The Draco of today was far different from before. His dark green eyes were no longer filled with mirth and shamelessness, but a cold malice and concealed killing intent. His youthful body and looked had matured greatly and he was far more well built than before, even gaining a few inches in height.
All of this in the course of 4 months of brutal training with Maria using the forces of the Cartel. Draco had tasted innocent blood, had seen the darker side of society and had woken to the cruelty of the world.
He had gone through hardships since young, some of which would baffle the minds of a normal person. But even then, he was able to keep a relatively clean and rosy outlook, believing that others had it harder, so he had no right to complain about feeling miserable.
Now though, he was poised to be the one causing the misery, rather than always passively being the victim of it. Maria had made sure of that in her inexplicable attempts to change Draco.
Today, Draco was seated on a couch opposite Maria in a lounge and was drinking hard alcohol. He glanced at the sexy woman opposite him with a hint of sharpness in his eyes.
"I called you here to talk to you. After everything I've gone through, I have learned a lot about this world, my place in it and how I should see things for what they are."
"However, I have also keenly understood that there is no free lunch in this world. The effort and resources you have spent to make me what I am today are not enough for you to train a hundred proper deathsworn elites."
Draco placed his glass down on the table and looked at Maria with seriousness. "So, I want to know, why me?"
Maria who had quietly been listening to him while casually sipping her own drink smiled. "Would you believe me if I told you that this all started simply due to a hunch of mine?"
Draco frowned deeply. "Maria, I may now be much less… amiable and simple than I was before, but I am not a heartless monster yet. I know how to measure those who have helped me and those who have hindered me, and you have been nothing but a blessing to my life."
"Since I've eaten the meal, I'm ready to pay the bill. I just want to know what the bill is, that's all." Draco finished sincerely.
Maria smiled gently, but she complained in her heart. She was actually speaking the truth. If she had to rationally explain her behavior than perhaps it was because he reminded her of… him… so much and by helping him, she was cleansing the trauma she had experienced in her youth.
Of course, that was just placebo and it really didn't cost her much, so she never really planned the next step. Being confronted by Draco like this forced her to think and Maria felt a stirring of interest.
Draco was much older than her usual strike zone, but after her mistake with Connor she had mostly kept herself celibate for a long time, so it had been a while since she tried something like that. Not to mention that Draco gave her the exact same feeling as Connor, so she decided to try it out.
"Well, if you won't believe me, then fine. As for the matter of repayment for my efforts... I want your body." Maria stated with a grin.
Draco's cold expression became awkward as he became speechless. In this time, he had heard of Maria's special taste and had suspected that she might do it for this reason, hearing it directly from her still made him pause.
However, he did not dislike it, rather felling quite proud. Maria was like a modern Helena of Troy. Many powerful men around the world who lead forces that could even crush him as a Control master were pining for her affection day and night, some even offering billions for her favor.
Even the noble Fifth Councilor had stepped in and placed his stake, yet she told him to his face that she wanted him! For Draco who had come of out a harsh 'breakup' and was doubting his value as a man since his ex was pushed to cheat, hearing this did wonders for his mental state that Maria could never fathom.
Of course, Draco acted resistant at first and seemed a bit shy. The resistance was him being coy to raise the value of his sexual encounter with her but the shyness was genuine since his only sexual escapades had been virtual, meaning this would be his first time in reality. Maria was the type of woman you'd only see in high quality 3D porn customized to be the best.
However, how could he know that both his resistance and shyness triggered Maria's long suppressed predatory nature? Especially the shyness, that was why she enjoyed the most about defiling young boys with no sexual experience.
Maria was unable to hold back and pounced him like the cougar she was. Soon she was happily riding on top of the bewildered Draco who had to admit that the feeling in reality had a slight edge compared to the one in the game, not to mention that Maria was extremely skilled.
The fellow shot out his Vital Yang in a burst of passion and Maria, who was wearing a satisfied smile, suddenly froze as her expression changed greatly. Oh God, this feeling, it was this feeling again!
It was just like when she had defiled Connor for the first time and embarked on a path of becoming what she was today! However, Maria soon groaned in a mixture of pleasure and pain as she slid off Draco and fell to the bed, curled up in a fetal position as she began to sweat.
Much unlike Connor's, whose first shot was very benevolent and filled with energy that caused her to passively experience the benefits after he left, Draco's was like a tyrant who did what he wanted and did not care about the feelings of others.
The upgrade Maria was experiencing was more intense than anything before and she had to curl up to withstand the effects of it.
