A bright flash of light. The next second, two figures appeared—Donovan and Sylvia.
They had arrived at the planet 535-Qerth-90.
Upon arrival, Donovan noticed the green, lush, and vibrant view around them. Grass, trees, a waterfall, and…
A dragon that was staring right at them!
Donovan felt his heart drop to his stomach, as though his heart had done a somersault in a comical manner and failed.
The dragon's size was ginormous, and its skin was red as blood.
But then, he heard Sylvia say in a calm, composed tone of voice, "Relax. They won't harm us."
"They recognize us as Visitors from Umbrellas."
Just as she said that, they heard the dragon speak!
"Some more Annihiliths, I presume?"
The dragon's voice was deep, fear-inducing, and full of authority!
"Yes," answered Sylvia.
The dragon was resting at the top of the waterfall, staring right down at them.
"...Some were able to enter this planet without my knowledge…"
"These Annihiliths are becoming stronger, evolving by the day."
The dragon's voice resounded across the forest, scaring off the animals in the vicinity.
"Don't you worry, Mr. Vilvatore, sir. We're here to get rid of them."
…"Mr."? Uh, she's addressing a dragon with "Mr."...
Just how important are they? They seem to know a great deal about Annihiliths, and Umbrellas… Hm. And the dragon's name is Vilvatore…?
"Good. I won't hinder you, you may go."
At the dragon's words, Sylvia bowed, and gestured for Donovan to do the same.
Donovan quickly bowed by pressing his right hand on his chest.
And with that, Sylvia walked away, and Donovan followed behind.
He glanced from behind, and saw that the dragon was still staring right at them.
Donovan decided to ask, "Uh, do—"
But his words were quickly cut off by Sylvia with a shushing gesture.
He nodded, and kept quiet.
After walking through the lush, green forest, they were now at a far enough distance away from the dragon.
"You may speak now," said Sylvia.
"...I'm assuming that the reason we couldn't speak earlier was because the dragon could still hear us?"
"Precisely." Sylvia confirmed with a nod.
"Who was that dragon? I already know their name, but are they someone important…?"
"You should refresh your knowledge on history."
"..."
Sylvia sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you. Four… no, five hundred years ago… Wait, no, it was six hundred years ago. The time Umbrellas was created."
"During that time, there was a band of four heroic warriors—not from Earth, but from the planet we're standing on right now. One of those four, the leader, rode on a dragon. And that dragon was Vilvatore."
"Six hundred years ago, in the first months that Umbrellas was created, Annihiliths were running rampant everywhere throughout the cosmos."
"They were invading planets, destroying star systems, and devouring planets."
"This planet, Qerth, was one of the many planets that the Annihiliths really liked, so it was being invaded by thousands, probably millions, at that time."
"But this planet had its own protectors. The four band of heroic warriors I told you earlier. This planet had a main kingdom—Valeria. No matter what the Annihiliths did, they could never enter the kingdom, couldn't get past its defenses."
"It was a total war."
Sylvia paused, cutting away vines and bushes that were in their way.
Huh… W-Wait, six hundred years ago?! That means… that means technology was already so advanced back then?!
Da… damn… But how? How the hell…
I can't wrap my head around it…
I need to know more…
Donovan asked, "Are there more?"
"Of course."
"Just when all hope seemed lost, Umbrellas decided to lend a helping hand. Umbrellas, together with the kingdom Valeria and its band of four heroic warriors, fended off the Annihiliths."
"With that, the war in Qerth against the Annihiliths ended."
"Valeria, its king, and its band of four heroic warriors, were eager to show their gratitude and appreciation towards the Visitors that helped them."
"They held a feast together with the Visitors."
"And after that, the kingdom promised to help them should Umbrellas ever need their help."
"...But then, a few months later, Annihiliths activity spiked, and it was at its peak at that time. Umbrellas had too much on its plate to send help to the planet Qerth."
"And because of that 'neglect,' the kingdom was utterly decimated by an army of Annihiliths."
"They were able to get past the kingdom's defenses this time, because at that time, the kingdom was suffering from a deadly plague."
"And the leader of the four band of heroic warriors, was very sick. This time, the kingdom would not survive. And so were its four heroic warriors."
"...A month later, Visitors arrived, only to find the kingdom utterly in ruins. Only a single, red dragon, was seen sleeping on the ruins of the destroyed kingdom."
