Transmigrated Into a Cannon Fodder Phoenix, Stuck With the Ice Dragon-Chapter 147: Your Power

Lucian rushed toward me, catching me before my knees gave out and I collapsed onto the floor.

"Stay still," he said urgently, one arm bracing my back as the other hovered over my chest. "Let me see... where is it?"

I squeezed my eyes shut for a few seconds, the pain sharp and piercing, like something cold had lodged itself deep inside me.

"I—I think it’s here..." I whispered, clutching the fabric over the right side of my chest. My fingers trembled as the ache intensified. "It hurts so bad, Lucian..."

His hand froze.

In the next second, the temperature around us plummeted.

Lucian slowly lifted his head.

"Did you just use that needle?" His voice wasn’t loud but it shook the room far more than a shout ever could.

He turned, eyes locking onto Severin.

The frost around Lucian surged violently, no longer subtle, no longer restrained. I could feel it even through the pain, the pressure of his power pressing outward like a storm barely held back.

"That technique was sealed," Lucian said, each word edged with fury. "You swore you would never use it again."

Severin didn’t look surprised.

If anything, he looked pleased.

"Oh?" he replied lightly. "You recognized it."

Lucian’s arms tightened around me, protectively.

"You aimed it at her," Lucian said coldly. "Why?" His voice cracked for the first time. "Why did you do this? What is wrong with you?!"

Severin tilted his head, studying me in Lucian’s arms as if I were nothing more than an interesting result.

"Because," he said calmly, "words only go so far."

My breath hitched as another wave of pain spread through my chest.

"You needed proof," Severin continued lightly. "And so did she."

Lucian’s eyes blazed. "Proof of what?"

Severin’s gaze finally lifted to meet his son’s.

"That you’re not as in control as you like to believe," he said softly. "And that she is far more fragile than this world pretends."

Lucian growled low in his throat, ice roaring to life around us.

"If she dies—"

"She won’t," Severin interrupted smoothly. "The needle won’t kill that fast."

He shrugged. "Just to remind you what happens when power is restrained by fear."

The words settled like poison.

"Just because I didn’t use my power the way you wanted," Lucian said hoarsely, "you hurt her?" His grip tightened around me. "How sick are you...?"

His voice broke.

"Why," he demanded, barely holding himself together, "why was I ever born as your son?"

The room went deathly still.

Severin slowly turned his head.

Not toward Lucian.

Toward Arienne.

"Hear that?" he said lightly. "He hates you too, I suppose."

My breath caught.

Arienne didn’t flinch.

"He doesn’t hate me," she replied calmly.

Severin raised a brow. "Oh?"

"He hates you," Arienne said, her voice steady and unmistakably cold. "And you can’t stand that he didn’t turn out the way you wanted."

Lucian’s breath shuddered against my shoulder.

"Really?" Severin said lightly. "Does he hate me that much?"

He turned slightly toward the door, already half-disengaged, as if the room no longer interested him.

"Then," he added with a shrug, "I suppose I’ll just leave now."

A chill crawled up my spine.

Lucian stiffened. "Don’t."

Severin paused.

"The needle," he said casually, not turning back. "Only the one who sealed it can remove it."

My chest throbbed sharply, as if responding to his words.

Lucian’s arms tightened around me. "You planned this."

"Of course I did," Severin replied calmly. "If I stayed, you’d try to kill me." He glanced over his shoulder, eyes glinting. "If I leave, you’ll have to keep me alive."

The implication settled heavily in the room.

"If you want her pain to stop," Severin continued, "you’ll know where to find me."

He took another step toward the door.

"You... can’t leave," Lucian said.

The temperature dropped sharply.

His voice carried a cold so absolute it felt like it physically blocked Severin’s path. "Take another step," Lucian warned quietly, "and I will kill you right now."

Severin stopped.

Then he laughed softly.

"Ah..." he said, turning his head just enough to glance back. "Willing to sacrifice your wife’s life just to kill me?"

Lucian didn’t answer.

His silence was terrifying.

Because I could feel it, the way his power strained against his restraint, the ice roaring beneath his skin, desperate to be unleashed.

Severin’s smile widened, satisfied. "That’s the problem, isn’t it?" he continued calmly. "You can kill me."

He lifted a finger slightly. "But you won’t."

My chest flared with pain again, sharp and punishing.

Lucian flinched this time.

"Because the moment I die," Severin said softly, "the seal dies with me."

I gasped, fingers digging into Lucian’s sleeve.

"And then," Severin finished, his voice smooth as frost, "you get to watch how long she lasts without it."

The room felt like it was closing in.

Lucian’s jaw trembled. "What do you want?" he asked, the words dragged out like they were being torn from him. "Really."

Severin turned slowly, as if he’d been waiting for that question all along.

"I want your power," he said plainly.

The words landed heavier than any threat.

"Not scraps. Not restraint. Not the diluted version you show the world," Severin continued calmly. "I want the Ice Dragon’s core. The authority that comes with it."

Lucian’s eyes widened slightly. "You’re insane."

Severin smiled. "No. I’m practical."

He gestured vaguely around the room. "This world runs on balance only because those at the top pretend they’re equal. Dragons. Pegasus. Leviathans." His lips curled. "And that damn Phoenix clan that thinks it has the right to order dragons around."

His gaze sharpened. "Balance is fragile."

His eyes locked onto Lucian.

"With your power under my command," Severin said softly, "there would be no balance left to argue over. No councils. No negotiations."

A pause.

"Just order."

My chest throbbed painfully, as if reacting to the words themselves.

"You want to use him," Arienne said coldly.

"Yes," Severin replied without a hint of shame. "To rule. To decide. To end uncertainty."

Lucian’s voice dropped to something raw. "And if I refuse?"

Severin’s eyes slid to me.

"Then," he said gently, "your wife’s pain becomes... educational." His smile was faint, almost kind. "You know how that needle works."

The pressure in my chest deepened, sharp and suffocating.

"If it isn’t removed within a certain time," Severin continued calmly, "the poison spreads."

He lifted a finger, tapping the air once.

"To the core."

Lucian’s breath broke.

"And once it reaches that point," Severin finished, "even I won’t be able to reverse it."