Reinh returned inside the palace. At the end of the hall, August was standing. In his hand, there was a round object, red and shining. A weak light was coming from it, but even that weak light was enough to make the space feel heavy.
The moment Reinh entered, August dropped to one knee without any delay and lowered his head.
"Greetings, young master."
At first glance, he looked normal. But a closer look was enough to reveal everything. His breathing rhythm was uneven, his heartbeat was so unstable that it could be felt even without touching his chest.
His hands were slightly shaking, and that shaking had spread to his shoulders and torso. Reinh did not find this strange. He even thought it was natural.
In fact, the fact that his condition looked this good after the battle he had been through showed just how powerful this old man truly was.
Even among those at his own level, he probably did not have many rivals.
Reinh stepped forward and took the red orb from August's hand. The object itself was fairly heavy and made from a strange material, something that did not have an exact example in nature.
The amount of mana coming out of the core was terrifying. It was so much that the air around it looked slightly condensed.
"So this is what you wanted? With this, you will probably really succeed," Arceus said while flying above Reinh, glancing briefly at the core.
Reinh showed no reaction to his words. He was sure that with this thing, he would truly succeed and obtain what he wanted. He then moved his gaze away from the core and looked at August.
"You carried out your punishment. You are forgiven."
"Thank you, young master. It will not happen again," August lowered his head even more. As a guardian and caretaker, he had truly failed at his duty.
In a situation like this, according to Clan law, his punishment could be extremely light, like only asking for forgiveness, or extremely heavy, even execution. The decision had to be made by his young master.
Fortunately for him, Reinh did not declare execution. Even so, the punishment was not light.
"Go and take care of your injuries."
August gave a short bow and stepped back. At that moment, Reinh glanced at Leia. She was staring at him with clear worry, as if she was expecting him to collapse at any second. Reinh paused for a moment.
"I'm better. Don't worry," he said.
Then, without any further explanation, he walked toward one of the empty rooms in the palace and closed the door behind him.
After he left, August let out a deep breath. It was as if he had finally been allowed to remove the pressure from his chest. He looked at Leia and spoke.
"I will leave the palace for a while. During this time, take care of the young master."
"Don't worry, sir. Even if I die, I won't let anything happen to the young master."
August nodded, turned around, and headed toward the exit.
"What did he want that core for…?" he muttered under his breath as he walked away.
Still, there was no deep worry in his heart. He trusted that boy. He knew that even if he was crazy, he was not stupid enough to absorb the mana of that core directly… or at least, he hoped so.
His steps became faster, and only one thought remained in his mind. He had to report the assassination matter to the Clan Patriarch.
At the same time, Reinh entered the empty room. He sat down on the floor, cross-legged, and placed the red core in front of him. The weak light from the core painted the walls of the room in a blood-like color.
"This can really help you obtain the physical structure of a Dragon. But are you sure? The mana inside this core is extremely dense. Even for you, it can be dangerous," Arceus said.
"No problem. I'll use my body as a medium and inject the mana directly into the star," Reinh replied immediately.
Even though he trusted himself, he knew that his body could not currently serve as a host for this amount of mana.
"Not a bad idea, kid. But doing this can reduce the efficiency and purity of the mana you absorb."
Reinh did not respond.
Seeing his silence, Arceus let out a short rumble. He was already used to this human habit. Once he made a decision, there was no more discussion.
Reinh focused all his attention on the core. This was a beast core, and not just any beast. It was a three-lightning core. The creature that owned this core had power equal to a human with at least eight mana rings.
Beasts, like humans, could grow stronger, as far as their potential allowed.
When they reached a certain level of power, a core would form inside their bodies. A beast with a newly formed core was equal to a human with five mana rings.
By devouring other beasts and even humans, beasts filled their cores with mana. When the core reached saturation, they used lightning to evolve it. The core can grow larger and gaines a greater mana capacity.
A beast with a three-lightning core was known as a "Sovereign," a creature that held an absolutely superior position among beasts.
This was the reason the area where the Tyrant palace stood was named the Tyrant forest.
Deep within this forest lived a special tiger known as the Tyrant Mountain Tiger, a beast Sovereign.
Reinh had only one way to obtain the physical structure of an Ancestral Dragon before forming his first mana ring and leaving this palace. That way was this core.
The core of the Tyrant Tiger contained an extreme amount of mana. Enough fuel for the Star of Eternal Ruins to use and help change his physical structure.
But there was one major problem.
How was he supposed to obtain the core of that beast?
He did not have that kind of power.
Fortunately, an opportunity appeared, and he was able to use it to force August, as punishment, to bring him that core.
And now… the core was right in front of him.
"So… shall we begin?"