Chapter 1408 - Aishalstromoz vs Jake (2)

Jake was really thrown off his game by the question, even if, again, he really shouldn’t have been. Villy consistently teased him about the fact that others would want his Bloodline, and seeing as his relationship with Artemis wasn’t public knowledge, it likely didn’t even seem like an extreme ask from the perspective of others.

Compared to others in the multiverse, Jake knew he was very conservative in that department. It wasn’t weird for powerful people to have many children, with S-grades sometimes having thousands and gods even more. The vast majority of these children would never live up to the potential of their parents, but other times, they would. Especially in cases where Bloodlines were involved.

Still, just the question itself made Jake uncomfortable, prompting him to quickly reject it while also launching another Powershot, the attack infused with a bit of his negative emotions toward the question.

“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen,” Jake said as the Powershot reached his target, but Aisha responded by shifting to the side with what looked like a pseudo-teleportation skill.

“I’m not interested, and even then, I’m already in a relationship with someone else, so it wouldn’t be solely my decision to make,” Jake answered honestly. Even if he wouldn’t outright reveal who he was in a relationship with, he had no issue revealing he was in one. Granted, it would definitely spawn a lot of rumors and intrigue, but who would ever guess he was with a Godqueen?

“Truly?” Aisha asked, sounding genuinely surprised. “With whom? No, I assume you would have included who if you were going to tell me.”

Her mana spiked yet again as magic circles appeared behind her, gathering power as all four of them started glowing with intense energy.

“But do allow me to clarify. I’m not asking for your firstborn, just a promise to give me one. Not to be insulting, but I wouldn’t want you as a life partner either. I want a worthy True Dragon to create even more powerful offspring, and while your Records might surpass any other partner – of which I will have many - you are ultimately not a dragon,” Aisha said rather bluntly.

At the same time, the four magic circles behind her erupted, sending out the projection of four golden dragons that flew towards Jake while letting out roars. Jake responded by shooting one down before it reached him and teleported away from the others as he slowly tried to destroy them all.

“I do understand you might need permission from a partner, and I’d also expect your Patron to have a say. I’m only asking for your consent, with the stipulation others might veto,” the dragon said while also controlling her attack.

She was really casual about this kind of thing, really making Jake understand how they valued having a child differently. To her, agreeing to have someone’s child was probably genuinely just a business deal. It was an important business deal, but it wasn’t something that required emotions to play a particularly large role. Having children was just another thing she would do as part of her Path, and asking Jake for one was just another way to progress for her and the Regalflight.

Still, Jake didn’t like it personally. The only thing that did make him feel a little better was that he was fairly sure Artemis wouldn’t agree to it. Okay, she probably would agree initially, as she didn’t want to seem like she wanted to restrict him, but after pressing her a little and getting her true feelings out, she would definitely say she wasn’t keen on it.

All in all, her bet was incredibly one-sided from Jake’s perspective. If he won, he’d get a dragon egg, which she definitely assumed would be used with his Primeval Origins abilities. Even if the dragon born from that wasn’t part of the Dragonflights, they would still view that as a massive win, and they likely also hoped to recruit this dragon into their faction at some point.

It was well known that Jake didn’t restrict or control his creations in any way, even allowing them to join other factions. Vesperia had joined the Endless Empire, and Sylphie was with Stormild. There was also Jasper, but pretty much no one knew Jasper was Jake’s creation yet, and he didn’t see any need to advertise it either.

Shit, it was even pretty well known that Jake had helped the Cerulean Demon Prince become a Demon Lord. That was him helping a scion of another faction directly, and based on everything that happened afterward, without expecting any kind of loyalty or massive debt to be repaid.

This fact probably made them believe that the Dragonflights could recruit any dragon Jake helped birth. Truthfully, they were probably right too. Jake wanted what was best for any of his creations, and there was a good chance that the Dragonflights would be the faction capable of providing the most support and training for a dragon.

That meant giving Jake an egg was a win for them, as even if Jake didn’t owe them anything, the dragon would likely come to them anyway at some point.

