Drakos already pushed so far forward that he didn't hear her shout but Bella was determined, chasing after him.
She was shocked seeing a hollow space inside the mountain, filled with tens of thousands of houses and bridges filling the airspace. It was an enormous city filled with giant Dwarfs as well as production lines and tracks that extended in all directions. Chunks of ore were transported to different parts of the city and everything worked so smoothly like an oiled machine.
Naturally, when a large Dragon broke into the city, a loud alarm alerted the Dwarfs. Drakos didn't mind the commotion, flying in between houses as if he already knew this place very well.
'Where is he going…?' Bella wondered, bursting flames from her feet to accelerate. If she turned back into her Phoenix form, she would naturally be much faster but the struggle of recreating the body was too troublesome for her. She also didn't think she could maneuver as well as Drakos in such a small space. Her beast's body was much bigger than the current size of Drakos. She would only leave it as the last resort.
Dwarfs spat angry words in a language she couldn't understand as they chased them with gigantic hammers in their palms. Too bad, both Drakos and Bella were too fast for them to catch.
Bella began to notice a pattern of Drakos' movements, seeing he traveled along the certain tracks with large wagons carrying big chunks of ore. It led straight to the outside processing factory and came from the depths of the city.
She wondered what the end would look like and she found out soon after, gazing at the last straight of the tracks.
It was a gigantic golden temple with engraved doors, triple of Drakos size, that was already half-closed. She was blinded by the brightness coming from the inside but she could eventually see the source of it.
Fate Stones ore, pilled into small mountains.
Oh!
Bella exclaimed as her eyes shone with desire. It seemed like it was some kind of storage for the ore and the Dwarfs opened it to transport the Fate Stones Ore for the final processing. Unfortunately, they didn't expect to be directly attacked at the only moment of the day when the storage was open.
Drakos didn't hesitate and slipped through the opening in the doors, getting inside. He completely disregarded her, acting alone as if the deal they made previously was nothing to him.
"Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" Bella scolded, her gaze ready to kill. She has never been this angry before.
How dare he ignore her? She valued the words given and he simply broke his, leaving her alone.
Poof!
Her body exploded with flames of anger, turning her into a living torch and she stormed through the heavy door in the last second, right before they closed.
Bang!
They locked with a bang, cutting them from the outside world but the inside was still bright, illuminated by the Fate Stones ore. It wasn't Bella's target though, but rather the dark blue dragon that landed on one of the mountains.
"DRAKOS!" Bella yelled, causing him to jump in fright.
"Bella?! What are you doing h—" Drakos questioned but couldn't finish the sentence as Bella was already by his side, her fist smashing into his belly.
Boom!
His body was blasted like a cannon, piercing through the mountain of ore while sending hundreds of chunks in the air. She didn't think much, wanting to vent her anger at him, but when she saw Drakos smash at the floor while covered in her flames, she didn't feel any better.
Her flames we still burning with the same intensity.
"Why did you break your word?! We were supposed to work together!" Bella shouted while coming after him once again, hovering on top of his body. "We had a deal!"
Roar!
Drakos suddenly bellowed, sending a cloud of flames at her but Bella took them face on. They blended with her own, giving no damage whatsoever.
"What deal?!" Drakos snapped back. "There was never a deal with us in the first place! You forced it on me and I agreed to save my life! You treated me like a slave the whole time and I bore with it because I liked you! Now I know what you really think of me. It was just a 'business' for you."
Drakos glared at her before looking away, slowly lifting himself up.
"I don't need you... I don't need anyone… I was fine by myself before I met all of you…" Drakos muttered, extinguishing Bella's flames with his wings. "I don't care anymore. If you want to kill me, go ahead. I'm done with this. I'm never helping anyone ever aga—"
Pa!
Bella kicked his side, breaking his monologue while sending his body into the pile of Fate Stones Ore. She had to admit that Drakos had a special talent of knowing how to piss her off.
"Hahahaha," Drakos laughed, no longer moving as if he knew there was no way he could avoid a beating. "Come, hit me more! Just a bit more and you will get what you always wanted! You wanted to kill me this whole time, right? Why don't you finish me now? You got a perfect opportunity to take me down."
Bella's facial expressions have never been this cold. Killing instinct brewed in her mind as a giant fireball rotated on top of her palm, ready to be thrown at Drakos to burn his body into ash. He was already all burned from her flames. The difference between a Celestial and God Stage Beast was just too big for him to resist.
"Good, good! Haha! Throw it at me! Do it! Be over it! You wanted it for so long!" Drakos hurried her while laughing maniacally. "Get rid of this pain in the butt that was only disturbing you for the last three years!"
Huh…
At Drakos's words, Bella's arm froze. She was about to end him when he mentioned the last three years. Multiple pictures flooded her mind, displaying tens of memories she made with him. His teasing as she ate clumsily, his scolding when she sneaked out to hunt alone or their yesterday night. She recalled his gentleness, his warmth, and his cheek rubs that made her feel like she wasn't alone anymore.
She could finally depend on someone, sleeping soundly without worry.
Was he a bother and a pain in the ass the past three years? Definitely. But looking back at the hundreds of years she spent alone, the last three years was the best time of her life.
Swoosh.
The flames covering her body vanished as if a single puff of wind blew them away.
She couldn't kill someone who singlehandedly made her life exciting.
"I changed my mind. I will spare your life. You are free to do whatever you want. You are I are no longer bound by anything," Bella called out coldly, glaring at Drakos from above. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it right after, turning her back to him as she flew away towards the doors.
Just ten meters away, she stopped.
"I'm disappointed in you. I thought you are better than this. You promised to help me yet you broke it at the first possible occasion," Bella spoke without turning around. "You claimed you fell for me yet the next moment you leave me alone, running away. Is this how a person in love behaves? I know you didn't love me. If you did, you wouldn't leave no matter what happened."
Tsk…
Bella snickered, leaving before she got annoyed once again. She flew towards the golden doors, frowning deeper with each meter. She expected Drakos would reply, but his silence confirmed everything she said.
"You rejected me!"
She stopped an arms reach from the entrance as Drakos' voice finally resounded in the storage hall.
"You know how much it hurt to hear that I mean nothing to you and that we are just partners? Even though I knew that I thought we are at least friends yet we were not even that close," Drakos continued only to stop, changing his mind. "Whatever. Nothing I say will change it. As you said, we are a Dragon and a Phoenix. We shouldn't meddle together anyway."
"…"
Bella wanted to reply and even apologize for her words, but hearing the second part, she stopped herself, not wasting any more time on him. Even though she made mistakes, she was willing to change but he didn't give her a chance.
She placed her palm on the golden door and frowned, realizing how thick and heavy they were. It would take her a while to melt through them.
"Even you won't open them in time," Drakos called out, eating Fate Stones Ore as if they were crackers. "The Dwarfs are already calling back all forces, together with the King of Dwarfs. Once they are ready, they will burst inside and capture us. They are no other exit from here."
Bella completely ignored him, continuing to study the entrance but Drakos didn't shut up.
"You are really stupid following me inside. Once they capture you, they will force you to transform into your Phoenix form and use your flames for their smelting. You will be their slave forever for breaking inside the Dwarf Kingdom."
"Then how will you escape?" Bella finally broke the silence. The situation wasn't really good for her.
"Oh, so you finally talk? Too bad, I'm not telling you. Why should I? I will advance to the Celestial Stage now. If I can escape, that's great. If I can't, I will commit suicide and escape with my soul. I can find other ways to rebuild my body."