Dragon’s Bloodline.
They were different from the dragonkin, who were artificially mutated lifeforms transformed through ingesting dragon’s blood.
The descendants of a half-dragon born from a union with dragons and another species.
While they were called the descendants of half-dragons, they couldn’t be entirely said to have inherited the dragon’s full blood.
The offspring, born from a dragon that perfectly transformed into the species it intended to mate with, were said not to have inherited the prominent features of the dragon.
However, occasionally, albeit very rarely and in unique instances, individuals would emerge having a partial awakening of the ancestral dragon blood, and these beings were called the Dragon’s Bloodline.
This awakening as the Dragon’s Bloodline was notable because it granted an individual access to a portion of dragon’s magic.
Yet it was more a curse than a blessing. It was never a fortuitous occurrence.
“I never imagined you were the Dragon’s Bloodline.”
Christian wiped the blood off his face as he locked eyes with the golden-colored August Varian.
“You’re familiar with the Dragon’s Bloodline?”
“I’ve met them a few times before.”
“Hah, where on earth did such a magnificent young master appear from?”
August Varian bared her teeth, laughing as though he found the whole situation a little unbelievable.
The existence known as the Dragon’s Bloodline was not one that could be encountered merely upon desire, yet August Varian spoke so casually, making one wonder if he was truthful.
“But if you’ve met one… then you should know, right?”
Quietly, Christian wiped the blood off his face, an act he addressed with nonchalance despite knowing what a foolish move it was.
Acknowledging it, Christian gave a sly grin and spoke.
“The Curse of the Blood, you mean? Along with its curse, inherited directly from the dragon’s blood, our lifespan shortens, haunted intermittently by unbearable pain, incapable of dying… Such a curse.”
“You…”
Dragons were incapable of suicide.
It was a type of curse, and the Dragon’s Bloodline, as well as dragonkin, couldn’t take their own lives willingly.
Moreover, the Dragon’s Bloodline never wanted to acquire dragon’s blood.
Trapped in curses of lifespan and pain with no option to end their own lives, they must live under the curse until the day they die.
Every Dragon’s Bloodline Christian had met was mad, and he finally understood why August Varian, whom he thought was a dragonkin, acted like a madman.
‘Did accepting Magnus’ blood solve the blood curse?’
Not all dragons were created equal. A great disparity existed between a dragon like Magnus and a lesser dragon, akin to the difference between man and dragon.
The difference is not simply longevity but marked superiority.
Consequently, August Varian, who had awakened as dragonkin through the blood of a dragon like Magnus, would have lost all the abilities she possessed as the Dragon’s Bloodline.
Not that it mattered much.
For those abilities were akin to curses, not powers.
‘Could it be that she became dragonkin to solve this curse?’
Perhaps it wasn’t the desire for power but merely the desire to live that led him to accept Magnus’ blood.
‘I never thought she’d be a Dragon’s Bloodline.’
She wasn’t dragonkin, nor did she possess an Ether Weapon; if careful of her dark magic, August Varian was a foe resignable to battle.
Thus, judging that he could indeed eliminate her at the onset, he continued the fight.
‘This might become inconvenient.’
Yet realizing August Varian was the Dragon’s Bloodline was a hassle of another sort.
“Ahahaha!”
Bursting into mad laughter, August Varian charged at Christian, his dark magic warped into a blood-red hue.
It wasn’t just that the nature of her magic had changed; it was as if blood had mixed with the magic, endowing it with a different property.
“Curses…”
Whether it was the intent of August Varian or the abilities got from being Dragon’s Bloodline was unknown; but her dark magic now targeted Christian, writhing like a living thing.
Despite dodging and fending her attacks off, the occasional brush with her magic posed considerable strain on Christian’s body.
‘That’s why I hate dragon’s blood!’
The blood of a dragon holding a living entity at its pinnacle was potent, almost an elixir by itself, yet the predicament lay in the lack of a lifeform capable of enduring it.
Raw dragon’s blood was a deadly toxin; mere contact, let alone imbibing, could be fatal to its subject.
Thus, the dragon’s blood accepted by individuals seeking to become dragonkin undergoes extensive purification, sealing its power to the utmost before consumption.
A successful dragonkin gradually unseals it over time to fully make that power their own.
However, the blood intermingled with August Varian’s dark magic was a fusion of dragon and dark elf blood properties.
Its power might be weaker than that of dragonkin who awakened from great dragon blood, but even so, merely being exposed posed a lethal threat due to the toxicity for Christian’s body as it was then.
“Ahahaha! Where did your earlier fervor vanish to?! Didn’t you claim you would kill me?!”
“Killing you isn’t such a hard task…”
As she pressured Christian, covering her dagger with dark magic, August Varian joyously exclaimed, prompting a flat response from Christian.
“Is that so? Yet you seem quite anxious. Worried a lot about that side over there, are you?”
In response to August Varian’s words, Christian inadvertently shifted his gaze elsewhere.
‘Aira…’
Not far away.
Aira and Nemea countered in unison against a large beastman.
The prowess of both was exceptional.
Yet…
‘That beastman is no ordinary one.’
