Chapter 166

Chapter 166
## Chapter: 166
Chapter Title: Dragon God

Isera knit her brows and shifted her gaze, her throat releasing a low, pained sound a moment later.

“······ Dear Sister.”

Standing among the common demons she had brought in her wake was a specific figure.

Although it bore the masculine features of a human, Isera identified the soul instantly.

“Have you once again slipped away without the Great Demon King’s permission?”

“I wouldn’t call it slipping away. My true essence remains anchored in the demonic territory, after all.”

The entity brushed off the accusation with a playful, innocent air.

This was Isera’s sole living relative—the sovereign of the seventh abyss.

“If the Great Demon King discovers your absence······.”

“Do you truly believe he would waste his breath rebuking me?”

“Referring to him as ‘he’? Your words border on treason.”

“Haha, Isera. You remain the ever-obedient pupil, I see.”

The sister let out a vibrant laugh and gave Isera’s shoulder a familiar pat.

“He is currently preoccupied with testing the limits of his fresh vessel. Do you honestly think he has the mental space to fret over my whereabouts?”

“··· Sister. I can overlook this, but I beg you to show more decorum when the other lords are present.”

“In the presence of those whose power pales before mine?”

Isera released a weary breath.

Yet, she couldn’t deny the truth of it.

Her sister was a peerless force of nature.

Even the other sovereigns were forced to bow to her might.

Even the ‘Demon King’ himself.

She certainly possessed the standing to speak with such audacity.

“Changing the subject, you’ve picked up a rather strange companion.”

“Are you referring to Union?”

The sister gave a slow nod.

Union, the practitioner of the Golden Rule.

A mortal, yet a highly unusual one.

“He will prove his worth. The ‘vault’ he carries is packed with extraordinary treasures.”

“Just ensure you don’t become too familiar with him. No mortal hailing from that empire has ever possessed a sound mind.”

“I shall keep your warning in mind.”

Isera inclined her head.

The haughty commander only showed such deference to two beings.

The Great Demon King and her own flesh and blood, her sister—to no one else.

The sister smirked, her eyes drifting toward the firmament below.

Earth. That pale blue orb.

A world where the advancement of society clearly outpaced even that of Pangeniar.

“··· Sister. What prompted your arrival here? Is it that you lack faith in my capability?”

“You are of my own blood. How could I ever harbor doubt toward you?”

“Then what is the reason?”

“Simple inquisitiveness.”

“Inquisitiveness regarding what?”

It was a rare occurrence for the one hailed as the ultimate power to feel the itch of curiosity.

It felt bizarre that anything on this Earth could capture her attention.

When pressed, she merely gave a nonchalant shrug.

“Did you not mention that the singular mortal who once claimed my life resides here?”

“······ Wilhelm has perished.”

Even that terrifying entity, Wilhelm, had been brought down by the Demon King.

The Demon King had claimed his physical form as his own, erasing any vestige of his existence.

Regardless, the ruler of the seventh abyss shook her head in disagreement.

“The true architect who pulled Wilhelm’s strings. I wish to behold that primary form. The one man who succeeded in killing me, a feat no other could achieve.”

Dragon God

The lineage of the British royals.

Despite the passing of Elizabeth III, the United Kingdom remained mired in turmoil.

The public’s patience with the crown had reached its breaking point, fueled by a precarious internal climate and the sudden onslaught of unidentified beasts.

The systematic demise of one rightful heir after another had hollowed out the royal hierarchy, serving as a primary catalyst for the current unrest.

“Abolish the crown!”

“End the reign of the absolute monarchy!”

Massive crowds of citizens swarmed the palace gates.

They shouted in a singular voice, demanding the end of the royal line.

And through this sea of protestors, a pristine white vehicle slowly made its way.

“······ Is it truly wise to be present today, Oliver? The atmosphere is incredibly volatile.”

The elderly butler, Melson, voiced his concerns with a strained look.

Oliver offered a faint, reassuring smile and gave a nod.

“I must make an appearance. After all, the world currently considers me a ghost.”

“But even taking that into account······.”

“I am a member of the bloodline. My rank in the succession may be low, but I am an heir nonetheless.”

The lines on Melson’s weathered face seemed to sink deeper.

While it was a relief that Oliver, who had been sequestered on his island, had finally chosen to rejoin society, the circumstances were dire.

The focus on the throne was the issue.

Following Queen Elizabeth’s passing, the high-ranking members of the family had been dying off in rapid succession.

This was no string of coincidences.

