Chapter 137
After Draco regained consciousness within the confines of the egg, he found himself floating in a dense, slimy liquid substance.
Instinctively, he held his breath, using his hands to push against the inner shell, fearing that he might drown.
This situation felt eerily familiar, reminiscent of his birth experience.
‘This feels rather strange,’ Draco thought as he continued to push against the walls.
When he first placed his hand and applied pressure, he encountered great resistance - a membrane separating the slimy gel from the hardened interior.
The membrane felt like squishy, soft yet resistant pads, making it difficult for him to gain a proper grip as the slime coated his fingers.
Determined to escape, Draco transformed his hand into a sharp claw and sliced through the membrane, finally making contact with the interior wall.
Summoning all his strength, he bashed against the shell, and with a resounding crack, it burst open, spilling the contents - including Draco's body - onto the floor.
Quickly regaining his composure, Draco tried to take a deep breath, but it felt as though something was lodged in his throat.
"Cough, cough," he fell into a coughing fit, forcing out a mixture of mucus and blood.
After clearing his airway, he began searching for a cloth to wipe his face, as some of the slime still obscured his vision.
Fortunately, he soon felt a piece of fabric next to him - Bahamut had thrown it over.
Wiping the slime from his eyes, Draco opened them, his gaze landing on Bahamut and Dimitra, who stared at him with a mixture of expressions.
"Huh, you two were here. Why didn't you say anything?" Draco asked.
"I think I might throw up," Dimitra said, covering her mouth before hastily exiting the room.
"What?" Draco asked, perplexed by her behaviour.
Bahamut remained silent, simply pointing her finger towards the floor.
Following her gaze, Draco looked down, only to be met with a sight that elicited a strong reaction - the floor was covered in a mixture of blood and slime, the pungent scent filling the air.
Although Bahamut and Dimitra had been extremely surprised by Draco's remarkable transformation, the sight of the disgusting substance had quickly turned their surprise to pure disgust.
"Oh, sorry about this. I can clean this up," Draco said apologetically, recognizing that he had ruined many of Bahamut's clothes, pillows, and sheets.
"It doesn't matter, I'm just glad you're alright," Bahamut said, maintaining her distance and clutching her nose in an attempt to block the unpleasant odour.
"Your expression doesn't seem to say so," Draco remarked, rising from the floor.
As Draco rose, he caught sight of himself in a mirror, and was taken aback by his new appearance.
‘Whoa, who is this handsome guy?’ he thought, inspecting his transformed body.
Draco could see that he had grown significantly taller, his skin smooth and firm yet elastic to the touch.
His eyes had taken on a deeper, richer red hue, and his face appeared more mature and handsome.
His scales had become more rough and hard, and he could feel a raw, powerful energy coursing through his body.
Draco's powerful physique was on full display, his taut, muscular frame rippling with strength.
The lines of his well-defined musculature were sharply etched, radiating an aura of raw power.
His silver locks had grown longer, thicker, and more lustrous than ever before.
Draco's horns had also regrown, but they were now significantly larger and more imposing than their previous iteration.
He could feel the flow of magic and elemental energies pulsing through him with renewed vigour.
His control over the four primary elements had undoubtedly increased, and he could even subtly sense the presence of higher, more elusive elemental forces, like they were just inches beyond his grasp.
Recalling his conversation in the spirit world, Draco wondered if this was the transformation that the spirit had alluded to.
It all seemed like a surreal dream, but he knew it was very real.
"Can you stop admiring yourself and go clean up? Also, please cover yourself up, or I might just do something weird," Bahamut said, her face turned away, but her eyes stole subtle glances at Draco's exposed form.
If Draco had been a handsome young man before, he was now a veritable adonis, even in the eyes of the very picky Bahamut.
"Sorry about that, couldn't help myself," Draco said, quickly grabbing some untouched sheets to wrap around his waist.
"I'll be back in a bit to clean up the mess," Draco apologized once more before exiting the room.
He needed a bath and fresh clothes, but he doubted if any of his old garments would fit him now, given his dramatic physical transformation.
As the refreshing droplets of cool water cascaded over his skin, Draco felt a sense of renewal and clarity.
