Listening to Derik's instructions, Lucien didn't hesitate any more and quickly shut his eyes. He could feel, Rakuzen's presence weakening and it was only a matter of time before he vanishes entirely so Lucien chose to focus on the dragon inheritance. With his eyes shut tight, he visualized a space where he and only the dragon inheritance could stay and he analyzed it, trying to understand the true nature of its power. His body shivered as his mind connected with that of the dragon, allowing him to feel the unrestrained rage surging through the being.
He felt the rage spreading deep within him and threatening to consume him but Lucien was no child who would need assistance to deal with things like this. His eyes tightened as he focused on controlling the rage and not taming it! He realized the true nature of this dragon being was wrath! A god of destruction!
Its rage strengthened its power, allowing him to consume everything that dared to stand in its path. His body shivered as he realized how wrong his concept of the dragon inheritance is. He simply thought it came with overwhelming offensive and defensive abilities but he failed to take it into account that this power required the user to focus on his anger and forget every other thing around him. Charge forward no matter the forces ahead!
Now he realized why god vein failed to grant Rakuzen the inheritance.
While Rakuzen could be considered the greatest dragon pathway master, he could also be considered a failure in this pathway. He focused on creation which contradicted the true purpose of the dragon and for that reason, the God vein did not see him as a potential candidate to gain the inheritance.
With great rage comes courage!
Courage begets strength!
Lucien yanked his eyes open and realized Rakuzen had broken free and the dragon inheritance was levitating behind him. He wanted to say something to Rakuzen but no wasn't the time!
With the dragon inheritance on his side, it reduced the burden on Derik but that didn't mean he was out of danger!
The next being he focused on was the Phoenix. After seeing the emperor fight with this power, he slightly had a strong understanding of what this beast is all about!
Life!
Creation!
And Rebirth!
Those are the three major laws that guide this magnificent beast and Lucien has always ignored these things from the beginning! The life and creation aspect of this beast allows him to give life to his magic and give it a will as well. With this inheritance alone his mastery over the creation pathway was on par with the greatest creation magic cultivators in the god vein and this gave him a strong feeling of godly strength!
He controlled the power of destruction and creation in one body and the rebirth path of the Phoenix assured his immortality just like it did for Emperor Fei. Even in death, he will be reborn unless he goes against a beast like Derik he wouldn't have to ever fear death!
Yanking his eyes open, Lucien saw that the Phoenix god beast had stopped its easily on Derik and returned to his side, and finally, there was the Raizen god beast inheritance. The feeling about it was familiar. It reminded him of when he was younger, he prioritized speed over strength. He was considered the fastest of his generation and even those who realms ahead of him could barely keep up with him.
The Raizen spirit represented absolute speed, coupled with a single strike! It was a perfect inheritance that boosts one's speed and lethality! Allowing him to one-shot unsuspecting foes! The wind aspect of his power was not made to increase his speed but deter the movement of others!
In this aspect, Lucien was a complete beast.
Watching the three inheritance, slowly fuse with his soul and body, surging in drastically Derik frowned. He watched as Lucien's soul upgraded, reaching the level of a god soul but Lucien's cultivation realm was too weak to allow him to notice this.
"I guess my work here is done" Derik said dryly as he withdrew his inheritances and vanished from Lucien's mind.
As much as he felt confident in his strength, he dared not fight Lucien in his mind. He felt too vulnerable there so he didn't wish to stay any longer than needed.
"How, did it go?" Alice muttered in fear and Derik shot her a glance before retreating to a sofa not far from the bed and sitting down.
Even though his body showed no signs of fatigue, Alice could tell Derik was not as vibrant as before. Helping Lucien must have been really tasking, making her wonder why a person who originally came to this world to kill Lucien will suddenly have a change of heart and choose to help him.
"He will be fine... He should be waking up anytime soon" Derik shot her an indifferent glance for a while before answering.
"Why are you helping him? Didn't you want to kill him before?" Alice swallowed a ball of saliva and asked making Derik frown.
How bold did this lady get just after he was away for a few minutes?
He returned his cold gaze on her and what he was was determination in her sky blue eyes. He was stunned since he didn't expect her to change after their little talk back then. He was shocked and sincerely impressed by this and he soon realized the reason she asked all these questions was that she wanted to be a part of Lucien's life.
He couldn't help but remember Elsa, his elf crush back in his original world. He could tell Elsa loved him but she didn't love him enough to chase after him. She just watched him grow until he was out of her reach and she didn't make any effort to reach out to him even then.
For someone who finds the concept of love strange, Derik was moved! His impression of Alice changed entirely and leaned towards her and answered.
"This world is bigger and more dangerous than you think... Even a god is nothing in this world... I need the strength to protect those I love from the beings that dictate the future of the realm... For that reason, I must get stronger... I was going to kill Lucien and take his power but then I realized I have been walking forward all alone... It has been difficult... What if I had someone to accompany me on this crazy journey? And here we are" Derik said calmly. The hate in his eyes was gone and his expression was rather calm and soft.
Hearing this, Alice was stunned. To think that someone as scary and villainous as Derik would speak about protecting loved ones. She couldn't help but feel astonished.
"To gain the strength needed to protect those I love, I became this" Derik said as he could understand what was going through Alice's mind, so he decided to clear her doubt.
"It must have been hard on you..." Alice said, making Derik's body hidden within the darkness shiver.
All this while he has met so many people who are awed by his strength or just terrified of him. Never for once has anyone considered the pain he had to go through to reach here or the pain he harbors deep inside that keeps him going.
Hearing those words from Alice, Derik was touched. If his body was the same as that of a human he would have shed a tear there and then.
"Very..."
That was all Derik could say as he shifted his gaze to Lucien whose eyes were still shut tight and he couldn't help but frown.
"This lad is pretty lucky to have someone like you" Derik said and Alice blushed and hid her face.
Derik chuckled and contemplated on something before sighing. He had absorbed Blake after their final battle before heading to this world. With that, he had all the inheritance of all the gods in his world stored within his body. He could give away the life inheritance to Alice but he wasn't sure what kind of effect it would have on her!
Would her body reject the inheritance or would the inheritance reject her? All these possibilities would lead to her death and that's not what Derik wanted. He could only leave her to cultivate on her own and hope she reaches the Demigod realm at least. Only then can he help her.
"Stop flirting with my woman" Lucien's voice echoed as he gaze at Derik with an annoyed look but Derik shot him a vicious grin!
"I don't see your name on her" Derik replied calmly but Lucien almost exploded in rage but hearing Alice laugh, Derik and Lucien couldn't help but gaze at her.
They were about to rip each other's faces apart, so why is she laughing?
"You guys will really make good friends" Alice said leaving Derik and Lucien stunned.
"This girl" Derik slapped his face and laughed alongside her while Lucien soon joined in.