"Oh my, our busy man has finally arrived."
"I was starting to think I'd been toyed with again."
On a park bench, Shalltear sat rather bored, looking at her nails.
Her pearly-white nails were about two centimeters long, and she was holding a nail file in her other hand, polishing them.
However, since they were already perfectly neat, there was no real need to file them. She was only doing it to pass the time.
Sensing Sephis's presence approaching, Shalltear tossed the nail file aside, looked up, and spoke in a casual tone.
"…Sorry I'm late."
The sarcasm in her voice reached Sephis's ears, leaving him somewhat helpless.
If he remembered correctly, there should still be about half an hour before their agreed time.
Still, he had no intention of arguing.
After all, trying to reason with Shalltear, especially at a time like this, was just asking for trouble.
"Tch."
Seeing his attitude, Shalltear pursed her lips.
Her red eyes narrowed slightly. Then she took out a parasol, lifted the hem of her skirt, and gestured like a noble young lady.
"Let's go. I want to look at some clothes."
Without waiting for a reply, she headed off on her own toward the nearby commercial street.
Seeing this, Sephis quickly followed.
To soothe Shalltear's mood, he could only let her have her little tantrum today.
After all, he really had failed to handle the previous matter properly.
On the crowded street, passersby soon began turning their eyes toward Shalltear as she walked.
Most of them were humans, Dwarves, and other Humanoid Races.
After all, even in the Sorcerer Kingdom, Shalltear's extraordinary beauty stood at the very top.
Just how beautiful was she?
In the eyes of those who stopped to stare, perhaps only Princess Renner, the Prime Minister, could compare.
Her beauty was like a flower in full bloom, giving off an enchanting fragrance that drew in the bees and butterflies around her.
"What ugly desire. I really want to gouge out their eyes and stuff them into their mouths."
"Reproduction is the instinct of all living beings. With their limited lifespans, it's like a relay race. One generation passes the baton to the next, and so it continues."
"You're beautiful. That's an undeniable fact. It's only natural for members of the opposite sex to be drawn to beauty."
Sephis looked at Shalltear and could not help explaining.
To ordinary people of the New World, Shalltear was undoubtedly stunning.
Her beauty could captivate someone with just a few glances. She was more alluring than even the loveliest songstress, and the fragrance she gave off was enough to leave people spellbound.
Though, of course, all of it was only a disguise.
"Oh? Then compared to that gorilla Albedo, who do you think is prettier, her or me?"
Shalltear asked with a smile, as if the question had simply slipped out.
"Hmm. Personally, if I had to choose, I'd probably choose you."
Sephis looked Shalltear over carefully, thought for a moment, and answered.
He was not lying.
From his personal point of view, Shalltear was indeed more pleasing to look at than Albedo.
Perhaps it was because he subconsciously thought of her as family.
After all, the creators of Shalltear and Aura were siblings, so they could be considered sisters.
And Father had also taken part in Mare's creation, while Mare was Aura's younger brother. So in a certain sense, Shalltear was also his… "younger sister"?
"Hmph. At least you have good taste!"
Shalltear nodded in satisfaction at his answer.
Then, ignoring the gazes around her, she arrived at the commercial street.
At a glance, it was packed with people.
Because the Sorcerer Kingdom had announced that it would soon hold a festival, huge numbers of strange and varied races had been pouring into the city almost every day.
The streets were full of vendors, shopping tourists, and even bards singing by the roadside.
Shalltear did not dislike this lively clamor.
After all, Nazarick had once been like this too.
"Sephis, sometimes I really do envy you and that little dwarf. You don't have to lie to yourselves like those of us who were abandoned."
The Supreme Beings had abandoned Nazarick. That was an unavoidable fact.
Although everyone kept telling one another that the Supreme Beings had only left temporarily, in the end, they simply did not want to admit it.
Shalltear had once spoken with Demiurge.
It was said that before the Supreme Being Ulbert-sama left, he had personally gone to see him and spoken the words "quitting the game."
Although they did not know what those words meant, they assumed it must have meant something like parting ways.
As Shalltear recalled the past, emotion stirred in her.
