"They're going to sacrifice all of us."
"More than that," Serenity stood up and walked towards the stone barrier between the seats and the arena, "when the summoning activates, it will slowly drain the stones, and we will end up drowning in the sea."
"In other words, if we want to save those dead weights, it's nearly impossible."
In a fit of anger, Daniel slammed the chair beside him, reducing it to ash.
"Damn it."
-bang-
"Dan?!!" Bella stood up suddenly seeing the blood coming out of him and hurried to grab his hand.
"It's bleeding heavily...." She raised her gaze at him. "What the hell were you thinking?"
Daniel was caught off guard by Bella's sudden concern. When he tried to speak, his lips opened but did not move, but his gaze was fixed on her. 'Belladonna is worried about me; she's actually worried about me...me!?...That's impossible; I must be hallucinating.'
Seeing him so lost in thoughts, shaking his head like crazy, Bella got worried about his mental state. "It's over...he finally lost it..."
Bella placed her hand over his head. "Did the heat knock you silly or something? Why are you staring at me like this?"
'So close!!? So close!!?' Daniel's face turned red, and his gaze turned soft, but he turned his gaze to the ground with a slightly pitiful expression.
"Why are you asking?! It's not like you're worried about me?! You never really cared anyway…"
Seeing him sulking like a kid, she felt as if an arrow had shot her heart, and her heartbeat started getting faster. 'Cute...Why are you having that pitiful handsome face that makes people want to hug you?...If only I wasn't in this setting with my family and afraid I would implicate you, I would've agreed to your confession long ago. I am sorry, please don't hate me; I just want to see you happy.'
Bella suddenly shoved Daniel's head away, shouting, "Wait, wait, wait...."
Bella suddenly was hit by a realization and started talking to herself in a faint voice, "Didn't I already decide to let go of those troubling ties already...why am I hesitating now then?"
She raised her determined gaze at Daniel, grabbing his head and placing her lips on his cheek.
That first touch from her lips sent a ripple through her chest; his words stuttered, unable to collect himself together, even worse than before.
"W…whmajr yoj@&$nkk"
Bella smiled brightly, showing her teeth. "Pfft, hahahahahahh, w...what the hell...are you even...saying? Hahaha."
Embarrassed, he turned his head away. "You dare ask? Don't you already know why?"
Bella held both his hands in hers and kissed his fingers, then with a soft voice she said, "I know....That's why I apologize."
"A..apologize? "
She playfully said, shocking him silent, "Yes, apologize. You see, I was such a jerk before."
Bella's voice gradually turned serious. "I failed in seeing some people and things for who they truly were, so I am saying sorry only for you, the person whom my stupidity hurt most, so Daniel..." She looked straight into his eyes. "I am sorry. Will you forgive me?"
'Bella's is actually apologizing to me???' I'm not dreaming, am I?!?! He was taken aback, eyes wide open and unblinking; he couldn't believe a person could change like that in just a few days.
'If you truly changed then...gulp...' Daniel pulled his hands back and looked at her with intense concentration, with strained muscles around the eyes.
"If you want me to forgive you then...."
"Then what?...Spit it out."
"Say it already...just say it this one last time; worst case I will quit this game," he pressed on his bond and looked her directly in the eyes. "Agree to be with me, and I will forgive you."
She didn't hesitate to answer and answered right away as if she had been waiting for him to ask her that question for a long time.
"Okay, I will be yours from now on."
"What?...Please stop toying with my feelings; this is not a joking matter...for me at least," he said, full of disbelief in the words she said. "I hate when she does this, giving me hope while she never intended to agree from the start...I really can't take it anymore."
'It's my fault for making you feel this insecure about us...don't worry, from now on I will make it up to you.' Seeing his shaking hands, she gently placed hers at his to comfort him.
"I am not joking or messing with anyone; you wanted to hear my answer, and my answer is yes, I also want to be with you."
"You're joking again."
"I am not."
"How do you expect me—"
-kiss-
Before he even finished his words, Bella sealed his lips shut with her lips; only then did his agitated state calm down.
