"You see... There's only one thing you can do to allow her resurrection..."

Novus' eyes widened as her words were whispered into his left ear: it was a surprise, though a welcome one nonetheless. The fact that the possibility of Anastasia coming back to life wasn't actually zero was more than enough for him... As long as there was a chance, he would gladly risk it all for that opportunity without hesitation.

"... What must I do then?" he asked.

"... That dragon your subordinates are fighting..." Thurien answered. "... I need you to bring its heart to me..."

"Carve it out of its body... Without any damages on it... And I may just be able to bring her back..."

It finally made sense to him: of course, how perfect! How could he have not seen this earlier? The most important bodily part of a dragon would be its core, which was the very center of its being and the sole reason as to why they possessed the terrible powers that they were able to unleash upon the planes of existence. If he was successful with obtaining one, he would likely be able to replace his mother's old, destroyed one and bring her back to life as planned.

However, doubts began to cloud his mind the moment the seemingly easy nature of such a venture began lurking within his thoughts: surely something as easy as this would have some difficulties to it? After all, many tasks that bear fruit to great rewards often require an equal amount of hardships in return... And surely this one would not be an exception?

"... Let me guess..." he voiced out his thoughts, which was about the prediction he had quickly made in his mind after only a few seconds of afterthought. "... Those 2 won't be able to defeat the dragon by themselves huh?"

Thurien quickly gave a single nod in agreement. "... Indeed. That dragon... While it's certainly weaker compared to the ones I once encountered back then... It is still, nevertheless, a dragon that holds an untold amount of strength. Taking it down will require more than the immense power that your 2 subordinates already possess."

"That is why..." she continued as her eyes set a fixed, unflinching gaze upon his own. "... I'll be sending you there to fight it. Help your 2 friends vanquish that creature and bring me its core... Then I will do what you came here for and bring her back to life with the best of my abilities."

It looked like an incredible prospect: all he had to do was to fight the monstrous behemoth, take it out and carve out its loathsome heart out of its body. The problem was, that he was not as strong as Whitlea and Speranza; nay, he couldn't even hope to match in power at least one of them in both speed and strength. What hope could he possibly have for him to last in a skirmish that would instantly end his life the moment he took part in it?

"... I know what you're thinking... You're merely a human, a weakling compared to those 2 you sent to fight that flying lizard who's now at the bottom of the ocean... However..." Thurien would suddenly somehow try to encourage him. "... They need your help. If you want to bring back your mother and safeguard the lives of these friends of yours... Then join them and help them put an end to this threat..."

"But... How? I won't even be able to do anything..."

Thurien would suddenly move her right hand to her chest, covering the grafted wound upon her chest with her hand as she spoke. "As much as I want to help you and join you people... I'm currently unable to provide much help due to my injuries... Instead, I'll help you in another way..."

"... How will you help me?" Novus questioned as his eyes furrowed a bit in confusion.

"... Follow me..." she began moving towards one of the doors that led outside the room. "I'll be showing you some... 'special' things..."

...

________________________________________

"... That hurt... You inferior bastards..."

It had taken his body a while, as the grievous injury that had once plagued his body was too heavy for his regeneration to instantly cover for: now, however, the process, despite how cumbersome it had temporarily been reduced to, had now allowed him to be restored back to his former glory, as his glorious head now stood tall and proud atop his once-headless neck, finally allowing the draconian to have full, proper control over his body.

Of course, granted, Andromalius was still at the bottom of the ocean, with his body still completely submerge in its now murky, filthy depths as his black, all-consuming flames were scattered throughout the ocean waters, along with the 2 inferior bastards who had nearly managed to kill him just a few moments ago: this time, he was absolutely going to take them seriously and do everything he can to annihilate them all at once in mere seconds.

"My next spell will be the end of you lot. Prepare yourselves for the agonizing death that awaits you."

Omnidirectional Flames of Hell... Or so did he call this spell that was based on his ultimate ability to manipulate any form of fire and flame: while it was a massive spell that would consume a great amount of mana that moment he cast it, it was a magickal casting that would allow him to completely engulf the entire ocean with his gluttonous blackfire, scorching everything around him into soot and ash and leaving only him as the sole living creature within the massive radius of his spell.

Surely, such a massive and destructive magick would be able to finally put an end to these 2 bothersome insects who have proven to be a great pain to him for such a long time already.

