Looking at the Xeno'jiiva now, Asterion felt as if he were looking at his former self.
Before receiving guidance from the Sword Master, he had seemed powerful, yet he couldn't truly control his own strength. Back then, he couldn't even manage to land multiple strikes on the exact same spot; he had been far from a qualified Dragon Swordsman.
Even though it was a premature "infant" with no experience interacting with other dragons—and lacking the instinctual knowledge unique to draconic society—the Xeno'jiiva could still distinguish its enemies.
There was no doubt that this dragon, who had suddenly intruded upon its birthplace with hostile intent and viewed its underdeveloped form as mere food, was the enemy!
Despite its desperate struggle for control, the Xeno'jiiva did its best to direct the stray pillars of energy toward Asterion. However, not a single one hit its mark.
Truly, with such crude attacks that could barely be aimed, Asterion would have lived his thirty years in vain if he had actually been hit. Despite his massive size—only slightly smaller than Kulve Taroth—his movements were unexpectedly agile.
One strike!!
Effortlessly dodging the Xeno'jiiva's assault, Asterion twisted his eight wing-bones mid-air—Thermal Jet!
After a short burst of brilliant white flames, Asterion used the newfound acceleration to pivot his body, slamming his blade-tail into the Xeno'jiiva!
Slice!!
The sensation was worlds apart from when he had once cut through the steel shell of a Kushala Daora. As Asterion's blade-tail made point-blank contact with the Xeno'jiiva's flesh, it didn't ignite orange-red sparks; instead, it erupted in motes of blue energy.
It felt the same as when he had pierced the cocoon earlier. Even as a premature infant, the Xeno'jiiva's skin was incredibly tough. Asterion felt as if his blade-tail had turned into a blunt fire poker, and he was using that poker to pry something heavy off the ground.
"ROOOOAR!!!!"
Since the moment of its birth, this was the first time the Xeno'jiiva had ever felt the sensation of pain. It grew enraged, it felt agony, and because of that—was it crying?
Staring in astonishment at the crystalline blue liquid flying from the Xeno'jiiva's upturned head, Asterion was certain those were tears.
Is it... crying from the pain??
While his vibrating blade-tail was certainly no toothpick like the ones used by human hunters, Asterion was still taken aback. Wait, we've barely started and you're already crying? Compared to the wounds a Nergigante takes—or even the ones I've shrugged off—this is just a scratch. It's hardly worth crying over.
Even if the Xeno'jiiva was a newborn, the ferocity of a dragon should be etched into its very marrow. Take a Glavenus as an example: even a freshly hatched Glavenus chick would dare to attack other monsters, preferring death over fear.
Of course, that was also a major reason why the Glavenus population remained so small.
Regardless, this Xeno'jiiva was the King of Elder Dragons. Even the Safi'jiiva that hunters would battle much later didn't truly deserve that title; only this unique Xeno'jiiva, gorged on the bio-energy of the New World's Leylines and the life force of countless Elder Dragons, was worthy of being called the King of Elder Dragons.
What kind of king cries like this?
Turning its head toward Asterion, the Xeno'jiiva opened its maw and spat a sphere of brilliant blue light. It looked like fire, yet it wasn't fire; it was a pale blue elemental energy independent of the five main attributes, a composite of Dragon and Fire energy.
The power was immense. It easily melted a large swath of energy crystals into liquid, while even more were simply vaporized by the blast.
To be honest, Asterion didn't want to get close to the Xeno'jiiva in this state. Elder Dragons of the Safi'jiiva lineage possessed the innate ability to drain bio-energy from the earth. Even as a premature infant, the Xeno'jiiva was still drawing power.
From the moment it crawled out of its cocoon, it had been relentlessly draining the life energy of the Confluence of Fates. This absorption seemed bottomless; there was no way it could drain the entire New World's Leylines in one go.
