Supreme Hunter of Beautiful Souls

Chapter 551: Yggdrasil sap bath

Kael slowly climbed the spiral staircase, still feeling the impossible taste of the primordial root lingering on the back of his tongue like a vivid memory. The golden energy he had absorbed seemed to continue circulating within his mana channels, warming his chest and spreading small shivers through his body whenever he breathed more deeply. As he progressed through the second floor of Nidhogg’s house, the surrounding environment gradually became different from the cozy hall below. The domestic warmth still existed, but there was something older mixed with the air—something raw, primordial, and absurdly concentrated.

The living wooden walls were traversed by thick roots that pulsed slowly beneath the surface like luminous veins. Tiny golden particles floated through the silent corridor, moving in gentle spirals around the hanging lanterns. The floor emitted a faint glow with each step Kael took, as if the house itself recognized his presence and reacted to it.

He reached the top of the stairs and found a short corridor, curved around the main structure of the colossal root. There were two doors at the end. The one on the left emitted a soft blue glow beneath the dark wood. The one on the right... breathed.

Literally.

The entire surface of the door pulsed very slowly, like something dormant on the other side inhaling and exhaling in long, heavy intervals.

Kael stood silently for two full seconds, observing it.

Then he immediately decided to heed Nidhogg’s warning.

"I don’t want to know," he murmured to himself as he headed straight for the left door.

As soon as he turned the doorknob, the world seemed to change.

The wave of mana hit his body the instant the door opened just a few centimeters.

Kael lost his balance immediately.

His knee hit the wooden floor as an absurd pressure surged through his senses like an invisible explosion. The condensed mana inside that bathroom was so dense it seemed to possess physical weight. It entered his lungs along with the air, slid across his skin, traversed his magical channels, and struck his spiritual core all at once.

Pain coursed through his body.

Not a sharp or destructive pain. It was worse. It was a feeling of absolute overload, as if every part of his existence was being filled beyond its natural limit. His muscles instantly stiffened as a current of energy coursed through his spine.

Kael braced a hand against the wall to avoid collapsing completely.

The living wood beneath his fingers pulsed along with the surrounding mana, almost like a colossal heart hidden within the house itself. His breath caught in his throat as another wave of energy violently struck his internal channels.

"...What the hell..."

His voice came out hoarse.

The amount of mana present in that place was absurd.

It wasn’t comparable to ordinary mages, artifacts, or natural energy sources. This was mana in an almost liquid state. Concentrated to the point of altering the perception of the environment. The air felt heavier, thicker, vibrating constantly against his skin.

For a few seconds, Kael truly thought his body would reject it.

Then something changed.

His magical core reacted.

The energy within him began to spin faster, instinctively adapting to the absurd pressure around him. His mana channels slowly expanded as his body aggressively absorbed some of that primordial energy. The pain gradually subsided, replaced by a warm, intense sensation that spread through his muscles.

Kael took a deep breath.

Again.

This time, he managed to remain standing.

There was still pressure. It still felt like the environment itself was trying to crush him under invisible tons of condensed energy. But now his body was beginning to keep pace.

He opened the door completely.

And stood silent.

Nidhogg’s bathroom didn’t look like a bathroom.

It looked like a sanctuary built within a fragment of the cosmos.

The room was gigantic, larger than many royal halls. The curved walls of the colossal root formed a circular chamber illuminated by golden veins that ran throughout the structure like living constellations. Blue vapor floated gently through the space, spreading a fresh, ancient aroma reminiscent of rain, old wood, and pure mana.

In the center of the room was the bathtub.

Or rather—

A swimming pool.

The structure occupied almost half of the entire space. Carved directly from the living root wood, the enormous circular bathtub was filled with water impossible to describe correctly. The liquid shimmered in shades of deep blue mixed with luminous gold, like a night sky pierced by liquid stars. Small currents of light moved slowly beneath the surface, creating the impression of entire galaxies swirling within the water.

Kael felt another wave of mana hit his body just by looking at it.

His stomach churned slightly.

