Orc Hero Story: Discovery Chronicles

Orc Hero Story

With a snap, Eye woke up.

What? I didn’t die…? She was supposed to be dead. The sword of the green human should have decapitated her. The body of a Newt was more fragile than that of a dragon. How is it possible that she didn’t die? What? Are my wounds healed? She looked and saw that her body, covered in lacerations, was clean. Her claws were still in bad shape, but the wounds on her fingertips and the holes in her wings had disappeared. Furthermore, her crushed eye and the wounds on her neck had healed. …Was it a dream? If so, it was a terrifying dream then. She dreamt that a green human suddenly came to her nest, beat her up, and was about to kill her. In the end, he cornered her and brandished his sword to finish her off. He was a terrifying human. Oh, her heart pounded just remembering it… She was ashamed to say that she even used Newt in her dreams. She had never done such a thing. However, when she woke up, she realized that it was just a dream. Because it was impossible for such a human to exist.

“Hm, you’re awake.”

“Biip!” Upon hearing that voice, Eye made a strange noise and tensed up. When she realized, he was right in front of her. It was the green human! It wasn’t a dream!

“Are you cold? Are you hungry? Do you want to drink water?” The green human crouched right in front of the tense Eye and gently wrapped her in the fur he had been carrying, offering her warm water and what seemed to be food. She looked back and forth between the food and the green human, confused. She didn’t know what to do. “Won’t you eat?”

However, with those words, Eye immediately took a bite of the food. Maybe it was because she thought he would kill her if she didn’t do what he said.

“…”

The food was unexpectedly delicious as the green human watched her. Maybe it was because she was hungry, but Eye devoured all the food in an instant. The amount wasn’t enough for a dragon, but it was enough for the smaller body of a Newt.

…Why? That question kept lingering in her mind. Why was this green human sharing his food with the person he was going to kill? Maybe he doesn’t know…?

Or was it possible that Newt was still effective? Was the sword she saw earlier pointing at something else instead of her? Did she get scared and pass out, even though he didn’t intend to kill her? Just as she was thinking this, the green human sat in front of Eye and opened his mouth with a confident look.

“I will make sure to kill that dragon. I will crush its claws when it attacks with them. If it uses its fangs, I will crush its snout; and if it breathes its fire, I will come from behind and cut off its wings.”

The green human explained in detail how he would kill the dragon. If the dragon did this, he would do that; if it did that, he would do this. And finally, he would tear off its head.

This delusional battle fantasy was common among the young and arrogant. If someone who had seen a dragon, even just once, heard this, they would laugh. Even Eye herself would have laughed if a small human had said something like that in front of her. ‘If you say you can, then try’. She would have torn them apart with her claws, crushed them with her fangs, and burned them with her breath. As long as it didn’t come from the mouth of the green human.

Eye knew exactly what this human was talking about. In the battle a few minutes ago, exactly what he said happened. When she used her claws, he crushed them; when she tried to bite him, he hit her snout; when she breathed her fire, he surrounded her from behind and pierced her wings.

It wasn’t something to laugh about. Most of what the green man said, Eye had already experienced. Even if she changed her fighting style a little, it was clear that he would respond.

“This time, I will definitely cut off its head,” the green human said as he stared at Eye. He was going to kill her in one blow. She was convinced that he would have done it for sure if she hadn’t escaped before. She still vividly remembered the horrible sensation when he cut her neck.

But, I still don’t know… why didn’t he do it?

In the moment Eye thought that, the green human said with a gleam in his fangs, “I won’t let it escape this time, I will hunt it down and kill it.”

No, he definitely knows! Eye felt her body trembling against her will. His words exuded determination. In fact, Eye was almost killed so easily and was being hunted right now. This green human would do it. Because he could. Even if she flew to her former home in another continent, this green human would surely go after her. She had no idea why he was so determined, but…

No, she did have an idea. When her friend Bone died, she was so devastated and angry that she went on a rampage. She, Eye, who had little camaraderie with other dragons. It was natural for humans, who acted in packs, to become angry. For humans, even those who would have died with a single breath from Eye’s perspective, were cherished companions.

But why didn’t he kill me right away? Eye became increasingly confused and bewildered. The green human surely knew that she was the dragon he had just fought against. He must have known that she had used Newt to take the form of a small human. Otherwise, there would be no need for him to go through the trouble of declaring that he would kill her, spreading such a murderous intent. Why… why…? She couldn’t understand why he didn’t kill her immediately. But at least, he wouldn’t murder her soon. Eye’s survival instinct began to kick in, trying to find a way out of the situation. I have to do something, somehow… I don’t want to die…