Chapter 14: The Red Dragon Emperor's Desire for Power

Looking at the ceiling of the infirmary, Jon sighed a little at how exhausted he felt. It had been hours since his battle ended with his victory. It was incredible for him, who could hear the encouraging cries of many of the devils in the stadium. Never, in his entire life, did he expect that kind of acceptance from other people.

The doctors and nurses already told him that he would be fine, although he had symptoms of having lost quite a bit of blood, although he didn't bleed too much. That kind of situation caught the doctors' attention, but Jon said he knew why it was, although he wouldn't say it.

"I have some things to say, partner."

"Did I lose too much?"

"Not really. In fact, I can say that you've gained more than you lost. That's why I wanted to talk as soon as possible. What we did was incredible! I didn't even know what would happen after burning the blood of your bloodline!"

"Really? What happened?" Jon asked curiously. He thought he could have lost years of life by doing that there, in the stadium. Ddraig already warned him that using the [Juggernaut Drive] form would cause a loss of vitality. So, he thought that by burning his blood, the same would also happen. 

"Since it was my bloodline, by burning it for a few moments, you were able to access a weakened form of my true powers. When you launched that blow, you destroyed the defensive magic by my [Penetrate] ability, which can pierce through all kinds of defenses. And when you were about to spit flames, they contained a portion of my true flames. It wasn't enough to incinerate souls, but you could definitely have burned magic and bodies to ashes!"

Jon's eyes widened. 

 "You entered some sort of state where you fused with the Boosted Gear, partner. That was amazing. I didn't think I'd see something like that! Your desire to win, the fire of determination in your heart, and our own arrogance, all added to the blood, triggered a new transformation."

"Sure, you lost about five years of life. But there's still some of my bloodline left in you. You didn't spend too much time on it, so it's good. I think you could use it once more at some point. It could be our trump card."

"No..."

"No?" Ddraig asked in confusion.

"I don't want to have a trump card like that. Today, for the first time in my life, I could feel the excitement of a battle. I could hear the cheers of unknown people. I... I want to be stronger, Ddraig. I don't want to be a devil. However, I don't dislike being a dragon."

"Partner, you mean..."

Jon nodded with a small smile. "Let's transform my bone marrow."

"... ", Ddraig was silent for a few moments, but he felt proud of his host. Human, devil, dragon, those kinds of things didn't mean much in a world like the one they lived in. Regardless of race, you would receive special treatment for being strong. In the end, power was what mattered. He, as the true Red Dragon Emperor, was arrogant and proud in the past. He didn't care about humans, nor about the rest of the races. He just wanted to fight his rival to determine who was the strongest Celestial Dragon.

However, after being sealed, he began to see better. All he could do was watch what his hosts did and talk. Some weren't even interested in chatting with him, they just had an interest in his powers. Of course, not all of them were the same. But, out of all of them, Jon was the one he liked the most. He had some arrogance, but he knew when to listen to advice. He had plenty of humility to begin with, and now he was finally feeling the pride of being a Red Dragon Emperor. All the things that made up the person called Jon Snow made him have great potential.

"To control the flow of more powerful blood, you would also need to change your heart."

"Is it a big problem?"

"Not really. It will hurt, but the benefits will be worth it. A dragon's heart isn't just for blood, it also functions as a magic reactor, providing a great deal of magic power. After the change, not only would you be able to use the new transformation more easily, you would also become someone really strong."

Jon closed his eyes before nodding. "I've made up my mind, Ddraig. Do it!"

Ddraig didn't say anything, but began the process immediately. The sooner, the better. Besides, they were in a hospital, a suitable place for any accident. Even more so being an underworld hospital, which had better methods than humans.

Jon expected great pain at first, but what he felt at first was a numbness in his limbs. Then, there came small pains all over, as if ants were crawling on the outside and inside of his body, before he felt as if those ants were biting him. Soon, he felt his heart being squeezed tightly and his breathing paralyzed.