The energy radiating from that water was monstrous.

It didn’t seem like a bath.

It seemed like liquefied divine matter.

He took a step closer to the edge of the pool and immediately noticed another problem.

His body began to absorb mana on its own.

Without any conscious effort.

The surrounding energy was so concentrated that it simply touched his skin and flowed through his magical channels automatically. Small golden currents began to rise up his arms like threads of light as the core in his chest reacted more and more aggressively.

Kael slowly brought his hand to his forehead.

The world seemed to tilt for a moment.

The sensation was strange.

Very strange.

His body felt too light.

His thoughts seemed a few seconds behind his surroundings.

The excessive mana was beginning to affect his perception.

"...I’m drunk."

The realization came out in disbelief.

Drunk on energy.

That was exactly it.

The absurd concentration of mana in that environment was altering his senses like powerful alcohol coursing through the mind. His balance wavered again as small golden particles danced before his eyes. The glow of the roots seemed more intense now. The colors were too vivid. Even the sound of the water slowly pulsing inside the enormous bathtub seemed to echo directly inside his head.

Kael let out a slow sigh. Then he chuckled softly for the first time in a long time.

The situation was ridiculous.

Completely absurd.

He was alone in an interdimensional bathroom, partially intoxicated by liquid mana extracted from the World Tree, inside the house of an emotionally needy ancestral dragoness who baked illegal cookies.

His life had lost any vestige of normalcy long ago.

Kael walked slowly around the gigantic pool while trying to stabilize his senses. The warm ground beneath his feet seemed to pulse gently along with the water. The closer he got to the edge, the more intense the magical pressure became.

Now he understood why Nidhogg had said that this would strengthen his body.

The water practically overflowed with primordial vitality.

Even without touching it directly, Kael could feel his muscles reacting to the presence of that energy. Small aches accumulated in his body slowly disappeared. The constant weariness he carried on his shoulders seemed to slowly dissolve simply by breathing in that environment.

It was terrifying.

No ordinary being should have access to something like this.

He slowly knelt beside the edge of the enormous bathtub and dipped only his fingers into the water.

The reaction was immediate.

Energy exploded through his entire arm like a hot lightning bolt.

Kael pulled his hand back instantly as small golden sparks ran across his skin.

"...This isn’t water."

This was mana in liquid form.

Primordial sap refined to the point of becoming a living catalyst.

He watched the shimmering surface ripple slowly as the liquid reacted to contact with his energy. Small stars seemed to be born and disappear beneath the water as golden currents crisscrossed the bottom of the pool.

Then the mana struck his mind again.

Kael rested his hand on the edge of the bathtub as a warm sensation rose from the nape of his neck to his head. His vision blurred slightly for a moment, and he realized his thoughts were slowing down strangely.

Not slow in a bad way.

Everything felt... too comfortable.

The warmth of primordial energy relaxed his muscles almost aggressively. His whole body felt light, numbed by an absurd sense of well-being.

He took another deep breath.

Error.

Too much mana entered along with the air.

Kael closed his eyes immediately as another wave of energy surged through his consciousness. Small golden flashes appeared behind his eyelids as his magical channels absorbed more power than they should.

His mind began to float slightly.

It was like being between sleep and wakefulness at the same time.

His body remained still, but his thoughts seemed to slowly sink into that warm, luminous energy that filled the entire bathroom.

For a very brief moment, Kael almost managed to hear something coming from the water.

A distant voice.

Soft.

Like leaves swaying in the wind.

He opened his eyes immediately.

Silence.

Only the shimmer of the starry water before him.

Kael remained motionless for a few seconds, watching the small golden currents swirl beneath the liquid surface.

Then he noticed something else.

His heart was beating slower.

Too calm. The energy of the primordial sap not only strengthened his body. It seemed to touch his soul directly, calming internal tensions accumulated over years. The constant weight that normally existed in his mind—wars, responsibilities, Sylphie, Yggdrasil, endless conflicts—seemed distant at that moment.

