Zin was a White-scaled Dragonion by birth.

But unlike the prideful Dragonions who could roar their way into full dragon form, Zin was... defective.

Not all Dragonions could transform easily —only those with awakened bloodline talent or heaven-defying cultivation arts. Zin, despite being born into a prestigious noble clan with a superior bloodline, could not transform no matter how many methods he tried. Dragon Transformation Arts, ancient scrolls, bloodline pills... nothing worked.

His father even announced before the clan: "A Dragonion who cannot transform is not my son."

Zin was thrown out like trash.

Decades passed. Zin grew stronger through ruthless training and years of humiliation. In the end, he even killed his father with his own hands... yet even after bathing in his father’s blood, he still couldn’t transform.

A century later, when his heart was already numb, Zin met fate.

A lonely red pirate ship made entirely of pure cedar wood drifted into his life. Upon it stood a strange man— Tyler.

A seer. A man who could read the stars and foresee danger. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Tyler extended his hand and took Zin aboard.

Guided by Tyler’s uncanny premonition and star-reading talents, the two entered an ancient ruin. There, Tyler absorbed a Loose Immortal-level Spark and ascended to Loose Immortal realm right before Zin’s eyes.

From that day on, Tyler rose like a comet.

He altered his own body, infused old Dragon Cells into himself, and became an artificially-created Dragonion. Then he entered Dragon King Territory and, alongside Zin, seized control of a Dragon Boat.

Thus was born the man known as Red Dragon, feared master among the Dragon Boats.

But the Red Dragon Master never cared about ruling.

He dumped all responsibilities onto Zin, enhancing Zin’s body and even helping him unlock Dragon Transformation. In time, Zin finally became a mighty White Dragon.

The Master once told him:

"When the sky turns gold, and the sea turns silent... disaster will arrive.

"Princess with vengeance along with her Phantoms will strike them."

Zin had always laughed at that prophecy.

But now— every word was coming true.

The Phantom Pirates were here.

A mysterious intruder was inside the ship.

And Zuzia, the Dragon Princess in disguise, was openly attacking the Red Dragon Boat.

Zin felt something crack inside him.

He roared and transformed into a massive White Dragon, scales shimmering like holy frost. He opened his jaws to unleash a devastating Dragon Breath on the intruders—

—but a black shadow descended.

A titanic Obsidian Dragon with molten lava veins burst through a building, wings glowing with terrifying heat.

Zuzia had appeared.

Even though she wore a phantom mask, no one could mistake that aura —Dragon Princess. After Dragon transformation, the mask even disappeared.

"Dragon Princess!" Zin roared, furious. "Do you know what you’re doing?! Touching a Dragon Boat means Sky Dragon Palace and Sea Dragon Palace will hunt you to death!"

But Zuzia only smirked.

"Heh... can they catch the vanishing Phantom Pirates?"

A pillar of lava erupted from her jaws. Zin barely dodged and watched another entire building melt.

"What happened to the protection arrays?!" Zin turned pale.

Zuzia grinned.

"We have good array masters too."

At that moment—

Far below, Tyler, Astrid, and Veronica stood calmly inside the Red Dragon Boat’s core chamber, controlling the arrays themselves.

"That’s perfect. I’ll go to the Red Dragon Master’s chamber and save Zuzia... just continue the plan," Tyler said. Now in Phantom Blackwood form, he faded into the shadows and vanished.

---

Outside, over the sea—

"I don’t know what madness your group is planning, but it ends here!" Zin roared.

He flapped his wings and soared away from the Dragon Boat, not wanting collateral damage. Zuzia followed.

A crushing pressure expanded outward.

Domain.

The sea churned. Dozens of white cocoons appeared in mid-air, sealing the area. Pirates trapped inside melted instantly. Zuzia’s cocoon, however, sizzled and dissolved due to her extreme heat.

Zuzia dodged several cocoons with a flap of her wings. Steam rose as molten geysers shot from the sea, chasing after Zin.

The lava touched him—

—and Zin turned into a cocoon and melted.

But another Zin stood unharmed in a different spot.

Zin laughed loudly.

"Hehehe! This is my Domain, Princess! No one can touch me here. This is Infinity Espace!"

Zuzia scratched her cheek. "Infinity, huh... good name."

She attacked again, and again he turned into a dissolving cocoon, replacing himself elsewhere.

"Tch. Just like Captain’s Ice Escape. So annoying..."

Then she raised her head.

"Fine. Then let me show you my domain."

A golden radiance exploded.

A majestic Golden Palace materialized above the sky, descending like a kingdom of gods. Soon, the entire battlefield was enveloped by its divine aura.

Zuzia stood proudly at its center.

