A Pact Forged in Blood

Enveloped by the Deep Sea Winged Serpent’s mental energy, Ai Ou’s overtaxed spiritual power, depleted from forcibly wielding an unmastered spell, began to mend. Despite Erza’s assistance, she had only managed to alleviate Ai Ou’s headache and marginally restore his spiritual power. The fundamental exhaustion remained, and without further intervention, it would typically take months for his depleted spiritual source to fully regenerate.

Yet, under the invigorating influence of the Deep Sea Winged Serpent’s mental energy, his overtaxed spiritual power surged back to its zenith, and its overall capacity even expanded. Furthermore, Erza, who had earlier imbued Ai Ou with some unknown substance, shook off her previous lethargy under the serpent’s pervasive spiritual aura, her vitality now fully restored.

“This… this is!”

Ai Ou gazed at his hands, his mind now remarkably clear, his thoughts flowing with unprecedented speed.

“Human, this is my sincerity. You just used an unmastered magic spell, forcibly overdrawing your spiritual power. Without several months of recuperation, you wouldn’t have been able to recover normally. Moreover, if you continued to use spiritual power arbitrarily during your recovery period, it could easily damage your core, affecting your future path in magic. Thus, I removed my consciousness from my excess spiritual power, transforming it into unowned spiritual energy to nourish yours. Under the sustenance of my spiritual power, didn’t you recover quite swiftly?”

“This… Deep Sea Winged Serpent-sama, wouldn’t doing this harm your spiritual power? Spiritual power is one of the fundamental elements of life. Wouldn’t such a waste of life force affect you?”

“Hahahaha, rest assured. This amount of spiritual power barely counts as a consumption. Over thousands of years, my refinement of will and cultivation of spiritual power have long since reached their peak, accumulating an immense reservoir of spiritual energy. The spiritual power I just released is far from harming my essence.”

Undoubtedly, the Deep Sea Winged Serpent’s move was ingenious. Even if Ai Ou harbored any complaints or dissatisfaction, he could no longer refuse anything. After all, one can’t bite the hand that feeds them. The Deep Sea Winged Serpent had merely expended some useless spiritual energy accumulated over millennia to earn Ai Ou’s goodwill. By any measure, the serpent gained more. Truly, a seasoned veteran of thousands of years, its schemes were formidable.

Having received the Deep Sea Winged Serpent’s aid, Ai Ou’s impression of it improved significantly. After all, to demonstrate its sincerity, the serpent had allowed itself to be attacked and even helped him remove the after-effects of his assault. Even the most unreasonable person would be thoroughly subdued by such a combination of gestures.

“Then, Deep Sea Winged Serpent-sama, may I ask, what is your purpose? You’ve gone to such great lengths to come here; surely your request isn’t a trivial matter! My strength is meager; can I truly be of assistance?”

“No, you can definitely help! Human!”

The Deep Sea Winged Serpent’s voice trembled slightly, its gaze fixed on Erza and Elaine, with most of its attention on Elaine. On Elaine, it sensed a potent aura of water elements, alongside an absolute command over all water elements. It had a feeling that even as a Ninth-Tier being, it might not win a contest for water element control against Elaine.

Suddenly, the several-hundred-meter-long Deep Sea Winged Serpent became shrouded in a black mist that encircled its massive body, progressively shrinking. Finally, the black mist settled on the deck, dissipated, and revealed an elderly man with a head of white hair. He stumbled excitedly toward Elaine, seemingly intent on caressing her face.

“Yai yai!”

Elaine was still so young; no one but Ai Ou was permitted to touch her face. Sensing the man’s intention, she suddenly cried out, adopting a defensive posture and glaring indignantly at him.

“This… !”

Ai Ou watched, astonished, as the hundred-meter-long Deep Sea Winged Serpent transformed into an old man roughly his own height.

“Human, it’s nothing; merely a minor trick. Every Saint Domain-level magical beast can achieve this. Although I haven’t reached the Saint Domain level, I can still perform basic Saint Domain abilities, such as speaking and shapeshifting.”

“Then, Deep Sea Winged Serpent-sama, what is your business?”

Ai Ou’s gaze was wary. From the very beginning, the Deep Sea Winged Serpent had repeatedly referred to ‘dragon race,’ making him suspect ill intentions towards his dragon babies! It was a dark and stormy night, the perfect time for nefarious deeds. If the Deep Sea Winged Serpent had any malicious intent, Ai Ou could only try to take the twin dragons and hide on Dragon Island for a while.

“Are the two dragons beside you true members of the dragon race? Could you give me a little of her blood?”

The Deep Sea Winged Serpent’s eyes held a plea, and its voice trembled. It no longer seemed imperious but rather humble, like a frail, old man.

Ai Ou, unsure of the true meaning of ‘dragon race,’ did not deny it. He replied, “Yes, these two are from the dragon race. As for wanting some blood, you just helped me recover my spiritual power, so giving you a little blood is only right. However, Elaine is still too young. Would Erza’s blood suffice? After all, she’s larger, enough to be… ‘harvested.'”

Erza: ??? ‘My poop-scooping officer, you don’t love me anymore? Have you changed your mind? What happened to treating me like a baby for life?’

“This dragon is a fire dragon, isn’t she? That won’t do. Fire dragons are the embodiment of fire elements between heaven and earth; their blood is filled with fire elements, which clashes with my water-attributed magical beast nature. I only need a tiny bit of water dragon blood to confirm a thought I have.”

Well, since the Deep Sea Winged Serpent had put it that way, Ai Ou found it hard to refuse. After all, it was someone who had helped him, and a mere drop of blood wouldn’t cause any harm to Elaine. Besides, ‘donating’ blood frequently was beneficial for health.

Elaine: ??? ‘Master! That’s not what you said earlier!’

Elaine was remarkably intelligent for her age. Even though little time had passed since her hatching, her wisdom was already akin to a six or seven-year-old child. Hearing the Deep Sea Winged Serpent’s words and observing Ai Ou’s actions, she understood that Ai Ou had agreed. She quickly hid her hands, her eyes wide with a pitiful gaze directed at Ai Ou, pleading with him not to do it.

“Good girl, just a tiny bit of blood. Elaine, be obedient, just a little bit will do!”

In the end, no matter how Elaine tried to escape, she couldn’t avoid her fate and was ‘bled’ obediently.

The Deep Sea Winged Serpent approached Elaine. Under Elaine’s uneasy gaze, its small hand waved, and a tiny wound appeared on Elaine’s shoulder. Crystalline dragon blood began to flow from the incision. Seeing the blood about to drip onto the deck, it swiftly produced a small cup from seemingly nowhere and positioned it to catch the falling drops.