Chapter 471 – Unlikely… Coincidences?
Asterios raised a brow at the surprised Dragon girl. “Is that what we are going to have an issue with?”
She looked between him and them, a little bit uncertain. “They… It’s just that they are…”
“They are what?” He crossed his arms over his chest and stared her down.
“All lesser beings!” Noir threw her arms into the air. “There’s no way your attendants are just this! You are cunning, considerably strong, wield powerful enchanted gear, and even house two Dragon’s Hearts inside your body! You could have anyone! Well, almost anyone if you initially hid your clashing lineages as you did during our first interaction! Instead, you step down to… this?”
“Watch your words.” Asterios let out a faint growl.
“I could understand one or two because of a momentary fancy, but fucking eight of them at the same time?” The previously stricken lady somehow found her courage to speak her unfiltered thoughts again. “That goes way beyond a rowdy whim or a fleeting bout of desire! It’s definitely not normal to keep this many pets and no real mates!”
Before he could admonish her further, the girls exchanged a glance and raised their hands to the front. Noir blinked at them in confusion until dark crimson bands glowed around their ring fingers, bearing Ast’s draconic mark. Save for Tia, naturally, considering her current form.
The black-haired girl gasped loudly and jerked back as if physically struck.
“True Mates?!” Her wide eyes snapped to meet Ast’s. “You bound them to your Hearts? Seven individuals from inferior species?”
As she took one more glance at the dark entity with a feminine shape, Tia smirked cheekily. “I’m technically not here, just borrowing this form for the convenience of staying by their side, but trust that my body would show the same.”
“And who decides what is an inferior species and what is not?” Asterios unwound his arms and walked up to his lovers, wrapping one around Tia’s waist and pulling her into his side. “I, for one, would never call an Arch Dryad such.”
“Arch Dryad?!” Noir choked on empty air, then her dark irises sparkled with realization. “That’s where you got that insane regeneration from! You captured an Arch Dryad’s lifeforce!”
“She chose to follow me,” he corrected her. “I didn’t seize any of them by force.”
The shadowy girl giggled impishly, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “You did capture my heart and even soul, Master. Am I not inside you right now?”
Rolling his eyes, he gave the representation of her plump butt a little smack. “Don’t twist it, you minx. It’s unfortunate what happened to your Tree, forcing Althea’s hand. I just reciprocated your love after spending enough time with you, like with everyone else by my side.”
“L-Love?” Noir was suddenly taken aback.
“What, does the princess not know what that concept means?” Grea snorted spitefully. “Is all the big lizards can comprehend just mad lust and physical abuse for their own gratification?”
“Shut up!” The draconic woman whipped at her. “You know nothing about me! Stop butting in when your superiors are speaking!”
“Oh, are you still under the misconception that I’m some kind of a slave?” The demonic lady didn’t give up any ground. “Let that savage brain of yours finally register that the only slave tag that can be attached to me is the slave of love because I care for my mate more than myself and will murder you with my own hands if I have to!”
“Enough!” Asterios grasped their hair and pulled them apart as they were getting closer to each other. “Both of you take a deep breath and calm down. Try to remain civil for now, would you?”
Grea huffed to the side but nodded compliantly, shooting him an apologetic look.
He ruffled through her dark strands and turned to the other female. “And you, I’ve already told you I’m doing things differently. This is going to be like a prologue to everything else. If you don’t think you can handle it, I can give you an easy way out. I don’t need someone who can’t adapt by my side.”
Noir bit into her lip, looking into his eyes while showing no signs of resisting his rough hold. “I promise I can adjust… I’m very flexible… It’s all just... too unexpected…”
The red-skinned woman snickered, clearly thinking of a different kind of flexibility.
“That’s fair.” Asterios nodded, releasing her hair and watching her fix it hurriedly. “I don’t doubt the first days or weeks are going to be a challenge for both sides. So, let’s try our best not to be too much.”
“Then, you truly took all these… females… fully in?” Noir peeked up at him hesitantly.
“Yes, I did. And they aren’t just energy reservoirs to me. I share with them in return as much if not more of what they offer me,” he responded softly.
“What?” The girl’s eyes widened in shock. “Isn’t that… dangerous? What if they somehow… overpower you?”
“If any of them does, I’ll be in great hands.” Asterios chuckled, glancing at his beloved partners adoringly. “I would give my life for them, and I’m not unaware of a matching sentiment from their side. Becoming stronger and being able to protect me would make them even more relieved than just me advancing for our sakes.”