Should Aisha win, it would also be a massive victory for them. They would get a shot at his Bloodline, and while there was little emotional investment in having children and whatnot, there were political aspects to it. Complicated implications of factions working closely together and whatnot, as even if Jake only agreed to effectively be a sperm donor, he would still have connections to the child. Plus, Jake knew he wouldn’t be able to just abandon a kid, and if he did, his entire family would definitely yell at him.

“This seems like an incredibly one-sided deal,” Jake responded after dodging out of the golden explosion as the last summoned dragon was destroyed. “Aren’t you coming out on top no matter the outcome?”

“Am I?” Aisha asked in a slightly teasing tone. “I wouldn’t say so. A dragon egg is extremely valuable, especially the kind I was willing to give you. While we both might infer the outcome of you receiving it, there are no guarantees. If you get ownership, you could use the egg for any purpose. It might be used in an experiment resulting in the birth of a whelp, but you could also simply decide to make the multiverse’s most wasteful omelet. The point is, the egg will belong to you, and we will have no say in what happens to it.”

While she wasn’t wrong, Jake still didn’t feel like this would favor him. It was entirely possible Jake fucked something up and failed his Primeval Origin experiment, and if he did, the egg would be destroyed, and nobody would win, with only the Dragonflights having suffered a real loss.

The thing is, Jake didn’t plan on failing... which made him think. Why was he even hesitating? Jake had never been the type to expect a loss, so why wouldn’t he accept a bet? With that in mind, was this even that one-sided?

Assuming it was a fifty-fifty kind of bet, sure, it would be, but in this case, Jake was massively favored. Aisha may not have proposed the bet believing that, but it definitely was from Jake’s perspective, especially after he’d landed his opening blow. While she appeared fine and was fighting back, she’d already consumed an antidote, meaning she couldn’t drink a potion, and even then the Dragonsbane slumbered within her body and soul.

Given all that, and the fact that should he somehow end up losing, Artemis would definitely veto things, Jake ultimately made his decision. He wasn’t going to lose anyway, so what did it matter?

“Very well, I agree to your bet,” Jake finally relented. “If I win, I get a dragon egg, and if you win, we can discuss further details. Just know I don’t promise a timeline, and it’s dependent on the approval of my partner and the Viper.”

There was actually also a good chance Villy wouldn’t agree to it. Okay, he would probably be on board if he thought it was funny, but probably not while Jake was still in B-grade.

“Naturally,” Aisha said, clearly pleased with the outcome. “An agreement has been made, and now all there’s left to do is determine the winner... so know that my words will not be spoken to converse.”

Jake was ready and excited to see what would happen. He was fully prepared for any Word of Power to be spoken, which was why he was taken a bit by surprise when the dragon was suddenly enveloped by golden light and flew towards him.

A massive claw descended, forcing Jake to dodge backward as suddenly the claw grew several times larger. Jake’s senses fortunately forewarned him, barely allowing the hunter to make it out of range as he released a quick arrow toward the dragon.

His arrow was aimed at where her wound from his Protean Arrow was still healing, and when it struck, it released another dose of Dragonsbane. Unfortunately, the poison was instantly consumed by the antidote still circulating through her being, confirming he would continue to suppress the Dragonsbane already hidden in her body.

He tried to shoot a second arrow, but the large dragon spun quickly, sending out a powerful gust of wind that forced him back, while at the same time summoning a dozen magic circles that shot out bolts of golden lightning. Jake responded by covering his own body in scales, still holding himself back from activating Pride until he felt forced to.

Dodging the bolts, Jake managed to shoot another arrow that was unfortunately blocked by a claw swipe before the dragon was upon him again. Her movements were fast and deadly, surprising Jake; to his knowledge, True Dragons of the Regalflight usually leaned heavily into their magical talents and had less focus on physical combat. However, seeing Aisha fight, she was obviously skilled in both.

She swiftly struck with her claws, maw, and even tail, making it difficult for Jake to retaliate, and whenever he created any sort of distance, she poured more mana into the spells she was also constantly weaving into her fighting style. He still managed to rely on his superior senses and speed to avoid getting struck, but Jake was fully aware his opponent was still analyzing him. Trying to find his limits and weaknesses, while perhaps hoping he would slip up once and be struck.

