“So…” Miria’s curious voice captured everyone’s attention before the men went down to their business. “If it was Master’s father who assisted the Founders in conquering the Demon Continent a long time ago… doesn’t that make Master, his son, kind of… on par with them?”

Rowena looked at the panthergirl in shock and opened her mouth to rebuke Miria but Zegion’s chuckle interrupted her.

“When you put it like that, I guess it isn’t wrong.” The man smirked and refocused his gaze on Asterios. “A human on top of demons, what an amusing thought. Are you going to challenge me, boy?”

Asterios smiled wryly and shook his head. “It’s not my intention to steal anyone’s throne, and I don’t think it matters who my parents are in this case.”

“Right.” The Demon King agreed. “Where were we? Ah. I was going to help you stop holding back so much.”

The four demon men who had recollected themselves after they had been blasted away by their king, quickly came closer to the visiting group and began herding everyone away with awkward smiles. Asterios glanced back at their actions before returning his gaze to Zegion.

“Right here? In the throne room?”

“In the throne room,” Zegion repeated. “No reason to waste time going around. This is the most durable part of the castle anyway. Besides, I’m all fired up after learning more about you, Mister Dragon. I don’t think I can wait until we reach the arena.”

A soft chuckle escaped Ast’s lips. “I have a feeling that it’s less about helping me out and more about getting to face me.”

“Does it matter when both things lead to the same?” Zegion grinned.

Asterios shrugged. “I guess not.”

“Great. Now get that coat and vest out of the way.”

“Uhhh… What?”

“If this is meant to help you become more accustomed to your true self then we have to take it man-on-man, obviously. Come on, I’m getting cold here.” Zegion began warming up his shoulders.

With one more awkward glance at his companions over his shoulder, now standing almost by the very entrance to the chamber, Asterios sighed and decided to comply. A wave of rolling crimson flames surrounded his figure, and his upper garments disappeared, leaving him only in his black pants.

He heard a gasp from behind and smiled wryly at the surprised emotions coming to him through the bonds he shared with the girls. It was hard not to notice Tina’s growing shy curiosity and Miria’s hungry gaze roaming over his back.

“Nice.” Zegion made a prolonged wolf-whistle. “That’s what I’m talking about, handsome. You could work on your pecs and make those abs more chiseled, though.”

“Sorry to disappoint you but I don’t really focus on getting perfect muscles,” Asterios replied.

“No worries. Let’s start today!”

With a strong flap of his demonic wings, Zegion shot forward while reeling his fist. Thanks to the scorching hot energy still filling his organs, especially his brain and eyes, Asterios could notice the motion this time, sure that the Demon King had done something similar during his first lunge.

Still, the attack came so quickly that Asterios barely had time to cross his arms in front of himself to block the blow. A small wave of force distorted the air around the two men as their bodies collided, with Ast’s ending up pushed two meters to the back.

He groaned afterward, shaking them to ease the numbing sensation. “Damn… That stings…”

Zegion chuckled, already in the middle of throwing another punch. “You didn’t break after the first hit, you must really have something of a Dragon in you.”

Ast’s draconic eyes snapped to the incoming fist and he managed to redirect the blow, which missed his chest. Unfortunately, Zegion’s hand slid over his arm and hit his shoulder, making Asterios grunt again as half of his body twisted from the impact.

Trying to catch the Demon King while he had overextended, Asterios swung his left fist at the man’s head. Zegion’s wings flapped and his pinkish body spun to the side parallel to the ground, not only making Ast’s strike miss the target but even slapping his hand away during the motion.

Setting his palms on the floor, Zegion threw his legs around Ast’s neck. Just a moment later, Asterios was flying through the air as the Demon King launched him forward with the use of the momentum gathered from the rotations.

After hitting the hard, metal ground, Asterios bounced and rolled over it for a few seconds, catching the steps leading to the throne platform to stop himself. He hastily stood up and locked on the demon man still standing in his previous spot.

“Good attempt!” Zegion laughed heartily. “But, you are still limiting yourself! I’m Zegion the Pulverizer, the Demon King of Annihilation, and I’m going to pulverize your body next if you don’t start taking it seriously!”

Noticing the movement of spiritual energy inside the man’s body thanks to his draconic sight, Asterios knew when Zegion would rush at him again and did his best to prepare for the incoming attack. Even though the Demon King had said that he couldn’t use magic, he had learned to use mana to strengthen himself to an incredible degree, much like Miria.