She bit his lower lip to bleed before she let him go.
"Aw…that hurts. Why did you bite me?!"
She pulled his neck, saying, "I have already stamped you ...so from now on you're officially mine, get it?"
'She is actually the one who initiated the kiss?...I've pictured this scene multiple times in my head, but never in this scenario. Maybe I'm still dreaming?' He turned his gaze away from embarrassment. "I never knew you could be this bold."
She tugged his forehead. "Stupid...There's still a lot you don't know...but we've got a long time ahead of us, so feel free to discover them slowly."
He nodded his head slightly, feeling over the moon. 'Bella is actually mine...she's finally mine...my belladonna.'
That unconscious smile made Bella pat his head, and he seemed to enjoy it. Bella placed one of her butterflies on Daniel's wand.
"Keep your palm open; I need to treat the wounds."
"-nod-
Lana, who was watching, moved beside Serenity in disgust. "Ugh...I have had enough of this dog food. What about you?"
"I think they're cute," Serenity said.
"Cute??...Who??!...Them?!?!"
"A single dog like you, what can you even understand?"
"That hurts."
"I know and don't care," Serenity suddenly raised her voice for them to hear, "back to the main topic."
Hearing Serenity's voice, Daniel snapped back from his sweet mood and turned his gaze at her.
"Do you have a plan?"
"A plan for what? What were you discussing exactly?" Lana asked fully, full of confusion. "Hearing them talking this close makes me puky."
She turned her gaze at Bella. "Aren't you jealous seeing her and your man having secrets?"
Bella finished healing his wound then looked at Lana with eyes full of confidence. "I am not; she won't fall for him...Her target's qualifications are so high, and surprisingly her aim is so good and precise."
Daniel nodded, agreeing with her, "True."
"Even you? Just who is she?!?"
Hearing their words, her curiosity grew even more. "High qualifications? How high exactly?...And didn't they say she belongs to him? Does that mean they're already together?"
-clap, clap-
"That's enough," Serenity said, warning them. "This is not the time or place to discuss such an unimportant matter; we've got a more urgent matter to discuss."
"You two talked, but we know nothing, so I would appreciate a little heads-up before we rush to our graves," Lana said.
Bella was stunned by her way of speech but burst into sweat from fright at the same time. 'Stop it, you flatty bitch; she's not a subject for your arrogance, Lana.'
Seeing the tension, Daniel thought, 'I am afraid this might take a wrong turn at this rate.'
To avoid unnecessary conflicts, Daniel stepped in. "Okay, okay, okay, I will explain, I will explain…"
Lana's arrogant tone was released at him, "Then do it already. What are you waiting for, an invitation?"
'Maybe I shouldn't have helped her.' Bella was enraged by how Lana was talking with them when they saved her life. "Watch your words carefully, fatty; they're still the ones who saved your ass."
Daniel stood in between them before they attacked each other.
"My dear Grandma, I am the one at fault, okay? Stop fighting. Our situation is already bad enough as it is."
Bella and Lana screamed in one voice, surrounding him from both sides.
"What the hell is going on?"
Daniel raised his hand, "Umm, let me explain...."
After a minute of explaining, Daniel managed to deliver the situation to both of them, making their jaws drop.
"Fuck, we're screwed."
"In more ways than you can imagine."
"A…are you okay?" Daniel asked
Bella looked at him with dead eyes. "What do you think?"
He chickened out of looking into her eyes. "Sorry."
"Haha...haha...sorry?...Is this 'sorry' going to save our asses?" Lana asked.
Bella brushed her hair back and turned her gaze at Serenity. "You have a plan, right?"
"A survival plan? I doubt it. A suicidal plan? Sure, why not..." She leaned her back on the stones, crossing arms while facing them. "The question is, are you ready to gamble with me?"
The three of them glanced at each other before giving her a firm answer.
"As a vastator royalty, we die in battle; count me in," Caniel said.
"Since we're already in such a situation, then why not...worst case, we're dead," Bella said, but inside she had another reason.
