"You promised! Don’t break it again!"

"Let me help! We can defeat them together!"

"Drakos!!!"

No matter what she screamed, Drakos no longer spoke to her, turning his back to her as he hovered between her and the incoming army of Dwarfs. They already broke through the blockade by the entrance, spilling out from the hole endlessly. Even if Drakos tried to escape, there was no way out other than battling them all.

Bella watched his back with a mix of emotions troubling her mind. She was unable to avert her gaze away. No matter how angry she was at him, Bella just didn’t want to leave him alone.

"Drakos! Let’s see how much did your strength improve compared to the last time!" King of Dwarfs cried out happily as he swung a giant hammer the size of a house. His body was already five-meter taller than the other Dwarfs as well as bigger in size, both his arms and torso. He seemed old, his white beard reaching to his chest but the age didn’t take his energy.

If it was just the King of Dwarfs, Bella believed Drakos could handle it, but the other Dwarfs in assistance made her worried.

’I’m worried... about him?’ Bella questioned her confused feelings but she couldn’t find a different name for what she felt.

From hate to trust, followed by disappointment, forgiveness, and finally worry. How could one dummy make her feel all those in such a short time?

Bang!

A sudden explosion caused Bella to jerk as her eyes focused on the scene. She saw Drakos dive into battle, his body shining with gold as he smashed into the King of Dwarfs with his bare fists alone. The physical power of the Dragon compressed in his human body was something anyone should fear.

Unfortunately, she didn’t get to fully admire his prowess.

Ah!

Bella exclaimed when the two clashed yet her glass-like box began to blur. With each second, she saw less and less until only a little bit of sound was left.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Bella repeated as she smashed her fists against the glass but no matter how many times she hit, the box didn’t even budge.

She hated being hopeless, unable to do anything.

"I HATE YOU!!!" Bella screamed on top of her lungs, her forehead struck the glass with her fists pressing strongly. "LET ME OUT!!!"

Bang!

She hit the glass once again, this time with little to no energy, knowing it was for naught.

"Let me out..." Bella muttered, her body sliding to the bottom of the box.

The sounds of battle slowly quietened as well until her box was filled with complete silence, leaving only the sound of her rigid breaths and hurried heartbeat.

"Why...? Why did you leave me again...?"

Bella’s words were quiet as a mouse, to the point she didn’t even know if she even spoke them or just thought in her mind.

"Why...? If that is love, I don’t want it... I hate love..."

Drip.

A single drop of a liquid fell from her chin, breaking on her knee. She reached out to touch it, wondering what it was but then two more drops followed, alarming her. Bella touched her face and discovered both her eyes and cheeks were all wet.

historical

She looked up, checking her reflection.

"Am I crying...?"

Her eyes were reddened and tears didn’t even threaten to spill, falling uncontrollably. Her lip trembled, forcing her to bite on it to stop. It was her first time experiencing it but she still didn’t know why.

Weren’t the tears caused by sadness? Was she really sad right now?

"Ah! Watch out!"

"What is this?"

"Everyone stay away!"

Just as Bella wondered, the silence in the box was broken by sudden cries, screams and loud chatter. She frowned, forgetting about the tears as she looked around. The blur began to clear up, displaying tens of silhouettes before the glass became completely clear, vanishing into thin air.

Bella appeared in the middle of the crowd, surrounded by confused humans that circled her in the middle of the street. She was kneeling on the cold street, looking like a desperate beauty that needed help.

"She is crying..." A young man noticed her state and approached boldly, crouching next to her. "Miss, are you okay?"

"DON’T TOUCH ME!"

The moment his palm touched her shoulder, Bella moved unconsciously, punching forward with her fist covered in flames. The man’s body launched like a cannon, smashing at the nearby building.

Bang!

His whole body pierced through the wall with no one knowing if he was dead or alive.

"Ahhhh! She is a killer!"

Panic engulfed the space as people started running away but Bella ignored her. The crowd pulled her away from the situation at hand but her thoughts quickly returned to Drakos and his battle.

’I need to get back there and save him,’ Bella thought, scanning her surroundings for a way out. She didn’t question her gut feeling, nor why did she want him safe. Maybe it was guilt or she just didn’t want to owe him anything.

One thing Bella knew for sure, if he is going to suffer, it would be from her hand.

She dashed to the closest human who happened to be the bold man’s buddy, checking out if his friend is alive.

"Fuck! Let go of me!"

He cursed when Bella lifted him up by the shirt with little to no effort and pulled out a sword from his Storage Ring, slashing at Bella’s head without hesitation.

Too bad, he didn’t know he was facing a Celestial Stage Phoenix.

She caught his sword with bare hand and it instantly melted as her hand burst with colorful flames. He was so shocked his fist released, dropping the handle of the sword to the ground.

"What is this city? Where am I?" Bella questioned as she created a fireball on top of her free hand and displayed it in front of the man.

His eyes immediately widened and face paled.

"P-please... D-don’t kill me..." the young man begged, but Bella quickly shook with his body.

"Answer my question!"

Seeing the flames get even closer, burning on his face, he didn’t stall anymore.

"Spirit Land Capital!" he exclaimed, pulling his head away. "I will tell you anything!"

"Where is the Dwarf Kingdom?" Bella continued the questioning.

"D-dwarf Kingdom? It’s in the Metal Land..."

"In which direction is the Metal Land?"

It’s north-west from the Capital."

Swoosh!

Before she could end, two Spirit Qi arrows suddenly struck the ground next to her feet. Bella gazed at the sky and saw multiple cultivators in white uniforms with an eagle on their chests, aiming their bows at her.

"Let the boy go or we will shoot!"

The young man trapped in Bella’s claws brightened when he saw the men come to save him. Too bad, Bella wasn’t done with him. She ignored the guards and asked, "Which way is that?"

The young man gazed at the guards but still replied, not risking his life.

"Yhmm... It’s best to take the West Gate. If you follow this road, you will eventually reach it... There are many signs."

Thud!

His body got tossed to the ground right after he answered and Bella didn’t wait, flying to the sky without bothering with the guards. They were on her way but she simply dodged them.

"Stop!" They blocked her way, looking ready to release their arrows at any time. "We are from the City Guard! You are under arrest for hurting citizens in the safe zon—"

"SCRAM!" Bella cut them off, throwing a fireball at them. It traveled right at them forcing them to move out of the way. All the arrows were released at the same time but Bella only waved with her hand, making a wall of flames that blocked them all.

She didn’t have time to bother with them!

Swoosh!

Bella passed through the blockade and finally decided to change back to her normal form, knowing it was much faster. Her body lit up, colorful flames covering her until she couldn’t even be seen. She was like a flaming meteor, but instead of burning out, it grew bigger with each meter.

SCREEEEE!

———

Even though the Spirit Land Capital was so big, one needed more than two days to travel from one end to another, the news traveled instantly. On one of the main mountains in House of Dragons territory, a maid was knocking on the mansion door, calling for her miss.

"Miss Liu! Miss Liu! Quick, wake up! There is a Phoenix in the Capital!"

She didn’t hear anything for a while until the doors finally opened.

"Miss Liu! You are finally here! Look! There is a Phoenix in the sky!" The maid called out excitedly, pointing at the sky but Miss Liu didn’t seem to be interested.

It was clear that she just woke up as her long black hair was all over the place. She was yawning with her eyes still closed.

"Gosh, why are you using the same method to wake me up? Do you think I will fall for it once again?" Miss Liu asked as she rubbed on her eyes while flipping her hair back.

When she finally looked at the sky just to be sure, her eyes snapped open.

"A Phoenix!"