Meanwhile, Draco had initially been filled with euphoria, but his expression also changed when he heard the sound of a roar that was filled with despair in his mind. Suddenly, his heart surged with feelings of regret, like he had done something fatally wrong that could never be taken back, and that he had ruined everything.
He was filled with confusion over the feeling but the despair filled roar stopped and never sounded again. Occasionally, Draco would hear such roars when he was in battle or pushing himself to the limit which was filled with encouragement or support.
But after this final roar, for the remainder of that timeline, he would never hear this sound ever again.
The two of them shared mixed feelings about this experience and did not speak of it for a while after. When Maria finally 'digested' the benefits of Draco's Vital Yang, she keenly understood that there was something special about Draco, something even stronger than what Connor had.
She did not know about Lineages at this time, assuming that it had something to do with Draco being a Control master. Learning that Draco could rekindle that feeling and desire that Connor had given her, Maria was determined not to make any mistakes.
She directly invested everything into Draco, cutting herself off from all other options as she remembered what had ruined her passion with Connor. She also told Draco upfront about the Fifth Councilor and her position with him, and he understood that for as long as they were together he would be unable to have Maria's real first time.
In due time, Maria introduced Draco to the Fifth Councilor who happened to like the cut of Draco's jib, leading him to give him some backing. Later Draco had been away from Boundless for over 6 months in reality because he felt like the game had nothing for him.
Was he going to go into that filthy Darkrow to gaze at the face of Eva?
However, with a bit of coaxing from Maria as well as some support from Nathan Rothschild, Draco eventually re-entered Boundless and publicized his removal from the number 1 guild Darkrow.
This was big news at the time and when interviewed about his reason, Draco directly revealed Eva's promiscuity and stated that he was creating a new guild to take down Darkrow and petitioned players to help him on his quest.
Which person didn't love a good revenge story? Many were filled with excitement and began to berate Eva and Shangtian, turning their names from popular idols to the lowest trash.
Hellscape immediately became full of applicants who joined on the first day, startling Draco. He then wisely chose to develop in the same city as Darkrow, so from the get go, conflicts and competition were intense.
This was exactly what the playerbase was looking for and hundreds joined either side, bolstering their numbers and turning them into fearsome behemoths. The guilds clashed daily and the first time Draco saw Eva, they fought a life and death battle.
Draco kept asking Eva why emotionally during their battle, finding that his feelings for her were not so easily dismissed by becoming an edgelord and indulging in cruelty. Even at that point, as long as Eva would have told him her side of the story, there was a 60% chance that Draco would have believed her. It might not have been then and there, but given some time a reconcilation would have been possible
Alas, the yandere had already decided that everything was lost. Shangtian had already won, so she remained silent because even with Control, Shangtian could smash Draco into paste.
She couldn't tell him about the Lineages and all that as it would fill Draco with despair and drag him to the bloodline conflict. If only she had found Draco before Shangtian and had been able to tell him the truth...
If she could only go back in time and tell him, they could secretly release his seal and then train together to take down Shangtian. As it was now, that was impossible and with Shangtian watching them like a hawk, it was futile.
As such, Eva remained silent to Draco's questions. With her face concealed by her hood, he was unable to make out her bitter expression. Draco's expression became colder as he took it as an admission of guilt and his hatred for her only continued to grow.
When he came back to reality after that fight, he fell into Maria's arms and sobbed the entire night, and the woman gently caressed his head while he was in pain. Even though she was fascinated with Draco due to his special nature, the struggled he had gone through and his current situation made Maria develop a softness for him in her heart.
She had decided to be his bedrock and emotional support at that time, and it was her presence that allowed Draco to remain stable around this time, or there was no telling what he would have done with his current power.
It was only after Maria inevitably married Nathan Rothschild and Draco could no longer gain access to her body that he eventually fell in with Rina who had suffered her own trauma.
However, like a son visiting his parents for advice, he would often go to Nathan Rothschild's estate and spend some time with the duo, and they would either give him advice or encouragement.
Time flew for that Draco and everyone who had succeeded in the future-current timeline had suffered in this current-previous timeline, allowing the things that had already gone wrong to become worse.
Even as he was reincarnated and was in cruel edgelord mode, when Draco saw Maria that day at the Cartel's arena, he did not harm her or do anything, rather running away with his tail in between his legs. After all, he only felt guilt and affection for her.
When he and Eva were in dire need of 1st Grade NuSmoothies to increase bloodline concentration, he had been tempted many times to go and seek Maria for help, but was embarrassed to.
His feelings towards her were like a younger brother to his overly kind and loving older sister.
How could he let her be harmed?