CHAPTER 178: EX 178. CONDENSE

"How is this possible..." Leon’s voice cracked under the weight of disbelief. His eyes never left Elizabeth’s trembling body, the glow of the Primordial Dragon Art revealing the turmoil inside her veins.

Nikko, catching the look etched across his face, stepped closer. "Leon... what happened?"

His answer came unguarded, almost as if spoken by instinct. "It’s Lizzie. The Dragonic energy flowing through her... it’s more than she can handle."

Nikko’s breath stalled in her chest. "Why would Dragonic energy be inside her at all?"

Still staring at Elizabeth, Leon’s voice dropped low, heavy with something only he seemed to understand. "Because... she’s a dragon hybrid."

The words struck Nikko like thunder. A revelation of that scale could shatter anyone, yet she swallowed her shock. She held back her questions, not daring to interrupt. Because what Leon did next would decide whether Elizabeth lived or broke apart.

"I have to siphon the energy from her," Leon muttered, his eyes flickering with unease. "But it isn’t mine. If I take it into myself, it’ll tear me apart. I need to store it somewhere inside her body, somewhere it won’t wreak havoc."

Nikko leaned closer. "Then why aren’t you doing it?"

Leon exhaled, his hand trembling as it brushed Elizabeth’s cheek. Her skin burned under his touch, and her body convulsed in pain. His voice was raw, almost broken. "Because I’m afraid. Afraid that one mistake... and I’ll hurt Lizzie instead of saving her."

Nikko understood. Leon Kael, the boy who could crush mountains with sheer force, was helpless in the face of something that required care, restraint, and precision. Against demons or beasts, his attacked never faltered. But here, with the girl he loved breaking apart in front of him, fear wrapped around him like chains.

Elizabeth groaned, her body arching violently. Nikko reacted instantly. With one hand, she pinned Elizabeth down, her strength firm but gentle. With the other, she pressed her palm against Leon’s shoulder. "Leon," she said, her voice steady, unyielding, "I believe in you. And I know you would never hurt her. So believe in yourself too."

For a moment, silence pressed between them, broken only by Elizabeth’s ragged breaths. Then Leon closed his eyes, drawing strength from Nikko’s words. "...You’re right, Nikki. Thanks."

Her lips curved faintly. "Anytime."

Leon inhaled deeply, heat rushing through his chest as he steadied his shaking hands. "Here we go."

He placed his palm gently on Elizabeth’s forehead. The Primordial Dragon Art roared to life, reacting the instant his will touched her. Dragonic energy burst from her core like a raging storm, lashing against the air.

Leon’s pupils slit, glowing with draconic light. His voice cut through the chaos, sharp and commanding. "Break!"

Elizabeth’s body jolted once, then eased. The violent thrashing ceased. Her breaths slowed, her muscles unclenched, and the wild tide within her stilled, as though his words had chained the storm.

Nikko released her hold, stepping back as if she’d been holding her breath all along. "Is it over?"

Leon shook his head slowly, sweat beading down his temple. His hand remained on Elizabeth, energy still crackling under his skin. "No," he whispered, his tone grim. "This... this is where the hard part begins."

****

The energy coursing through Leon’s body was too much for him to bear. His Primordial Dragon Art tried desperately to regulate the torrent, but it wasn’t his energy, it was wild and foreign, resisting every attempt to be tamed. His veins felt like they would burst as his body strained against the weight of it.

’Where did this much energy come from?’ The thought cut through his pain like a shard of ice. The suddenness of it unsettled him, made him suspect something else at play. But there was no time to unravel mysteries. Not now.

’I’ll have time to think about that later. Right now, I have to help Elizabeth.’

Most would have said he was insane. Why not cast the energy away? Why risk pouring it back and causing irreversible damage? But Leon knew better. Dragon bodies, at least the ones of this universe were built differently. He had no idea if this matched the dragons of the fictions in his past life, but here, every part of their being was necessary. Even the harmful pieces.

It was all tied to their unyielding dragon pride, that maddening belief that they were perfect creatures, and that anything born of them was flawless. Elizabeth’s human half made her less prideful than the monsters she descended from, but her body still carried that heritage. The blood remembered, even if her heart did not.

The surge inside her had been triggered by something else, yes, but it was still hers. Rejecting it outright would have meant rejecting a part of her existence. That was why Leon had no choice but to return it.

The dragon bloodline remained one of the strongest in the trial universe, and that was their reason; perhaps their excuse, to be prideful.

Leon gritted his teeth as his vision blurred, his face paling under the recoil. His own body screamed against him, but he forced the energy tighter, shaping it, refining it until it reached the state he wanted.

’I’ve refined it to a satisfactory level... now it’s time to put it back in.’

"Here goes nothing," he muttered under his breath.

He pressed his palm against Elizabeth’s body and let the flood return.

The scream came instantly.

****

The energy no longer tore through Elizabeth like a storm. Instead, it moved in steady waves, coursing through her veins like a flowing river. Yet, even in this calmer state, the pressure it exerted was relentless, as if her body were being forced to expand beyond its limits. Her breath trembled, sweat pearled along her skin, and still the strain lingered.

Leon’s hands tightened against her, his brow furrowed in concentration. He could not take away that pressure, not entirely but he could manage it. Now that the torrent had been returned to her, the true work began. Guiding the flow, he searched for the places where her body could bear the burden, where the energy could rest without breaking her apart.

Three cavities revealed themselves, hidden reservoirs woven deep into her draconic flesh. To anyone else, they would have been invisible, unreachable. But Leon saw them clearly. The first, broad and stable, lay within her abdomen; the other two were smaller, one near her chest, the other at the crown of her being.

Just placing the energy there wouldn’t be enough. These spaces could not hope to hold the flood as it was. The energy was too vast, and volatile. Left unrestrained, it would spill back out, tearing at her from within. Leon knew this truth the moment he felt the strain across his own body. He had to shape it, and condense it until it became compact, and its presence no longer overflowed.

That was why he had refined it. His Primordial Dragon Art had not stripped impurities away; it had stretched the energy thin, smoothed its chaotic edges, preparing it for compression. Now came the moment to test his control.

He drew the first batch inward and guided it into the cavity at her abdomen.