Rumble…!
As the ground rumbled, the dark arena began to rise. Under the guidance of the radiance enveloping the scepter, the flat ground revealed stone steps that rose to an altar. After a few moments, the dark arena stopped rocking. The scepter that had fused entirely was pinned in the middle of the towering altar, awaiting its owner.
“Is it done yet? We’re rushing for time. Why doesn’t the scepter fly straight to us? Why does it need someone to climb the stairs to grab it? Is it right in the mind?”
Looking at this scene, Mini Bubble Gum couldn’t help but grumble. Even though Rhode didn’t say a word, it was apparent from his expression that he agreed with her. Normally, the group wouldn’t be mindful. But the problem now was that they were pressed for time, while the scepter was taking its own sweet time to show up…
They were really in a hurry!
“Erin, it’s up to you next.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Erin also heard Mini Bubble Gum’s complaints, but didn’t comment. She nodded firmly and ran toward the altar at the top. Although Rhode and the rest tried to escort her, they were stopped by an invisible barrier. Without a choice, they waited at the bottom, watching as Erin sprinted toward the altar and scepter pinned in the middle.
“Leader… Nothing is going to go wrong, right?”
Gazing at Erin, Mini Bubble Gum couldn’t help but ask. Rhode and Icy Snow glared at her as Mini Bubble Gum sure knew how to touch a sore spot. Perhaps natives like Angelina and Anne weren’t aware, but to players, as long as the situation involved ceremonies, rituals, or whatnot, almost none of them would be completed peacefully. The heir would either be ambushed by creatures or get into trouble and need the help of players. It was apparent that Mini Bubble Gum knew this, which was why she asked. But the problem was that Rhode and Icy Snow were equally aware of it!
“Can you shut up, Bubble?!”
Icy Snow curled her lips and glared at Bubble fiercely. Icy Snow had run out of energy. If any ‘escort drama’ were to happen, she couldn’t offer any help even if she wanted to. Not only her, but the others were also exhausted. Apart from a violent person like Bubble, no one wished for anymore problems to arise. At that moment, Bubble also noticed everyone’s exhaustion. She displayed a smirk and chuckled at Icy Snow, before turning to the altar as though she didn’t say a word earlier. Looking at her expression, Icy Snow turned pale with anger. She bit her lower lip, stared at Mini Bubble Gum in displeasure, and stomped her foot, before turning away to ignore her.
As for the issue between Icy Snow and Bubble, Rhode couldn’t care less. This was how the two young ladies got along. Although they were against each other all day, they actuallyhighly respected each other. For instance, even though Icy Snow seemed as though she wasn’t close to Bubble, a few moments ago she was still concerned about whether Bubble passed the trial.
But now wasn’t the time for that. At that moment, everyone watched as Erin reached the altar at the top. The moon princess wasn’t pretentious at all. Perhaps what Bubble said just now gave her a reminder. Due to the terrible experiences, Erin didn’t recall her memories with Ion as those of close siblings. At the sight of the scepter, she remembered why he had to destroy his family for the sake of power. On the other hand, she extended her arm and held the scepter before her.
“…!”
Rhode and Icy Snow instantly tensed up. The former observed the surroundings, while the latter stared fixedly at the scepter. They were afraid that some creatures would appear out of nowhere, or some mysterious transformations would occur when Erin grabbed the scepter. Rhode felt like time had frozen in that moment. Erin was clearly moving quickly, but it seemed like slow-motion in his eyes. Rhode was anxious. He couldn’t wait to run over to pull out the scepter and push it into Erin’s hands.
Two more seconds. One more second…!
Finally, under everyone’s watchful eyes, Erin finally gripped the scepter on the altar!
At that moment, the scepter that was shrouded in brilliance began to coalesce. The brilliance descended as though it were attracted by the scepter, fusing with it entirely. Shortly after, the scepter erupted a shiny white light that eventually formed a huge, gorgeous, and circular magical ritual, enfolding Erin within.
“Roarrrr———!”
At the same time, the loud bellow of a dragon reverberated. And soon, Rhode witnessed the silhouette of a huge, pitch-black dragon appeared over Erin, expanding its gigantic wings comfortably, so much so that he thought it was an extension of darkness in this place.
Everything here was under its gaze and nothing could escape.
“Congratulations on passing the trial, heir of the Dark Dragon…”
At that moment, that old voice sounded once again. Upon hearing the announcement, Rhode felt relieved. It seemed like they were lucky this time and didn’t have to face anymore annoying situations. But this wasn’t the end yet. The Chaos creatures that infiltrated the trial grounds hadn’t shown up, so he and his group had to act cautiously. But after the trial ended, Erin also didn’t meet any of them, which was considered good news for them.
But why did Rhode still feel a little uncertain?
