At this moment, Leon, immersed in the joy of his strength having taken another leap forward, did not notice that the eyes of Ophis—who had been silently watching him from the side—suddenly flickered with a ripple that rarely appeared.
She watched as a magical power far greater than before erupted from Leon's body, his demonic wings evolving from dry wings to twelve wings. He even exuded a unique aura of flame that he hadn't possessed previously. Her originally hollow gaze had changed.
Previously, in her eyes, there was only one thing about Leon worth her attention: that sliver of Great Red's aura.
Aside from that trace of Great Red, nothing about Leon was worth noting.
Magical power bordering on the Demon King class?
To her, who viewed even gods as ants, that was nothing.
"Zenith Tempest," the world's second-strongest Sacred Gear?
Never mind second place; even if it were ranked first, it was as good as non-existent in Ophis's eyes.
The God of the Bible, the creator of the Sacred Gears, was nothing special to Ophis, so what was a mere Sacred Gear?
The so-called Longinus, capable of rivaling gods and Demon Kings, were just "alright" to Ophis. Unless they were types like the Two Heavenly Dragons who had some history with her, she wouldn't truly spare them a second glance.
As for the fact that Leon possessed such strength at such a young age, while it might be worthy of concern to the high-ranking members of the Three Great Factions and a necessary opponent to watch for groups like the Hero Faction, to Ophis, it remained insignificant.
She was born a Dragon God, possessing infinite power from the moment of her birth. She started at the peak; she was born transcendent. She simply couldn't empathize with the concept of growth.
Therefore, as far as Ophis was concerned, there really was nothing about Leon that warranted her attention—especially after the mystery of the Great Red aura on him had been solved. She had almost stopped paying attention to him entirely.
However, at this moment, Ophis wasn't even focused on the Dragon lineage or the Dragon Treasure born from Great Red. Her eyes held nothing but Leon himself.
Leon, unaware of this, spent a moment sensing his current strength before turning his attention to the girl in his arms.
"Ugh————"
A faint, soft moan suddenly escaped the lips of the girl, who had previously kept her eyes tightly shut without even a trace of life.
Her body temperature rose rapidly.
The aura of a living person gradually began to appear on her.
Her eyelids trembled slightly, as if she were breaking free from some nightmare. It seemed that even the act of opening her eyes was extremely difficult.
But even so, the girl stubbornly flickered her eyelids, struggling to slowly open those heavy lids.
And so, the girl who had slept for many years locked eyes with a pair of eyes she had never seen before.
"..."
"..."
At this moment, time seemed to freeze.
Leon and the girl in his arms stared at each other, neither speaking for a long time.
Leon remained silent because he was observing, wanting to see what the girl would do when she woke up to find herself completely naked in the arms of a strange man.
But the girl didn't speak either, which actually left Leon at a bit of a loss.
He thought he would see dazedness, shock, confusion, or even shame, fury, wonder, or disbelief in her eyes.
However, the result was that those fire-like eyes held no emotion at all. They were only filled with a hollowness comparable to Ophis's—perhaps even more profound.
Then, sparks began to ignite within them.
That wasn't a metaphor; actual fire began to burn inside them.
A fiery red glow flickered in the girl's hollow eyes, and even the air around her began to warp rapidly. The temperature spiked, causing phosphor-like sparks to gradually rise.
Leon suddenly felt the girl in his arms become hotter than lava, to the point where the hand he used to support her skin began to smoke from the heat.
Noticing this, Leon felt a chill in his heart and unhesitatingly threw the girl from his arms.
Unfortunately, his movements were a step too late.
Boom!
A split second before Leon let go of the girl, scorching flames erupted.
The blistering wave of fire was like an explosion; the moment it surged, it blasted Leon backward and ignited the entire throne room.
The originally deathly silent throne room was instantly transformed into a sea of fire. The flames seemed to ignite out of thin air, first spreading across the floor, then coiling around the pillars, climbing the walls, and finally even setting the ceiling ablaze.
