“The others have already received your help, didn’t they?”

Percy glanced at his father as he was about to finish upgrading the last four Monster Cards.

“Are you talking about the Orders and the Pillars? Yeah. I offered everyone my help as long as they prepared the Prosperity needed to upgrade their armaments and Monster Cards. That’s also why I’m about to advance to the Ascended Tier soon.”

The King’s emergency fund was also part of why he would reach the Ascended Tier in no time, but his father wasn’t the only one who had been forced to tap into their savings to use Percy’s Ego.

He was advancing rapidly and would reach the Ascended Tier before turning 18 years old, which had to be some sort of record, but it didn’t feel real to Percy.

“I am about to be done,” Percy intercepted his father as notifications of some upgrades entered his view.

[Shadow Serpent’s Potential [Evolved⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐] has been upgraded. 15,000,000 Prosperity has been consumed.]

…

[Shadow Serpent’s Potential[Guardian⭐⭐] has been upgraded. 100,000,000 Prosperity has been consumed.

[Shadow Serpent’s Potential increased to [Guardian⭐⭐⭐]. Shadow Serpent advances to Colossus Shadow Serpent.]

[Colossus Shadow Serpent’s Augmentation [Shadow Step⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐] has been upgraded. 50,000,000 Prosperity has been consumed.]

[[Shadow Step⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐] evolved to [Ghost Step⭐].]

[Giant of the Bronze Spires’ Augmentation[Greater Strength Boost⭐⭐] has been upgraded. 30,000,000 Prosperity has been consumed.

…

[Mutant Wyrm’s Augmentation [Crown of Darkness⭐⭐⭐⭐] has been upgraded. 100,000,000 Prosperity has been consumed.

…

[Six-armed Troll’s Augmentation [Greater Endurance Boost⭐⭐] has been improved. 20,000,000 Prosperity has been consumed.]

[Six-armed Troll’s Augmentation [Rapid Regeneration⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐] has been upgraded. 30,000,000 Prosperity has been consumed.]

[[Rapid Regeneration⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐] evolved to [Monster Regeneration⭐].]

Every Monster Card, four in total, received Ego-enhancements worth 200,000,000 Prosperity. That was slightly more than the King’s emergency funds, but Percy ignored that fact. He consumed several Grand Hellhound carcasses to make up for the missing millions and ensured his father’s power would be as close to the Beast King’s strength as possible.

“How do you feel?” Percy asked while his father winced in discomfort.

“Great. I feel…perfect,” Phillip tried hard to hide his true feelings, but his son could see through it all.

“I know how painful and uncomfortable it is to grow stronger and faster suddenly. The improvement of Augmentations is not natural. Usually, you feel a little bit odd when you first link to a Monster Card in a safe environment, and nothing will change until the summoned Monster either dies or you remove the Card. This is different. Your body has already gotten used to the Augmentations, but they’re suddenly growing stronger. It will take a day or two to get used to everything, but you should be stronger, faster, and more durable afterward.”

King Phillip smiled at Percy, but he didn’t look convinced.

Suddenly, a commotion rang out from behind, and the Queen, Percy’s maternal grandmother, and the Old King entered the King’s office.

Emilia Dark’s wrinkled cheeks were flushed red in anger, eyes filled with fury glued to the Old King.

“You cannot do that, Rainhard! That will kill the kid, you fool!” She hissed, while the Queen threw worried glanced from the Old King to her mother and back.

“Percy is old enough to decide for himself. I will not force him, but he will know what’s best for the kingdom!” The Old King, who was hardly ever called by his real name, snarled back.

Percy and his father looked at each other for a few seconds. Nobody seemed to care that the Old King’s silk clothes were covered in dirt and dust, that the old man’s face was deadly pale, or that his smooth, silky hair was disheveled. Small puffs of dust fell out of the mess of his silver hair as he whirled around.

What in the Seven Hells did you do to look like this? I’ve never seen him like that.

King Phillip was probably of the same opinion. He stared at his father, disbelief glimmering in his eyes.

Suddenly, something unexpected happened. The Abomination within Percy stirred violently until it felt like his stomach twisted inside out. However, it didn’t stir in excitement. Not only in excitement, to be precise. It was a confusing mixture of joy, fear, and anxiety.

The Old King retrieved something from his pouch. It was a small glass vial filled with a single droplet of some liquid. Black, viscous liquid.

“This is dragon blood,” The Old King explained, his azure eyes locked onto Percy, “It’s only one drop, but it is incredibly pure. The dragon blood hails from a dragon much stronger than the Azure Dragon. Not even the Azure Dragon’s champion, our first ancestor, was strong enough to defeat the said dragon. There are no tales about our first ancestor’s final fight. The only proof of the terrifying battle is Dragon Fang and this drop of blood.”

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Is that what the Old King was looking for in the crypt? A drop of dragon blood?

Percy was confused but listened intently nonetheless.

“Dragon blood is highly potent, the stronger the blood’s owner, the greater its potency. The Kain house is the best example of this statement, as you should know. However, your situation is different, even if compared to the rest of the Kain family. You can tell how potent the Azure Dragon’s blood is, can’t you? After all, you are the first to awaken the Azure Dragon’s bloodline after the first ancestor.”

Percy didn’t react at first. He expected the Old King to keep talking. However, the old man stopped until Percy nodded faintly.

“The dragon blood drop is too potent for most to consume, but I think you can do it. You awakened the Azure Dragon’s bloodline, so you should be able to endure it. Don’t look at me like that. I am getting to the good point,” The Old King cleared his throat, “Dragon blood is an excellent resource to increase your strength.”