Unfortunately for her, Jake was not the sort of person to make those kinds of mistakes, seeing as he relied on his instincts. Instead, he was primed to be the one taking advantage, and no matter how skilled someone was, they were bound to make mistakes.

Aisha was in the middle of a combo as Jake dodged under her tail and barely side-stepped a bolt of lightning as he charged forward right as her claw swiped for him. His proximity made her attack awkward and allowed Jake to take advantage of her larger form as he punched his fist into the edge of the flesh wound left by his Protean Arrow.

His hand was already glowing dark green when he made contact, as Touch of the Malefic Viper pumped toxins into her system. She reacted quickly as her scales flashed golden, releasing a wave of energy that forced Jake away temporarily, but he quickly propelled himself closer again. He repeatedly tapped the dragon with his glowing hands while moving across her body like an annoying bug she couldn’t get rid of, leaving imprints on her otherwise pristine golden scales.

All the toxins released by Touch of the Malefic Viper were eliminated by the remnant energies of the antidote, but that was exactly what Jake wanted. The toxin he used with Touch wasn’t one meant to do any damage, but only to consume the rest of the antidote. In Jake’s mind, the true fight would only start when Dragonsbane was back on the menu, and Aisha clearly wasn’t blind to what he was trying to do, as she finally found a way to force him off her.

As Jake was moving across her body, his danger sense suddenly warned him as all her scales started glowing, and her voice echoed, the first Words of Power of the fight spoken.

“Light That Scorches The Skies.”

A brilliant flash filled Jake’s vision as he quickly summoned his wings and wrapped them around himself just in time. The light burned into them, and Jake was forced back as, despite his best efforts, some rays penetrated through and struck his scales, sizzling as they attempted to burn holes through his body.

While still being burned by the light, Jake quickly retreated to avoid the swipe of a claw, surprising him a little as he hadn’t expected Aisha to be capable of moving when also unleashing her magic.

Dodging did result in Jake having to unfold his wings a little, making the light strike him and burn through his clothes and scales. She attacked several more times, each swipe not very fast, but all of them more than powerful enough to force a response of some kind.

After about three seconds, the light finally subsided, and Jake could unfold his rather crispy wings. He prepared to go on the offensive as the dragon spoke yet again, this time unleashing quite the opposite of her previous magic.

“Darkness Blinds Your Eyes.”

Insantly, Jake felt the intent for the magic to be used on him, and Pride was about to automatically activate to try to resist it, but instead, Jake purposefully stopped it from doing so and allowed the magic to fully affect him. Aisha didn’t know about Jake’s newfound ability to resist when others tried to impose their will upon him, and based on her Words of Power, it seemed like a waste to give away that information due to this.

As he’d expected, Jake’s vision turned dark the next second, but more than that, his other senses were also suppressed to the extreme. All smell disappeared, and he couldn’t hear anything anymore either, though he did notice that touch and taste remained unaffected for some reason. Perhaps a limitation or a decision that suppressing those would just consume power without much effect.

With her opponent blinded, Aisha naturally wanted to take advantage and land some hits, Jake totally fine with making it seem as if he was blind and defenseless. He started flying backward in a rather desperate manner, making her give chase as she attempted to bite into him with her massive maw.

However, right as she was about to bite down on the retreating Jake, he instead abruptly stopped, and with an arcane explosion propelled himself forwards instead, right towards the big hole still right there on her chest.

She was clearly taken by surprise and tried to get away, but Jake’s Voidblade Katar had already appeared in his hand as he stabbed forward, energy revolving around the blade. Rupturing Fang penetrated into the wound that truly would never get time to heal, and when the blade was fully embedded, Jake unleashed a Venom Burst from Fangs, flooding her system with even more toxins.

Aisha quickly responded as her wings flapped, sending her backward and blasting Jake away with a powerful golden gust of wind, but he didn’t care much as he felt his goal was accomplished. Between Touch of the Malefic Viper and the Venomburst he’d just unleashed, of course also just with time passing and the effect weakening, the antidote was nearly out of juice... and with that, Dragonsbane would be back on the menu.