Chapter 207: Dragon Pride [2]
"Hahah, showing your true colors at last?" Louis smiled, laughing. "Hahaha! It suits you better. I like that! Yes, show me those defiant eyes. Stop pretending you are kind, Dralma. I hate that."
"...?"
"Now, do we have a deal, or would you rather take another trip to dreamland?" Louis asked.
Dralma’s hands trembled. Louis seemed to know too much, and he possessed the power to trap her in an endless loop of death if he wished. Running away would not end well. And if he was truly as strong as he had shown, allying with him might not be so bad.
"Is it true that my father is watching?"
"I swear on my mother’s soul."
"...! I guess it is true then. You really are obsessed with my big sister."
"Hah?"
"N-Nothing... never mind."
She sighed and smiled lightly at Louis. Despite everything, she could not help but nod.
"Wow, just wow," she laughed. "Honestly... I never imagined you would be so damn strong even without awakening your dragon bloodline. Just how?"
"Do you really want to know?" Louis glared into her eyes, and Dralma quickly fell silent.
"Okay..." Dralma sighed. "I won’t give you any of my limbs though. But I can give you some blood. Is that fine?"
"It’s fine," Louis said, willing to negotiate.
Dralma nodded. She tore off most of her scales, her two horns, her claws, and several fangs, then handed him two bottles filled with her blood.
"Is that good enough?" She slowly began regenerating what she had lost, using the regenerative abilities of her Pseudo Immortal Body as the direct daughter of the Dragon King.
"You are pseudo-immortal. You could give me these endlessly," Louis rubbed his chin. "I guess that will be your utility! From now on, every week you will give me this quota."
"Every week?!" she gasped. "Are you insane?"
"Yes, I am," Louis nodded. "Also, you did it in just five minutes and it did not even seem to hurt you... Do not grow complacent. Help your nephew."
"Tsk..." Dralma clicked her tongue. Most of her personality came from her mother, the Elven Queen, who had been known in her younger years for being bratty, selfish, and narcissistic. "Fine..."
"Then we have a deal," Louis smiled warmly and shook her hand. Black chains wrapped around her body.
"W-What is this?!" she screamed.
"A curse forged using enslaved souls, my own Incarnations, my Soul, my Fantasium, my Psychic Power, and Flames of Ruin," he explained. "Unless you have experienced the agony and pain I have, you cannot overcome it easily. Do not worry. It is merely a contract binding you to me so you do not try anything funny."
"Anything funny?" she sighed. "You really do not trust your family..."
"Anyway, we are done here. Let’s move outside," Louis said.
In an instant, they returned to reality as if nothing had happened. Dralma looked back at Louis, who was carefully admiring what he had obtained from her.
"What are you even planning to do with that?" she asked.
"I will likely concoct an elixir with it," he responded. "Then I will drink it."
"Ew, you’re going to eat my body parts?!" Dralma asked.
"What else would I do? I am trying to stimulate my dragon bloodline. Drinking an elixir made from dragon parts could do the trick," Louis sighed. "Now leave. If you are done playing around, we can talk tomorrow."
"..."
She lingered for a while as Louis examined every scale with care and precision. Then he glared back at her and noticed she was smiling lightly, blushing.
"What?"
"Nothing~ Bye."
She flew off without another word, leaving Louis confused. He quickly returned to his work.
While flying, Dralma felt her heart beating faster and faster for no clear reason.
"Why do I feel so aroused out of nowhere? He’s my nephew..." she clicked her tongue. "Ugh..."
What she did not know was that female dragons tended to feel intense arousal toward strong males, especially those who defeated them in battle. Although this rarely triggered between family members, Louis was different enough, and his bloodline was thin enough for the effect to trigger strongly.
"He was really strong..." she gasped. "So strong... I have never fought or seen anyone so strong before... Louis Drakeheart... despite how mad you may be, you’re... not bad, I guess."
♢♢♢♢
The next morning, Mirai woke up eagerly and ran to greet Louis, only to find his room completely empty. He was nowhere to be seen.
"Eh? Louis?"
As she searched for him, Catrise entered the room and greeted her.
"Ah, Lady Mirai... Lord Louis went to the Alchemy Tower."
Mirai tilted her head.
"T-The what?"
"He left at midnight," Catrise explained. "The Alchemy Tower is a large building where all sorts of alchemy can be practiced using magical and technological artifacts to process materials."
"I had no idea that was even a thing," Mirai said, surprised. "So will he return soon?"
"He should. Why don’t you bring him back?"
"Alright!"
After taking a bath and putting on her uniform, Mirai ran through the town and found the Alchemy Tower, a tall white building where scholars and alchemists constantly came and went.
She went inside and searched for Louis until they guided her to the prince. Without knocking, she entered a room heavy with the scent of blood.
"L-Louis?"
"..."
There, she found him finishing an elixir. He had merged all the materials he obtained the previous night and filled four bottles with a red-gold liquid.
"Ah, Mirai. Sorry for not being there. I was busy with this."
"W-What is this?"
"A Dragon Elixir."
Louis quickly drank the first bottle until it was empty.
"Oh?"
FLASH!
His aura surged. His Dragon Heart developed further, spreading draconic energy throughout his body and urging his bloodline to awaken. He felt something deep inside him, small crimson roots lying dormant, waiting.
"It’s there... I can feel it!"
He drank the remaining three bottles to Mirai’s astonishment. His aura overflowed with so much dragon power that it felt as if Louis were burning. Scales briefly grew across his body, a tail sprouted from his back, and genuine dragon wings appeared.
"T-There...! Nnnggh!"
His aura roared like a mighty dragon before being quickly absorbed back into his heart. The transformation reversed, returning him to his original appearance.
"Haaa... Haaa... Damn it, it wasn’t long enough! Hahaha! But now I know there is a path!" he laughed. "Mirai! This is amazing!"
"Eh? W-What?" Mirai was confused but smiled. "I’m glad for you! But what happened?"
"I will tell you on the way back. Let’s go," Louis said.
As they walked home, Louis explained everything to Mirai while feeling his Dragon Heart continue to develop. His Crystalized Spiritual Dragon Mana Heart Method had advanced from the Initial Stage all the way to the Middle Stage. The change was dramatic, and his stats had risen considerably.
Vitality: 2,794 → 3,294
Strength: 2,665 → 3,165
Intelligence: 2,117 → 2,367
Dexterity: 2,235 → 2,485
Fantasium: 28,500 → 30,500
Fantasium Affinity: 98% → 99%
Madness Index: 16% → 32%
He felt stronger. And all of it had come from just four elixirs made from Dralma’s tiny scales, horns, fangs, claws, and blood.
"This was only the first effect. It might grow weaker over time, but I will take it," he thought. "I should try to make the same deal with the other dragons."