25-208

EP.208 [The Drake Reveals Its Alluring Female Form.] 

-Freeze!!!! 

The drake, mentioning the name Sabrina, once again initiated a one-on-one telepathic conversation. Eugene had considered the possibility that the drake could use telepathy. However, since this was a team battle, Eugene Schneider had resolved to just keep swinging his greatsword no matter what. Yet, at this moment, his sword stopped moving. 

The reason: 

‘How does this bastard know my mother’s name?’ 

Eugene Schneider’s mother, a demon woman who married Ulysses Caesar and gave birth to Eugene, was named Sabrina. 

As a child, Eugene Schneider never asked about his mother. After he’d overheard that she was a demon, he didn’t want to trouble his father. 

Ulysses Schneider had a very liberal approach to parenting, so from a young age, Eugene accompanied him through slums and places where all sorts of people came and went. The sophists were similar, and so Eugene learned early on just how much demons were considered taboo in the Empire. 

‘What kind of person was my mother?’ 

But how could he not feel longing for his mother, especially as a child? There wasn’t even a single portrait of Sabrina. So, questions about his mother gradually grew in Eugene’s heart. 

“One thing, son: I don’t know much about your mother either. We met by chance, fell passionately in love, and then had you.” 

Eventually, Eugene asked his father about his mother. Ulysses, knowing Eugene was curious, had prepared himself and answered kindly. 

“Your mother desperately wanted to have you. She loved you that much. I still remember her smiling face as she looked at you as a newborn.” 

Pat... pat... pat... 

Ulysses Schneider gently stroked Eugene’s head as he looked up at him. It seemed Ulysses hadn’t thought about his wife in a long time. The memory of his wife still stirred his heart. As a parent and a leader, he had to keep some distance from those memories, but when his son asked with deep longing, Ulysses cautiously shared what he’d kept in his heart. 

“If you want to see your mother, look in the mirror. You look so much like her.” 

They couldn’t even commission a portrait, since they couldn’t trust anyone to keep the secret. Back then, there were reasons for that, and his wife had adamantly refused, but now Ulysses regretted it. After a moment’s reflection, he told Eugene how much he resembled his mother. 

‘I look like my mother...? Then is my mother inside me...?’ 

For young Eugene, it was a great comfort. It gave him a sense of connection to his mother. 

“Can you tell me my mother’s name, Father?” 

Feeling comforted and more proactive, Eugene asked Ulysses for his mother’s name. 

“Sabrina. Your mother’s name was Sabrina Serazade.” 

That’s how Eugene Schneider learned his mother’s name: Sabrina Serazade. 

Ulysses had never told anyone, not even his closest friends. 

But then- 

[To think you are the son of Sabrina Serazade. How astonishing.] 

The drake, now magically bound, mentioned that name to Eugene via one-on-one telepathy. 

‘How-’ 

Eugene’s eyes changed. Until just now, he’d been focused on the quest as a member of the drake subjugation team. But when the drake mentioned his mother’s name, memories flashed through his mind, and his gaze shifted to a new goal. 

‘How do you know my mother’s name!!!’ 

-Fwoooosh!!!! 

Eugene exploded forward with tremendous mana footwork toward the drake’s face. 

-Slashslashslashslash!!! 

He stopped right in front of the drake’s face. 

‘What’s going on, Captain Eugene?’ 

Victoria immediately looked his way, surprised by Eugene’s unexpected move. 

[Answer me, drake. How do you know that name!!] 

Eugene questioned the drake through telepathy. 

[You used that incantation for sorcery, and through it, your demonic energy was revealed to me, letting me know your true identity.] 

The drake, seemingly amused by Eugene’s reaction even in this crisis, answered calmly. 

Elizabeth’s mana breaker worked based on Eugene’s demonic energy. The mechanism allowed the drake to sense Eugene’s origins. 

[That’s not what I’m asking! Drake, how do you know my mother’s name!!!] 

-Slash!! 

Eugene thrust his greatsword toward the drake’s face, demanding a real answer. 

[Hmm...] 

The drake stared at Eugene Schneider in silence, almost as if reading his memories. 

[So that’s it... Sabrina Serazade has passed away...] 

The drake realized from Eugene’s memories that Sabrina Serazade was no longer alive. 

“Captain Eugene, what’s wrong! Is the drake trying to brainwash you??” 

