Chapter 99
Chapter 99: The Mysterious Art Of Transformation Into A Dragon
The Earth Vein Guardian and the Earth Vein Wraith differ fundamentally. While both rely on Earth Vein energy, the Earth Vein Wraith is merely a remnant memory left within the Earth Veins.
The Guardian, however, is the lingering soul of a being, bound to this land. Even if the Guardian’s body is destroyed, his soul will gather Earth Vein energy to reconstruct a new body to continue fighting.
Can those two dragons win?
Despite the severe burns on his body, the black-haired hero, Biss, struggled to sit up and watch the distant battle.
They were in a special Earth Vein space constructed by the Guardian. The thick mist that had once surrounded them was gone, and now they stood in a dilapidated arena. The red-haired Guardian stood there, gripping a broken crimson sword.
“Flame Tornado!”
Before the dragons could strike him, a fierce whirlwind surged around the Guardian, and fiery flames burst forth from his body. Flanna’s claws, glowing with a crystalline purple light, reached into the fiery tornado and directly seized the red-haired Guardian.
“Amazing…as expected of a dragon…”
Biss was left in shock. The flames, intense as they were, failed to burn the purple dragon. Flames continued to erupt from the Guardian, but Flanna gripped him as though holding a scalding hot object. She raised her other claw to strike the Guardian’s head.
“Flame Burst!”
Boom!
The deafening roar exploded, and the rapidly expanding flames engulfed the towering purple dragon.
“Starfire Blaze Slash!”
Before anyone could be seen, a voice echoed out. A trail of fiery light, like a meteor, carved a pentagram-shaped streak around the purple dragon. Biss saw red scratches appearing across the dragon’s body.
Was…the dragon scratched?
“Roar!!!”
The blue-white dragon, who had been observing the fight, shot forward like lightning, grabbing the Guardian midair and lowering its head to bite the Guardian’s upper half.
With a fierce shake, the Guardian’s body was torn in two. But instead of blood, flames surged from the torn halves. At the severed ends, flames erupted like a volcano, expanding rapidly, threatening to fill the entire secret realm.
Are we going to get burned again?
No!
No, they weren’t. Biss saw the silver-haired woman once again unfold a protective shield around them, keeping the flames at bay. But what about the two dragons? Biss, watching the roaring fire outside the shield, couldn’t help but worry.
As the Earth Vein space created by the Guardian shattered, a familiar white light began to illuminate their surroundings. The white light blanketed the flames. They were back in reality. There was no fire around them now.
The two dragons stood calmly at a distance. The red scratches were still visible on the purple dragon, but they didn’t seem to penetrate deep—only marring the surface of its scales. The blue-white dragon was holding nothing in its claws anymore.
In front of the two dragons, a ghostly red flame gathered, reforming into the figure of the red-haired Guardian, who stood once again, fully intact.
“We should run while we can! Now that the Earth Vein space is broken, he can’t bind us anymore!” Biss shouted.
“Run?” Naya questioned.
“Yeah! As long as the relic isn’t taken, the Guardian can keep reviving using Earth Vein energy. He’s unbeatable!”
“Dragons! Don’t flee!”
The Guardian, brandishing his greatsword, charged towards them.
“This isn’t good. The Guardian can understand what we’re saying. We shouldn’t discuss plans out loud—let’s count to three and run!”
Biss struggled to stand, his men helping him up. But Naya’s goal lay ahead, blocked by the Guardian. They had no choice but to step over the Guardian’s corpse to advance.
“If he understands us, Flanna, Bella, grab him.”
At Naya’s command, the two dragons pounced on the Guardian once more.
“Thunderfire Crescent Slash!”
A crescent-shaped sword aura shot from the Guardian’s blade but had little effect on Flanna and Bella.
“Phoenix Rebirth!”
The Guardian transformed into a fiery bird, crashing into the two dragons. The resulting explosion of flames ignited the surrounding forest, dispersing the mist that had lingered there. Every clash between the Guardian and the dragons brought forth waves of fire.
