I Died and Became a Noble's Heir

Chapter 460: Dragon God and Dragon Demi-God [Golden Ticket Bonus Chapter]

The Hydra’s massive form lay still across the blood-soaked battlefield, its thirty-five heads bowed in perfect synchronization toward Jack.

The creature’s skeletal torso had already begun regenerating, flesh knitting back together as the chain fed it energy.

[Hydra (Disaster-Class) Defeated]

[+150,000 EXP]

[+45,000 Death Tokens]

[Prince of Thunder - Level 6 (25,876,500/200,000,000 EXP)]

[Current Death Tokens: 45,092,250]

Jack dismissed the notifications with a thought, his attention already shifting to the God of Death standing beside him.

The deity’s skull-helmet tilted slightly, those burning eye-sockets tracking the regenerating Hydra curiously.

”Impressive work,” Death said, his voice carrying less theatrical flair than before. ”Though binding a Disaster-class entity is going to complicate the ecosystem balance reports even further.”

”Add it to your scroll,” Jack replied, sheathing Oscar across his back. ”We have a floor to seal.”

Death’s armored form shifted, crimson veins pulsing brighter in the black metal. ”Indeed, we do. Floor Three’s been cleared for...” He paused, as if checking some cosmic timepiece. ”Approximately seven minutes now. Your student’s got talent, I’ll give him that.”

Jack’s red eyes gleamed behind his visor. ”He does. Which is why we need to move before he starts wondering why the floor hasn’t sealed yet.”

”Impatient, aren’t you?” Death waved one gauntleted hand, and reality seemed to fold. The air in front of them shimmered, darkening into a vertical slash of absolute blackness that hung suspended above the wasteland. ”After you, Soul Warden.”

Jack stepped through the portal without hesitation; the transition from Floor Twenty-Three to Floor Three was instantaneous.

One moment, he stood among corpses and demons in perpetual twilight; the next, he emerged into a throne room of ice and melting water.

The temperature difference was jarring. The biting cold of Floor Three replacing the wasteland’s dry heat.

Water covered the floor in ankle-deep pools, draining slowly through cracks in the ice where the battle had damaged the structure.

Scorch marks covered the walls, evidence of lightning magic being used quite efficiently.

And in the center of the room, thirty feet from where Jack materialized, stood three figures.

Rhys looked exhausted. The young man’s Tempest Lord’s Regalia was scorched in places, frost still clinging to sections where freezing attacks had landed.

His yellow hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat, and he held Tempest’s Edge in hands that shook slightly from depleted stamina.

Beside him, Slyph hovered, green aura pulsing with concern as she examined Rhys for injuries. The wind spirit noticed Jack’s arrival immediately, her black-and-green eyes widening.

And standing slightly behind them both, arms crossed and blank white eyes tracking Jack’s every movement, was Pho.

The Deathfrost Demon’s expression was unreadable, but his indolent posture made it clear he was passing the time until Jack arrived.

”Jack,” Pho said, his voice carrying across the throne room. ”Took you long enough.”

But Jack wasn’t looking at any of them. His red gaze had locked onto the massive corpse sprawled near the throne.

The Ice Drake, its pristine white scales and once-golden eyes were now devoid of life.

Jack walked toward it, his boots splashing through the water, completely ignoring the three beings who’d just accomplished the floor’s clearance.

Rhys opened his mouth as if to speak, but Pho raised one clawed hand in a gesture that clearly meant wait.

The Drake’s body was relatively intact. A massive wound through its throat showed where Rhys had delivered the killing blow, and several other injuries marked places where lightning and wind magic had torn through scales.

A whole through its wing, but compared to the minotaurs or the Hydra, this was minimal damage.

Jack stopped beside the Drake’s head, one hand already reaching for the Chain of Soul Warden. The artifact materialized in response to his will, black metal links glowing with red lightning as they coiled through the air like a serpent.

”Soul Bind.”

The chain struck, piercing the Drake’s skull directly between those lifeless golden eyes.

The weapon pulsed once, twice, three times as it established the connection, wrapping around the creature’s soul and anchoring it with bonds that rewrote nature at its core.

[Soul Binding Initiated]

[Target: Ice Drake (Nightmare-Class)]

[Status: Deceased - Minimal Structural Damage]

[Binding Cost: 100,000 Death Tokens]

[Current Death Tokens: 45,092,250]

[Proceed with binding?]

[YES] or [NO]

Jack selected yes without hesitation.

[Purchase confirmed: 100,000 Death Tokens spent]

[Current Death Tokens: 44,992,250]

[Binding in progress...]

The transformation was more dramatic than with the Hydra. The Ice Drake’s body convulsed, flesh knitting back together at visible speed as the Soul Link poured energy into restoration.

The throat wound closed, scales regrowing to cover the injury. The Drake’s golden eyes ignited with red lightning that matched Jack’s own gaze.

Within thirty seconds, the creature was whole again.

The Drake rose to its feet. Thirty feet of scaled power, wings spreading to their full forty-foot span, head turning toward Jack with recognition that transcended death.

”Master,” the Drake rumbled, its voice carrying the cultured accent it had possessed in life but now underlaid with absolute loyalty.

[Bound Creature: Ice Drake]

[Current Classification: Drake]

[Evolution Available: Wyvern]

[Requirements: Dragon Hearts (0/10) OR Dragon Pearls (0/3)]

[Note: Evolution will grant flight capability and enhanced elemental affinity. The quality of pearls or hearts may decrease the amount needed.]

Jack read the notification with interest. Dragon hearts or pearls. Unique materials, but not impossible to acquire if he continued hunting draconic creatures across the floors.

But the biggest problem with this was the fact that all the time he spent in the tower, the first dragons he saw were on Floor Twenty-Five.

Draconia would offer the most dragon materials, but with his deal with the King, he couldn’t go there just yet. The best way would be to pry information from Pho, Loryn, Emberion, or this Ice Drake.

Another notification appeared, this one displaying his complete bound army:

[Soul Warden Army: 363/500]

[Panthers: 16 (1 Alpha)]

[Minotaurs: 247 (1 Alpha)]

[Hydra: 1]

[Voidweaver: 1]

[Demons: 3]

[Carrion Raven: 1]

[Mistborn: 93]

[Dragon: 1]

Three hundred sixty-three souls bound to his will. An army that would continue growing with every floor he cleared, every powerful creature he defeated. The foundation of something that would eventually challenge the gods.

”So Drake, what is your name?”

”It is whatever you wish, Master.” The Drake said as he bowed his head.

”Your very obedient. Tell me, where would I find more dragons in this tower?”

The drake paused for a moment before answering. ”I know the Third Tier has a supply of Wyrms and Drakes. But besides that, you’d have to meet the God of dragons or the Demi-God dragon in this tower.”

”Tell me who the Dragon God and the Demi-God are,” Jack asked. He was almost salivating at the fact that the Drake had this information.

”Yes... they are.... they are... they.... I don’t know, Master.”

’Should have seen that coming. The Drake had the information, but he lost it. Guess I should have done this floor myself. Oh well. I’ll just kill everything when Rhys makes it to the tenth floor.’

Jack dismissed the issue of memory loss and turned to face Death, who’d materialized near the throne without making a sound.