Amelia slowly opened her eyes, and looked at the dragons that were now standing at her sides.


    "Nothing wrong with your power? Do you feel any uneasiness?"


    She looked at the green dragon, and blinked a few times, showing her confusion.


    "Can I understand you now? No one said that to me."


    She turned to Orion, who obviously wasn''t concerned about that detail. He was looking all over her to see any signs of disturbance around her.


    "Orion? You''re focusing too much."


    With a blush, she started playing with her hair while turning her face away.


    ''Nothing strange, no indication of elements going haywire around her. She seems fine.''


    Orion stopped staring and realized Amelia was embarrassed.


    "Well... Sorry, I had to make sure you were alright."


    "So? How do you feel?"


    He asked the same question as Ruminona.


    "I''m feeling fine. Nothing changed, I think? The only changes that happened were the scales."


    She could touch the part on her back where the scales were fused to her skin.


    Ruminona, quite bitter from not getting the answer before Orion asked it again, answered Amelia''s question.


    "With the blessing, you can now hear us. I also would like to see how your magic improved."


    "I do too. You have the blessing of two unique dragons, which should be enough to open many opportunities in your control over those blessed elements."


    Monolavir was still doubting this human woman. How could one human shoulder that much power?


    Amelia felt nothing different in her control while grasping the two daggers.


    "Dana, Aura."


    The result was the same as usual. A sphere of elements appeared in her hands, before the magic shaped them into daggers.


    It''s what Amelia made with them that became interesting.


    "I feel something different in Dana."


    She threw the dagger further away, aimed at the ground. Once it touched the floor, it exploded into mist.


    "Amelia? Did you use fire magic?"


    Orion knew the principle being steam and ice, since both felt under the law of water transformation.


    What Amelia did was boil the water around the dagger and use it as a smokescreen. It was too insignificant to be useful, but still a good find.


    She appeared perplexed, as she touched her chest to confirm something inside of her.


    "I can feel it. I made a wish when I saw the almost extinguished flame inside me. My new control made it possible to link some elements together."


    Now Orion was in complete disbelief. He suddenly got an urge to laugh.


    "I concede, I''ll never be able to hold a candle to her. She keeps creating new abilities left and right without even trying."


    A cute pout appeared on Amelia''s face.


    "Stop that, you also invented those terrifying arrows recently, didn''t you? How am I different than you?"


    Orion blinked, before scratching the back of his head, ashamed of himself for forgetting he wasn''t normal either.


    "Ah... Yes, I had forgotten all about that..."


    The dragons looked at the two joking together, and became certain of it. Maybe it was a mistake to have blessed this young lady.


    It made no differences for them, but the same couldn''t be said for her.


    She might become a target across the continent. The stronger you were, the easiest it was for people to fear you and try to crush you.


    To forget about this bad thought, Monolavir asked Orion about his arrows. His expression was priceless, as seeing a dragon back off in horror was a priceless experience.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "Orion, don''t become my enemy. Those arrows will shred dragons'' scales to bits if you do!"


    Thinking, Orion asked.


    "Are they that terrifying to you? I''m sure I can improve many features on my crossbow to make them even deadlier."


    Orion took his crossbow close to his face, and began muttering about new gadgets, like a spinning device to improve the rotation of his arrows.


    "The arrow type you use for speed is not the problem. It can pierce our body, but I''m pretty sure only where we don''t have scales."


    Pointing at his underside, where scales were thin and soft, Monolavir explained.


    "On the contrary, if you use that big one, you might break apart our tail or even a wing. I don''t want to think about the state of our scales, either."


    Revealing his weakness to Orion, he looked to the side after realizing something. Ruminona was glaring at him.


    "What did you bring into our home, boneheaded dragon?"


    Ruminona completely lost herself, as her thoughts were a mess.


    If the man in front of her wasn''t the last survivor of the demons, she would have fled somewhere without turning back.


    "Don''t worry, I have an indebted to the dragons, I won''t turn against any of you. Since you''ve made Amelia stronger, I don''t have any reason to distrust you."


    "The only thing I ask is that you stop burning human cities. Even I refuse to kill children and innocents."


    A dark veil covered his face, hiding his eyes. Just remembering about the Apostle he killed made him sick.


    ''Let''s hope there''s no other like him. I would rather not regret refraining from killing everyone at that time.''


    "We- No, I won''t do it. If it happens again, can we count on you to resolve the issue?"


    A bond appeared to have been created between the dragons and Orion. Through Amelia, they could be summoned anywhere, anytime, which was a big trump card in difficult situations.


