Meanwhile, inside the domain, all preparations for the operation had been completed. However, the summons were still having doubts about it. They get why Arnold was taking such a dangerous step, still, they couldn’t help but feel useless.
If only they had been stronger, their master would not have needed to risk his life to ensure the safety of the planet. They would have been able to do it by themselves. However, that was not the case anymore.
“Get yourselves together.” Tiamut yelled at Alice, Natasha and Dani to make them snap out of their dreams, “It wouldn’t help us if we keep thinking about what could or could not have been. We have to do what we can right now, is that clear?”
All of them nodded their heads. Thinking about what-ifs wasn’t going to make the operation any easier. Right now, all of their attention should be on making the operation a success and that too as quickly as possible.
“There’s no need to haste,” Suddenly they heard Arnold’s voice as he walked into the makeshift operation theatre, “I have manipulated the time inside the domain so that it flows ten times faster than outside. Take as much time as you need. But make sure I can at least fight through the hordes of monsters and gods before collapsing.”
While they were preparing for the operation, Arnold had left to retrieve the dragon heart from Typhoon’s corpse. After all, it was the most needed ingredient for the success of the operation.
Saying so, he laid naked on the operating table. The girls knew it was time to be serious, but upon seeing Arnold naked, they couldn’t help but thoroughly glance at his body.
“Ladies, as much as I feel good that you all are interested in my body, I would appreciate it if you could hurry up.” Arnold shook his head, “Also, Natasha stop leaking your aura absentmindedly. You’re making all of them think things, they probably shouldn’t.”
“R-Right!”
“Also, no need to knock me out. I can take the pain, remember. Besides, I would be able to give you feedback on how I feel through the operation.”
With that Arnold took the dragon heart out of his inventory and handed it to Alice. The heart was even more peculiar than she had imagined. Since it was a heart that would have supported the huge body of a dragon, she thought it would be much bigger as well.
However, the heart was even smaller than a human’s. Also, it wasn’t made of flesh, but solid black crystal. In fact, it looked more like a big black beast crystal than anything else. Alice turned towards Tiamut and she nodded. The thing she held in her hands was indeed a dragon queen’s heart, or precisely, the source of their power.
“Let’s start…” Tiamut mumbled as she ripped open Arnold’s chest.
Usually, this shouldn’t have been possible, but since Arnold had lowered his defences, Tiamut was able to do it rather effortlessly. This was another reason why Arnold decided to do the operation in the safest place he was aware of.
After all, if his enemies would have seen him in such a state they wouldn’t have stopped at anything before they could take advantage of his weakened condition.
“Place the crystal right above his heart.” Tiamut instructed Alice and she did so.
Even though Tiamut did not have any knowledge about operating on humans, she was still the in-charge of the operation because well, she was the only one who could have handled transplanting the dragon’s heart into a human’s body.
“Yes, now we…”
It felt a bit strange to Arnold. Even though he couldn’t feel any pain, seeing his insides was a bit disturbing. However, he easily averted his attention by thinking about what was going on the outside.
‘I have left all of my forces for Talos to command. On top of that, we have an army of dragons on our side. Things… should be fine.’
All of a sudden, Arnold’s consciousness started slipping away. Well, not exactly. It was more like he was standing inside his conscious mind. However, he wasn’t alone. There was someone else along with him.
“I don’t remember giving you permission to invade my mind, you sly lizard.” Arnold smiled, “Come out now. There’s no point in hiding anymore.”
“You have some audacity… human.” Typhoon manifested herself in front of him, “You ripped my heart out of my body and still you try to act all surprised when I appear inside your head?”
“Cut the crap,” Arnold rebuked the dragon, “You hoping to take control of my body while I was vulnerable, weren’t you?”
“…”
“Looks like I was right. Well, too bad for you, I already saw what you would do using my foresight.” Arnold smiled as his armour and weapon manifested on him, “In fact, I have already seen how all of this would go down. You, Lucifer, Zeus, Loki and all your lackeys… I have seen the end of all of you.”
“Don’t be so cocky human! The future-“
“Can change. Nobody knows it better than I do. But believe me when I say… none of it matters.” Arnold interrupted Typhoon and charged at her, “Because I will still destroy all of you one way or the other.”
Even though the battle between Typhoon and Arnold was happening inside his head, it was very much real. As Typhoon’s heart would start assimilating within his body, the power of the Typhoon in his head would grow more and more.
Arnold had to force the dragon into submission before both of their hearts became one. Or else, Typhoon would start interfering with his plans with whatever little influence she would have over his mind. Arnold could not let that happen, no matter the cost.
Domination. Utter domination. That’s what Arnold needed at the moment. Thankfully, he knew exactly what he had to do. He had already defeated the dragon once and he could do it again.