Dragons could grow large or small, ascend or hide.
Invisibility was an innate ability. The Divine Dragon was indeed young, and her power had diminished significantly after reverting to a lesser form—but innate talents were unaffected. These abilities were etched into her bloodline. If she wanted to remain hidden, anyone below a certain level simply couldn't perceive her.
Now, seeing Madame Gao's pitiful state, she couldn't help but reveal herself and cry out excitedly: "Gao! Look at you now! Ohohoho—!"
The first part sounded normal enough. The second part? Pure goofiness...
Fortunately, Madame Gao's head was swimming, and she hadn't caught the words clearly. Her expression cycled through excitement, fear, and above all, disbelief: "The Divine Dragon?!..."
The target of immortality had appeared before her eyes. Despite weathering countless storms in her long life, she hesitated.
What do I do? Rush forward and seize her? I don't think I can win.
Give up? I can't accept that!
While she weighed whether she had any trump cards left, Bella had no intention of giving her the opportunity.
"Little Sakura—go! Get your revenge!" she shouted. The Divine Dragon struck without hesitation. They'd planned this beforehand.
Dragons, whether in the East or West, weren't exactly known for being magnanimous. Petty might be too strong a word, but if you wronged one and expected forgiveness? Dream on.
The Divine Dragon and Bella had rushed back to the real world and hunted Madame Gao down without rest—all for revenge.
Lightning crackled between Bella's palms. She shaped the psionic energy into a bolt of electricity. Meanwhile, the Divine Dragon drew her weapon—the legendary Korean artifact, now shrunk to a fraction of its original size: the Seven-Branched Sword.
She wielded the Seven-Branched Sword like a child's toy.
With intense focus, she swung the blade. It looked almost playful—a casual slash that couldn't have cut a mosquito, let alone a person. But the lightning arc that erupted from the swing was devastatingly real. Several yards tall, it carved deep gouges into the ceiling before crashing toward Madame Gao like a tidal wave of compressed air.
The old woman's mind finally caught up—but her body didn't. She was simply too old.
She barely managed to twist sideways before the lightning slash tore across her shoulder, taking her left arm with it.
"Ohohoho! Serves you right, you old bitch! Little Bella, finish her! Kill her!" The Divine Dragon was practically giddy. Her arm had been severed back then; now she'd returned the favor. As far as she was concerned, the debt was settled.
She sheathed the Seven-Branched Sword, curled up like a small white snake, and draped herself back over Bella's shoulder to nap.
The rest was Bella's problem.
Madame Gao was dead.
Her mind had been battered by spell after spell. She was dizzy, disoriented, and now missing an arm. Lightning crackled continuously from the wound, impossible to dispel, ravaging her internal organs with every passing second. At this point, four hundred years of cultivation meant nothing. Another four hundred wouldn't have saved her.
Bella had avoided close combat throughout, wary of any last-ditch trump cards.
What if this hag reads novels? What if she's seen Hong Kong comics and spontaneously learned some self-destructing demonic technique? If she detonates herself at death's door, I'm screwed.
A four-hundred-year cultivator, kited to death at range, killed purely through spellcasting...
Even after Madame Gao stopped breathing entirely, Bella didn't approach to inspect the body. She stood at a distance, watching.
She gathered lightning into a javelin and hurled it at Madame Gao from afar. The corpse exploded into scattered pieces.
Only then could she confirm that Madame Gao was truly dead.
Bella picked up the spirit shrine Madame Gao had prepared for binding Shura.
The artifact resembled Onmyoji techniques, though she couldn't say for certain. Her knowledge of Eastern magic was limited.
Shura couldn't be killed. As long as even a trace of resentment existed, it would regenerate.
The demon wasn't particularly powerful, but it was incredibly troublesome. She had no good method for permanent elimination.
"Victoria, I've got a merit badge for you." Bella called Victoria Hand. Through Natasha's constant intel drops, she knew S.H.I.E.L.D. was conducting similar containment operations.
She suspected the containment facilities might predate S.H.I.E.L.D. itself—an ancient, long-running mega-project.
Whether this was good or bad was hard to say. As long as everything stayed contained, the world remained at peace. But if something went wrong, it would be catastrophic—bad enough that Bella would need to evacuate her family to the Ashina realm.
"A demon specialized in slaughter?" Victoria Hand said. "Fine. Send me the coordinates, and I'll have someone take over."
Bella walked toward Madame Gao's collection room. Unfortunately, a cunning rabbit keeps multiple burrows—Madame Gao hadn't stored all her treasures in one place. The search yielded disappointing results.
A few Buddha statues, some sutras, plus some ritual plates and ceremonial swords. Marginally useful, but nothing impressive.
"Ying ying ying! Ying ying ying!" The Divine Dragon's head turned toward a landscape painting on the wall.
Something here?
Bella quickly found the mechanism and opened a hidden door.
Disappointment. Complete disappointment!
Behind the door sat no precious artifacts. No gold or dollars either. Just a man bound spread-eagle to a rack.
An old woman hiding a reasonably handsome man in her secret chamber? Bella's mind immediately went somewhere inappropriate.
"Let me down, and I'll kill someone for you. Anyone you want." The young man's words made Bella laugh.
A hitman? One this unlucky?
She stepped aside, giving him a clear view of the distance. Red-robed ninja corpses lay scattered everywhere. Blood spattered the walls. Severed limbs carpeted the floor. From this angle, the carnage was unmistakable.
Her meaning was clear: See? I've killed plenty. Don't need your help.
The young man realized this too and changed tactics: "If that old hag hadn't ambushed me, I never would've been captured... I'm White Ghost. Let me down, and I'll owe you a favor. Anything you want."
Who are you? Never heard of you!
Bella activated Eagle Vision and studied him quickly.
No hostility toward her. His words were firm and decisive—likely someone who kept his promises. Not a good person, but not truly evil either.
"Lucky you. I don't need anything from you. Just go. I've called in a lot of people to clean up. If they catch you, you won't be leaving."
She had no interest in leveraging favors for repayment.
She had nothing requiring White Ghost's assistance right now. Better run. Once S.H.I.E.L.D. agents arrive, you'll have nowhere to flee.
"If you ever need to find me, leave a message at 869-1 Arima-cho, Kita-ku, Kobe City. Remember my name—White Ghost. If you ever need it, I'll do one thing for you. Anything."
The young man carried himself with pride. After repeating his promise, he turned and left.