I Reincarnated as a Max Level Dragon Princess in the Strongest Family Chapter 10: A New Partner

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The next morning finally arrived, and I woke up feeling groggy. I slowly opened my eyes, lazily blinking, and found my mother right beside in my little bed. She was cuddling tightly, her arms wrapped around . Then I glanced to my other side—my father was there too.

"Eh?"

I felt a little flustered, but it seed both of them had simply slipped into my tiny bed during the night and hugged while I slept. This had never happened before. Were they worried about ?

...

Honestly, I didn’t dislike it at all.

These people—my new parents—are the ones I created in "My Story Online," the perfect parents I had always dread of.

But now, watching them sleep, listening to their steady breathing, noticing the faint traces of their own struggles etched even into their relaxed faces, I realized I could no longer think of them that way.

Well, I hadn’t really done so in a while anyway, but from this mont forward, I simply couldn’t view them as "those I made." These were living people who just happened to resemble them.

At the sa ti, they were incredibly deep and complex, like every living being, like every real person.

And I felt profoundly glad—truly fortunate—to be here with them.

I didn’t know what Oblivion truly was, or why he had done this, but there had to be a purpose, a plan.

Did he simply want to make happy? Why would a random god care about granting happiness to a random woman like ?

The more I thought about it, the more unreal it all felt.

Maybe it was the opposite.

Maybe I was the one helping him by existing here, and this entire situation was rely a byproduct.

Oblivion... what an ominous na. Perhaps I should ask my parents about him later; they might recognize it.

Nonetheless, this wasn’t bad at all.

To be by their side, to snuggle with my parents—people who loved for who I was, instead of calling a mistake.

They reprimanded and got angry when I made mistakes, just like any normal parents would, but... they actually cared about , and...

I could feel it. As they held close and rested beside —despite how uncomfortable it must have been to sleep cramd in this tiny bed, barely clinging to —they loved .

And I loved them too. Every ti I thought about it, emotion swelled inside until I could hardly breathe.

Even though I had acted like everything was aweso yesterday, deep down...

I was terrified.

Despite all my godly power, I had to admit the truth: at my core, I was still just a normal human being.

My soul remained the sa fragile soul I had carried before—this was the weakness the Nightmare King had exploited to completely suppress .

If Mom and Dad hadn’t appeared to save after I ssed up so badly...

What would have happened to ?

The fear still lingered when I thought about it, sharp and cold.

This world was vast, amazing, fantastical...

But it was also horrific and terrifying in equal asure. I could still feel that terror lingering in every inch of my body.

How desperately afraid I had been for my life—a feeling I had never experienced in my previous life.

We humans rarely realize how safe our lives truly are compared to situations like these or even compared to the past.

We take everything for granted, always craving more, more, more...

I used to think my previous life was awful, but... it was still safe within human society. Even though I was killing myself with work, still...

It was technically better than living in a world where I could die at any mont.

Still... yeah, now that I reflected on it, the excessive work and stress really had been too much. Maybe it wasn’t so great after all.

FLASH!

"Hm?"

While resting my head against my father’s chest, lost in these thoughts, I felt sothing stir inside .

A small "thing" suddenly reacted within my...

My soul.

"What is this?"

For a mont I thought it might be that ice lily or sothing similar.

But no, it wasn’t that at all.

"What is this thing?!"

When I directed my senses fully toward my soul to see what I was feeling, a wave of terrifying dread washed over .

"A-Ah..."

Cold sweat broke out across my skin. My breathing grew heavy and ragged; my heart pounded faster and faster.

"No..."

With my eyes wide open, I saw it.

A Nightmare Vestige—still sowhat dormant—lay deep within my soul, spreading thin roots.

This thing was trying to infect my fragile soul.

Neither my parents nor Hrymdra had sensed it. How had it gotten inside ?!

"C-Calm down..."

I forced myself to breathe slowly, closed my eyes, and focused completely on the interior of my soul.

Now that my soul had reached Rank 1, I could finally see its depths with far greater clarity.

And there, to my horror, the parasitic Nightmare Vestige remained.

But what exactly were Nightmare Vestiges?

As the na implied, they were small, broken fragnts left behind by Nightmares on their victims.

The infected soul would be slowly devoured, eventually mutating into a Nightmare—a monstrous creature or warped being.

In so cases, this process could birth a Nightmare Realm—a literal dinsional dungeon that trapped people inside.

If Nightmare Realms weren’t destroyed quickly, they would expand, devouring souls and spawning Nightmarish Beasts, corrupting the world itself.

Another na for them was "Nightmare Seed."

This one was clearly dormant... and weak. Very weak.

So weak, actually...

Wait, did I even need to be so afraid?

Perhaps I could do sothing about it.

If I...

Grabbed it.

Suddenly, with my Soul Hands, I seized the Nightmare Vestige tightly.

"Gryack!"

It let out a bug-like screech as my grip crushed it. The thing groaned and writhed disgustingly—long insect legs, huge red eyes staring at in disbelief.

"Y-You...! How did you...?!"

And it could speak?!

Wait...

