Profound Amalgamation Art

[You picked <Profound Amalgamation Art>]

- The system is now initiating alterations to your body's functionality to be able to manipulate Draconic Energy.

Atop the dragon's snout, Blaze collapsed to her hands and knees, taking her by surprise. It was as if she had suddenly lost all control of her body. She didn't have time to prepare before she felt her stomach churn, her innards painfully expanding and contracting nonstop on their own. She gasped for air, chest heaving up and down rapidly as sweat dripped down her neck. At least, she found she could still speak. "Azurion…are…you taking over my body?" she breathed, eyes wide with alarm.

'Hhhh…I don't think I can do that,' the dragon rumbled. 'Your mental fortitude is too strong for me to take charge. This is the process needed to grasp the power of a dragon. To have a Dragon Circuit.' Azurion smiled reassuringly inside Blaze's head, sensing the evident fright that came with her question.

Just shortly after, the opulent-looking screen reappeared in Blaze's view, accompanied by the mechanical voice in her head.

Ding!

[Congratulations! Your body has been altered!]

- You have unlocked your Dragon Circuit!

- You can now absorb Natural Energy through cultivation.

[Dragon's Will <Incipient Stage (1st Stage)> manifesting...]

Ding!

[Dragon's will manifestation complete!]

<Profile>

[Name: Blaze Estereon]

[Gender: Female]

[Type: Brawler/Hunter]

[Dragon Class: Alpha/Incendiary Class]

[Cultivation Type: Profound Amalgamation Art]

[Cultivation Level: Early-Incipient Stage]

<Skills>

[Dragon's Unique Ability: Tarrasque's Rage]

<Tarrasque's Rage (Passive)>

- The ability will boost the user's physical abilities in all aspects for every percentage reduced in her health.

Cast Time: None

Cooldown: None

Draconic Energy Cost: None

[First Skill: Infernal Blessing]

<Infernal Blessing (Passive)>

- This ability allows the user to permanently enhance her overall power by 5% upon surviving a near-death experience.

Cast Time: None

Cooldown: None

Draconic Energy Cost: None

[Second Skill: Tarrasque's Roar] (Locked)

- Reach Tier II Brawler/Hunter (Combat Prodigy/Rogue) to unlock.

[Third Skill: Final Rage] (Locked)

- Reach Tier III Brawler/Hunter (Combat Master/Assassin) to unlock.

[Fourth Skill: Hellspawn] (Locked)

- Reach Tier IV Brawler/Hunter (Grand Champion/Full-pledged Shinobi) to unlock.

At this time, the mechanical voice was finished, and the screen blinked away. Blaze let out an exhausted breath, and whatever strength she had left faded away. She slipped down from the dragon's head.

"Young miss!" Krul ran forward and caught her before she hit the ground. Bolt was close behind.

"What in the world happened here?" the Warchief of the Storm Tribe murmured to himself in disbelief. He leaped from the ground and landed atop the lifeless carcass of the Infernal Tarrasque, kicking the side of its stone-hard carapace to make sure it was really dead. It didn't respond. The hell flames were extinguished, the spikes on its back unmoving and harmless. It was hard to believe this dragon that annihilated so many comrades in battle so easily had died so suddenly.

What did Blaze do?

* * * * *

Tak!

The click of sharp heels against the cold-hard ground announced Malileah's arrival. She flicked her hair over her shoulder as she moved to stand beside Alistein. "You weren't wrong this time," she said to him. "I had some fun. I almost had to use my abilities on them." She twirled the ends of her hair around her finger, bored once again now that she had finished playing with the council members.

Shuuung-!!!

Malileah twisted her body to the side just as an arrow shot through the air in front of her chest, barely missing her. If she had not sensed it in time, it would have pierced right through her.

Alistein looked up.

Swuuuung!!!

With one fell swoop of his sword, Kaiser made a clean slit across Alistein's torso, the black coat of his uniform falling apart in result.

'He's fast!' With his extraordinary perception, Alistein was able to sense Kaiser before he could even reach him with his sword, but he was faster than expected. And so before he could evade, Alistein suffered a lacerated torso from Kaiser's dragon-slaying sword.

Kaiser immediately jumped back to a safe distance after his successful ambush and came to a stop beside Colleen. Behind them, they shielded a beaten and battered Emperor and a bloodied Kingsley.

Kaiser clicked his tongue in disappointment. Even with the elixir's effect on him, all he could do was create a shallow wound on Alistein's tattooed body.

"Huh." Alistein tore apart the rest of his sliced uniform coat and top as he stepped forward, tossing the ripped clothes to the side. He was now shirtless, completely exposing the black markings that swirled jaggedly across his muscles. "Pests are coming one after another. But this is better…these two are talkative," he said. He tilted his head to the side until he heard a crack, and did the same with the other side. "So tell me…where is Alexandria?"

