The flame on Barack's finger stopped as he saw Esmeralda's body being covered by a bright light source. Her dark greenish skin began changing into a smooth human skin, a small dragon turning into a teenage girl with cold reptile's amber eyes and greenish hair. The only difference from her last transformation is that this time, she had clothes on — specifically Mei's white shirt and long dress like a normal village girl. So the clothing will carry over to her next transformation.
"Oh, better than I expected." Barack said.
"My mouth… water… it burns." Esmeralda weakly said while gasping for air. With some anger left inside her — she bit Barack's hand, which he didn't react to.
"So, Nea, do you have any ideas what Barack is gonna do to this poor underage kid?" The girl with a bow on her back whispered, poking the glasses girl on her shoulder. Nea being the sleepy glasses girl's name.
"Probably for his own entertainment."
"I heard that you two!"
"Water…" With a chain still around her neck — Esmeralda began streaming down sweats and her body temperature began rising up like NiP | (Gold) RMR 2020 sticker prices after getting dev1ce on their roster. Her face blushed bright rose red, her hands began to shake nervously as she held tight onto Barack's suit; begging him for water with her burning tongue sticking out for air. It's safe to confirm that everytime she transformed into her human form, she gets like this.
"Don't look at me with that face, I'm going to commit federal crime for touching a minor." Barack said, channeling some water from the air to his hand.
"As we've guessed." The piggy-eyed girl with a bow said, then shook her head and walked up the stairs.
When she greeted the guards, the sort of trapdoor covering the jail room to the above room opened; in which Don — the buff guy with spiky hair walked through.
"Someone's looking for a missing young green dragon, she doesn't seem like someone in town." He said, pointing upwards.
"Let me handle that." Barack said as he stopped pouring water down Esmeralda's tongue which was sticking out.
"Alize, keep a watch on her." He said, looking at the girl with a bow.
"Sure boss, as if Don and Nea is busy and I'm the only one slacking off."
"Oh, you're admitting to slacking off now?"
"Just get onto talking with our guest already, leader"
...
Walking up from the basement of the Adventure Guild's building — a tall well suited man with a brimmed beret happily reaches his hand out greets Mei with a handshake, she immediately recognizes him.
"You must be Barack, one of the high rankings of the State Security of Sulkos (SSS)." Mei shook his hand with a smile.
"Indeed, you're fancying yourself a dragon I heard?"
"It's not like that." The handshake between those two stopped. "I'm looking for my niece, a young cute Emerald Dragon called Esmeralda, have you seen anyone like that?"
Barack, knowing well how to hide his expressions; doesn't react to that question.
"I do have a pet demihuman at home, but a dragon seems too much for us to witness in a city."
"Is that so…" Mei sighed in disappointment and looked down. "But your hand smells like her, more specifically the smell of my bathtub."
With her eyes showing a threatening glare, she raised up the hand she used to shake Barack's hand and sniffed it a bit — confirming vagues of Esmeralda's scent on it, mostly the distinctive bathroom smell.
"She's down there?" She took a glance over at the trapdoor leading to the Adventure Guild's basement, where Barack just walked out of. "I'll be glad if we can have her back."
clank
Barack took no time for negotiation; he quickly reach his arm towards to try and apprehend her — in which Mei react by spawning in her wooden staff and block him, when the two contacts it made a metal sound, suggesting Barack's wearing some kind of iron bracelet, dagger inside his sleeves or he's Bucky Barnes.
"So that's a no?" Mei asked, trying to distract Barack from the fact that she's focusing up her magic.
The whole Adventure Guild watch in confusion, as an innocent looking girl is clashing with a high-ranking SSS. Alize, the girl with a bow on her back doesn't even bother to help her teammate, she just crosses her arm and silently watches.
"Fireball." Mei whispered, without even looking at her mouth — her eyes showed an obvious smirk.
A bright red light then appeared on top of her wooden staff aiming point-blank at Barack's face. Barack himself obviously took notice and forced out a big punch at her staff, forcing the staff to aim upwards to the ceiling.
boosh
crash
boom
The powerful fireball flew upwards into the roof, perfectly destroying a part of the ceiling in a circle which was the fireball's shape, a ball. The thing then explodes mid air like a firework, causing some cracks or fire remnants still remained and floating downwards onto the street nearby.
Now it's left of Mei and Barack to duel by hand-to-hand combat. As staff and iron clashed, kicks and lethal elbow blows were given out, no one has managed to take a single drop of blood yet — Mei noticed how Barack is a well-known SSS for his magic ability usage, yet he hasn't used anything and is still taking the upper hand.
"Hey, can you two not- woah."
"Stay back people, one warning."
Some adventurers took concern and tried to separate these two fighting lovebirds from each other, but they were immediately stopped by Alize; who spawned in a sword made out of pure water to confront them.
Barack took a glimpse of the basement's trapdoor, which Nea is poking her little head out. With those same half sleepy bored eyes; she clapped and cheered while watching as if this was a stage drama or a musical concert. If she's not guarding the dragon then Don must be, which he won't complain.
"What are you looking at?" Mei saw an opening when Barack's mind was off the duel, she took this opportunity to hold her staff tight and use another magic, this time she used a fire spell to heats up the staff and swung it towards Barack's face, giving him a hot blow.
"Just to end this." Barack said, turned around immediately to grab Mei's staff near where she was holding it. Mei then struggled to hold the staff and used her other hand to try and counter-attack, but that punch got pushed away by Barack; who grabbed her wrist.
With it boiling down to only raw strength, the two struggle deciding whoever would get the hot staff right into their face.
"If you stop struggling it won't be as painful." Barack said, still not using any magic on his part.
"As if I want a scar on my face!" Mei tried to kick him, but his stance was too tough for her to knock him out of his balance.
Some adventurers nearby took concern of this situation but didn't want to get involved in the SSS's business, so most of them already left, leaving some edgy/daddy issue weirdos to sit and watch while sipping tea. One of which is Nea, who is weirdly calm unless Alize who's on a high alert in case if Barack loses. Meanwhile, Don is bored to death down there, poking Esmeralda's non scaled skin
"Huh?"
"Hum?"
Everyone in the room felt as if something dangerous was approaching.
crack
A small light pierced through the Adventure Guild building's front.
sizzles
BOOM
The light exploded, causing a great destruction to the building as a whole, the second floor collapsed in which Mei and Barack back off from each other to dodge the wreckage falling down — with Mei being the winner of "who gets to keep the staff." fight.
"What took you?" Mei said, running towards a group of people, also the source of the explosion.
"Well, Rina took a while, sources said she was munching on apples in the forest." Pearl said, his staff is still giving out smokes, it must be him who caused the explosion.
"I haven't eaten anything since noon, give me a break."
The four stood side by side. On the other side of the wreckage, the four of the high-ranking SSS also began taking stances and analyzing the situation.
One swordsman (Marc), one archer (Rina), two mages (Pearl/Mei).
versus
One mage (Barack), one archer (Alize), two unknowns (Don/Nea).
"Mei, you found Vel?" Marc asked, looking straight at the four opposing them.
"The tall guy in a beret attacked me the moment I mentioned her, as well as there is Es's smell on his hand. I'm guessing she's in the basement, aka the adventurer's detention room."
On the other side…
"What do we have on them?" Don asked, crossing his arm in front of his chest, really showed how buff he is, yet he doesn't seem to be a brawler.
"They're not amateurs, judging by how even a young mage is somewhat trained in hand combat, don't get cocky. We're doing the Separated and Gathering formation." Barack said, looking at Mei, who he had just duelled.
"Roger" The rest three nods.
Execution, begin.