Her creator, Peroroncino-sama, had abandoned her as well.
Though she could not feel resentment, as a child, being abandoned by her father still left her feeling lonely and hurt.
"Shalltear…"
Seeing this, Sephis opened his mouth as though he wanted to offer some comfort, but he did not know what to say.
In the end, he could only pat her shoulder in consolation.
"All right, enough of that. I'm going to buy clothes now. Sephis, clear the way for this young lady!"
Her sadness came quickly and left just as quickly.
As an Undead, Shalltear soon adjusted her emotions. She pointed at the bustling crowd and raised her chin as she gave the order.
"Sure."
Sephis smiled helplessly.
Shalltear was still Shalltear, as carefree as ever.
The two of them passed through the crowd and eventually entered a rather luxurious-looking store.
"Oh, this outfit looks quite nice."
"Mm, this one suits my temperament too…"
Inside the store, Shalltear stood before a mirror, examining her new look.
She wore a fitted red-and-white dress, long black gloves on her hands, black thigh-high socks and small red leather boots below, while her silver hair was tied into a single ponytail that fell down behind her.
Her deep crimson eyes shone with bewitching delight.
Paired with her still-youthful appearance, she was a beauty who combined cuteness and elegance in one body.
(PS: Shalltear's apparent age is around fourteen.)
"As expected, I'm naturally beautiful. I look good in anything. Hey, someone, wrap these up for me. And those too. All of them!"
"Sephis, where are you? Why are you hiding in the corner? Hurry up and pay!"
Shalltear waved her hand grandly, surrounded by the air of a wealthy spender, giving off the presence of a nouveau riche.
In the corner, the named Sephis looked on with a troubled expression.
He did not mind, but watching money vanish like running water still made his heart ache a little.
That was just how shopping worked. Sephis only needed to pay, while Shalltear, who was trying on the clothes, had far more to consider.
Just like that, the two of them shopped until nightfall.
In the end, it cost a full ten thousand gold coins before they finally stopped.
...
Above the endless sea of clouds, a brilliant flash of lightning suddenly tore across the sky.
Looking closely, it was actually a giant dragon wrapped from head to tail in lightning.
It broke through the atmosphere, split the clouds apart, and soared across the heavens at astonishing speed.
The dragon's body was powerful and agile, its scales flashing with lightning. Each time it crossed through the clouds, it stirred up a storm, sending waves of cloud rolling in a magnificent display.
Its flight path left dazzling trails of light behind it, like meteors streaking across the night sky.
On the dragon's back, the faint figure of a young girl could be seen.
"Higher! Higher!"
Shalltear spread her arms, letting the rushing air sweep over her body, a bright smile on her face.
Hearing this, the dragon let out a low rumble.
Then thunder turned into light and enveloped them both. With a piercing sound of tearing air, a stream of light trailing a glowing tail swept across the sky.
Its scales shone with a mysterious radiance, as though reflecting the stars.
As the dragon continued rising, it drew closer and closer to the edge of the atmosphere.
Like a burning meteor, the dragon's body gradually pierced through the atmosphere and entered the void of outer space.
In space, Sephis released his giant dragon form and changed into his Dragonoid form.
Without using magic, the two fell under the pull of gravity while gazing at the distant stars and the endless universe.
A blinding bolt of lightning descended from the sky, tearing through the heavens before crashing into the ground with a deafening boom.
A massive crater was smashed into the earth, smoke and dust spreading everywhere as mud and stones flew in all directions.
From the crater, Sephis and Shalltear walked out.
After glancing around, Sephis set Shalltear, whom he had been holding in both arms, down on a large boulder.
"Lightning really is fast."
Shalltear crossed her legs and sighed with feeling.
After finishing their shopping, the two had not returned to Nazarick right away. Instead, they had come to the outskirts to test the changes in Sephis's strength.
Thinking back on what had just happened, even Shalltear had to admit that it seemed she could no longer beat him.
"Dragon Transformation has significantly improved every aspect of me, including my understanding of the lightning element's property changes, as well as my use of the Dragon Vein's power."
