Ao Shangtian was naturally slightly suspicious of everything. Wasn't it a bit too smooth to reach this point? Besides, his senses were warning him of danger, but he couldn't exactly tell what it was.
However, when he looked at the stupid face of Draco, his warning bells diminished greatly and he chided himself inwardly.
'How can such a gullible fool that only knows how to fight and nothing else pose a threat to me? F.u.c.k, I am the Prodigy of the Pangu Lineage!' Ao Shangtian cursed himself for his slight hesitation.
Besides, he was confident. It would be impossible for this fellow to ever trap him. He could regenerate from almost anything and his strength was beyond anything that a normal person in this world could ever comprehend.
At the slightest sign of foul play, he would either smash his way out or damage himself enough to allow himself to regenerate outside. He knew he was practically unkillable, otherwise his existence wouldn't have forced the Lucifer Lineage to eat a great loss back then.
This was Shangtian's confidence!
As such, he slapped Draco aside arrogantly and moved to the pod. He inspected it quietly for a bit before removing his clothes and laying down within the pod. Just to be sure, he used 5% of his strength to press the inside slightly.
The dent inside the machine further reassured him that he could break out. All further worries vanished and he roared out arrogantly.
"Brother Draco, I am ready! Let's get this thing going so I can experience a whole new world!"
Draco nodded. "No problem, Brother Shangtian."
The pod came to life as Draco pressed some buttons and the nanites started flooding the bay. Ao Shangtian was soon submerged in them, his eyes slowly closing as the sedative took effect and his mind connected to the game fully.
Draco stood above his pod with a gentle smile of a fool. He then gazed at a nearby monitor, waiting for a response. The moment the screen lit up and an 'OK' message was delivered, it was like a shackle had been released in him.
Draco shook his head vigorously and groaned while clutching his forehead. The pain of closing his mind in a mental loop in which the surface consciousness was represented by a fake personality was truly demanding on his mental capacity.
However, he quickly recovered and gazed at the fruit of his labor. His handsome face twisted into something horrific and terrifying to the point where even the giant brain floating in a vat over in the next room froze.
Draco smiled bizarrely as he rubbed the glass of the pod, gazing at Local Lord within with a predatory expression.
"Shangtian, oh Shangtian, who would have known that battling you in this timeline would be so truly lackl.u.s.ter and boring? Previously, you were the epitome of caution and shrewdness, managing to take advantage of my weakness you almost r.a.p.ed my soulmate."
"I failed to even exact revenge on you after so many years in which my skills increased immensely. You got to watch and laugh as I foolishly chased after Eva for a crime she had never committed, even assisting me in the background at times."
Draco laughed darkly. "Sure, in that timeline I was ignorant, but looking back at things now with a clear head, it was obvious that you've mobilized the power and resources of your clan to help me."
"What's more, you also blocked any communication between myself and the Lucifer Lineage, after you took care of Aunt Fyre, otherwise they would likely have long reclaimed me and unsealed my bloodline back then."
Draco shook his head. "Too many things are obvious now that I have settled down. You were undoubtedly the grand winner of the previous timeline, the mastermind behind the curtains, and must have been the ruler of the known world after both Eva and I died."
Draco gently patted the glass of the pod. "However, some force out there doesn't seem to have liked such an ending, and canceled out your timeline to create this one, allowing the tables to turn."
"It's a little unfair to you, as I'm sure if the future Shangtian had come back with us, the outcome might have been quite different from the current situation, but is life fair? Was life fair to me in the previous timeline? Would I have truly lost to you if my bloodline had been unsealed?"
Draco removed his hand from the pod and placed them in his pockets. "You are a criminal that has yet to commit a crime deserving your punishment in this timeline, but as they say, the sins of the father are the sins of the son. In this case, I will have you pay for what you did and would do in the future."
"I once found the idea distasteful, since the current you is just an ignorant fool. Unable to understand your crimes, you'd think it was just some form of sadistic abuse from us. You wouldn't be able to feel regret and self-hate towards your own behavior that way."
Draco passed a hand through his black hair. "However, I have ways around that now, so don't worry. My only regret is that I won't be able to get revenge on the version of you that I hate most since that timeline is destroyed, so I have no choice but to use you."
Done venting, Draco patted the pod a final time and left the room. The door closed and there was an audible hum as a high-tech forcefield appeared around it. Draco shook his head as he knew that even if Shangtian found his way out of the pod, he would still be unable to leave.
He turned to the giant brain and Amber who stood there watching him silently, a slight smile on her lips. Draco wasn't in the mood to be creeped out by her though, so he directly spoke his mind.
"Well, as our agreement states, you will confine him here for me and keep him alive and in exchange, you'll get to extract his bloodline and experiment with it in any way you wish. If there are any new or interesting developments, just reach out to me or Eva and we'll be here at a moment's notice."
Amber nodded. "Don't worry, we'll make good use of him. Be careful though and make sure to detain him well in the digital world. If he performs self-harming things that end up rupturing his brain, he'll be able to regenerate it out here and break the connection."
