26. Not Sincere Enough
The meeting hall, shrouded in darkness, was suddenly illuminated by ghostly blue torches.
Emerging in the firelight were three figures with varying expressions. The flames cast their shadows on the wall, revealing the silhouettes of vicious dragons.
At the head of the conference table, a man with fluffy red hair raised a glass of red wine. He disdainfully crossed his legs on the table, a slight smirk playing on his lips. Although he was smiling, it seemed more like anger and reprimand.
The flickering lightning outside the window hid his crimson eyes in the darkness.
As the thunder rumbled, he spoke in a questioning tone:
“[Flame Dragon] Hoxas is dead. I presume that with your methods, you are all aware of this, are you not?”
He swirled his wine glass.
The man sitting at the front left of the conference table maintained a proper posture throughout. His white sideburns and hair were neatly trimmed. Unlike the man’s white robe, he wore a gray trench coat and a top hat, like an elderly gentleman from the Victorian era.
But his fit physique and sharp, hawk-like eyes commanded respect, his hands resting flat on the table, maintaining a serious and composed demeanor.
“[Crimson Scale Crescent Moon], if you have any opinions, state them. Don’t waste time.”
The old man kept his eyes closed.
“Of the three of us, only you are insidious enough. I only know that the woman beside the Dragon King is particularly dangerous.”
The young woman sitting on the right side of the conference table stroked her chin, pondering the old man’s words.
She had pink curly hair and sparkling eyes, seemingly deep in thought, but she was just silently playing with the ring on her finger, not intending to express her opinion.
Hearing the old man’s words, the man called [Crimson Scale Crescent Moon] chuckled:
“The newcomer demon who inherited the agate defeated the Sword Demon and even found all the humans in that village, driving them to a desperate situation!”
“That’s rather troublesome.” The old man opened his hawk-like eyes.
“The battle between the Beast King and the Blood Queen is imminent. If that [emissary] is killed, we will become the Beast King’s next target, or face the same predicament as the Blood Queen.”
[Crimson Scale Crescent Moon]’s voice was leisurely, continuing to steer the conversation towards the woman:
“Hehe, since the strongest among us, [Gold Scale Waning Moon], has said so, what we should do goes without saying.”
“I just think that woman shouldn’t be allowed to continue her nonsense.”
The old man stood up from his chair and walked towards the dark shadows without looking back.
“Let me put an end to this enchantress.”
“I will kill her. This is for the Dragon King, and for the future of the dragon race.”
“I’d like to see whether the one who killed Flame Dragon is stronger, or my fists are harder.”
…
“Mmph, praying, praying…”
In the Wood Village villa, Reina, having worked all morning, had tricked Calysia into going to bed a while ago, securing a whole afternoon of free time.
But she didn’t choose to delve into ancient literature or pointless jokes in the library. Instead, she sat alone on the single bed in the bedroom… the single bed she had never slept in.
Her legs were twisted into a neat figure-four, her closed eyes trembling slightly, her praying posture a little distorted.
“Why can’t I succeed? Is there something wrong with my method?”
That’s right, she wanted to enter that “upgrade space” again.
She carefully recalled the scene of praying in the church, trying to reproduce the actions, but no matter what she did, she couldn’t succeed. Just like that, she wasted half an hour, during which she just sat on the bed, tormenting herself like a cultivator undergoing tribulation.
Unable to do it, she leaned back on the bed, staring at the ceiling, her heart filled with melancholy.
“What went wrong?”
“Could it be that I’m not sincere enough?”
“…”
Perhaps she really wasn’t sincere enough.
After all, to fully recreate the scene, she had to recall Calysia’s image, but the thought of Calysia made Reina too angry to pray!
A vicious cycle… Ahh, that damned woman!
Reina didn’t really want to enter that space, but in the past two days, she had suddenly thought of the crises she might face in the future. After careful consideration, enduring the risk of corruption was better than being killed by other dragons.
If she could learn more practical skills, her path forward would be more stable.
And, if she could freely enter that space, it would be quite effective for avoiding Calysia’s unwanted advances!
So, it was decided.
It was time to learn new skills.
“I can’t keep focusing on Calysia’s annoying side,” Reina pouted.
“Anyway, she’s asleep, so it should be fine, right?”
Since Calysia was making her so angry, why not think about her good qualities?
Reina rolled over, burying her face in the soft bed, her cheeks flushed.
“Mmph…”
“Calysia…”
Trying to think of Calysia in a positive light was quite difficult, but not impossible.
That person always wanted to tease her, always wanted to expose her, but even when given the chance, she couldn’t guess it was her.
So, from that perspective, although she was stupid, she was still a good person, at least not a malicious woman full of scheming thoughts.
Reina unconsciously entered the state, her thoughts flowing smoothly like a stream under a bridge.
She had the sleeping face of a normal girl, and her emotions were quite delicate. At least from their life together in the hidden ending, she could see that Calysia was a gentle person, without any of the Dragon King’s arrogance, treating her like a lifesaver.
She seemed to truly like her.
“Ah?!”
Suddenly, Reina felt her body falling!
Like the falling sensation when occasionally jolting awake from a dream, but gentler.
When she opened her eyes again, she was in that dark space.
Reina was ecstatic:
“I did it!”
Before her was the “Goddess of Light,” identical to herself, praying silently in this empty space. If she ignored the black chains and collar, she was definitely the most holy being Reina had ever seen, even more so than the actual Goddess of Light.
Reina looked up slightly.
One, two, three…
Sure enough, there were nine purple crystals left that hadn’t merged with her.
Looking closely, there was one connected to her wrist, two to her lower legs, four to the collar around her neck, one to her waist, and one to her wings.
The previous crystal had granted her the ability of [Gravity].
This wasn’t just a skill.
[Gravity] was more like a category or a representation. Based on gravity, she could derive a series of skills like [Gravity Crush] or [Meteor].
Nine purple crystals represented nine different abilities. The benefits they brought were far beyond comparison to ordinary combat skills.
If she could learn more skills, the chances of failure would be even lower.
“Hehe…”
Reina smiled proudly.
“After learning two more skills, perhaps even that small-fry Dragon King won’t be a match for me~”
“Reina.”
Suddenly, a familiar voice almost made her heart jump out of her chest.
She followed the sound and saw a dragon woman in a black dress walking slowly towards her.
When she saw the doting smile on the woman’s face, anger, surprise, and suspicion almost made her faint!!
Damn it, that’s Calysia!
Why is she here?
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