CHAPTER 279: HEALING THE TWELVE GIRLS!?

The twelve girls, in one word, were in a terrible state even though they were in a luxurious room, the vessels constricting under the binding of the chain, the muscles of these poor girls were cramping, and their bodies brutally damaged.

It was a horrifying scene that would feel like it was straight out of a horror movie, compelling anyone to take cold breaths just from watching it.

But Drayken couldn’t blame the tight chains because if they didn’t and were freed, they might cause even more damage to themselves.

The moment he was in their sight, the girls were already frantically trying to break free out of the chains and attacking him like rabid dogs who would do anything for it.

Drayken looked at their state with a sigh.

There was certainly a sense of kinship. Being from Earth, they were like him, hopeful people, probably excited for their awakening or maybe fearful of the unfamiliar world ahead.

The only difference was that he had awakened an SSS-rank skill, while they likely hadn’t, and were forced to arrive with their main bodies.

And the rest was history. They hadn’t even been given a fighting chance, just like Drayken.

But in the end, it was only a fleeting sense of kinship. He didn’t know them, nor did he feel any real attachment. The only reason he was here was simply curiosity, nothing more.

Drayken activated his bloodline in an instant. His presence surged, but unlike before, no lightning arcs surrounded his figure. Every trace of lightning energy was now stored within his body, perfectly contained without a single spark wasted.

Maybe that was why his hair had turned completely white.

The moment his bloodline awakened, the twelve women stopped growling in sync. Their bodies seemed frozen, as if time itself had paused.

Drayken checked their stats and let out a breath of relief. It worked. His power really worked. He couldn’t completely bind them, but his Authority as a higher dragon had taken effect.

"Y-You were really able to do it," Eleanor whispered.

She could hardly believe what she was seeing but she had no choice but to accept it.

He had actually managed to control the corrupted dragon, something that not even the Supreme Dragon Emperor could do. And yet, he had done it so effortlessly...

Drayken shrugged with a casual expression. "This is nothing. The real problem is figuring out how to restore their sanity."

"Hmm, that is a troubling matter," Eleanor agreed, her expression turning thoughtful.

A flicker of uncertainty crossed her mind. What could she do about it?

If only there were a solution, then the condition of those twelve women, and the others, wouldn’t be so tragic.

Eleanor had no particular interest in watching mindless beasts. If they could convert outsiders into dragons and retain their sanity, the power of their entire race would multiply several times over.

After all, in this world, humans had developed a high resistance to the dragon bloodline, thanks to their innate telekinetic ability.

Suddenly, right before her eyes, Drayken stepped forward and approached one of the women. He made a small cut on his finger.

The woman instinctively opened her mouth, and a single drop of golden blood dripped in.

"What are you doing?" Eleanor asked, frowning in shock.

"My bloodline is extremely potent," Drayken said casually, his gaze focused. "Even stronger than Synthia’s or that old man’s. The Lightning Saint bloodline might just be enough to bring them clarity."

He observed in silence.

The moment the golden blood entered the woman’s mouth, a strange transformation began. Her blackened eye sockets faded, returning to normal, revealing a slitted pupil. Her body soon followed, shifting and healing until she looked entirely human again.

A sense of clarity returned to her eyes as she looked around in pure confusion.

"How are you feeling?" Drayken asked, chuckling softly.

"I... I’m fine," she replied, her gaze lingering on Drayken’s handsome face. A blush crept onto her cheeks.

"What’s your name?" he asked.

"Raven," she said quietly, avoiding his eyes.

Drayken raised an eyebrow at her demeanor and replied with a dry tone, "I have a fiancée."

But when Raven said nothing in return, he simply turned to the next woman and offered her a drop of his golden blood as well.

One by one, the clarity returned to each of the twelve women. Their once vacant eyes now shimmered with life and all of them stared at Drayken with an almost reverent, burning gaze.

"...What?" Drayken said, tilting his head slightly, clearly baffled.

"N-nothing," everyone stammered hastily.