While Rhode pondered hard, the radiance over Erin’s body dissipated gradually. The moon princess appeared before everyone once again. But unlike before, she now wore an extremely gorgeous and long, silver-whitish dress and on her head was a crown gleaming in a faint glow. In addition to the pure, white scepter in her hands, it gave one the impression that Erin was sacred and dignified. Rhode also sensed from her a powerful and unfathomable strength that was as deep as the night sky and ocean.
Seems like this is the true strength of the Dark Dragon.
At that moment, as the inheritance ceremony came to an end, Rhode discovered that the Shadow Ravine was also transforming quickly. Shadow Ravine should have been divided into black and white, and everything in sight was covered in thick layers of darkness. But now, bright moonlight penetrated the night sky, spilling onto the land that had always been enfolded in shadows. No… Rather than saying the bright moonlight spilled onto the land, one might as well say that the Shadow Ravine was like a planet in the same plane of existence as Earth. As far as the eye could see, it was a pitch-black universe, but the ground reflected brilliance from the sun. In an instant, the sky and ground were divided into black and white regions. However, it was apparent that there was no presence of the sun in the Shadow Ravine, which made the origin of this light a little unbelievable.
“Big Brother, didn’t you say that Big Brother Erin is the Dark Dragon? But why isn’t she ‘dark’ at all?”
At that moment, the relieved Icy Snow sized up Erin curiously and asked. Well, it wasn’t surprising that she asked such a question. Because right now, Erin wore a pure white royal dress, a silver crown, and even held a holy scepter. She seemed more fitting for the ‘holy maiden’ identity than Mini Bubble Gum, and just couldn’t be related to the Dark Dragon as the ruler of darkness.
“It most likely has something to do with the rule power she possesses.”
Rhode didn’t feel astonished. Erin’s rule power was the moon, while the moon was considered part of the darkness rule. If not, Erin couldn’t possibly become the moon princess, and the Dark Dragon’s power she inherited would be nothing more than just pure power. Just like Rhode—his rule was the ‘void’. So it remained the ‘void’ and didn’t turn into ‘space’ after he inherited the dragon soul power. That was why his younger sister was able to open up the space channel for transmigration and yet, he wasn’t capable of doing so. Even though he was also a dragon soul heir of the Void Dragon, due to the differences in attributes, the manifestation was also different. Regarding this, Rhode was already mentally prepared for it.
But now, even after Erin inherited the Dark Dragon’s power, she was still the representative of the moon, which made Rhode heave a sigh of relief. Honestly, even though he wasn’t biased against the power of darkness, he didn’t have a favorable impression of it either. And now that Erin’s moon rule dominated the world of darkness, perhaps this might bring upon a whole new change…
“Finally succeeded…”
While Rhode lamented, Angelina also looked at Erin with complicated emotions. At that moment, the vampire young lady was overwhelmed with emotions. A long time ago, she once fantasized about assisting a dark lord to the throne, thereby returning her family to its former glory. But now, the ruler of darkness had indeed returned. It was a pity that things remained the same, but people changed. Chaos wreaked havoc in the Country of Darkness and also infiltrated the vampires. Even if Angelina were to restore the glory of her family, she didn’t have any subjects left. Moreover, she also wasn’t an inhabitant of the Country of Darkness anymore…
Compared to the emotional Angelina, Anne’s thoughts were obviously much simpler. The latter put her hands together curiously, jumped around, and gazed at Erin.
“Huh-huh-huh? Anne feels like Big Sister Erin isn’t any different. Is she considered the Dark Dragon now? In other words, Big Sister Erin is the queen of the Country of Darkness? So should we call her Queen?”
“Moon Queen? Represents the moon to destroy you[1]? Not bad, I like it!”
Only Bubble, who had more holes in her head, was able to follow Anne’s frequency. As for Cassidy, she didn’t comment much. As a subject of the Void Dragon, her attitude toward other dragon soul heirs was pretty average. But she couldn’t be blamed, since the seven deity wardens (then six deity wardens) were subjects who followed the Void Dragon in opening up the entire Dragon Soul Continent back then. If it were other Creator Dragons, perhaps Cassidy would have given them a little more respect. But now, Erin and the rest were only dragon soul heirs. To put in bluntly, the heirs were nothing more than descendants to the deity wardens who weren’t worthy of a mention. That was why when Erin successfully inherited the Dark Dragon’s soul, Cassidy merely swept a glance and remained silent.
“Your Majesty!”
At that moment, Erin ran down the altar and arrived before Rhode. Rhode initially decided to congratulate her (considering that there weren’t any additional problems in the inheritance ceremony, which was worthy of congratulations), but shortly after, he realized something was off with her expression. At that moment, the moon princess, or perhaps the moon queen, looked solemn. The joy that she felt earlier when she was handed the dragon’s soul had completely disappeared. Upon witnessing her expression, Rhode couldn’t help but feel his heart sink. It was apparent that something terrible happened.
“What’s wrong, Erin?”
“It’s not going well!”
Facing Rhode’s query, Erin answered hurriedly.
