"Don, stop it!" Knight shouted and spread his wings to cover Arwen, Uncle Dior, and Arrora from the debris.
Amaryll came running back when she saw the miniature storm ravaging the camp. "Don, what are you doing?! Are you trying to kill us?! Stop!!" she shouted as loud as she could. Eventually, the storm slowly calmed down.
"Who took away your kingdom?" Don asked, looking at Arrora. His voice was serious, deathly serious. Amaryll shuddered slightly as she heard him.
Although she never understood Don long enough to know his moods, she could tell that he was extremely angry.
"Sta...The Starith Kingdom," Arrora said with gritted teeth. Underlying all of her anger, she showed a tinge of fear towards Don after seeing what he did.
"The Starith Kingdom... Good... Very good!" Don exclaimed, faintly breathing heavily in anger. Knight understood the reason behind his behavior, as Knight himself was angry at the Starith Kingdom. He knew that they just made a very serious mistake.
"I'll let them live for a little longer," Don said, everyone near him feeling the killing intent that he was radiating.
At that moment, nobody spoke as Don slowly looked up at the starry sky and closed his eyes.
"Little Don..."
"You are a king born to rule..."
"Remember your promise, little Don..."
"I'll always be with you..."
"Little Don, I'm proud of you..."
Don heard the sweet-sounding voice of a woman. In his mind, he saw a stunning half-elf woman playing with a skinny little kid. He let out a small smile, a small teardrop coming out of his eyes.
"Sister Elena..." Don mumbled.
"Don, it's okay. We'll make them pay," Knight stepped forward, his body getting bigger. He put a paw on Don's shoulder, reassuring him.
Seeing this, Arwen and Amaryll felt the brotherly bond between them, a magical creature and a human. This was the first time they saw Don and Knight acting like this. Usually, Don would be cold and calm while Knight behaved a little relaxed and lively.
Eventually, Don placed a hand on Knight's paw and patted it. Knight smiled as he shrunk down to his normal size.
"Arrora, we'll take back your kingdom and avenge your family."
As soon as Arrora heard the resolve in his voice, she knew that it was only a matter of time until they took back her kingdom. When she was desperately in need of help, he was the one who appeared out of nowhere to help her. She believed him somewhat; that he could do what he says.
"Hmm..." she gently nodded.
"Here, you should eat this," Amaryll placed a round white bread in Arrora's hand.
For a moment, Arrora held onto the bread and hesitated. But her hunger eventually overcame her nervousness and she began to eat. She finished the bread in an instant due to her hunger. And after Arrora finished the meal, Amaryll gave her a glass of water to quench her thirst. This was the first time in a long time she had truly felt relaxed. Nobody wanted to capture her or kill her. It somewhat felt like home to Arrora.
"Alright. Arwen, Amaryll, let's go and have some shut-eye," Uncle Dior said while walking towards his tent. After a moment, the siblings walked toward their tent, leaving only Arrora with Don and Knight.
"Why did you save me?" Arrora asked Don.
"It's because I made a promise to someone. Besides, I couldn't just leave you"
Arrora was unable to find any signs of him lying through his voice.
"The promise you made, it's to someone from the Venus Kingdom, isn't it?"
Don sighed, "Yes..."
It was only one word, but Arrora could feel the sadness in his voice. This was something that he didn't like to talk about. As such, she decided not to ask him further about the person.
While Arrora was thinking about all of this, Amaryll came back carrying something in her hands,
"Sorry I forgot. Here, you should wear this and give him back his robes," Amaryll said as she gave Arrora one of her dresses.
At that moment, Arrora realized that she was still wearing the robes that Don gave her and blushed a little.
"I know it's a cold night, but you should get a bath before wearing any of these," Amaryll chuckled, making Arrora blush even more in embarrassment. "Follow me. I'll help you in your bath."
Amaryll didn't wait for Arrora's answer as she just grabbed the girl and dragged her towards her tent.
