores are of a prey race, they are vulnerable to a diplomatic dragon. Not only that, dragons are one of the endangered races of creatures that hold the magical balance of this world. If they go extinct, the balance of magic will be disturbed, and…

          “Hal, you are being silent. What are you thinking about?"

          “Huh? O-oh, sorry. I guess I am spacing out."

          Well talk later, alright? For now, let's continue the story.

          “Hey, purple scales! I said one step," said one of them. “This gun is loaded with anti-magic slugs. You know what it will do to your body."

          “Yes, I know that. Razber taught me many things," said Segara. “Then again, I guess we are unwelcome here. Hey, do you mind if we get the food outside of your lawn?"

          “We are okay with you huntin' down some wild meat. We need someone to control those creatures anyway," said the Anima.

          Thus, Art goes out and find some animals for us to eat. Being a part-time hunter, Art is very skillful in tracking some beasts, and not long after, we are eating our fill, and yes, if you are wondering, those goats are looking at us like we are some monsters. I can't blame them.

          Sitting around the fire is great and soothing, but being watched by some suspicious people made us unable to enjoy our meal as it supposed to be. I take a glance to the group of goats, but they seem to be more afraid to us than curious on our camp. I can see Liza is troubled by that.

          “Just don't get it into your mind, Liza," said Yulli. “They are just scared, that's all."

          “I have many grass eater friends," said Liza while staring at the meat she is holding. “We don't care about our race, yet seeing these Animas…I felt like my friends are also scared of me."

          “Have you forgotten your ability? If they are genuinely friendly with you, you will be the first one to know."

          This somehow made Liza more at ease. “Yeah, I guess you're right, Yulli. But then…I can hear their heartbeats. They are curious, yet they are scared to go near to us."

          “You don't need to worry about it, Liz. We'll be leaving first thing in the morning. I hope they have some good old liquor, though."

          “Dad, you're driving!"

          Segara laughs for that comment. I never thought he can be this loud. Yes, we might feel like criminals, but we can be together like this and be closer with each other. Yulli seems like a decent person, and she is friendlier than I thought. Guess her demonic voice is just an act, after all.

          We are still talking like nothing is happening until there is an unknown voice coming out from somewhere in the town. He is clearly annoyed, but not angry.

          “Alright, why are you standing there like some idiots? Get back to your houses."

          “But, Jet, they are…"

          “What? Just because they have those piercing eyes doesn't mean they'll eat ya! We are not living in a fucking stone age! Why are you so fucking afraid to civilized people? They have cars, motorcycles! They clearly come from a town! Now stop treating them like criminals! You make us look bad."

          The Animas suddenly dispersed, except for one of them. He looks like the town's law enforcer, and he's clearly not scared to see us. He is more or less welcoming. Those brown fur looks like he is a typical goat, and with some other fur color variation on many parts of his head. And yes, he's wearing a normal shirt with jeans designed for digitigrades. Being a hooved person, he does not need wraps for those feet.

          “Hey, traveler, I'd appreciate it if you keep your smoke on check! We don't like smokes coming into our town and causing some coughs and sneezes! The sand is bad enough."

          He is the first Anima to come to us without any hesitation and fear, and we are surprised by it, seeing that we are starting to get more accustomed to many pairs of eyes watching us. He seems friendly, and even sit with us.

          “Do you mind if I seat here? Ah, don't worry about this view. I am okay with that," said the goat. “First time here?"

          “Nah, I travelled a lot," said Segara. “I tend to not stop at Solitude's End."

          “Oh, I think that's a good thing, because if you do, you might recognize me."

          “Recognize you? I think we haven't met before."

          He eyes Segara for a while, and just made a chuckle. “Funny. I am specifically asked to find a purple scaled dragon Mythar with some scars on his tail."

          Hearing that comment made Segara aware and made a stance to use magic. Liza and Yulli are also ready to pounce this goat, but he said, “Fucked up my introduction, didn't I?"

          “You're one of the assassins. Never thought someone living in a frontier town could actually be working with a vile person. Are you pretending to guard this place?"

          “Isn't it obvious enough? I don't want those ruminating idiots getting in our way! I am this place's fucking guardian, and my name is Jethro fucking Kabani!"

          “Are you one of his goons?"

          “Goons? Don't make laugh! I am nobody's master, and now…you are going to fucking die!"

          I can see him pull out a gun from his hip, and in a blinding speed, he shoots Segara and Yulli. Liza does not get shot because I jump to save her, while Art makes a run for it. Segara wants to use a magic, but then he is surprised, as does Yulli.

          “Anti-magic slugs, like good ol' Duncan said earlier. Segara of Dornthal, you might have strong magic in you, and apparently an ability to compress magic, but magic is magic, and I am suppressing your mana flow, along with that fox Mythar!"

          He then turns to Yulli, who slowly reverts to her original, nine-tailed form.

          “Well, well, looks like I hit a double jackpot. Now, let's express some rage."

          I ask Liza to run away while I am running at another direction. Luckily there is a rock where I can hide. I may not be trained in situations like this, but I know half of my draconic instinct is still there.

          I conjure up a flying sword and tries to stab this Jethro guy, but fuck is accuracy. He deflects that sword with bullets! I can't blame it since it's just a small sword, but like he said, anti-magic bullets can hit conjured weapons. It looks like I need a way to distract him.

