"Awooooooo!" In pain, Igneel could no longer hold back his furious roars.
Dragon blood gushed out from the artery and from the reverse scale.
The reverse scale, the dragon's heart, is also the dragon's lung. That thin layer of lung tissue is attached near the heart, absorbing heat from the heart and converting that immense heat into Dragon Flame, which is then expelled from the mouth.
In other words, this sword not only pierced the lung but also directly released all the heat from the heart.
Red Dragon Igneel suddenly felt a sensation he hadn't experienced in two hundred and fifty years: heat!
As if his entire body was being cooked, Red Dragon Igneel felt the scorching heat.
He knew his life was not long for this world!
Every powerful beat of his heart would send immense heat throughout his body. Unable to bear this internal and external heat, Igneel couldn't even move, let alone flap his wings. His eyes were bloodshot, and Igneel knew his whole body was about to be roasted alive! Blood was gushing out like a pump, and his power was leaving him!
Natsu! The power I prepared for you... it's useless now! Igneel regretfully looked at the woman bathed in his blood, and a deep hatred and anger suddenly appeared in his eyes.
The Dragon King Festival, a festival where all dragons participate to fight and become the Dragon King, he originally had no intention of joining.
Dragon Slayer Magic is magic to counter dragons, and it is also magic used by dragons to cultivate the next generation of successors. Dragons are not like other creatures; they can only survive alone. One mountain cannot accommodate two tigers, so how can it accommodate two dragons? Leaving aside the fact that dragons dislike their own kind and fight when they meet, just the fact that dragons have different magic systems means they cannot have children.
When Dragon Slayer Magic develops to a certain point, the entire body becomes scaly, and the power to resist attacks and magic reaches its peak. Then, the dragon blood from the dragon's heart will cover the entire body of the Dragon Slayer. At that time, the pounding heart will evolve into a dragon heart.
By then, the Dragon Slayer will be a humanoid dragon, and through hundreds of years of evolution, the Dragon Slayer will complete the transformation from human to dragon.
This is the method of reproduction for the dragon race, passed down through a single lineage. This is also why dragons treat those who inherit Dragon Slayer Magic as their own children to raise; they are indeed raising children.
But now, Natsu's best shortcut to becoming a dragon is gone. If he wants to become a dragon, Natsu will have to fight repeatedly, undergo dragonification repeatedly, and finally evolve into a dragon through countless transformations. The speed between the two is completely incomparable!
Roaring, and with unwillingness, he lowered his head and looked at this fierce woman with his vertical dragon pupils. Malice and anger surged from the bottom of his heart. After bathing in dragon blood, this woman would become invulnerable, immensely powerful, invincible, and unstoppable! And all of this was meant for his son Natsu! Igneel suddenly remembered a magic that no dragon had ever used since ancient times—it was the only non-offensive magic used by dragons, and also the only magic that seemed like child's play.
A ruler of a nation? A King of Knights? Invincible? Red Dragon Igneel's mouth twisted into a malevolent smile: "By my name, Red Dragon Igneel! Human! Shameless human! Human who slays me! I curse you! I curse you! I curse you to be forever immersed in darkness! I want your eyes to lose all light, I want your eyes to lose all color! By the oath of dragon blood!"
Artoria, who was immersed in the dragon blood, opened her eyes in surprise, meeting Igneel's vertical pupils.
Immediately, as if plunged into an endless abyss, Artoria screamed and fainted in the pool of blood.
"Lily!" Kayal could no longer suppress the anxiety in his heart and rushed forward. He had heard the words clearly. The dragon's head hung low, as if it had no strength left. Kayal understood that if it had strength, it would probably have directly devoured Lily, rather than hanging its head.
But now, the other party had cast a curse, and he had heard it clearly. In the name of dragon blood, though he didn't know if it would work, it was clearly something to be extremely careful about.
Kayal used the hook of his staff to drag Lily back, then began to examine her body.
"Good, everything is good." Kayal secretly wiped a bead of sweat. How could he describe it as just 'good'?
Artoria now could kill an ox with her bare hands! Like a humanoid beast, her heart rate astonishingly reached two hundred beats per minute! This heart rate either meant her body was overly active or she was about to die!
In Kayal's opinion, Artoria didn't look like she was about to die at all!
So, she was naturally too strong!
Happy in his heart, Kayal still suppressed his excitement and lifted her eyelids. A white light appeared in his hand, but there was no reaction. He couldn't say there was a problem with her pupils; perhaps she was simply unconscious.
Just as Kayal's heart relaxed, Artoria suddenly grabbed Kayal's hand and asked in a panic: "Kay! Is that you? Kay? Are you there?!"
Kayal's heart sank. He said gently:
"Lily, I'm here. How are you feeling now?"
"I can't see!" Artoria, slightly flustered, raised her hands and began to grope around. Dragon blood smeared all over Kayal's clothes.
"Don't panic! Lily! Don't panic! Take it easy!" Kayal's heart sank again, but he had no choice but to comfort Lily, who was panicking like a real little girl encountering something terrifying.
Kayal's heart ached. Wasn't Lily just a little girl at this moment?
The heavy burden not only weighed on her shoulders but also on her heart, making her steadily more composed day by day, and also making her more mature day by day.
All of this was for the King, all of this was Kayal's ambition, and also his responsibility.
Kayal held her hand, which felt very heavy because she was wearing gauntlets. Gauntlets sometimes save lives, and many knights like to wear them. While holding her hand, Kayal gently comforted her: "It's okay! It's okay! Lily, I'm by your side, I'm here."
"Oh... mm." Artoria recovered from her initial panic, humming calmly, but she held onto Kayal tightly, like a helpless little girl, which made Kayal's heart... ache terribly... "Lily, I'm here, always have been." Kayal comforted her with a gentle expression, holding her hand tightly, smiling with an expression like an oath: "That's right, always have been..."