Eren felt the rope's grip tighten around his arm, its golden glow intensifying as it weakened his strength.
The sensation was like an icy chill spreading through his veins. He could sense his power diminishing, the dragon energy within him being suppressed to some extent by the artifact's enchantment.
The Cardinal below watched with smug satisfaction.
He arrogantly sneered, "Even the strongest fall when faced with true power, let alone insects like you. Now let's bring you down from your high cloud!"
His grip around the rope tightened as he suddenly pulled with all his might. He even used his holy aura to strengthen his body, planning to slam Eren near his foot with enough to destroy more than half of Eren's bones.
"Hmm?" His expressions soon twisted in strangeness. Even as he tried pulling the rope, he wasn't able to. He looked above as he tried again but Eren didn't move even an inch.
Eren was like a heavy rock that remained still in place.
The Cardinal didn't understand how that was possible. He was sure that the rope had weakened Eren. So how was he not being pulled down? He had lost half his strength, so how?
"Even after losing half his strength, he is stronger. Is it really a fledgling Dragon?" The Lead Cardinal had a better comprehension of the situation.
Eren was weakened, but still he didn't look phased. Even when weakened, he was stronger than the Cardinals.
"Even the Sea Dragon Empress shouldn't have been this strong, so how can a man, who can't even complete his transformation be this strong?"
Not only was Eren not looking scared, but he had a smirk playing on his lips.
In the eyes of the Cardinal, he was not in his dragon form. Only he knew that it was the complete dragon form which had increased his stats more than the Dragon form of the Sea Dragons would have.
Even when his strength was restricted by half, he was still as strong as he used to be before his transformation. It was enough to take down the Cardinal.
"What?" The Cardinal was at a loss of words, his fist grabbed by the young dragon with an ease that he could never believe.
The rude Cardinal was awakened from his daze, shock etched across his face.
"Impossible!" he exclaimed, his bravado crumbling. "How can you..."
Not only was his attack stopped, but he could also feel that his holy aura was leaving from his fist, being absorbed by the young dragon.
"You were right," Eren said, his voice echoing with amused calmness. "In front of absolute strength, everything else becomes useless."
The Cardinal's expressions twisted, still unable to understand how this person could steal the holy aura that belonged to the goddess. If that was the case, then weren't they just a feast in this person's eyes?
His face darkened, realizing that he had to warn others before it was too late.
"Be careful! He can-"
The Cardinal tried to warn the others while struggling to free his fist. However, before he could even complete his sentence, he coughed out a mouthful of blood as a terrifying pain grabbed onto him.
He looked down, blood still trickling down the corner of his lips. In his chest, he saw a big hole. In Eren's bloody claw, there was a heart out in the open.
It didn't take much time for him to understand whose heart it was.
"I can't let you spoil my feast." Eren brought his lips closer to the Cardinal's ears, lightly saying. "So please go ahead."
The Cardinal's eyes widened, the world slowly turning upside down for him as the dragon's claw stabbed through his neck, separating his head from the rest of his body.
His vision turned blurry as his head fell down. The last thing he saw was Eren taking the rope from his body. The world turned completely dark for him.