"Die, inferiors! Burn and suffer for your transgressions!"

[Omnidirectional Flames of-]

Suddenly though, another unprecedented variable came barging into the very place he was in, a circumstance that once more brought an incredible amount of hate within his anger-filled heart of darkness: a bright, blue construct of light suddenly took shape in the ocean waters at a space that was close to their proximity. Why is it that he was always being interrupted by events that would suddenly transpire before his very eyes? Was he being punished for some petty reason by some higher being in another plane of existence? Surely this could not be the case...

Well, it's not like they'd even be able to stop him at any rate: all he had to do was to pay no attention to these pathetic interruptions, and continue casting the spell that was finally about to bring him his final victory... All he needed left was a few seconds, and he would finally win this conflict where he had nearly lost his life.

"You will not interrupt me, heathens!!!"

[Omnidirectional Flames of Hell.]

Jet-black fires that were as dark as the deepest, blackest nights would suddenly come forth from this magick circle, its flames quickly spreading towards every direction as it began to violently engulf and burn everything that would meet its fiery touch; even the waters wouldn't be spared from its exceedingly high temperatures, as not even its vapors were left to survive the onslaught it was rapidly laying bear.

It was done, there was no way that these inferiors could possibly hope to survive: this was one of his most destructive spells, and even though he was one of the weaker dragons of his species, he was sure to himself that not even the higher ranks upon the seats of the greater dragons could survive unscathed from the devastating attack he had just unleashed.

... Unfortunately, however, today would not be the same as that scenario that the dragon was initially expecting to happen.

...

As Novus came out of the gateway that Thurien had hastily assembled in order to bring him here as quickly as possible, his newly acquired set of armor glistened pristinely as the now-rising sun slowly came up to shine upon his sleek combat suit.

It was like the previous power armour he had once worn as a battalion commander in his previous life, though this time, the one he had currently adorned was vastly more stronger and powerful in every single aspect.

The X series 29Fz Valkyrie power armor, or so did Thurien designate its name with such a boring fashion: it was a jet-black, mechanical suit that possessed a myriad of outstandingly useful abilities such as flight, an arsenal of deadly weaponries, enhanced protection, and many other features that vastly improved his fighting capability to the extremes.

However, the most important feature of this armor was the reason why Thurien had chosen to give this suit to him...

An anti-magick field, a feature that was still only at its experimental phases due to only having been recently developed. It was a small, spherical generator within his suit that could produce a special field of up to 100 meters, nullifying any form of anomaly or magick within its range and restoring the world back to its natural state without the impurities of the arcane.

Now, it was the perfect moment to utilize such an ability to its maximum effects.

"You're not burning anything, you damn lizard."

[Synthesis Complete: Generating AM Field...]

A series of crimson lights began blaring up from his pitch-black armor, scattering throughout the ocean waters as the main feature of the suit finally unleashed its main ability: an invisible, intangible field began engulfing the large area where Novus was in, and almost instantly did it quickly take effect, as the dragon's magick was quickly nullified in an instant.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"W-WHAT?!... WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?! YOU WOULD DARE?!!!"

His black, all-consuming flames quickly began ceasing to exist as they gradually faded into nothingness: the magick circle shattered and broke away, and the flames that were rapidly beginning to spread to almost every direction disappeared without a trace, leaving only the burned, black material they had scorched to continue to contaminate the waters as the dragon's magick spell had completely lost its devastating ability.

What was this madness? Or so did Andromalius scream within his inner thoughts. What form of travesty was this, for a lowly creature enveloped in such fragile metal, to neutralize one of his greatest magick spells with but a mere thought from its primitive mind? It was the ultimate form of insult for him, as the magick that a dragon possessed was the greatest pride that they had as a species, and to neutralize it would rouse a deep, great anger within them: as such, he quickly moved his massive body as he rushed towards this small, loathsome creature and prepared to sink his claws into its fragile framework.

"YOU LITTLE SHIT STAIN! I WILL TURN YOU INTO BLOODY MINCEMEAT!"

Despite his large mass, Andromalius had no difficulty traversing through the waters in order to reach his target in such rapid speeds: he was still a draconian after all, and his immense physical strength was absolutely nothing that one should scoff at.

