Thousands of feet above the Dragna Empire, an azure and gold dragon was flying through the sky. This dragon was none other than Tia.

“The Dragna Empire has become very vast and is now made up of numerous countries.”

She mumbled to herself while looking at the scenery in front of her with nostalgia.

“It wasn’t always like this though. Originally, this was a country with a small population. It even had a different name back then. What changed this small country’s fate was the arrival of Augustus and his Divine Generals.”

Her eyes softened as she remembered when Augustus first brought her to this place.

“What do you think, Tia?”

“…This is where you want to build your base? This unknown country in the middle of nowhere?”

“Yup. Just think about it. If I turn this small insignificant country into the world’s most powerful empire, won’t that make me look cool?!”

A small laugh escaped Tia’s dragon mouth.

“Even thousands of years later just remembering his childish expression is enough to make me smile.”

The smile on her face slowly changed to a lonely one.

“He fought all of the big names like Zeus, Lucifer, Odin, Typhon and survived; even emerging victorious several times. He was someone who rose to the rank of God with his strength alone. And yet, he remained a child at heart.”

She sighed.

“Augustus had some great allies back then. The Divine Generals were like his family, it’s too bad they didn’t leave behind any descendants that could help my children like they helped Augustus. This is why I’m grateful for the Saevus and Flameheart Clans. They helped rebuild this empire after it fell and stuck around thousands of years later. They’re as important to this empire as my clan.”

She frowned.

“If only the three clans could live in harmony like the old days.”

Currently, the highest ranking members of the Flameheart, Saevus, and Dragna Clans were all gathered together in one location. The purpose was to hold the annual gathering to strengthen their bonds. But not everyone had that intention. There was a growing tension among the three clans for the last few decades and these meetings usually have lots of conflicts involved.

“Hahahaha!”

Despite the tension that should be there, Momo heard a joyful laugh coming from her phone. It belonged to the one who should be the tensest.

“Gramps, you seem to be in a good mood. I heard there was a lot of conflict on your end, is that okay?”

“Ah, it's fine. Just a few scuffles here and there. Nothing to worry about.”

The person who answered was the current emperor of the Dragna Empire, Gamiko Dragna aka Nero. Miko, who was Gamiko Dragna the Third, inherited his name from him.

“But more importantly, it's great that grandma chose Miko to be her Proxy.”

“What was everyone’s reaction over there?”

“It was complete and utter chaos. It was pretty fun. Sasha got so excited she shouted at the top of her lungs that her son was the best. There were many different reactions from everyone else. Some were happy, sad, angry, surprised, and even indifferent. We almost canceled the meeting to return home.”

Nero laughed again.

“That wouldn’t be good. This meeting is tradition, it shouldn’t be broken that easily."

“That’s what Alexus said. So we were forced to carry on with this boring meeting.”

Nero sounded a bit upset.

“How long is the meeting this time?”

“Three months. There are a lot of things that need to discussed and a lot of information that needs to be shared. We also want to regain our brotherly bonds by spending some time together….Or so I have been told, I wasn’t paying attention.”

He laughed again. Momo smiled wryly.

“Oh, Gramps. Krow’s goons are beginning to make some bold moves.”

“Yeah, I figured as much. This is the longest meeting we’ve had since Krow started to openly oppose the clan. Sasha and Leon wanted to return and protect Miko from them, but Leon is the Saevus Clan’s heir and Sasha is my daughter, it would be rude for either of them to leave for selfish reasons, while everyone else has to stay. So, Miko will be on his own for a while.”

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“….Why do you sound so pleased?”

“Because it will give him a chance to grow. I love it when my grandchildren get stronger. It proves my genes are superior.”

Nero started laughing again.

“But I think Miko will be fine, he has you, Nina, and grandma to help him out of anything…Oh, speaking of which. Where is Miko?”

“You want to talk to him?”

“Nah. I prefer to hear my cute granddaughter’s voice, rather than his.”

Momo sighed.

“He’s in the middle of trying to grasp the Dragna techniques he couldn’t in the past. Since he’s already been taught them years ago, I don’t need to teach him.”

“As I expected, he’s now able to use them.”

Momo felt as if she could hear Nero grinning.

“Momo, Miko should be able to learn more advanced magic techniques now, however, don’t rush them. Treat him like a newborn and make him take one step at a time to build a solid foundation.”

Momo nodded.

“Yes, I understand.”

“Good. It hurts me but I have to go, Andreas looks like he’s about to fight with one of the Flameheart elders again.”

Nero’s voice became distant.

“Hey, Andreas! Put down the gun!”

Momo suddenly heard gunshots in the background.

“Ah~. Well, I tried to stop him. Anyway, I’ll call you later….. No, just leave them. If they die we can just bury them in the back.”

That was the last thing Momo heard along with several explosions before the call ended. She put away her phone.

“Looks like it’s hell over there.”

She turned her attention in Miko’s direction. He was standing in the middle of the plains with his eyes closed. His breathing was calm and he looked unmovable like a statue. He stood there for a while, and then-

“!”

