Asia shivered slightly in the cold, dark tunnel that was the fastest way to the Crimson Mountain, her Nun's outfit was barely even suited for this type of weather. Of course, after the last raid from Ddraig Y Goch, the dragon that lived in the mountain itself, the people of Kuoh Town had gotten desperate and she was chosen as the sacrifice to appease the Red Dragon Emperor.

Asia moved quickly and reached the end of the tunnel, opening the door at the end of it before closing it behind her. It was warmer inside the mountain, another thing she would miss once the mighty crimson dragon ate her. That brought a tear to her eye, which she wiped away quickly; she was better than this. Of course, she just had to find Ddraig to even become the sacrifice in the first place.

The Nun walked around for what seemed like hours, finding nothing until a golden light caught her eye, drawing her closer. Asia was nearly blinded by the brightness of the gold that stretched for miles in every direction.

"Now, how am I supposed to find Ddraig in this?" Asia muttered dejectedly as she moved down the stairs and onto the mountainous pile of gold.

Asia carefully manouvred through the gold, but after several hours of searching, she couldn't find the dragon anywhere. Few minutes of further searching later, she sat down on the pile of gold to catch her breath.

While sitting down, Asia decided to look around to admire the sheer grandeur of the place she was in. While the walls and ceilings of the cavern were not different from the rocks of the mountains she had seen outside, the floor was covered with various treasures – coins, cups, jewelleries, furniture, and a lot more things made out of high-quality mineral that were only possessed by kings and nobles alike.

From the stories she had heard in the past, the dragon used to accept gold and treasures as tributes to appease him. However, it seemed riches no longer enough, as Ddraig had demanded her – a young maiden as a tribute for this time of the year.

Asia took another breath and gave an audible exhale, she was about to stand up to continue her search, until the gold beneath her shifted slightly. She paused on her movements, thinking whether it was only her imagination, or something else was happening in the cavern. Then, few seconds later, the treasures around her began to tremble, and she looked around to see that the mass of gold was shifting upwards, as if something else alive was buried beneath and proceeded to move out – and the thing was massive.

The creature slowly stood up, coming out from beneath the treasure right before Asia. Slowly looking up, she saw the blood red scales of Ddraig peeking through the gold and she also saw that the eye of the mighty dragon was beginning to open. Terrified, Asia quickly ran and hid behind a pillar, praying to her Lord that she wouldn't die from the dragon's wrath.

"Well…" Asia heard the deep, rumbling voice of Ddraig calling out. "Come out, o thief in the shadows~!"

She was unable to move due to fear paralysing her; the sound of gold shifting and something massive moving towards her got closer and she saw the clawed foot of the beast landed right next to her hiding spot. She pressed herself closer to the pillar, hoping the shadows would hide her from the dragon's sight.

"I can smell you…" the dragon growled. "…I can feel your breath on my scales." Ddraig spoke again, his head turning at Asia's way. "…I may not be able to see you, yet, Thief, but I know you are here. I can sense your heartbeat quickening in fear!"

The dragon's growl grew louder as the beast's patience was running thin by seconds. Asia then gathered her courage and stepped into the light, showing herself to the Red Dragon – whom in return, turned his head and smiled evilly at the maiden.

"Ah… There you are, Thief in the Shadows…" the dragon hissed, eyes narrowing at the petite frame. "…Come to steal from my horde, have you?"

Asia shook her head "…No, I haven't, mighty Ddraig..." she managed to speak out.

Ddraig moved his head so it was right in front of her, his glowing eyes was peering at the girl's emerald orbs. "…Then why did you come here, little girl?"

Asia felt tears on her cheeks as she almost choked out. "…Kuoh Town sent me as sacrifice, Mighty Ddraig..."

Few moments passed as Ddraig looked at her before shaking his head, letting out a growl-ish huff. "…Then they must be truly foolish to think I would eat you, no better than the devils that used to roam these halls before I took it away from them."

Asia then blinked her eyes, her expression was stunned at the dragon's reply. "So… you are not going to eat me?"

The Crimson Dragon glanced at her to see hope started growing upon her face. The beast then contemplated if he wanted to see the hope on her expression shattered, to see how she would react in the face of death, to see if he could revel in her terror and despair.

However, not long after, the dragon found himself nodding. "…Correct, but you'll be staying with me from now on, might as well making yourself useful." The dragon finished with a small grin on his lipless maws.

Asia stared at the towering dragon for few seconds, and eventually nodded with uncertain expression on her face. The end result was far from ideal, but on the other hand, she was too relieved to care, as she still would live to see another day – as short as it might be, despite being stuck with the creature.