Unlimited Power 02 - The Ranger's Domain

As if things weren't troublesome enough with Hugo and Daniel, Alissa appeared carrying Arthur, who was crying, Mia also approached, and she looked exhausted for some reason. Ryan didn't even have to ask to know what was going on.

"Don't look at me like that. I am not in the wrong here," Alissa said.

"I didn't say anything… yet," Ryan said. "Regardless, if you said that, then it means you did something you feel guilty about."

"Not really…" Alissa looked away, trying to keep her composure.

Alissa was really easy to read like a child. Maybe due to her lack of life experience, she was acting like that. Still, Ryan had no intention of spoiling her or taking any side on the matter. He would always stay neutral and say the plain and cruel truth.

"You may think that you can do whatever you want because you have the backing of a dragon, and you may be right. This world now is dominated by stupidly powerful creatures," Ryan said. "However, you also need to know that for every action, there is a reaction. Sometimes, the reaction is weak, and you can ignore it. Sometimes you can't… you know, I really don't mind in letting Arthur on your care."

"Really?" Alissa asked with a large smile on her face.

"Yes, all you have to do is to promise me that you will abandon your current goal," Ryan said. "If you can't do that, then forget it. You can help on raising Arthur, but you are not his guardian. He is not your toy either or an object you may use for your relaxation. So, don't get carried away, Alissa. Don't cause trouble to him."

The around got a bit chilly quite suddenly. Ryan didn't hold back his words, after all. However, what caused that wasn't Alissa's anger or anything. It was the fear inside Daniel, Mia, Mark, and Hugo. They didn't have the nerves to say such a thing to someone so powerful, and that was probably why it would take a long while for them to reach Ryan's level and someday fight against the dragons instead of just running away from them.

"That isn't fair, you know," Alissa said. "I just wanted…"

"I don't care about your wishes or intentions," Ryan said. "I can only see the results and I act based on them. Don't complain about what is fair and what isn't. I can't blame you for choosing your path, but since you decided to help Orgar no matter what, you lost some chances. One of them was to find Arthur and his mother at the right moment. Anyway, his mother entrusted his life to me, but I am not… someone appropriate to look after him. Neither are you. After all, you don't care if humans live or die, right? Arthur is the sole exception, and I can understand since I am the same. The question is: do you understand that?"

After much effort, Alissa managed to calm Arthur down, but she passed him to Mia's arms in the end. Ryan's words were harsh, but they had a lot of truth in them. Neither of them was fit to look after a newborn baby since they were very egocentric.

"Sorry," Alissa said.

"… It is okay," Mia forced a smile. "I can understand you more or less, and you don't need to feel so bad about it. We can look after Arthur together… you just need to be a bit less selfish."

Ryan clicked his tongue. He tried to make Alissa understand something serious, and here was Mia spoiling her. Still, that wouldn't change anything. If that incident happens again, Ryan just had to remind Alissa of it. Despite everything, she had a conscience, and at least for now, she wasn't self-centered enough to ignore the obvious and just act to fulfill her own desires. Still, Ryan knew that she might become like that one day with all that power she gets, so he had to be careful.

"Colonel Mark found a place where we might find some clues to reach your goal," Ryan said. "The problem is, I think the enemy may be related to Baal."

"Demons again?" Alissa sighed.

"So, you two really faced a demon called Baal, the one from the myths," Mark said. "I am too old for this… What the hell is going on with this planet?"

Apparently, Daniel and others told him about their fight with one of the demon army generals. The question was: did Alissa told them that they got their ass kicked? Somehow, Ryan was pretty sure that she didn't mention that. The power of the demon was much more fearsome than anyone could imagine and Alissa liked quite a bit the amount of respect and fear she could impose just by making others know that she had the power of a dragon. They seemed invincible, after all.

"Well, let's see what we will find there," Alissa said. "I don't think I am ready to face another enemy of that level, but given that you will probably get furious by spending another day here, we can't wait for the General to find other places to check."

"You couldn't be more wrong about that," Ryan said. "My sole objective here is to pay my debt as soon as possible. Everything else is mostly inconsequential and meaningless."

"Yes, yes, whatever you say," Alissa shrugged. "Give me more details about the things that you discovered. Orgar seems quite mad, so you shouldn't hide anything. Sometimes, even I can't stop him, you know."

In the end, it didn't look like Mark was planning anything shady. At least Ryan concluded that since Orgar didn't make his sinister aura more apparent. After hearing the details, Alissa decided to at least help feed Arthur with the breakfast before leaving for Washington. After all, not even her knew when they would return or if they would return if they try to mess with another creature like Baal. With that in mind, Ryan decided just to wait patiently.