Zegion’s dash made the observers stumble on their feet as the surge of air created by his wings hit them. Asterios timed his motion almost perfectly and removed himself from the demon’s path by dropping one foot by one step on the short, metal stairs. The man’s fist went over his shoulder instead of slugging it and Zegion crashed into the seating of the black throne.

A loud metallic gong echoed through the hall as Asterios hastily increased the distance between him and his opponent. The Demon King peeled himself off the slightly dented seat and turned around, massaging his stomach with a wide smirk.

“I see. You are the smart type, always trying to outmaneuver your enemy instead of overpowering them.”

“Can’t disagree with that. It’s always been how I fight. Comes from being a Summoner, I guess,” Asterios replied with a smile too.

“I get it. But, that’s bad, like really bad. You need to stop doing that.” Zegion took a deep breath and tapped the side of his head. “Stop using your brain. Let your body do the thinking. Let your instincts lead it. You are suppressing your potential by telling your body what it can and can’t do.”

“But…”

“Come on, man!” He spread his arms. “Do you think you can hurt me? Or even kill me? There’s not even a scratch on my body after all of this!”

As to illustrate his point, Zegion reached down and tore a sharp, spiky decoration off the throne’s armrest. He drove it into his stomach, evoking quite a few gasps from Ast’s group. Fortunately, the makeshift shank bent comically instead of penetrating the man’s skin.

“See? Don’t overestimate yourself, boy. I can take a good pounding.”

A snort echoed through the chamber and Zegion glanced towards the audience, together with Asterios, who peeked over his shoulder. The Demon King squinted his eyes at the four half-naked men as they began to sweat increasingly while avoiding his gaze.

“In any way, throw everything you can at me,” Zegion continued, getting back to their conversation. “I assume you didn’t really have that many chances to go all out without worrying about consequences. I’m giving you one as my thanks for your incredible discovery and for sharing with us what you have learned about it. So, butter up, pretty boy, because I’m not holding back my thrusts!”

With another explosion of air, the Demon King was by Ast’s side again, throwing a mean hook at his stomach. They got entangled in a fierce exchange of short and quick blows, with Asterios mostly focusing on deflecting them and trying to figure out a good moment to counter.

To the spectators, it looked like they danced around the same spot while sending powerful waves of pressure from the heavy impacts of their hits. Miria had to draw on her bloodline a bit more to follow their movements while all of Ast’s bonded companions focused on their connection as much as they could to speed up their understanding through what Asterios felt during the bout.

“What’s wrong? Am I too fast for you, handsome? Can’t touch this?”

Zegion taunted Asterios each time he missed the rare opportunity to strike back the powerful but extremely agile Demon King. The man used all of his assets, including his wings and thin tail, to achieve movements almost impossible to reenact without those. His range of motions allowed him to dodge Ast’s strikes every time.

“You are still hanging onto your humanity, kid. Drop the pretense, you are not a human, at least not anymore. Bring your inner Dragon out, pussy! I’m starting to get confused as to who is the man amongst all those dazzling ladies that call themselves your mates! Did you drug them into following such a weakling or what?”

Getting even faster, Zegion slugged Asterios in the stomach with so much force it shook the hall and sent him flying into the far wall in a blink. Then, he blinked himself while bringing his fist up and staring at it with a slight surprise. His fingers stung a little for the first time since they had started.

Moving his gaze to where Asterios had landed, the Demon King’s grin widened even more.

“Now, that’s what I’m talking about!”

Two dark crimson membranes slid to the sides in the dented hole, revealing Asterios behind them. He pushed himself out of the niche and fell to one knee, spreading his draconic wings wide after they had cushioned the impact. As he slowly stood up, sporadic crimson scales surfaced on parts of his skin, mostly on the neck, shoulders, arms, and some over his pelvis.

The two ferocious wings unhurriedly extended towards the ceiling and Zegion instantly tensed his muscles. With a loud boom, Asterios disappeared in a blur. The Demon King grunted heavily when he stopped Ast’s fist from obliterating his face just a split second later, getting pushed a few meters to the back.

“Good! Good! Embrace it! Don’t think! You can start thinking about your moves after you get used to them!” The man instructed him. “Let’s dance, baby!”