She thought it doesn't matter ,'I want to accompany Dan to the end, and not to mention that if I escaped and something happened to her, I have a feeling that His Majesty will place a bounty on my head, and even if he didn't, I would be hunted worldwide; the outcome is basically the same.'
"Do we even have a choice?" Lana asked.
"No, we already wasted a lot of time in unnecessary talk, so we've got less than seven minutes." Serenity looked at the people at the gates.
"We have a lot of dead weight more than you can imagine. Even with the smoke gone, the fact that they inhaled it won't change, and considering the amount, it's not a good sign."
"Maybe an hour before they can be of any use," Bella said.
Lana asked curiously, "Why don't we use the same way like you did with the mask? Worst case, we transfer everyone outside the island?"
Daniel shook his head, then looked at the smoke in the sky.
"Good point, but the last explosion was in the portals' direction, so I guess this is not an option."
"What about the masks?"
Serenity replied, "I am already generous enough to use it on you; don't push your luck, and I need every bit of mana for the next step."
"The island's crash is unavoidable, and the people outside are oblivious to anything happening in here, so counting on them is impossible; we have to solve it ourselves," Serenity said.
Daniel asked, "Dead ends everywhere; what should we do then?"
"Divide yourselves around the arena and try stalling for time; we don't know what will come out, but try to stop them from killing unnecessarily."
"What about you?" Lana asked, being hostile towards Serenity's idea, 'That motherfucker, she's basically using us as bait.'
Serenity replied, "I will interrupt the mana's channel and try stopping the crash if possible."
The words that seemed so simple actually carried the heaviest responsibility, shocking them who thought she cared about nothing.
Bella collected herself together and asked Serenity,
"If and keep in mind iam saying if you weren't going to save us...under such circumstances, could you have managed to save yourself?"
Serenity didn't think much and firmly replied,
"Escaping unscratched isn't impossible for me, but not trying when I obviously could is not an option."
Lana felt guilty she misunderstood her. "Is this why you were saving your mana?… I didn't know you had that much sense of justice; you're really one of a kind. I'm sorry I misunderstood you before."
"What justice? What misunderstanding?...I don't give a damn even if the entire island were reduced to ashes," her gaze narrowed as she followed. "This is my personal grudge, and I refuse to let it go."
She thought for a second and then said, "Oh...and my brother is here; I need to ensure he's back safely."
Lana couldn't hold back from sounding her thoughts.
"So revenge first, then family ...who in the world are you taking after?!"
Serenity nodded, saying, "Maybe both."
'One sounds her anger to the entire world, fearing no one, while the other cooks his revenge in silence and hits when you least expect it. My parents are true masterpieces indeed, but I love both,' she thought.
-crack-
The sudden crack sound drew their attention.
"What's this cracking sound?" Lana asked.
Serenity turned at the arena and saw the cracks on the ground have reached a part of the audience's seats.
"Something is coming from underground."
Not long after she said that, a cascading roar of twisting steel and shattering mortar echoed throughout the entire stadium.
The area turned into dust as something was pushed flying through the air, landing in the middle of the seats, smoking dust.
Seeing what their seats turned into, the audience were actually relieved.
"Thank god we listened to her and stepped back."
"Just imagine being there and being hit with that thing."
"And some idiot wanted to stay there and drag us."
"Yeah, I bet he's terrified by now."
"You bet."
The collapsed area included pieces of both the arena and the underground area of the stadium; from inside the smoke, two people came out of there flying.
One with white wings and a golden crown on her head, holding a long sword in her right hand while holding a girl in black cat armor in her other hand,
The girl in black let go of the other one and jumped behind, showing her cat claws slashing three waves of energy.
"Take this, you bastards."
The slashes seemed to have hit something hard, but from inside the smoke, a woman wearing a half-shattered black mask emerged; she grabbed the cat-armored lady's head and was ready to smash it with her right hand, which had a total of eight magical circles on it.
The crowned lady with shining golden hair stood in the sky casting her own magic.
