"Partner, who exactly are you? And is she also your Sacred Gear?" Ddraig's voice had lost its previous arrogance. After all, he had just woken up only to see a little girl who could outmatch him.
"Knowing too much isn't a good thing," Luo Guang replied. He then reached out and patted Est's head, asking softly, "Is there a way for it to only appear during a fight?"
Est looked Ddraig's consciousness up and down, then nodded. "Yes, as long as you store it in the Elemental Realm. Its consciousness can't penetrate two dimensions."
"Even better then."
As a Transcender, Luo Guang had a built-in personal storage space that came with his starter pack, which included Est. This space was based on the Elemental Realm from the Bladedance of Elementalers series, but it had become his personal possession.
"Wai... wait! Partner, you're not actually going to throw me into that Elemental Realm, are you?" Ddraig couldn't stay calm when he heard Luo Guang was serious. "Listen, a Sacred Gear's full power can only be unleashed when the host and the spirit are in perfect sync! If you do that, you might not even be able to achieve Balance Breaker."
Ddraig was trying to bargain with power. Although he didn't mind falling back asleep, why would he be sent back right after waking up?
"Balance Breaker? Do you think that's a challenge for me?" Luo Guang smiled slightly.
Just by entering the Sacred Gear's space, Luo Guang had already figured out the rules for achieving Balance Breaker. The conventional method of experiencing a major mental or emotional change, such as sadness, joy, excitement, or fear, wasn't the only way. Luo Guang's will and conviction were stronger than anyone else's. It was like the sun; whether you could feel it or not, it was always there. With this, Luo Guang could naturally achieve Balance Breaker as soon as he got his hands on it.
Back in reality, the green gem on the gauntlet glowed brilliantly. A crimson aura of flames enveloped Luo Guang's entire body, while a blue energy transformed into lightning that flashed around him. The flame-colored armor rapidly molded onto Luo Guang's body like a tide. In the blink of an eye, Luo Guang was encased in a crimson suit of armor. He was now over two meters tall, and a crimson metallic dragon tail extended from his spine.
The aura around him surged like lava, blowing away debris. The power coursing through his body made Luo Guang feel great. In this state, his strength was comparable to that of the Demon Kings of the Underworld. He might not be at the level of a True-Transcender like Sirzechs, but he was at least on par with Serafall.
Sacred Gears were different from skills and didn't require rigorous practice. This was because the Sacred Gear itself was a max-level existence; its strength depended only on how much the user could unleash. It was like a handgun: no matter who the user was, the bullet would always be fired with the same power. The only prerequisite was being able to hit the target.
Of course, being on par with a Demon King was not enough for Luo Guang. He knew that besides Balance Breaker, there was another domain of the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet that no host had ever reached: Juggernaut Drive. Although past hosts had tried to force this transformation, they all ended up perishing for two reasons. First, they couldn't bear the full power of Ddraig, and their bodies would break down. Second, within the deepest conscious space of the Longinus, there was a vast collection of the resentful souls of all the past hosts. Once Juggernaut Drive was activated, these hateful souls would begin to corrupt the user's will, causing them to lose control and suffer a mental collapse.
Luo Guang felt he could try.
"Pa... partner! How... how did you do that?! I've never seen anyone master Balance Breaker in such a short amount of time!" Ddraig's worldview was severely shaken when he saw Luo Guang achieve Balance Breaker so easily. Even the most monstrous geniuses he had seen in the past required a year of hard training and a massive emotional fluctuation to barely achieve it. But Luo Guang was calm, his power wasn't leaking out in a chaotic manner, and he wasn't even panting from the physical strain of his first transformation.
Is this guy even human?
"Because I'm a genius," Luo Guang said nonchalantly. Of course, he wasn't going to be stupid enough to reveal his trump card. "The power boost from Balance Breaker is good, but it's a shame the face is a little ugly."
Luo Guang caught a glimpse of himself in a broken mirror. His body and overall appearance were very handsome. The only flaw was the two metallic golden whiskers that jutted out from his cheeks. If they had been placed on his forehead, it would have been perfect. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, Luo Guang thought the White Dragon Emperor's Balance Breaker looked cooler.
"Let's continue our discussion. To compensate for putting you in the Elemental Realm, I will completely defeat this generation's White Dragon Emperor and bring your rivalry to an end."
Ddraig had been feeling resentful, but he was instantly reinvigorated by Luo Guang's words. After all, he and the White Dragon Emperor Albion had been arch-rivals. For the sake of their rivalry, they would even crash into the battlefield during the Great War of the Three Factions. Although they were later sealed into Sacred Gears, every generation's hosts of the Red Dragon Emperor and White Dragon Emperor were fated to fight and see who was superior. Their shared goal was to defeat the other.
Thus, when Luo Guang made his offer, Ddraig agreed without hesitation. What's the Elemental Realm? I'll just stay there and sleep. No big deal.