His eyes opened and a tense atmosphere surrounded him. He looked like a beast getting ready to attack. Momo saw his body being surrounded by a purple aura. This aura was wild and beastly like it had a mind of its own. However, it soon disappeared. Even so, Momo had a pleased look on her face.

“It wasn’t long, but he successfully activated Dragon Rage.”

She approached him with a smile.

“Good job, Miko. You were able to activate Dragon Rage. You weren’t able to do that before.”

She pats him on the shoulder.

“Hm?”

However, she soon realized that Miko wasn’t the slightest pleased. In fact, there was a look of frustration on his face. It was as if he had failed big time.

“I was only able to activate it for a few seconds. What is there to celebrate about?”

Momo backed away a bit under his intense gaze

“Everyone else in the clan can activate it by simply feeling anger, while I have to concentrate to activate it for a few seconds? To me, that’s a disgrace.”

He walked away from Momo.

“I’m trying again.”

He closed his eyes.

“Wait, Miko. Gramps said you shouldn’t rush it.”

Miko ignored Momo and continued to concentrate.

“Considering you couldn’t do it at all before, it’s ok if you get excited for being able to use it for even a second, you know?”

She sighed.

“Now, now. Leave him be.”

Tia descended from the sky with dragon wings on her back. The wings disappeared as she approached Momo.

“Him not being satisfied by a small achievement is a good thing. It shows that he possesses the hunger he needs to reach the top.”

She patted Momo’s shoulder.

“Miko is a very prideful person. He also doesn’t like to lose, so the idea he can’t do something that everyone else can is like a knife in the chest. So you can understand his frustrations.”

“You really understand Miko, don’t you?”

“Hahahaha! I do have a mental connection with him after all.”

She showed a gentle smile.

“Plus I knew someone who was similar.”

Meanwhile, Miko was still in the middle of concentrating.

(Since Dragon’s Rage uses one’s anger as fuel, I need to become angry at the drop of a pin. I’ve already mastered this a long time ago, thanks to the life I’ve lived. There was one problem though. The Dark and sinister power that dwells within me also responds to anger. It feeds on the anger that was supposed to power Dragon’s Rage and try to break out of my body and rampage about. I think this is the reason why I couldn’t use Dragon’s Rage before. However, after becoming Tia’s Proxy my dragon abilities all strengthened, so I should be able to finally bypass the sinister power inside me…Yet, I could only bypass it for a little bit.)

His eyes were closed, he could feel the sinister power swirling inside him trying to break out. While the aura from Dragon’s Rage was constantly fighting for its life against it.

(Shit! It’s being devoured again!)

His frustrations grew along with his anger, powering the sinister power within him.

“Looks like he’s really having a hard time controlling his own power.”

Tia said as she observed him.

“There is a way he can use Dragon’s Rage though. But will he figure it out?”

(Shit! Shit! Shit!)

Miko cursed in his mind. He was losing more and more control over the powers dwelling inside him, causing his anger to grow. This continued for a while, and the girls could even see a dark mist emerging from his body.

“His power is starting to break free.”

“Yeah, it looks like his anger towards himself has reached its limit.”

Tia was right. Miko’s anger was now at the point that it could explode at any minute. Strangely enough, instead of throwing a fit Miko started to calm down.

(I give up. I can’t use Dragon’s Rage like the others.)

At that moment, the dark power inside him completely devoured the Dragon’s Rage aura.

“Since that’s the case, let's change it up a bit.”

He spoke out loud. The power inside him changed. It wasn’t completely dark as it once was, it had streaks of purple in it that belonged to Dragon’s Rage. The Black mist around Miko was soon replaced by a purple and black aura that was both sinister and beastly at the same time.

“What’s that?!”

Momo’s eyes were going to pop out of her head.

“That’s Miko’s version of Dragon’s Rage. He finally figured out if the two powers that used anger as fuel was competing against each other, then he just needed to fuse them and let them work as one.”

Tia explained.

“Really? That’s insane. Then it can’t be considered Dragon’s Rage anymore. It’s something completely different.”

The aura around Miko started to mold itself into several shapes and sizes.

“The aura from Dragon’s Rage is a universal one. It can form into extra limbs and aid the user in battle. It can provide defense by acting as a shield around them, it can be molded into weapons, and it boosts the user’s overall abilities.”

Tia grinned.

“Miko’s version has all these abilities and some even sinister ones that belonged to the dark power that he possessed. With this, Miko has taken his first step towards developing as a warrior.”

Her eyes softened as he observed him. The image of a warrior stained in the blood of his enemies overlapped with Miko’s. This lit a fire in her soul.

“I can’t wait to see what he becomes.”

Meanwhile, someone was observing everything from the shadows.

“……..”

Miko’s image reflected in their eyes.

“….Looks like you’ve gained the motivation to live, Young Master.”

They turned around and melded into the shadows.

“I wish you luck surviving in this nightmarish world.”

Miko Arc Ends!!!

Black Spades Arc Begins!!!!!