NOVEL NEXT Chapter 36: Monster
"ROOOOAAAARRRRR!!!"
The Plant Dragon's roar echoed through the cavern, shaking loose chunks of stone from the jagged ceiling. Her aura surged violently as she drew the lake's Essence deeper into her body, vines lashing like whips across the water's surface.
Her hostility was no longer hidden—it burned like an open flame.
Draco's smirk deepened.
Finally!
She had made her stance clear. He didn't need to hold back.
'I was already worried about how to attack her, since that pesky [Friend Before Foe] limitation wouldn't let me lay out an ambush. But this is perfect!'
There was no need for any more tricks or negotiations—no thinly veiled civility either.
From this point forward, he was free to wage war.
"Good," Draco murmured, his eyes glinting with dangerous light. "Now I can stop pretending."
He shot forward, his body a blur as his boots skimmed across the water's surface. At the same time, his will spread outward, sharp and commanding, latching onto the bonds he had forged.
The lake quivered.
From the depths, shadows stirred.
The Plant Dragon froze mid-swipe, her serpentine head jerking toward the rippling waters. A surge of unease flickered in her eyes. She had assumed the Water Dragons had been defeated, slain, or fled.
Yet the lake betrayed her. It trembled with hidden life.
Dozens of draconic forms burst forth, sleek and glistening with watery sheen. Fins cut through the Essence-rich pool like blades, wings unfurled with spray, and eyes glowed faintly with submission.
The Water Dragons had returned.
At their head was Preto, his dark form materializing like a phantom, scales blending with the shadows of the cavern. His breath still clung to the air, a concealing veil that had cloaked the army until this very moment.
Behind him, Nyx's smaller form darted forward, shadows swirling around her like an eager predator ready to prove her worth.
The Plant Dragon's eyes widened. "Impossible—! How?!"
Draco landed upon the water's surface, the liquid solidifying beneath his step as he stabilized with sheer will. He lifted his hand, palm glowing faintly as dozens of dragons circled him like soldiers awaiting orders.
His voice was calm, deadly calm.
"You really thought I'd face you alone?" His smirk was a knife's edge. "That's your mistake."
Since the beginning, he had already released Preto and Nyx, allowing them to move freely in the underground oasis. Even though they had limited strength, they were still useful—especially Preto.
Despite how unimpressive he was compared to other Rank 3, his [Into The Shadow] Breath could still fool them. Unless the Rank 3 Dragon in question had an investigative Breath that countered Preto's abilities, they would need to be Rank 4 or higher to be able to sense him.
This was an advantage he couldn't pass up!
And so, he hid some of the Water Dragons he tamed with Preto and made them slowly take position in the lake—waiting for the signal.
"The time has come…"
The Water Dragons roared as one. The cavern trembled with the united cry of dozens of throats, shaking the underground lake like a storm.
Then, with a single gesture from Draco, they surged forward.
"Bastard!" The Plant Dragon hissed furiously, vines exploding outward to form a living barrier.
The first wave of Water Dragons slammed into her defenses, claws raking, teeth snapping. She met them with ruthless force, her vines wrapping around throats, yanking bodies out of the water, and slamming them against stone walls.
But for every dragon she struck down, three more replaced them.
Draco didn't stop there.
He called upon the bond of his newest prize—the Rank 2 Water Dragon and the Rank 3 Water Dragon Champion.
The System had referred to them as Aquarius Solaris, and while he couldn't have their natural ability to control water, he had something better at his disposal.
—Breaths!
Immediately, energy surged through his veins, thick and heavy as the tide. His soul-space opened like a gate, and with it, new power bled into his body.
[Breath Acquired: Splash]
[Breath Acquired: Water Threads]
The air around him shimmered.
He thrust out a hand, and the surface of the lake exploded upward. Waves rose like walls, crashing and folding into each other, swallowing the Plant Dragon's vines in torrents.
The ability felt primal, like commanding the heartbeat of the very lake itself.
The Breath of [Splash] wasn't just water manipulation—it was control of its fury.
