The wide gra.s.sy planes and distant mountains he grew up with are long gone and replaced by various towering hotels, apartments, bars and so on - a typical first-cla.s.s city with modernized technology fully implemented in the system.

After reaching the now-unfamiliar street he used to walk by since he was a child, Elric stepped out of the taxi with his mouth gaping in surprise.

Ten years!

It only took ten years for all of these ma.s.sive buildings to sprout in his homeland! Just what really happened ever since the day he left the human realm on that fateful night?

Looking at all the modern traffic lights and the buzzing street crowded by people in decent clothing, Elric's mind was still at loss.

The least, it should have taken about twenty or thirty years to have such kind of modernization to take effect.

His gaze locked on the street signs and even double-checked his current address just to confirm if he was at the exact street he grew up.

"I really am home. Just not what it used to be." Elric muttered.

The small sari-sari stores are gone, the smelly poultry farms are gone, the calming breeze of the sea and so did the peaceful sound of the countryside is long gone.

Accepting the fate of his homeland, Elric recalled the direction to his house and made his way right away while walking calmly on foot.

Elric wore simple black shorts for his lower, brown shoes complimented by his white polo with the long sleeves curled up to his solid elbows - revealing a manly stature that all the women he pa.s.sed by are easily hooked with pa.s.sionate gazes.

With the effects of his constant evolution and upgrades, not a single one of his previous contacts had an idea that it was him.

The old Elric was a skinny four-eyed with little to average skills; while the present one was like a full-blown gentleman with a very respectable and manly presence.

He looks like a perfect bachelor!

Unfortunately, despite his efforts in trying to find his old friends, the ballooned population of the place made it incredibly hard for him to trace them. Not to mention, he was afraid if they might be one of his old victims during his last rampage.

Right now, there is only one way to find out.

It took quite a while before he finally reached the place he really came for - his house.

But to his surprise, what greeted him from the usual place of his small nephouse is now a two-story apartment.

The forest where he fought against the Manananggal and found the Dragon girl is now surrounded by a tall and solid wall. It is now one of the current town Mayor's private property.

Looking back at the apartment, Elric decided to ask one of the rus.h.i.+ng pa.s.sersby that looked like a student of one the community college - it was a young man who looked familiar to him somehow.

With a gentle voice, Elric approached the young man,

"Uhm excuse me. Do you mind if I can ask some-"

"Don't talk to me!" scoffed the young man.

Without even sparing Elric a glance, the young man sn.o.bbishly walked away. Elric, with a gentle smile, scratched his head in apology.

The young man's tone was cold and condescending. As if Elric was just a thrash that doesn't deserve his time and attention.

Little did he knew, Elric can easily flick him to death.

Fortunately, Elric's renewed mind and spirit brought him with a heart of compa.s.sion, kindness, and humility that Instead of complaining, he chooses to ask for forgiveness and smiled innocently.

"I see. I am sorry for bothering you." Elric replied gently.

"Hmp," the young man tightened his backpack with a pull and continued. Elric could not help but look at the young man with a tinged of disappointment.

"He does look familiar." Elric thought.

It was a faint memory but he was pretty sure he had seen him somewhere. However, right now, his focus is to find out what happened to his home.

As for his grandmother - he has long accepted the fact of what had transpired that night. It was painful, but that was it.

Trying to grief over it again brings nothing bad deep sadness for him. What he can do right now is to move on and prevent that disaster from happening again.

If possible, he would like to purchase a lot for himself. How he will obtain the money, well, with his powers, it shouldn't be hard at all.

Knowing that the best person who can answer his inquiry is the owner of the apartment, Elric decided to go inside and meet the person in authority.

But just when he was about to go in, his sensitive nose and hearing captured a slight but suspicious voices lingering in the area.

It might not be audible enough for the ordinary humans and Dragons to hear but to Elric's supernatural state it was as clear as the day.

Elric stopped moving amidst the busy street and focused on the faint traces of the sound from the mysterious beings.

Seconds later, he decerned where it came from and what they were.

"These are the language of Arkhans or should I say, the most notorious Dragon hunter race." Elric thought as he continued listening.

He traced the faint voices and they came from the three normal-looking men on their forties who seems to be following the sn.o.bbish young man from the distance. All their eyes were glowing in cold blue, but not visible to the normal human eyes.

"No Duck, I told you he is a Dragon. Just give me one more day. I will prove it to you guys. We are not going back without those kids as a trophy."

"Oh yeah? We have been scouting those siblings for how many years now? We've seen them bleed through our carefully laid setups but what? they were bleeding nothing but human blood! HUMAN BLOOD! What kind of proof do we need? I can just castrate him right now if you want, if that will put an end to your finding Nemo journey."

"Keep your voices down you two. Don't ever think we are allowed to speak in our own frequency here as freely as you think. Those c.o.c.kroaches might have given us the freedom to do what we want here but we still have to be on guard against the Guardian rascals that could be watching somewhere."

"You know what, you are right. Let's end this mystery chase today. Let's just grab him when we have the chance. I will be more than happy to chew him to bits and pieces before your stupid face just to prove to you he's nothing but all wasted human c.r.a.p!" The tallest one of them concluded.

The shortest one of them nodded in approval while the middle one kept quite. Neither resisting the suggestion or allowing it. His eyes are still locked at the sn.o.bbish young human who is minding his way towards the school.

The three mysterious figures continued walking calmly despite the furious tones they were hurling against each other. Their mouth barely moved as they speak but their sound was as clear as a trumpet sound to Elric's ears.

These are the special sound frequency that the secret society uses to communicate that no ordinary humans could ever hear.

Except for some selected animals with extraordinary hearing, the Dragons races, Elementals, Guardians or Arkhans, and even the Ancient Humans have their own way of communicating secretly without their cover being blown on the public. This way, they are free to communicate however they want without earning any unwanted attention.

Noticing their hostile intentions for the young human, a frown quickly drew on Elric's face.

"Trouble, you back too soon my friend..." Elric added with a sigh.

Looking back at the white wooden apartment where his house used to stand, Elric, heaved a sigh of relief.

As much as he wanted to do his bid, there is a human life that is about to be taken just because of some greedy Dragon Hunters suspecting the poor kid.

Especially how they treat human lives as a piece of a toy in their mouth, Elric's calm demeanor could not rest for long.

When one of them mentioned how he was more than willing to chew the young man to bits and pieces, it reminded Elric of his dark and depressing past. A memory he hates the most which could easily break the peaceful flow of his mind.

Elric could feel a surging warmth of fury boiling in his heart. It was like a huge waterfall, threatening to break open the troublesome rock of his past.

Unbeknownst to him, his steps have already turned to follow the three mysterious men.

"Control yourself, Elric. Remember to keep a low profile dude." Elric mumbled softly to himself.

The crowd was still busy minding their own lives in the middle of the small city while the sun is getting brighter above him. The heat is starting to spike up.

Invisible steam crept out of the hot asphalt roads and so was the fire in Elric's eyes.

Clenching his fist in slight agitation, Elric thought to himself,

"...One percent should be enough..."

***

Fifteen minutes later...

The sn.o.bbish young man had entered the Community College grounds, the three men mysteriously vanished out of nowhere and, Elric's figure could not be seen as well.

The rat is about to be devoured by the cat, not knowing the Tibetan Mastiff following behind.