"Yes, don't worry. It'll be fine."
Byakuya's expression was perfectly calm.
"Good."
Hearing Byakuya's confident reply, Arima's concerns faded.
"Wait here for a moment."
The instant he finished speaking, Byakuya's form flickered and reappeared in the distance.
He examined the Dragon's body up close—this massive entity that spanned nearly the entire underground world. The cells had indeed lost their vitality, likely becoming dormant when the One-Eyed King died.
Let's see if I can wake this thing up...
With that thought, Byakuya pressed his hand against Dragon's body.
Then he channeled his power into it.
Unless Dragon was completely dead, his power should be able to restore its cellular activity.
Notably, Dragon's body had remained intact for over a century without decaying, suggesting it wasn't truly dead.
Of course, this was just Byakuya's hypothesis. He'd have to see what happened.
[Ding! Host has awakened the Underground Dragon. Reward: 100 Fusion Points!]
The System notification sounded in Byakuya's mind as he simultaneously felt Dragon's body regaining vitality.
RUMBLE—
As Dragon's enormous form began to move, numerous buildings beneath it collapsed.
Structures abandoned for over a century were already on the verge of collapse and couldn't withstand Dragon's weight.
Byakuya instantly returned to Arima and the others.
"That giant monster is actually moving!"
Shio exclaimed in amazement.
"Looks like Byakuya-senpai woke it up."
Hairu said softly.
As Dragon's cellular activity gradually recovered, it began releasing a type of toxin—the Dragon toxin.
Soon, the entire underground world's atmosphere was permeated with it.
Arima and the others inhaled the Dragon toxin, and their bodies immediately began to change.
Not only did their lifespans normalize to human standards, but their physical constitutions were further enhanced.
Compared to half-ghouls, half-humans were essentially imperfect, defective products. Dragon, being the key origin of ghouls, produced toxins that compensated for half-humans' deficiencies. This made perfect sense when you thought about it.
Half-humans who had inhaled Dragon toxin were now essentially identical to half-ghouls—just lacking a kakuhou.
"Arima-san... your hair color changed?!"
Shio suddenly exclaimed.
Everyone immediately looked at Arima.
"It's true—it went from white to blue."
Rikai was equally surprised.
"Perhaps this was Arima-san's original hair color?"
Yusa speculated.
"That's right. I met Arima-san when I was very young, and I remember his hair was blue back then."
Hairu nodded.
"Is that so...?"
Arima seemed mildly surprised.
He noticed that his eye—the one that had developed glaucoma—had also returned to normal. His body felt noticeably younger, and his physical abilities had improved dramatically.
After all, at around thirty years old, a normal human would be in their prime.
The blue hair was Arima's original color from his youth. As his body rejuvenated, his hair naturally reverted as well.
"This is probably because we've inhaled the Dragon toxin. My body also underwent obvious changes just now."
Then Hairu suddenly remembered something. "Ah... didn't Byakuya-senpai mention that humans who inhale this toxin would be transformed into ghouls...?"
She immediately looked at Byakuya with concern. "Is it okay for Byakuya-senpai to stay here?"
"I'm fine. This stuff doesn't affect me."
Byakuya shook his head slightly.
His current body had Hashirama Cells, Sage Mode, and various other enhancements. Mere Dragon toxin couldn't affect him.
"That's good."
Hairu breathed a sigh of relief.
"Look over there! What are those things? Humanoid... monsters?"
Shio suddenly pointed in a certain direction.
In the distance he indicated, a group of entirely red humanoid creatures had appeared. They had human limbs and torsos but lacked eyes, noses, and reproductive organs. Their muscles were extraordinarily developed.
"Those are Dragon Orphans."
Byakuya explained.
Dragon Orphans originated from the countless oviducts on Dragon's body—essentially, they were all Dragon's children.
The name "Dragon Orphans" came from the original timeline. After the "Dragon War" ended, only the single toxic oviduct was destroyed. Even though Rize—the "Dragon Mother"—had died, Dragon's cells still retained vitality. The countless dragon children within the oviducts were then born.
Since their mother was already dead, these abandoned dragon children came to be called Dragon Orphans.
"However, those creatures are only slightly stronger than ordinary humans. We don't need to deal with them right now. The priority is controlling this awakened Dragon..."
Byakuya gazed into the distance.
That was where the One-Eyed King—the Underground King—was located. He was Dragon's mother body.
In an instant, Byakuya arrived at the One-Eyed King's location.
The man inside this massive oviduct was the Washuu Clan's One-Eyed King from a century ago.
However... while Dragon's cellular activity had been restored, the One-Eyed King himself hadn't awakened. Having died of natural causes, the One-Eyed King was truly dead.
Destroying this single core location would stop Dragon from continuing to rampage and release toxins.
Otherwise, if Dragon ran wild in the underground world, innocent civilians on the surface would be endangered. After all, the underground world was roughly the same size as the entire Tokyo above...
If the surface collapsed and the new Tokyo sank into the underground world where old Tokyo lay, that would be catastrophic...
Byakuya only intended to destroy this core oviduct. The Dragon Orphans and Dragon's massive body both had significant uses.
Dragon Orphans could advance peace. Dragon's body could be used for medicine.
WHOOSH—!
Just then, nearby Dragon limbs suddenly attacked Byakuya. These tentacle-like appendages were clearly trying to protect themselves.
Almighty Push!
Byakuya didn't even glance at the incoming limbs. A medium-range Almighty Push instantly obliterated them.
Simultaneously, the core beneath his feet was also destroyed by the Almighty Push.
[Ding! Host has destroyed the "Dragon Core (Mother Body)." Reward: 500 Fusion Points!]
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