Arthur waited in the kitchen, making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to eat. He absorbed the blood which covered him into the cutlass.
After he finished eating, he took the blood from the family, absorbing it as a pair of gloves over his finger which protected him.
If he were to come across another sword user, the gloves could protect him somewhat from attacks to the hand which would impede his use of the cutlass.
'I might even need armor as well. But that's gonna take out blood from my cutlass, and I don't want that.'
He sat down at the table, leaning back in his chair and looking upwards.
'I hope Damien and mom are alright. Alicia, too. Ah, and Lucy wasn't even necessary. Actually, she could take care of Rachel, leaving my hands free to do stuff. Wonderful.'
'But if she knows I lied, then won't she abandon Rachel? If she does that, then I might have to… no, I don't want to kill her. She's still a friend, after all…'
'Then who'll take her? I don't trust Chad, he might end up killing her. Plus, Chad's better looking, so she might… I want to kill Chad, I absolutely swear it.'
Anyone who was better than him – which was honestly a lot of people – anyone who might divert Rachel's love away, Arthur gained the intense yearning to kill them.
But, he pushed those feelings aside.
'The Assas family and everyone else would just use her as leverage. Then, maybe…'
Arthur pulled out his new, better phone which he received from Kaiser. He checked his messages, finding his dad had texted him.
The latest one being:
"Hellooo? If you've decided not to speak with me, that's fine. However, if you're hurt, or sad, feel free to come visit me again! I'll always be rooting for you, so don't be too upset! I still love you very much, Arthur."
'Ah, right, I haven't spoken with him in a while.'
Arthur sent him a message, asking to meet up at some place. His dad didn't respond, as he was probably at work at the moment, but Arthur was certain it would reach him eventually.
'He seems to have genuinely changed. So, I really hope I can drop her off.'
He heard the water turn off, and a few minutes later, Rachel came out, dressed in a large white hoodie and black pants. Her hair seemed a lot neater, which was nice to Arthur.
Arthur got up and went over to her, as she looked at him blankly.
"Why are you taking me?" She asked.
"Because your family doesn't seem to care about you too much. If you want to go back to your family, I can escort you."
"Please, do return me to my family," she said quite seriously.
"Ah, if that's what you want, then sure. Though, I gotta ask, why? Didn't they like, y'know, refuse to pay the ransom?"
She looked away, and Arthur was able to tell that she smelled a lot better than before. Her acne hadn't gotten too much better, but such was to be expected.
"Yes. However, I understand why. I am a dragon who lost their Art. Not to mention, I've been unable to settle on a suitable husband. Because of those factors, I'm not regarded highly by my family."
Arthur tilted his head slightly.
"Lost their Art? Not to mention, your family sounds kinda weird, but it's not like I can really talk. What do you mean by 'Lost their Art?'"
"Oswald Strat, of the Strat family of Space Dragons. He is the reason for our capture, being able to steal things which should not be stolen with his control over space—even intangible things are capable of being affected by him. He is the reason for the cage stealing dragon's blood, and my Art being stolen. He stole my Art, quite literally."
Arthur looked at her, as his expression faded from surprise to seriousness, then anger.
He was an avid reader. So, naturally, he looked for things like metaphors or whatever, even in life. So, for her to say he "stole her Art," then it seemed like a metaphor for virginity, though that was not the case in even the slightest fashion. Absolutely zero chance.
He was just that delusional.
That thought built up hatred for this "Oswald" fellow. His new mission, secondary to his original, was to hunt down and kill Oswald, potentially returning Rachel's Art.
"I see, now. It's your decision, and I'll honor it. I'll shower, get ready and take you to your home. From there, I'll try to do what I can about my mission."
"Understood. You've left the peanut butter and jelly out. How. Thoughtful."
She walked over, her long hair going down to the back of her knees. Arthur went to the bathroom, did his business, showered and brushed his teeth. He got out, took their car and got her address, putting it into the GPS before going on a roadtrip not too far out.
While the two were listening to music, he decided to give her a warning.
"Oh yeah, by the way, I might end up killing your entire family," he said.
She looked at him with a blank expression, hiding nervousness as she said, "oh yeah? Why?"
"See, my main goal is pretty much to kill every dragon except the children and a few adults. So unless your family joins me, I won't spare them."
