Chapter 52: Nova Silverflame.

Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Nova Silverflame.

Krono simply tilted his head, highly amused by her sudden burst of defiance.

She continued,

​"You possess the aura of an apex predator. When you looked at the auctioneer, your eyes held absolute emptiness. You did not kill those monsters to save me out of some righteous, noble duty. So why did you pull me out of that cage? Am I just your next meal? Are you planning to drain my magical core just like those filthy lizards intended?"

​"Hah hah..." Krono let out a slow, dark chuckle. The sound was incredibly cold, lacking any genuine human warmth.

​"You ask entirely too many questions for a runaway slave. I am not a demon. I am not a hero. I am the very concept of hunger made manifest into physical perfection. I took you from that cage because you caught my eye. In a world full of ugly, rotting reptiles, your silver light was the only thing worth keeping."

​He stopped right in front of her. He reached down and grabbed the heavy, rusted iron cuffs locked tightly around her bleeding wrists.

​"I do not want your magical core. I just want to watch all the disgusting empires of this world burn to the ground. Because I am the Usurper. And you are going to stand right beside me while I do it. Now, tell me your name."

She looked at him as if watching an incomprehensible creature. But strangely, the terror in her chest entirely disappeared. Perhaps the overwhelmingly domineering aura he radiated out into the cold night made her feel an absurd sense of absolute security.

He was a walking calamity, yet he was the only thing standing between her and the rotting world.

​"Nova... My name is Nova Silverflame."

​"Nova... " Krono tasted the name in the dead silence of the wasteland.

​Ding!

​[ Entity Scanned: Nova Silverflame ]

​[ Race: High Human ]

​[ Bloodline: Ancient Silverflame (Currently Suppressed by Physical Trauma) ]

​[ Potential: SSS-Rank ]

​[ Threat Level: Absolutely zero in current state. ]

​Krono dismissed the glowing blue text floating in his peripheral vision.

Next, reaching out, he grabbed her delicate, bruised chin with his long, elegant fingers. He did not squeeze hard, but the raw physical density of his cold hand made it perfectly clear that he could snap her neck with a fraction of a thought.

​"Nova Silverflame, a very proud name for a woman wearing iron chains just five minutes ago. Your magical core is completely suppressed. Your body is severely malnourished. You are incredibly weak, Nova."

​He let go of her chin and turned toward the rushing black river.

​"But weakness is merely a temporary disease. I was once a pathetic human ant. Now, I eat noble dragons for fun. If you are going to follow me, you will completely discard your weakness. Because, I do not carry dead weight."

​Nova felt a shiver down her spine.

​"What do you want me to do?" Nova asked.

Krono looked at horizon in the dark, replying:

​"Start by washing the stench of those filthy lizards off your skin. We have a very long walk ahead of us, and I have absolutely no patience for a weeping woman."

---

They walked for the entire night, occasionally stopping so Krono could devour the foolish dragon bats that attacked them along the way.

​Krono’s strength absolutely mesmerized Nova. If only she could become this strong, then everything could have changed. She would never have been captured and sold to the Dragon Partition.

She was a high human, an evolved species belonging to the Human Partition. But for some unfortunate reasons, she had never gotten the opportunity to fully awaken her ancestral bloodline before her kingdom was betrayed from the inside.

​Instead of sitting on a throne, she had been chained like a dog. Now, watching the devil casually rip a giant mutated bat in half and absorb its pitch black mist, she felt a burning desire for absolute power replacing her lingering despair.

She did not just want to survive anymore. She wanted to conquer.

Morning arrived with a bright clear sky.

After walking through the wasteland for hours, Krono finally stopped beside a massive black rock formation. The area was relatively quiet, with only the distant sound of the rushing river breaking the silence.

Nova slowly sat down against the rock, exhausted.

"I need to rest," she muttered.

Krono glanced at her and said, "You need food."

"I know that as well."

"No. You don’t understand. You need proper nourishment."

Nova glanced at his hand.

"What is that?"

"Dragon meat."

"Dragon? Are they edible?"

"Yes."

Saying that, Krono tossed the meat toward her.

Nova barely caught it because of the heavy weight.

"This is actually edible right?"

"Of course. It is from mountain dragon. They are eidble."

She was a bit relieved. "Where did you get it?"

"I slaughtered one."

"You... slaughtered a Mountain Dragon?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"Last night."

Nova’s expression became strange.

"You slaughtered a Mountain Dragon while I was sleeping?"

"Obviously."

"Why?"

"Because you needed something nutritious."

Nova looked down at the enormous piece of meat in her hands.

"You killed a dragon... just to feed me?"

Krono looked at confusedly, "Is that surprising?"

"Of course it is!"

"Why?"

"Because normal people don’t casually slaughter dragons!"

Krono thought about it for a moment, then replied, "I am not normal."

"I noticed. No normal can slaughter a noble dragon!"

"So you hear. Any you need to eat this to recover."

Nova sighed, "You really think dragon meat can help me recover?"

"Yes. It contains an enormous amount of life force and magical energy. Your body is severely malnourished, and your bloodline is suppressed. You need resources capable of repairing the damage."

"So this will help awaken my bloodline?"

"It may."

"May?"

"Your body will decide whether it can handle it or not."

"What if I cannot?"

"Then you will suffer."

"That’s supposed to reassure me?"

"No."

"You could at least pretend to care."

"I brought you dragon meat."

"That isn’t the same thing."

"You are remarkably demanding for someone who was wearing iron chains yesterday."

Nova glared at him.

"And you are remarkably arrogant for someone who dragged me out of an auction house."

"I saved your life."

"I know."

"Then eat."

Nova hesitated before tearing off a small piece.The moment she swallowed it, her eyes widened.

"What..."

"Feel it?"

"Yes, It’s burning."

"Good."

"I mean my entire body is burning!"

"Also good."

"How is that good?!"

"Your body is absorbing the dragon’s life force. Your going to be in full health in no time."

Adira: "....."

She watched the exchange with blank look. Why is the "Usurper" behaving so irregularly toward this high human?

Just what was going on?