‘Targeted murder.’

Someone was methodically purging the line.

The British royal house was currently split into three warring factions; if Oliver entered the fray now, he would be like a tiny fish caught in the middle of a shark fight.

Furthermore, with other healthy relatives still in play, Oliver’s sudden emergence would likely be met with suspicion.

‘I will no longer remain in the shadows.’

Oliver pulled his shoulders back with newfound resolve.

He certainly grasped the weight of Melson’s anxieties.

However, his experiences as Hudson in the world of Pangeniar had fundamentally reshaped him.

Though his nuptials had been delayed, the experience had allowed him to crystallize his purpose.

To stand as an equal before Serengeti, he had to establish his standing on Earth first.

‘I can only provide meaningful support to Lord Randolph if I wield actual influence.’

That wasn’t his only motivation.

The safety of both worlds was hanging in the balance.

The scales of power required stabilization.

Oliver exited the vehicle.

Hoo.

Drawing a deep breath, he stepped into the palace halls, where the crisis council was likely already in session.

A colossal vessel drifted through the clouds.

Union was present for the assembly of the demon legion’s supreme commander and her circle of elite demons.

“Why is a human in our presence?”

“Even if this is the commander’s decree, it defies logic.”

“······ He appears far too insignificant to stand among our ranks.”

The elite demons voiced their disdain one by one.

Despite it being Isera’s command, they could not comprehend why a lowly human was invited to such a critical briefing.

To their eyes, Union’s power level was laughably inferior.

‘Fools. They haven’t even caught on to the fact that I’ve masked my true strength.’

Isera alone grasped his actual worth.

The very moment their paths crossed, Isera had intuited that Union had suppressed his level by choice.

This was because Union had distilled the bulk of his martial experience into liquid essences.

It was the specific technique an irregular like him utilized to transit between dimensions.

-Kya······.

‘··· Stay hidden.’

Union quickly pushed back Hel, who had started to emerge.

At that moment, Legion Commander Isera made her entrance.

“Everyone is accounted for.”

“We offer our salutations, Legion Commander!”

As one, the assembly dropped to their knees, their voices echoing in the chamber.

Union, having sworn his fealty, followed suit.

He finished tucking Hel away and knelt with a bit of clumsiness, casting a furtive look toward Isera.

‘Who is that individual beside her?’

There was a stranger standing at Isera’s side.

Union was intimately familiar with every high-ranking demon.

As a master sorcerer, a face once seen was never forgotten.

That implied this newcomer was not an elite demon.

‘Someone permitted to stand level with Legion Commander Isera, the leader of millions. Only another hell sovereign could hold such a position.’

That look of pure arrogance.

Any ordinary demon who dared to mirror that expression in front of Isera would have been annihilated instantly.

Union felt a flicker of confusion that something had bypassed his observation.

More startling was the reaction—or lack thereof—from the other demons.

The very demons who had just been mocking him for his humanity showed absolutely no curiosity regarding the lesser demon standing with Isera.

‘Are the others already aware of her identity?’

Who could she be?

While he wrestled with the mystery, Isera spoke.

“I am aware that you all question why the breach has opened, yet we have not launched a total offensive.”

It was a valid point.

Union had triggered a Meteor strike the moment he arrived, but he was an outlier.

The demonic hordes would not stir without a direct mandate from Isera.

As the room fell silent in anticipation, Isera continued.

“Before we can fully claim another realm, there is a vital preliminary step. It is the very task that the Wraith King Ahram, the architect of the initial breach, failed to execute.”

The sovereign of the first abyss.

Wraith King Ahram.

Yet he had collapsed before his invasion could even find its footing.

A truly miserable failure.

“The incompetent Ahram neglected this essential groundwork. Instead, he met his end in isolation. Now, that responsibility falls to me.”

Ahram’s vanishing had sparked chaos even within the demon world.

The vanguard of the invasion had simply blinked out of existence.

It was a massive scandal—no one knew his location or his objective.

All that was certain was that he disappeared prior to the main assault.

Along with the vast army he commanded.

“What is this objective, Legion Commander?”

When a high-ranking subordinate asked, Isera gave a slight nod.

“The elimination of the ‘Rift Guardians.’”

“The Rift Guardians… are you referring to the ‘Dragon Gods’?”

“Your knowledge is accurate.”

The Rift Guardians.

The protectors tasked with sealing the world’s fractures.

Commonly known as Dragon Gods, and the plan was to hunt them down.

