My Ultimate OP System: Summoning All Dragons, Gods, Heroes & Villains-Chapter 34: Half Dragon

Ethan stepped out of the basement and headed into the living room area, where he found Eduardo waiting.

Bettie left the basement almost at the same time but took a different path that led her out of the premises.

"She’s waiting at the back," Eduardo said.

Ethan nodded and said once more, "Come, Albedo."

[Bond Skill Active]

And once again, the wicked assassin resurfaced. She had a smile on her face as she said, "Twice today? Just tell me how much you love me already, summoner."

Ethan shook his head. "Go into Stealth, demon."

She nodded with a grin and vanished out of sight.

"Can I ask why you called the summon again?" Eduardo said, with a puzzled expression on his face.

Ethan turned to look at him. "I smell foul play, Eduardo."

——

At the back of the manor, Valerie paced restlessly, gripping a sheathed short knife that she tapped against her palm with each step.

A memory flashed through her thoughts.

She was thirteen years old, standing at the top of the staircase in Granny Jenner’s manor.

She was just about to answer the door when the old woman had emerged from a corner and waved her off, saying she would handle it herself.

From where Valerie stood on the stairs, she watched the door open. A bearded man in a hat that shadowed most of his face stepped inside, holding the hand of a young child.

While she didn’t remember the man’s face clearly, she remembered the boy. And he bore a striking resemblance to Ethan Stark.

Eduardo and Ethan eventually emerged from the manor, snapping Valerie out of her memory as she turned toward them.

"Why are you with a sword?" Valerie asked, noticing the sheathed katana in Eduardo’s hand.

"I assume Master Ethan is going to be vulnerable when you begin your spell on him," Eduardo replied calmly. "Do I need to say more about the precaution I’m taking?"

Valerie sighed. Bringing Ethan harm was the last thing she could possibly even think of. If anything, she just wanted to be done with this whole ordeal and be on her way.

However, she said, "Before we begin, I’m just going to say this. I may not have insisted on the waiting fee, but you will still transfer the five thousand gold grits that we agreed on for completion, to the receiving account."

She stared directly at Eduardo, who had been the one to make her the offer in the first place.

Ethan spoke in Eduardo’s place. "You have no worries. That will be transferred to you as soon as this is done."

Valerie nodded. "Let’s do this, then."

She uncrossed the small bag strapped to her shoulder and set it down gently on the ground in a corner nearby.

Within the bag were the grimoire and her Arcphone.

Then she gestured to the ground beside her. "Take your shirt off and kindly go on both knees."

Ethan obliged without complaint. He pulled his shirt over his head and let it fall to the ground as he knelt down, hunching his back over slightly.

Valerie unsheathed the short knife Eduardo had given her earlier. She took a breath, then pressed the blade to her left palm first. She winced sharply as the steel bit into her skin, blood welling up immediately.

Then she switched hands and did the same to her right palm, hissing through gritted teeth as the pain flared again.

Taking one slow breath in, a red magic circle appeared before both her bleeding palms while she walked toward Ethan.

"This will hurt," she said, then placed both bloodied hands on his bare back.

The moment her palms made contact, arcane insignias erupted across Ethan’s entire body. He immediately yelled out in pain and his voice echoed through the night.

His whole body became covered in ancient markings, glowing faintly at first. Then the blood from Valerie’s hands began flowing into those markings, causing them to glow bright red.

Ethan screamed even louder.

Eduardo gritted his teeth, watching him writhe in agony. His hand gripped the hilt of his blade tightly, with the katana already partially unsheathed.

He was waiting. Just one wrong move from Valerie, and she was certain to lose her head right then and there.

While Ethan’s screams filled the air, Valerie began a chant.

"I am Hemilton, keeper of locks and keys.

Blood recognizes blood, magic answers to origin.

Seal of Duality, your time has ended."

She retracted both arms backward for a brief second, then slammed them back onto his skin and yelled, "Release!"

Her eyes glowed with a bright red light. And at the exact same moment, so did Ethan’s.

Right at that instant, the buckle to Valerie’s bag in the corner unfastened on its own, as though moved by an unseen force.

The unsealing spell seemed to conclude right after that burst of red light. Valerie stumbled back a step, watching as vapor began pouring off Ethan’s body in thick waves.

Eduardo rushed forward immediately to where Ethan was still kneeling. His face was down, and his dark hair fell messily over his eyes.

"Master Ethan, are you alright?" Eduardo knelt beside him, reaching out carefully.

But then he saw it.

Ethan was grinning. And his teeth had sharpened into fangs.

When Ethan slowly turned his face toward his butler, Eduardo’s eyes widened.

Ethan’s pupils had narrowed into reptilian slits, and his eyes glowed with a reddish amber hue that seemed almost alive.

"I’m more than okay, Eduardo," Ethan said, his voice was deeper and sounded rougher too. "I am freeee!"

He roared out into the night sky in synchrony with his declaration and the sound sent out a pressure wave that rippled through the air, making everyone’s skin tingle.

Valerie felt it immediately. Goosebumps erupted across her arms, and her entire body shivered involuntarily.

Even Eduardo felt the chill run down his spine.

[All Restrictions Are Undone!]

[Race: Half-Demon/Half-Dragon]