"Heok—!"
Mo Fan bolted upright, gasping for air, as though waking from a nightmare that had gripped him in terror.
*Pant*
*Pant*
His chest heaved, his breath ragged, and his entire body trembled uncontrollably. Cold sweat trickled down his temples, and his hands quivered in fear.
His eyes were wide and filled with terror, the lingering fragments of his dream seared into his mind.
After a long moment, he exhaled deeply.
"Phew…" His voice was hoarse, but his breathing finally slowed.
"What was that?" Mo Fan muttered, still shaken. "It felt like I was trapped in an eternity of nothingness…"
"Huh…?" Mo Fan's eyes scanned the surroundings
"Where am I?" he asked aloud, bewildered.
The last thing he remembered was collapsing after using the Sacred Evil God's powers to stop the Sacred Azure Dragon from killing the Black Totem Snake.
He had been with Tang Yue on the hill… but this?
Then he noticed something right in front of him, floating quietly in the air a small figure.
Mo Fan blinked again. At first he thought it was just a spark of lightning. But the spark slowly drifted closer. The tiny figure hovered only a few feet away from him now. She looked no bigger than a small child. Her body was made entirely of violet lightning energy. Tiny arcs of electricity danced around her like playful fireflies. Her hair flowed upward like living lightning strands.
Her eyes glowed softly with a bright purple light. She stared at him silently.
Curiously.
Mo Fan froze.
For several seconds he just stared back at her. His brain struggled to process what he was seeing.
"…Wait."
"…What?"
He slowly pointed at her.
"You…"
"You're…"
His mind suddenly connected the pieces. The Lightning Calamity Fruit. The fruit that had been inside his spiritual world since the day he awakened lightning magic. The one that had never hatched. The one he had never forgotten about yet was lost on how to hatch.
Mo Fan's jaw slowly dropped.
"…You're kidding me."
The little lightning girl tilted her head slightly. Tiny sparks crackled around her cheeks. She slowly drifted closer. Then She reached out and grabbed his sleeve. Her small lightning fingers clung tightly to him. Like she was afraid he would disappear again.
Mo Fan stiffened.
He could feel electricity flowing faintly from her touch. But it didn't hurt.
Instead—
It felt warm.
Comforting.
His damaged magic circuits even tingled faintly as if being nourished. The little lightning spirit looked up at him. Her glowing eyes were filled with relief. Mo Fan stared down at her.
"…Don't tell me…"
"You saved me."
The tiny lightning girl blinked. Then nodded.
Very slightly.
Mo Fan's mouth slowly opened. Then closed. Then opened again.
"…I almost died…"
"…and my daughter electrocuted me back to life?"
The little lightning girl puffed her cheeks slightly. Small lightning sparks popped around her head in protest. Mo Fan scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Alright alright…"
"Maybe 'electrocuted' isn't the best word."
He looked down at her again. This time more carefully. Her body flickered weakly. The lightning around her wasn't stable. It was obvious. She had exhausted nearly all of her strength.
Mo Fan's expression slowly softened.
"…You used all your power for that, didn't you?"
The lightning girl didn't answer.
She simply tightened her grip on his sleeve.
Then leaned against his arm.
Like a tired child who had finally found her parent.
Mo Fan let out a quiet sigh.
"…Looks like I really do have a daughter now."
Somewhere deep in his spiritual world—
The Sacred Azure Dragon silently watched the scene.
Its ancient eyes flickered faintly with amusement.
It seemed…
The Lightning Element had gained a little princess.
Mo Fan didn't move immediately, instead remaining crouched there as he looked down at the small lightning girl still gripping his sleeve, her tiny fingers crackling faintly with unstable arcs of electricity that flickered in and out like a dying current, yet no matter how weak she seemed, she refused to let go of him.
Her body flickered again, more noticeably this time, the glow dimming and stabilizing in uneven pulses, and that was when Mo Fan's expression shifted from confusion to something more serious, because even without thinking too deeply about it, he could tell that whatever she had done to save him had cost her nearly everything.
"…Hey," he said more quietly this time, lowering his voice as he slowly brought his other hand up beneath her, carefully supporting her small lightning formed body as if she were something fragile that could scatter with a single wrong movement, "you're not about to disappear on me, right?"
She didn't respond with words, but her glowing eyes lifted slightly to meet his, and for a brief second the sparks around her calmed, as if simply being closer to him was enough to stabilize her existence, and that alone made Mo Fan pause as he felt the faint current passing between them, not painful, not violent, but warm, almost like a heartbeat made of lightning.
He exhaled slowly, realizing what had just happened.
"…So you really did save me," he muttered, more to himself than to her, his gaze lingering as he noticed how her body leaned forward unconsciously, resting against his palm as if she no longer had the strength to hold herself upright, and without thinking, he brought her closer to his chest.
The effect was immediate.
The flickering slowed.
The unstable sparks settled.
Her glow, though still weak, stopped collapsing.
Mo Fan raised an eyebrow slightly at that, glancing down at her again as he processed it.