Victoria, seeing Eugene’s strange behavior drag on, thought he might be under the drake’s influence. 

“Farnese! Vincent! Separate the captain from the drake!” 

Victoria ordered Farnese and Vincent, who were fighting the drake, to help Eugene. 

“Yes, Commander Victoria!” 

-Thudthudthudthud!! -Thudthudthudthud!! 

At her command, Farnese and Vincent rushed toward Eugene. 

[It seems I’ll have to push myself a bit...] 

Sss...! Sssss...! 

The drake, noticing this from the corner of its eye, 

Flaaash! 

flashed its crimson eyes wide. 

“!!!!?????” 

The first to react to the drake’s blazing crimson eyes was Mage Elizabeth. 

‘What is this impossible magical power!!!!’ 

The drake unleashed far greater magic than expected. 

-Whooooooosh!!!!!! 

Soon, the drake’s body was surrounded by a giant vortex of dark red mana. 

-Boom!! 

-Boom! 

-Boom!! 

“Kh!!” “Aaah!!” “What is this???” 

The vortex flung Victoria, Farnese, and Vincent far away. 

-Kuaoooooo!!!! 

Then the vortex of dark red mana grew even larger. 

“Eugene!!” 

The vortex swallowed Eugene Schneider whole. Elizabeth, arriving at the scene, sensed her brother’s mana disappear. 

‘For a moment, my body just froze.’ 

When the drake’s eyes flashed crimson, Eugene’s body locked up. It felt less like being poisoned and more like time and space themselves had stopped. 

After the drake’s crimson vortex, Victoria’s group was thrown away, but Eugene Schneider was swallowed up. 

‘Pitch-black darkness. I didn’t think the inside of the vortex would look like this. It seems the vortex was to separate me from my comrades and trap me here.’ 

He couldn’t feel the vortex. His body was frozen, but his senses remained. The drake had unleashed enough magic to shock Elizabeth and create this sudden space. 

‘It’s coming!’ 

At that moment, Eugene Schneider sensed a presence in the darkness. 

Step, step, step, step, 

‘It’s not the drake-it’s a person.’ 

He heard footsteps. 

“Welcome, son of Sabrina...” 

And then, the figure appeared before Eugene. It was the woman who had appeared after trapping Eugene and Priscilla in the pit. 

“So that’s your true form, drake?” 

The drake appeared before Eugene Schneider in its true form. 

“That’s right. I was born like this, so this is my true form, huhuhu...” 

Swoosh...! 

The drake dramatically spread her arms as if to show off. 

“It’s odd. With such power, you let yourself be toyed with by our plan until now.” 

Eugene was still frozen in place. If the drake attacked, he’d die instantly. If this technique had been used earlier, the subjugation party would have been destroyed. 

“This binding only works on you because you have demon blood. Think of it as my authority over demon blood.” 

The drake admitted that the binding spell was very limited in scope. 

‘Is this to kill me after all?’ 

But there was no murderous intent. 

“I have no desire to kill you. If that were my goal, I wouldn’t use such an elaborate spell.” 

The drake read Eugene’s expression and saw through his thoughts. 

“I actually want to tell you something that will help you.” 

Swoosh! 

Before he knew it, the drake was right at Eugene’s feet. 

“So you’re saying listening to you would be good for me?” 

Unable to move, Eugene still pressed the drake for its intentions. 

“Oh... you’re a sharp one.” 

Smirk...! 

The drake smiled approvingly. 

“Then release me. At least show some sincerity.” 

Sensing his words were working, Eugene demanded to be released. 

“Fine. I thought you were a wild colt, but if you’re a clever kid, that’s different.” 

Swoosh...! 

The drake reached out toward Eugene, and he was released from the binding. 

“Let’s hear what you have to say. And how you know my mother’s name.” 

Thud! 

Eugene drove his greatsword into the ground. 

Now, his first priority wasn’t fighting the drake, but learning about his mother, Sabrina. Based on the drake’s attitude, talking seemed more productive than fighting. 

“I spent a short time long ago close to your mother.” 

The drake began to explain how she knew Eugene’s mother, Sabrina Serazade. 

“It was when the seed of the berserker in your mother’s body had just begun to manifest.” 

Eugene Schneider thought he might take the lead with his usual way with words, but the keyword Sabrina Serazade, brought up by the drake, was truly shocking.