This meant that, driven by instinct and a sense of crisis, the Xeno'jiiva had already gorged itself on a massive amount of bio-energy. The uncontrollable pillars of light erupting through its skin were the ultimate proof of that.
Asterion was genuinely afraid this guy might suddenly go supernova.
The life energy absorbed over countless years, combined with the energy it was still frantically draining—if Asterion tried to take its head and the energy inside lost its containment and released all at once, he couldn't imagine how "beautiful" that scene would be.
Setting aside whether the Confluence of Fates would collapse, Asterion himself might be eroded into an empty husk by that level of energy first.
The energy the Xeno'jiiva wielded wasn't even pure bio-energy anymore. As mentioned before, it had transcended the conventional elements of Water, Fire, Ice, Thunder, and Dragon. Once it matured into a Safi'jiiva, this unique energy would become even purer—a true Sixth Element.
As an "Intelligence Glavenus," Asterion knew that dragons capable of mastering such unique energy possessed power comparable to Forbidden Species, even if they weren't classified as such. Take the Dalamadur, for instance; that Elder Dragon isn't a Forbidden Species, yet the pale energy it commands can easily level mountains and annihilate all things.
Even though the Xeno'jiiva was currently immature—its unique elemental energy still tainted with Fire and Dragon impurities—the sheer volume of it was its greatest threat.
As a premature Elder Dragon, the Xeno'jiiva showed a blatant lack of restraint. Driven by pain, it was draining bio-energy with a near-suicidal fervor. Just watching from a safe distance made Asterion break into a sweat... if he even had the ability to sweat.
He couldn't wait any longer. Asterion quickly made his decision: A speed kill.
At first, seeing the premature Xeno'jiiva unable to control its internal energy, Asterion had thought about not taking risks and just letting the creature burn itself out. But who would have thought this thing would drain the Leylines so recklessly? It had no sense of proportion.
Sharpened serrated edges carved through the wing the Xeno'jiiva instinctively raised to block the attack. As the ethereal blue wing-membrane tore, a shimmering blue liquid sprayed from the wound—the Xeno'jiiva's blood.
"ROOOOAR!!!"
Roaring once more, the Xeno'jiiva had reached the brink of madness. The energy it had been struggling to contain now lost all direction, erupting indiscriminately in every direction. It was no longer trying to control it—or rather, it couldn't even if it wanted to.
At this moment, only one thought remained in the Xeno'jiiva's mind: kill the wicked dragon that had invaded its home!
To achieve this, it would pay any price!!
Sizzle—Sizzle!
The scattering energy acted like high-heat, razor-sharp blades, slicing through the ceiling of energy crystals like a hot knife through butter. Crystals either vanished or melted instantly. As the Xeno'jiiva forcibly drained the bio-energy without restraint, even the ground beneath their feet began to shudder.
An earthquake!!
The world in Asterion's eyes was shaking. Countless energy crystals were either falling in massive chunks, dripping as liquid, or shattering into dust—BOOM!!!
What did the world above look like?
Asterion had certainly wondered about that before entering the Confluence of Fates. He had wondered what would happen if this place collapsed, and how he would dodge or survive it. But he never expected he would actually have to face the problem!
The massive appearance or disappearance of bio-energy triggers geological phenomena. A rapid increase in bio-energy often leads to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tectonic shifts. A rapid disappearance is the same—disasters like earthquakes and droughts would follow.
The sky was falling.
Literally. Asterion looked up and saw countless energy crystals plummeting. These were the crystals pressing down on the Confluence of Fates from above. Due to the Xeno'jiiva's destructive behavior underground, the ceiling had lost its support and begun to collapse rapidly.
"HAAAAAH!!!"
Before Asterion could turn and flee toward an uncollapsed area, a familiar wave of heat blasted a falling crystal, instantly refining it—no, melting it into a glob of golden-red liquid.
It was Kulve Taroth!
"ROAR!" (What are you standing around for? Weren't you going to eat him?)
Between breaths of heat, Kulve Taroth found the time to roar at Asterion.