Zegion flapped his own wings and their battle took into the skies, as far as the high ceiling allowed, of course. The two winged figures dashed around the throne room while clashing against each other every other second, sending waves of trembling pressure all around them with each contact. Everyone had already found something to support themselves on, like a pillar or heavy brazier.

A powerful thud threw the spectators a few centimeters into the air as the combatants crashed into the ground in the middle of the chamber. In a flash, Asterios and Zegion were back to pummeling each other with quite the ferocity. The latter’s face was constantly painted with an ecstatic smile while the former had grown quite fierce and serious.

The balance in their fight had changed a little. Asterios was able to actually land a hit on the Demon King now and then while Zegion had to be a little bit less reckless with his move set. The majority of the hits still connected with Ast’s body, of course, leaving some bruises and blemishes on his light skin.

But, more and more scales surfaced over Ast’s entire figure, mostly gathering at the edges of his limbs and body in general. His stomach had a tough-looking, scaly V running down his pelvis, under his belt, and connecting to his sides where it could be seen above it. His arms had turned almost entirely into a fusion between draconic and demonic with how a durable armor covered his forearms and wrists, a shade darker than his now red skin under it.

“Is this all you can do? I thought True Dragons were something! I’m starting to pity those women more and more!” Zegion kept taunting Asterios without a break.

Another mighty impact shook the throne room and they suddenly appeared amongst the spectators. Ast’s wide swing tore away part of the black metal pillar, making Rowena squeal from shock and surprise. She had been holding onto it near the floor right from the beginning.

Zegion spun around and landed a solid mid-kick in Ast’s stomach, sending him flying back to the middle of the hall. He chuckled and followed soon after, moving their fight away from the bystanders. Before he reached Asterios though, his jaw met an uppercut as he was in the middle of his dash and drove him into the ceiling.

With almost maniacal laughter, the Demon King descended to the ground to squash Asterios to the floor but he managed to avoid that fate just by a hair’s breadth thanks to getting better at using his wings in combat. The demon man created a small but wide hollow in the ground, accompanied by a loud metallic gong.

They exchanged a few earth-shattering blows before arriving at a standstill, holding each other’s hands near their faces and trying to push forward in a contest of pure strength. Unfortunately, Asterios was still way behind the mighty Demon King as his tattoos had begun glowing pink now.

“I must admit, you are a fast learner. You are getting better at an astounding pace. But, you are still not yet there. That human part is still—”

Something slapped Zegion across the cheek as Asterios suddenly spun around. The hit sent him flying into the nearby wall. He hastily crawled out of the created dent and locked his eyes on Asterios with clear confusion.

“Oh. Interesting. Looks like you are finally letting it go.”

A thick yet quite lean and slim near the end tail slowly danced behind Ast’s legs, covered by dark crimson scales from its top and slightly lighter plates on the underside. The tough demonic armor of dark red shade with bright scarlet streaks reached now over Ast’s elbows. Crimson scales ran up to his shoulders, slowly creeping onto his chest.

“This is going to be fun!” The Demon King smirked and lunged at Asterios.

Back on the side, Miria couldn’t contain her glee and bounced up and down while pulling on Selene’s and Tina’s clothes in turns.

“Master has a tail! Master has a tail like a real Dragon! Do you see it?! It’s real, isn’t it?!”

Silvia chuckled at her adorable behavior as a faint smile curved her dainty lips.

“Yeah, we can see it. It looks rather beautiful and… fitting, I guess. It’s hard to believe but Asterios might really be a complete True Dragon, just with some issues holding him back.”

“Do you think he will transform in this fight, Silvia?!”

The ecstatic panthergirl pounced on her and pulled the princess into a tight hug, lifting her off the ground. They began spinning as Miria stared at her face with unspeakable happiness. Silvia let out a warm laugh as she looked back at her with the blurred background around them, making Miria giggle too.

At least until Selene stopped them and supported the princess with Tina, assisting her in catching her balance after being released from the overenthusiastic panthergirl’s embrace. She kept a soft smile on her face even after the ride was finished.

“I get that you are elated, but do mind our royal friend in your actions,” the fox lady rebuked Miria gently.

“Sorry, ehehehe~”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind. We are friends, right?” Silvia glanced at her with a tender expression.

“Yep!” Miria beamed at her. “We could always be more if—ah, I’m sorry, I did it again... My head is still spinning a little, ehehehe~”

Silvia let out an adorable chuckle after seeing the joyful panthergirl cover her mouth in shame as her pretty ears flopped down a little.