“There’s no way I can ever catch up to you, Master!” Miria beamed at him joyfully. “But that won’t stop me from trying! As your first mate, I’ll always be by your side, no matter the odds!”
“I think out of all of us, Selene has a fairly real chance,” Tina mused, scrutinizing the fluffy-tailed vulpine. “However, even if we aren’t too formidable each on our own, our strength lies in numbers and cooperation. And a tiny bit of draconic essence, I guess.”
The ladies chuckled mischievously, giving her wide grins.
“Not that one!” The Summoner girl flushed deeply, dropping her gaze to the ground. “Even if it’s nice too…”
Noir just watched their interactions with an intrigued expression, her face set on something to the likes of attempted comprehension of what she was witnessing. She didn’t notice Asterios watching her closely, or him catching how her tail suspiciously swayed behind her legs in a mild but rather fascinated manner.
He had seen similar motions in Althea at times, though much more honest.
“Anyway, do you have any more questions regarding this matter or can we move on to those related to your presence here?” Asterios refocused on the shorter but fierce-looking girl.
Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she attempted to organize her thoughts into words.
“Am I your first True Dragon?” Noir inquired, once more evoking chuckles from his mates.
His nose scrunched a bit. “You aren’t the first I summoned as I already tried with my Crimson half, but as you have heard previously, due to her personality, it didn’t go well. I ended up consuming her Heart. I’m not sure if that ticks off the first from the list.”
“Wait, you can consume the Hearts of others, not just destroy them?” She promptly paled, her brow riddled with sweat as she replayed their interaction from earlier.
“Is that not normal?” Asterios tilted his head curiously.
This was why part of him was actually interested in sparing the girl. She was a fountain of draconic knowledge and had useful information on True Dragon norms, customs, and behavior.
“It’s not a simple matter.” Noir swallowed heavily. “The violent energy released from a broken Heart is extremely rebellious. Even if you have easily dominated the aura of your target, it doesn’t mean that their essence is subdued too. Properly assimilating it is extremely dangerous as it can cause a backlash that might end in a serious spiritual injury. You have to be unimaginably more powerful and experienced in the technique to do it swiftly and without any worry.”
“Damn. So I might have seriously hurt myself if I tried to imitate it.” He rubbed his chin as a wave of concern washed over him. “Now I’m glad we didn’t go through with it. I have to remember to keep my greed in check going forward.”
“Imitate?” The Dragon lady’s forehead furrowed a tad.
“Back then, some kind of a failsafe triggered as I was way too weak to go against any True Dragon, and Red’s energy took over my body. He conducted that technique and crushed the Heart in my claws, the flames getting sucked into my crimson source. He let go afterward and warned me to grow stronger before challenging the others,” Asterios reminisced.
“That I can believe. I’ve seen Mother hold executions that way and she makes it look so effortless.” Noir let out a relieved sigh. “It still doesn’t change how scary you are by just being able to rip one’s Heart out while at such a young age. The majority of either clan are going to underestimate you and learn too late about their mistake.”
“I don’t plan on going around and crushing Hearts left and right if I’m not going to be able to absorb them easily.” He shook his head. “Unless destroying my enemy’s physical form isn’t enough to keep them dead?”
“In most cases, it is.” She nodded thoughtfully. “But, you can never be too certain. Each True Dragon differs from another. Until today, I wouldn’t have believed something like you was possible to exist, yet here we are. So, if you can do it, it would be wise to utilize that as a safety measure.”
“Does it have to be done while the target lives or can I dig the Heart out of their corpse?” Asterios wondered out loud. “The second Heart I absorbed belonged to a long-deceased individual who bled out to death and left it hovering inside his skeleton.”
“They must have possessed an extremely deep resentment, then.” Noir’s pupils widened slightly. “People usually choose to let their source fade along with them, which prevents anyone capable of absorbing it from profiting from their collected power. There are exceptions, as in some elders passing down their Hearts to their descendants or whole family lines storing them in vaults for the hour of need. Or, in your case, the leftover will being so strong it stays behind, waiting for someone to carry it on. You must have shared an affinity with it to take it without a problem.”
“If our assumptions are correct, then we can say that my Heart does share the original owner’s hate towards the person who ended their life,” he shared, meeting the girls’ gazes. “This more or less confirms it. We’ve been lucky. I don’t think I was as powerful then either.”
“Noir, do you think Asterios is currently strong enough to absorb more Hearts?” Althea asked.
The True Dragon twisted her lips at the other woman but held back whatever insults tried to free themselves out of her mouth. Her distaste was perfectly visible, though. Ast’s mindful mentor didn’t let that get to her.