His body felt frozen at that moment, while his entire body trembled from the spasms. He truly felt what it was like to die slowly. It was like a heart attack while you were drowning in a frozen ocean, all with ants inside you. His teeth were clenched as muffled sounds were produced in his throat.

If he had been connected to the machines in the room, then beeping sounds would be echoing throughout the place. His heart, at that moment, stopped. Or rather, it was crushed into paste, so that a new heart began to form. For minutes, Jon was, indeed, dead.

Minutes passed, with a worried Ddraig inside the sacred gear. And when it was all over, another two minutes of waiting passed, until Jon's eyes managed to focus and he took a large breath before starting to cough and vomit what looked like blood a little darker than normal.

 "Cough! Cough... cough! Agh... Ddraig...?" Jon coughed several times before asking for his friend.

"I'm here, partner. How are you feeling?"

"I..." Jon wiped his mouth, then stared at his hand. Unlike before, when he first learned magic, he could feel a much greater power at the tip of his fingers. It was as if he could crush anything with just a squeeze. His heart resonated in his heightened senses, it was a powerful throbbing.

"My head and chest hurt a little, but otherwise, fine."

"It's good... From now on, little by little, you'll have a greater amount of my bloodline. Perhaps, in the future, a human with my true Heavenly Dragon bloodline can be born."

"Didn't I turn into a dragon?"

"Not for now. But, in the future, it's very likely. Who knows, maybe you can transform at some point!"

 "That… would be kind of interesting," Jon smiled a little, imagining what he would look like in dragon form.

"Some other time, you should experiment better with your body. You should be able to spit fire right now. It won't be as strong a fire as the Blazing Hell of scorching flames I could use a long time ago, but it's still a cool fire. Oh, and also, you can already use [Penetrate] normally."

"It's a pretty powerful skill boost. Despite being just two new things, the utility of each is exceptional."

"Exactly," Ddraig agreed with those words.

"Right… do you think I could leave?"

"You should wait a little longer. Take your time to rest. After what we did, it's for the best. Besides, Sirzechs might pay you a visit."

"What gives you that idea?"

"It was he who created the opportunity for battle. I'm sure he'll want to chat a bit before you return home."

 "Wait, one more thing! Damn, I had completely forgotten about it in all the excitement."

"What's wrong?" Jon settled himself on the bed, asking with a bit of confusion.

"Even though you're still human, you have some dragon characteristics. Brother, don't freak out when you have some kind of greedy thoughts, maybe even lustful ones. It won't make you a crazy pervert, or even someone greedy with everything. But, you'll probably feel like you want some shiny things when you see them. Or a feeling of wanting a woman who is to your taste when you see them."

"Ah? Can something as weird as that really happen?"

"Not all dragons are like that. For example, myself: I wasn't really someone who wanted treasures, and I also had no need to chase after some female. But... there's a dragon named Fafnir who likes panties too much. There's Tiamat, who still hates me because I lost her treasures. Simply put, dragons have certain quirks. Mine was the desire to become stronger."

"Perhaps you'll end up inheriting that part of me. You don't have to worry too much, since it won't be something that happens immediately. It should gradually appear."

"Uh~," Jon felt a little uneasy hearing that. He definitely didn't want to be a pervert. He'd rather be a battle freak than that!

As he pondered that, the door to the room opened, letting in several people.

"Jon! That was one hell of a battle!"

"Sirzechs?"

 Just as Ddraig had said, Sirzechs suddenly appeared with a big smile. Behind him, there were four people. Two of them had the same hair color as the Demon King. One woman had an appearance that was too similar to the one who could be Sirzechs' sister. There was also a girl with short black hair. She was wearing glasses and had a serious expression.

"Ah!" Jon pointed exactly at that last person. "You're the cake girl."

"Eh?" Sona Sitri was surprised by the Red Dragon Emperor's sudden words.