"The demon god too suffered a serious injury, while most of his army ended up dying. Such is the power of Nihil-Anima.
Even at my prime, I wouldn't be a match for it, though now you will both have to grow together," Yasmine spoke. Her tone held pride, but she wasn't the least bit disrespectful or disdainful towards Vritra— instead, she seemed quite impressed by him.
"Oh, I understand the part about Nihil-Anima, and I also know that I can't let anyone know about this, not until I am strong enough. But it's a lot to take in, so I will need some more time.
I can feel something different in my body. It's like there is a different presence— so that's the invisible flames," Vritra mumbled, then he looked into Yasmine's eyes and spoke:
"But what about you? How did you end up here and in such a state?" Vritra questioned.
"…"
After a short pause, Yasmine spoke: "For now, just know that the demons are responsible for all this. After my body was destroyed, I had to escape, and this was the perfect place for me to hide because of the presence of Nihil-Anima.
It allowed me to stay alive even if it's in this state, after all I was nothing more than a soul now, thankfully it didn't devour me and allowed me to stay here and even kept me alive, sharing some energy with me.
After staying here for some time, I was able to control this cave to some extent. Quite a lot of people had died in this place, not even their bones were left, but you… I was quite shocked by your actions.
I never expected you to survive for so long, and by the fourth month, I was certain that even if your level is low right now, you are different and special. That's why I placed my bets on you. So…"
Just as Yasmine was about to speak in a solemn tone, Vritra interjected: "I am not going to give you my body, even if you had helped me. Anyway, tell me if you need any other help."
"I don't need to possess your body. All I ask of you is— let me bind myself to you," Yasmine replied simply.
"Can you elaborate? Have your turned into a cursed spirit or something?" he spoke, and as they talked more, he felt more relaxed.
"It means what I just said, we will form a bond. I know you can't just trust me, so you will have complete control over me in this connection, and the Nihil-Anima Mythic Halo will also help me greatly.
Even in my current state, I can help you quite a bit in your battles— not to mention my vast amount of knowledge that will be of great help to you. What do you think? There are many benefits without any drawbacks..."
As Yasmine spoke, for some reason she felt slightly nervous. The mighty dragon who fought against so many demon lords was now completely dependent on Vritra, if he really rejected then she really didn't know what to do.
"Hmmm…" He pretended to be deep in thought, though he was already sure of his decision. Not like he had much of a choice anyway, he had a feeling that even in this state this mighty dragon could actually kill him.
Seeing that Vritra still didn't reply, Yasmine's expression became a bit stern as she seemed to be thinking about some difficult choices. After a few seconds, she sighed and decided to just go all out.
"Even though this doesn't really have any bad sides for you, still let me add another benefit: if you agree, I will give you my essence blood and my Origin Scale— though there is a condition attached to it," Yasmine said. This was her limit.
"Hmmm. Everything sounds nice and all, but what do you need in return for all this? You must have some other goals, right?" Vritra asked.
"Aside from letting me survive and getting my strength back, I want you to help me regain my body, you just need to bring me back to my home— but only once you are strong enough, you are the one to decided the correct time." Yasmine spoke in an honest tone.
"I see. Also, what about the blood and scale? And what was the condition attached?" he questioned.
"My Essence Blood and Origin Scale will help you get the dragon's bloodline and dragon's physique. I am from one of the strongest dragon families— I am sure you understand how beneficial that will be to you."
She paused and then added, "As for the condition attached— if you were to accept those things, then by dragon standards, you would be considered my spouse, that is the tradition among my race."
"Oh okay, so I would be your spouse— what? Spouse?!!" Vritra was speechless as he stared at the emotionless face of the large dragon lady.
"Don't worry, it's just a weak bond and status; it won't hinder you in any way, it won't be nothing more than a title, after I get my body back, we will get rid of it."
Yasmine assured, waiting for him to accept, she had lied after all such a bond couldn't be so simple but Vritra knew nothing about all this so he couldn't possibly catch her lie, it was also a kind of insurance for her after all she too couldn't just believe him.
She knew what sharing that bond actually meant, but she really had no choice at all.
'All that will undoubtedly be of great help to me, and who knows, if I really reject her offer, she can just use this cave to kill me. But is it okay to be her spouse? Husband of a dragon? On top of that, a dead dragon? I will be married to a soul? Is that what they mean by soulmates? This is so weird.' he wondered as his expressions kept changing with each passing moment.
He couldn't help but even wonder how a human and the large dragon could possibly copulate, Vritra didn't think about them changing form since his mind was filled with some unspeakable things.
'Sigh Like she said it isn't anything serious and the benefits are too great so...'
"Alright, I accept," he spoke after a few tense minutes, and Yasmine's mood changed immediately as she released a long sigh of relief.
"That's great. The transformation of your bloodline and physique will take some time, possibly few days. Do you wish to start it now or some other time?" As she spoke, Yasmine's body began to shrink down until she looked like a white snake.
"Let's do that later. For now, I have to return to the castle and look for someone," Vritra replied.
"Okay, we will do as you wish. So let's start forming the bond— point your right hand towards me." Just as Yasmine finished speaking, Vritra pointed his right hand towards her.
Without saying a word, Yasmine flew towards his hand and entered his body through his skin. At first, he felt nothing— then a slight stinging pain, and within moments a dragon's tattoo appeared on the back of his hand before disappearing. The bond was formed, just like that.
[You have formed a bond with a Dragon.]
Vritra could now feel another presence in his mind, and he could sense that just as Yasmine had said, he had control over her to some extent. He felt relieved that she wasn't tricking him into anything.
"And we are done. Now, do you wish to continue with your killing or do you want to exit the labyrinth?" her sweet and mature voice sounded in his mind.
"I will continue it later. I have to leave, but first I want to test this halo you praised so much," Vritra said, as he looked around the messy space and soon got to work.
But what neither he nor Yasmine were aware of the fact was that in the fight of Nihil-Anima, when it was gravely injured, it had also swallowed a part of the demon god's energy— and a part of the Demon Veyll Mythic Halo before it had left the battlefield.
The domineering demonic energy was mixed and hidden in the Nihil-Anima mythic halo, which soon attracted the vast amount of demonic energy gathered in Vritra's body after all the consumption so this dangerous demonic energy didn't even try to harm him.
Even though it was just a form of energy but it was of the highest quality so it had some form of consciousness and it could feel the danger from Vritra's body, almost as if it knew that if it tried to devour Vritra's mind, it would be the one to suffer.
So unknown to Vritra, the deadly energy of the Demon God and the 2nd ranked mythic halo stayed hidden in his body.
***
Almost two weeks had passed, and Vritra used this time to test out the Nihil-Anima and also merge weapons nonstop— and now he was finally done.
He was able to merge all the weapons and was greatly satisfied and surprised by the weapons he got. They were just perfect.
As for Nihil-Anima, it was much more special than Vritra could have expected. Even in its weakened state, it held such strength and capability. One of its greatest abilities was to extract the soul of the dead, which could be used for various purposes like explosion, tracking, and best of all— he could turn them into deadly Wraiths.
It was like necromancy, but of souls— much more deadly than just bringing corpses back to life. As long as he channeled mana into them, they could be healed constantly, and the chances of the soul completely getting destroyed were little to none unless the attack dealt with souls.
Vritra stared at the Minotaur's corpse lying in front of him. This was going to be the last entry in his large arsenal of Soul Wraiths.
"EXTRACT!!"
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Thanks for reading...