Running through the forest, Zeke stayed in formation, moving toward the destroyed strip of land.
"Fuck." Smacked in the face with a branch, Zeke couldn't help but complain.
The trees ahead were splintered and destroyed—probably thanks to the big-ass dragon that came crashing down.
"Troops! We are before the beast. Simo, you are to sit behind and watch over us. The rest of you, follow me."
'Hey Iris?'
'Yes, Zeke?'
'Is it too late to change Simo's name? Personally, I think Chris Kyle would be good.'
Silence followed his question.
'Hello, Iris? I was just asking if it was possi—'
'Shut up and go to the dragon, idiot.'
'Fine. Be like that then.'
"Troops. On me."
Moving through the brush, we reached the crater where the injured beast lay.
If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were huge fans of Dragon Ball, the way they were sprawled out like Yamcha.
"Creature, make no sudden moves. If you do, we will be forced to slay you where you lay."
'Iris, what do you think? Was that tough—I mean intimidating?'
'Oslo, why have you cursed me with this poor excuse for a host?'
"I dOn'T PLaN oN MoViNg aNYtiMe SoON."
"Hey, do you mind not doing that telepathic bullshit? It's really fucking with my train of thought."
'Anywho, people these days, am I right? Regardless, how am I a poor excuse? That's frankly offensive.'
"THiS Is ThE ONLy WAy I CaN ComMuNiCaTe WiTh yOuR KiNd."
"You're telling me that you—a mythical creature—are relegated to one ability in the whole wide world to talk to intelligent beings?"
"YeS AnD nO. I KnOw YoUr LaNguAgE, BuT In My TrUe FoRm It's iMpOsSiBlE tO SpEaK yOuR tOnGuE."
"WAIT ONE MOMENT—YOU HAVE DIFFERENT FORMS?!"
"Yes. Is it not common knowledge that dragons can take human forms to integrate into society?"
'HOLY SHIT, IRIS. Are you hearing this? THERE'S A DRAGON GIRL LAYING INJURED RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!'
'Host, I regret to inform you, that is not a gi—'
'Shut up, IRIS. There's a dragon girl in front of me. Don't try to stop me from adding her to my harem just because you're jealous.'
'Whatever.'
"Sorry for the moment of silence. I just had a jealous fly in my ear. Now, are you not going to change into your human form?"
"If I mUsT… jUst GiVe mE a SEcOnD tO Lay hEre. My BoDy hUrTs."
Silently sitting in excitement, minutes flew by. Just as Zeke was about to accuse the dragon of scamming him, a blinding light rose from the crater where the dragon had made its bed.
"Look upon my mighty form, mortal!"
Squinting against the light, Zeke caught his first glimpse of its "mighty" form.
"CHANGE NOW! Use a female form!"
"Excuse me? This mighty dragon is a man through and through."
"SIMO, FIRE AT THIS MAN."
Mentally, Zeke ordered Simo to aim near the dragon but not to hit it.
Raising his rifle, Zeke pointed it at the dragon's mortal form.
With a deranged look on his face, Zeke shouted, "YOU WILL NOT RUIN MY HAREM ADVENTURE, BASTARD. GIRL FORM, NOW! OR YOUR SOUL WILL BE USED TO GET DADDY SOME MORE UNITS!"
"OKAY, STOP!"
Another blinding light erupted before Zeke, then disappeared—leaving behind the injured but now beautiful dragon girl.
Wiping his memory of the previous interaction, Zeke rubbed his hands together.
"Well, hello… fine shit."
The dragon girl rolled her eyes, forcing a fake smile—anything to avoid being murdered by the demon standing before her.
If IRIS could display a facial expression, it would be one of pure disgust. Depravity didn't even begin to describe the making of the host Oslo had gifted her.
This would be a long and terrible adventure...
============================================
"What is your name, soldier?"
Zeke stood in front of the newest cadet, trying to mimic the pristine form of Simo's salute.
"My name is Azaroth, sir."
The now-dragon girl shouted back at the self-attributed "Commander."
"TOO MASCULINE, PRIVATE!"
Spitting onto the ground, Zeke began pacing back and forth in front of the girl, berating her for what he declared was a terrible name for a dragon girl.
Talking to himself, he ran through options for his newly claimed harem member.
'Ezra? Nope, too on the nose. Ember? No, they aren't a fire dragon. Hmm… they have green hair, an earthy complexion, and dark brown eyes…'
"Private, in all my generosity, I have decided to bestow upon you a new name. No need to thank me."
'Host, doing so wi—'
'IRIS, stop being so jealous. If you wanted a name, all you had to do was ask.'
"PLEASE DON—"
"YOUR NEW NAME IS ISLA!"
"DAMN IT ALL!"
Shouting in frustration toward the he-devil, Isla became enveloped in light once again.
'Are we sure they're a forest rock dragon? They sure seem to cast blinding lights pretty frequently.'
'Host, that's mana. It's bright when people change forms or get bestowed a name by someone with higher mana than them.'
'Wait, I thought dragons were supposed to be overpowered or something?'
'They are, Zeke. But that idiot Oslo brought you to the border of the world, which is absorbing all the mana that radiates from the world itself. Dragons have the highest natural mana potential of any race. However, compared to you—someone who was carelessly turned into a battery for all the world's residual mana—that dragon might as well be a coughing baby in front of a nuclear bomb.'
'That was… a lot. Couldn't you have chopped it up into more digestible pieces?'
'Fine. See the consequences of your actions.'
As IRIS's rebuttal ended, Zeke once again saw the dragon girl. Isla had somehow become even more beautiful—her extremely angered face only seemed to accentuate her looks.
"YOU IDIOT! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"
Shrugging his shoulders, Zeke genuinely didn't know—but he had a feeling the incoming rant would explain.
"You—! I can't even turn back!"
"Can't turn back to what, Isla?"
"STOP CALLING ME THAT!"
In the blink of an eye, Zeke was lifted off the ground as Isla started shaking him like a ragdoll.
"You bastard! I can't change back to my male form… Why did you do this?!"
Smiling to himself, Zeke chuckled.
"What male form?"
Anger washed over Isla's face like a tsunami.
In a flash, her fist stopped inches from Zeke's face.
The air pressure alone from the punch soared around him, uprooting trees like a mini tornado had swept through the clearing.
"Why can't I kill you?!"
'IRIS, pull up the unit list.'
"What can I say? I'm just that handsome."
============================================
UNITS
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Simo - Platoon of five. (M1 Garands)
*NEW* Isla - Dragon Berserker
===========================================