He muttered softly, "System. Analyze."

A faint glow shimmered across his vision.

[Location: Sub Dimensional Chamber. Dragon Core Boundary]

[Environment: Artificial Mana Construct]

[Trap Presence: None Detected]

[Hostile Entities: Multiple (Dormant)]

[Primary Target Detected: Ancient Dragon]

[Status: Cursed. Bound. Suppressed]

His eyes narrowed slightly.

Not outside.

Good.

No traps.

But something worse.

At the center of the desolate field lay a colossal shape. It had blended into the darkness at first, like a mountain swallowed by shadow. Now, as his gaze focused, the outline sharpened.

A dragon.

Massive.

Ancient.

Its scales were dull, not with age, but with suppression. Thick chains of blackened energy coiled around its limbs and torso. Symbols pulsed faintly along the restraints, runic, infernal, unmistakably demonic in nature.

Lux's voice dropped to a near whisper. "Cursed?"

[Curse Analysis: Demonic Binding Construct]

[Origin: Infernal-Type Mana]

[Function: Eternal Slumber + Spatial Isolation]

[Curse Strength: Extreme]

[Removal Probability: Requires Demonic Authority or Equivalent Power]

His jaw tightened.

Demonic power.

Mira stepped forward slightly, her voice quieter now. "Matriarch bloodline," she said. "When she was dying… she lashed out. Something happened. The legend says she sealed herself here. Made this place her eternal slumber."

Lux didn't respond immediately.

He kept staring at the chains.

Demonic.

Not draconic.

Not celestial.

Demonic.

He fell into silence.

His mind moved.

Pieces shifted.

Connected.

He thought of Mira's grandfather.

The old dragon lord had not flinched when Mira mentioned Lux was a demon. No shock. No hostility. No outrage.

Just acceptance.

At the time, Lux had assumed it was political calculation. Tolerance. Pragmatism.

Now?

It felt deliberate.

He replayed that memory in his head. The measured tone. The subtle look. The lack of resistance when Lux declared he would come here.

It meant something.

It meant the old man already knew.

Knew demons existed.

Knew demonic power had touched this mountain before.

Maybe even knew who did it.

Lux's gaze sharpened.

If the curse was demonic in origin… then it wasn't a dragon who bound the matriarch.

It was someone else.

Or something else.

And if the dragon matriarch had been sealed with demonic bindings, then her rampage at death was not pure dragon fury.

It was corruption.

Or containment.

His thoughts aligned quickly.

Maybe that was the real reason Mira's grandfather hadn't opposed him.

Not because he trusted Lux.

But because he needed him.

Needed a demon.

Or more precisely… Needed someone who carried authority over demonic constructs.

Lux's fingers flexed subtly at his sides.

Absorb the power.

Lift the curse.

Free the dragon.

It was too clean to be coincidence.

If Lux dismantled the demonic bindings, that power wouldn't simply vanish.

Energy like that had to go somewhere.

It would seek a host.

It would cling to compatible authority.

To him.

And the old dragon lord knew it.

Lux exhaled slowly.

So that was it.

The old man didn't bring Lux here as a guest.

He brought him as a solution.

Or perhaps…

As a vessel.

He glanced briefly at Mira.

Her expression was tense, conflicted. She loved her lineage. Respected it. But she didn't know the deeper layer of this scheme.

Lux did not resent the calculation.

He understood it.

If Mira was to inherit this mountain.

If she was to survive whatever legacy this place held.

She needed the curse gone.

And her grandfather knew she wasn't strong enough yet to endure it alone.

So he made sure Lux came.

Not to claim treasure.

Not to conquer.

But to remove a problem that dragons could not solve themselves.

Lux's lips curved faintly.

Clever.

Very clever.

The only flaw in the plan was that Lux was not a disposable solution.

He was Greed.

He did not take burdens for free.

His eyes returned to the bound dragon.

The curse pulsed faintly, reacting to his presence.

The system flickered again.

[Demonic Signature Resonance Detected]

[Binding recognizes Infernal Sovereign-Class Authority]

He felt it now.

A faint pull.

Subtle.

Curious.

As if the curse itself was aware of him.

He tilted his head slightly.

So.

The matriarch sealed herself here.

Trapped within her own corrupted rage.

Or perhaps trapped by someone else using demonic power as chains.

Either way…

This was not a simple slumber.

This was containment.

And containment meant danger.

Lux's thoughts sharpened further.

If he broke the curse recklessly, the dragon might awaken unstable.

If he absorbed the demonic energy improperly, it could backlash.

The old dragon lord hadn't approved this blindly.

It was because Lux had control.

Control over contracts.

Control over infernal authority.

Control over power without being consumed by it.

That was the test.

Not the echoes.

Not the blood trial.

This. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

He stood there, silent, calculating.

Behind him, the girls watched.

They knew that look.

That was not the look of a man admiring scenery.

That was the look of Lux Vaelthorn dissecting a situation from every angle.

Weighing costs.

Benefits.

Risks.

He finally spoke, voice low.

"Interesting."

The darkness did not respond.

But the chains pulsed again.

And somewhere within the bound dragon's chest… Something stirred faintly.

The chains tightened in response.

A pulse of dark energy rippled outward, subtle at first, then sharper. The barren ground trembled beneath their feet. Lux narrowed his eyes, sensing the shift in the air.

"I guess I know why your grandpa let me come here," he said quietly.

Mira didn't look away from the bound dragon. "He wants to wake up the slumbering dragon."

Lux nodded once. "He wants me to free her."

The words felt heavier spoken aloud.

"The one who bound her used demonic power," Lux continued. "Sovereign-level. Not common. Not accidental."

His gaze remained fixed on the black chains coiling around the dragon's body.

"So I guess…" he added, voice steady, "I can take it. I'm Greed after all."

Mira finally turned toward him. "The demonic power will go to whoever releases her," she said. "For mortals and dragons like us… it would be deadly."

Lux's lips curved faintly. "For me… it will be a rise of power."

A slow understanding passed between them.

"I see," he murmured. "This is the win-win you mentioned."