"Gulp…" Dvalin looked up at the figure rising from the sea. Lava, black stone… these had completely filled Dvalin's entire vision.
In his eyes, besides Kutri's gigantic body, Dvalin could no longer see anything else.
"Stop, stop!" Yu Jin flew between Dvalin and Kutri, pressing his palm down as he spoke.
Fortunately, he had foresight, otherwise, he might have witnessed the tragedy of kin devouring kin.
Kutri's body twisted slightly. His eyes glanced sideways at Yu Jin, and then he saw Yu Jin holding a staff in both hands, beating a drum and gong.
The "clang, clang, clang!" sound was very loud.
Kutri recalled the Starry Torrent etched in his mind and felt that he probably couldn't withstand two volleys, so he very consciously retreated.
"Whoosh!"
Waves surged, and the land returned to its original state, even the position where Kutri opened his eyes remained unchanged.
Yu Jin wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead, feeling a bit relieved. It seemed he still had some face.
"Stare—"
A somewhat glaring gaze came. Yu Jin looked down and found Kutri's eyes fixed on Dvalin.
He just watched silently, saying nothing, letting the atmosphere fall into a peculiar awkwardness.
"Actually, Dvalin isn't what you think. The main thing is that he was born alone and knew nothing," Yu Jin said, speaking up for Dvalin.
"Stare—"
"You see, when he knew nothing, the Anemo God approached Dvalin. How could Dvalin not be close to the Anemo God?"
"Stare—"
"It wasn't him who approached me; I was drawn by his singing and poetry," the silent Dvalin finally spoke.
He took a deep breath, nodded, and continued, "I am a familiar of the Anemo God."
"The songs and laughter of humans delight me, the lamentations and melodies of poets make me ponder. Thus, I transformed into one of the Four Winds. I am also a familiar of the Anemo God."
"Boom!"
Kutri's large eyes closed, followed by a burst of laughter full of self-mockery and unwillingness.
"Hehehe… the Anemo God, the Wind Dragon, a familiar of the Anemo God…"
The laughter was filled with a sense of desolation. As if he had laughed enough, Kutri's large eyes reopened. He looked at Dvalin and said indifferently,
"Little one, go. You have found your place in the new order. Too much contact with an old fossil like me will not end well."
After speaking, Kutri's eyes closed again.
"Kutri…" Dvalin still wanted to say something to Kutri, but he was stopped by the winking eyes beside him.
Don't ask how Yu Jin winked; Dvalin just managed to discern the meaning of "Hurry up and leave!" from the peep-hole of Yu Jin's helmet.
After a brief period of thought, Dvalin flew off into the distance. Since Kutri didn't want to see him now, his staying there would only be asking for trouble.
Dvalin flew very fast and disappeared in no time. Seeing Dvalin leave, Yu Jin descended from the Sky, stepping onto Kutri's skin—if Kutri's surface wasn't covered in grime.
"Hey, hey, hey! Get up!" Yu Jin stomped on the ground and shouted loudly.
Kutri remained motionless.
"You're not getting up, huh? Then I'm going to start drilling!" Yu Jin said, raising his staff.
A blue-green magic drill appeared in Yu Jin's hand, it was the essential magic for miners in The Lands Between—Explosive Rock Shatter!
"Stop, stop, stop!" The earth trembled again, and Kutri opened his eyes. Now it was his turn to say stop.
"Oh, so you're not so tough after all? Why did you open your eyes?" Yu Jin retracted his staff, saying mockingly.
"What do you want? Say it quickly!" Kutri rolled his eyes. He just wanted Yu Jin to leave now.
Kutri was very depressed and wanted some peace and quiet.
"Nothing, just worried you might do something rash," Yu Jin sat on the ground and patted Kutri.
"What could happen to me? I'm not that fragile." Although he felt very unpleasant inside, Kutri still acted tough.
He glanced into the distance, in the direction Dvalin had just left. Dvalin was a second-generation dragon, and now he had completely integrated into the human order.
For Dvalin, this was naturally excellent; but for Kutri, it meant that the era of the Elemental Dragons had completely vanished.
The pinnacle of elemental life was the dragon. Once they also sided with humanity, then the order of the Seven Archons would no longer have any possibility of being overthrown.
This situation should have been enough to enrage any Elemental Dragon. In fact, Kutri was indeed furious at first.
But when reason returned to his mind, Kutri felt a deep sadness.
What right did he have to criticize Dvalin? Dvalin had lived under the new order since his birth.
His acquaintances were humans, his love was humans, and his protection was humans. One could say that he and Dvalin only shared the commonality of being "elemental beings."
As for the rest, let alone their thoughts, even their appearances were vastly different.
The sorrow of old-era remnants being crushed by the wheels of time was precisely this.
Thinking of this, Kutri's depression deepened. He even found the humanoid Yu Jin somewhat displeasing.
"Go, go, go! Come back later. Right now, seeing you humans annoys me. Come find me when I'm in a better mood!" Kutri impatiently issued a dismissal. He just wanted to sleep now.
If he didn't still have a large group of familiars, he probably would have gone to follow in the footsteps of the Dragon King [Nibelungen].
"Seeing humans is that annoying?" Yu Jin stroked his chin, as if contemplating something.
"Yes! Seeing you all annoys me, get far away from me!" Kutri didn't really hate humans. He knew better than anyone that the true culprits were the usurpers in the Sky.
But who could blame those in the Sky for not coming down, while Yu Jin just happened to be in front of Kutri's eyes?
More than hatred, it was simply an outlet for the resentment that Dvalin had just stirred up.
"Alright, since that's the case, I'll tell you a secret." Yu Jin ran to Kutri's eye, looking very mysterious.
"What?" Kutri was very confused.
"Actually, I'm not human," Yu Jin gestured, as if revealing some earth-shattering secret.
"I know," Kutri's eyes turned into dead fish eyes.
"???"
"If you were human, I'd immediately surrender to Phanes with both hands and feet," Kutri sneered a few times.
With Yu Jin's strength, plus the terrifying "arm" he had previously displayed, Kutri would have to be crazy to believe Yu Jin was human.
"Then why are you still mad at me?" Yu Jin waved his fist. He was now thinking about what kind of "tattoo" would be best for Kutri.
Yu Jin brand pure hand-drawn tattoos, guaranteed not to melt in fire or drown in water.
"Who told you that you resemble humans so much in stature? I'm in a bad mood, bear with me," Kutri also felt a bit embarrassed. Instead of confronting the Seven Archons and the people of the Sky, he vented his frustration on Yu Jin. He even wondered if he had changed.
Rather, it was because he finally had a new friend that Kutri's emotions finally had an outlet, which is why he complained to Yu Jin about his inner frustration.
"So, what exactly are you?" Kutri's curious voice came from deep beneath the sea. He was genuinely curious about what Yu Jin was.
Could he be someone from outside this world?
"If you put it that way… I don't know either," Yu Jin spread his hands. Before Kutri could curse, he continued, "In the past… I guess I'd be called a 'little person,' an 'dwarf'?"
"Uh… I'm hazy on it, I'm not sure."
As Yu Jin spoke, he removed his armor, revealing the shriveled, emaciated, bone-thin "withered branches" within.
"This is my true form."
"As for the human appearance I spoke of before, that was false."
Putting his gauntlet back on, Yu Jin shook his head. Who would have thought that the essence of humanity was actually a living corpse?
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