Northern Dea Plateau, not a cloud in the sky for thousands of miles.
When Truth arrived, Huoyun Island had already vanished without a trace.
Even when she looked toward the distant Northern Frontier Mountains, where the average elevation reached five thousand meters, she saw nothing at all.
It seemed Heavenly Fire’s movements were extremely swift—crossing the Northern Frontier Mountains in less than a day. Clearly, Huoyun Island’s speed was nothing to scoff at.
After a brief search, Truth found Ariel sitting alone in the shade, hugging her knees on the grass and muttering to herself.
Crimson blood silently approached from behind and gradually took human form.
At that moment, Ariel was still whispering words like “Undercover Agent,” “trust,” and “enduring humiliation for a greater cause.”
“What are you doing?” Truth suddenly patted Ariel’s shoulders with both hands, startling her so much she almost reincarnated to another world.
“Ah!” Ariel let out a strange cry, then hurriedly covered her mouth and shook her head, insisting she hadn’t said anything.
She quickly tried to put some distance between herself and Truth.
Though Truth looked small and harmless, Ariel had now seen her true nature.
This was someone who could deceive a deity to become the Saintess and defeat the Heavenfire Lord—an ancient King-ranked Blood Demon—in just minutes!
So whenever Truth got near, what little sense of security Ariel had left completely vanished.
The Blood Demon’s brutality and sheer irrationality were still vivid in her memory…
“Hey, where’s Huoyun Island? Where did my little Fire go this time?” Ignoring Ariel’s panic, Truth pretended to scan the surroundings before grabbing Ariel’s collar again.
“I… I can explain!” Ariel swallowed nervously, desperately trying to recall the explanation the Heavenfire Lord had prepared for her.
After Truth left, Heavenly Fire had painted a grand picture for Ariel, saying that as long as she followed instructions, Ariel could not only escape the Blood Demon but also retrieve her Soul and continue as a Disaster-class Mage.
Such a good deal?! Ariel nodded repeatedly. She still had Faith in Heavenfire Lord’s promise—after all, that was her Faith.
Then, Heavenly Fire left Ariel here alone to face the Blood Demon.
Under Truth’s intimidating gaze, Ariel repeated Heavenly Fire’s excuse verbatim:
“It—it’s like this. Not long after you left, the previous Heavenfire Lord suddenly returned. She took back the authority from Little Heavenfire Lord and regained control of Huoyun Island, escaping quickly.”
“Little Heavenfire Lord was imprisoned in the core area. As for me, since I lost my Soul, I could no longer be a Disaster-class Mage or a qualified Disciple, so she just threw me off Huoyun Island to fend for myself. It’s… it’s just infuriating!”
At the end, Ariel pulled a furious expression, though it was tinged with guilt.
“So that’s how it is. I thought Heavenly Fire took the chance to run while I was gone, and planned to leave you here as an Undercover Agent by my side.”
Truth let go of Ariel’s collar and put her hands on her hips, while Ariel felt a sudden chill down her back and broke out in a cold sweat.
How did she guess it almost perfectly?!
“That’s not it! I… I’ve finally seen through Heavenfire Lord’s—no, Heavenly Fire’s true face. She doesn’t care about her Disciples at all, just treats us as dispensable tools. I don’t even have time to seek revenge, hmph!”
Ariel snorted back, feeling even more guilty. Heavenly Fire Lord had said that as long as the Blood Demon didn’t get suspicious, it didn’t matter how blunt she was…
Truth just found it all highly amusing.
Who would’ve thought that Heavenly Fire could make up a story about Big Heavenfire kidnapping Little Heavenfire? Truth thought she’d be the rigid, incapable-of-lying type.
And she even let her own Disciple deliver the message, spouting things like “I’ve seen through Heavenly Fire’s true nature”—wasn’t it obvious she wanted Ariel to stay by her side as an Undercover Agent…
Truth had to admit, Heavenly Fire had some brains. Pity her Disciple was a terrible liar—stammering, guilt written all over her face.
Come to think of it, why did Heavenly Fire want to keep Little Fire’s identity? Did she not know that I’d use “saving Little Fire” as an excuse to stir up trouble later?
Oh well, whether she knew or not didn’t matter. I’d always have a reason to rescue my beloved Little Fire!
“So, what’s your plan now?” Truth looked with interest at Ariel, whose little face was still pale as she crouched in front of her.
This was what Ariel was waiting for!
She immediately put on a pitiful, frail expression and pleaded:
“My Faith has abandoned me. I have nowhere left to go…”
The hint couldn’t be more obvious. Ariel wanted to return to Mist and work for Truth again, otherwise she’d have no way to spy on her in real time.
After all, as compensation for being around a demon every day, Heavenly Fire promised Ariel every fire mage’s dream Epic Artifact: Heavenly Fire Core!!
The Heavenly Fire Core could replace one’s original heart, pushing one’s physical constitution and fire magic to an unparalleled peak—truly the pinnacle of fire elemental power!
But that would only come after completing the mission to spy on the Blood Demon.
Before that, Heavenly Fire had only taught Ariel a bunch of mid- and high-tier Heavenly Fire spells, as well as given her a pendant called “Soulcore” for self-defense.
Self-defense… When Ariel heard that, she nearly cursed aloud.
You, a King-ranked, can’t even beat the Blood Demon, yet you expect me to protect myself with a few mid- and high-tier spells and some Exquisite Magic Wand I don’t even know the use of?
But on second thought, she let it go. After all, she couldn’t beat Heavenly Fire herself and had no choice but to swallow her grievances.
Besides, as far as she knew, the Blood Demon didn’t kill her own kind at random. As long as she didn’t make trouble, she should be fine.
However, the Blood Demon wasn’t interested in taking her in at all.
Truth just showed Ariel a taunting, punchable expression, covering her mouth as she laughed:
“Sigh~ Out in the world, you don’t even leave yourself a backup plan? As soon as your boss abandons you, you just sit here crying? How disgraceful!”
“Feeling miserable now, huh? I’m not like you—I’ve always got a place to go. You pitiful beggar, I’m heading back to my warm, lively Mist!”
With that, Truth turned and walked away without a backward glance, leaving Ariel sitting there, dumbfounded:
“Huh?”
No, this isn’t how it’s supposed to go. Shouldn’t the Blood Demon, like every other villain, take her in, slowly brainwash her, eventually make her hate Heavenly Fire Lord, and then have a dramatic showdown, all while the Blood Demon laughed maniacally at the spectacle?!
Why did she just leave? And mock me?!
No, my Soul and Heavenly Fire Core!
Ariel started to panic. If she couldn’t become one of Truth’s people, everything would be over!
She lunged forward, grabbing Truth’s ankle with both hands and looking up in disbelief:
“Wait! Don’t you have any other ideas for me?!”
“I’m not interested in B-cups.”
“That’s not what I meant! Um—right, you took my Soul, didn’t you? And we signed a Contract, so…”
“That was all just to scare you. Now that you’re useless, you can ignore those clauses. But I’m not returning your Soul early, mind you. I stick to my Contracts—if it says ten years, then it’s ten years. Not a day early!”
“And let go, you pitiful beggar. I’m heading back!”
Truth fished out a gold coin and tossed it onto Ariel, generously bestowing her charity.
“What?!”…