It turns out he was a Dragon that had transformed into his human form who seems to have given up his Dragon essence. Which explains why Elric could never connect who he was according to his memories. He was a Dragon all along!

Moreover, it seems that this young man holds a clue about what happened that night. So Elric decided to keep a tight watch and step out once they make a move to kill the young man.

However, the Dragon hunters finally showed themselves and revealed their intention to force the young man to redeem is Dragon essence back - only to become their take-home of course.

The young man fought back in retaliation and ended up hurting himself.

Not letting the worst to come, Elric was just about to jump to action and save the boy from the hungry crutches of the Arkhans when he noticed a sudden flash from behind and an old woman appeared.

It was his grandma.

Unable to move, Elric's eyes were filled with tears as the feeling of missing his grandma overwhelmed him. Confused and anxious, excited but wary, all these feelings came rus.h.i.+ng on his head. There were just too many questions.

He was pretty sure he ate her whole while he was transformed as a Corrupted Black Ancestral Dragon. He saw it clearly with his two eyes!

But just how?

Despite all his mental fort.i.tude advancement, the sight of the person whom he misses the most was able to break through his supposed to be calmed and a renewed mind.

His body wanted to move and go to meet her but for some reason, there was something amiss about the grandma he saw.

Elric decided to hold himself for now. His instincts has saved him multiple times during his time in the Elemental realm, he decided to listen to it again this time.

With renewed focus, Elric wiped the trail of tears in his eyes, heaved a deep breath, and continued to watch from the sides.

She looks exactly like her but at the same time, she doesn't feel like her.

Elric scanned her full body and realized that the aura she emitted was not the same warm and humble grandma he used to know.

She was as if a different person.

With a single wave of her hand, the three Arkhans who wielded exceptional defense suddenly fainted simultaneously.

Elric's sensitive eyes saw everything that happened and he could not believe how such an old grandma could just casually swipe her hands to make her enemies slump like lifeless puppets.

Not to mention, those are people of the Arkhan race! The famous advanced superhuman race that is known to hunt even the Elder Dragons of this realm!

Each of their body is tempered with the nourishment from the Dragon blood and meat; allowing them to live exceptionally long while also enjoying the steel-like body and supernatural strength of a thousand men!

Could it be that grandma can use mental or soul attacks? If that's the case, then the superior body of the Arkhans would not stand at all!

But how?

The grandma he knew only uses an old pair of slippers or broomsticks every time he did something really bad.

Other than the deadly Chancla (Mexican term for flying slippers) and the mighty Walis Ting-Ting (broomstick), she is also an expert in wielding her "sub-blabbing-gun" that would sometimes do critical damage when she really does have a point.

He had too many questions indeed and Elric knew that he must be careful in exposing himself in this realm to avoid any attracting more trouble. It was his best friend after all. For now, he decided to distance himself and observe as much as possible.

***

"Granny you came!"

Long stood up with a limping leg and arm. He did a pretty good job harming himself indeed.

"Of course I will. As long as you are in my area, you and your sister will always be safe." She laughed proudly as she moved forward and touched the broken arms and leg of Long.

"Now hold still."

She added as she started healing Long's damaged body with a surge of warm energy from her arms while accompanying a rapid chanting of indiscernible words.

"Ugh~" Long grunted in agony as the bones and flesh inside his body started to move and heal from inside.

"Just don't be too arrogant and find more trouble yourself or I will have to leave you alone. I owe your father a favor, that's why I am doing this after all. But don't think this as an excuse for you to continue acting like a king." She said as she stood up and crossed her arms with an apprehensive gaze at Long.

"Your lives as one of the proud Eastern Dragon is over so learn to forget about it. I know you lots have a lot to do with your pride but that stupid pride of yours will not save you nor it will put food in your table."

"So you want us to just turn a blind eye to them hunting till the very last one of us? How's that fair?" Long stretched his healed arms and legs with a frown in response to the old woman.

"The Western, Northern and Southern Dragon tribes have all agreed to hunt you all down as a punishment to their loss during the rampage of the Corrupted Eastern Dragon which your sister triggered. What can a mere spiritualist like me do against them all?" the old woman replied nonchalantly.

"Can't you just knock them all down as you did to these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds?" Long kicked one of the fainted Arkhans and looked at the old woman with a murderous gaze.

"I can do the finis.h.i.+ng of course." He added.

"Haaays. Dodong. You lived in this world for hundreds of years but you still got mountains of rice to eat." the old woman replied in surrender.

Seeing the serious look at the young man before her, granny just sighed in surrender before she calmly raised her palm.

"Now your cla.s.s is about to start. Go as I have much to do."

Wooom~

Using her telekinetic powers, the old woman sent Long flying towards the door which was forcefully opened despite the locks placed on it. Long, with his stubbornness, managed to grab on the door's edge with a pleading face.

"Please, granny I beg you to convince my sister to give me back my powers."

"I will. At the right time." And with this, she sent another forceful wave and Long was finally pushed deep inside and the door followed shut with the locks placed again like brand new.

Seeing the troublesome youth gone, the granny finally heaved a sigh of relief.

Her head suddenly turned at Elric's direction and smiled.

"So are you just gonna stare there like a tarsier?" Granny whispered with her eyes locked at Elric's figure from the opposite building's rooftop.

Elric, on the other side, was surprised to hear her addressing directly at him.

"There is no doubt, she was referring to me." He thought.

"Just who really are you..." Elric whispered in bewilderment. The old woman smiled faintly as if hearing his low reply.

"Follow me."

She turned her back and suddenly dissapeared in a flash - like a bubble suddenly popping out of existence.

Elric's eyes rapidly scanned his surroundings and quickly traced her presence. The next thing he saw her, the granny was already walking calmly in the midst of the crowded street. She was holding a basket full of vegetables and was humming a melodic song.

"Matud nila... ako... dili angay..." She sang in a heartful Visayan tone.

Indeed, it was not the same grandma he knew; because the Grandma Elric knew hates that song so much.

***

It was close to four o'clock in the afternoon and Elric found himself following the grandma to her home - it was the two-story apartment where his old nipa house stood long ago.

The whole apartment was made from a mixture of wood and cement. It looked like an ordinary apartment with four s.p.a.cious rooms at each level. With the grandma's approval, Elric followed inside and his eyes could not help but roam around.

He missed his old small room. He missed the small kitchen and he missed his grandma very much.

His eyes stare at the back of the old woman he was following. He could not help but feel like she was a complete stranger to him despite her looking exactly like the grandma he knew. Not to mention the surprising power she wields.

Despite his strict control of his body, Elric could still hear the faint thud of his footsteps on the wooden floor but the old woman was walking without making any noise. She was like a sneaking ninja which adds more to her mysterious background.

Elric recalled the familiar footsteps of his grandma and this further proved his suspicion that it was really not her at all.

"Help yourself with some Pinaig. Your eyes looked really tired. Perhaps, you came from a very long journey."

The old woman sat before the wooden table and pa.s.sed a small white teacup and a kettle full of hot Pinaig, a famous hot coffee from the Philippines made from grounded dark-roasted corn kernels with sugar.

Elric calmly sat on the opposite side of the table and poured himself some. With Elric's present superior powers, drinking poison is nothing he should be afraid of.

"Who are you?.." After taking a small sip, Elric asked the granny as he a.s.sessed her.

"Why do you look like my grandma Beth?" Elric added with a little frown.