    They placed their trust in him just as much as they did in the demons in the past.


    "My words on it. You''ve saved me from a difficult spot, the least I can do is to give back what I''ve been given."


    "Just like the demons of old. You do have it in your blood."


    Both dragons were glad to have them as allies instead of enemies.


    ...


    With all of that sorted, it was time to rest.


    They haven''t had a moment to enjoy a moment of peace for a full day since breaking into the church.


    "Let me call an earth dragon, we''re going to create houses for you."


    Monolavir flapped his wings, and left the cave, leaving Orion, Amelia, and Ruminona together inside the giant glistening chamber.


    "I will say that now, but when he attacked the human cities, in the eggs they stole, those were our children. He never forgave himself for being unable to protect them."


    Silence fell in the room. Ruminona looked down, seemingly reflecting on the past.


    Amelia, seeing her state, began to rack her brain to say something.


    "I hope one day you could have another one and give him the same treatment his sibling would have had. Everyone should have the opportunity to be happy."


    Orion, who was looking away, felt this resonate in him. More than that, it began to resonate inside the bracelet too, as two souls'' consciousness awoke for a few seconds.


    ''Orion''s lucky to have this girl by his side. As much as I have you.''


    ''I''m glad I gave her my last name. And I''m glad you''re here, too.''


    They both fell back asleep without being heard, but it was enough for them to understand who Amelia was.


    Strangely enough, many beings inside the bracelet began to stir, as if that sentence was all they were asking for.


    Happiness was all they desired. As hope sprouted in their heart, them, too, fell back into slumber.


    Ruminona looked at Amelia with kindness in her eyes. She never expected a human being to show consideration to a different individual this much.


    "Thank you, I''m starting to understand why he needs you by his side. He might lose hope one day, or fail to live up to the expectations placed on his shoulders. You may be his only saving grace."


    It was something Amelia was conscious of. He didn''t take her just because she was the ''Key'' to unlock more of his power. He took years of his life to teach her how to be what she is today.


    For her, Orion was her hope as well. Both were needed for the other to continue walking forward.


    ''Are we this easy to read? It''s not the first time someone said that.''


    It was unbelievable. He struggled to put some distance between himself and Amelia, given that he could disappear at any moment during the Apostles'' hunt.


    But the more time passed, the more he came to realize he himself couldn''t leave her behind anymore.


    ''I don''t know how much time we still have before Elliott frees himself.''


    That random thought brought him back to reality.


    "I have a pretty good idea of how much time we have before Elliott comes back."


    His words brought another short silence, as both began to listen to Orion''s observations during the infiltration.


    "If what I heard is true, we have only a few years, maybe less. The fact that his voice was heard outside the seal and the way he managed to make usage of the dark aura, I''d say one year, give or take."


    Amelia immediately knew what he was going to say next.


    "We have to find a way to incapacitate the Apostles before it comes to that moment, correct?"


    Orion nodded in confirmation.


    "Indeed. There''s also another find I discovered inside. There might be traitors on their side. Maybe humans that value others than themselves at least."


    "I want to avoid killing them until I find evidence they''re as much corrupted as the others."


    Something unexpected came out of Ruminona''s mouth.


    "You might want to find the other factions then."


    Orion and Amelia asked at the same time.


    "Why?"


    "I don''t know if it is still ongoing, but the fays have a way to learn about an individual''s way of thinking just by seeing them. As you possess the blood of the angels, you have a chance to approach them."


    "For the spiders and elements, we have no clues where they went. This is for you to venture places people usually don''t bother going into."


    The idea of traveling around the continent didn''t sound bad to him.


    "We''ll do just that before actively engaging against the Apostles. Knowing my target is far better than going blind against it."


    Ruminona shared a bit of information they were unaware of.


    "Also, beware of the increase in magical creatures, this has been a bother for us for years now."


    "I see what you''re talking about, the ash gray colored beasts?"


    "Those. They weren''t that strong a few years ago, but now they can easily destroy the surrounding ecosystem. Do keep an eye on them, and get rid of them before the land''s dies."


    "Will do."


    At that moment, Monolavir came with a brown dragon in tow.


    Monolavir asked if he could build earth houses for both Orion and Amelia to sleep in.


    He finished it in a few minutes, and flew back inside the tunnels after receiving their thanks.


    After this painfully strenuous day, they both enjoyed a good night of rest.


    But, back at the church of Elliott, the remaining seals continued to be broken one by one.


    With only fourteen seals remaining, not much time was left before his release.