'I can create tides, huh? Not bad…'
The Plant Dragon roared, breaking free, her body coiling as her vines lashed through the tides. But Draco was already moving.
His other hand slashed downward, and threads of condensed water snapped into existence. They gleamed like liquid steel, slender yet impossibly sharp, each one humming with condensed Essence.
—[Water Threads]!
The Rank 3 Champion's Breath.
He spun them into whips, spears, shields.
Constructs that danced at his command.
A wall of threads deflected vines, while a spear of water shot forward, piercing through a cluster of leafy tendrils. The vines recoiled, shredded, Essence dripping like blood.
Draco's smirk widened. He wasn't just fighting—he was conducting.
"Attack."
Preto lunged, his dark body colliding with the Plant Dragon's flank, claws sinking deep.
Nyx darted around, weaving like shadows that tangled vines before they could strike Draco directly.
She was clearly more impressive than regular Rank 1s.
The tamed Water Dragons swarmed from every angle, teeth and tails striking relentlessly.
Still, the Plant Dragon fought viciously.
Despite her pregnancy, despite her earlier battle, she was far from weak.
Her vines lashed with enough force to crush stone. One snapped through three Water Dragons at once, slamming them unconscious into the cavern wall. Another coiled around Nyx mid-flight, nearly snapping her fragile frame in two—until Draco's [Water Threads] severed the vine in a flash, freeing his Rank 1 dragon.
'I still have plans for that one. She can't die yet…'
The Plant Dragon bellowed, tearing through waves of water and light, her wings thrashing as she tried to rise from the lake. But Draco wasn't about to give her space.
"[Into the Shadows]," he whispered, his form dissolving into darkness.
He reappeared behind her massive head, his sword glowing with condensed brilliance.
"[Let there be Light]."
A burst of searing illumination exploded from his blade, the radiant shockwave slamming into her scales.
"GARGHHH!"
The Plant Dragon reeled, her roar cutting through the cavern like thunder.
She thrashed wildly, smashing through waves, but Draco had already vanished again, shadows swallowing him whole before she could retaliate.
This rhythm repeated—water surging, light exploding, shadows twisting. Each Breath layered seamlessly with the other, a deadly dance that the Plant Dragon struggled to keep up with.
Draco's army pressed harder.
Water Dragons tore into her wings. Preto's darkness gnawed at her scales. Nyx harried her eyes with small but vicious strikes. And all the while, Draco's new arsenal of water surged and slashed, binding her every movement.
The lake boiled with Essence.
Vines snapped and regrew, dragons fell and rose again, and the cavern was nothing short of chaos.
The Plant Dragon's fury grew desperate.
She unleashed a storm of vines, ripping apart dozens of water constructs, her roar a declaration of raw, indomitable will.
"You… will not… CONTROL me!"
Draco appeared in front of her, standing atop the water, calm even as her vines whipped toward him. He raised his hand, and the lake itself answered.
A tidal wave erupted, carrying with it countless gleaming [Water Threads], like blades hidden within a storm. They crashed into her with devastating force, shredding her defenses, slamming her body back into the lake with a thunderous impact.
The Plant Dragon gasped, Essence spilling from her wounds, her breath ragged.
She raised her head weakly, eyes wide as they locked onto him. For the first time, true shock, even fear, flashed within those emerald depths.
"Y-you…" Her voice trembled, disbelief dripping from every syllable. "What… are you?"
Draco tilted his head, his smirk cold, unreadable.
Around him, his army circled—dozens of dragons bowing to his will. Water bent at his command. Light and shadow pulsed in his hands.
To the Plant Dragon, it was a nightmare made flesh.
"You underestimated me," Draco said simply, his tone almost casual. He stepped closer, each word cutting sharper than any blade. "And now… you see the truth."
The Plant Dragon staggered back, vines twitching weakly, her body shuddering as the weight of realization settled over her.
Draco wasn't merely strong. He was terrifying. More than man, more than dragon—something abnormal, something unnatural.
Something scarier than she had ever thought possible.
—A MONSTER!