Biss watched the scene unfold. Even though the dragons had been dominating the fight, if this continued, the entire forest would be reduced to ashes.
As the heat grew more intense, Biss began sweating profusely.
“This is bad! If this keeps up, we’ll all be burned alive! Dragon lady, please retreat quickly!”
But Naya remained fixated on the battle between Flanna and Bella.
“No, I want to learn about the history from this Guardian’s perspective, from a thousand years ago. If you want to flee, go ahead.”
“Boss, what do we do?” one of his men asked.
“We should flee. Our constitution isn’t the same as dragons. For them, it’s like taking a hot bath in these flames, but for us, we’ll end up roasted like pigs.”
His followers glanced at the reddened skin of their leader, Biss, visibly fearful.
Unlike the dragons, humans couldn’t withstand multiple waves of fiery explosions. Even Biss, who was considered tough for a human, was nothing in the face of the Guardian’s flames.
Biss clenched his teeth.
Escape?
Without the protection of the dragons, where could they even run to? Everywhere they looked, the landscape was unfamiliar. They were utterly lost. If they encountered another Guardian, in his current burned state, Biss wouldn’t be able to protect his men.
“I want to know about history from a thousand years ago as well…”
Biss was realistic about his own situation. He hadn’t angered the dragons, and surely, they wouldn’t be bored enough to squash a few ants. Besides, the silver-haired dragon seemed approachable.
It was better to stay under their protection than to wander aimlessly.
“Naya, hold Illya,” the red-haired dragon said as she approached the silver-haired dragon, handing her the small dragon child. Then, she stepped into the sea of flames. A brilliant red light radiated from her, and a massive crimson dragon soared into the sky. It dove down from the heavens.
Boom!
The chaotic sounds of battle instantly ceased. The surrounding flames reverted to Earth Vein energy, returning to the ground and vanishing completely, leaving only smoldering trees behind.
What just happened?
The Guardian…was he truly killed?
That couldn’t be. Unless the crimson dragon had the ability to directly destroy a soul, the Guardian would have continued to explode and resurrect repeatedly.
While Biss was still bewildered, the smoke cleared. The Guardian was trapped in the crimson dragon’s claws.
No longer struggling as a mighty being, he now appeared like a helpless person, his movements ordinary and weak, unable to harness Earth Vein energy or even self-destruct.
“Your Majesty, I’m sorry, but it seems we still need your help,” Flanna said, referring to the difficulty she and Bella had in capturing the Guardian. An immortal opponent wouldn’t simply surrender to their claws.
Iris, however, did not respond to Flanna. Instead, she dragged the Guardian over to Naya, who was holding Illya.
“Ask him.”
Biss stared at the crimson dragon in shock. Did the purple dragon just call her “Your Majesty”?
Was this crimson dragon the Dragon Queen?!
Gazing at her majestic, gleaming red scales, Biss felt his mind tremble. He couldn’t believe that at this moment, he was standing so close to the Dragon Queen. Fortunately, she didn’t even glance his way, treating him like air.
Naya looked up at Iris. The reason she wanted to question the Guardian was because everything here seemed too coincidental. Not long ago, Iris had transformed Zelan into a dragon, and this place recorded a history of a cult that, thousands of years ago, sought to transform humans into dragons.
Everything was arranged so seamlessly, fitting together like a perfect puzzle.
It wasn’t that Naya didn’t trust Iris or that she didn’t want to ask her for the truth about this place. Rather, she wanted to trace the history of the dragon clan from a different perspective, not just through the lens of the dragons themselves.
“Honorable Guardian, could you please tell me what happened here in the past? What occurred thousands of years ago? What can you tell me about the human cult that sought to become dragons, and about the emperor-level dragon who granted them the secret art of transformation?”
‘Flame, incinerate! Flame, destroy! Flame, thousand birds! Flame, judgment!’ The Guardian shouted out random incantations while trapped in Iris’s dragon claws.
Naya couldn’t help but frown. Wasn’t the Guardian supposed to understand human language? How could he still be going mad after being captured?
