Serum

It had taken several days, much trial and error, and a constant honing of his skills. 

But finally…

Dirk was able to start the armor. 

He couldn’t simply bring materials together and think it was finished. This armor wasn’t a solid piece, but a mass of intertwined chains, scales, and leather. It was atrociously complex to be Dirk’s first official craft, but he was pushing himself to do it anyway. 

It was because he knew what to do. He had everything blueprinted. His only issue was actually carrying out the tasks, and he wouldn’t allow himself to ease the challenge just because he couldn’t get things right on the first try. 

So he continued to force himself to hone his craft. 

And the two abilities he focused on most were Aura and elemental manipulation. 

He needed Aura manipulation so he could simply cut snake leather, and he needed to manipulate the elements in order to smooth out and properly shape metals like the wire so he could make chains. 

And in the end, elemental manipulation gave him the most issues. 

The Living Gloves assisted him greatly in the focus of his mana, but manipulating it with enough strength to shape the metal proved to be far more difficult than Dirk imagined. 

Smoothing a wire was one thing, but bending it was another. Not only did he have to create proper chain links, but he had to bend the metal while linking it with another chain, hooking on a scale, and weaving it through the leather. 

All these variables made it far more difficult, and Dirk was hard pressed to even start the armor. 

But after several days of constant attempts, he was able to link a few chains. 

On the table within the vault was a mess of leather strips, scales, and tiny lengths of wire. Dirk had long since forged almost the entire turtle shell into wire, so now, he just needed to piece everything together. 

But there was one other issue that plagued him. 

The scales. 

They were big enough for the chains, yet still small enough to give him trouble. He needed to poke them with holes that were big enough for the chains, but heating the scales proved abnormally difficult. Though it shouldn’t have surprised him. These scales could conduct the extreme lightning of those snakes, so it would obviously be able to absorb heat without getting damaged. 

The pile of scales that he had managed to poke holes in was small, but he still managed to succeed, so it was only a matter of spending the time. 

Dirk was proud of his work in progress, and he continued to work on it for as long as he could. 

But then one day…

As Dirk was twisting some more wire, he suddenly felt a vast aura wash over the vault. 

For a moment he thought there was a black snake outside since the aura caused the air to turn static.

But the aura was far too powerful, placing down immeasurable pressure on his soul. And Dirk recognized the kind of aura, that shapeless power of a higher existence. 

Dragon.

Dirk was baffled, wondering why he was sensing the presence of a dragon. Until Spyte, who was outside the vault, suddenly shared her vision. 

[Dirk! It’s an actual dragon!]

Through his mana vision he could see clearly the being that seemed to be composed of lightning itself. All other mana was washed away as this elemental god landed before the vault. 

Dirk’s mind scrambled for explanations, wondering what he should, or could, do in the presence of something so powerful. Though more than that, he was wondering why a dragon was here at all.

Until it spoke.

{Dirk Strider.}

“...Yes?”

Dirk answered back at the call of his name, even more confused than before. 

Then, Dirk recoiled when he saw the head of this dragon poke through the wall of the vault, as if it weren’t material. It looked directly at him with eyes of lightning. 

{I am the lightning dragon Uuvos, and I am here to retrieve you.}

“...Why?”

{Your friend requires your help.}

“Friend? Oh…”

Dirk’s face fell as he recalled Pandora. 

“What the hell did she do now?”

{That can be explained another time. For now, I will take you to my abode.}

Saying that, the dragon backed up and released a wave of lightning mana. 

This mana wrapped around Dirk, carefully cradling him before restraining him. 

[Dirk!]

Spyte shouted before recalling herself to Dirk’s soul, taking form as a tattoo. 

Then, the dragon flapped its wings, taking to the sky. Lightning crackled all around its body, connecting to the heavens and the earth. 

And with a flash, a streak was created, flying beyond the horizon and leaving behind a thunderous roar. 

………

Dirk momentarily arrived within the abode. 

There on a mattress was Pandora. There was a bit of blood coming out of her mouth, but otherwise she looked fine. 

Dirk walked over to her, disregarding the Grand Marshal and Ethan who were sitting to the side. 

The Grand Marshal had a complicated gaze as she watched Dirk kneel by Pandora. 

“Hey. What the hell did you do?”

“I’m dying and that’s how you greet me?”

Pandora smiled weakly, letting out a rough voice that seemed to highlight whatever injury she had sustained. 

But Dirk wasn’t buying it. His face was only doubtful. 

“You’re not dying. Your body is sucking for mana though. What, cast a hard spell and couldn’t handle it?”

“I just unsealed a damn dragon! Cut me some slack and let me suck on you for a bit! Please?”

Pandora looked up at Dirk pitifully. Before he gave in though, he looked over to Ethan and the Grand Marshal. 

“Did she unseal a dragon?”

