Primeval Ascension.

Drawing out the very roots of Oreals, a race of people with the blood of Dragons, a power submerged in mysteries of how and why.

Among the five races that currently exists, Oreals is known to be prominently strong in physical strength but dwindles very little in magical aspect. They can only gain stronger magical energy as they age in which they one of the races with the longest lifespan.

They specialize in none of the main six elements but rather, their true worth lies with Vitas Magic and Inanis Magic, both magic that none of the remaining four races could easily learn and utilize.

Innate regeneration and strong magical resistance, both that comes naturally with them like a blessing and low aptitude for magic as the downside, in terms of power balance, they adhere to it but completely breaks the chart when their knowledge grows vast as they age.

Emeralda Hearnt, right now, was able to manifest the power that is drawn out from their Primordial Blood, the dragons.

Flooding her body with magical energy and forcing herself to undergo a metamorphosis to take in a form of a real dragon ridden with vast magical energy. She draws out and further improve an Oreal’s basic specs and her magical affinity with the elements improves.

However, even with all of these, Emeralda, or specifically, the whole race of Oreals are nothing but disambiguation of the True Dragons such as Fafnir.

BAM

An aerial battle between Fafnir and Emeralda commences. A fade of jade light overpowers the cosmic view of the sky as Emeralda moves swiftly even with her large body. She swings her giant claw towards Fafnir who isn’t even half of her size.

WHOOSH

Fafnir is, on his own, is also swift and ahead of reacting from her attacks. In retaliation, Fafnir fired magic to bombard Emeralda but in futility, those didn’t do any real damage.

Meanwhile, Reed who is holding Alisa and Sigrun watches the battle.

“Sig, about Fafnir…” Reed initiated a talk.

“Hmm, I was saying that you don’t need to help Emeralda but, if she fights like this against Fafnir and drags the battle, she will lose no doubt.” Sigrun said while keenly observing the battle.

“What do you mean by that?” Reed queried with an anxious voice.

“Hmm…I really didn’t pay them that much attention but some dragons here are also getting stronger. Fafnir for instance. Emeralda could win but that if she does not drag that battle. In my eyes, her magical energy drains so fast than she can recover it. When she depletes hers, then she will revert back. It’s been a minute now since they started. She’ll last for only two more minutes then.” Sigrun replied with an explanation.

“Ah…so even if she used that form to fly over here, she’ll run out of magic halfway…Wait, then if she depletes her magic, it will be Fafnir’s victory and…Lady Emeralda will…” Reed’s countenance paled as he thought of the worst case scenario.

“Possibly…eaten…?” Sigrun said while tilting his head.

“Why are you taking this so lightly, Sig? Let’s help her!” Reed tried to urge Sigrun, however, he just made a bittersweet smile.

“I won’t. I told you before right, lives that aren’t wronged by me directly or indirectly doesn’t matter. Even if it is Emeralda or even you and Alisa.” Sigrun stated without much emotion.

“Ah, yeah, you told us about that. I’m sorry, Sig.” Reed simply apologizes with a wry smile.

“W-Why are you apologizing…?! Shouldn’t you be angry? I treat you guys like a friend but in matters involving my own conviction of letting life pass by, I ready to treat them coldly…” Sigrun thought as he was bewildered of how calm and possibly passive about it is Reed.

As something in his chest tightens, Sigrun slowly directs his gaze towards Reed’s countenance. What beholds him gave him goosebump.

Once again, Reed’s lightless eyes stumble upon him. It was purely concentrating on the battle in front of them. It’s like Reed already entered a state of trance and ready to pounce on his prey if given the opportunity.

“Reed…you still think you can do something in there?!” Sigrun threw a question with cracking voice to Reed whose attention never drew away.

“Say, Sig…you have felt it before too right? The call of the battle. There are times where my heart is being pulled at such twisted place. Weird, right? We grew in an Era of peace but…I can’t help but seek this kind of excitement.” Reed’s words are almost nonchalant but nevertheless, truthfully came out from his lips.

“I have seen a handful of warriors with that kind of nature but, Reed is…how do I explain this…yearning for something greater than the heat of the battle. Not victory…not glory…something…darker. No…I hope that’s not it.” Sigrun inwardly thought.

CRASH

As Sigrun was pondering at something, the battle between Emeralda and Fafnir is coming to an end.

With a sidelash from Emeralda’s gigantic scaly tail, she was able to send Fafnir flying unguarded as she crushes its barrier with brute force. As such, Emeralda planted her whole body on the ground and dozens of a magical circle with complex arias appeared in front of her jaw.

