This was the same Milim who never cared about anything and only wanted to play?
Since when had she become so reliable—she even knew the origin of mana-cores.
"W-when did you learn all this?"
"Hehe!" Milim stuck out her tongue playfully. "I know tons of stuff—don't underestimate me."
"..."
Draco found that hard to believe.
But he dropped the subject and focused on the Demon-Core.
Draco's pupils turned golden; his entire Aura became solemn and majestic, and vast pressure flooded the space.
The power inside him began to elevate—spirit, mana, and body all at once.
Space around him twisted, ripples spreading through the air.
His clothes fluttered though there was no wind. Slowly he raised his right hand toward the Demon-Core.
Under Milim's curious gaze, his hand passed straight through the core and drew out a thumb-sized crystal orb.
In the next instant his Aura returned to normal, a satisfied smile on his face.
"What a miraculous ability."
Draco narrowed his eyes, studying the miniature Demon-Core in his palm.
Chapter 144 – Taming the Big Sandbag
"Awoo~~"
"Rumble!!"
Clearly affected in its spiritual core, the Storm Great Tempest howled in pain.
The place where Draco stood shook violently.
After a while the commotion finally subsided.
What Draco had just used wasn't a skill—it was a racial talent.
When he became an Awakened Demon Lord, the system unlocked his racial panel and evolved him into the Immortal Demon lineage.
He had studied his race not long ago; strictly speaking he wasn't human.
He had suspected it earlier—how could a normal human possess so much MP? And reading spellbooks to raise MP was simply fantastical.
Clearly the assumption had been wrong from the start.
He wasn't human—or rather, not purely human!
And in Nazarick there was one other with the same race: the eternally youthful Orel.
Now that he was max-level, Draco could inspect every NPC's information; gone were the days of seeing nothing but question marks.
Behind Orel's name her race read Immortal, the same as his former one.
As for what this current Immortal Demon lineage actually was, he had so far only partially figured it out.
The state he had just entered felt something like Naruto's Sage Mode.
For now, Draco called it "Immortal Demon Form".
Put simply, the form let him use his Immortal-Demon power to shift his body between tangible and intangible states.
Once his physical body fully converts into an energy form, Draco's shackles will be shattered, allowing a massive leap in life-form hierarchy.
Before, casting large-scale magic required him to convert MP within his body into Magical Essence and then construct the Spell Matrix.
The moment he enters Immortal Demon Form and becomes an energy being, that restriction disappears.
Not only can he sling Super-Tier spells at blinding speed, but while in energy form all his stats—reflexes, perception, elemental affinity—soar by more than tenfold.
The downside is the enormous drain; he can't fight continuously for more than ten minutes.
There are still finer details to explore.
In short, Draco has taken the first step in mastering Immortal Demon Form, and he has a hunch it can advance even further… Moments ago he had shifted from solid to void, pierced straight through Storm Great Tempest's demon core wall, and extracted a small shard.
Fortunately the inside of Storm Great Tempest wasn't affected by Magic Interference, or it wouldn't have gone so smoothly.
"Draco, why did you gouge out its core?"
Milim curiously eyed the glass bead swirling with storm elements in Draco's hand.
"I'll find someone to study how to break the Magic Interference skill. Since I've spotted a weakness, I need a countermeasure."
Draco calmly pocketed the bead. "Let's go, we're leaving."
Milim obediently followed; Storm Great Tempest's Magic Interference meant nothing to her.
She could command Star Particles—disrupting Magical Essence was useless against her.
Stepping out of the colossal mouth, Draco saw Aura and Albedo already waiting.
Beast-tamer Aura gazed at the giant creature, eyes blazing with obsession.
"Aura!"
Seeing Draco emerge, Aura dashed over.
"Lord Draco, what should we do with this thing? Are you giving it to me?"
She pointed at Storm Great Tempest, excitement sparkling in her eyes.
Milim jumped in to stop her. "No way! That's my punching bag—you can't have it."
"Punching bag?"
Aura tilted her head. "Is that this big guy's name?"
"A punching bag is just a punching bag."
Draco listened to the two of them, half amused and half exasperated.
"Aura, try taming it. If you succeed, toss it onto the Sixth Floor and keep it under your watch."
"If you can't, then it'll stay Milim's punching bag."
As he spoke, Draco shot Storm Great Tempest a meaningful look.
Aura beamed and thumped her chest. "Absolutely no problem!"
Mighty as Storm Great Tempest was, to Nazarick's Guardians it was merely a beast that could take a beating.
If they went all-out, subduing it would be effortless.
For professional beast-tamer Aura, taming one Storm Great Tempest was only a matter of time.
Seeing Aura raring to go, Milim pouted unhappily.
"That's my punching bag…"
Draco ruffled her hair. "Relax, we're just making the punching bag obedient; it won't affect your use of it."
"Oh, then it's fine."
"Mm."
With permission granted, Aura vaulted onto Storm Great Tempest's head in a few leaps.
Her hands glowed with soft green light that settled onto the creature.
"Roar!!"
Storm Great Tempest began to writhe restlessly.
The green glow spread until it shrouded the entire beast.
Radiance lit the sky as mysterious runes branded its hide, forming an esoteric pattern.
Gradually the light faded; the pattern sank in like water into a sponge, vanishing inside the monster's body.
Its frame shuddered, and the once-destructive gleam in its eyes cleared.
"Grr…"
With a low growl it finally prostrated itself at Aura's feet.
Aura grinned in delight and crouched to pat it. "Good boy~~"
Storm Great Tempest instantly calmed, its huge tail sweeping up clouds of dust.
Draco: "…"
The scene felt oddly surreal.
Aura bounced back excitedly. "Haha! I've tamed it perfectly, Lord Draco—your punching bag is now obedient."
"Well done."
Draco smiled and patted her head. "You even erased its destructive urges. It's under your charge from now on."
Aura nodded happily. "No problem! I'll train it properly!"
"If Milim wants to play with it, let her; the thing's tough, it'll be fine."
"Oh, all right."
Draco once again used the Star Gate to fling the Storm Great Tempest onto the Sixth Floor, and with that, the matter of that thing was settled.
As for the fragments he had scraped off the Storm Great Tempest, he would need to find a specialist to analyze them.
Draco: Teacher Xia, a new job's here!
Hearing someone was looking for pictures of Shalltear.
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