Drayken felt a strange unease. It was one thing if he were genuinely handsome and made a girl fall for him at first sight, but all of them acting and thinking the same way? This was weird.

’Is this some adverse side effect of my dragon bloodline?’ he wondered, feeling a flicker of disgust. It felt like a challenge to his manhood.

After all, he didn’t need to rely on this thing to seduce women, especially when he already had Synthia.

His gaze drifted back to the twelve women, each from different ethnicities, of course.

"I’m sure you all have a lot of questions," Drayken began, "so I’ll keep it brief. You were corrupted by the dragon bloodline, but I managed to save you. That’s the story."

He paused, giving them time to absorb the truth. It took a solid half hour, but eventually, everyone seemed calmer. Clearing his throat to recapture their attention, he continued,

"I know it’s a lot to take in right now, but I want to ask, what have you awakened?"

Raven was the first to step forward, nervously swallowing before summoning her courage.

"I awakened an E-rank Talent Clone," she said quietly.

"Huh?" Drayken paused, his crimson eyes locking onto her as he let out a soft sigh.

"A fellow brethren of mine," he murmured, barely above a whisper.

Raven’s ears perked up. "What did you say?"

"Nothing, nothing," Drayken said quickly, shaking his head dismissively. "I’m just curious about how your talent works."

"Well, like this." She closed her eyes, and in the next moment, a perfect replica of her appeared right beside her.

"What can it do?"

"It has 20% of my strength and drains my stamina as fuel."

"It takes fuel!?" Drayken exclaimed.

"Yeah," Raven replied, a bit clueless as she caught the stunned look on his face.

’No wonder it’s an E-rank Talent,’ Drayken thought, giving her a consoling glance. ’Poor girl.’

It wasn’t that the clone skill itself was rare on Earth, in fact, many had it thanks to Eryke’s research. What made the difference was his own SSS-rank talent, which completely changed the game.

Compared to his SSS-rank Clone ability, which allowed him to maintain clones indefinitely, granted unique skills to them, and even let the clones travel to any world, her power simply didn’t measure up.

Drayken then shifted his gaze to the other women. "What talent have you awakened?"

"I awakened a B-rank talent—Ice Magic."

"Fire Magic..."

"Light Magic..."

"Lancer..."

One by one, the women began naming their awakened abilities. Most were intriguing to Drayken, though he couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed that none had reached A-rank. Still, it was understandable.

’So, what should I do with them now?’ Drayken wondered, his expression unreadable. Finally, he asked, "What do you want to do now?"

"Now?" Raven echoed, falling silent as she pondered. Freed from the torment of the dragon bloodline, what choices did they even have?

The other eleven women remained quiet as well, lost in their own thoughts.

"Cough," Drayken cleared his throat, drawing their attention again. "If you want, you can work under me until the time comes for your return to Earth. How does that sound?"

"That sounds wonderful," Raven said, beaming with a bright smile.

"Hmm, good. What about the rest of you?" he asked, glancing at the others.

They all agreed without hesitation.

And just like that, the Chapter with Drayken and the twelve women came to a close. He had plans to train them as his personal guards once they grew stronger, until then, there wasn’t much else to do.

Drayken also checked on Rowena’s progress and was stunned when he discovered she had already contracted twelve spirits and reached the First Circle. She had chosen a support attribute spell, allowing her to boost allies, heal wounds, and much more.

Overall, Rowena’s power was comparable to that of at least a Rank Five dragon, catching many off guard. With such strength, she might even have the capability to kill opponents outright.

This was an achievement in itself.

He couldn’t help but be impressed. Just a few weeks ago, she had been weak and fragile, but now she had come so far, making steady progress thanks to Drayken’s guidance, his abundant mana, and his authority over it.

Now, his next step was clear: to choose his sixth spell and challenge the Dragon Emperor.

***

"Go on. Enter," Zytharia said calmly.

Zarek gazed silently at the palace hovering in the clouds, his expression unreadable.