After an unknown amount of time, Xuefei finally agreed to Leia’s request. Hand in hand, they stepped out of the royal palace.
That was because Leia had given her a necklace.
The necklace functioned as a small storage space, but unlike ordinary storage artifacts, Leia’s necklace resembled a gleaming piece of agate. Any items placed inside entered a warm, cozy temperature—like being tucked into a soft, heated blanket…
Even more crucially, whatever was stored in the necklace remained visible from the outside.
“How does it feel with the dragon egg inside?” Leia asked.
“Much better than before,” Xuefei replied.
She tilted her head with a satisfied smile, cradling the necklace and peering closely at the dragon egg, now shrunken to smaller than a fingernail. For some reason, it filled her with a deep sense of reassurance.
Indeed, this artifact known as the Safety Necklace had been specially crafted by Laer for storing the dragon egg.
That meant Xuefei could now leave the palace for a few hours of freedom during her incubation breaks to explore the outside world. The necklace maintained an ideal temperature, but both she and the egg needed direct physical contact, so when her shift ended, she’d have to nestle it safely somewhere and resume warming it herself.
With that peace of mind, Xuefei basked contentedly in the sunlight. It was already afternoon, and soon the lingering glow of the sunset would paint the western mountains.
Breathing in the fresh air erased the hollow ache she’d felt from leaving the egg behind, stirring a wave of emotion within her.
She recalled how Leia had long since stopped restricting her movements, yet Xuefei still hadn’t ventured out of the palace on her own. It was largely because she was such a homebody dragon.
So…
She had no idea how to travel conveniently.
The Demon City was still a good distance away.
But Leia suddenly spoke up. “Xuefei, let me carry you while I fly?”
“I can fly on my own—no need. We can just fly together,” Xuefei said, shaking her head.
“That won’t do.” Leia shot her a glance. “You only just laid the egg; your strength hasn’t fully recovered. You’re in a total pushover state right now. Let me carry you!”
“You’re definitely just trying to take advantage of me again!” Xuefei sighed. But at this point, what did it matter? In fact, she’d begun to slowly accept Leia’s advances—especially after coming to understand her obsession. Being dominated like that… it didn’t seem so off-putting anymore.
Better to go with the flow than have others mistake her for some coy tsundere playing hard to get. As long as she didn’t turn into the type to proactively fling herself into Leia’s arms like some devoted wife, everything would be fine. Ah, right—she still needed Leia to bear her child. She couldn’t forget the important stuff!
“It’s not like that. You’re thinking the worst of me, Xuefei. Anyway, have you ever seen my dragon form?”
“You mean your true dragon body?”
“Yep.”
Evil Dragons consumed far too much energy in their original forms, so they often shifted to lower-energy states to maintain their power without harming bystanders…
This naturally included taking on a humanoid shape or simply shrinking their size. In the northern reaches of the Elf Kingdom, across the Ice Plains ruled by the Winter Queen, certain massive snow wolves had been tamed and could use magic to transform into adorable little pups.
But the Evil Dragon from the first playthrough had clearly suffered in this regard.
Her predecessor’s soul had been too straightforward, lacking the ability to adopt these low-energy forms.
Xuefei still remembered her first encounter with the Evil Dragon: space itself tore open like a black hole in the shape of a dragon, from which a scarlet eye suddenly emerged. The remnants of her team scattered in soul-shattering terror. And with just a casual breath from the beast, a city-destroying gale had nearly hurled Xuefei—palace and all—hundreds of meters into the sky. She hadn’t felt so insignificant since.
Could Leia transform like that too?
The answer was yes.
In fact, back when the Gods hadn’t yet marked Leia as their primary target, she would frequently assume her dragon form. She swam through the ten-thousand-meter skies like a fish in water, freely hunting down any deities who might pose a threat.
When that colossal black beast finally circled above the Evil Dragon Palace before descending to earth—leaving behind only a alluring dragon girl who strode gracefully into the bedroom and pulled Xuefei along…
Xuefei was still lost in thought when Leia transformed right before her eyes.
The sky itself seemed blotted out as Leia became a twenty-meter-long giant dragon, sprawling on the ground with an overwhelming aura of dominance…
Her scales were deep black, shading into deep purple toward the tips like polished emeralds—to a degree where even the world’s hardest metals couldn’t leave a scratch. She threw her head back in a long, resonant howl: a clear, crisp cry that wasn’t born of rage, but pure, exuberant joy.
Two oversized fangs immediately reminded Xuefei of Leia’s little tiger teeth—those things had tormented her endlessly while nursing. Sometimes Leia even played at being a vampire, sampling her blood, though she never made it hurt too much… Now that Xuefei could produce milk herself, incidents like that ought to drop off exponentially.
Her pupils seemed condensed from the world’s vastest evil intent, blazing crimson. A single glance was enough to shatter a poor human’s soul, leaving them dazed in a wheelchair for the rest of their days.
The enormous wings that blotted out the sky no longer beat, kicking up massive whirlwinds. Instead, they settled obediently atop the flowers and shrubs. Leia gazed at Xuefei and let out a soft cry, as if extending an invitation.
“Awooo~”
“Should I climb on? Er… don’t get too carried away playing, okay? I’ve still got to get home and incubate my eggs.”
“Aooo ao ao—!”
Every so often, a few maids would poke their heads out from the palace windows, staring in awe at Leia in her evil dragon form.
Faced with the evil dragon, Xuefei’s first reaction wasn’t fear or affection.
It was envy…
When would she ever exude such overwhelming pressure?
Xuefei could transform into a dragon too, but for some inexplicable reason, hers always came off as… a little cute?
It had nothing to do with size. Sure, she couldn’t compare to mammoths or stone giants, but her dragon form was only slightly smaller than Leia’s—tall as a multistorey building!
“Xuefei, ride on my head?”
“Oh, so you can talk!”
“Mm-hmm. But Dragon Howl suits an evil dragon better~”
“Hmph.”
Xuefei beat her wings and leaped into the air. She stretched out a leg wrapped in white stockings and coiled her dragon tail around Leia’s neck, covered in scales, before settling onto the back of her neck.
Her white lolita dress fluttered in the wind, dancing a gorgeous waltz alongside the blooming flowers.
Leia shot into the sky without warning. The terrifying acceleration of a rocket launch didn’t faze Xuefei, another evil dragon, but she gripped Leia’s horns tightly to keep from falling.
Gazing down at Leia beneath her, a peculiar thought bubbled up in Xuefei’s mind.
Huh…?
Did that mean she was a dragon knight now?