“Stop struggling. The Earth Vein energy will no longer flow into your body.”
Iris said. This was her unique skill, Suppression.
Suppression could sever the target’s connection to external energy and inhibit their internal magic, making it impossible for them to cast spells. Suppression also allowed Iris to hold onto energy beings, including souls, preventing them from escaping her grasp.
“Dragons! Evil cultivators!”
The red-haired Guardian shouted, glaring at Naya with gritted teeth.
“Guardian, this is a thousand years later. The world is no longer what it once was. You have already sacrificed yourself on this land. Look around you. Does this place still resemble the one you knew?” Naya said.
“A thousand years later,” A trace of confusion appeared in the Guardian’s eyes.
“Yes. Today’s dragons are not the dragons of the past. Honorable Guardian, you must have been a valiant warrior in your time, one who fought bravely to eradicate the cult. Your strong desire for battle bound your soul to this land. Surely, you have a story filled with regret. Could you tell us what you experienced?”
Naya spoke with great respect, addressing the Guardian with honorifics.
The Guardian’s violent urges were gradually subdued, and he slowly regained some clarity.
“It’s been a thousand years… Am I… dead?”
“Yes, Honorable Guardian.”
The Guardian closed his eyes in pain as the memories of his past flooded his mind.
“Heh… I’ve been turned into an Earth Vein Guardian, haven’t I?”
“Yes.”
At last, he was willing to speak. Naya asked once again, “Could you tell me what happened on this land in the past?”
“What happened? I killed my own father with my own hands.”
“Why?”
“Because my father was a high-ranking member of the cult. I was a righteous knight of the Saide Empire. I came here and used my righteous flames to burn away my father’s sins.”
“Uh… Why did your father join the cult? What did the cult do?” Naya asked.
“My father was once the strongest knight of justice. As a child, I was always proud of that, and I made him my goal. But when I finally caught up to him, I discovered the truth, he was a high-ranking member of the cult. That day, when I uncovered the truth myself, I couldn’t believe my eyes. My father claimed that he had found a cure for Dragon Scale Disease. Even if the transformation into a dragon failed, the person wouldn’t die and would live on in a half-human, half-dragon form.”
“What is Dragon Scale Disease?” Naya asked.
“It’s a disease contracted after a failed dragon transformation. When someone uses the secret art of transformation and fails to turn into a dragon, they can’t fully transform, but they grow dragon horns, a dragon tail, and their ears become pointed. Not only that, but dragon scales spread across their body—a sign of impure dragon blood. In the end, the person will be completely covered in disgusting dragon scales and die in agony.”
This was consistent with what the black-haired hero had said.
“But you said your father found a cure for Dragon Scale Disease. Isn’t that a good thing? Why did you still kill him?” Naya asked.
“A good thing? Only you dragons would think that’s a good thing. My father thought so too. He said that living creatures shouldn’t be divided by race, and that all beings should be one family. He believed that what he was doing was righteous. He claimed that dragon transformation could cure incurable diseases and allow people to shed their weak human bodies. He took in many lost souls and turned them into half-human, half-dragon monsters.”
Naya’s emotions were complicated.
In a way, his father’s actions could indeed be considered righteous.
“And then?” she asked.
“Then, more and more people, influenced by my father, began to believe that joining the cult was humanity’s next step in evolution. More and more people started to resent and despise their own humanity. In order to prevent the collapse of human identity, the Saide Empire decided to completely eradicate the cult, no matter the cost, including my father.”
“Did your father pass on the method for curing Dragon Scale Disease to other cult leaders?”
“I don’t know. In my battle with him, I used up all my strength to sever him in two with my flame-imbued sword. Before he died, he asked me: ‘Isn’t it justice to free those born into unfair circumstances from their weak flesh?'”
Your father was quite something, Naya thought. Even after being cut in half, he still managed to speak.
Naya gazed into the black eyes of the red-haired Guardian and asked a question that had been on her mind.
“What do you think?”