Wait a second!

Wasn’t this voice the sa one from that Nightmare at the beginning of the entire ordeal?

"You’re that Nightmare?! Or a fragnt of him!"

"G-Ghhh...! How is this possible...! How did you even find out it was ?!"

"Hohoho, how the tables have turned, my little friend."

"L-Let go of !!!"

He hissed furiously. Nightmare powers surged, sharp tendrils stabbing into my Soul Hands. It hurt, but...

Within my soul, a beautiful azure lily blood, gleaming brightly. Ice spread across my hand and the Nightmare Vestige’s body, freezing both.

Then, through the Light of Harmony I had awakened, I created Holy Ice, purifying his chaotic powers.

"Gyyaaaaahhhhh!"

His strength faltered. He could no longer infect , though the roots he had planted remained embedded in my soul.

"K-Kill ...! It doesn’t matter what you do! Once my main body returns to your world, it’ll be over! You’re not the only Vestige—we left many more during that invasion! Expect Nightmare Realms to open very soon. None of you will stop our conquest! Kill ! Kill now!"

"No."

"...Eh?"

Silence.

He clearly hadn’t expected that answer from a little girl who had been so terrified of him monts ago.

It turned out I was the one in control here, and...

"Heh."

"W-Why are you laughing—why are you looking at like that?!"

He was afraid. He had taunted with those words, hoping I would simply kill him so he wouldn’t remain a dangerous vestige under enemy control.

But...

"I see. So you want to kill you? Why? Can’t I keep you as my pet?"

"WHAT?! I AM A NIGHTMARE! A NIGHTMARE KING CANDIDATE AT THAT! YOU THINK A DAMN BRAT LIKE YOU CAN CONTROL—"

"Didn’t I call you as my Shikigami? I’m starting to understand why you’re here... You didn’t leave this Vestige on purpose, right? That Magic Circle actually worked."

"...Ugh!"

He slipped from my grasp, darting away like a long black centipede with butterfly-like wings and multiple eyes.

"It worked even after you vanished from my planet. What remained was just a piece of you that you accidentally severed without realizing."

"...!"

He began to sweat.

"So you’re mine."

"N-No! That’s not it! Surely this is part of the main body’s grand plan! He would never abandon a fragnt of himself so easily—"

"He discarded you like trash because you were the only tiny part tying him to ."

"A-Ah... that’s... not... true..."

He tried to deny it, but it was too late.

"Well, technically you’re still not mine. I felt it when I used Harmony on you."

"...H-Harmony?!"

Chaos and Harmony—the unique powers Elizabeth Drakeheart possessed, now inherited by from my created character.

In-ga, they produced flashy light and darkness attacks, reversed effects, and combined elents.

But here, in a world where everything was real and literal, those ga-like powers beca far more complex and profound.

Harmony allowed to unify elents, nd what was broken, and forge contracts.

Chaos brought distortion, entropy, and destruction. A bullet flying toward could be instantly redirected. Water could freeze while fire turned to steam.

And that was only the surface.

Right now, as I interacted with this Nightmare Vestige and combined my Divine Ice with Harmony to create Holy Ice, I had severely weakened him.

I felt it clearly: no contract existed between us yet.

But that was about to change.

"Harmony is a fascinating power I’m still trying to fully understand. So let’s play a ga."

"...?!"

"Try to escape my soul. But if I catch you... you’re mine forever."

"Eek! You’re an insane brat! I’m getting out of hereeeee!"

The Nightmare Vestige sprouted even more wings and flew as fast as he could through the interior of my soul.

He was quick.

However.

"Chaos."

Dark power surged from within . I targeted the space between us and twisted it randomly.

TRUUUM!

My soul space trembled violently, fragnted, and shattered—yet I felt no pain.

In the next instant, a chaotic landscape unfolded before us. Countless distorted forms and nightmarish beings manifested from nowhere.

"So this is Chaos..."

"W-What is this? Aaaaggghh!"

The Nightmare Vestige scread as black tentacles and giant burning hands erupted from a fractured abyss and seized him.

Countless demonic and spectral chaotic creatures surged forth.

So I possessed that power too.

Demon and Chaos Spirit Creation.

Though in it manifested differently.

My mother could create living beings from her own flesh and blood, repopulating dying Hell and Chaos Realms.

In my case, my soul itself could transform into these beings when I wielded Chaos.

And... perhaps I could do far more.

"AAAAAAGGGHHH!"

While he scread in horror, being bitten and slowly torn apart, I snapped my fingers.

"Harmony."

FLASH!

Everything reverted to a pure white void. My soul returned to its original state as though nothing had happened.

The Nightmare Vestige collapsed onto a cold white floor, gasping in disbelief.

My footsteps echoed as I approached and lifted him like a ragdoll.

By now he was severely weakened.

"Harmony."

"GUUAAAAAHHHH!"

White lightning crackled as I tortured his being, testing whether I could harmonize his existence.

I stopped the mont I sensed his form beginning to die.

"I see. Nightmares are born from pure chaos. If I try to harmonize their existence, they perish completely."

