Chapter 54
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Chuuwaaaap!
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Chuuwaaaap
I opened my eyes to find my entire field of vision dyed red. It even felt a bit warm.
Though calling it scorching would be an exaggeration, the fact that I, with my fire resistance, felt it this much meant the temperature was far from ordinary.
"Looks like... I ended up dying after all..."
-Don't jinx it, my friend. If you died, all my efforts would have been for nothing.
As I let out a deep sigh and muttered to myself, a dumbfounded voice came from above my head.
It was a strange sensation, like the sound was ringing directly in my mind rather than through my ears. Something I'd never experienced before in my life, but lately, it had become somewhat familiar.
"Ignatius?"
I lifted my head, and only then did the surroundings come properly into view.
The red that enveloped everything was massive dragon scales, and in place of the sky's sun, there were only vertically slit crimson eyes.
Even with my groggy, unfocused mind, I could quickly infer the answer.
"You died too, huh."
-...Good grief. Looks like you're not in your right mind. Well, can't blame you. After running your mana that wildly out of control, you'd have to be superhuman to come out unscathed.
The dragon's eyes, which should have been imposing, drooped powerlessly, and I hurriedly shook my head.
"No! No! That was just a joke. My head's fine, memories intact. I just couldn't wrap my head around why I ended up all coiled up asleep in your care, that's all!"
-Oh? Is that so?
"Yeah. You wouldn't know what it's like to wake up suddenly staring at a dragon."
-That's a fair point.
Ignatius chuckled as if amused.
Indeed. From what I could roughly see, Ignatius had wrapped her sleeping self around me like a kimbap roll, enveloping my entire body.
Even the spot I'd been lying on was atop her coiled tail.
The initial warmth I'd felt... was probably Ignatius's body heat.
Is a red dragon's body temperature this hot just from that? Though before I passed out, it hadn't been this intense.
Eh, probably because she finished her overdue growth.
As I gently stroked the scales of the tail I was perched on, Ignatius wriggled as if ticklish.
My perch stayed steady, but the surrounding red scales rippling... was quite the sight.
"I get that Mortheus ripped out his own dragon heart and chucked it beyond the valley, and that I passed out. But what happened after?"
-You just woke up, and that's your first question? Such an impatient personality.
"So what should I ask first?"
-...Maybe ask to see this body's post-growth form?
"I'm already looking at it..."
-Just testing you.
Ignatius cleared her throat playfully before speaking after a moment's thought.
-First, the thing you're most curious about. Mortheus won't come back to life. At least not in the form of the ancient dragon we knew.
"Even after losing his dragon heart?"
-But he left all his bones on the ground, didn't he?
Mortheus's bones were special. Bones of an ancient dragon called the Dragon Lord, who had reached the pinnacle of power in his era.
They had slowly mutated over a thousand years exposed to death energy.
No matter how intact his soul and heart were, reclaiming such a body in a short time was impossible.
-Even if he's lucky and gathers all the materials, it'd take at least a millennium.
"Ooh..."
-Of course, my Tower brats and I will hunt him down before then.
"Good. I felt uneasy since we couldn't finish him cleanly."
It wasn't just hard work. We'd literally risked our lives to barely take him down. If he revived soon after... I'd be rolling on the floor in frustration.
I nodded briefly, but Ignatius's voice suddenly lowered.
-...However, a serious problem remained.
"No way...?"
That the true culprit behind the Wild Hunt was someone else, or black mages descending into the valley, or the corrupted dragon heart bringing an even worse catastrophe.
As I flinched imagining worst-case scenarios—
Ignatius spoke in the most serious tone imaginable.
-Enoch. You were dying.
"Huh?"
-We crushed the Wild Hunt, but if you died anyway, what would be the point?
"R-Really?"
-Exactly! My friend, do you know how hard I worked to save you?
"I was out cold, so no..."
-I used up every potion left in the Magic Tower's stores to heal your body. Didn't count properly, but at least seventy percent. I even worried for a sec you'd drown in potions.
"Uh... thanks?"