His clawed hands would quickly reach for Novus' body, ready to strike him and tear him apart into pieces as soon as they made contact with the fragile creature's body... All it needed was a few seconds, and the loathsome inferior would quickly die at his hands, which could also perhaps bring an end to the neutralization of the immense arcane advantage he possessed.

However...

CLANG!!!!

The other mechanisms of the suit would activate, and a black, sleek sword had suddenly appeared on Novus' right hand, allowing him to parry the dragon's razor-sharp claws and prevent his body from being torn to shreds: unfortunately though, the force of the draconian's attack was stronger, and it quickly knocked him back several meters away from the dragon at an uncontrollably fast speed. Of course, Andromalius would not waste the opportunity as he began charging once more in order to cut this bothersome heathen down at once.

"Oh no, you don't, you overgrown reptile!"

The suit's propulsion systems immediately allowed him to fix his positioning and escape from the violent speeds he had been propelled at, allowing him to counteract the next physical attack that Andromalius was about to throw at him. This time, however, the draconian had not expected him to easily be able to recover from the powerful knockback he had suffered from, which left him completely vulnerable to an attack from Novus as soon as the 2 gradually drew closer to each other.

However, before Andromalius could move again to counteract against Novus' next attack...

[Hold it, you shitty lizard.]

"W-WHAT?!"

The momentum of his speeding body would come to a grinding halt, as a powerful, invisible force began holding him in place: Novus' 2 companions were already within range, and they were close enough so that they could actively help him amidst his feud with this massive creature.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Several, speeding little things that seemed to be arrows of metal then simultaneously approached his immobile body at faster-than-sound speeds and struck him his head without mercy: the effects were instant, as the terrible weapons exploded as soon as they made contact with Andromalius. While his scales would protect most of this priceless body part of his from harm, there was not enough protection that enveloped his eyes from the swift, series of explosions, which thus quickly caused him to lose his sight in the process.

"ARGGGHHHHHHH!!!!"

SLAASHHHH!!!!!

Novus didn't waste any time as he grabbed the opportunity with his own two hands- he moved at lightning-quick speeds, lunging towards his scaled opponent rapidly using the armor's propulsion systems as he quickly unleashed his own assault and made several rapid cuts upon his foe.

However, Novus had made sure that is attack would be completely lethal upon his enemy...

"ARGGHHHHH!!!! YOU FUCKING INFERIORS!!!!! HOW DARE YOUU???!!!!!"

Draconic blood scattered throughout the waters as Andromalius' hands swiftly departed from his arms after the untold amount of cuts that his enemy had unleashed upon him: what was even more terrifying was that he was completely unable to heal them without his magick, and thus this injury would remain on him indefinitely until he could finally regain his temporarily lost arcane might.

Unfortunately though, Novus would not give him that time to recover, as he knew that allowing this battle to draw out longer would only eventually lead to their defeat. He quickly moved away from the dragon's body, allowing his other companions who were already approaching his location, to make quick work of this beast in order to finally dispatch of it as soon as possible.

...

...

"... Well, that was completely unexpected dear..."

"... Indeed, my creator... You quickly rendered this ugly creature into a useless pile of scales..."

Both Whitlea and Speranza were now beside him, and as they callously made cruel remarks about the pitiful draconian's state, Novus couldn't help but chuckle a bit at their words. After all, it was, indeed, quite funny for the once indomitable, powerful creature that this dragon was to end up as a now helpless enemy before them in mere moments.

Although, deep down, Novus knew that there wasn't any time that should be wasted.

"You 2... I have one last thing for you to do..."

"... What may it be then, dear?" Whitlea questioned as she gave him a curious look.

"... Kill that lizard, but... Carve out its heart and bring it back to the surface." he commanded, which of course the 2 combat maids would listen to without question. "We're going to need its core for something important... Do it now while we still have time."

A smile would swiftly form on their faces: though whether it was out of simple compliance, mere joy, or complete sadism, he couldn't exactly tell for sure. Regardless though, he was satisfied that these 2 were willing to obey his commands without much complaints, and he didn't mind anything else that these 2 would do.

"Alright dear, if that's what you wish..."

"Roger that, our creator~"

...

...

This was unacceptable... Completely preposterous... An impossibility of the highest degrees, one which he couldn't accept for even a single second!

