CHAPTER 466: 466. EXPECTED REUNION

A stray drop of rain slid down Jia’s cheek, cold as if the sky itself was warning him. The wind howled louder, whipping across the deck in long, drawn-out wails. A moment later, the world dimmed, swallowed whole by a ceiling of black clouds, and a furious gale slammed against him, rattling his balance.

Across the rain-slick deck, Tyler’s eyes weren’t just looking at the ship of the Sea Dragon Palace— they were locked entirely on the Dragonion standing upon it. Jia could feel that gaze, sharp and deliberate, like a harpoon that had found its mark.

Only then did Jia glance back at the man shrouded in an unnatural darkness. Phantom Blackwood. His expression shifted subtly, a shade more serious than before. What weighed on him wasn’t the man’s name, but the pressure that swept over him—the vast, crushing sweep of a Divine Sense so deep and endless it felt like the ocean itself had chosen to bear down on him.

Just as quickly as it came, it vanished. The rain ceased, as though the storm had been briefly commanded to halt. Tyler, withdrawing his Divine Sense, nodded with the faint satisfaction of a craftsman inspecting a finished work.

"That’s good," Tyler said evenly. "Don’t go attacking ships at random."

Jia’s face darkened, but the words that gathered in his throat stayed there. He had no doubt now— these pirates were no ordinary rabble.

"Oh, oh... the mighty Jia, suddenly looking nervous," Myrtle’s voice chimed in, dripping with mockery. She leaned casually against the railing, her smirk daring him to bite back. "What happened to the great prestige of the Sea Dragon Palace?"

Jia, instead of lashing out immediately, tilted his head toward her, eyes glinting. "And what about the so-called Turtle Maid of the Princess? I see you’ve taken quite a liking to another pirate crew and sucking up to them. Tell me, where’s your dignity?"

"Aaah?!" Myrtle’s whole body shimmered in light, the edges of her form beginning to ripple as though her very being was ready to flow into combat. "Do you want to fight, you halfgrown lizard bastard?"

The tension spiked like a lightning strike, the air between them practically humming. Jia stared at her for a long moment. Then, unexpectedly, he broke eye contact, turned his attention to the other figures on deck, and took a measured step back.

Tyler, watching this little exchange, muttered under his breath, "What was that about?"

"They came to harass us," Myrtle said, crossing her arms, her voice still tinged with irritation. "He’s just a coward who only shows his teeth when the Princess isn’t around to rein him in."

Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Princess, huh? He called her that too. Is she really the Dragon King’s daughter... or his future consort?"

"I’m not allowed to answer that," Myrtle replied briskly, shaking her head. "If you want to know, you can ask the Princess yourself when she arrives."

And just like that, the conversation died. The wind still howled above, but on the deck, a strange, uneasy silence settled over the group. None of them spoke, each lost in their own thoughts about the Dragon Princess who was soon to appear.

The minutes stretched, every creak of the ship’s hull and every splash of the waves feeling louder in the absence of conversation. Myrtle tapped her fingers against the railing. Tyler leaned casually against a mast, though his eyes scanned the horizon with practiced sharpness.

From beneath the heaving sea, the world seemed to shudder. The tremors that had been rumbling earlier roared back to life, far stronger and far angrier. Then, with a sound like the earth itself splitting open, a massive plume of steam and fire erupted from the ocean floor.

A giant underground volcano burst, vomiting molten rock and ash through the water in a violent, glowing bloom. The sea boiled in places, and towering bubbles rose like ghosts before collapsing in waves that churned for leagues.

Through the blinding glare of magma and shattered rock, a shape began to emerge—first a shadow, then a living storm. A colossal obsidian dragon burst free from the inferno, her scales black as midnight but streaked with glowing veins of molten lava. Each beat of her titanic wings sprayed molten embers into the air, casting a fiery glow over the entire sea and clouds.

The sight drew every eye to the sky. The very pressure of her presence weighed heavy, as though the volcano had birthed not just flame, but a queen.

"It’s her..." Myrtle whispered, awe bleeding into her voice. "The Dragon Princess."

As the great dragon descended, Myrtle and her guards dropped to one knee, heads bowed in reverence. The other Immortal Practitioners on the seas already ran away especially Jia and his crew

But from the deck of the Shadow Pearl, Tyler tilted his head and spoke with casual irreverence. "Uh... I think she forgot to put the brakes on."

Indeed, the massive obsidian form was not slowing down. She was hurtling straight toward the ship like an unstoppable meteor.

"Princess! Turn back into your humanoid form!" Myrtle shouted, still kneeling.

But the request was ignored.

At the last possible moment, the dragon’s massive body twisted mid-air, obsidian scales folding in on themselves, lava veins cooling into lines of deep crimson as her form shrank and reshaped. Wings curled into slender arms, claws softened into delicate fingers, and in the blink of an eye, the shadow of a beast became the silhouette of a girl.

She soared right past the kneeling Myrtle and her stunned guards without a glance. Myrtle whipped her head around in disbelief, her mouth parting in shock.

Her hair, long and wild, shimmered with deep black at the roots before bleeding into glowing orange tips, as if strands of her mane had been dipped in molten gold.

Horns arched from her head, obsidian streaked with fiery cracks, pulsing faintly with the heat of her magic. Her eyes were molten amber, their glow alive and restless like a volcano’s heart.

The black leather that clung to her frame was torn in places, scorched by the eruption she had just burst from, revealing glimpses of flawless, pale skin beneath.

A pair of wings, still half-formed from her dragon state, trailed behind her, their veins aglow like rivers of magma under obsidian glass. Every step radiated heat and danger, yet there was something undeniably magnetic in her presence— a beauty born of fire and fury.

Without hesitation, she landed on the deck and dove straight into Tyler’s arms.

Black mist surged from the ship itself, coiling around them like a living shroud, concealing them from every watching eye. In that private darkness, their masks disappeared.

"Welcome back, Zuzia," Tyler murmured with a smile, his voice low and warm.

Her molten eyes shimmered —not with fury, but with tears. Before he could say more, she pulled him closer and kissed him deeply, the heat of her lips almost burning. For a moment, the chaos of the sea, the tremors of the volcano, and the wary eyes of everyone else faded to nothing.

In that shadowed embrace, the Zuzia has finally returned.

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Author here:

Here’s the new cover picture, featuring Zuzia — the Dragon Princess.