Chapter 27: Alert
As the Dragonification Spell bit into Hanna’s old flesh, it cracked and split her skin, spurting blood. She clenched her hands, shut her eyes, and gritted her teeth, but the pain swelled until she couldn’t keep her composure. Screams tore out of her as she convulsed. Veins of Dark Mana bulged across her skin, ripping deeper into tissue, and blood pooled beneath her.
Hanna’s friend clutched the hem of her skirt and silently urged her on.
Meanwhile, Han watched, expression flat. He knew nothing good came in this world without pain—No pain, no gain, as some gamers would say back on Earth. Healing often came with tremendous pain, depending on the wound. He showed no weakness and focused on the changes overtaking Hanna.
Rapid changes overtook her, and Han needed to study them. Hanna didn’t have any mana; everything went into her black bones. As Han probed deeper into the cracks in her skin, he could see those bones were intact.
I should control the spell. Make her expand her bones and turn them into scales.
With that plan, Han drove his Dragonification Spell and Dark Dragon Mana into Hanna’s bones. Recent experience had sharpened his control over mana, and he used it to get the outcome he wanted. Soon, results appeared.
A black scale popped up on Hanna’s arm. More scales followed, climbing over her from head to toe. Problems arose just as quickly: the scales didn’t stop. They began layering over one another, encasing Hanna in a black coffin. If Han hadn’t felt her pulse through the dragon bite linking them, he would have thought she was dead.
His mana flowed through that coffin with clear purpose. Hanna responded, yet her screams still tore through the shell, raking at Han, Bellatrix, and the other maid.
"She’s in such pain! You have to stop that!" Bellatrix shouted.
Han replied without turning around. "Quiet. This is an important step for me and Hanna."
Bellatrix only bit her lip and silently prayed for Hanna’s success. In this bathroom, all three wanted Hanna to succeed, so their hearts aligned despite their differences.
Roughly an hour later, Hanna’s voice faded inside the coffin.
Is she dead? No. I can feel her pulse. She must have lost consciousness, so now it’s up to her body to endure everything.
Han turned to the second maid. "We’ll keep her here with at least one maid keeping watch. I can feel that she’s alive and undergoing her evolution."
"Ah, yes! We’ll add overseeing Hanna’s evolution to our schedule," the second maid replied belatedly, then hurried to make arrangements.
Han nodded and walked past Bellatrix. "Stand up. My maid will take you back to your room."
Wordlessly, Bellatrix rose and followed. Another maid escorted her to her room while Han headed to his office.
Inside, he sat at his desk and rested his cheek on the cold, now manaless Spellweaver’s Monolith. Useless now, it served as his desk for writing magic circles and spells. He felt a sentimental attachment to it for two reasons: it was his Father’s gift, and he had created the Dragonification Spell through it.
I really went ahead and put Hanna through Dragonification without testing it first on monsters or anyone else. Confidence aside, I am growing more cruel by the day, maybe influenced by my Dragon’s Pride and Dark Mana.
Bellatrix’s words lingered at the back of his mind. He had now enslaved two humans. For some reason, he didn’t feel bad about it because he knew those women weren’t innocent. His view of the world was mostly through his own lens, so he only saw dangers and cruelty.
In the end, he arrived at a single wish.
Survive and evolve, Hanna. It’s an order.
—
It had been a week since Hanna’s Dragonification began. She was still encased in the coffin. The maids watched over her and cheered her on. Han was the same, though he showed little of his feelings. Even so, the maids could tell he wanted Hanna to succeed, and he visited at least three times a day.
Han had been working as usual.
He extracted mana from his two Cauldrons, worked out designs for his next three spells so he could advance in rank, and studied his Cauldrons’ essences in his free time. He also worked out in the morning. Xena scoffed when he casually told her about it, so he forced her and Bellatrix to work out as well.
He was in his office, drawing magic circles on his Monolith and theorycrafting again.
A maid knocked four times on his door.
Four means there’s something urgent. Could it be Hanna?
Han stood and opened it.
A maid bowed in the doorway. "We’ve received an alert from the main household."
What?