“She did…”

Ethan answered, but it didn’t sound like he believed it himself. 

Still, Dirk could sense the gaze of a massive lightning dragon behind him, so Pandora probably wasn’t lying. The dragon even bent down his head and spoke. 

{She is the only reason I’ve awoken from my slumber. A cunning conspiracy is underfoot, and she thwarted the seal that prevented me from responding to the call of the primordials.}

“...I have no idea what any of that means, but I guess you aren’t lying.”

Dirk sighed as he looked back down at Pandora. 

She smiled and pat the mattress beside her. 

“Come. I just need some of your thick juicy essence.”

“Good god… Fine. If it gets you to shut up.”

Dirk rubbed his temple before sitting on the mattress beside her. 

Smiling widely, Pandora pulled her body over and exposed the tattoo of the blood pact she and Dirk had made which remained on his neck even now. 

Dirk felt her fangs pierce into his skin, targeting his arteries and drawing blood from them. The blood pact activated, allowing the easy transfer of blood.

“Mmm…”

She moaned in delight as she drank. Ethan’s face scrunched in confusion while the Grand Marshal’s thoughts ran wild. 

Dirk let her have her way for a while, that was until she started sucking down more than a liter of his blood. 

“That’s enough.”

“Mm?”

“Off. Now.”

“...Mm.”

Reluctantly, Pandora pulled away, licking the stray drop of blood that went down her lip. 

The wound she created healed instantly, some sort of useful byproduct of the blood pact. Now, while Dirk felt a bit anemic, it was nothing he couldn’t regenerate quickly. At least Pandora seemed much more rejuvenated. 

Still, Dirk was a bit baffled. 

“Do you have an abnormally large stomach or something? How can you drink so much?”

“Blood isn’t simply a liquid to digest, but essence to absorb. I can drink as much as I want. But because our blood pact is weak, I don’t get as much efficiency out of your blood as I would if our pact were deeper. That’s the only reason I needed to drink so much.”

Pandora explained while pulling herself to her feet. 

She shot him a glance. 

“If we made a deeper pact, I could drink half the blood and get double the essence. Even more so if it were a Life’s Blood Pact. But if we went that far, I’d only ever be able to drink your blood. That’s no different from getting married, at least in vampire culture.”

“Marry you?”

Dirk asked with a repulsed face, causing Pandora to narrow her eyes at him. 

“Hey, do you know how many people want to marry me? Nobles would go to war with each other over the chance. If not for the few questionable deaths of several noble heirs, there would be crowds of suitors flocking after me.”

Pandora flicked her hair back, as if it were something to be proud of. 

But her words only confirmed Dirk’s apprehension toward her. He shook his head.

“Whatever. Now explain everything.”

“Fine, fine.”

Rolling her eyes, Pandora explained everything she knew about her encounter with the dragon and the seal that had kept it asleep. 

She also added in her speculations, and looked toward the Grand Marshal at a certain point. 

“Grand Marshals of the Horizon Empire are being tasked with investigating these major dungeons and the dragons within them. I’m going to take a guess and say that your Emperor Horizon wants these dragons active. But this thing with the seal definitely goes deeper. I’m afraid another power is revealing itself.”

“Another power? What kind?”

Dirk asked curiously. As far as he knew, there were only 5 major powers in this world, which were the five Empires of the world. 

Pandora scratched her head. 

“Not sure, but this definitely isn’t the only dragon that’s been sealed. If it’s local to the Horizon Empire then we don’t have to worry too much. But I have a feeling that it’s worldwide, as only a power with really high Tier light mages can seal a damn dragon, and such a power wouldn’t remained confined to only a single empire. In that case, we’re dealing with something that has influence in every empire, and specializes in light magic.”

“The Sovereign Church.”

The Grand Marshal suddenly blurted out, causing Pandora to smile.

“Wow! I think you just confirmed my guess. You guys know about the sealed dragons?”

“...I can’t say.”

The Grand Marshal backed off, but it seemed like she was silently confirming Pandora’s question. 

It made Pandora smile even wider. 

“Good. In that case, you guys are actually lucky. The Sovereign Church has the weakest influence in the Horizon Empire, something your emperor remained adamant about. I wondered why he didn’t like the church, but if they’re sabataging the dragons, and your emperor wants the dragons awake, then I can assume that in this war they’ll fall on opposite sides. It's amazing though that such things have been developing for many years past. Jeez, I came into this world too late.”

Pandora sighed. 

While Dirk wasn’t able to follow her train of thought, he could understand the conclusions. 

He had only heard of the Sovereign Church in passing. He had never seen anything related to that church though, so he assumed it was just some random cult that took advantage of small villages. 

But it turned out to be a far more significant power than he thought. In this global game of war that was beginning to blaze, they were a main player. 

Pandora clapped. 

