Smog offered a solution for Ben's problem with the Dragon Seed. Ben listened to him with a serious expression on his face.

"You know about the Dragon Seed, so I'm sure you know what the solution is. Which is having a dragon reside in your body so it can adapt to the Dragon Slayer's power. That's why the best dragon that needs to reside in a Dragon Slayer's body is the one that originally gave them the power." Smog explained.

"Yeah, I know that much. That's why it's a problem for me because Escanor is dead." Ben stated.

'Yeah, that's why you can only have another dragon do that. But you won't find any dragons because almost all of us have disappeared. However you have another option, me.' Smog said.

"You? But you only have your soul now." Ben replied, confused by the statement.

'That's right, but my soul has remnants of my power. Furthermore, as a Heat Dragon, my power is similar to Escanor's. So it would be more effective than you having another type of dragon in your body. It's a matter of compatibility.' Smog said.

Smog explained that as a Sun Dragon Slayer, Ben will get better results if he had a dragon with a similar power like fire, heat, or even light. It will be less effective or even ineffective if he had another type of dragon that didn't have a similarity to the Sun Dragon's power.

But Smog said Ben had another problem. That is the power of his Dragon Slayer Magic. The Sun Dragon Escanor was said to have immense power that scared the other dragons, even Dragon Gods and Kings.

That's why as the Sun Dragon Slayer, Ben's magic can become that powerful. To nullify the effect of such powerful magic, he needs equal or stronger magic. Without it, the effect won't disappear at all.

'I must say this to you before we continue. My power is a lot lower than Escanor's, so I won't be able to fully cure you even in my perfect form. But I can at least slow the process of Dragonization because I have the same type of power as Escanor.' Smog said.

"Hmm, temporarily slowing it down is better than nothing, I guess. I can search for a permanent solution later." Ben said.

'Don't worry, I've already thought about a permanent solution. That is to have Acnologia inhabit your body.'

"WHAT!? Are you serious?"

'Yeah, he is the closest thing to Escanor's power level, or maybe even surpassed prime Escanor. But what I do know is, Acnologia is the strongest right now.'

"I can understand that, but he is a human, a Dragon Slayer. That won't be effective, right?"

'He is not a human, although he used to be one in the distant past. He's no longer human after transforming into a dragon. But he's not a dragon either because he used to be a human.'

'However, that's not the point. The point is, he had Dragon Slayer Magic and overused it until he became a dragon. His power is immense, so he is a suitable solution to your problem.' Smog said.

"But what's his element? That will affect the process too."

'I don't know what kind of element he has. But he has immense power, so the element doesn't matter anymore. You just need his power to nullify the Dragon's seed effect.'

Ben thought about it and asked A.I Chip to calculate the possibility. A.I Chip told him that the possibility is quite high. It's a lot better than Ben's initial plan to acquire the Demon Seed and God Seed to nullify the Dragon Seed.

However, there is a big issue with this method. His target is Acnologia, someone who has the title of Dragon King. That means he is the strongest among all dragons, proven by him slaying many dragons.

What worried him was his Dragonization might occur before he can defeat Acnologia. There is no way Acnologia will agree to live in his body. So he needs to defeat Acnologia first.

Ben has no idea how strong Acnologia is. But he knew reaching that level of power isn't easy and would take a long time. He wasn't even S-Class yet, so he still has a long way to go.

That's why Smog's offer to live inside Ben's body was a good thing. It would only slow the effect down, but it would also give him time to become more powerful than Acnologia. He still had something he wanted to ask Smog, though.

"Why are you helping me?"

'I already told you, I admired your foster father Escanor.'

"I don't believe admiration alone would cause you to help me." Ben said in a serious tone.

'Fine. Admiration is one of my reasons. The biggest reason is that I want to see Acnologia defeated. If I just stay here like this, then my soul will disappear in 5 years. But if I live inside your body with Dragon Slayer Magic, my soul won't disappear that easily.'

"Did Acnologia kill you?"

'Me and my family. He killed my wife and 3 sons years ago. He badly injured me and forced me to hide inside this cave. I want to get revenge, but I couldn't even stay alive. That's why I used a technique to preserve my soul.'

Smog used a technique to preserve himself in his body parts. He chose his bones because they were durable. But the price was he lost his skin, flesh, etc and only leave his bones.

The drawback was he couldn't leave this cave because he only has bones and a soul. Furthermore, if he left the cave, Acnologia might sense him and hunt him again. He won't have sufficient power to fight Acnologia.

'This cave has a high amount of Ethernano, and it even formed into these crystals. That's why it can mask my presence and hide me from Acnologia.'

"Wait! Won't he detect me too if you enter my body?"

'No, your presence will mask mine, so don't worry. Acnologia won't be able to sense you except if he is close enough. Your presence is human, not dragon, so it will be harder. You're also not strong enough for him to notice you.'

"Hmm, I guess you're right. Fine, I will accept your offer."

Ben accepted the offer after A.I Chip concluded Smog wasn't lying. There was no ill intention either, so Ben can trust Smog. Besides, Smog can't take Ben's body over after he entered it.

A.I Chip ensured this because Smog's Heat Magic was inferior to Escanor's Sun Dragon Magic. He has also gotten weaker after keeping his soul in his bones for years. So he wouldn't be able to overpower Ben's Sun Dragon essence.

Smog then told Ben the procedure for his soul to enter Ben's body. They will use the Dragon Soul Technique like the other dragons used on their Dragon Slayers.

Ben approached Smog's skeleton and put his hands on it. Then he closed his eyes and his magic power flowed into the skeleton. The skeleton glowed red and was heated up a little before it was absorbed by Ben and entered his body.

'My soul has entered your body, son of Escanor. Now I will hibernate so my power will be focused on suppressing your Dragon Seed and you will get the full benefit of it. I will awaken the day you fight Acnologia. Until then, I hope you grow strong like your father.'

Ben felt Smog's consciousness start to fade and he hibernated.

"Yeah, I will grow stronger. Stronger than even Escanor. Good night, Smog."