Soul of Searing Steel

"Huh?"

Just Joshua was talking with the humanoid dragon Funa and Roland who sat nearby suddenly exclaimed, "We have a good news!"

The warrior and the female dragon looked each other and turned around to look at the holy knight at the same time. Roland naturally knew exactly what he should do. He showed the holy light screen to the others.

The Sacred Mountain, headquarter of the Church of the Seven Gods, had a special method to contact with all clergy. The technology of using the Holy Light to transmit messages through a holy light screen had become a normal thing these days. Roland was one of the future members of the higher order in the church. So, he always received information and news immediately.

[Count of the Southern Ridge who is in charge of the Central Defense Line, mobilizing two hundred Family Knights to repel the leader of the berserk dragons 'Aurora' Magina, forcing them to retreat in terror.]

[The Third Kingdom Army on the eastern coast has repelled the forces of the Iron-winged Dragon as they reclaimed the Arnold Harbor.]

[Lord Keith of the Kerkraft family led the Blood Mist Legion and has swept away the draconic beasts between the fortress in the Naga Mountains and the headquarter of the main army forces in the Far East Kingdom as they cleared a path to the survival of the southwest of the Kingdom.]

The information was similar to the one they had read. The Far South kingdoms had suddenly become strong as they fend off the invasion of the berserk dragons. The berserk dragons could only admit defeat and retreat. The intense situation had been salvaged and the tide of the war had changed.

"It seems that the Pentashade Dragons are really retreating."

Joshua glanced through the news list and immediately saw the signs. "They are about to launch their full attack on the Sacred Mountain. The kingdoms in the far south are no longer their main targets. Therefore, the champions are no longer interested in fighting, and the berserk dragons on the lower levels have lost their command. Or else these people would not have completed their tasks so easily."

Perhaps they were wondering why the enemies went down so easily all of a sudden.

Funa was unfamiliar with human's texts—of course, it was more likely that the Sacred Mountain was using elegant and complex artistic fonts. So, the female dragon who only knew a little about the ordinary universal language relied on the explanation provided by Hill, one phrase after another.

After hearing the warrior's conclusion, Funa had lost interest in those texts. She stood up and invited Joshua. "So what do you say? Are you still interested?"

Funa was straightforward but gentle. Her main purpose in coming to the resting cabin was pretty obvious. She just wanted to encourage the others to go over the topic regarding the 'Human Transfiguration Magic'.

"Of course." Joshua also stood up. He gulped down the remaining tea in his cup and wiped his mouth with his hand, "However, I'm more interested to know what to do next."

"Just leave that to me. I'll handle the rest for you." She suggested that Joshua followed her. She smiled as she held onto Hill's hand then left the resting cabin in a hurry. As she walked out of the room, she said, "Black is waiting for us."

Seeing the innocent and helpless face of the young elf who was forcefully pulled out of the cabin with her, Joshua shrugged. Then he turned around and informed Roland, who was sitting next to him and sipping his fruit juice, of his departure, "Then I shall take my leave first."

"Just go. I'll have the entire cabin to myself. It's great to rest peacefully all by myself here." He waved his hand to suggest that he was not bothered by it at all. "Good timing by the way. I can also look at the current situation."

Then, Roland turned around and stared at the holy light screen before him and continued to look at the battle reports from the Far South and the surrounding regions of the Sacred Mountain.

The warrior immediately followed Funa and the others as they made their way to the cargo bay of the ark.

"It seems that Black has communicated with Miss Funa for quite some time when I was out there killing the Marine Abyssal Dragon."

As they walked to the cargo bay, Joshua drifted away in his own thoughts as he tried to guess what happened with Black before. "The two of them seem to have bonded quite well. Funa will never know my thought so clearly. She would not have come straight to find me and offer me this."

It seemed that it was also a wish that Black wanted to fulfill.

The body of the dragon was indeed a war machine that was perfect in some sense. However, Black could only stay in the Nissia Mountains. It felt bored and frustrated. Furthermore, it had no other friends or any other dragons of its kind and that had really made it felt a little lonely.

Perhaps its situation was just similar to the situation of No.03. Black also wanted a human body so that it could live with everyone.

