Bang!
With a deafening crash, the Floor Master was sent flying, smashing hard into a tree behind him.
Moreover, the moment he collided with the shield, a massive amount of crimson flame erupted from the surface of the Skullflame Shield, incinerating all the clothing on his upper body.
Clearly, Bodoro had successfully merged his Enhancement and Transmutation Nen, combining them with the unique properties of the Skullflame Shield to finally develop an ability that was both perfectly suited and unique to him.
"You bastard! I'll fight you to the death!"
The injured Floor Master struggled to his feet, instantly gathering an immensely large, spherical Nen blast.
Judging by the aura contained within, this was clearly his final, desperate gambit.
"Hmph! With that?"
Bodoro laughed disdainfully. The dual shields in his hands instantly grew several times larger, wrapping his body up tightly and seamlessly. Then, with a leap, he transformed into a flat, high-speed rotating disk-like projectile in mid-air.
Following this, the 'disk' shot straight toward his enemy at an unbelievable speed!
"Die now!!!!!!"
The Floor Master roared, hurling the massive Nen blast forward.
Boom!
Following the violent explosion, Bodoro, protected by the shields, emerged completely unharmed, passing right through the Nen blast and slamming viciously into his opponent.
The next second, a blinding red fire shot up into the sky, engulfing the Floor Master. Simultaneously, the rapidly spinning, sharp bone spikes along the shield's edge sliced him in half at the waist. A huge amount of blood, minced flesh, and internal organs were instantly consumed by the flames, emitting a pungent, burnt stench.
"Wha—!"
"I... Impossible! How could you withstand my strongest Nen blast?!"
The Floor Master, now only a severely burned torso, violently spat out a mouthful of blood, his face filled with disbelief.
"It's simple. The Nen I imbued into the shields is the Defense of the Indestructible! Furthermore, I have bound my life to the shields through a Vow and Restriction. As long as I am alive, no one can break these two shields. The day these two shields are shattered is the day I calmly face my own death," Bodoro explained serenely.
After repeated thought and deliberation, he had finally made the firm decision to become a protector, a shield standing beside his benefactor to absorb any fatal blows.
Coupled with the intense resolve to sacrifice his life for this cause, his personal strength instantly increased by more than tenfold.
"Well done. After all this time, you've finally managed to tentatively catch up to me."
Allen nodded in satisfaction, raising his hand to fire a fatal arrow that pierced the dying Floor Master's heart, commanding the Red Dragon to turn him into a cocoon and devour him.
After all, this was a dual-wielding shield Warrior!
Paired with a set of excellently defensive Plate Armor, he was the perfect candidate for a raid tank (MT) in a dungeon.
"Oh? Really? Hahaha! That is truly wonderful news!" Bodoro immediately burst into happy laughter.
That was the good thing about Enhancers; they almost never hid their inner thoughts, and all emotions were directly expressed on their faces.
This was the goal he had set for himself when he began learning Nen, and now that it was finally achieved, it was natural for him to feel joy and happiness.
However, since there were still four stragglers left to deal with, Allen did not continue discussing the next phase of his plans with Bodoro. Instead, he first observed the abilities the remaining Floor Masters used while fighting Hisoka and Illumi.
Confirming that none of the abilities had great potential for development or were suitable for him, he quickly drew his bow and shot each one down, sending them all into the Red Dragon's stomach.
The moment the last Floor Master was transformed into a cocoon and swallowed, the Red Dragon's entire body suddenly erupted with an astonishing aura, and it opened its mouth to let out an earth-shaking roar.
"ROOOOAR!!!!!"
The terrifying sonic wave instantly destroyed all trees within a two-hundred-meter radius centered on the dragon. Even the stones and earth on the ground were lifted, forming a large, sunken, circular crater.
Fortunately, both Illumi and Hisoka were people with exceptionally quick reactions. The moment the Red Dragon opened its mouth, before the sound even emerged, they sensed the danger and quickly avoided the epicenter of the sonic boom. Otherwise, even with their Nen protection, they would have been injured, perhaps even deafened.
As for the distant onlookers, nearly two-thirds were simply stunned unconscious by the ripple effects of the roar, left lying on the ground in a stupor.
After all this was done, the Red Dragon lowered its head, its two eyes glowing with a faint golden light, and spoke in a low voice using the unique Elven language of Azeroth: "From today on, my name is Vaelstrasz. Remember it well, and do not call me by the wrong name, or I shall be cross."
"Vaelstrasz? Is that the name of the dragon from your memory?" Allen asked, slightly surprised.
Even though this Nen-created Red Dragon had gradually exhibited unusual intelligence before this, this level of personification was unprecedented.
"I don't know. I don't possess many memories of my entire flight, but the name simply popped into my mind. In any case, remember to use this name when you call for me from now on. Also, the cocoons I have consumed are now sufficient to maintain my physical form for extended periods. I can now assist you in combat."
The Red Dragon rapidly explained the changes that occurred after it crossed its critical threshold.
From the clear, childlike voice, like a young girl, and the pronunciation of the name, it was unmistakable that the dragon was female.
"Assist me in combat?" Allen's face showed an expression of confusion.
Since he had initially only wanted a simple intermediary storage container, he had never designed any combat-related Nen abilities for it.
"That is correct."
Vaelstrasz nodded gently.
"I can now offer two combat forms.
"One is the way I am now, appearing in a physical state and attacking enemies like all Red Dragons do: using claws, teeth, wings, tail, and breath.
"Of course, this will consume a large amount of the Nen aura accumulated over time.
"The other is to adhere to your body, greatly strengthening your base attributes such as Strength and Stamina, as well as your resistance to Fire damage.
"Furthermore, during the attachment process, you can partially undergo Dragonization; for example, covering your body with sturdy red scales, transforming your hands and feet into claws, growing a thick, strong tail, developing powerful wings on your back, and so on.
"When necessary, you can also simulate a Red Dragon's breath attack, scorching enemies with the Flame of Life."
"Interesting. So, to some extent, you are now a complete Red Dragon, existing halfway between physical and ethereal, correct?" Allen touched his chin, an expression of interest on his face.
"No. I am still in a highly unstable nascent stage. I am far from becoming a true Red Dragon. You must strive harder and allow me to devour more and stronger cocoons. Only then can I grow quickly. Press onward, my Creator and Master..."
As the last word left her mouth, Vaelstrasz, whose size was now comparable to a small airship, instantly dematerialized, transforming into a one-meter-twenty-tall red-haired High Elf girl. She winked cheekily with a smile, then vanished without a trace.
"Devour more and stronger cocoons, you say? It seems it's time to work as a Bounty Hunter for a while..." Allen muttered subconsciously.
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You can read the ahead chapter on Patr if you're interested: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]