[Imperium lucis fulgentis, te invoco, auctoritate capitis mei contractus utens, ut mihi auxilium feras et inimicos meos deleas.]
She opened her glowing eyes and raised her sword; behind her, a large golden ruin circle in the shape of a sun. Once she shouted,
-open-
Bloodline ability of the Invictus royal family [VITA]: from their birth, they awaken the ability to contract divine beasts from the other side; by making contracts with them, they can be summoned into this world to fight alongside their masters. This ability is a cheat code since it doesn't care about the equality of ranking; the only shackle is that how strong you are determines the amount of time you can summon your partner.
[LEO] One of the five kings of divine beasts, a white lion with large wings in golden armor, came out of the golden center of the circle, screaming his authority.
-Roaaaaar-
The girl pointed with her sword at the woman in black mercilessly, saying, "Catch."
The lion waved his wings, creating a huge wave of wind that swallowed the entire stadium; he launched at them.
The woman in cat armor felt something was off seeing the other woman's expression, so she kicked her stomach with both her legs using all her strength, distracting her with the pain so she could get free.
The moment she felt her grip loosen, she gave her another kick to push herself away from her.
"She's all yours."
The moment the lion closed on her, he shot a laser from his mouth, swallowing that woman and leaving her unconscious in the middle of a pile of stones after destroying another large part of the stadium.
The cat girl collapsed on the ground.
After seeing such an outcome, the girl in the sky summoned her pet back into his portal, making it disappear just as her crown on her head disappeared.
She wiped her sweat. "That was kind of thrilling."
'Leo?..then that woman is....' Bella shouted from the stadium seats, "Hey, arrogant princess, what the hell are you doing over there?"
Lana asked in confusion, "You guys know each other?"
Daniel replied, "We're childhood friends."
"I see...who is she by the way?" She pointed at the sky.
Daniel understood her meaning: "third Princess SYLVIA INVICTUS from DIVINA."
"Fuck, another one?...Why does everyone seem royally gifted?"
"What can I say...welcome to REGIS."
Sylvia landed on the stone barrier and dissolved her wings; she looked at Lana and asked, "Why are you here?"
"No, the question is what happened to you? You're such a mess yourself."
Sylvia looked at her torn clothes and remembered what she went through.
"The feeling between choosing silent or chaos is simply terrifying, Don't remind me"
Bella pointed at the arena. "Who is she?"
"That's baial; don't you recognize her?"
Bella's eyes widened as she shouted at her, "The fool is actually a black cat; do they still even exist?"
"They do now."
"You can chat another time; the little cat is in danger. Look at the arena," Daniel said.
The arena suddenly started glowing in purple, and the summoning circle became as clear as day for everyone.
Baial, terrified, kept looking around her, right and left. "What's going on here!? ...Why is the ground glowing?"
In her moment of daze an icy chain suddenly wrapped around her waist, pulling her away.
"Whaaaaaaaaaa...save meeeee...I have motion sickness."
The one who was holding the chain was Serenity; she was trying to pull her away as fast as she could before monsters got to her.
Sure enough, when she was up in the air, a large pair of teeth came from underneath the place she was standing on.
"Fuck me...if I were still there, I would be in that thing's stomach by now."
She didn't wait for Serenity to pull her and grabbed the chain and started running on it till she reached where they were standing.
"Haah, haah, haah, haah...f...finally...saved."
Sylvia tried to make fun of her. "Wow, that was definitely an amusing sight to behold."
"Who cares if I looked good or not? Survival comes first." Then she turned to Serenity, "Thanks for pulling me in time, or I would be a goner."
Serenity didn't even look, but her tone was so harsh: "Don't celebrate too fast; what's coming is even worse, and we're going to need every extra hand."
Bella grabbed Baial's head and raised it toward the people standing at the gates.
"See, we've an absolute extra dead weight."
"What the...why won't they help us?!" Sylvia said, thinking, 'Come to think of it, I already noticed their strange positions from above.'
"Long story short, they can't even if they want to," he said.
Baial's jaw dropped from the sight. "Shit, we're doomed; that's a lot for a burden."