“After gaining the Dark Dragon’s power, I investigated the Shadow Ravine and discovered that the Chaos creatures that you mentioned have opened up the connection between the Shadow Ravine and the Country of Darkness! They are trying to merge the Shadow Ravine and the main plane together!”
“What?”
Rhode was stunned. This definitely wasn’t anything good. Chaos came in strong and apparently, it arrived hungry and greedy too. Not only was it trying to dominate the Country of Darkness, but it also yearned to occupy the Shadow Ravine. As the number of Chaos creatures who invaded the Shadow Ravine were too small, they had no choice but to request reinforcements. Previously, Rhode was dubious as to why he didn’t spot any Chaos creatures in the trial grounds even after the supervisors mentioned their invasion. Apart from them launching a surprise attack on Erin and trying to capture her alive, they didn’t show up after. Rhode was worried that they would seize the opportunity and strike when Erin was inheriting the dragon soul. However, he underestimated them. It seemed like those Chaos creatures knew that they weren’t powerful enough to steal the dragon soul powers, which was why they came up with this dirty trick while Rhode’s group was focused on the inheritance ceremony!
These Chaos creatures that came from Earth seemed to be more cunning and harder to deal with.
“What do you intend to do, Erin?”
If it were in the past, Rhode could still command her. But now that she had inherited the Dark Dragon’s soul, they were considered on equal footing. Not only that, but the Country of Darkness was also the territory of the Dark Dragon. So be it privately or publicly, it was still up to Erin to make the decision.
“…”
Facing his question, Erin was taken aback. It was apparent that she wasn’t used to this yet. But shortly after, she returned to her senses, knitted her brows, and gave a decisive answer after some serious thought.
“Let’s return to the main plane and do what we can to eliminate the influence of Chaos in the skies of the Country of Darkness. We’ll maximize the retention of the Country of Darkness’s strength, then…” Erin paused. But soon, she gnashed her teeth and continued. “… We will conduct a crusade against Big Brother… No, Ion and the followers of Chaos. As for the trial grounds that are influenced by Chaos, I will seal them off completely and abandon them in the dark abyss.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
Rhode nodded to her suggestion. It was obvious that Erin was comprehensive about the situation, so he didn’t need to add on with his ideas. Besides, continuing to stay here wouldn’t benefit them either, which was why he agreed swiftly. Upon hearing his response, Erin nodded, extended her arm, and raised the white scepter. A white ring of light erupted from the tip of the scepter, enfolding everyone. At the next moment, they were gone in an instant.
When Rhode opened his eyes again, they had returned to the earlier teleportation ritual. The limit of strength that was imposed on them also disappeared without a trace, so the group couldn’t help but heave sighs of relief. Although they were still powerful, it didn’t feel good to be restrained for no good reason.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The earth trembled violently once again and the startled Erin rushed out of the trial grounds hurriedly.
“Mother!”
Following Erin closely, Rhode’s group arrived at the dragon prison at the lowest floor. As expected, the former Dark Dragon was at her dying breath and laying on her stomach. The surrounding steel chains tugged constantly, dripping with filthy, black blood. The two dragon young ladies stood by the side with stern expressions, staring at the weak, former Dark Dragon.
It is obvious that she can’t be saved anymore.
Looking at this scene, Rhode let out an inward sigh. Previously, the two dragon young ladies warned Erin that no matter if she succeeded in inheriting the Dark Dragon’s power, the former Dark Dragon who lost the dragon soul power would eventually face an inevitable death.
“…”
Upon hearing Erin’s voice, the former Dark Dragon opened her eyes, looking at the former in a daze.
“… The power… of the dragon soul heir… I feel it… Are you Erin?”
“Mother! It’s me! Mother! Come to your senses! I’m here, I’m back! I’m right beside you…”
“I had a dream…”
However, facing Erin’s calls, the former Dark Dragon didn’t respond at all. Her dazed eyes continued to look into the darkness before her as though she were trying to recall something.
“… I dreamed that… Erin inherited the dragon soul power…. and became the ruler of the Country of Darkness… We are… together… until…”
The former Dark Dragon’s eyes faded. Her voice also became weaker.
“… Until… Erin… Ion… My children…”
The former Dark Dragon closed her eyes slowly and stopped breathing.
In the end, she didn’t regain consciousness to realize that the thing she had been pursuing was right beside her.
“… Mother…”
Erin gazed at her mother and closed her eyes. Although she didn’t say a word, Rhode saw her emotions through her trembling, delicate body. Looking at this scene, Rhode couldn’t help but shake his head, extend his arm, and hold Erin’s shoulder.
“Don’t be too upset, Erin. We have more important things to do.”
“Yes… Rhode.”
Erin took in a deep breath and opened her eyes. At that moment, what remained in the moon queen’s eyes was unwavering determination.
“Next, it is time to let Big Brother pay for everything he did.”
[1] Catchphrase of Sailor Moon