The firelight replaced all other light, filling the sea of flames and allowing the high temperatures to ravage the entire throne room.
"What's going on?"
The twelve demonic wings on Leon's back flapped once, immediately halting his body which had been sent flying by the explosion. He steadied himself in mid-air, but couldn't hide the bewilderment on his face.
Seeing the girl enveloped in a shroud of flames, her body landing on the ground while her eyes remained hollowly fixed on him, he was truly at a loss.
This state didn't seem quite right————
"Defense instinct."
Ophis appeared beside Leon at some unknown moment and lightly uttered those words.
"What?"
Leon looked at Ophis, unable to grasp her meaning.
"My power triggered the defense instinct of the Dragon lineage within her," Ophis said, looking at Leon as if she no longer cared about Stella's existence at all. "The Dragon lineage in her body originates from Great Red. I broke her seal, and the Dragon lineage within her immediately initiated an instinctive resistance due to my presence."
Now, Leon understood.
It turned out that because of Ophis, Stella's consciousness had been replaced by the defensive instinct of the Dragon bloodline, which was why she attacked without a word.
Just as Ophis would not ignore the existence of Great Red's power, Great Red would not ignore Ophis's power.
If Ophis appeared in the Dimensional Gap, Great Red would attack immediately. Even though Ophis was temporarily hiding herself and hadn't drawn Great Red's attention, she had broken Stella's seal, so the Dragon lineage from Great Red inside Stella naturally couldn't fail to notice Ophis's presence.
Thus, while Ophis had dropped the idea of acting against Stella because of Leon, Stella—who had just broken the seal—wanted to take the initiative because of her Dragon bloodline. Or rather, she attacked preemptively for self-preservation.
That wasn't the problem.
The problem was that those hollow eyes were currently fixed on him, telling Leon that he, too, was being treated as an enemy by Stella.
What kind of situation was this?
"————Come and serve me."
At that moment, the girl enveloped in flames parted her crimson lips, uttering a melodious yet completely emotionless voice.
"Laevateinn (Empress Dragon's Sin Sword)."
The moment her voice fell, the Dragon Treasure—which had fallen to the floor when the crystal coffin shattered, its blade embedded in the tiles—seemed to be awakened. It shuddered violently and then, with a clang, automatically unsheathed itself and flew toward the girl, landing in her grip.
Whoosh!
Flames immediately erupted along the length of the sword, releasing a terrifying heat.
Wrapped in fire, the girl and the sword began to walk toward Leon, step by step.
Seeing this, Leon knew that this fight was unavoidable; he had to engage.
"————Do you need me to step in?"
Ophis actually offered this of her own accord, which surprised Leon quite a bit.
But Leon shook his head.
"Since it's my Peerage member who has an issue, I naturally have to solve it myself."
Mainly, he was afraid the Dragon God would be too heavy-handed and accidentally turn Stella-san into ash————
And————
"I also want to see for myself just how strong a Dragon lineage and a Dragon Treasure born from Great Red truly are."
Leon glanced at the flaming sword in Stella's hand, his eyes shining with deep interest.
According to the ancient records in the castle, the Dragon lineage and Dragon Treasure of the Vermillion Kingdom were not just "strong."
Royalty who inherited the Dragon bloodline could manifest the power of the Great Dragon—the pinnacle of mythical creatures—within themselves. Not only could they unleash physical strength comparable to a dragon from a small human body, but they could also turn a dragon's most proficient breath attacks into controllable abilities to be used at any time.
Like the girl before him; the Dragon lineage she inherited likely had the highest affinity with Fire Dragons. Thus, she could wrap herself in a dragon's fire breath, unleashing strikes of several thousand degrees Celsius with every movement. Ordinary creatures wouldn't even have the right to approach her; once too close, they would be vaporized instantly, leaving not even ash behind.
As for that Dragon Treasure—"Laevateinn"—it was an artifact used to amplify Dragon power.