"Please tell me you have a plan," Sylvia asked.
"I don't, but she does," pointing at Serenity. "We just need to give her enough time; that's all."
"As easy as it could be," she looked at Serenity with intense eyes. "Stalling for time isn't a problem, but I hope you really know what you're doing."
"Don't worry about me, but you better worry about yourself first...a big battle is still waiting for you," pointing at the arena.
The ground of the arena turned to an intense dark purple liquid, and five-meter-tall three-legged monsters started coming one after another.
Each has three claws, and one of them is totally a skeleton claw, bloody red fur, and ripped flesh showing their face bones, swallowing their right eyes with a mouth like that of a crocodile.
-skurrrrrrr~-
Lana dropped to her knees in fright. "What the fuck is that thing??"
"You've spent so much time sitting idly by that you forgot the shitty creatures outside," Bella said.
"Wha-"
"It's an undead species [tria crura]," Sylvia said.
Lana was trembling all over. "Undead?...How are we supposed to kill those things?"
Daniel frowned saying ,"Here's the problem: we can't "
bail and follow explaining why ," A five-meter tria crura is a newborn undead species with very weak combat ability but terrifying regeneration, but that changes when they devour meat...they won't attack alone, and fresh meat increases both their agility and regeneration. Getting caught is not an option, and we must pay attention to those deadweight behind as well. This is going to be harder than we imagined."
Baial glanced at Sylvia, then locked back at Baial. "You seem to know a lot about monsters?"
"One of my parents used to be a hunter, but that's not the main issue here; our situation is simply not just bad; instead this is...the worst scenario," Baial said.
Daniel seemed stunned by something until Serenity said loudly, "Focus on cutting that third leg, and that thing will die eventually."
Her words caught their attention as she raised her hand, showing her snow claws; she pointed at one of the creatures growling, and a chain with an a pointed head rushed, cutting It's third leg; the next moment it was reduced to ashes.
Laba pointed at the arena, "It doesn't seem as undistracable as you described."
Bella, Daniel, and Baial—all three of them had their jaws dropped to the ground; obviously nobody expected her move.
Serenity saw their daze and explained, "A tria crura is the weakest undead beast to ever exist in my eyes; their only advantage is their numbers...Their regenerating core is planted in a fourth claw that grows inside of their third leg. If cut, they're not a threat, but be careful; you only got one chance. If you miss, the target will enter a rage state, and the previous weakness won't apply to him anymore, so in case that happens, leave them to Daniel."
"Why me?!"
"If I say attack the white spot, would that explain enough?" She asked.
Daniel seemed to have understood something from her words as he nodded his head.
"Leave it to me then."
Bella asked, "I don't understand what you were saying, but that seemed like a plan for me...still, how did you know all of this?!?!"
"My hunting experience is richer than your mother's, I assume," she turned to set on the chair again. "You have the trick, so start hunting already."
Bella changed into her bloody red hair and bright daytime eyes. "I love how you seem to know everything."
Seeing the beasts started running wildly, they finally reacted.
"Use an armor and don't suck their blood under any circumstances," Serenity said.
Bella gave her a thumbs-up, then jumped into the arena and wrapped her body with her red butterflies. After clearing, they turned into glassy off-the-shoulder red armor with a pointy tail and small red bat wings on her lower back.
"That's so sexy...I like it," Daniel said and bumped his fists together wearing his gloves back while wrapping them in shadows like Serenity taught him, then ran further away and jumped into the arena.
"Separately then…" Sylvia said and summoned her wings and golden armor; holding her long sword, she flew toward the other side of the arena.
Baial started running in place and said, "After this fight we should have a serious monster anatomy talk."
After that she jumped on the stone barrier and started running in the opposite way of Daniel, then jumped into the arena, joining the fight.
Lana, on the other hand, was stunned by how quickly they got themselves engaged in the fight; she glanced at Serenity.
"Any advice before I go?"
"Don't blow them on people."
Lana smiled and jumped into the arena right behind Bella, starting a fight that will change their destiny forever...
T.B.C. ...