Union sharpened his focus at this revelation; this was entirely new information.

“The ‘Dragon Gods’ belonging to this ‘Earth’ are currently deep in shadows. We are uncertain if there is a lone protector or several. This is all thanks to the incompetence of Ahram.”

That fool Ahram.

Her tone carried a weight of genuine contempt.

Since he had vanished without achieving a single goal, he was a natural target for her scorn.

However, Isera’s animosity toward Ahram seemed particularly sharp, as if their relationship had always been fractured.

“Nevertheless, we are not without means to force the ‘Dragon Gods’ into the open. One of those methods involves you, Union.”

“Me······ Do I play a part in this?”

Startled by the sudden mention, Union asked with visible tension.

He had no idea he was a key component in drawing out the Dragon Gods.

Had she foreseen his utility even back when she first took him in?

If so, Isera was far more calculating than he had imagined.

Furthermore, if a command was given here, he had no choice but to risk his life to fulfill it.

Isera declared.

“Manifest your concealed strength. When the equilibrium of this world is shattered, the guardians will be forced to reveal themselves.”

“······.”

Ah.

Union was stunned internally.

She was ordering him to consume his experience elixirs and reclaim his true level.

Only he possessed the unique ability to store his progression in bottled form.

She had decoded his secret instantly and integrated him into her invasion strategy.

By reclaiming his power all at once, the guardians of the balance would be alerted, and Isera would then strike them down herself.

She was terrifyingly precise.

She had even accounted for the sudden appearance of someone like him to further her goals.

“······ I require a window of time, Legion Commander.”

However, he couldn’t simply comply without a buffer.

“How long do you need?”

“I cannot reintegrate my full power instantaneously. I require at least one month.”

“Hm. A month.”

Isera was not privy to the exact mechanics of how he had bottled his experience.

Because of that blind spot, he could afford to negotiate.

“I shall grant you twelve days. If you fail to reach your peak by then, I shall be deeply displeased.”

“I will apply myself fully, Legion Commander.”

He let out a quiet, internal sigh.

Twelve days. Effectively a two-week window.

‘I have to complete my primary objective within that timeframe first.’

Union harbored his own massive goals.

Tasks he needed to finalize on this planet.

First, identify the culprit who had manipulated his path and deliver a personal retribution.

Second, locate a specific ‘Origin Class.’

Fourteen days felt dangerously brief for such an undertaking.

‘······ Why is she watching me so intently?’

He suddenly felt the weight of a gaze and knit his brows.

It was the demon standing next to Isera.

That entity was staring at him with a subtle curl of her lip.

It was as if she knew his very soul.

A look of mockery, of disdain, as if she were viewing something beneath her.

《The designation for the first queen has been confirmed as ‘Hana.’》

《The queen expresses satisfaction with her title.》

《The queen has commenced the egg-laying process.》

《To produce eggs, a sacrifice of 1% of the king’s ‘vital essence’ is required per unit.》

《Information: Bolstering ‘Natural Regeneration’ will accelerate the replenishment of essence.》

《Information: The base level for the demon brood produced by ‘Hana Queen’ is 6.》

《Information: Rare variants may manifest with a low probability, influenced by the queen’s unique attributes.》

One percent of essence per egg.

However, a human life is forfeit if they lose 30% of their total blood volume.

‘Natural Regeneration.’

That was the key variable.

It was the sole method to keep the essence supply moving.

‘My current Natural Regeneration stands at approximately 1,300%.’

Roughly thirteen times the standard recovery rate.

If she produced 30 eggs daily, that would allow for a total of 390.

‘At most, I can manage around 400. I’m nowhere near the thousand-unit mark.’

To truly push the queen’s production to its limit, Natural Regeneration needed to hit the 3,300% threshold.

But increasing that stat was notoriously difficult.

‘I’ve managed to gain a thousand through the Ouroboros Stigma—that’s pretty much the ceiling.’

The remaining boost came from the Baal Set.

Typically, equipment that provided significant Natural Regeneration bonuses was of mythic rank or higher.

‘Should I seek out the Progenitor Set?’

The Progenitor gear.

It was the first thing that came to mind when considering massive regeneration buffs.

Even so, even the full Progenitor Set wouldn’t get him to ,300%.

He rubbed his chin, lost in calculation, before finally dismissing the thought.

‘The strategy for Isera is solid enough as it stands. There is no reason to become obsessed with Natural Regeneration.’

Getting caught up in the numbers would only lead to losing sight of the bigger picture.