"How does it feel?"The Red Dragon Mother smiled as she asked Kurose Akira.
"It feels amazing!"
Akira felt clear-headed and invigorated. The power of Half-Dragon Transformation surged through his body, filling him with explosive strength. It was a novel, intoxicating sensation—every cell in his body seemed to be singing with excitement.
At that moment, a system notification suddenly appeared in his field of vision.
[Red Dragon Mark: Exerts a suppressive effect on Red Dragons, reducing all attributes by 50%.]
"Fifty percent reduction to all attributes?"Akira's eyes widened in shock.
Suppressing an opponent's total attributes by fifty percent the moment they met? For a Red Dragon, this was nothing short of brutal suppression. He couldn't help but imagine—if this same effect could be applied to a Bone Dragon, reducing all of its attributes by half… then maybe, just maybe, he truly would have a chance to defeat it.
Just as Akira was lost in thought, the Red Dragon Mother suddenly swayed, her body losing strength as she fell into his arms.
"Are you okay?" Akira asked quickly, concern clear in his voice.
"I'm fine~ Just… my soul power is overly depleted. I'm a little weak right now." Her voice carried unmistakable fatigue. "I need to return to the Soul Crystal Orb to recuperate for a while. As for my child… please… find it for me…"
As she spoke, the Red Dragon Mother gently pressed her cheek against Akira's chest. The body woven from her soul began to flicker—bright and dim in turns—until it gradually faded away completely.
"Don't worry," Akira whispered softly. "Tomorrow morning, we'll head to the Dragonfall Lands and rescue your child."
After the Red Dragon Mother returned to the Soul Crystal Orb, Akira stood there in silence for a while, deep in thought.
After fusing with the Red Dragon Mark, he hadn't only gained the ability of Half-Dragon Transformation—he had also acquired a vast amount of information about the Red Dragon race.
Even the Red Dragon clan's genealogy appeared clearly in his mind, meticulously recording the name, personality, level, and mate of every Red Dragon.
The clan leader's daughter was named Lanfeli. Yet there was no record of her having a mate… nor any record of pregnancy.
"It's already this late?"Akira glanced at the time and realized it was close to midnight.
After a quick wash, he went to sleep with peace of mind. Tomorrow, he would head straight for the Dragonfall Lands and rescue the young Red Dragon.
The moment Akira closed his eyes, he was instantly drawn into the dream woven by the World Tree of the Elves.
"The Elf Queen must have been waiting for a long time by now, right?"
He broke into a run toward the wooden cabin, intending to continue the unfinished business he had with the Elf Queen.
But the instant he stepped through the doorway, Akira came to a sudden halt, his body freezing in place as if encased in ice.
Because the one sitting inside the cabin… was not the Elf Queen.
It was her malice.
The Elf Queen's malevolent incarnation sat upright on the jade bed, clad in a black dress. When she noticed Akira's arrival, her cold, dark-golden pupils instantly locked onto him, brimming with rage and hostility.
…Huh.
Without the slightest hesitation, Akira prepared to cast Corruption Command on the Elf Queen's malice.
If even the Elf Queen herself couldn't withstand that power, how could this mere fragment of evil possibly resist it?
"I won't give you that chance!"
Cold light flashed in the Elf Queen's eyes as she glared at Akira, as if she had already seen through his intentions.
Although bound by the rules of the dream world and unable to take Akira's life directly, she still possessed countless methods to force him into submission.
She rose calmly to her feet, and an icy aura immediately spread from her body.
In the next instant, that aura condensed into countless razor-sharp ice spikes, which poured down toward Akira like a torrential storm.
!
"Kneel!"
Akira issued the Corruption Command instantly while retreating at full speed, trying to evade the barrage of ice.
The moment the command left his lips, the Elf Queen collapsed to her knees, corruption gnawing at her body as she was forced into a humiliating posture.
But Akira didn't have it easy either.
With his current strength, how could he possibly contend head-on with the Elf Queen?
Even dodging at maximum speed, his body was still pierced by ice spikes. Blood splattered everywhere, leaving him in a miserable state. Intense pain made his brow knit tightly, his teeth clenched hard.
Then, in the very next second, a soft white glow spread over his body.
Moments later, the ice spikes vanished, and his wounds healed rapidly—only the lingering pain remained.
Akira knew this well. This was the difference between dreams and reality. In the dream world, wounds healed quickly, but this wasn't true healing—merely the dream state resetting itself.
"You! Must submit to me! Your power! Must be mine to command!"
The Elf Queen rose furiously, shaking off the effects of corruption.
Endless magic erupted from her body. Scorching flames ignited instantly, devouring everything around them.
"Like it! Burn!"Akira issued another Corruption Command.
"You—!"
A flash of rage streaked through the Elf Queen's eyes, yet her body betrayed her, her own magic igniting violently.
Boom!
Blazing flames erupted in an instant. The entire wooden cabin was reduced to ashes in the overwhelming inferno. Everything within sight was swallowed by fire and turned to nothingness.
After several minutes of stillness, the flames gradually dimmed and faded.
The Elf Queen stepped out from the residual firelight. Her once pitch-black gown had been mercilessly torn apart by the flames, leaving only shredded fragments that barely concealed her snow-white, delicate body.
Those tattered scraps covered only the most private areas, yet paradoxically made her even more alluring. The fire had rendered her skin even paler and more translucent, her shapely figure radiating irresistible temptation beneath the ruined dress.
"..."
As she straightened up, her gaze immediately snapped toward where Akira had been standing.