“Some, for sure. I felt his domineering authority on my own skin. He would definitely have trouble absorbing my essence, but there should be plenty of individuals beneath the two of us who he could use to get stronger quickly. I’m sure I can think of a few really weak ones to start and practice on if you give me some time,” Noir replied, her eyes distant.
“I’m not going on a killing spree just to gain a bit more power.” Asterios raised his hands. “But, if I’m given no other choice, I won’t hold back.”
“That’s… unexpected.” She studied him even more with her clever gaze. “Usually, those who manage to learn the technique go into a frenzy and use every opportunity to increase their might.”
Selene smirked knowingly. “And how many of those survive that ordeal?”
Noir winced. “The records suggest… not many. Even going only after the weakest members of their or other lineages often results in gaining the attention of the strong ones, like the family ancestors or guardians.”
“There’s your answer, then.” The foxy lady nodded approvingly. “Master isn’t an idiot. He has better and more pleasant ways of progressing through his draconic path. Blacks are all about that intelligence, no?”
The look the other female returned at her suggested that it might not be the rule all the time or in all situations.
“Nevertheless, want or not, we might have a chance to test things out very soon.” Asterios ran his fingers through his white hair. “That is, if we are even capable of absorbing Hearts from other bloodlines?”
“As I just hinted, it is possible, albeit not as intuitive as consuming the essence matching the aspect that you’ve been born with, and therefore much riskier,” the black-haired beauty answered, then paused, seemingly having a new insight. “Which might not actually be as bad for you since the spiritual core of your being is already accustomed to more than one type of draconic energy. It should not be possible to host two Dragon’s Hearts so who knows what else might be different.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Grea nodded repeatedly and the two women glared at each other aggressively. “And with an Arch Dryad’s soul thrown into the mix? The shit he’ll be capable of that we can’t yet imagine is going to be nuts.”
“We’ll discuss this before the actual operation,” Asterios recaptured their attention. “Noir, I’m asking this officially, are you interested in completing the ritual and becoming my familiar as well as servant?”
The proud and fierce True Dragon stiffened and he was ready to see her lash out at the preposterous demand, regardless of everything that had happened up until this point. Fortunately, the time they had spent talking about various things, and perhaps the beating she had suffered from him during their duel both mellowed the cocky woman a tad.
She took a deep breath, stood taller in front of him, and peered deep into his eyes. “I have been bested and am ready to follow you.”
Those words didn’t come to her easily, her jaw working them out tensely, but the will to make it through the implied shame was there. He could tell she did mean it, as much as her true nature warred against the thought. Ultimately, as she had told them before, he could have done and demanded much worse things from her after forcing her into submission at the end of their challenge.
Gracing her with a warm smile, he gestured with his head behind them. “Then follow me and let’s get this over with.”
Seeing his amiable expression, which contrasted with how he usually looked at her before, Noir blinked in surprise, not exactly sure how to take it. She clearly wasn’t used to honest kindness, one that didn’t harbor hidden intentions and elaborate schemes. The ladies watching them wondered if there was anyone besides perhaps her mother who shared any kind of affection with the rough girl.
For now, though, they retreated once more, leaving the stage to the main stars, Asterios and Noir. Umbra could once more prepare the ritual circle within a blink, but he was thanked for his helpful intentions and withdrew when his master decided to put some personal effort into the rest of the proceedings.
“Technically, any formation that retains the key elements would do, but which one do you like more?” Asterios stopped by Noir’s side and brought up one of his notebooks.
Unsure if she should take it, the gorgeous female just glanced at the sketches and her eyes lit up a tiny bit. Soon enough, her fingers flipped the pages as she admired plenty of his designs. They were in the full range from the cutest to the most ominous that the rules of the magic allowed.
“This!” She abruptly stopped, stabbing her sharp nail into one of the pictures. “This one feels right. I think.”
Asterios raised a brow at her choice but didn’t comment on it, noting the symbolic meaning conveyed by the arrangement that Noir must not be aware of. Naturally, the array bore noticeable draconic themes, in this case depicting two violent flames swirling together in the enclosed space.
But, only those knowledgeable in summoning allegories would be able to gather from this scene that one of those raging infernos was greatly overpowering the other instead of working together or independently as the first glance at the arrangement might suggest. Someone could even say that the slightly smaller blaze was being dominated without putting that much of a fight back, barely licking at its oppressor with its heat.
It was food for thought that could be enjoyed being deciphered another day so Asterios handed the notebook to Noir and expelled his right sleeve. Her attention snapped to his arm as it gradually turned draconic, this time sprouting crimson scales instead of onyx. She took a moment to realize that her mouth was agape, surprised by the sight even while already aware that he ruled over two distinct draconic energies.