Everyone was walking at a fast pace. They soon arrived at a cabin at the bottom of the ark.

The cabin was extremely huge. The space was vast enough to keep a giant dragon and the dragon could move around freely. It was obvious that the place was already enchanted by a spell to expand the space.

Right next to the cabin, there was a valve leading to the outside world, which seemed to be convenient for things to come in and out. On the other side, there were scattered pieces of gigantic armor and equipment. Joshua could recognize that those things were made for giant dragons. And only a giant dragon's body was large enough to don those armor and equipment.

Right in a corner of the cabin, Black curled itself and slept on a magic circle on the floor. Even though killing the sea monsters was an easy task, it had also used up some of its energy. It had released a few blasts of its Dragon's Breath at full power. Hence, when Joshua and Roland went up to the resting cabin, the warrior had the crews on board the ark to bring Black down here to rest.

The runes in the magic circle glowed as the fire element was activated to create the most suitable environment for Black. There was no doubt that the draconic horse was feeling very comfortable now. It was about to fall asleep soon.

However, when Funa opened the door, Black instantly opened up its eyes and lifted its head to look at the door. After realizing that one of the people who arrived at the cabin was actually its own master, the draconic horse immediately stood up and ran to the warrior.

"Sorry to interrupt you while you're resting," he smiled and patted Black's head. Joshua suddenly frowned and stared right at Black's golden draconic eyes and whispered into its ear, "Alright, stop licking my hand. You need to forget your bad habit."

The half draconic horse seemed a little unhappy about it as it kept its barbed tongue back into its mouth. Funa observed everything from the side and shook her head, "Black just wanted to express its affection for you. You don't have to be so serious about it."

"Truthfully speaking, I don't really mind about it."

As the warrior brushed his hand against the smooth scales on Black's head, Joshua calmly replied, "But any ordinary person will not be able to withstand that lick… that lick is so sharp and powerful that even the surface of a rock would be scraped off completely. Even an ordinary armor would be crushed. Only I can withstand that lick..."

Black's body structure looked very close to the body of a traditional winged giant dragon. However, the two wings on its sides were very thick. Black used them to balance its center of gravity while it was swimming in the water more than for flying. The two horns on top of its head grew longer than before. They looked extremely sharp and had accidentally penetrated the walls of the Lord's Mansion back in Joshua's territory—if it weren't for that, Joshua would not have sent it over to the Nissia Mountains. Thanks to Black, the walls in the Lord's Mansion had been repaired and reconstructed over seven to eight times.

Its entire body was basically a weapon and an armor at the same time. Not only its scales, its claws, its wings, and its horns had barbs—even its tongue had barbs as sharp as a knife. Its tail was quite powerful on its own too. As long as Black wanted to, it could just use the scales and bone spikes on its tail to shred its enemies.

"I can tell that you are not happy because you cannot live with us due to the size of your body."

Joshua bent down slightly and stroked the draconic dragon's neck. He used strangely gentle tone as he spoke to Black. "As your master, I will not allow you to keep your thoughts to yourself. I'll grant you your wish… so tell me, Black. Do you wish to appear like a human?"

The warrior was also a direct person. But he gently asked the draconic horse.

Black was stunned for a moment. Then it turned around and looked at the blue-haired lady who stood at the side.

Funa smiled and nodded. Black seemed to have decided. It looked gratefully at the blue-haired lady then turned over and looked at Joshua as it admitted to the warrior that it wanted that.

"That's good."

Joshua stood up straight, looked to his side and spoke to the blue-haired lady calmly, "Ms. Funa, you must have had a long conversation with Black before this. You two seems to be quite close. Or else you wouldn't be persuading me to agree for Black to get its wish fulfilled."

Then, his tone turned serious a little, "Are you willing to help us?"

"Of course. I, Funa, am a dragon who loves to help people." The blue-haired lady turned around to look at Hill who was silent since they came into the cabin. Then she spoke to the young elf gently, "Or else, I wouldn't have met my cute little Hill."

"I'm an Oceanic Druid. So when I met a stupid Oceanic Dragon that hurt herself so badly that she had to lie on the beach, of course I helped her!" the young elf grunted and adjusted his black hair as he continued to complain, "In the end, you almost ate me after I transformed myself."

