While unconscious, Rayne had not only merged the memories of his two lives—he'd also gained a rough understanding of the magic he'd awakened.
[Dragon's Origin]
That was the name of his magic.
Perhaps due to his Raynecarnation, it allowed him to summon dragon-attribute creatures and items from other worlds.
In essence, though it was a single magic, it had two functions.
Dragon-attribute creatures were self-explanatory.
The white dragon Makarov had witnessed was none other than Kanna Kamui from Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid—a 10,000-year-old loli dragon (legally, of course).
Despite her childish appearance, Kanna's strength was formidable. Even in this world, she'd rank among the elite.
But such power came at a cost.
Rayne vividly remembered the moment Kanna, after slaughtering the Dark Guild members, noticed Makarov's presence. Mistaking him for another target, she prepared to unleash her breath attack—
And Rayne's mana was drained dry in an instant.
The sensation of being utterly emptied, not a single drop left, still made him shudder.
Of course, Rayne wasn't planning to summon Kanna now.
For one, they were in the guild dorm—summoning a massive dragon would leave him homeless tonight.
And his still-recovering mana reserves couldn't handle it anyway.
"Dragon-attribute items, though… I wonder how those work?"
Curious, he channeled his magic.
A single point of light appeared on the floor before him, rapidly expanding into a circular magic circle.
But unlike the standard geometric arrays used by most mages, Rayne's was composed of interlocking ancient runes resembling dragon scales.
The symbols pulsed with a deep, primordial aura.
A white line extended from Rayne's chest to the base of the circle, then branched upward like a growing tree.
Some branches split into two, others into multiple paths—until the entire array resembled a luminous fractal tree, its trunk rooted in Rayne's own magic.
Rayne didn't see this, though.
The moment the array activated, his consciousness was pulled into a void of absolute darkness.
Before he could react, a white line shot forward from his feet, weaving into the same tree-like pattern he'd unconsciously drawn outside.
Each branch glowed with a different hue, transforming the abyss into a dazzling cosmos of light.
"Did Ea just get unleashed or something?"
The sight reminded him of Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm from Fate.
But he quickly grasped the truth—each glowing branch represented a dragon-attribute item.
"Problem is… how do I choose?"
Squinting at the overwhelming display, Rayne realized he had no way to discern what each branch led to.
"Guess I'll pick at random."
He rubbed his strained eyes. The childish desire to "take them all" was tempting, but reality had limits.
Summoning items required more than mana—his body had to bear their power.
At his current level, one was his limit.
Focusing, he mentally selected a white branch.
Instantly, the other lights retracted, merging back into the "trunk" until only his chosen path remained.
The branch condensed into a radiant fruit-like orb before him.
As the light faded—
A crimson gauntlet embedded with an emerald gem materialized.
"ROAR—!"
A phantom red dragon erupted from it, its tyrannical presence crashing into Rayne's mind like a tidal wave.
"Hah… hah…!"
Gasping, Rayne snapped back to reality. The magic circle dissolved into motes of light.
The mana cost for summoning the item was manageable—but the sheer arrogance of the gauntlet's aura had battered his psyche.
Yet as he recalled its design, a grin spread across his face.
Sitting up, he raised his hand. Mana surged, and the armament manifested—
A blood-red gauntlet sheathing his arm from fingertips to bicep.
Its surface wasn't smooth metal, but overlapping dragon scales, each one hardened like volcanic rock and gleaming with a sinister luster.
"Interesting. Very interesting!"
A voice—dominant, magnetic, unmistakably female—echoed in his mind. The emerald gem pulsed in sync.
"A woman?"
Rayne blinked.
He wasn't surprised the gauntlet could speak. The moment he saw it, he'd recognized it as something monumental.
[Boosted Gear]
Also known as the **"Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet"**—from High School DxD.
A Divine Dividing-class Sacred Gear, sealed with the soul of the Heavenly Dragon Ddraig.
Its power? Doubling the user's strength every 10 seconds. At its peak, it could slay gods.
But in the original work, Ddraig was male.
Why was his version female?
"Oi, brat. You got a problem with me being a woman?"
The voice dripped with irritation.
"A little," Rayne admitted inwardly.
Then again, he'd already met mages who shouldn't exist in Fairy Tail's timeline. A gender-bent Ddraig wasn't the weirdest thing.
Actually, better this way.
He'd rather not have a dude's soul lingering in his body. Things could get… awkward later.
"Hah! You've got guts, kid!"
Instead of anger, the voice laughed—a thunderous, approving sound.
As a Heavenly Dragon who embodied "Domination", she despised weakness. Rayne's bluntness amused her.
"Fine. For our first meeting, I'll let that slide."
"I'm Rayne. Your name?"
He studied the gauntlet. If even its spirit's gender had changed, the name might differ too.
"Ddraig. Ye Ddraig Goch!"
Her declaration was ferocious, regal, utterly unshaken by mortal concepts like gender.
She wasn't male or female—she was Ddraig, the Red Dragon Emperor.
And that was all that mattered.
(Note: "Ye Ddraig Goch" is Welsh for "The Red Dragon," tying into the mythological roots of Ddraig's name.)