'It seems more than a day has passed,' he thought, realizing that it was now noon, when he had last been conscious in the evening.
'I hope this isn't one of those situations where they say I've been unconscious for a year or something,' Draco half-jested, aware that such a thing was indeed possible, given the confusing nature of time during his time in the egg.
Dressed in a fresh set of clothes, Draco made his way to the living room, where he could sense his family gathered.
'Dimitra probably informed them,' he mused.
As Draco entered the room, the chatter immediately ceased, all eyes turning to him.
"Draco nii?" Michalis asked, his voice tinged with uncertainty, as if he couldn't believe it was truly his brother standing before them.
"Hmmm," Draco responded, his deep, resonant voice carrying a newfound depth.
"No way, is this even fair?" Vasileios exclaimed, collapsing to the floor in a dramatic display of disbelief.
Nikolaos simply nodded his head, as if he understood something.
Clair remained seated, her keen eyes carefully deconstructing Draco's altered appearance, while Eleni, Dimitra, and Vasiliki looked on, utterly stunned.
Vasiliki stood up from her seat, her gaze fixed on Draco with a mix of awe and wonder.
"Draco nii, what happened to you?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I mean, Bahamut-chan explained things to us, but isn't this a bit too much?" she mused, her voice trailing off as she began tracing the outline of his well-defined muscles with her fingers.
"Hey, that's not fair, Vasiliki! I want to touch it too," Eleni protested, rushing to Draco's side and imitating Vasiliki's actions.
Dimitra and Clair seemed to want to join in, but held themselves back - Clair because she still felt uneasy around him, and Dimitra because the scene before her appeared very weird.
Seeing that the two girls were going a bit too far, Draco scolded them, flicking their foreheads firmly.
"Ouch, that hurt a lot!" Eleni and Vasiliki exclaimed, clutching their heads in discomfort.
"Well, you were both going too far," Draco said sternly.
He then turned to Dimitra and asked, "How long was I unconscious?".
"Two days," Dimitra replied.
Hearing this, Draco felt a wave of relief wash over him.
Glad that there was still time before the Denatus convened.
While he basked in relief, Vasiliki presented Draco with a stack of papers.
"Here is everything that occurred in the last two days, recorded," she said, snapping him out of his reverie.
Curious, Draco thumbed through the documents, surprised to see that the familia had been able to function effectively without him.
Vasiliki and Dimitra had taken charge, made sound decisions, and even handled the necessary paperwork – a surprising outcome that Draco couldn't have imagined.
Dimitra had always been capable, but Vasiliki's performance came as a pleasant surprise.
It wasn't that she lacked the ability, but rather, she tended to be a bit more carefree and annoying at times.
'Should I just make them both vice-captains? They seem quite capable,' Draco considered.
'No, let's take it slow,' he thought, deciding he needed to see if they could replicate their recent achievements while he was present before making any definitive decisions.
It was a bit disappointing that neither Vasileios nor Nikolaos had taken the lead in his absence, as they had been his top candidates for potential vice-captains. However, it seemed that new options had presented themselves.
"Anyway, you all did a great job while I was incapacitated, especially Dimitra and Vasiliki," Draco praised, setting the papers aside.
“Thanks” they replied.
“Tsk, I could have taken charge if I wanted to” Michalis grumbled in the background, but Draco ignored him.
"So, what were the original plans for today?" Draco asked, Dimitra and Vasiliki.
"We were once again discussing whether we should report our new levels to Rose-san, since we didn't know if you would wake up before the Denatus." Dimitra explained.
"But since you're here, we will leave everything to you." She then added.
'Tsk, eager to dump all the responsibility back on me,' he thought.
Draco had noted the subtle relief in Dimitra’s voice after her explanation.
"Hmm, we will make the report today, but it will have to be in the evening. I have a few things to sort out first," Draco replied.
Dimitra and Vasiliki simply nodded, relieved that they didn't have to go through another round of arguments.
Unlike Draco, whose words carried a sense of finality within the familia, Dimitra and Vasiliki had to discuss and come to an agreement with the others before making any decisions.