At first, Garde thought he was hearing things.
But as he focused, he realized a voice was indeed echoing in his mind, originating from the axe in his hand.
What was going on? Why was his axe talking?
The voice sounded eerily similar to that of the black dragon he had fought before—although it was softer, more like a girl's voice.
Garde narrowed his sharp gaze at the axe in his hand.
The voice inside the axe seemed to notice his scrutiny and paused for a moment before resuming, now more furious than before.
"You wretched Adakrys! How dare you treat me like that! Just wait—I'll summon all the Draco offspring made with the blood of my grandmother's grandmother and grind you to dust!"
The voice from the axe was seething with endless hatred.
"Adakrys! My hatred for you runs so deep that killing you a thousand times wouldn't be enough!"
It really was the black dragon's voice!
Although Garde didn't know why the black dragon's soul had ended up inside his axe, he couldn't let such an unwelcome guest reside in his weapon.
With that thought, Garde infused his axe with Ascension Power. As an Ascended, he was an expert at manipulating soul energy. It was this expertise that had allowed him to craft an entirely new body for himself after his ascension.
Before his ascension to Level 6, he might have been powerless against the dragon's soul. But now, things are different.
As the Ascension Power surged into the axe, the voice of the black dragon grew weaker.
"Hey, what are you doing? @$%! Stop it—what are you trying to do?!"
"How can you touch my soul form? Are you trying to destroy me?"
"I am the Guardian of the Hotland—the most powerful being in this world! You dare to try to destroy me? How could you possibly do that?"
"Wait, what's that golden energy? Ow! It hurts—it's splitting apart—I can't take it! Stop it!"
"Please! Don't do this to me—I'm already like this, and you still won't let me go!"
The voice in the axe, filled with pain and anguish, would have moved anyone who heard it. But Garde remained indifferent. He wasn't about to let a soul that harbored ill intentions toward him reside in his weapon.
As for why the black dragon had ended up in his axe?
That wasn't his problem.
Still, the black dragon was a formidable opponent, having held its own against his rage-fueled power. Even as a soul, it could unleash terrifying strength.
Trying to destroy its soul with Ascension Power would be like grinding an iron rod into a needle—or breaking it entirely. The process would take years, at least.
After a moment of hesitation, Garde decided against completely erasing the black dragon's soul. It was far more difficult than killing its physical form.
"Fine. If you want me to spare you, tell me what use you have."
Garde's voice was calm, as though he hadn't been trying to kill the black dragon moments ago but was merely demonstrating his ability to do so.
"I'm useful! I swear I'm useful!"
In Garde's mind, he could almost see a pitiful dragon shadow nodding furiously in agreement.
"I can warm your bed!"
"I'm not interested in dragons."
"I can take on a human form!"
The giant black dragon shadow in Garde's mind slowly vanished, transforming into a Draco girl with white short hair dressed in military uniform.
"This is one of my descendants' forms!"
The now-humanized black dragon said with utmost seriousness.
"I can even take on the form of two other people. Hmm, that's strange... Why can I only turn into three people? That's impossible—how could we Dracos be reduced to just three individuals?"
Listening to the black dragon-turned-girl mumbling to herself, Garde suddenly had a hunch about who she was mimicking.
"Aletog, this person you've turned into... Her name wouldn't happen to be Talulah, would it?"
"How do you know that?!"
The black dragon, now in Talulah's form, stared at Garde in shock.
'I knew it,' thought Garde to himself. After all, there were only a few pure-blooded Dracos left in the world, and among them, the only one wearing a military uniform was the one from the Snowfield.
"You'd better revert to your original form," Garde said. The dragon, after all, wasn't Talulah, and Garde couldn't bring himself to have the dragon mimic Talulah just to warm his bed.
But could it really be done?
Garde asked, "Can you materialize your physical form now?"
"Yes," the dragon hesitated, her voice soft, "but not for very long."
"What about materializing into your current form?" Garde gestured at her—a massive black dragon over 100 meters long, lying on the ground just to hold a proper conversation with him.
"I… can…" the dragon muttered reluctantly. She hesitated to admit this, but the fact that Garde had immediately guessed the name of the descendant she had transformed into had unsettled her. Did entering his weapon mean her thoughts were no longer private?
"How much of your original strength can you exert?"
"One-tenth— no, all of it!"
Garde was startled. He had assumed that with just her soul remaining, the dragon would be like Surtr's summoned fire giant—not a complete replication of her original power. But the dragon claimed to retain her full strength even as a soul. Was it because her soul remained intact?
As Garde pondered, the dragon grew nervous, so she decided to elaborate.
"When I'm outside, I seem stronger than when I'm inside. There are tiny particles in the air I can draw power from to temporarily regain my original form, but not for long."