"I have already apologized for that…"

"After you have apologized, you remained in my home without any intention to leave—if I didn't have to make sure that your stomach is not empty, I wouldn't have to accept the invitation offered by the Sacred Mountain and ventured into a perilous place in a new region of sea!"

The atmosphere became more vibrant as they quarreled.

When Joshua slew the Marine Abyssal Dragon, Black and Funa had worked together hand to hand to slay many sea monsters that attempted to climb onto the ark. After the battle, the two of them had been communicating. The draconic horse had unintentionally expressed its frustration about having a huge body on normal days.

The speaker was unintentional, but the listener had the heart to listen. Just like what Funa said, she was truly a hearty dragon. She even got herself into a dangerous situation and hurt herself just because she was too keen to help the others and could only lie quietly on the beach waiting for a miracle to happen.

Although she appeared to be cold, she was actually a gentle and compassionate dragon. So, when she returned to the interior of the Epoch, Funa went to the cabin to look for Joshua, Black's, as she intended to find out what he had to say about Black.

Coincidentally, Joshua also asked about the same issue when he spoke with the young elf. Since the two of them had the same thought, things became much easier for all of them.

"The Human Transfiguration Magic is actually an extremely complex Magic even for a dragon. So, Black will be needing other's support during its first casting."

Funa took a step toward Black and hugged its neck as she explained to the warrior who was standing beside them, "My transformation is inherited from my father, an Ocean Blue Dragon. Black's first transformation will definitely need my support."

"Don't worry. I don't know these things. So you can do however you want to do it."

Taking a step back, Joshua knew that he was completely unfamiliar in that regard. He decided to let the blue-haired lady do things her way. Ms. Funa whispered some of the related matters and preparations of the transformation into Black's ears. She seemed to have the intention to stay there until Black was done with the transformation process.

Joshua, who was waiting at the side, took a quick glance at Hill, who was still brushing his own ponytail as his eyes moved subtly like he was looking at something.

Then, the warrior asked the young elf curiously, "Speaking of which, Mr. Hill. Druids can transform. The Forest Druids on the land are mostly capable of transforming into deers, eagles, wolves, and bears. The Oceanic Druids are capable of transforming into fish and other Oceanic Daemons… So, what can you transform into then?"

"…Don't you dare ask me that again!" Hill who was tidying up his ponytail instantly felt shocked but the warrior's question. His face stiffened up but soon, he suddenly became a little enraged and also seemed to be losing his self-confidence. "Besides, you will find out in a few days! So stop asking me that question!"

He seemed to be very sensitive about that question as if he did not want to bring it up with anyone. Joshua looked thoughtfully at Hill's collarbone where a small little tattoo was. Then he made a simple assumption.

No wonder… when he transformed himself, he almost got eaten by Funa.

Right next to the two of them, the blue-haired female dragon and Black had done the necessary preparation for the transformation.

Funa bit her finger and allowed her green blood that carried a little trace of electrical charges to drip from the wound. She straight away used her own blood to draw a dozen complex-structured runes on the scale and Black's shell. Among those runes, many of them were actually ancient curse spells that Joshua had never seen before in his entire life. The warrior could only see that those runes had something to do with the transformation between the physical body and the soul. It seemed that it even had something to do with the sub-dimension.

Those runes were linked to each other as they emitted particles of green lights. After that, the green light particles slowly formed into patterns of lines that looked like the lines on a circuit board on Black's body. Black was also trying its best to cooperate with the patterns as it poured its magic energy into each and every one of the lines on its body.

"It's about to begin."

Standing before the body of the draconic horse, she pressed her fair palm against Black's head, then her refreshing voice began to echo in the cabin. She informed Black and Joshua that the preliminary stage of the preparation was completed.

"Roar!"

Black nodded its head seriously and attempted to express that it was ready to do it.

Funa kept her hand back to herself. Instantly, a flash of blinding green light illuminated the entire cabin.

The runes that were drawn on the body of Black wiggled as if they were alive with electrical charges that used Funa's blood as a guide. They absorbed the magic energy in the air as they constructed the structure based on the information embedded in the giant dragon's which had gone through the process of 'Human Transfiguration Magic' many times. The process was changing the body of the draconic horse bit by bit.

