The Corruption Dragon God: Lust System Chapter 496 She's losing...

The heavy echoes of Khaedryss's steps reverberated as her claws ripped into the scorched earth, baked by the infernal heat enveloping her, making the nearby air shimmer and boil.

Trailing behind, she detected the presences of Qingyi, Elize, and Seraphine. Via her faint bond with her rider, she also picked up on his wounds.

The fight had proven grueling for both of them.

Letting out a deep rumble, Khaedryss pressed on with her battered form. Her injuries began to knit shut gradually, and the fiery blood stopped drenching her dark scales in crimson.

Across the distant skyline, a tantalizing fragrance reached her, one she hadn't encountered for countless millennia.

This was the aroma of a revered and timeless rival to Khaedryss—or rather, to her very core.

Karlan.

Her heart was enormous, rivaling an elephant in size and tipping the scales at more than four tons.

It rested upon a vast stone altar, and despite her death eons ago, the vital organ continued its rhythmic pulsing.

Blood still coursed through unseen channels, infused with mana far denser than any Khaedryss had ever encountered.

It seemed as though Karlan's heart had been freshly extracted from her chest.

Khaedryss halted before the heart, tilting her head just a bit to observe Qingyi drawing near.

"Are you okay, girl?" he inquired, running his hand along the tough scales of the dragon's neck.

The power from the Seed of Life, gifted by the matriarch of the fox people, was already coursing through his veins, mending every injury he bore.

Khaedryss merely glanced back at the heart, her jaws parting as her razor-sharp fangs plunged into Karlan's flesh.

She hoisted it upward, crimson rivers cascading like falls over her mighty ebony scales.

In one fluid motion, she parted her maw wide then snapped it shut, devouring the whole heart.

Her mana had been surging wildly from the absorption of the Red Death's heart, yet it paled against the surge that followed.

She staggered backward, unleashing a primal bellow from her throat while her frame ignited in blazing fire, emitting waves of scorching intensity that could scorch even a dragon.

Nearby, Qingyi pulled back, weaving a shield of Qi to encase himself and his wives as he drew them close in safeguarding arms.

"Ugh... what's going on?" Elize wondered aloud, shifting her gaze to her sister, who stood rigid and speechless.

Qingyi clenched his jaw tightly. Then the rocks underfoot ripped free, hurling debris in all directions amid a tremendous burst of mana from Khaedryss.

Her colossal form rose into the sky, enveloped by a sphere of dark fire spanning over five hundred meters wide.

Her scales started to shift, fracturing bit by bit. A gleaming golden shell started to wrap around her as her size dwindled steadily.

Through his activated draconic vision, Qingyi could merely observe, fighting hard to keep the raging power from overwhelming the group.

"She's losing..." Seraphine murmured next to Qingyi, glancing toward the chamber's exit before meeting her husband's gaze.

"We need to leave as soon as her energy calms down. Grandpa will be here soon."

Qingyi nodded without a word.

Exhaustion weighed on him heavily, and even refreshed, he stood no chance against a powerhouse like Lucios.

Gradually, the wild energy spilling from Khaedryss subsided, the fiery ocean around her fading away.

Once the turmoil ended, Khaedryss had vanished entirely.

In her place stood a massive, throbbing golden energy pod, laced with potent dark tendrils.

Qingyi acted without pause or doubt, transferring the golden cocoon and the women into the Mind World.

At once, tension eased from him, and he bolted toward the exit.

The gateway they had used to enter was on the verge of reopening.

***

Beyond the gates, a crowd eyed the stone entrance with mounting tension.

The Patriarch's sentinels appeared poised to lash out with their blades at any emerging figure, as the assorted great Lords debated their following moves.

Whether foes or allies of the Patriarch, none among them felt at ease or composed.

Everyone but Lucios, naturally.

The elder sat at leisure, sipping his drink as always.

His immense bronze dragon had settled nearby, its eyes fixed on the portal too.

He was Red Death's sire and a pure heir to the primordial dragon bloodline, the very same as Khaedryss's origin.

Dragons rarely bonded deeply with their young, yet they possessed intellects that often surpassed human cunning.

All at once, the calm on Lucios's features vanished, and he lifted his gaze.

The stone portal quaked fiercely, sending a profound shudder rippling through the earth below.

He rose to his feet and, in a seamless stride, advanced.

Instantly, he positioned himself ahead of the guards, poised for the gate's unveiling.

As the blinding radiance washed over his visage and he moved inside, a faint warp in the surrounding space brushed against him.

A known aura flickered into existence for an instant, then vanished, resurfacing leagues distant before dissolving for good.

Lucios whipped his head around, fixing his stare on the far horizon for a fleeting moment prior to letting out a sigh, then heading into the portal.

It required mere seconds for him to grasp the sheer destruction of the conflict within.

Priests' remains lay bisected, and the area's heat was so intense that any ordinary person would perish in agony almost immediately.

He pressed onward, sensing the swelter intensify further, with molten streams encircling the half-consumed remains of Red Death.

His gaze swept the scene, registering the missing Karlan's heart before settling on his son's severed body.

"Ah..." Lucios breathed out with a heavy sigh.

"I failed you, just as you failed our-" Lucios cut himself short, amending his words at once. "My Seraphine...

"I don't blame her for seeking revenge, nor her man for claiming it. You deserved it." Lucios uncorked a tiny flask of spirits, letting it spill over his son's feet.

He faced the Patriarch's guards.

"We will hold a vote to decide the next Patriarch soon. For now, the entire Grand Duchy of Vaeldrinn will remain sealed."