She poured a lot of magical energy to it that the wind surrounding the Sacred Mountain is being sucked, her body manifested a bright neon light and the spikes in her spine started discharging green electrifying current.

“Fafnir, it’s time to end this.” Emeralda conveyed her farewell to Fafnir who is still trying to fix his posture midair.

“Visceral Conflagration!” A beam of chaotic power reverberates and fire that shook the earth from Emeralda’s mouth.

It cuts through anything, be it wind or space, nothing is spared. Even Emeralda’s body further sunk to the ground from the frightening firepower alone. It was Emeralda’s ultimate attack that could leave a whole country at her mercy.

The ground around her stagnates as the surging power that is Visceral Conflagaration razes everything. Leaving the violent destructive power alone, the beam itself is even several times larger than Fafnir that it’s guaranteed to leave none of him. Even the floating islands started floating away by the sheer brutal power of the attack.

“Umu, you have grown, Emeralda.” Sigrun nodded to himself amusedly.

However, at that moment, before Fafnir could be annihilated, another dragon jumps to his rescue, a dragon no more than a meter in size immediately made its appearance with the same ashen black color.

“That’s…!” Sigrun exclaimed as he saw the smaller dragon.

As Visceral Conflagaration’s raging power comes closer, the small dragon held it out with a barrier, big enough to also protect Fafnir. Not only that, the barrier is also desperately spreading the attack in any direction it could just to reduce the burden.

“It won’t last long…I’m…out of…magical energy…” Emeralda spoke in her mind as her attack slowly ceases as it becomes thinner.

The last ray of what her attack produce then broke the barrier of the smaller dragon that protected Fafnir and eventually hits them.

Slowly, the huge jade dragon that is Emeralda roses with smoke and melts as it lost its strength. At that same time that Emeralda gradually loses her Primeval Ascension, Fafnir and the small dragon falls from the sky lifelessly.

WHOOSH

“Reed…?!” Sigrun exclaimed as Reed who should be beside him blasted off.

Reed immediately rushed towards the place where the clash happened with Whirlwind Sprint.

“The perfect opportunity to rescue Lady Emeralda!” He said inside his head as he kept an eye on Emeralda who slowly shows her figure from the shedding pile of what the dragon should have been from earlier.

However, even with that mind, his attention is drawn to the smaller dragon.

“No…I shouldn’t. Fafnir will definitely live in this fall but that small one…I don’t know. I should focus on Lady Emeralda!” He told himself as he desperately closes that gap between him and Emeralda.

“…Damn it.” Reed clicks his tongue. There was something odd that’s pulling him to do something about the situation.

Unable to endure the urge, Reed soared through the sky with his wind magic and dashes like he is stepping on the very plate of the wind itself. He further accelerates his movement and before he knew it, he has already caught the small dragon in his arms.

“Now I’ve done it. Though, dragon weight is not a laughing matter even though this one is small!” Reed shouted as he desperately carries the dragon’s weight. He can see the ground slowly approaching and in sudden, he blasted himself with a small tornado below.

“Guh…!” Reed lets out a grunt as he maintained the small tornado.

Eventually, the tornado swings him and the dragon on his arms several times and soften their landing.

“Phew…” Reed gently lays the dragon but quickly took a huge leap backward. After confirming that they aren’t going to attack, he then retreated to get Emeralda.

“Lady Emeralda, are you—UWAH!?” As Reed sprinted towards where Emeralda is, he beheld with her naked body while she sits on the ground with a pout.

“Buh, I could have killed Fafnir now if it wasn’t for that tiny welp. Now it’s even hard to keep myself sitting like this. Carry me!” Emeralda pleaded as she opens her arms to Reed.

“H-How can I even look at you like that?! Err….” Reed said in a panic as he shyly averted his gaze from Emeralda’s bare body.

“Uff…just like this. I don’t mind you ogling at me.” Emeralda jumps on Reed’s arms and made him carry her like a princess too.

“I thought you can’t move?!” Reed asked as he started fleeing while doing his best not to look at Emeralda or even feel her body, especially her breasts that are pressing on him.

“Oh? Did I say that? Anyway, I’m tired but you seem lively yourself. Want me to teach you some bed techniques?” Emeralda said in an alluring voice as he touches Reed’s chest with her finger.

“I—I’ll humbly decline!” Reed responded with embarrassment.

“You are the pure type, huh? Your first time must be taken by a first timer too, right? How cute.” Emeralda teases.

“Ahaha…yes.” Not denying it, Reed replied with a weak laugh.

After a couple of minutes, Reed successfully retrieved Emeralda and now resting in front of Sigrun’s gate. Sigrun is cradling the unconscious Alisa in his arms.