As if the water were anesthetizing everything.

This was dangerously pleasant.

Kael finally began to slowly remove his coat, still observing the enormous luminous pool before him with increasing caution. Each piece of clothing dropped on the ground caused the surrounding mana to touch his skin more directly, further intensifying the absurd sensation of energetic intoxication.

The blue vapor slowly slid down his shoulders as he approached the water.

The surface shimmered.

Waiting.

Pulsating gently like a living sky.

Kael stopped at the edge once more.

Then he sighed deeply.

"If this kills me," he murmured softly to himself, "I’ll blame Nidhogg even after death."

"You don’t need to blame me," said a voice behind him, soft and dangerously amused. "I won’t let you die."

Kael turned immediately.

Too quickly.

The concentrated mana in the environment still affected his senses, and the abrupt movement made the world tilt for an instant before stabilizing again. Even so, his reflexes remained sharp enough to react almost automatically to the unexpected presence behind him.

Then he saw Nidhogg.

And he fell silent.

The dragoness stood near the bathroom entrance, leaning casually against the living wood of the wall as if it were the most natural situation in the universe. Her long, dark blue hair fell damp down her back and shoulders, shining softly under the golden light of her pulsating roots. Tiny scales scattered across her collarbone and arms reflected the bluish glow of the pool like fragments of living sapphire.

She wore only a thin towel.

Very thin.

The light fabric wrapped her body dangerously insufficiently, fastened above her voluminous bust while another strip partially covered her waist and wide hips. Even so, considering Nidhogg’s utterly disproportionate size, the towel seemed to be waging a losing battle against her anatomy.

Kael immediately understood why Elion spoke of her as a biological threat.

Nidhogg smiled.

Warm.

Comfortable.

Completely unaware of the devastating effect of her own existence.

"You got dizzy quickly," she commented as she slowly walked to the edge of the pool. "The sap is particularly concentrated today."

Kael still stared at her in silence.

The mana in the air definitely didn’t help his reasoning ability.

His brain was already partially numb from the primordial energy spreading throughout the bathroom, and now he had to deal with an absurdly beautiful ancient dragon appearing practically naked before him as if it were completely normal.

"...You came in without warning."

"This is technically my house."

"That doesn’t improve the situation."

"It improves it considerably."

She tilted her head slightly, observing him with genuine curiosity.

Then her golden eyes quickly slid over his body before returning to his face.

"You’re really absorbing a lot of mana."

Kael let out a slow sigh as he rested a hand on his forehead.

"I noticed."

Nidhogg moved closer to the pool, and the natural heat of her body immediately mixed with the blue vapor spreading through the environment. Even without touching him, Kael could feel the dragon’s absurd presence affecting the surrounding space. It wasn’t just magical power. It was something physical. Primordial.

She stopped beside him.

Too close.

"Your core is reacting well," she commented calmly. "Most people would have fainted upon opening the door."

"Reassuring."

"That’s a compliment."

Kael slowly turned his face to meet hers.

Strategic error.

She was too close.

Too close.

The golden glow reflected by the water made her skin seem even warmer, while the damp steam softened the already dangerously attractive contours of her colossal body. The thin fabric of the towel clung partially to her skin due to the moisture, outlining curves that Kael sincerely preferred not to analyze at that moment.

Unfortunately, his brain, partially intoxicated by mana, seemed to completely disagree with that decision.

Nidhogg immediately noticed the slight mental block.

And smiled even more.

"Ah," she murmured, amused. "Now I understand why Elion was laughing down there."

"Don’t start."

"You’re trying very hard not to look."

"I’m trying to survive."

"How polite."

Kael closed his eyes for a full second.

The mana in the air made everything worse. His senses were too heightened. He could hear the dragoness’s slow, powerful heartbeat. Feel the heat radiating from her skin. Perceive the subtle scent of spices and wet wood mixed with the vapor of primordial sap.

This was a coordinated attack on his mental stability.

Nidhogg then placed his hands on his hips and casually announced:

"Let’s take a bath together."