Ailaira arrived outside the Chapel.
After reconfirming the effectiveness of the barrier from the outside, she summoned a Gate of Space and, using the permissions Yukla had granted her, entered the Independent Space that belonged solely to Yukla.
The moment she stepped inside, she noticed Andrea curled up bored in a corner.
A mountain of gold and silver treasures was piled beside her, burying her petite frame within.
This was something Ailaira had deliberately provided for her entertainment to prevent Andrea from causing trouble while left alone. However, it seemed the greedy Red Dragon was currently uninterested.
Andrea was tossing a fist-sized ruby in her hand. Normally, she would be inseparable from such a gem, its luster mirroring the color of her hair perfectly.
But for some reason, she felt a sense of irritation. Was it because the innate greed of a Red Dragon had not been satisfied?
“Andrea.”
With that call, Andrea’s previously dull eyes instantly lit up, radiating vitality. She snapped her head up to look at Ailaira, carelessly tossed the ruby aside, and hurriedly scrambled out of the pile of treasures.
She jogged over to Ailaira and came to an exaggerated halt, her nose twitching as she sniffed vigorously around Ailaira’s body.
Ailaira pressed down on the chaotic red hair and pushed her away with a look of distaste.
“Andrea, when did you devolve into a dog?”
“You’re the dog! You big stupid dog Witch!” Andrea brandished her small fists defiantly, her brow furrowed as she stared at Ailaira’s hand tucked into her pocket.
She asked with feigned nonchalance, “There’s definitely a weird smell of another Dragon on you. Did you get into a fight with that Princess or whatever? Is she strong?”
With a thought from Ailaira, the scattered gold and silver treasures floated toward her, assembling into a throne stacked with wealth.
Ailaira sat down composedly and said in a disdainful tone, “Though it was clear she hadn’t used her full strength yet, even if she fought with everything she had, she wouldn’t be worth mentioning to me.”
“She’s just a Little Dragon who hasn’t fully reached adulthood. She’s currently locked in the Underground Chamber, repenting for her arrogance.”
Andrea quietly breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t want this bad woman to be defeated by any Dragon other than herself. Andrea’s gaze shifted back to the hand in Ailaira’s pocket. Her fingers wanted to give it a light poke, but Ailaira caught her hand mid-air.
Andrea looked up, her fiery red eyes meeting Ailaira’s. Her lips curled slightly. “I can tell. You used that strange thing again, didn’t you?”
Ailaira was somewhat surprised that Andrea could tell.
She withdrew her hidden hand, revealing skin marked with obvious scarring, similar to the livor mortis that appeared after death. Half of her arm beneath the sleeve was a pale grayish-white, and a deathly, ruined aura lingered upon it.
“Since I’ve obtained a new ability, there’s no reason not to use it. I just happened to take this opportunity to test it. From the looks of it, the effect is quite significant—it can rapidly consume stamina and cause a loss of the ability to resist.”
A Silver Tentacle crept out from behind Ailaira. Upon noticing Andrea, it suddenly swept toward her. Andrea instinctively took a half-step back.
But before the Silver Tentacle could touch Andrea, it was firmly gripped by Ailaira’s healthy hand. Ailaira’s gaze darkened slightly, and her faintly trembling palm seemed to be suppressing something. Even her voice took on a trace of imperceptible raspiness:
“The anti-magic properties are decent. It’s just that it breaks down easily when facing physical means, but that isn’t a major problem. The small individual pieces after fragmentation are even harder to guard against. It’s just that the consumption is a bit high; I’ll need to develop a new Life Potion.”
Ailaira had named the brand-new Trait she had acquired “Mercury Touch,” which was a method that suited her title.
Mercury Touch had extremely high requirements for the quality of Life Force and was even dissatisfied with “pre-packaged” items like Life Potions. As the number of doses increased, the effect the potions had on her became increasingly negligible. More often than not, she had to extract it directly from living people.
Although she had harvested quite a bit from Kuchierkan and the others during the attack today, it wasn’t enough to fill the deficit. Thus, Mercury Touch had taken Life Force directly from her own body.
Ailaira repeatedly weighed the benefits the new Trait could bring her.
For her current stage, she could only say its utility was limited, as it was only suitable for life-or-death combat. To completely eliminate an opponent, Ailaira had many easier options.
It could be described as something that was bland to eat but a waste to discard. She hoped there would be situations where it could truly be put to use later; otherwise, Ailaira didn’t plan on using it. The side effects were indeed quite intense.
Andrea didn’t understand the calculations in Ailaira’s heart. She only stared pityingly at Ailaira’s shocking arm. After a brief hesitation, she reached out and slapped her arm against Ailaira’s thigh, closing her eyes as if facing death:
“Come on!”
Ailaira glanced at Andrea in confusion. A strange sound resonated from her abdominal cavity, but she endured it, her tone teasing: “What? Are you going to sacrifice yourself for me?”
Andrea’s free hand grabbed Ailaira’s snow-white wrist, and she turned her head away awkwardly. “Hmph! I just can’t bear to see you ruin your own body! It’s clearly so pretty. If you break it, how am I supposed to collect you later?”
Hearing this, Ailaira gazed at the massive Life Force within Andrea’s body. To her current self, it was as tempting as divine nectar.
Logically, she could entirely rely on her willpower to suppress this thirsty desire and wait for her body’s naturally growing Life Force to fill the void; her recovery wasn’t slow either.
“Are you going to do it or not! Food delivered to your door tastes bland to you? Or do you want me to pretend to resist a bit to satisfy your perverted desires?”
But then again, when free takeout came to the door, there was no reason not to eat it. It wasn’t like she was losing anything. Ailaira admitted she might have been slightly provoked by Andrea’s arrogant attitude.
Very well, Andrea.
The thing Kuchierkan couldn’t do, you’ve done with ease. You’re much more impressive than the Dragon Princess!
Thus, Ailaira no longer hesitated. As she stood up, she used a Touch to wrap around Andrea’s waist, pinning her directly onto the assembled throne with her back facing her.
Andrea was held in a position with her waist bent and her hips raised, unable to move. She suddenly became flustered:
“This position… what are you doing, you pervert! I didn’t mean this kind!!”
A slick, moist Touch coiled around her arm. Ailaira’s expression remained normal, as if she were about to conduct an ordinary piece of research:
“It just so happens that I’ve come into contact with another Dragon and obtained some physical data. I’ll use this to perform a comparative study on your Bloodline issues.”
“I don’t understand you! Bastard! You’re not allowed to use me as a test subject!”
“To translate: I’m checking to see if your development is normal.”