-No need. I know what choice you made for the West—and for me. It's only natural.
Ignatius said something embarrassingly touching, but soon her eyes drooped slightly.
-But while potions could heal the body, they couldn't address the root cause.
"Root cause... mana depletion?"
-Not just simple depletion! You rampaged your mana twice in a row—your mana lord and even your heart were shredded to rags!
She lamented that even after patching up the body, the internal damage was so severe it kept killing me over and over.
Her massive eyes trembled, recalling those moments.
-No elixir from the Tower could reconnect the severed mana lord or stabilize the heart on the verge of bursting.
"That bad?"
-Of course! One rampage risks your life—what do you think two in a row does?!
"..."
I had no idea.
I thought aura just got harder to control but stronger the faster it spun.
So, recalling how I'd handled those high black mages invading House Zahav, I'd gone for it.
Turns out I nearly died. Twice.
"I figured worst case, I'd just never use aura again..."
-Once, maybe. House Zahav's body is ridiculously tough.
Ignatius glanced at me sidelong as she said it—more worried and concerned than glaring.
"Ahem. Anyway, since I'm fine now, looks like it worked out. Right?"
-...Yes. Remembering how you absorbed my breath, I lightly blasted some toward your fallen form on a hunch.
"Oh. That heal me?"
-But whether because you were unconscious or your state was dire, absorption was too slow. In the end, one arm couldn't handle the output and tore off.
"???"
-Ah, don't worry. No burn—just ripped from impact. I reattached it properly.
"Uh... okay then..."
Apparently my arm got detached and reattached without me knowing.
No odd sensations in either arm, so the treatment must've been perfect.
-Still, I confirmed you could slowly absorb my mana. Purer than any Tower elixir—no issues flowing through the torn mana lord.
So, Ignatius wrapped around me and slowly released mana from her whole body.
So I could absorb it unconscious, heal my wrecked internals, and regain consciousness.
"Aha. So this warmth wasn't just body heat—it was your mana leaking out."
-Correct. Normally what egg-laying dragons do incubating until hatch... but I ended up incubating you instead of an egg.
"...Saying it like that feels kinda weird."
-What? Different species, aren't we? You aren't getting funny ideas about milk, are you?
"Who'd do that?"
-Same here.
Of course. Perfectly understood.
...Or not? Still feels different from drinking milk.
As I tilted my head, Ignatius spoke in a pleased tone.
-You're awake, but your body's not fully recovered. Stay like this another three... no, two days.
"Tch. Body's stiff from lying too long. No faster way?"
-Of course there is.
"Ooh!"
-Just actively suck in my mana more.
"As expected of the Tower Master. You had a plan, Ignatius?"
-Like when you absorbed my breath—swallow mana straight from the mouth!
"...Huh?"
-Ah, not blasting breath outright. You said you don't even know how you did it. No need to push with your body not fully mended.
"Then what're you suggesting...?"
-Lick.
"???"
Ignatius shoved her tail tip toward my puzzled face.
-I'll concentrate mana at the end. Suck on it like a teat—way more efficient.
"This feels seriously weird, doesn't it?!"
Different species or not, gnawing on a tail ain't right.
But Ignatius just blinked, uncomprehending.
-Can't see what's weird about it...
"Just! Overall! All of it! Even the tip's huge. Hard to fit in my mouth."
-Indeed. No worries then!
With that, Ignatius's body suddenly began to glow.
I squinted against the blinding light, and when I opened my eyes—there stood Ignatius in human form via polymorph.
Petite stature. Red hair grown long enough to brush the ground. Horns like a crown atop her head. Appearance closer to artwork than human, boasting beauty and cuteness.
The sleepy languor from deep rest was gone, but otherwise same as before...
"How's this? Similar size now—easier to suck."
Except for one difference.
Mana pouch.
More bluntly—Ignatius with massively enlarged breasts struck a pose, hands on hips, thrusting her chest forward proudly.
"Go on! Suck away! I permit it!"
"..."
No one gets weird ideas drinking milk, she said.
Not anymore.