After a while, Amaryll and Arrora came before Don and Knight. Arrora was wearing a dark blue dress, and her raven black hair was shining in the moonlight. Don could see her clean, fair face. She was not a ravishing beauty or a stunning girl like Amaryll or some of the young misses he met in Divine Continent, but she had a unique charm to her that made her rather attractive.
"Here," Arrora gave Don his robes back.
With a flick of his wrist, a layer of light covered the robes before then disappearing along with the robes.
"Space ring..." Arrora whispered in surprise.
"You know about this ring?" Knight asked in surprise as well.
"Yes. My father had one. It was very expensive"
"So this world has space rings too, huh..."
"Alright, I'll go back to my tent before Arwen comes searching," Amaryll bid farewell before walking back to her tent, leaving the trio behind.
"Tomorrow, we're going to find the Dragon King's castle," Don said, looking at Arrora.
"We? You mean you and me?" She was a little bit confused.
"Yes. You, me, and Uncle Dior."
"But I won't be much help to you..."
"As you've already guessed, you and I are bonded. It's better that you stay with me."
As he said his words, he activated the slave bond in Arrora's body with his master bond using Battle Energy. A small light then appeared on Arrora's chest.
Arrora thought about it for a moment, and she eventually nodded in approval of Don's plan.
"I don't like making people slaves, so I won't treat you like one."
"But what if I try to kill you and get myself free from this bond?" Arrora asked, mustering up her courage.
However, Don didn't react too much as he simply said, "Then I'll kill you before you even think about trying."
Arrora felt the weight of his words. It was a simple expression, but she knew that he meant every word just he said. If she ever tried to cross him, he'll kill her as simple as that. However, she had no reason to betray the man who saved her. Arrora felt deeply grateful to Don for the mercy he showed to her.
Promise or not, he wouldn't have to save her. People broke their promises all the time. She knew that very well.
"Don, thank you," Arrora said after a moment. She meant every single word of it.
Don didn't say anything as he simply nodded. "You should get some rest. Take this hut. I can make a new one," he said while pointing at his hut.
Arrora shook her in disagreement, however.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to sleep. You should, however," Don said as he sat on the ground and looked up at the starry sky with Knight.
"No, I already had enough rest, so if you don't mind..."
Arrora asked and waited for Don's permission to sit beside him. After a few seconds, he gestured for her to sit beside him and Knight. The three of them sat simply there, looking at the beautiful starry night in silence.
"Don, is it going to be dangerous tomorrow?" Arrora couldn't help but ask, thinking about the journey that was waiting for her.
"I don't know. We'll see."
Arrora wasn't very assured to hear this answer.
"Wha-what if I become a burden?"
It was the question that had been wreaking havoc in her mind, especially after she saw Don create a miniature storm just a few moments ago. He was very powerful, so to stay by his side and get his protection, she had to be useful to him, not be a burden.
"What's your cultivation?"
"Peak master level. Why?"
"After we find the castle, I'll train you and help you break through."
"You'll do that?"
Arrora was surprised. She knew how hard it was to break through due to a lack of resources while she was on the run. But now, she just heard Don say that he'll help her breakthrough. If he could do that, she would reach the great master realm. At that point, she would be powerful enough to protect herself from most of her enemies while not being a burden to Don.
Suddenly a thought crossed her mind, "If he could help me reach a great master level, what level is he at? Could he be a grandmaster?"
Even a simple thought about the grandmaster's level intimidated her.
"If he really is a grandmaster..."
Her home was burning, her parents dying in front of her... The life she had on the run, the faces of her enemies.... All of them were vividly playing in her mind, making her eyes turn red in anger.
"I'll earn Don's trust. And with him, I'll make them pay... Every last one of them..."
Although Don himself had already said that he'll make them pay, she still wanted to take revenge with her own hands. Before she met Don, she had no such ideas nor even the means to take revenge. But now she has him.
Unknown to herself, she had already started to depend on Don.