Golden domes shimmered under the light, radiant bridges of flowing energy arched between towers, waterfalls cascaded in midair, and crystalline spires pulsed with raw power—

It was a city more magnificent than even Emerald Castle itself.

Ethan paused, momentarily taken aback. A quiet thought stirred in his mind.

"Damn… this place actually suits me."

He even entertained the idea—half serious, half amused—of hauling the entire city back and making it his new capital.

As he stood there, lost in thought, Idra landed beside him with a graceful sweep of her wings, folding them neatly behind her.

"Father," she said, lifting her chin slightly, her battle aura still crackling around her. "Everyone here's been dealt with. Should we keep pushing upward?"

She'd been sealed away for too long. Now that her power had awakened, she was itching for more.

But Ethan shook his head.

"No rush."

He raised his hand, and a vortex of dark-gold energy began to swirl in his palm.

In an instant, that terrifying power surged outward, sealing off the space between the twelfth and thirteenth levels.

A massive energy barrier slammed shut with a thunderous hum, transforming the passage into a glowing membrane—leaving only the faintest sliver of space.

"We rest here for now," Ethan said calmly, his voice steady and absolute, like a king declaring the law of the land.

"I want to see just how many more they're willing to throw at us."

At his command, the Emerald Castle forces spread out across the palace grounds.

They began absorbing the pure, high-density Primordial Force that saturated the air here.

After surviving the crucible of the Umbral Abyss, their sensitivity to energy had skyrocketed. Many of them were already teetering on the edge of a breakthrough—and now, with just a few moments of focused absorption, they began to ascend, one after another.

Ethan sat cross-legged, eyes closed, his breathing slow and steady. With each inhale and exhale, the energy within him pulsed in rhythm.

Not far from him, Idra hovered midair, her presence warping the space around her into swirling vortexes.

Her absorption rate was monstrous—she was practically devouring the surrounding energy.

Others barely had time to draw in a breath of power before it was ripped away by the sheer gravitational pull of her aura.

They exchanged glances, stunned—but no one dared complain.

She was Ethan's trump card. Their shield. Their weapon.

Soon, the twelfth level's Primordial Force was nearly drained dry.

The air grew heavy again. Still. Quiet.

Ethan slowly opened his eyes and looked toward the barrier between the twelfth and thirteenth levels.

The glowing membrane trembled slightly—

His eyes narrowed. Then, with a sharp motion, he slammed his palm forward.

BOOM—!

The barrier shattered.

And from the sky above, a suffocating pressure came crashing down, slamming into the center of the twelfth level like a meteor.

A man descended.

Towering. His skin gleamed with a metallic sheen, like it had been forged in divine fire.

He stepped through the torn space slowly, each footfall warping the air beneath him.

Behind him, eighteen pristine white angel wings unfurled, radiant and blinding.

But what truly made the air freeze—

Was the long, sinuous dragon tail coiled beneath those wings.

An entity that fused both angelic and draconic bloodlines.

His presence alone sent a ripple of disbelief through the Emerald Castle ranks.

No one spoke.

No one moved.

They just stared—stunned, shaken—at the impossible being standing before them.

Before anyone could even react, Ethan's system panel lit up with a sharp flicker.

[Target Scan: Cassian]

[Bloodline: Angel / Dragon / Skyfiend / Godblood]

[Current Tier: 19-Tier, Mid Stage]

Ethan's pupils contracted.

"Four bloodlines…?"

The sheer density and distortion of Cassian's energy—it was almost beyond what could be called alive. It felt like something that had clawed its way out of the laws of nature itself.

Cassian lifted his head, his gaze sweeping over the Emerald Castle forces with arrogant disdain.

"You vermin… belong in the shadows, crawling through caves."

His voice was smooth, but laced with venom.

"In Sky Citadel, you're not kings. You're slaves."

He spread his arms wide, wings unfurling in a slow, deliberate motion. Light shimmered across them, and the air began to tremble.

Runes ignited across his feathers—glowing, shifting, intertwining—like the laws of the heavens and the dragons were merging into one.

Then it hit.

A terrifying surge of power erupted from him, his aura skyrocketing—

Cassian broke through.

20-Tier, Early Stage.

"What the hell?!"

Ethan's eyes flew wide.

That energy—it was too pure, too unnatural. It felt stolen, like it had been ripped from a higher plane and forced into this world.

He raised his hand instantly, voice sharp and commanding:

"Everyone fall back—now! Don't take a single step closer!"

He knew. At this level, even the shockwaves could tear his elite troops apart like paper.

Cassian smirked, stepping forward with slow, deliberate confidence. His wings fully extended behind him, casting a divine shadow over the battlefield.

In his hand, light and flame twisted together—holy radiance and dragonfire fusing into a single, devastating force.

A sword took shape.

Its blade shimmered with angelic brilliance, but beneath that glow pulsed the raw, domineering power of dragonkind.

It was beautiful.

And deadly.

Ethan's breath caught in his throat.

The system interface flashed again, data scrolling at breakneck speed.

[Confirmed: Quadruple Bloodline Fusion]

[Energy Compatibility: 98%]

He pressed his lips into a thin line, then murmured a name under his breath—

"Cassian."

Cassian froze.

His eyes narrowed. "...How do you know my name?"

He didn't understand.

Just like every other Sky Citadel lord before him, Ethan had called him out—by name. To them, it was some kind of terrifying, inexplicable ability.

Cassian's expression darkened. His voice rose into a furious roar:

"If you know my name, then you should know my power! Come—face me in a true battle!"

He raised his holy sword high, the space beneath his feet fracturing from the pressure.

He wasn't aiming for the army.

He was going straight for the head of the snake.

Ethan.

But as Cassian closed in, Ethan smiled.

Not a grin of arrogance.

It was calm. Cold. Almost… pitying.

"Idra."

At that single word, Idra's body shuddered—and then dissolved into a cascade of golden light, streaming toward Ethan's chest like a river of stars.

It was the pure essence of Dragon God power.

FWOOSH—!

A pillar of searing light shot into the sky.

The air split apart. The heavens twisted into a vortex.

Massive dragon wings unfurled from the light, each scale gleaming with a golden-red brilliance.

And from within that divine radiance, Ethan stepped forward.

His aura—

20-Tier, Early Stage.

Cassian's eyes went wide, his body instinctively recoiling.

"This… this is fusion?! You actually merged with the Dragon God?!"

Ethan slowly lifted his head, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.

When he spoke, his voice echoed with two tones layered together—

One deep and cold.

The other light and youthful.

It was Ethan's voice.

And Idra's.

"This move… I haven't used it in a long time."

"And if I'm bringing it back now—"

"Then you're going to hand over every ounce of power you've got."

Their voices overlapped, resonating like the chorus of gods and dragons.

The sound alone made the twelfth level of Sky Citadel tremble.

...