Facing the situation with Inanna, if likened to a mortal experience, it’s as if you’ve gone through hardships and become a more mature and steady person, only for someone to suddenly jump out and say that the person you have become after enduring everything holds no real significance.
Inanna’s Desolate Stage is like the hedgehog shell she erected to fend off pain; even if it essentially avoids something, sometimes evasion is not shameful because the pressure is so overwhelming that it’s impossible to resist. Only by first evading to survive can one find opportunities for liberation and triumph.
Li Ang believes that hardships themselves indeed hold no meaning; he never thanks hardships. He possesses a unique confidence that he can reach the corresponding shores on his own, it’s his overcoming of difficulties that has achieved him, not the hardships that have defined him.
Previously, he had said such words to the group members.
After sharing his thoughts with Inanna, Li Ang also conveyed his conclusion to her.
"...So, I believe that you are very significant, I can assure you of that."
The tension in the Dragon Maiden’s body gradually eased, as she leaned closely against Li Ang, her body’s heat transmitted through the magic robe and long dress.
"Hmm." She softly responded.
After some silence, Inanna spoke, "Li Ang, I, I uh, at the beginning, was a bit impulsive."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, suddenly flying over to find you."
Inanna’s voice grew quieter, perhaps due to the effect of previous teachings; now she fully understands the feeling of embarrassment and shows it quite specifically.
"Agni, Thanatos, Brigitte, even the changed Akuya and Annette are doing things, I also want to do something, but I feel so useless now. One day, I suddenly thought perhaps I could do like the ancient Dragon Ancestor, nurture the bloodline of the Earth, to see if there’s a way to expand the Earth."
"However, having such qualified subjects is almost impossible in Nebis, where the Earth Element is weak."
Then, through Anna’s power, I fulfilled this condition. Li Ang laughed inwardly, both complex and tender.
"I perceived you and acted immediately.
"Yet, now I understand some things cannot be controlled.
"But now what I understand more is that I’m glad I came, it’s you who are too wonderful. Hehe."
Inanna, with her stunning appearance, let out a silly smile like that of an innocent young girl, sitting on Li Ang’s lap, supporting her waist, briefly separating her body at a not too distant yet not too close range to observe him.
"Human love, I think I’ve come to understand it as well."
For the first time, Li Ang saw such an inner smile on her face, like the Earth welcoming spring, flowers blooming, dry wood sprouting tender buds, with all living beings enjoying blessings eternally.
She embraced him tightly once more.
"Teach me true love." The Dragon Maiden said, shyly yet firmly.
In the forest under the night, in an instant everything became silent, as if all spirits held their breath, waiting to bless the binding of hearts and souls by lovers.
"I, I won’t faint." Inanna added, her face flushed red again.
Previous touches, whether brief or with full explanations of the true situation, always ended with her losing herself, but at this moment, she no longer cared about these.
Li Ang’s hand grasped the enticing waist.
Dragon God of the Earth favored him, the Goddess’ veil expanded towards him. At this moment, he was a hero commanding the Earth, rather than an insignificant mortal.
Or perhaps, the Goddess also fell to become a mortal.
The song of All Spirits seemed to transcend the river of history, singing all blessings about life and new birth. Inanna continuously fainted and awoke, this night growing long and irksome, the Fertile Stage and Desolate Stage intertwined, with no true distinction between them.
Returning to the night’s quietness, embracing comfortably for a long time, Li Ang suddenly thought of something: "Previously transitioning to the Desolate Stage, with such awkward looks, was it also to not let your other side disappear?"
"Mm-hmm, yes."
Li Ang certainly wanted to say that, after removing the curse, that side may not necessarily disappear, but this situation indeed can’t be spoken of lightly.
Mainly because, the fact that the curse can’t be removed caused the Dragon Maiden to vent long-held oppression.
The Desolate Stage’s her is also her, but perhaps the closest Six Dragons have always looked at her with unusual eyes and attitudes.
Even Akuya, who similarly suffered power loss due to world tearing, does not understand the pressure of bearing the world’s entire curse, let alone the other four dragons.
"But I still want to help you relieve the pain." Li Ang said.
Inanna moved slightly, allowing the Earth’s abundance to strike him a few times.
"Have you thought of something?" The Earth Dragon asked calmly, without excitement.
"These past few days, I’ve reconsidered demons."
The Bloody Hand floated downward, gently caressing the Dragon Maiden’s head.
The touch of the third hand made her tremble with discomfort, but the arm condensed with fearsome power still managed to convey the gentle force of a lover, not carrying sharpness or pain.
"How were demons created? The earliest demons should have simply been Primordial Beings mastering the Reversed Spirit Casting Technique, exiled by the Creator God’s power, twisted into that terrifying form to resist this part of power, even combining with the crimson force of banishment, thus staining themselves with blood-red."
Inanna quietly listened to Li Ang speaking.
"Setting aside mortal tales, the essence of demonic power does not oppose the divine; their curses are also a High Tier application of Spirit Casting Art. I’ve been thinking these days, the curse spreading across the Earth should be a residual effect of the Reversed Spirit Casting Technique that tore the world apart, not inherently evil itself, or rather, the evil lies in it representing the deeds of the Eternal King, not in this leftover power itself."
