Rhode thought he heard wrong and stared at it blankly.
The Purgatory Sub-Dragon saw Rhode hesitating and stared at him with its vertical pupils: "What are you gawking at?"
"At you..." Rhode abruptly stopped, "Just checking out how you're different from a Mountain Sub-Dragon."
"What's the difference, really? A giant dragon has a mouth, two eyes, and four legs. Hurry up, don't waste time," the Purgatory Sub-Dragon urged.
"I heard the Mountain say you can't last long, so while you still have energy, come punch me and let me see what level you're at. Don't pull your punches, hit hard."
Who's he calling not lasting? My fiancée is watching!
Rhode immediately harnessed the Mountain Dragon Soul and then summoned the Crimson Marked Tree Monster to add a Crown of Embers to himself.
"You asked for it!"
He realized that if the Mountain Sub-Dragon was steady with a hint of pride, the Purgatory Sub-Dragon was a straightforward, hot-tempered brother.
Since it asked for full force, he'll give it full force.
Rhode charged forward, wings flapping strongly behind him, his body shooting toward the Purgatory Sub-Dragon's head like a meteor.
With his right fist clenched, suddenly enlarged several times, the fist the size of a casserole brought a momentum of mountain-crushing force, and he punched out fiercely.
"Whoa... Whoa damn! What's it doing here?"
The Purgatory Sub-Dragon seemed a bit anxious seeing the Tree Monster, tried to call out to Rhode but was too late, wanted to dodge or counter but couldn't because of pride, so it closed its eyes as Rhode's fist landed on its forehead.
Bang!
Like a boulder dropped into lava, dazzling flames burst where Rhode's fist struck, sparks flew out like iron flowers, rapidly cooled and extinguished, landing as fist-sized rocks.
The Purgatory Sub-Dragon's head tilted back, and Rhode flapped his wings and retreated.
He shook his hand, letting the scorched rocky layer fall away, revealing an unharmed inside.
Imitating the Purgatory Sub-Dragon's tone, Rhode asked, "How was it? Was it satisfying?"
"Not bad, brother, that punch really had some force."
The Purgatory Sub-Dragon shook its head, that punch was beyond satisfying, it was exhilarating.
This brother was quite straightforward, giving full force, not true damage! It liked candid personalities.
"But brother..." the Purgatory Sub-Dragon spoke earnestly, "Next time, don't do that with your own people, it hurts."
"Okay... Is there going to be a next time?"
"Someday I might get itchy and come out for a brawl with you. Once you get the hang of this, I'll introduce you to other dragons."
The Purgatory Sub-Dragon flicked its fingers, sending a fiery sphere into Rhode's chest.
Rhode sensed it was the Purgatory Dragon Soul.
"Alright, I'm heading out. Call me anytime for a fight. I don't do much else, just love to fight."
The Purgatory Sub-Dragon's figure gradually faded, leaving behind one last piece of advice:
"Oh, by the way, summon me directly next time, don't chant that long incantation, it's so exasperating."
Rhode sent the Tree Monster back too, placing his hands on the warm ground. The fire perimeter set by the Purgatory Sub-Dragon rose into circular rocky walls, stopping the flames from spreading further.
Once he estimated the height was about right, he summoned the Golem to carry Mira to his side, then controlled the walls to collapse inward, burying the flames and lava.
"Whew..." Rhode breathed out, his body returning to its normal state.
Mira jumped down, holding onto Rhode's arm, concerned: "You talked for so long, are you tired?"
Rhode denied, "No, I've great stamina."
Mira couldn't understand why he had to insist, "This dragon seemed pretty easy to communicate with."
"Yeah, not sure if it's because I'm stronger now, or it's a personality thing."
The Mountain Sub-Dragon was disdainful, only brushing him with its tail, then secretly passed him the Dragon Soul.
The Purgatory Sub-Dragon was more straightforward, after testing strength with Rhode, they became close buddies, and it casually tossed him the Dragon Soul...
Winning a Dragon Soul after fighting a dragon almost seemed like a game mechanic, even though I didn't defeat it.
"I'll show you my new form later!"
With others, he might want to hide, but with Mira, Rhode only wanted to show her quickly.
Like a peacock showing its feathers.
But Mira didn't need that from him anymore.
"Better go back and rest, it's already late."
"I'm not tired."
"Not tired but leaning on me."
"Tired or not, I want to lean on you."
Mira said nothing, because she liked leaning against him too.
She lifted his arm to hug her neck and then took his waist, ready to move him onto the Golem's shoulder.
The Golem understandingly squatted, extended a hand, waited for them to step onto its palm, then held them up.
Mira patted the Golem's hard head, and said, "Heading home."
But the Golem's blue eyes looked at Rhode, waiting for his nod before moving.
"The Crown of Insight enhances me automatically, yet doesn't listen to anything else," Mira couldn't figure out the Golem's logic.
She tried asking, "Do you like anything to eat?"
The Golem shook its head; it didn't eat.
Among Rhode's many summoned beasts, only Warm liked food; the others seemed to live on thin air, puzzling.
Once his Magic Power recovered enough, Rhode switched his mount to the River Crab.
The Golem is too big, it would disturb people if it ran into the city loudly, and the River Crab has a wider back, suitable for Mira to lie in his arms, also convenient for him to lie on Mira's lap.
Staying quietly lying down was impossible, Rhode's inner turmoil made his hands restless.
Mira's face gradually turned red: "You're at it again."
"No one's watching anyway, and we're engaged," Rhode's hand wandered to climb higher.
While earlier there were matters to attend to so he behaved, on the way back he couldn't help but get restless.
"Not acceptable, we're still outside."
"Okay," Rhode sat up, discreetly pulling the River Crab's antenna, steering it home.
Mira knew exactly what he had in mind, feeling conflicted between wanting to refuse and not wanting to refuse.
As they reached Rhode's place downstairs, she bit her lip and blushed whispering into Rhode's ear, "At most... at most like that time..."
Rhode's breath quickened, gradual progress isn't bad, but...
"Do you know how alluring you look right now?"
"Huh?"
Before Mira realized, Rhode had already picked her up, dashed up the stairs.
A bit of wonderful happened, though not completely (edited for modesty).
This time Rhode held Mira before she could shy away.
Mira buried her flushed face in his chest, muffled, "I should go back."
"No."
"You've already, already..."
"Okay, now it's my turn," Rhode flipped over, pressing her, kissing her lips, hands placed where they should be.
"I don't need... mmph mmph..."