As Sephis spoke, he held out his hand, and a silver flame rose from it.
Faintly, nine silver fire dragons could be seen weaving through the flame. Each fire dragon seemed to possess intelligence of its own, a truly astonishing sight.
A trace of Dragon Aura spread from within, making the power of the Soul feel somewhat stifled, as though pressed down by an invisible force that made it hard to breathe.
Through property change, he had manifested the violent lightning element in the form of flame. Then he fused it with the power of the Dragon Vein, granting it the concept of burning and balancing the violent magic within it, making this power more stable and more powerful.
"An attack aimed at the Soul, combined with the lightning element's advantage against the Undead. That really does make me wary."
"And the lightning element… you should still be able to raise its power further, shouldn't you?"
The silver flame burned gently, with nine slender fire dragons moving through it in all directions, like nine little silver fish playing in water, lively and nimble.
For Undead like her and Momonga-sama, this power was absolutely the stuff of nightmares. It made one shiver just thinking about it.
"In theory, yes. The power of the lightning element itself has no upper limit. The condition is whether I can withstand the backlash it brings."
The lightning element was fire, the power of the earth veins was oil, magic was the firewood, and he himself was a blazing furnace.
But right now, he had already reached his limit. Like a mountain that had reached its peak, it would be difficult to climb any higher.
Continuing to grow stronger in a short time was almost impossible unless he tried to come into contact with another kind of power, like climbing a different mountain.
For example, the power of Catastrophe that Father-sama controlled.
The offspring of the Platinum Dragon Lord had been cursed by the world, and the power of Catastrophe had fallen in the form of thunder. Perhaps he could try that.
Thunder of Catastrophe?
Although it would mainly rely on the power of Catastrophe, with the lightning element as support, it would still touch upon the property changes of the lightning element in the end.
[Lightning Element Ruler LV10]
With the help of this special class, it was as though he possessed a key to open the gate of the lightning element.
On top of that, he had absorbed Naohara's Dragon Crystal, so his adaptability to the power of Catastrophe should not be poor. It might be worth trying.
If I could master the power of Catastrophe, then I would become Father's true child in both name and reality.
(PS: The power of the Dragon Crystal makes the essence of his bloodline close to the protagonist, while the power of Catastrophe makes the essence of his magic close to the protagonist.)
"Leaving that aside, I apologize to you again for what happened before."
Sephis drew back his thoughts and spoke softly.
After spending the day together, he knew she most likely no longer cared, but he still wanted to make sure.
"That matter? To be honest, I'm still rather unhappy about it. Being outdone by that gorilla Albedo and all."
"Hmm… If you're willing to lick my foot, I suppose I could reluctantly forgive you."
Shalltear tapped her lips with a finger, her eyes shifting slightly as a wicked smile appeared on her face.
She reached down and lightly removed her shoe, revealing a delicate pink foot. Her stocking slid down along her calf, its silky texture enough to make one's heart stir.
Her small, exquisite toes curled slightly, round and cute like pearls, while the skin of her sole showed a faint pale tint, giving off a charming softness.
"What do you think? Lick it, and I'll forgive you."
Shalltear teased.
Her little foot trembled lightly in the air, as if showing off its liveliness and playfulness.
But before she could finish, a clean, decisive punch had already fallen, striking her on the head like a meteor.
"Bang!"
The fist met her head, and a miserable scream rang out, echoing around them like a pig being slaughtered.
"Don't push your luck!"
Sephis said with a dark expression.
As expected of Shalltear. It was so unsurprising that it somehow felt perfectly normal.
"Hey, I was just joking! You actually hit me, you bastard!"
"Joking? Do you believe that yourself?"
Sephis looked at Shalltear clutching her head and rolled his eyes helplessly. Then he tore open a wound on his arm, filled a cup with Dragon Blood, and handed it to her.
"Take it."
"Mm… it has a pleasantly tingling taste. Not bad."
Shalltear took a small sip of the Dragon Blood in her hand and gave her assessment.
"All right, we should head back."
Sephis crouched down, helped Shalltear put her stocking and boot back on, then spoke.
Although today had been tiring, it was finally over.
***
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