Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

That person was Leonidas.

Did Leonidas's success in converting the female dragon Daize have something to do with this? Orion fell into deep thought. Since becoming an arch lord himself, he hadn't fathered a single child.

"Oh, crap!"

The sudden outburst came from Makareth, the Demon lord. He had applied Kraken's theory to his own situation and suddenly felt like he was getting a raw deal.

"I don't have any kids yet! Does that mean my line dies with me?!"

"From what I know," Kraken said, looking at Makareth skeptically, "the Demon race has plenty of special secret techniques for reproduction. Is that not true?"

"Barnacle, you misunderstand!" Makareth shook his head, correcting the sea lord. "Yes, Demons have many techniques to assist with breeding. I know of at least seven or eight myself. But the offspring from such methods… they aren't truly recognized. They're just a means to expand our numbers for a war. Cannon fodder. The heirs we truly acknowledge must be True-Demons, or even Prime-Demons. And creating one of those is next to impossible."

After saying this, Makareth looked over at Orion, his expression complicated.

"If you have something to say, say it," Orion said, his composure fully restored. He met Makareth's gaze, his own face unreadable.

"Brother Hulk," Makareth began, a sly grin spreading across his face. "You come from a giant tribe, right?"

"Yes. The Stoneheart race."

"Heh heh heh… well, Brother, in the Abyss, giants are considered one of the demon-kin."

Orion was silent for a moment, then gave a slight nod, acknowledging the claim.

"I won't lie to you, Brother Hulk," Makareth continued, leaning forward conspiratorially. "The giants I've seen in the Abyss… they don't look like you. They're massive, with tusks and monstrous faces. They're savage. Any enemy who crosses them gets eaten."

Orion didn't speak, but Makareth's words brought to mind the other two branches of the giant tribe: the Starveil and the Shadowabyss. They represented the more bestial, demonic side of the Titan god, their forms closer to the original source, their inherited power more suited for pure combat.

As the king of the giants, Orion's territory was still missing the Shadowabyss branch. The giants Makareth was describing had to be them.

According to Makareth, perhaps only giants who have awakened their Titan Form are considered True-Demons. It gave him a new perspective on the ancient traditions of his tribe. He also suspected that the Starveil and Shadowabyss branches could probably awaken their Titan Form far more easily.

"So, you see, Brother Hulk, you belong in the Abyss," Makareth said, his voice dropping to a persuasive murmur. "We're the same kin. Come back with me. We'll join forces, and together, we could steamroll the entire second layer of the Abyss!"

Orion suddenly laughed. After all that buildup, Makareth had finally revealed his true motive.

"The time isn't right, and I don't have the time," he said simply. "But when I do go to the Abyss, I'll let you know."

"Alright! Heh heh, that's all I needed to hear, Brother!" Makareth leaned back into his lounge chair, satisfied. The fact that Orion was technically demon-kin gave him a strange sense of affinity for the giant lord. It wasn't a feeling he had for all demons, of course. Orion was special because they had both come from the same world in their past lives, as humans. And now, in this life, they were kin once more.

"By the way," Orion said, changing the subject. "Are there any Shadow-fiends on the second layer of the Abyss?"

"You mean those sneaky bastards who stick to the shadows?"

"Them."

"Yeah, lots of 'em. They're a pain in the ass to catch, though. What, you want to enslave some?"

Orion nodded. His sister Clymene's undead armies were lacking that kind of specialized unit, and Shadow-fiends were an excellent choice.

"Don't you worry, Hulk," Makareth said confidently. "They might be hard to catch, but you can always buy them from another Demon's territory. I'll pick up a batch for you next time I'm over." He took the 'mission' from Orion without hesitation.

"Ahem," Kraken interjected, his voice dripping with acid. "Did you two get sidetracked? I thought we were talking about having kids. When did this turn into a family reunion?"

"Hahaha! Barnacle, don't be like that!" Makareth laughed, turning back to the sea lord. "We'll get back on topic. Let me tell you about Prime-Demons. If you ever meet one, you need to be damn careful. They are incredibly rare, and every single one…"

.....

Lorelia City, inside the Dragon Crucible.

While Orion, Kraken, and Makareth discussed lineages and the nature of life itself, one dog's life essence was being fundamentally rewritten.

I am the dragon! With my wings, I will master the sky and command the elements! No living thing can stand in my way!

I am the hellhound! I come from Hell! I will devour the soul of my enemies and drag them into the bottomless pit, where they will never escape the darkness!

I am dragon…

I am hellhound…

Dirtclaw's mind was still lost, but his body had completed its metamorphosis. He had become something that was neither hound nor dragon. He possessed the horns, dragon scale, talons, and tail of a dragon, but the head and hellfire of a hellhound. His entire body was the color of polished obsidian, but etched across it were countless, intricate draconic runes that glowed with a soft, golden light. It was as if he'd equipped a new skin, his entire aesthetic transformed into something terrifying and beautiful.

Just as his consciousness was about to be completely extinguished by the warring torrents of power, a voice cut through the chaos. It reached him not through his ears, but through the bond of a contract, speaking directly into his fractured sea of consciousness.

"You are Dirtclaw."

The voice was rich and alluring, laced with absolute command.

"You are Dirtclaw. The gnoll lord. The most inspiring elder of the stoneheart horde."

"You are the one who clawed his way up from the very bottom. You are the renowned Dirtclaw of the stoneheart horde!"

It was Delilah. At the most critical moment, just as his sense of self was about to shatter, the slave contract he once thought of as a shackle had become his lifeline.

He had started as a gnoll with a weak bloodline. When he reached Alpha-level, a trace of impure hellhound blood had awakened within him. Now, he was on a completely new path. He had evolved. He was a Hell-Drake Hound. This was his path, a fusion of hellhound and dragon.

The process had been agonizing, his body burned, stretched, melted, and reforged. His mind had been lost between the two powerful inheritances, on the verge of annihilation.

But Delilah's voice had saved him.

I am Dirtclaw! his mind roared, finally finding its center. I am a Hell-Drake Hound!