Draco nodded and left the building through the elevator. Amber then turned to the giant brain and folded her arms with a strange look. The brain inside continued bobbing as if it hadn't seen Amber's pointed look.
The two remained like that until Amber eventually sighed in defeat and shrugged.
............…
Draco returned to the castle post-haste, thanking the Sanguigno Brother who drove him and returning to his room. He then checked to see that Eva was still in her pod, probably still doing important stuff while he himself handled this minor business.
Chuckling, Draco re-entered his own pod and dove into the wonderful world of Boundless.
He re-appeared where he left, within his bedroom. Unlike before where it was filled with the crumpled and s.e.m.e.n-stained form of Natasha, now Hikari, Roma, and Zaine were here with his children.
When they saw him appear, their eyes lit up. Draco also walked over and hugged then kissed each one of them gently. He then held the quickly growing Loki and Rosella who would soon reach their second birthday.
The two babies pinched and cooed at their dad, making him chuckle while their mothers' hearts warmed. He then sat at his desk and placed the two kids on it while he showed them interesting cantrips with magic.
Loki clapped his hands in glee watching the party tricks, while Rosella tilted her head in confusion, her advanced mind trying to comprehend the intricacies of what she was seeing.
Draco also gestured to Hikari, who brought over their two eggs. Draco checked on the remaining countdown for them.
｢Dragon's Egg – Offspring
Rank: ???
Description: This egg contains the offspring of a Supreme-Rank Black Dragon and a Supreme-Rank White Dragon. The offspring furthermore possesses a sparse amount of Ultima Sunt genes. Lastly, there is an almost negligible amount of human bloodline.
As such, the final status of the offspring cannot be calculated.
Skill:
- Time left till hatching: 607 days
- Egg viability: 100%｣
｢Dragon's Egg – Offspring
Rank: ???
Description: This egg contains the offspring of a Supreme-Rank Black Dragon and a Supreme-Rank White Dragon. The offspring furthermore possesses a normal amount of Dragon genes, while there is an almost overwhelming amount of human bloodline.
As such, the final status of the offspring cannot be calculated.
Skill:
- Time left till hatching: 708 days
- Egg viability: 100%｣
Draco frowned. It seemed like it would still be some time until the eggs hatched, which was quite problematic. However, a smile appeared on his face as he figured a possible solution to this problem.
After spending a few hours with his family, Draco left the Aether Hall and contacted Local Lord. The fellow was currently in a zone near the Ruined Plains of Deriam, as he had logged out right after the Abyss Event.
Draco manifested his Dark Angel wings and took to the sky, zipping to where Local Lord was. He could have had the fellow use a portal scroll to return, but Draco decided that he would rather take matters into his own hands.
Draco also sent a message over to Eva, who responded with a calm 'ok'. Draco knew that more than him, Eva likely wanted to dissect him from the top down and scatter his organs among the dogs.
He chuckled when he pictured such a scene, flapping his wings even faster so he could meet up with his 'best buddy'.
Eventually, he appeared above a Field Zone called the 'Undulating Plateaus', and noticed that the fellow was currently fighting a group of Rank 2 monsters by himself.
Local Lord easily overpowered them with his strength and his Elemental Golems, farming great amounts of exp for himself compared to other players at the same Rank.
Draco watched him for a short while with an unreadable expression before he folded his wings and floated down towards Local Lord's position using Wind Magic.
When Local Lord noticed Draco, he grinned widely, ignorant of his current circ.u.mstances. "Brother Draco! I must say that you were right, playing while using the pod is a completely different experience!"
Local Lord flexed his arms with a look of intoxication. "I can now manifest my power in this world much better for one, and the sensations feel even more real!"
Draco laughed amiably. "It's great to see that my good brother is enjoying himself. Let's head back to Vita City so we can set up your estate and start getting you girls to build your lineage."
Local Lord was practically bursting with excitement as he heard that, his eyes gleaming with l.u.s.t and superiority. He had seen the other core members slowly enjoying such benefits, leaving him jealous and angry.
That was one of the reasons why he had rushed over from China without even bothering to tell his family where he was headed. With his status, who would he have to fear?
Hmph, if it wasn't for those shitty old men in the clan, he would have long walked over to stomp that useless Lucifer Lineage into dust while turning that bloody defiant Amaterasu Lineage into his playthings.
Draco smiled and raised a finger. "Why don't you rest a bit, Brother Local Lord. When you wake next, I will have a great surprise for you, something so exciting and grand that you will never be able to forget it for the rest of your life."
Local Lord sensed that there was something wrong with Draco's tone, but his mind slowly shut down as he was magically sedated by Draco. Draco even went as far as using his Dark Angel Inheritance to reinforce this, all so there would be no mishaps.
Soon, Draco's head snapped to one side as he saw a streak of light appear above him, Eva jumping down the back of Luxia to stand beside him.
Once she saw the unconscious Local Lord, she shared a look with Draco and they both smiled.
This is where the fun begins!