If killing was the aim, the duo would not last long and would soon collapse.
Especially since Nemea filled in gaps as if protecting Aira all along, had it not been so, Aira might have already perished.
Even if one wished not to worry, such a proposition was impossible when a cherished life couldn’t be left at the mercy of a foe’s generosity.
Observant, August Varian seemed to note Christian’s apprehension as well.
“Then, is the target Nemea Roblon?”
“Ah, it seems you’ve somewhat grasped the situation too. Are we perhaps on the same contract? Then there’s no need for us to be rivals.”
August Varian responded, maintaining her aggressive assault towards Christian, seemingly unbothered by the prospect of revealing such details.
‘Were they sent by the Duke Duran’s family?’
If so…
‘Could they have formed an alliance with the dragonkin?’
The Duran Grand Duchy, among the Three Grand Duke houses of the fallen Granier Empire, was the first in the north to succumb.
If indeed they’ve allied with those instigating the situation…
‘They will self-destruct.’
Aligning with them for benefit seemed a monumental miscalculation. For those entities would never act in accordance with ‘human’ designs.
That is, if the Duran Grand Duchy wished not for Granier Empire’s annihilation.
“Now, share with me the anxiety simmering in your heart, and let’s revel together!”
“… I guess? Though I’m anxious, you all are likely more so, aren’t you?”
“Hmm? Why is that?”
Sharp tendrils of dark magic flew toward Christian’s head as August Varian’s sword aimed at his chest simultaneously.
Dodging and blocking them, Christian retaliated, speaking,
“No matter how secluded this area is, can the capital’s garrison remain oblivious to such magical tumult and repercussions?”
“….”
This was a nation’s capital. Being the seat of the monarch and royal kin, no city had its security as a higher priority.
Particularly here, the central tower of the Logia Magic Tower was stationed, and the magical lamps illuminating its streets served dual purposes, including surveillance.
Given the substantial magic clash occurring, certainly, the Logia Magic Tower was notified, and subsequently, they communicated the situation through the emergency network to the capital’s garrison.
In essence, shortly, not only the capital garrison but also elite mages from the Magic Tower were bound to arrive for assessment.
‘I hope to eliminate them before then, but…’
If that remained unfeasible, Christian was prepared to maintain the engagement, relying on Marquis Ferdida’s and Viscount Miles’ names.
The tipping point would be if Aira and Nemea could hold on up to that threshold.
“What does it matter?”
“Hmm?”
Yet August Varian tilted her head in puzzlement at Christian’s reasoning. Then, showing her teeth, she grinned,
“Such an intriguing person is right before my eyes, what do other matters matter?! Let’s relish the now!”
“You’ve always been mad, haven’t you?”
Showing frustration at the recollection welling up against his will, Christian winced at her appearance that favored instinct over purpose.
In the past—rather, was it the future?
August Varian, back then, had attacked Christian just to fulfill her whims, leaving him with grave wounds until Aira eventually decapitated her.
She lived heedless to purpose, like a beast driven by instinct.
“Focus on me for a change! Look solely at me!”
As dark magic spewed from her, writhing rampantly, her gaze, consumed by madness, fixated solely on Christian.
“This is driving me mad.”
Christian reluctantly realized she was madder than he had ever known her to be.
***
Ba-dang—!
“Ugh?!”
As Aira swung her sword imbued with waves, the blade recoiled off, ringing with a grinding metallic clung, and she staggered backward with a small groan.
Yet with no time for recuperation or breath, the massive beastman—Kel Grigor—lunged at Aira.
“Damn!”
Thanks to Nemea, who leapt in, swinging her sword at Kel Grigor, a wave of magic in the semblance of a wolf’s fangs sought to bite him.
“Ha!”
But instead of retreating, Kel Grigor enveloped his sharp claws with magic, shredding through Nemea’s wave and sending her sword flying back.
“Ah, just kill me! Why don’t you go and try killing me if you can!”
“?!”
Suddenly, Kel Grigor’s hand, initially targeting Nemea, hesitated at her abrupt, bold step toward him.
“Ha-hah! Try and capture me gracefully, then!”
“Ugh?!”
But Nemea’s shout was a bluff; swiftly, she swung her sword at the momentarily bewildered Kel Grigor.
As a fleeting lapse allowed her to nick his face, Kel Grigor stepped back, casting a look of disbelief at Nemea as if questioning, ‘What kind of woman is this?’
Aira, watching from behind, shared that disbelief.
Yet confidently, Nemea shouted,
“Hang in there, Aira. Shortly, a bunch of reliable humans will arrive and wipe those guys out.”
“Hah, hah… That’s quite comforting to hear.”
Gasping for breath, Aira felt somewhat reassured from those remarks, easing her tightened expression.
“Besides, he can’t kill me! Let him try and cut open my belly? Ha-ha-ha!”
Conversely, having raised her voice intentionally loud enough for Kel Grigor to hear, his expression stiffened upon hearing this.
“Even if I can’t kill you, it’s not the same for the young kid next to you. I’ll give that kid the belly slit you crave.”
“Uh…?”
A distressed Nemea glanced between Aira and Kel Grigor.