“You don’t have to apologize. I’m not offended. I bet Father would be happy.”

“What about you, though, Princess Silvia? Would you be happy?” Tina asked, trying to hide her faint blush.

Silvia turned her head towards the battle and followed Ast’s figure with a warm smile.

“Who knows…”

A big chunk of metal flew straight at them but bounced off a joint barrier raised by Bryn, Selene, and Svertaniel. One of the fighting two must have hit a pillar on their path. Asterios and Zegion were still entangled in an intense brawl, with the Demon King actually suffering some visible damage at such a level.

He jumped over Ast’s tail swipe and launched a powerful jab at his head from above, only to have it parried by the half-human, half-Dragon. Zegion didn’t stop there and coiled his thin tail around Ast’s ankle. His wings made a few strong beats and he used it as an anchor to swing himself around. Landing a solid kick in Ast’s back, he sent Asterios tumbling forward.

“Do True Dragons amount only to this much? I guess they could do well as decent back scratchers if anything.” The man kept the taunts up, laughing to himself. “Seriously, I’m a tad disappointed. I don’t get how your women aren’t. Perhaps I should do them a favor and show them what a real man is after we are done here, even if it isn’t really my—”

A small earthquake shook the chamber as Ast’s fist suddenly appeared in front of Zegion’s face and connected with it in a split second. An unbelievable force burst out from the impact, bending the nearby pillar into a heavy curve and denting the ground into a small crater. The demon man didn’t even register the motion or what had hit him before he was launched backward to the noise of his skull cracking.

Zegion’s body slammed into the deformed throne and ripped the fancy chair into pieces as it bore through the heavy metal backrest like through paper, pulverizing it into bits just as his title implied. He crashed into the wall behind it with an ear-splitting noise of a metal gong that caused even more tremors. All the braziers in the hall had been snuffed out, bringing the hall to dim light.

“No one lays a hand on my mates.”

Ast’s cold voice reached Zegion’s ears as he shook his head to dig it out from all the metal debris filling the deep hole. Their eyes met and he noticed Ast’s irises glinting with much more ferocity and dark scarlet horns of vertical shape decorating the sides of his head. The crimson scales had crawled onto his neck and even cheeks and forehead.

Asterios began sucking in a lot of air and a slight reddish tint illuminated his throat.

“Ah, fu—”

A merciless spiraling inferno of crimson hurled towards Zegion as Asterios breathed pure fire, illuminating the entire chamber in a scarlet hue. A deafening hum and noise filled the air as the violent flames assaulted the Demon King’s position for about ten full seconds.

When Asterios finally stopped, hunching forward a little, they revealed a long, even trench of molten metal up to the end of the hall. Nothing had survived the inconceivable heat. The shallow path of annihilation bore even through the entire raised platform where the throne had been, making nothing of that obstacle.

But, at the furthest point, everyone could see a low glow of various colors which quickly faded. The four demon men crouched together over the Demon King with their backs sizzling alongside the molten metal from getting partially scorched too. The complex patterns that had appeared on their skin gradually hid away again.

One of them groaned and began falling to the back but Zegion caught the man’s arm before he fell into the pool of boiling metal underneath them.

“You good, Achat?” The Demon King looked at his comrade with concern.

“Yes, My King.” The man named Achat let out a strained chuckle. “I’m afraid that… this attack wasn’t exactly of pure magical nature… It’s a miracle that our formation stopped it, hahaha…”

Asterios dropped to one knee and glanced over his shoulder at the shocked spectators.

“Bryn! Tina! Cough… Cough… Go!”

He entered a small fit of coughing with bits of black smoke escaping his lips. The called duo instantly snapped back to themselves and dashed forward, knowing exactly what Asterios wanted from them.

Tina summoned Hydran in the shape of a scythe and took a powerful swing. A tall and ferocious wave of ice-cold water rolled over the still sizzling metal, quickly cooling it down. It split shortly before hitting the Demon King and his companions.

Bryn flew to their side in a flash and began weaving multiple spells to heal the hurt demon men, giving her all to aid them the best she could. Zegion nodded at her appreciatively, noticing how far she pushed herself to work on four if not five spells at once, each taking care of different degrees of burns.

Miria and Selene rushed to Ast’s side and supported him with anxious expressions. He shook his head at them with a wry smile. A stifled chuckle escaped his throat.

“That’s what you get for playing with fire… and Dragons...”