How had he been reduced to such a hapless, pitiful sight before these loathsome inferiors? Amidst his mission, they had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and unrelentingly began attacking him without even allowing him any means to secure any form of victory.

He had lost his arms, and he was even unable to utilize the great fire magick he had always been proud of ever since he first came into existence... And now, there was nothing else he could do as he slowly awaited whatever fate would befall upon him next.

"G-GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU INSECTS! I WILL CRUSH YOU, I WILL BURN YOU!"

The 2 inferiors he had previously tried to scorch into ash were now slowly approaching his vicinity, a dark smile forming on their faces as they gradually drew closer to his vulnerable body. For the very first moments of his life, Andromalius could feel a great sense of fear and dread flooding his mind with an inescapable feeling of pure despair: whatever these 2 were planning to do to him wasn't going to be wonderful, and he could feel that it was going to be something extremely painful...

[Lie down, reptile.]

Andromalius was quickly pushed down onto the ocean floor by a violent force, making him painfully lie down on his back as he only became even more completely powerless against the whims of these 2 monsters before him.

And as his fearful eyes stared and scanned at what these little devils were about to do next, he could feel his heart about to burst from sheer anxiety as the white-haired one suddenly materialized a crimson, blade-shaped ethereal light and began moving towards what seemed to be his chest...

Almost instantly, Andromalius quickly realized just what exactly this bastard was about to do to him...

"N-NO! DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE! LET GO OF ME THIS INSTANT, YOU VILE LITTLE STAINS OF FILTH! DAMN IT, LET ME GO, DON'T DO THIS! DON'T YOU DAR-"

The white-haired one quickly drove the blade of light into his body, easily carving through his scales and flesh in an accurate manner of precision, as the combat maid slowly and agonizingly tried to carve out his heart from his body.

It was painful, incredibly torturous and utterly tormenting: it was a severe, untold amount of pain that Andromalius couldn't even begin to describe, and as the blade gradually drew closer to allowing the tiny monstrosity before him to take his core away from his body, his once vengeful, angry shouts would turn into pitiful pleadings of mercy.

"N-no! P-please! D-don't do this!" He begged without an ounce of shame on him due to the severe pain he was feeling. "I beg of you! Kill me in whatever ways you want! Just don't take away my heart! I beseech you!"

Speranza simply smile back with a sardonic grin that was full of jest and mockery as she gave her reply. "Nope~ our creator told us that we need your heart, so..."

"Please don't resist~"

Finally, after countless pounds of his flesh had been minced away from his body, Andromalius' heart was now completely exposed before Speranza's eyes: without hesitation, the combat maid would quickly put both her hands on such an important organs, as she then began tearing out all the muscles, flesh, and blood vessels that were connected to its fragile framework as she proceeded to quickly pull it out if his body.

"ARGGHHHHHH!!!!!"

As soon as his dragon heart had been torn out of his body, Andromalius' body quickly turned into a lifeless husk: without a core, a dragon's body would be nothing after all, and after his heart had been completely stolen away from him by the sadistic creature before him, his life instantly faded away into nothingness as he finally perished without much resistance.

...

________________________________________

She could feel her soul floating in what seemed to be an ethereal realm that felt oddly soothing soothing to her senses... How strange... Could this perhaps be the afterlife?

Preposterous, she thought. She knew that she was destined for hell... It was something she practically believed to be true, and even despite having committed not much evil throughout her sad, isolated life, her belief that she had long been already damned remained firm within her weary mind.

Anastasia's eyes looked about the shadowy realm she was in, and all she could see was a faint darkness... Could this perhaps be a purgatory of some sorts? The entire spacious realm she was in had not even a single ounce of air in it, and even just the slightest contact with its vast, empty space quickly proved to be cold to the touch... Just where exactly was she right now?

She could remember meeting her end at the hands of that awakened dragon she fought... How regretful. If only the wound on her chest and core that had been inflicted by the strange sword of her traitorous husband had not continued to weaken her even until now, then she probably would have stood a better chance against that monstrosity that had suddenly appeared inside her home...

Despite her regrets, she could at least feel a semblance of happiness for the last, little thing she had done before she perished: at least her 'son' was safe from harm, to say the least.

"Not to fear, milady... You're not going to end up in the fires of hell... Nor at the gates of heaven for that matter..."