It could stimulate the Dragon bloodline of the Vermillion royalty to its absolute limit. The purer and denser the bloodline within the wielder, the greater the degree of amplification. It could even allow the wielder to strengthen dragon species whose bloodline potential was lower than their own, thereby achieving the goal of commanding them.
This was the reason why the capital of the Vermillion Kingdom was built as if it were meant for dragons to use.
Because the royalty of Vermillion, as long as they were users of "Laevateinn," could without exception command dragon-kind, ruling over several, dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of dragons.
As long as the opponent's bloodline potential was lower than their own, no matter how strong the opponent currently was, they would be drawn to "Laevateinn" and eventually be willing to be commanded in exchange for its power.
Kanna was like this; drawn by the power of "Laevateinn" sleeping in the castle, she was willing to stay and guard it for hundreds of years, absorbing the power it radiated and eventually rising to the Dragon King class.
Stella might not be as strong as Kanna yet, but as the last Dragon bloodline of the Vermillion royalty and the recognized inheritor of the purest bloodline, her potential was definitely above that of Kanna, a wild dragon from another world. That was why "Laevateinn," remaining by her side, could release an attraction even Kanna couldn't resist, making her stay and strengthening her to the Dragon King class.
Beyond that, this "Laevateinn" had another function: it could purify the Dragon bloodline within the wielder.
In other words, even those with impure blood could slowly increase their bloodline power by holding "Laevateinn."
It was because of this that the Vermillion royalty managed to prevent their Dragon bloodline from thinning after countless generations of procreation.
However, to use "Laevateinn" to purify one's bloodline, the wielder had to possess a dream sufficient to be recognized by the sword.
This was because Great Red was a Dragon God born from dreams and presiding over them; it could see the dreams within people's hearts.
It would be drawn to those with dreams, and if those dreams gained its recognition, it might grant them the power to realize them.
The first King of Vermillion likely drew this Guardian of the Dimensional Gap down for that very reason.
Thus, as a Dragon Treasure bestowed by Great Red, "Laevateinn" possessed similar characteristics. As long as the wielder's dream could be recognized by it, it would help purify their bloodline, making them stronger and stronger.
The grander and more steadfast the dream, the stronger the power of "Laevateinn."
To be honest, this was not inferior to a Longinus at all; in fact, most Longinus couldn't compare to this Dragon Treasure.
Now, Leon wanted to test its quality.
"Come, Princess."
Leon beckoned toward Stella with his finger.
"Let me show you properly just how strong your future master is."
Before Leon could finish speaking, Stella had already stepped through the flames and lunged at him fiercely.
Boom!
As the strike wrapped in fire descended, the Dragon Sword slammed into the floor, causing the entire throne room to shudder as the floor shattered.
The ground turned into countless fragments and collapsed downward, creating a massive crater in the floor with red marks along the edges, as if melted by high heat.
Leon, who had dodged the strike, couldn't help but click his tongue inwardly.
"This power————it really is a dragon."
From this single strike alone, Leon made his judgment.
Stella Vermillion, this last princess of the Vermillion Kingdom—even if her strength hadn't reached the Dragon King class, it was likely close.
Though the "Laevateinn" was a factor, aside from Kanna—the dragon who had lived for 14,000 years—this girl before him was undoubtedly the strongest among his Peerage members.
In fact, she might even be stronger than Leon was before he promoted to the Demon King class.
"Flame of Purgatory, pierce the heavens————"
Having missed her strike, Stella slowly raised the Dragon Sword in her hand, pointing it toward the sky.
Explosive fire rose from the sword, becoming not only larger and hotter, but even changing in scale. The fire transformed into a spiraling light of flame that shot upward, shattering the ceiling and piercing through to the sky outside the castle.
That firelight was like a scorching sun.
That heat was like molten lava.
"Katharterio Salamandra (Heaven-and-Earth-Searing Dragon King's Flame)."
The girl ruthlessly uttered the name of her ultimate technique and swung down the strike carrying terrifyingly high heat.
BOOM!!!
The roar was earth-shaking.
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