Chapter 731: Merge
Chapter 731: Merge
The words were delivered with absolute arrogance, not as a question seeking an answer, but as a statement of profound certainty.
Jack’s tone carried the weight of someone who had just nullified the most powerful attack their opponent possessed and was genuinely unimpressed by the magnitude of the effort.
His wings folded inward against his body.
Not in preparation for assault. But in response to a creature attempting to make itself smaller, attempting to present less surface area to something that was about to destroy it.
The wings that had been spread to their maximum extension just moments before contracted until they were pressed completely against his body.
The Herald’s breathing came in sharp, uncontrolled bursts.
The dragon’s massive frame began to hyperventilate, his consciousness unable to process the magnitude of what had just occurred, his body responding to the panic with the instinctive patterns of an animal in the grip of absolute terror.
His golden eyes widened to their maximum, locked onto Jack’s position with the intensity of something witnessing its own annihilation.
His body began to leak something that resembled tears, a discharge from his eyes as the stress of the [Phobia] trigger began to overwhelm his physical form.
The dragon’s consciousness was fragmenting completely, unable to maintain coherence under the weight of realizing he faced something beyond his capacity to resist.
The demon inside Jack was no longer restrained.
His consciousness was now fully merged with Emberion’s, the fire dragon no longer speaking through internal monologue but manifesting through Jack’s physical form, his voice, his absolute certainty in his own dominance.
Jack’s entire being radiated something that transcended human capability.
’Magnificent,’ Tharaxis’s voice resonated through Jack’s consciousness, but this time it carried something that transcended measured observation. The ancient dragon had witnessed the moment when the Herald’s composure shattered.
The moment where absolute power met fundamental terror. ’The Herald believed his strength would prevail. He believed his centuries of dominance would shield him from consequences. And now he understands the truth that has haunted draconic nightmares since the beginning of recorded history. There exists a power that transcends all life forms. And you are the manifestation of that power.’
Each step forward was purposeful. The movement of a creature that understood its own power absolutely and was not remotely concerned with the threat posed by anything on this battlefield.
Magma still dripped from his shoulder, the remnants of his earlier immersion in the liquid rock. His left hand blazed with renewed intensity.
Jack’s right hand extended toward the nearest demon blood barrel.
His consciousness engaged with the container, and the seal that held the demon blood within dissolved.
The barrel opened, revealing the liquid inside. It was a fluid of such a bruised, suffocating red that it bordered on absolute black
This was the essence of something that had transcended mortality, that had existed at levels where conventional biology became irrelevant.
Jack grasped the barrel.
He raised it above his head with a single hand, and then he poured the demon blood on himself as it cascaded downward.
The Herald watched as Jack raised the barrel of demon blood above his head.
The dragon’s golden eyes went wide as they fractured with terror.
A moment of recognition crystallized in the dragon’s consciousness. The way Jack moved, the way his presence radiated something that transcended human limitation, and the way the very air around him seemed to distort under the weight of his existence.
"You’re not... you’re not human," the Herald’s voice came out as a broken whisper, barely audible despite the dragon’s massive frame. "You’re a demon."
Demons were the only creatures in the world with uncanny regeneration. No creature has as many regeneration properties as a demon. One of the main reasons why they were so feared around Erebon.
The words hung in the air between them like a confession. Like the Herald had finally understood the fundamental truth that his consciousness had been rejecting since the moment Jack had nullified his ultimate attack.
Jack’s smile widened.
The demon blood cascaded downward, pouring across his shoulders, his chest, and his entire body. The liquid was warm, and it adhered to his skin and clothes, sinking into him as if merging with his very being.
"Correct," Jack said, his tone carrying sadistic pleasure so palpable it seemed to make the air vibrate. His yellow-orange eyes blazed with something primal as he watched the Herald process this confirmation. "You have excellent instincts, Herald. Unfortunately for you, they came far too late."
Jack reached for another barrel.
The demon blood poured over him again and again. Each barrel emptied its contents onto his body, the liquid accumulating in layers, creating patterns far more sophisticated than mere random splatter.
"A creature such as myself doesn’t simply exist by chance," Jack continued, his voice calm despite the sadistic undertone that ran through every word. "I learned something from a God, Herald. Something that your limited consciousness may struggle to comprehend."
The Herald’s wings trembled against his body.
Jack’s left hand blazed with renewed intensity. The flames that danced across his wrist seemed to pulse with anticipation, as if the fire itself recognized what was about to manifest.
{Did that giant golden chicken just wet its eyes? Is it crying? Oh, that is pathetic. Imagine being a near-Tyrant rank monster and getting your feelings hurt because a teenager didn’t explode. Embarrassing.}
Oscar’s voice cut through Jack’s consciousness with sharp, crude sarcasm. The sentient spear was completely unfiltered in his assessment, his vulgar commentary carrying the weight of absolute certainty about the Herald’s pathetic state.
Jack’s eyes locked onto the Herald’s position.
"Tell me, Herald," Jack said, his tone dripping with sadistic pleasure. "Why does a creature as magnificent as you, a harbinger of the Dragon King himself, tremble so violently before a lowly human?"
The Herald had no answer.
The dragon’s consciousness was too fractured, too consumed with his fear, too overwhelmed by the recognition of something fundamentally beyond his capacity to resist. The Herald’s mouth opened and closed, attempting to form words that would never come.
Jack’s body began to glow.
The radiance that emanated from his form was subtle at first, barely perceptible against the ambient light. But it intensified with each passing second, growing brighter, more defined, more absolutely certain of its own existence.
’Now,’ Emberion’s gravelly voice resonated through Jack’s consciousness, no longer speaking through internal monologue but manifesting as a presence that transcended simple communication.
The fire dragon was no longer a separate entity; he was merged with Jack, woven into his consciousness, his power flowing through Jack’s body like a second heartbeat.
’Now we show this empire what true power looks like. The merger is complete. My strength becomes your strength. My will becomes your will. Let this dragon witness what transpires when a human transcends the limitations of flesh.’
The transformation started at his shoulders and spread downward with seamless precision.
Scales erupted from his skin, layering over it like armor being forged in real-time.
The scales were jet black, shot through with crimson veins that pulsed with light.
They formed in perfect geometric patterns, each one overlapping the next with the precision of something far more sophisticated than biological mutation.
The Herald watched helplessly as the transformation continued.