"Vilvatore was very angry at Umbrellas for not sending help when the kingdom needed them most."
"But at the explanation of the Visitors on why they couldn't help, Vilvatore had no choice but to accept their explanation."
"Also, Vilvatore is immortal, if that wasn't obvious enough already…"
Donovan and Sylvia exited the forest, and were now at a cliff. The view was magnificent.
It was exactly like the fantasy films and… "isekai anime" that Donovan had seen in his past life as Leon Valentin.
Donovan looked at Sylvia, who was also mesmerized at the sight.
Sylvia continued the story, "Going back to the present, that's how Vilvatore became acquainted with Umbrellas. And answering your question, yes, Vilvatore, the Red Dragon of Keida, is an important figure in the history of Umbrellas."
Well, that was quite the story…
…"Red Dragon of Keida"? Keida…? What's Keida?
"What's Keida?" asked Donovan.
"Who," she corrected. "Keida is the name of the leader of the four warriors. The one who rode on Vilvatore's back."
I see…
"Can we see the decimated kingdom from here?" asked Donovan.
"Yes." Just as she said that, she pointed forward.
"Over there, near that giant tree."
Donovan looked to the spot she was pointing at, squinting his eyes.
"Oh, you're right, I can see what remained of it…"
Sylvia brought her hand to her pocket. "Vilvatore still protects this planet every day, but their senses are becoming dull, hence why Annihiliths are able to arrive on this planet."
Sylvia then opened up a holographic map, showing blue dots and red dots.
"Let's go," she said as she made the holographic map disappear.
"Go where?"
"Down."
"Huh—?!"
Amidst Donovan's confusion, Sylvia grabbed his arm and jumped down the cliff with him.
But Donovan had accidentally let go of his umbrella.
His umbrella was falling with him, but it was at a distance.
"Miss Sylvia, wait, wait, wait!!!"
The falling Sylvia had a calm expression on her face.
"Go get your umbrella, or we'll die," she said calmly.
Donovan "swam" towards his falling umbrella, trying hard to reach it.
"Better hurry."
The cliff was humongous, very tall, so they had a thirty seconds left until they reached the ground.
"Miss Sylvia, can't you fly with your umbrella?!" shouted Donovan.
"I like the feeling of falling," she said.
Donovan groaned and kept "swimming" in the air, reaching for his umbrella.
Reaching out his hand, he finally grabbed it.
Then, he quickly activated his Flight spell.
He stopped falling, and remained floating in the air.
But Sylvia was still falling.
"Miss Sylvia!"
Donovan flew down.
"Please, use your umbrella to fly!" he shouted again.
Upon seeing this, Sylvia smiled.
Look at him, so worried about me…
"I'll be fine," she said.
Only thirty seconds left until she reaches the ground.
Donovan reached his hand out. "Miss Sylvia, stop playing around! Grab my hand!" he yelled desperately.
Sylvia's eyes slightly widened. With a slight smile, she reached her hand out and grabbed his hand.
But as she grabbed his hand, she activated her own umbrella's flight, and remained in the air.
She quickly let go of his hand. If she hadn't, his arm would've probably been ripped off.
Donovan slowly landed, taking a seat on the green grass. His breathing was erratic, refusing to calm down.
Sylvia slowly landed in front of him. "Oh, come on. Get up."
Donovan looked at her, who still had that smile on her face.
"Is… is this just a game to you…?" he asked, out of breath.
She chuckled. "Of course not."
Donovan groaned.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry for scaring you like that. Your swimming form could use some work…" she said with a smile.
He could only sigh at her words. He stood up, gripping his umbrella tightly. He really doesn't wanna lose it again.
"We're close." Sylvia checked the holographic map again.
She started walking in a direction, and Donovan followed from behind.
Looking around, he saw animals of all kinds. They were different from the animals on Earth, but they had some similarities.
There were animals here that looked like deers, birds, rabbits, etc.
Suddenly, there was a rumble of the earth. And then, as though a shadow was cast over them, something ginormous flew from above.
Looking up, Donovan saw that it was Vilvatore, the Red Dragon.
The dragon was flying east.
Where are they going, I wonder…?
After walking for a while, Sylvia gestured for Donovan to stop.
"We're here." As Sylvia made the map disappear, she walked to a cliff and stared down at a dark cave.
Donovan's gaze followed Sylvia's.
A cave… Oh, great. I'm claustrophobic…