“Oh, welcome back, Reed. Good job. As for Emeralda, take this.” Sigrun handed Emeralda a white blanket to cover her body.

“Oh, thanks. You saw it?! That was cheating! Fafnir was saved by someone!” Emeralda fumes as she directs her complains to Sigrun.

“I believe we have a lot of things to discuss but that’s the first thing you say to me. Really, it's just like you, Emeralda. How many times did you lose to Fafnir already?” Sigrun said with a smirk.

“I don’t know. It was eighty years ago so I am not sure anymore but it is correct to say that all of them are my lost…” Emeralda sunk into a light depression as she crouches with diminished mood.

“Anyway, Sig, Lady Emeralda, can we go now? About Alisa…” Reed directed his gaze to Alisa.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already given her some medicines. There are a lot of it growing in my garden so it matters not anymore.” Sigrun simply answered.

“Thank you, Sig.” Reed expresses his heartfelt gratitude and tenderly gaze at the sleeping Alisa and Sigrun.

However, the serene moment immediately broke down as Fafnir and the small dragon abruptly landed near them. Reed jolted from their sudden appearance but since he felt no bloodlust or hostility, he just took a little step back.

“Fafnir, this is already my territory, any closer and…you know what will happen, right?” Sigrun warned Fafnir with a cold gaze that even made the coldness of the mountain into nothing but a mere breeze.

“Ahahaha, my apology, Great one, I just got so excited to see my plaything again after a while.” Suddenly, a voice came out from Fafnir.

Reed…and Emeralda have their eyes popping out as they look at Fafnir who suddenly talked. Most importantly, Emeralda, who is directing her furious gaze at Fafnir, marches towards him.

“Hey, you can talk?! How come I didn’t know this?!” Emeralda asked with an angry tone.

“I can. The Great One taught me when you left eighty years ago. Maybe he got lonely.” Fafnir replied with a laidback tone. Surprisingly, his voice is manly and a little aged.

“I-I’m not that lonely…” Sigrun smiled shyly as he averted his gaze from Emeralda.

“Adhering to the Great One’s rule, I shall take on the form everyone would be most comfortable with.” Fafnir said as his body started glowing in hazy ashen color.

In about several seconds, Fafnir took on a form of a human. Nothing close to an Oreal, but a human. With a long ashen black hair with bangs swept backward and a little masculine stubble on his chin, wearing the same traditional eastern dress as Sigrun which is dark in theme, Fafnir manifest his self.

“Hey, welpling. You could have really taken my head earlier. Too bad.” Fafnir made a mocking sneer at Emeralda.

“Damn you! Tsk, how did you even turn yourself like that?! Aren’t you just a filthy mindless dragon?!” Emeralda shows her rage through words but nonetheless, showed no hostility.

“Hmm? I think it’s about what the Great One said to me. Ideal conversion or whatnot.” Fafnir said with a nonchalant attitude. “Anyway, boy, my little one here wants to express her gratitude. Well, I’ll say it myself first, I thank you for saving her.” Fafnir directed a warm gaze towards Reed.

“…I…don’t know what to say to someone who almost killed us earlier.” Reed knitted his brows.

“Ahahaha! That’s just how it is in this land! Don’t worry! I made sure to hold back to the two of you. Well, your friend there, the girl with pointy fur ears did quite a blow to trade with, I’ll admit that.” Fafnir laughs as if what happened earlier was nothing.

“I guess I can’t refute that. It’s just that, it feels weird talking to you like this…” Reed gave his impression of the situation.

“But how everything stands, I guess I can be non-hostile to you after what you did for my daughter. Hey, Nio, come and tell him personally.” Fafnir called out to the smaller dragon.

“……” The smaller dragon just stared at Reed while drawing back.

“Err…she’s just shy. Nio, for starters, just abide the Great One’s rule and transform too.” Fafnir said.

Like how Fafnir did earlier, the dragon called Nio was also covered with black mist around her body. Slowly, the form morphs into a smaller figure.

Suddenly, that figure pounces on Reed and wraps her hands around his waist while it snuggles its head to his abdomen.

:….!” Reed’s face burns up in red color.

“Oh, this is interesting. Though I want it if she puts more age into her.” Sigrun said as he observes the situation.

“Hmm…so this child is the one who blocked my attack earlier.” Emeralda said as she glued her sight to the person in question.

Like her father, the dragon called Nio has long messy hair and wild hair. Her eyes are like her father, red irises with a slit. One thing that everyone noticed is that Nio’s appearance, or what the ideal conversation gave form to her.

“Nidhogg…or…Nio. T-..th—ank..you…” Nio said with broken words and shows an embarrassed smile. A smile that none other than a ten years old girl can do.