“Well, looks like they aren’t called the Sovereign Church by coincidence. Anyway, it’s about time we got out of here. Grand Marshal over here needs to report back to her emperor, and I’d like to move on with my life, though I can’t say this wasn’t a valuable experience. Hey dragon.”

{Yes.}

The dragon answered her call. After hearing all of Pandora’s deductions, it was impressed and beginning to like this little human. 

She glanced at the dragon. 

“Can you take us to the entrance?”

{No problem.}

“Thanks.”

She smiled. 

A moment later, the dragon wrapped everyone in cocoons of lightning. And in mere moments, they all thundered through the sky. 

After being dropped by the entrance, they went through it and left the dungeon. The dragon went with them as they appeared outside. 

With that, they were now able to part ways. Pandora faced the Grand Marshal before she could scurry away. 

“Hey Victoria.”

“...What.”

The Grand Marshal was almost timid in front of the princess, causing Dirk to assume Pandora did something bad. 

Pandora was all smiles though. 

“When you return, make sure to tell your emperor that the dragons within the dungeons are being sealed by the Sovereign Church. The only other people who could possibly do such a thing large scale are the fairies, but I highly doubt they’ve gone through the trouble. As for the dragon…”

Pandora turned and craned her neck to see the tall lightning dragon. 

“I don’t know. Uuvos. What are your plans?”

{I shall await the order of the Primordials, and do as they command. But, my task will likely be assembling an army.}

“Army? Of what?”

{Elementals.}

Uuvos dipped its head. 

{They are no different from our spawns, beings of pure mana birthed from our ever accumulating power. They shall be the denizens of our armies against the gods.}

“Army… Looks like I need to prepare a lot more.”

Pandora’s brows were furrowed in concern over the future. The dragon’s words did not bode well. 

“Sigh… Well, then we should be on our way. I’m long overdue for being in the damned caves of the Haven. So long, dragon.”

{Wait a moment.}

Before they separated, Uuvos stopped them. It turned its head to Dirk, speaking within his mind. 

{I have noticed that you have a deep affinity for Lightning. And… the mark of the Dark Dragon Primordial.}

“...”

Dirk silently stared at the dragon who had apparently seen that mark. Then again, Dirk didn’t find it that surprising.

Waving its hand, a cluster of lightning congealed within the dragon’s claws. It condensed with extreme power, shrinking more and more until it became a lightning crystal.

Uuvos handed it to Dirk.

{Take it. It is a mana crystal containing comprehensions into Lightning itself, something for you to study from. Do not allow your lightning affinity to go to waste. It can be an extremely powerful tool, even if it is auxiliary. And, if you’re doing as I suspect with those mana hearts within your body, then you will need comprehensions into lightning in order to advance any further. Be diligent in your studies. Now, I shall take my leave.}

With that, the dragon retreated to the dungeon. Dirk started fiddling with the lightning crystal as Pandora took out the car. 

Before they could board and leave though, Ethan caught up with Dirk. 

“Hey. Dirk.”

“Yes?”

Dirk faced his brother plainly. The two weren’t close, having spent nearly no time with each other, but they were still brothers. Even Dirk recognized the inherent trust that was supposed to be present between them, though he would never blindly trust anybody unless they proved themselves. 

Ethan wasn’t sure what to say to this distant brother of his, but he eventually got some words out. 

“If you ever need a place, the military is always open. You don’t even have to join. Just know it's a place to fall back on should you need help.”

“...Alright. Thanks.”

Dirk nodded before boarding the car with Pandora. 

Ethan watched him with complicated emotions. 

They had led such vastly different lives. But what changed everything was when Dirk disappeared for a couple years. 

While his parents wouldn’t tell him the specifics, Ethan had seen how horribly stressed and anguished they were for those couple years. Especially Cecilia. She had ceaslessly worked in covert operations for those couple years, showing Ethan a side of her he didn’t think was possible. 

And when he saw Dirk at that city, he could tell. 

That younger brother of his was no longer there. Dirk may as well have been a stranger he didn’t know. 

Ethan didn’t want to be so distant from Dirk. He felt it was regrettable. He felt like the only one Dirk could turn to was his mother and nobody else. 

But Ethan wanted otherwise. For his entire family, he wanted them to be a strong unit. Especially after overhearing about all these conspiracies involving dragons and gods and various powers. 

Those who stuck together through trust would survive in this world that had rapidly descended into war. Ethan knew his family was the most reliable group to give that trust to, and he wanted Dirk to be a part of that. 

But seeing Dirk drive away with the vampire princess, he realized doing that may be more difficult than he imagined. Dirk seemed to be wrapped up in something greater, and he wasn’t about to back out.

With those thoughts, Ethan watched the car disappear in the distance. And with the urging of the Grand Marshal, he turned around and departed.