"…You recover faster near me," he said, more certain this time, and though she didn't respond properly, there was a faint electric hum from her, soft and almost instinctive, like she acknowledged it without needing to say anything.
He let out a quiet breath and leaned back slightly, still holding her in place, allowing her to rest while his eyes drifted across the vast expanse of his spiritual world, the drifting nebulae and scattered starlight no longer feeling empty like before, because now there was something else here, something alive.
"…Guess it's not just my space anymore," he muttered.
After a moment, his attention returned to her, noticing how her eyes were already beginning to close, her small body relaxing completely now that she was no longer in danger of collapsing, and he clicked his tongue lightly before reaching up and tapping her head with a finger, causing a tiny spark to jump.
"Hey," he said, a bit firmer this time, "don't pass out yet."
She flinched slightly at the contact, her eyes opening again with a faint flicker of purple light, and though she still looked exhausted, she focused on him, as if forcing herself to stay conscious just because he told her to.
Mo Fan stared at her for a second, then scratched the back of his head.
"…What do I even call you?" he said, half thinking out loud, because as it stood, calling her something like 'that lightning thing' was obviously not going to work, and after a brief pause, he spoke again, more decisively this time.
"…Lightning Belle."
The moment the words left his mouth, the entire space seemed to react ever so slightly, not violently, not dramatically, but subtly, like something fundamental had just been acknowledged, and the girl herself blinked before her glow strengthened just a little, enough that it was noticeable.
Mo Fan's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…So naming you actually matters," he said, clearly noting the change, before a faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth, "not bad."
Lightning Belle didn't say anything, but she shifted closer against him again, this time without the same instability as before, her body relaxing fully as if she had finally reached a safe place, and within seconds, her eyes closed again, her breathing like rhythm replaced by faint, steady pulses of electricity.
Mo Fan looked down at her quietly, the earlier tension completely gone from his expression.
"…You really saved my life," he said, this time without any sarcasm or joking tone, just stating it plainly as he leaned his head back slightly and looked up at the endless expanse above him.
He stayed like that for a while.
Not moving.
Not speaking.
Just holding her.
"…Yeah," he muttered after a long pause, his voice low and steady, "you can rest."
And this time, he didn't wake her up.
A moment later, Tangyue, who had surrendered herself, was brought to the quarantine zone. She was completely dumbfounded, as she never thought the plague would become so serious in just the past few days.
As she was brought to Zhu Meng, the Councilman glared at her with a shuddering jaw. He said with a grim laugh, "How nice of you! If it were possible, I would execute you right on the spot! Should I bring you on a tour around the area, so you can understand how much of a mistake you've made after witnessing how this whole place has turned into hell!"
Tangyue bit her lips. Everything had happened too quickly, and the plague had worsened faster than she could imagine. The whole city had fallen to the plague after she left with the Skyscraping Snake, with everyone's life at stake. No one had seen a plague that could spread so rapidly, turning a peaceful, modernized city into a terrifying place full of sickness.
She reached out her hand and handed a huge jar of the Skyscraping Snake's blood to Councilman Zhu Meng, "This is the god's blood. If he's the origin of the plague, the blood should be useful to us."
Zhu Meng signaled at Mr. Lu, who quickly received the blood and went to the lab with his team. They only had three days left to develop a serum.
"Guards, lock her up," ordered Zhu Meng.
Li Jin immediately took her away.
As soon as she left, a man wearing the outfit of a Commander quickly came into the room. He saluted at Councilman Zhu Meng before whispering a piece of news into his ear.
"What did you just say!?" Councilman Zhu Meng stared at him.
The crowd immediately shifted their attention toward Zhu Meng when they saw his abnormal reaction. They could not imagine what news it would be to bring such a great shock to him.
"We've just received the news from the fortress. The situation is extremely critical. Councilman, please hold a meeting to assist us with the ambush," said the Commander.
"Alright," Zhu Meng nodded in disbelief, "I'll send the order at once."
When Wu Pingjing, the Head of the Royal Guards, saw Zhu Meng's reaction, he asked, "Councilman, what's going on?"
"Misfortune does not come singly, for f***s sake!" Councilman Zhu Meng let out a sigh. He did not even have time to tidy his beard, disheveled from the wind.
The Commander realized that everyone in the room was considered authority figures, so he quickly announced the shocking news.
"The fortress close to West Ridge, to the west of Hangzhou City, has just told us that a huge group of White Magic Falcons has appeared. They were hungry, berserk, and fearless. No matter how we've attacked them with magic, they show no intention of retreating, and were flying straight toward the city..."
Tang Zhong's face filled with astonishment!
From what he knew, a huge pack of White Magic Falcons was residing in West Ridge. However, they had always stayed within their territory, compared to the other demon beasts.
Tang Zhong could not understand why the pack of White Magic Falcons would ambush Hangzhou all of a sudden. It was fairly rare for the demon beasts to launch an attack at a city, especially when Hangzhou City was heavily guarded.
"We've got a big problem..." said Councilman Zhu Meng.
Tang Zhong nodded with a frown. The entire city was immersed in terror from the plague. The ambush from the demon beasts would only make the situation worse!