"ROAAAR!" (Hurry up and chase him!)
With each breath and wave of heat, Kulve Taroth melted the falling crystals above Asterion. Looking up, he could see the Xeno'jiiva. The creature couldn't fly yet, but it possessed a powerful survival instinct. Ignoring the ruptures in its body from leaking energy, the Xeno'jiiva was desperately clawing its way upward.
Pale blue energy continuously vented from its mouth, easily melting the crystals blocking its path and carving a road out of the deep subterranean abyss.
Ascending!
Every heat wave from Kulve Taroth was released with pinpoint accuracy, carving a path to the world above without harming Asterion!
Surprisingly, there weren't many falling rocks. It seemed everything above had long since been eroded by energy over the eons, turning into high-purity blue-white crystals or low-purity deep blue crystals.
It wasn't an illusion. Amidst the crashing energy crystals that fell like shattered glass, Asterion caught a glimpse of a pale blue that belonged to the sky.
Taking a deep breath, Asterion aligned his wing-bones straight toward the ground. A massive amount of air was compressed into his thermal sacs, and then—Ignition!
BOOM!!
The tips of his eight wing-bones erupted in fierce white flames, granting Asterion unparalleled thrust. It propelled him forward, driving him upward!!
Even with Kulve Taroth's heat waves clearing the way, countless falling crystals still slammed into Asterion's body.
They hit his head, his back, his wings, his bones—every upward-facing part of him. It felt like dozens of Nergigante claws were swatting him, slowing his ascent and hindering his flight.
This sensation intensified once Asterion engaged his thermal jets. The powerful thrust and the speed of his ascent made the impacts even more violent. If he didn't have the protection of his blade-scales and carapace, Asterion might have been pounded into a pulp by those crystals.
But that was only an "if."
The peace of the Elder's Recess was shattered today. The monsters living there could only sense the ground shaking, the rocks collapsing, and the energy crystals shattering. They only knew it was the wrath of nature, that bio-energy was erupting violently from a single point, but they had no idea something was burrowing through the earth's surface!
BOOM!!
Asterion smashed through every obstacle in his path. He didn't even know what was above or what it looked like; he only knew he had to get out. He just had to fly!
And so, the lucky monsters living in the Elder's Recess witnessed a miraculous sight—a white line rose vertically from the ground, soaring into the high heavens.
Since obtaining his own unique Dragon Core and completing his natural evolution, this was the first time Asterion had unleashed his full propulsion without restraint, soaring into the sky!!
The white flames painted a churning wake of white vapor behind him, like a white comet rising from the plains, before abruptly coming to a halt in the azure sky.
The sun was warm, the breeze gentle. Though the weather was mild, Asterion found the high-altitude air to be exceptionally crisp.
This was the first time he had flown to such a height, the first time he had stayed there, looking down at the world from this perspective!!
The distant clouds, the sun at his back, the horizon curving into a grand semi-circle, and below, the bowl-like layers of blue and white crystals encasing a massive stretch of land. As expected, this was the Elder's Recess.
Specifically, the area of ground that was currently collapsing. Countless crystals were shattering and falling inward, and a massive cloud of dust rose, making it impossible to see what was happening down there.
He couldn't see the Xeno'jiiva, nor Kulve Taroth, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that he was now capable of staying in the sky for a long duration!!
No other dragon could understand Asterion's feelings at this moment. He was no longer like before—struggling to fly only to gradually slide back to the ground. Instead, he was perfectly stationary at a single point in the sky. The high-pitched whistle unique to his thermal jets rang in his ears, and when he looked back, he could see the white flames leaving a trail of white clouds behind him, constantly diffusing outward.
I'm flying.
Asterion kept telling himself—I'm really flying!!
True flight!!!
This joy couldn't even be matched by the imminent hunt of the Xeno'jiiva. This was Asterion's heartfelt pride and glory!
I don't need you anymore, Valstrax!!
————
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