Dragon's Breath (3)
He briefly withdrew the aura from his sword.
Thus, what gathered around Sielertia was pure magi.
'Thanks to the buff from the underground chapel, I can sense the magi more clearly.'
He pondered the magi for a moment. All special powers existing on Iseland stemmed from mana.
Swordsmen refined mana to the extreme to create aura, while mages refined it into magical power.
But unlike them, there were those who converted mana into another form of energy: the priests. The power they wielded was divine power and magi.
'Those who follow the teachings of Jedin and his six subordinate gods wield divine power. And those who follow Unir and the archdemons can use magi.'
Originally energies that existed only in the heavens where Jedin and Unir resided, or in the netherworld, they could be wielded in the mortal realm through human bodies and terrestrial mana.
'Which means I can channel magi far more easily than most.'
Ordinary demonkin formed contracts with demon nobles under the archdemons and borrowed netherworld magi from them.
But only select individuals like him could contract directly with the archdemons themselves.
Just as humans like Lilia who could directly receive Jedin's divine power into their bodies were rare, so too were demonkin who could wield an archdemon's power without intermediaries.
'Or rather, there are virtually none.'
The current Primordial Forest, though on earth, brimmed with netherworld-like power. Thus, he was ceaselessly absorbing the magi of the archdemon and the forest's own magi into his body.
'A dragon heart can refine not just mana, but magi as well.'
As such, the magi now coalescing on Sielertia was the purest form among the various magi used by demonkin.
And through this magi, he could produce a breath.
Unlike ordinary dragons, who used mana to unleash elemental breaths, he was a demon dragon.
His breath wasn't fire or ice. It condensed and released pure magi, just like now.
'That's my breath.'
Lucia and Rozette's high-level coordinated assault was drawing out his potential. Using pure magi in attacks wasn't familiar like aura, but...
His goal was mastering the breath. He had to confront them with this magi.
'Though it's half-suicidal.'
It meant forgoing his most powerful weapon, aura. He dodged their strikes once more.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang—
This time, it wasn't a wind slash but a flame spell exploding right in front of him.
"Tch. Yulian dodged it."
Rozette sounded disappointed. Her tone seemed playful at a glance, but without the 6th tier dragon heart boosting his physical reactions, he wouldn't have evaded that spell.
'A direct hit would've left me seriously wounded.'
Of course, he'd asked them to go all out. There was nothing wrong with Rozette's sincerity.
Sweeeesh—
Through the smoke from the explosion came Lucia's aura strike in rapid succession.
Kaang—
He barely deflected the sword wave with Sielertia. But the imperfectly formed magi scattered as a result.
"That's a fearsome sword strike. It's not just the speed—the density of the aura concentrated at the tip is incredible. If it were the imperial sword you used before my revival, it would've shattered."
Erti was right. Clashing an incomplete magi against aura...
If it weren't for Sielertia, forged from a millennium ancient dragon's reverse scale, the sword would've already broken, and he'd have fallen to Lucia.
'Well, gear matters too.'
He ceaselessly evaded their relentless combo. But facing them solely with magi, without aura, was no easy feat.
The slightest lapse in focus dispersed the magi condensation.
'I need to push this condensation to its critical point to release the breath.'
To achieve that density, he naturally needed to complete the remaining 30 seconds of Dragonkin Transformation Stage 2.
"Kuhk!!"
The moment he dodged Rozette's slash, Lucia's blade exploited the opening and struck his abdomen.
The instinctive mana shield prevented penetration, but it was still a solid gut punch from Lucia.
"We got him!!"
Lucia cheered triumphantly, then immediately wore a deeply apologetic expression.
"S-sorry, Yulian-nim!"
He bit his lip hard. Rage at taking hits from both fueled his demon dragon instincts.
'Both of them. I'll properly discipline them tonight.'
Of course, Lucia was just following his orders and chasing the reward he'd promised.
But a husband punched in the gut by his wife had no face to save.
Thus, he rolled with them for a good while to grow accustomed to wielding magi.
***
"Your Highness Yulian. Are you alright?"
A high elf with flowing golden hair that looked impossibly soft, jewel-like blue eyes, and pointed ears gazed at him with deep concern.
"I'm fine, Remiella."
He replied to Remiella. Contrary to his words, his body screamed in agony.
'If it weren't Remiella in front of me, I'd be screaming.'
After finishing training with Lucia and Rozette, he'd moved to the temple's treatment room. Fitting for Unir's temple, the elf priests there healed him with spells channeling magi.
During treatment, Remiella—the high elf from the Royal Knights he'd pre-arranged to meet—arrived to see him.
Remiella was an elf knight who'd sworn loyalty to his father, Lucifer, during the great war with the empire. Befitting a high elf, her beauty outshone even other elves.
More importantly, as a Royal Knight and high noble of the demon kingdom, she could provide the latest intel on its situation.
"What about that matter I mentioned last time?"
"Yes. As you know, Duke Pedro has shown open hostility toward the demon kingdom for ages. Despite our Royal Knights and other orders, his Centriac Knights outmatch us in power..."