A burst of hot wind flowed from the draconic horse's body. The power of the fire element was burning up. The green radiating lights that surrounded Black's body turned violet. Surrounded by the light particles, with the strong magic energy waves and ripples of the dimensional soul waves, the shapeshifting pendant that hung before Black's chest was completely shattered. However, its body size did not turn larger. Instead, Black was getting smaller. It was slowly turning into a human the size of a teenage girl.

The green runes had turned into smooth lines of tattoos and covered the Black's entire body. Its shape was also rapidly shifting as it turned into a human being.

The black draconic head, scales, and shells had faded away into the radiating light of magic energy as a small, delicate-looking head of a teenage girl appeared. Black hair that was as smooth as silk drifted with the movement of the magic energy flow. Then, a neck and collarbones as fair as snow formed. It seemed that the shoulders were also slowly being formed.

At first, Joshua was very interested to look at what was happening. However, when Black's body slowly turned into a naked body of a girl that looked valiant and heroic, the warrior's expression instantly changed as he quickly walked in front of her and reached out his hands.

The body of the girl was completely formed. The process of the transformation was completed. The only remaining parts that were yet to be completed were the two horns on her head and the long tail behind her. Her eyes remained shut as if she was deep in slumber. There was a crystal gem that radiated the light of the sun embedded in the middle of her chest between her breasts.

Funa, who was beside Black, did not react to the warrior's action in time. The warrior had saw through the flow of the magic energy in the surroundings with a simple glance. He reached his arm through the gaps in between the magical runes and pressed his hand onto Black's forehead. At the same time, he let out a deep voice and scolded Black, "You imbecile, get your clothes on, now!"

The girl's eyelashes fluttered a little. After that, she opened her eyes and seemed a little confused. Her eyes were watery as she was barely awake.

Of course, when Black noticed the warm huge hand on her forehead, she responded quickly to it.

Instantly, a gush of magic energy underwent a small change. The smooth green lines over the girl's body swiftly faded away. Layers of black armor appeared on top of the tattoos on the surface of her body, covering all the spots.

At first, Funa intended to stop Joshua from making contact with Black. However, as she witnessed what happened, she slowly pulled her hands back to herself and sighed. "That scared the crap out of me… The preliminary Human Transfiguration process is about to be completed. Black should be able to transform on her own next time. The process will become faster than this, of course."

"Thank you so much, Miss Funa."

Keeping his hand to himself, Joshua looked at the black-haired girl, who seemed to be a little uncomfortable by the situation. She did not know what else to do now. So, the warrior smiled and said, "Good job, Black. It must have been hard for you all these while."

The girl that Black transformed into looked tougher than beautiful and cute. She wore a set of dragon scale light armor on her upper body and a black war kilt on her lower body. Her black hair moved with the flow of magic energy in the air. In her eyes that were almost shut, a golden glare of a predator appeared every now and then.

On the sides of the girl's head, the two slightly curved draconic horns remained in their original forms. In the middle of the chest plate on her chest, a crystal glowed.

"From the looks of it, instead of seeing Ying as the elder sister of Ling's, she looks more like the elder sister of Ling instead… Of course, Ling is much older than Black."

As he commented on Black's appearance quietly to himself, Joshua brushed his chin and recalled the teenage butler, who also had gold eyes and black hair. Then he muttered to himself, "She seems unexpectedly like Ling. Is it because of the effect of the Human Transfiguration Spell? Or is it because Black is considerably beautiful among the dragons?"

Funa could provide the answer to that question: Both were partly true. Black had inherited the bloodline of an Ancient Dragon. That is the bloodline of the top lineage, among all draconic beasts. So it is very unlikely that Black would turn out to be ugly.

After Black transformed herself into a human figure, she stood in the same place for quite some time before she slowly woke up. She blinked and looked at her hand with joy. Then she looked up and looked at Joshua who was in front of her.

Draconic… from now onward, everyone should address her as a girl now. She snorted first just like she usually did when she was about to lunge towards the arms of her master. She intended to energetically greet her master as usual. However, just as she tried to stretch her legs—

A screeching noise was heard and the next thing they knew, the girl was falling onto the floor.