Ex-Rank Awakening: My Attacks Make Me Stronger-Chapter 125: EX . Trapped

Leon had always trusted his instincts. Ever since awakening, they’d never failed him, especially in battle. But this? This wasn’t just about fighting.

Back when he arrived at the base, he’d contacted Elizabeth. Despite promising to trust her decisions, something deep down wasn’t satisfied with not knowing how she was doing. Luckily, she replied, but he hadn’t expected her answer.

A dragon. His Elizabeth... was a damn dragon hybrid.

To say Leon was shocked would be underselling it. His jaw had actually dropped when she first confirmed it.

"A dragon," he had muttered. "You’ve got a dragon for a father? Seriously?"

Elizabeth had looked away, cheeks faintly red. "Yeah. I didn’t think it mattered. Until now."

The revelation had done more than just confirm the existence of other races within the trial world, it had opened a door to new possibilities, dangerous ones. If dragonkin existed... who else was out there?

Still, it wasn’t just the bombshell that stunned him; it was the confirmation. As a reincarnator, Leon had already suspected the possibility of other races being in the trial world.

"So my suspicions were right," Leon had murmured to himself, back then, the pieces slowly locking into place.

The only reason Elizabeth could even tell him such a crucial secret was because of the code they’d been using to communicate in private. English. A language foreign and unreadable to anyone on the Blue Planet. To the rest of the world, their secret exchanges were gibberish. To them? It was a secure line, one that even the Federation couldn’t crack.

It was during one of these coded conversations that Elizabeth told him about her most broken ability.

It wasn’t [Draconic Tongue]. Or [Partial Transformation].

It was her eyes. [Dragon Eyes].

An ability that could see what others couldn’t. That could detect demonic corruption even when it was deeply hidden. Even the elites of the Federation, with all their tools and relics, couldn’t come close to that level of detection.

So when Leon began noticing things,minor things, after that brutal stronghold mission, he followed his gut. Why had that A-rank demon waited until they were tired to strike? Why had it tracked them back toward the base instead of attacking in the field?

Something didn’t sit right.

He started watching his squad, And eden stood out. He was acting strangely, subtle lapses in focus, tension in his movements, a faint coldness in his eyes.

A demon possession could only occur in two ways: either a person willingly accepted corruption... or their mental defenses had been worn down to the point of collapse.

Leon didn’t want to believe it was the former. Although Eden was a Feran. He was still a good guy at heart, even if a little blunt. But that didn’t matter.

The second was more likely. But even then, that meant one thing, someone close had triggered it.

Leon suspected two people: Adrian... and Eleanor.

He couldn’t afford assumptions. So he plucked strands of their hair while they were distracted and smuggled them to Elizabeth.

The results came back fast.

Negative.

There was no demonic energy, but Elizabeth wasn’t satisfied.

"That doesn’t mean they’re clean," she’d said in English. "There’s a kind of possession that embeds itself in blood. Demonic bloodlines are trickier than standard corruption, and I will have to be there in person to detect it."

Leon had tensed. "Got any other way to test that?"

Elizabeth had smiled faintly through the communication screen. "I’ll send you something. Make sure they ingest it. If they’re carrying demon blood, and it becomes active... the dragon blood in the formula will react and there’ll be a backlash."

Simple enough.

And that was how it all came together. Leon had never stopped playing the long game. While Eleanor thought she had control, while she thought she had the element of surprise, he was ten steps ahead.

And now, as she swallowed that "gift" from her master, thinking it would awaken some hidden power... the trap was already closing.

*****

Eleanor’s master, once so certain, now stood paralyzed inside a body that had become a prison.

They couldn’t believe it.

They were Outsmarted, Cornered and

Trapped.

"This is the worst situation for this to happen..." the master thought, their consciousness raging inside Eleanor’s corrupted core. The black seed had been crafted with a sliver of their essence, a calculated gamble, a perfect conduit to descend upon the battlefield through their most loyal pawn.

But it had backfired. Horribly.

"Damn them... I can’t escape. If I try to self-destruct, those two won’t allow it... Then my only option..."

A snarl crept into their mind.

"...is to fight."

The backlash from Elizabeth’s dragon blood had scorched the insides of their temporary vessel. It didn’t destroy them, but it sealed away much of their influence, enough to stop their complete manifestation, yet not enough to strip away their power.

Even shackled, Eleanor’s master pulsed with strength just shy of S-rank. It radiated from their core in black waves, warping the air.

More power than any demon Leon had ever faced.

More than the ones in the strongholds and on the battlefield. And more than the demons he had faced in the cave.

But there was a problem. Two, actually.

Elizabeth stood beside Leon, a serene expression on her face, dragon blood simmering quietly behind her golden gaze. And Leon... he wasn’t even angry anymore. He looked focused and ready.

The master scanned them both, calculating. "I have to time this right... if I can isolate the girl—"

Leon cracked his neck, then raised a hand toward Elizabeth, never breaking eye contact with the enemy.

"Lizzie," he said calmly, voice edged with anticipation, "why don’t we put this cockroach in its place?"

Elizabeth’s smile curved slow and dangerous.

"I thought you’d never ask."

Before Eleanor’s master could finish forming a strategy, they moved.

Like thunder and lightning.

A streak of silver and a blur of gold.

"DIE!" the master shrieked, their voice twisted with fury as a blast of seething black energy exploded outward in a dome. The sheer pressure cracked the ground, splintered walls, and sent shadows writhing across the walls like living things.

But it hit nothing.

Leon was already in front of them, sword raised.

Elizabeth was already in the air, hands glowing with draconic sigils.

The clash had begun, and this time, the demon wasn’t the hunter.

It was the hunted.

****

A/N: I will try to release an EXtra Chapter or two, tomorrow.

Thanks for reading