Li Ang raised his Demon’s Hand: "I’ve been pondering the metaphor of the Ten Thousand Spirits these days, and I always feel that it wants me to embrace the Demon Power."
"Why?"
Inanna was puzzled.
After their souls had been completely connected just now, she seemed to stop thinking, and it seemed like whatever Li Ang said could penetrate her heart, and she would comply completely.
"Perhaps, this is also Nebis, a part of this world."
Li Ang sighed softly: "After meeting Zosia, I saw the essence of the curse, the essence of the demon, and thus was not so resistant to it.
He looked gently at Inanna: "So, to resolve the pain of the curse, maybe we can think in reverse."
The Dragon Maiden understood his meaning: "I, become a demon?"
Li Ang thought this might sound terribly cruel, but after locking eyes with her and sensing no negative emotions, he continued: "The Primordial Being can, and the Dragon God should be able to as well, but you don’t know the Spirit Casting Art, so I need to guide this process."
As soon as he finished speaking, he shook his head again, as if finding his own words somewhat absurd.
"It’s just a thought, a possibility, not something that must be done. And, right now, I don’t want to see you transformed into a figure full of Crimson Thorns."
Inanna reached out with her snowy, voluptuous arm and embraced Li Ang’s Demon’s Hand that had always been hovering beside him.
Her actions were gentle, her expression brimming with affection, treating this Bloody Hand as a part of her beloved, holding it in her arms. The pressure of her embrace made Li Ang’s eyebrows twitch.
"You can rest assured about this, I won’t."
Inanna said with a smile: "The demonization will only be manifested in my true form; my incarnation can maintain this appearance unless you want me to change."
She touched her rough, broad dark brown horns: "They can also become like a demon, you know."
"It’s unnecessary, unless you want to change your image." Li Ang shook his head with a smile.
"But, you don’t find the demonized form ugly, do you?"
Inanna was still a bit worried.
"Ugly? Your form, full of immense power like a mountain, is already very cool. If you add the thorns of a demon, from my aesthetic perspective, it’s even cooler."
"That’s good then," the Dragon Maiden made a playful ’grab’ gesture at Li Ang, "Oh, there are mortals who associate dragons with demons; after all, aren’t we very fierce to begin with?"
Li Ang couldn’t resist patting her head.
"So, let’s do it." Inanna said immediately.
"Now?" Li Ang was surprised at her decisiveness.
"Under the gaze of the Ten Thousand Spirits, in the Spirit Gathering Land, there couldn’t be a better time."
Once she made up her mind, Inanna was as unstoppable and straightforward as a boulder rolling down a mountaintop.
Li Ang adjusted his magic power and observed her spirituality once again.
Having acquired the Demon’s Arm integrated with Arunak’s Divine Staff through the panel, since it was originally part of his limb, he had already understood how the curse alters spirituality, reforges the body, and reshapes a new form under the combined influence of the Spirit Casting Art and the Reversed Spirit Casting Technique.
He suddenly thought of the other Five Dragons, feeling slightly guilty, but the beautiful maiden before him had entrusted everything to him, and there was no point in retreating now.
His right hand and Demon’s Hand together channeled magic power, and the Spirit Casting Art began to activate.
Inanna violently arched back, the pain of reshaping her essence contorting her face into a grimace, struggling repeatedly. Finally, she bit her red lips and straddled his waist again, trying to balance the pain with another kind of impact.
The spirits of the entire forest surged once more, this time, as though assisting the process supported by the will of the world, they continuously helped Inanna repair the scars from the transformation process, aiding her complete crossing.
In the Divine Hall of the Great Dragon Incarnation, sacred and brimming with power, Brigitte opened her eyes.
She sensed some drastic change, a change originating from her blood-connected sister.
It was Inanna. Earlier, she had suddenly gone out and didn’t return; soon after, even her incarnation’s spirituality vanished in the Ignis Sky Realm.
Did something happen to her?!
Like a Valkyrie, the Light Dragon got up swiftly, drawing the curtain of magic power, illuminating the spinning, floating Source Element Lock.
The slumbering Earth Dragon embodied the simplicity of soil and the vast wildness of the Earth, its entire body of obsidian plates was emitting a crimson glow.
Under Brigitte’s perplexed and panicked gaze, the sharp tips at the ends of the Dragon Scales and Armor Plates were gradually dyed crimson, becoming longer and sharper, as Inanna transformed into a fearsome Giant Dragon clad in black and red blade scale armor.
She has demonized!
Brigitte was terribly flustered, taking two seconds to struggle with whether to open the Elemental Lock to stop the process, but the Six Dragons did not understand the power of demons.
She should call them back.
"Damn it!"
Just as the Light Dragon was about to turn and rush out of the Divine Hall, she saw the Earth Dragon’s form disappearing from the Elemental Lock amidst a violent surge of magic power and scarlet mist.

Comments

Loading...