A voice would suddenly speak directly to her mind in an almost telepathical manner, a tone that seemed to belong to that of a young woman, though at the same time, Anastasia could also somewhat feel as if the voice was rippling throughout the realm despite having no medium for its sound to traverse through.

How strange... Just who exactly was the source of this voice that came out of nowhere? And what exactly were its intentions?

"... Who are you exactly? And what do you want from me?"

The voice wasted no time to respond. "I am someone you know, although... I am also someone who you do not know... Either way, you will come to understand in time..." it spoke in an ethereal manner. "Now, as for my intentions..."

The darkness of the vast realm would then begin to shift and swirl in an impossible manner, as Anastasia was dragged into the unrestrained turbulences that had suddenly transpired within this strange dimension. Oddly enough, however, none of the strange motions proved to be harmful to her, and as they finally came to a halt, a new scenery would meet her eyes and leave her a bit bewildered for a while.

She now found herself within a luxurious, wooden room with several porcelain cups and even a teapot on top of small table, as 2 chairs that remained close beside it: one had already been occupied by a strange individual, and as Anastasia scanned this figure for its appearance, a greater sense of shock and confusion began to engulf her senses in a completely profound manner.

"Please take a seat and have some tea, milady." the figure spoke as a gentle, courteous smile formed upon its lips. "I assure you, I will not allow any form of harm to come upon you... You are my guest after all, and also..."

"... You were one of the beings who spearheaded my creation in the first place, yes?"

The individual before her was someone who was completely familiar to her: she was dressed in a beautiful, pitch-black dress, and her shape, appearance, and looks belonged to that of a beautiful lady in her late 20s: a refined, elegant lass with black, long hair and purple, mesmerizing eyes that seemed to possess a bit of insanity within them...

She was the exact replica of one of the creations that Anastasia had given life to for her 'son'- Combat Model Hybrid Series 1001: Codenamed "Whitlea"... She even held the same aura of elegance and beauty that the Whitlea she knew had... Though for some reason, this Whitlea seemed to possess some sort of madness within her body... Just what form of insanity could this be exactly?

"... Why do you look like her? Are you trying to insult me by taking her form?"

The being known as 'Whitlea' would then drop her gentle smile, as a small frown would form upon her beautiful face. "There is no reason for me to do that, milady. I am indeed her, though I am a version of her that hails from a different period in time... A far future that none of you would want to see..."

"And besides, if I truly wanted to insult or harm you..." her voice would become cold for a moment. "I could have done it so easily and without question already..."

Anastasia could immediately feel it: her words were true, as she could feel that there was some underlying, overwhelming power that lied within her seemingly delicate frame, one that would most likely allow this version of 'Whitlea' to easily destroy her if they were to arrive at a conflict. No good, she thought, it would be best to try not to start a fight with her as much as possible.

"... I'll take your word for it then..." Anastasia replied, carefully considering each of her words as she spoke.

"... Thank you... And I apologize if I seemed angry for a moment... It's just that..." 'Whitlea' would sigh as she began apologizing. "... I am indeed speaking of the truth... I have done many things for the sake of 'Him'... My beloved..."

Anastasia would then give a slow nod, as she then slowly walked towards her and take a seat upon the remaining vacant chair in the room.

"... And who is this 'beloved' you are speaking of exactly?"

"... Your son, Novus of course..." 'Whitlea' said as her gentle smile would return to her face. "I've done quite many things for my beloved already... He most likely would have never reached the point of life he's at right now without my help..."

So that was where her insanity laid, Anastasia quickly surmised. This version of Whitlea from the future, or so she was if what she previously claimed to be was true; it was apparent that she was completely, utterly, and madly in love with her son for some reason. Her affection for him was incredibly overflowing in a terrifyingly excessive manner, so much so that even Anastasia couldn't help but feel bothered a bit by her zealous devotion: While Anastasia herself did indeed love her son to a great degree, it wasn't to the same, horribly high extent as the love that this 'Whitlea' seemingly had for him.

"Ah, speaking of which... Why don't we talk about my beloved... I mean... Novus... Would that be alright for you?" she continued.

"... What exactly do you want to talk about him?"

The smile on 'Whitlea's' face seemingly grew wider. "He's meant for great things you see. Though of course, it's all because of MY help in the first place." she explained rather proudly. "Don't worry, we have all the time in the world inside this little realm of mine, so please make yourself comfortable..."