Behind them, Kingsley let out a weak, ragged breath. "Don't…say…a word…," he ordered. But his voice was barely audible; it wasn't enough to let the two in front of him hear.

Kaiser shook with nervousness, but stepped forward all the same, his eyes trained on the approaching enemy. "Alexandria?" he repeated. "She's dead. Why are you asking? It's none of your business. You should just surrender now. You're surrounded, dude."

Alistein came to an abrupt halt. Beside him, Malileah spared only a glance at his frozen expression before she turned to eye the dragon-slayers that rushed forth to surround them. 'What are these insects doing here? What happened to the Alpha Dragon?' she asked inside her head.

"Aishh…motherf*cker…" Kingsley lowered his head and rubbed between his eyes. He thrust the point of his spear into the ground to help himself stand, head reeling. "This is…my fault…"

"Stay down, Kingsley. We got this." Collen tried to help him back onto the ground, but Kingsley shouldered her hands away.

"You don't understand," he rasped, his breaths heavy. "They are like that 'Jarak' we met inside the dungeon. They are…they are not someone we can simply beat with numbers. We need Blaze."

He clenched his jaw and raised his arm. Behind him, the approaching dragon-slayers came to a halt. Hunters, tankers, brawlers, rangers…all of them didn't matter. At this point, Kingsley knew their numbers would only end up casualties if they tried. He couldn't let them go. As Alexandria's older brother, he could only buy Blaze more time by talking to Alistein. He knew there was little chance Alistein would stop and listen to him, but there was no other choice. There was no one else who could stand a chance.

Kingsley stepped forward unsteadily and grabbed Kaiser by the shoulder, his eyes fixated on Alistein's.

Kaiser frowned the moment he saw the hand on his shoulder was Kingsley's. "You're injured badly. You should get some rest and let the other handle them!" But Kingsley paid him no heed. Instead, he limped forth alone with his spear as his walking support, disregarding the shock on Kaiser and Colleen's faces.

Malileah frowned at her partner who was acting out of his norm. His head was down, his expression unreadable. 'Something is off with him. Who's Alexandria, anyway? He never told me about this… Then…'

Malileah turned around and gave Alistein a little tap on the shoulder. "I'll let you have your fun. Treat me to some nice faction dishes in return. I'll go check on the dragon." She was gone in a blink, leaping so high and fast no one can follow her with their diminutive human eyes.

Once Kingsley was only an arm's distance away, Alistein raised his head. "…is it true?" he asked quietly.

Kingsley took in a deep breath. "She died…as a proud Lunargard dragon-slayer," he whispered. He urged. "Please, stop this craziness now and don't destroy the Faction she offered her life to…"

Alistein was eerily calm, so calm that it frightened Kingsley even more, not knowing what to expect. He hoped he could give him a penny for his thoughts. What Alistein was feeling, he did not know, and he wished to know. Even that woman earlier, Malileah, didn't sense any maliciousness from him after he was told the truth. All they knew was, Alistein was acting different, hopefully, more reasonably than before.

"I was supposed to lead the last five scheduled expeditions, remember?" Alistein suddenly said. "If only I wasn't betrayed, she could still be alive."

Kingsley felt his heart drop. He could tell where the conversation was going. And that conversation was a storm he didn't want to weather.

He placed a gentle but firm hand on Alistein's shoulder, hoping he would listen to him. But even so, he must prepare for the worst. "She was my sister," he said. "I know how hard it is to accept, believe me, Alistein. But we must move on. Please, don't cause any more deaths than what you've already done."

Alistein's green eyes snapped up to Kingsley's, and he flinched. "You know nothing, Kingsley," he said, a low rumble building up at the back of his throat. "All of this is caused by Batarak and my father, no one more, no one less. One of them is already dead, and I…should execute the other as I've originally planned."

Alistein grabbed the hand on his shoulder and flung Kingsley back towards the dragon-slayers standing to one side, his expression went cold.

Kingsley struggled back to his feet as the dragon-slayers caught him, desperate. "No, you don't want to do this!" he shouted. "Alistein!"

Alistein could only look away. He was right. Perhaps he didn't really want to do this. But he cannot have any more second thoughts. He must kill his father to end this all.

A sudden boom shook the grounds, taking everyone by surprise as a cloud of dust rose from the ground, a silhouette standing up in the midst of the haze.

"Stop right there, Alistein!"

A scarlet-haired woman with markings stretching aggressively across the left of her body stepped through the smoke, a blazing red aura enveloping her. Her flaming locks lifted off her shoulders and swayed above her head, her eyes bright with a vicious gleam.