          Suddenly he turns around when Art throws a rock at him. I can see an opening and run towards him in a strong intent to slash that goat face. But then, he said, “First rule in fighting an unknown enemy: don't charge blindly with murderous intent!"

          Suddenly I feel something pierced by leg. I am completely surprised by that sudden attack. Why? I thought he is still showing his back on me. Did someone from the village sniped me? Just then, there is another shot, which pierced my other leg. I instinctively conjure a shield in front of me, but my hand still gets shot. I did not see anyone shooting from the town. There are still lights and someone might have seen someone shoot from the town's street or roof.

          But then, when I see the bullet wound, I realize something is wrong. There is no way a sniper shot me with such small bullets. It's like its coming out from a pistol. I know a 9mm bullet wound is. I work part-time as a coroner. But then, that goat uses an automatic pistol, and…no fucking way!

          “Did you…use a Discord ability?"

          “Damn, son, you're really good at speculating. Yeah, I'm guilty for keeping secrets, but now that it's out, there is no hiding it. My Discord ability is to change the trajectory of the bullets or any projectiles I throw, which is why you can get shot by something of a crooked angle."

          Damn, that's straight out of a goddamn movie!

          “And then, I guess Segara and Yulli is out of commission, and your girlfriend cannot help you. That one human will not help you either, so…let's do this, mano e mano."

          Though I am in danger and is going to get killed if I don't find out my own Discord ability, I like this goat…not in an appetite way.

          He shoots that fucking gun again, and I am ready to cover my head if I don't want to get a one shot kill from this guy. Yet, I also remember that my wings practically cover my whole body, and just at the right moment, I deflect the bullet with a conjured shield. Never thought I have that kind of reflex.

          Either way, that is the last shield I can conjure before I realize that one of the bullets is anti-magic. I can't access my mana flow and needs to run. I am at a disadvantage because my hands are not suited for normal guns. With only two functional fingers, I can't even grab a gun. This guy, on the other hand, packs one hell of an arsenal consisted of…folding guns? Wait, is that even possible?

          He pulls out a gun and twirls it while it reshapes into a rifle, which gives me one rain of a bullet. Luckily I run fast enough to get behind the car, which is riddled with bullets.

          “My car! Hey, stop shooting at my…"

          Segara's protest is cut short when Jethro shots a bullet right in front of him.

          “Next time, I won't miss," said Jethro. “In your current condition right now, you are fucking pathetic. Even that wing-armed boy can still dodge."

          I don't think the word 'dodge' applies to someone who can bend a bullet's path, which is what he is doing now. I barely put my head on the window where he shoots recklessly, but for some reason the bullet hits the other side of the car's window, without damaging the one facing him. Just from seeing the trajectory makes me clear about its weakness. Somehow, if he cannot see me, he cannot bend the bullets.

          “Damn, you are a smart one, aren't you? But I don't think you understand the trouble you are…"

          Art secretly gives his dagger to me after running to me while under fire. I have an idea on how to get the guy, but to do that I need to risk Art's life.

          “Art, do you believe me?"

          “Why?"

          “Sorry, I'll make up with you!"

          I push Art out of the cover and he makes this surprised 'whaaat?!" scream, which somehow stuns Jethro. I opened my wings and fly upwards. Jethro is distracted long enough for me to dive down and stab him at the leg. Damn it, his reflexes are good. He managed to dodge me, but it does not stop the dagger from piercing his leg. He grunts in pain, and we are both down.

          “Fuck! Clever stunt you have there," said Jethro while pulling the knife. “But I think you are out of ideas, and I still have two magazines left for these small guns."

          Somehow I don't realize that he has thrown away his rifle. Somehow he does not pack the mags for them, but that is a relief for me. The problem is that I cannot run. If he can manipulate the bullet's trajectory, even one shot can circle me and hit me at the back of my head.

          Just then Segara stands up and said, “Hal, accept who you are and believe in an unbelievable power! Discords are earned by accepting the unknown and be one with…"

          He got shot by Jethro, and I yelled “No!" like a cliché action movie. Liza rushes to her father, who is bleeding profusely. Damn it, now I am really dead. If that bullet can pierce through a dragon's scale and deal great damage, I will die if I got shot in the head.

          But what does Segara means by 'accept who you are'? This is my own life, my regular life! I am just a runner, who cannot fight properly and does not even know what life is outside the wall. I am an average college student who suddenly realize that his speedy mutation is because of some Discord ability. What a world I have been turned into. Even I can't hear Liza's screaming my name, Yulli's futile attempt to stop Segara's bleeding, and Art's scared shit attitude. I have never felt fear like this before, but if I am to die, right here, right now, I might have regret it. Still, there is no escaping it, right? Unless, there is some sudden deus ex machina, which is…

          My inner voice.

          I think you know you have been lying to yourself, Hal Trixija. You know you are someone who is worse than average.

          Why even bother? I am dead anyway.

          Oh, but you don't understand. Liza might not know about it because she never asks. It might be best to actually embrace who you really are, so you can live to see tomorrow.

          Inner voice is right. I still want to live. I guess it's not too bad, right?