A whole race created by a lusty dragon—Kid was speechless. The fact that the leaders of the human rebellion became the Twin Goddesses... well, that made sense. But to think all of this war was just because of different beliefs? Was human nature really just built for destruction?
In a blink, Kid found himself back in space. Right in front of him was a huge claw gripping the Dragon Pearl. Looking up, he saw the dragon girl had grown massive in just a short time. Could there have been some special elixir for dragons hidden in the Dragon Pearl?
Yep, that was it. One dose, and she instantly enlarged.
"I need to find a quiet place to cultivate. I can't go back," the dragon's voice rang directly in Kid's ears. "If you get the chance, please awaken a few more of my sisters."
"I'll try." Last time he had no choice. Next time, he wasn't so sure he'd do it again.
Clearly, the dragon girl now understood how to get past the Nine-Dragon Soul-Locking Array. She was ready to leave the star system. "I'm giving you a small Dragon Pearl. If any new dragon appears, use it to contact me."
Kid saw a tiny Dragon Pearl the size of a fist appear in front of him. He nodded to show he understood.
The dragon girl left. She had to go cultivate the 'Ancestor's Path.' Most likely, they'd never meet again.
Kid pocketed the Dragon Pearl and headed back to base—only to find Luciela and Rafaela were missing again. Same old story. Luciela had disappeared without a word, and Rafaela had gone chasing after her sister.
The Holy City—largest human city on the Testing Continent. The only military force on the continent. The most prosperous place in the land.
Over the past two days, one strange visitor after another had arrived. First, an injured man showed up with a boy and girl. Then came two sisters who wouldn't stop arguing. And just today, seven tall women in black robes entered the city.
The locals started to wonder: what's up with the gate guards? How are they letting so many weird people in?
But the truth was—the guards didn't have a choice. None of these people were ordinary.
The first group was led by the injured Isley. They decided to pass through the Holy City to rest and recover because Raki had been there before and knew people. They used his connections to get in. Raki was still too naive—he actually believed Priscilla was some kind of good person.
The second group didn't even use the front gate. The two sisters literally jumped over the wall. As for the third group—the awakened Claymores—they had taken special medicine, so it wasn't that strange. All Claymores were supposed to be well-hidden anyway.
"Jean, what's going on with Clare lately?"
Jean shook her head. She didn't know either. Clare had definitely been acting off. They had all agreed to head north together to escape the Organization, but Clare suddenly insisted on going south.
Fine—south it is. But once they got near the Holy City, Clare suddenly changed direction again and wanted to go into the city. Like she didn't want to go south anymore. Everyone thought her behavior was strange, but they couldn't just abandon her. If they refused to follow, Clare would probably go off on her own. So, to keep her safe, they decided to stick together.
"Do you think it's some side effect from awakening?" Clare had awakened before. She didn't eat any internal organs, but still—this odd behavior might be a lingering effect.
Even Clare herself couldn't explain it. Why she chose to go south, why she suddenly turned toward the Holy City… she had no clue. After partially awakening, Clare felt like there was someone else inside her.
It was the seed Kid had left behind. He had originally thought this seed could at least save more Claymores, but in the end, only seven survived. Still, this group was different from the original seven in the source story. For instance, Jean wasn't part of the original lineup, yet she was still alive now. And Clare—she made it back from her awakened state without external help, all thanks to the seed Kid left behind.
Now, the seed inside Clare had sensed Priscilla's presence. And of course, Priscilla had also picked up Clare's scent.
Why hadn't Raki been eaten by Priscilla, who liked to snack on little boys? It was because she smelled something familiar on him. She hoped she could use the boy to trace that scent back to someone—the woman who had left a permanent scar in her heart: smiling Teresa.
But after taking the secret medicine, Claymores couldn't sense demonic energy from the outside world. So neither Rafaela nor Luciela could detect the terrifying aura—one even more dreadful than the Abyss.
"Big sister, please stop this." Rafaela had actually realized something was wrong shortly after Luciela disappeared. She followed immediately, only to find her sister meeting with one of the Organization's agents, claiming she had high-value intel to sell.
From the way Luciela demonstrated her strength, Rafaela could tell—she planned to sell out Kid. And yet, Kid was the very reason they'd been able to return to normal.
"Rafaela, I'm doing this for our future." Luciela said calmly. "The Organization is willing to pay big for this information. They've always dreamed of creating weapons like us. They'll definitely offer a lot."
"But… Kid saved both of us! How could you do this? This is betrayal—this is being ungrateful!" Rafaela couldn't accept her sister's decision.
"Rafaela, Rafaela… my naïve little sister. After all these years, have you still not figured out how the world works? There's no one worth trusting in this world—only family matters. Sure, Kid helped us, but so what? We barely know him. Besides, he's not even from this world. He might be our enemy for all we know."
"But he still helped us." Rafaela really was a good woman.
"That was just a front. Once he's done gathering intel, he'll probably strike—wipe us out completely. So why not let the Organization take care of him?"
"Big sister?!" Rafaela couldn't believe her own sister had changed so much.
The truth was, Luciela had always protected Rafaela. When they were kids, Luciela had once been tricked just for a tiny piece of bread. From that day on, she only cared about two things—herself and her sister.
"Face it, Rafaela. Kid doesn't belong in our world. Let him serve some purpose while he's still useful." Luciela smiled faintly. "Besides, you don't need to worry too much. Maybe even the Organization won't be able to handle Kid. He is strong, after all."
Rafaela didn't want to see her sister go further down this path.
'My foolish sister… this continent has already changed. The balance of power has collapsed. The future belongs to whoever moves fastest. We absolutely cannot lose the South,' Luciela thought to herself. 'I'm going to build a nation—one that belongs only to us sisters.'
Still, if Rafaela found out, she'd probably ruin this whole deal. Honestly, Luciela thought maybe she should've just gone south to rob people instead. When was her sister finally going to grow up?