"W-Wha...! How strong... how strong are you?!"

"Hmmm... Chaos."

FLUOSH!

"Ooohhh?!"

As I suspected, when I applied Chaos to him, his body rapidly regenerated and expanded.

"W-What is this?! I feel overflowing with power! Gahahahaha! Foolish girl!"

He grew until he reached the limit of what a Nightmare Vestige could beco—an enormous tree-like monstrosity made of bugs, centipedes, and insect wings for leaves.

He laughed monstrously, vertical mandibles revealing razor-sharp teeth, his size hundreds of tis my own.

"I can...! With this power, I can evolve into a true Nightmare in ti and then—"

"Harmony."

BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!

"GUUAAAAAAAACK!"

Before he could gloat further, I scorched his body with the Light of Harmony combined with Divine Ice, forcing him back into a smaller, suppressed form.

"This is perfect. You can be my punching bag while I learn to master my abilities!"

"A-Ahhh...! Kill !"

He cried desperately, but there was no chance I would release him.

"No. You’re going to beco my Familiar... my Shikigami."

"N-No...! I am no slave to anyone!"

"Don’t worry, it’s not slavery. I’ll even pay you and help you grow stronger. How about it?"

"...?! What? You’ll pay ?!"

"Yeah! Soul Stones are everywhere. You can eat those."

"Oooh? No—wait!" he groaned. "It’s still slavery!"

"...You’re technically imprisoned after attempting murder. I don’t think you have much room to complain. Also, if my parents discover your existence in your current state? You won’t get a quick death."

"W-What?"

"They’ll throw you into the underground containnt zones run by the VPI and torture you for eternity."

"Would that really be any better than this?!"

"Maybe. Maybe not."

I shrugged, lifting his diminished form—now a spiky black worm with multicolored wings.

"Eugh! A-Ahh...! Don’t torture anymore—kill !"

"I’ve never seen anyone beg for death so desperately. But you know that once you die, it’s over, right? Your main body isn’t coming for you."

"What? No, that’s...!"

"He doesn’t care about you. So we’re in this together."

"..."

"Betray your kind and beco my Familiar, little nightmare."

His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at .

For so reason, my form inside my own soul had begun to distort continuously.

This Astral Avatar now resembled a towering being of white light and darkness, with unnaturally long arms and even longer fingers.

I had a long tail, black-and-white horns, and a shattered halo floating above my head.

Eternal black and red flas burned in a circle around —like a literal ring of hell.

Huh. Fascinating. It seed continuous use of Harmony and Chaos warped my Astral Avatar.

My physical body remained immune thanks to its resilience.

"Betray them?" he groaned. "Never. Just kill ! I will not—ACK!"

"Well, I tried," I shrugged, combining both powers.

"Chaos & Harmony."

FLAAASH!

After a little experintation, I fused them into a living concept.

Chaos disordered matter and cause-and-effect.

Harmony restored complete balance and normalcy.

Together, they created a permanent, harmonious state of disarray—forcefully forging a Familiar contract with this Nightmare.

Familiar Contracts had always been a gaplay chanic in Your Story Online. Players grew stronger by contracting Spirits, Magic Beasts, Demons, and more.

I knew the formula for a Spirit Contract, but first I reshaped the Nightmare Vestige, strengthening him without letting him beco too powerful.

"Guuaaaahhh! W-What are you doing to ?!"

"Making you cuter."

"WHAT?!"

"You think I want an ugly thing like you as my Familiar?"

"T-That’s... so an! I didn’t ask to be born this way!"

"Yeah, yeah."

I didn’t change much—just reshaped his form until he beca a cute black octopus with a single red eye, two small black horns, and tentacles that hid vertical jaws lined with razor-sharp fangs and long red tongues.

He was compact—about the size of my head—and surprisingly adorable.

"Around my family, you have to act like a Spirit, okay? That’s why I made you look... less ugly," I sighed. "You’ll pretend to be a Chaos Spirit."

"...?!" He was stunned. "W-Why would I ever do that—Aaagh!"

White chains materialized around his body, binding him to .

"You’re now my Familiar, and... I shall na you."

"No...! Wait! Don’t! If you na then...! Then...!"

He knew. When a master nad their familiar, a powerful, unbreakable soul bond ford unless one of them died.

"I was terrified of this Nightmare Vestige inside my soul, but now that I think about it... isn’t this incredibly fortunate?" I chuckled. "Still, you’re not my equal. You’re a despicable monster born from people’s fears in another dinsion, a fragnt of the creature I’ll have my revenge against. And you’re going to help do it, little one. So... your na is Mongrel."

"M-Mongrel?! What kind of na is that you stupid little—"

FLASH!

Before he could finish protesting, white and black light engulfed him, rewriting his existence once more.

"You’re now Mongrel, a Nightmare Spirit!" I declared. "But for your own safety, you’ll pretend to be a Chaos Spirit. Through Harmony and Chaos, you’ve beco my first familiar, my friend... and my tool."

"Eek! How is a three-year-old child this terrifying?!" he scread as Chaos and Harmony consud him completely.

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