He looked at his son and added, “That’s how I defeated the Devil two centuries ago. I consumed some of the Azure Dragon’s blood. It was kept away safely, only to be used when the realm’s existence was endangered. I defeated the Devil, injured his Essence even, but the Azure Dragon’s blood was too potent.”

The Old King’s head dropped, one hand hovering above his chest.

“The Devil never managed to injure you. It was the dragon blood. The aftermath of consuming the Azure Dragon’s blood.”

The Old King didn’t move an inch. He didn’t have to. Percy understood everything perfectly.y

A good minute of silence passed as various thoughts flashed through everyone’s minds.

“How about I take it?” King Phillip offered, but his voice was unstable, his features filled with uncertainty.

“You won’t survive it, son. I don’t think you would reach the Moonlight Forest alive if you consume it,” The Old King shook his head. He regained his composure and looked at the King, “I consumed the Azure Dragon’s blood when I was already at the Exalted Tier, yet I barely survived it.”

His head flicked to Percy, “But he can make it. I’m sure of it. Dragon Fang bonded to him. It feels like the Syreablade is part of his body. It is natural, almost like Dragon Fang belongs to his body. But that is not all. He awakened the Azure Dragon’s bloodline. Even after I consumed its blood, I never awakened anything.”

The Queen and her mother stepped forward, but the Old King ignored them and finished what he had to say.

“I think Devil’s Touch might have altered Percy’s body. Not only did the Devil’s power trickle into his Ego, changing it forever, but it must have forced the dormant bloodline to surface. Percy is different than we are,” He sighed deeply, “In the worst case, he can use his Ego to consume the remains of blood inside his body after consuming it. After trying to digest it properly without using his Ego.

“You cannot be serious!” The Queen shouted, stomping forward, ready to fight the Old King if that was needed to take the vial of dragon blood away.

However, Percy was faster. The air crackled as he appeared before the Old King. He took the Old King by surprise and obtained the dragon blood. Yet, even now, no interface popped up. He couldn’t consume it, even if he’d wanted to.

Simultaneously, the Abomination was going wild, split between urging Percy to escape and forcefully devouring the dragon's blood.

“What do you want me to do?” Percy asked the Old King, who shrugged slowly, the pain of guilt lingering in his eyes.

“This is not my choice to make. You have to make a decision,” He said seriously, “Maybe your father, the Imperial Head, and the Beast King will be strong enough to deal with the Devil on their own. Nobody knows that for sure. But if they’re not strong enough… If they’re not strong enough, consuming the dragon blood doesn’t mean you’ll certainly survive or that you will be strong enough to defeat the Devil.

I might have been strong enough to defeat the Devil at that time, but I was already at the Exalted Tier at that time. I have no idea what the dragon blood will do to you since you are different from me at that time. It might grant you temporary power, or it could alter your physique forever.”

That was not necessarily helpful. Percy’s expression distorted in frustration. He was unsure what to do.

Of course, Percy hoped for the best and that his strength wouldn’t be needed. It would be perfect if nobody needed him. But what if his power was needed? What if they needed the power he could acquire through the dragon blood?

Hoping for the best was great, but expecting the worst was necessary in times like these.

Percy ignored the Abomination’s fear and gathered the courage needed to remove the cap before swallowing the dark, viscous drop in one go.

Even the Queen and her mother’s screams didn’t stop him. The two women reaced Percy’s side. Emilia Dark tried to open Percy’s mouth to extract the dragon blood before it was too late, but Percy kept his mouth shut and swallowed.

“You idiot!!” His grandmother scowled, true concern glimmering in her eyes. Meanwhile, the Queen burst into tears.

“I will be fine–...” Percy tried saying reassuringly, but his throat was on fire. It was searing hot and melting on the spot. At least, that was what it felt like. However, the sensation didn’t remain in his throat. It spread down his neck and reached his intestines, where it spread rapidly.

Within seconds, the sensation of melting alive occupied every part of his body.

[Cataclysmic Dragon’s Blood has been detected.]

[The User’s existing bloodline retaliates.]

[The Azure Dragon’s bloodline has been crushed. Cataclysmic Dragon’s blood entered the User’s bloodstream.]

[Connection to the Cataclysmic Dragon’s Fang – Syreablade(Dragon Fang) – has been detected. Cataclysmic Dragon’s hostility subsided.]

[Syreablade(Dragon Fang) has been strengthened.]

[Augmentations have been unlocked/enhanced.]

[The User’s [Dragonblood⭐] Augmentation upgrades to [Cataclysmic Dragon⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐].]

[Inadequate physique has been detected. Reshaping has been initiated.]

A massive, eerily black dragon surged out of Percy as the flood of notifications popped up. It filled the entire office at once and released a primal roar that reverberated across the Kainesh Kingdom. The palace walls shook violently and threatened to collapse, but the dragon’s roar ceased before the palace’s foundation caved in.

The dragon’s hall disappeared again. It returned to Percy’s, whose eyes glowed pitch-black for a moment.

A moment later, Percy collapsed to the ground, his searing hot body burning his clothes and the wooden floor. He writhed in pain and screamed at the top of his lungs.

The Queen and Emilia rushed to help Percy while the King glared daggers at the Old King.

“I will kill you if he dies. I hope this much is clear,” The King threatened, but the Old King merely nodded.

“If I’m still alive to be killed, you mean,” He responded sternly, before adding more gently, “Percy made his decision. Let’s make sure he won’t regret it.”

It was time to move to war.