Switching them through a simple thought was something unprecedented.
Gathering mana around his claw, he employed an ability similar to the one used to cut through the realms. The beastly talon suddenly glowed red, then orange, and finally almost white, mirroring the heating up of metal. Hot air disturbed the edges, blurring them significantly. It looked ready to do some serious damage.
Kneeling to the ground, Asterios prepared to sink it into the dark stone, but his now once more crimson coat mischievously slipped into the way at some specific angles. Not wanting to pay it any mind, he dismissed his upper garments and rolled his shoulders which attained full freedom of movement. The cusp of his lips curled up a tiny bit at the quiet intake of air that reached his sensitive ears. He wasn’t going to be distracted by his mates, as much as they enjoyed the view.
However, he didn’t confirm whose appreciative inhale he had heard.
The others had.
Focused on his task, Asterios meticulously carved the ritual circle with masterful strokes, each line lazily releasing audible hisses and wafts of thick smoke as the rocky foundation disintegrated. Noir was locked in on his actions, forgetting the journal in her palms. His precision and elegance were too captivating not to enthrall anyone watching. Every movement hid years of practice and hard work, which was nothing easy, revealed by how his strained muscles worked on the delicate sketch in stone.
She didn’t even notice how much time had passed when he was suddenly finished, standing up before his masterpiece and wiping his brow off. The final result was a carbon copy of the diagram on the paper. Her keen eyes couldn’t spot any imperfections. And, sure, it wasn’t like True Dragons had to be mighty and thus clumsy, but she could tell the difference between accurate and literally flawless.
“Okay.” Asterios rested his fists on his hips. “What do you think?”
Noir stepped closer, once more admiring his efforts. “It’s… exquisite.”
“Thanks.” He flashed her a grin. “Now, just the pattern could do, but I don’t like half-measures, so I’m going to fill it with my blood like the summoning array. The thing is, I used the blood from my Onyx Battle Form and want to ask if you mind me doing it like this or would you rather I switch to that?”
Pulling her eyes off the patterns, she glanced at his exposed chest thoughtfully. “You’ve been holding your other energies back to do that, right? It is somewhat misleading, and being truthful usually helps these kinds of spells reach full potential, so I think it’s fine staying true to what you are.”
“Wise words.” Asterios hummed favorably. “You know quite a bit about this?”
He could pinpoint a barely perceptible rosy tinge to her cheeks. “Not that much. I’ve read a book or two when I was really bored. On various things.”
“I’ll get right to it, then.” He summoned his ornamental dagger.
“Maybe I could add mine too?” Noir asked, glimpsing at the blade. “We could try to fill the array together. Symbolism is supposedly capable of influencing magic too.”
A light chuckle escaped Ast’s lips at her coincidental remark. From what he could tell, she still wasn’t conscious of her previous choice. Perhaps she simply possessed a certain affinity with such aspects, more sensitive about them than others.
“Alright, but eat this. I have my Dryad to support myself, but you can’t yet benefit from that energy.” Asterios gave her one of the improved nutrition pills made by Selene’s people.
Noir accepted it with just one single distrustful peek at the golden orb before popping it into her mouth, chewing on it, and swallowing the nourishing medicine.
He cut their wrists and they began leaking their lifeforce into the much thinner trenches this time. She proved to be as skilled with controlling her aura in her close vicinity as he was, or perhaps even more. They would need to compare when they weren’t in the middle of a delicate procedure.
Bit by bit, they filled the formation, and once again, he noted that subconsciously, she delivered about as much of the scarlet liquid as the smaller flame represented. It wasn’t because of exhaustion or anything like that. She definitely could do more, matching him evenly if she decided to get competitive about it. But, the serious Dragon woman concentrated solely on getting her part right.
As soon as they were done, Bryn briefly arrived at their side, taking care of their light wounds. She left them alone as soon as she finished, offering her beloved master a cordial smile and his upcoming new companion a diminutive nod. The familiar-to-be glowered at her only lightly, most likely not forgetting that she was part of the side wanting her out.
“If you are ready, we can begin.” Asterios stretched his fingers.
“I’m ready.” Noir turned to him properly and stared into his eyes.
Facing her too, he saw that they stood over their respective blazes, feeding into this eerie streak of mystical coincidences even further. Shaking his head with a gentle smirk, he gazed back at the fierce but also charming female True Dragon before him, waiting for his move somewhat expectantly.
Their lives were about to inevitably change.
For good or worse, that was yet to be seen.