Hearing this, Garde quickly realized the reason. For a moment, he considered grabbing the dragon-infused axe and heading straight for the Seaborns. With the dragon's full strength, coupled with his own and the Abyssal Hunters, they might be able to launch a decapitation strike against the Seaborns.
But the dragon's explanation gave him pause. Her strength in the outside world came from trace amounts of Originium particles in the air—particles absent in Terra's Hotlands and oceans. Without Originium, the dragon couldn't exert her strength. Besides, Garde didn't trust her. What if she betrayed him mid-battle?
Garde sighed internally and looked at the axe in his hands. His tone was cold.
"I'll spare you for now, but how long I do so depends on your behavior."
"I'll behave, I promise!" The dragon genuinely feared Garde. Witnessing her body being devoured piece by piece had left a deep psychological scar. Her strong willpower had allowed her to endure the agony, but it also solidified her terror of him.
"That said, master, do you need me to warm your bed tonight?"
"What did you call me?"
"M-Master. Is that not okay?"
"If it makes you happy."
Not that I like it at all!
"I can offer you two forms to choose from," she added tearfully yet determinedly. "Which one would you prefer, master?"
The mention of two forms immediately conjured the images of Talulah and another Draco in Garde's mind. He tensed slightly.
"No, thanks!" Garde replied firmly. Even he had his limits.
The dragon, however, misunderstood his reaction.
"Please don't kill me! I'm still young—only 1,080 years old! I don't want to die yet!"
"No, I mean—can't you just use your own form?" Garde's words caused the dragon's massive body to tremble. She realized that her attempt to pass off as someone else wouldn't work on him.
Seeing her shake like a leaf, Garde decided to relent. He wasn't about to become the kind of scoundrel who forces others into submission.
"Fine. Just stay in my axe for now. I don't plan to harm you at the moment."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Garde turned his attention away from the dragon as he noticed others approaching. Razer and Darina wore expressions of shock and confusion, while Muelsyse seemed more curious.
"Is this… your old axe?" Muelsyse asked, recalling the weapon Garde had carried before.
"Yeah. I lost it during a battle, but it found its way back to me," Garde replied.
Muelsyse's mouth twitched. A weapon capable of returning on its own? She had never heard of such a thing!
"If there's nothing else, I think we should leave now," she suggested, glancing toward security personnel disembarking from a scavenger crew's vehicle.
"But you wanted them to pick a fight so you could handle them, didn't you?"
"Of course not!" Muelsyse pouted indignantly.
"The ever-kind Muelsyse would never harbor such dark thoughts!"
"Shall I go, then?" Garde teased.
"Wait a bit!" she said, grinning. "Look, those scavengers worked so hard to deliver your axe, only to nearly lose it. Don't you think you should help them out a little?"
"Is that so?"
"Yes, it is!" Muelsyse said, nodding earnestly.
At that moment, two security personnel from Beach Umbrella approached.
"Hey, have you seen an axe around here—"
Garde stood to his full height, a towering 2.2-meter figure radiating an intimidating aura. The two men froze, glancing at his massive frame and then at their own diminutive forms.
"Ah, I think it flew off that way," one of them stammered.
"We should go look elsewhere," the other added quickly.
"Actually, we need to get Glen to the hospital," the first concluded.
As they retreated, Muelsyse huffed. "Spineless cowards!"
"Can you blame them? They wouldn't dare act up with Muelsyse, Director of R.L. Ecological Department, here," Garde said.
"Well, well, I didn't know you could be so flattering," Muelsyse said proudly. "But flattery alone won't cut it—I have high standards!"
She spun on her heel and led the way, her steps light and cheerful.
Another cryptic remark, thought Garde, choosing not to delve into her intentions. With so many women around him already, he felt no need to complicate things further.
Things progressed smoothly after that. Rhine Lab's involvement in the mining facilities of Melun City had been pre-approved by its Columbian headquarters. Their task now was simply to take over operations, which, under Muelsyse's capable leadership, was a foregone conclusion.
A month passed.
"Razer, steady your stance! Your steps are too wide!" Garde barked in the training room. Over the past month, Razer had stayed within Rhine Lab, undergoing his guidance.
At first, she assumed Garde's prowess stemmed solely from his immense physique. But after training with him, she realized his combat control was extraordinary.
Sitting nearby, Garde idly grabbed a staff from the weapon rack and struck her shield lightly. Even so, the force was enough to make her arms tremble.
"Exactly. Don't rely on your arms to support the shield—use your whole body. When facing a stronger opponent, you must brace yourself with everything you have!"
"Alright, that's enough for today," Garde said, noticing the water faucet turning on. The flowing water gradually took the shape of Muelsyse.
"Garde, I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"
"The good news."
"Saria and her team made it out of the Hotland."
<+>
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