There, a towering pillar of fire was still raging.
Although her body had been affected by corruption, her magic remained overwhelmingly powerful.
In that instant, both she and Akira had been engulfed by the flames.
The fire unleashed by a level-96 Elf Queen was powerful enough to incinerate everything. For a low-level human male, such flames were utterly irresistible—his soul would tremble in fear and eventually choose submission.
"Submit to me," the Elf Queen warned coldly. "Or you will suffer endless pain!"
"You've got to be kidding."
What shocked her was that Akira's voice echoed from within the raging flames.
The next moment, a dragon claw tore through the pillar of fire. Akira strode out of the inferno, stepping directly in front of the Elf Queen.
"The power of a dragon?"
The Elf Queen stared at him, a flicker of confusion crossing her eyes.
She couldn't understand how Akira had obtained draconic power in such a short time. What kind of extraordinary encounter was hidden within this young human male?
"Haa…"
Akira let out a breath of relief after escaping the flames.
The Flame Gem on his body could only last for a single second before shattering. Fortunately, the dream's reset function kept repairing him, maintaining the continuous fire-resistance effect—otherwise, he would have already been reduced to ashes.
Even so, despite activating Half-Dragon Transformation and gaining 20% damage reduction, he still couldn't fully withstand the Elf Queen's flames. Every last piece of clothing on his body had been burned away.
Then again, his clothes had already been torn apart by his expanding body during transformation, so it hardly mattered anymore.
Maybe he should buy a sturdier pair of pants—something that wouldn't tear so easily—so his holy light wouldn't keep swinging around in public.
"Disgusting vermin!"
The Elf Queen began casting a new elemental spell. The surrounding air instantly turned violent, forming raging winds that rapidly converged.
Akira watched closely, his brow slightly furrowed.
As the strongest elf blessed by the Goddess of Elements, the Elf Queen truly possessed the ability to command all basic elements.
But—
"Sleep!"
Akira immediately issued another Corruption Command.
In an instant, drowsiness washed over the Elf Queen. Yet relying on her overwhelming willpower, she didn't fall asleep immediately.
"Your ability can never bridge the absolute gap in power between us!" she said coldly. "Here, I am your nightmare! Your hell!"
Her dark-golden pupils gleamed with unwavering danger as the raging winds transformed into a full-blown storm, unleashing a howl like the wailing of ghosts.
Facing her overwhelming magic, Akira charged forward without hesitation.
Though he was vastly inferior to her in overall attributes, that gap was far smaller compared to the difference in magic.
His mana was insignificant before her—like a droplet compared to the sea.
He couldn't possibly withstand the storm head-on. Even brushing against it would tear his body to shreds.
So as he advanced, he had to weaken her with other means.
"Desire Intensified!"
Akira issued yet another Corruption Command.
"Despicable tactics!"
The Elf Queen's gaze sharpened. She bit her lip, resisting the侵蚀 of corruption. Her body reacted intensely to the surge of desire, yet she stubbornly endured.
"It's useless," she said coldly. "I've already conquered your power. Submit to me at once!"
"It's not over yet!"
At that moment, a faint pink glow bloomed in Akira's pupils.
Charm Magic!
In an instant, threads of magic rippled toward the Elf Queen. Already affected by Corruption, she was immediately seized by Akira's charm, faint pink hearts appearing in her eyes.
"You—!"
Shock and fury surged through her, yet her body trembled uncontrollably, unable to withstand the double assault of Corruption and Charm Physique.
At the same time, the storm weakened drastically—down to barely ten percent of its former strength.
That opening was all Akira needed.
The Elf Queen was now in an extremely weakened state. Akira knew—this was the moment. He had to seize it.
He accelerated, charging straight toward her.
"Don't come any closer!"
Struggling desperately against the abnormal sensations in her body, the Elf Queen extended her jade-like hand, driving the storm forward to block him.
But Akira plunged straight into the tempest.
Boom!
The first attempt failed. He was violently blasted away by the storm.
However, with the storm's power greatly reduced, he didn't suffer fatal injuries—only several deep gashes across his Half-Dragon body, some even exposing white bone.
Thanks to the dream's recovery effect, his body instantly returned to perfect condition.
Without hesitation, Akira launched a second charge.
Failed again.
A third time!
Failed!
A fourth time!
…
As Akira charged again and again, the Elf Queen's malice felt unprecedented fear.
Under the dual effects of Corruption and Charm Physique, her body was in an extremely fragile state—like walking on thin ice, where a single misstep would plunge her into a bottomless abyss.
Yet now, she was powerless.
She couldn't stop Akira's relentless assaults, nor could she break free from the restraints of the dream.
The moment Akira broke through the storm, all her defenses would collapse—and she would fall completely.
Boom!
A deafening roar echoed.
Akira's crimson dragon claws tore the storm apart. Covered in wounds, he appeared before the Elf Queen.
The blood flowing over his body looked like marks of honor, making him appear incomparably imposing beneath the dream's peculiar sunlight.
And that exposed holy light—only centimeters away from the Elf Queen—radiated scorching heat, dragging her already-wavering desire into an even deeper, darker abyss.
It was a power she had never witnessed before.
The fusion of succubus traits and Half-Dragon Transformation allowed Akira to successfully suppress the Elf Queen's malice within the dream.
And this suppression—
Marked the beginning of Akira's absolute control over the Elf Queen's malice.
"Now."
Akira's voice boomed like thunder beside her ear, making her bite down on her pearly teeth as her delicate body trembled.
"It's my turn."