"I like that ’Infinity Espace’ name... maybe mine should be Infinity Castle? Or is that name already taken...?"

Zin’s face drained of all color.

"D-Dragon Palace...?! Why is your Domain the Legendary Dragon Palace?!"

There was only one person in the Dragon King’s history whose domain formed the mythical Dragon Palace—

the first Dragon King himself.

Even the current Dragon King could not replicate it.

Yet here it was, descending from the heavens...

...under the control of the dragon girl in front of him.

Zin’s wings trembled.

"Y-you... who are you exactly...?" he whispered in fear.

Zuzia only smiled beneath the mask, her lava veins glowing brighter.

"Me? Aren’t you the one who called me Dragon Princess?"

The Golden Palace pulsed with divine authority.

"Now," Zuzia said softly, her voice echoing through the golden palace. "Bloodline Suppression."

The moment those words left her lips, Zin’s body slammed to the ground.

He struggled—his 5-Star Divine Seeker cultivation roared, his blood surged, his dragon core trembled—but nothing helped.

Her Domain crushed him.

Her bloodline—vast, ancient, overwhelming—wrapped around his very soul and forced it to kneel.

Zin’s limbs shook uncontrollably. His forehead pressed against the golden floor.

No matter how he resisted, his bloodline bowed to her without hesitation... without condition.

With difficulty, he gasped, "The rumors... were true. You really carry... a Superior Bloodline..."

┉┈ ◈ ◉ ◈ ┈┉

Inside the Master Chamber, thick red mist curled like living serpents.

The Red Dragon Master opened his crimson eyes and gazed at Mana, suspended helplessly in mid-air.

He sighed softly, almost regretfully.

"So... you finally came seeking vengeance." His voice echoed through the chamber like rolling thunder. "But you truly have no idea what your father did."

Mana’s eyes only burned with hatred.

Red Dragon chuckled. "I can crush you like an insect right now. One squeeze... and poof. Gone." He raised his hand lazily, letting destructive aura swirl around his fingers. "But even if I shatter your soul, you won’t die, will you? Your spirit is bound to another."

His eyes narrowed, amused.

"A Ghost Spirit... and judging by the aura, you belong to someone interesting. Who is it? The Phantom Blackwood? You must be the Ghost Princess in their little lineup, hm?"

Mana struggled, but her voice couldn’t come out. She could only glare.

Red Dragon leaned back casually in his throne of flesh and scales.

"I had a vision, you know," he said quietly. "Right here in this chamber... me, fighting a man in a phantom mask, covered in red scales. A strange scene. I still don’t know how that battle ends."

He tapped his claw against the armrest.

"That’s why I tried to suppress that Dragon Princess earlier—the one wearing a phantom mask. I thought she was the omen. But perhaps... that mistake is what led everything to this moment."

He laughed, deep and confident. "Fate is amusing. No matter what I do, this future comes."

His gaze sharpened.

"Well then... I shall wait. Let your hero come." His aura flared violently.

"And when he arrives... I will crush him like an ant."

Mana trembled, not from fear—but rage. She could not move. She could not speak.

Only her murderous eyes remained free.

┉┈ ◈ ◉ ◈ ┈┉

Outside, Mathilda suddenly paused. Countless crimson skulls were crawling up the side of the Red Dragon Boat like spiders.

"It’s the Red Skull Pirates..." Mathilda muttered, her voice filled with annoyance.

Several neon-glowing skulls leapt onto nearby Phantom Pirates and instantly tore off their heads.

"Tsk... this troublesome bunch again..." Mathilda clicked her tongue.

"Leave it to me," Astrid said calmly.

She spread her wings and flew upward. Her dark wing flashed with a black radiance. The moment the black light touched the Red Skulls, they twitched violently and shattered into pieces.

But the fragments didn’t stay broken.

Instead, every scattered skull began to rattle, rolling toward a single point. Like magnetized metal, they drew together—piling, merging, fusing into a towering humanoid monster made entirely of skulls. Huge wings formed on its back, also built from skulls, and a gigantic skull-mace materialized in its hand.

It let out a distorted roar and floated in mid-air.

Mathilda narrowed her eyes, watching its reconstruction carefully.

"Miss Serena," she called out.

"Yes, MC..." A projection of Serena appeared beside her. Her long green hair glowed softly, and her face was obscured by a glitch-like distortion, hiding her features.

"Analyze those Red Skulls for me," Mathilda—MC—ordered.

"Understood. Beginning analysis," Serena replied as streams of glowing data symbols appeared around her.

Mathilda cracked her knuckles, a dangerous smile forming beneath her mask.

"Let’s see what makes you things crawl."