"Well… I suppose if I can receive inheritance from my father to live an easy life, then perhaps it is acceptable. Though, if I may ask—" She said, suddenly pausing and looking at him, to which he looked back while driving.
"Please spare my sisters."
"Maybe, maybe not, I'll have to see them to do as you instruct."
"Fair."
The music continued to play.
"So, what family are you even part of?" Arthur asked.
"I can ask the same about you," she responded.
"Uh, well, I'm Arthur… both Arthur Graves and Arthur Assas. I betrayed the Assas family to join the Graves family. You?"
"Ah. I am from the Eros family, and a descendant of Eros, the Love Dragon."
"Huh. Didn't know there was a Love Dragon. What was your Dragon Art before it was stolen?"
"It was Shield. Those whom I had an attachment to, I could protect by carrying the burden myself. If they wished, they could, in turn, take the pain from me. However, it was stolen, as it was very useful in combat. Ever since then, my family's lost most interest in me, reducing my cut of the will from 40 million to 10. But it's okay."
"Is it really okay?"
"It is. I understand them. After all, my parents were never included in my ability, so they knew I never loved them."
"You didn't? Why not?"
"I just… I do not know. I've been unable to muster it for any of them, with the exceptions of my sisters. They believe I waste my talent, and I do not disagree. But my heart can only muster up any form of love towards my sisters. But because I am without the only gift I was ever given, I've been regarded as useless. So, it makes sense why they didn't pay the ransom, I won't complain."
Arthur was silent, continuing the three hour drive.
…
They reached the household, and the two exited the car, going up to the front door. Arthur knocked, and when the door opened, he was met with the sight of a woman.
"Hello, mother," Rachel said, before feeling a warm sensation on her left cheek, as she was standing to Arthur's right. She turned her eyes, seeing Arthur impaled with a spear.
"What is this Traitor doing at our house, with my daughter?" Her mother said. Arthur looked down, feeling his guts in deep pain.
"A-ah~hk!"
He grabbed onto the spear, before a thunderous boom echoed through the lands. The spear of love disappeared, fading into nothingness as Arthur healed himself and leapt back. He saw Rachel's mother, Elsa, looking off into the sky with fury.
Then, the words—
"Where'd ya run off to, Dragon!?"
Lightning struck the ground with great speed and impact, creating a shocking noise which sent shivers and reverbs down the bodies of all who were near.
The man laughed, slicking back his silver hair as he spun around his halberd and dug the bottom into the earth, looking over at Arthur. And whilst that happened, two more dragons appeared on the grounds of the Eros household. Though, when Raiden saw them, he tilted his head, yelling,
"Who're you guys!?"
To which, Lucy and her father, a tall man with short hair and a white, rectangle shaped mustache, looking at the scene, answering,
"We're members of the Rem family. And I can only assume you are part of the Zeus family?" The father said. Raiden nodded his head, flashing teeth with developed canines.
"Yeah, that's us. Whose side are you on, or is this a free for all?" Raiden wondered, looking at the members of the Eros family, Arthur, and the Rem family.
"We're temporarily allying with Arthur Graves," her dad said. Raiden nodded his head, looking over at Elsa.
"Sorry miss! But I'll be a third party, as I want to fight as many people as possible! But hey, if you're a dragon, you oughta understand, yeah?" He exclaimed with excitement, ripping his halberd out of the ground.
…
Now, Rachel had a decision. Her father was fairly strong, but she didn't know if he was capable of taking off members of the Dream Dragon clan, as well as Arthur. Though, she didn't know the extent of Arthur's power, other than his display of a massacre earlier.
She had a decision to make. And the decision she made was to collect her inheritance money and have her best chance of protecting her sisters.
"Good grief, you sure know how to burden a woman," she said, slinking to Arthur's side. Arthur scoffed a laugh, raising his hand and forming his gloves and cutlass.
"Arthur, you've got some explaining to do," Lucy said. "But I'll trust you, and ask the questions after this is settled!"
As she spoke, the members of the Eros family left their house. There were five of them, making it a somewhat even fight.
'Love, love isn't the first thing you think of when you hear "dragon," so hopefully this isn't too rough. She was fast, though that was also because I was caught off guard.'
And so, the Battle of the Eros Household commenced.