The demon kingdom's strength had waned since the great war twenty years ago. Moreover, Casseres—its eternal enemy—remained potent under Pedro's rule.
With the Demon King absent, the kingdom desperately sought survival measures.
That was why Cecilia had attempted her reckless contract with an archdemon—something normally unnecessary.
"But recently, the mood has shifted. After an oracle from the Archduke of Wrath descended upon the grand temple in the capital."
Remiella shared intriguing news. The Archduke of Wrath, who'd rejected all contracts until now, had expressed willingness to contract with demonkin.
"The Archduke of Wrath once contracted with His Majesty Lucifer. Yet he refuses Your Highness and seeks another—I cannot fathom his intentions."
As Remiella said, he had contracts with three archdemons: the Archduchess of Lust, Ruiyil; and the Archduchesses of Gluttony and Envy.
But the remaining four in the Lemegeton refused cooperation: two neutrals, and the Archdukes of Wrath and Pride who'd outright declined.
'The Archduke of Pride follows Wrath's lead. Essentially, Wrath is dissatisfied with me.'
It was a pointed message. The Archduke of Wrath had contracted with his father, the merciless Demon King Lucifer.
Yet he rejected him. He already knew the reason.
'No reason to contract with a fledgling dragon who can't even produce a breath.'
And now seeking another contractor meant he also disapproved of his ascension to Demon King.
'Or perhaps he's provoking me?'
According to Ruiyil, the Archduke of Wrath was the strongest and most belligerent among them.
He might be baiting him.
'To the point of satisfying himself.'
Whomever he contracted would surely hinder his rise to Demon King.
"Candidates mentioned are high elves of the royal demonkin and several dragons. I don't know their individual strength, but as demonkin royalty, they're heirs to influential houses in the kingdom."
"Understood, Remiella. Soon enough, I may clash with them."
Worry flickered across Remiella's beautiful face.
She was a loyal Royal Knight, her devotion to him—who succeeded her lord, his father—boundless.
He told her,
"No need to worry. The power to satisfy the Archduke of Wrath—I'll acquire it in short order. I have no intention of handing the demon kingdom to others."
He opened his palm. Magi gathered and condensed above it.
"This... You've already reached this level?"
Remiella recognized it instantly. A month ago, when they met, he couldn't wield magi like this.
She'd shared dragon breath lore then, but hadn't expected such rapid progress.
"I'm an elf, so I can condense and use magi to some degree. But compared to a true demon dragon's breath, it's mere imitation. Yet Your Highness's magi is entirely different—truly akin to a breath..."
"You're too kind. It's far from worthy of being called a breath yet. And with no time to waste, I must perfect it before leaving."
"But your stay in the Primordial Forest is set for three days—and one has already nearly passed. I never doubt you, but the time is so short..."
Remiella was right. Dragons typically needed over a century to master breath usage.
But seeing his condensed magi, she seemed to reconsider.
"No... You might be different, Your Highness. Reaching this stage already defies common sense. Perhaps in the remaining two days, you could even produce a breath..."
Her expression mixed awe and pride. Fitting for a Royal Guard brimming with loyalty.
"Not 'perhaps'—I'll make it happen."
Remiella involuntarily bowed her head.
"Yes... You will, Your Highness."
"Anyway, you've traveled far—good work. The priests will provide a room. Go rest."
"Understood, Your Highness."
For some reason, her cheeks flushed as she bowed and departed.
After receiving final healing spells from the priests, he headed to the room with the two as promised.
***
Meanwhile, Rozette and Lucia, having finished training, had entered the room provided by the priests first.
They bathed and changed into clothes from the priestesses.
"Demonkin clothes... Are they, uh, always this... lewd? I mean, thin?"
Rozette asked Lucia in an embarrassed whisper. As she said, their attire was nightdresses—essentially skimpy slips like underwear.
"I haven't the foggiest. And to assign us the same room as Yulian-nim..."
Lucia surveyed the bed. It was massive—more like surveying a landscape.
'Big enough for three to tumble... no, sleep comfortably.'
Lucia fell silent. She wasn't strangers with Rozette. They'd fought together in the Magic-Alchemy War, despite different orders.
But while Rozette excelled as the magic order's representative student, Lucia was a combat order underachiever.
She'd only recently joined the Golden Wings, so their paths rarely crossed.
'Aerin said she's a good person.'
Rozette's reputation was evident from the magic order's atmosphere—she was their most popular student.
Unlike Lucia, who'd moonlighted as a night guard to cover tuition and had few combat order friends.
'And she's so cute... doll-like beauty.'
In the pre-Magic-Alchemy War mock votes against all orders, she'd outpolled even Chloe in prettiness.
'Rozette has a womb tattoo too, so she's destined to be Yulian-nim's wife.'
That meant she already held Yulian in her heart. It oddly sapped Lucia's confidence. Yulian had said he'd understand and accept all of her as his wife.
'But there are too many beauties around Yulian-nim.'
Even close friends like Cecilia and Eirin were stunning. What if Yulian never looked her way in the future?
Just thinking it made her heart feel like it stopped. As melancholy crept in,
Rozette turned to her.
"Lucia-nim! Um... how about we seduce Yulian together tonight?"