She was welcomed by a peerlessly handsome face, her eyes widening in shock as she found it hard to blink in fear that the charm in front of her would vanish if she did. "How... how can he be so charming?" she wondered, her eyes still wide.
Angus slowly opened his eyes, crimson with traces of green mixed in them, his handsome face adorned with a seductive smile. "Angel, I didn't hurt you, did I?" Worry crept onto his face.
Lily's face flushed, and then she shook her head. "Wait, are you fine now?" She touched his chest to feel the smoothness.
"I am now a level above my last level. I'm sorry I didn't ask for your permission before I mated with you."
Black lines appeared on Lily's face. "It was clearly me who took advantage of you! Why are you taking the blame?" she thought. "Erm," she cleared her throat. "Tell me exactly how you ended up like this; I want to know," she replied, brushing off the topic.
Angus remained silent and just stared at Lily.
Lily frowned suspiciously. "Does it have something to do with me?" she questioned, her heart racing faster.
"You look more beautiful," Angus smiled and leaned forward to kiss her, but she quickly stopped him.
"Don't try to divert my attention. You, losing your powers has something to do with me?" she asked, her voice choked.
Angus hugged Lily tightly. "I've gained back my powers; I'm even a level above. There's no need to worry," he assured.
Tears trickled down Lily's face, and suddenly she remembered when the dragon queen addressed her as "female snake." "Angus, is this the second method you told me about? Giving all your powers to me?" she questioned.
Angus didn't reply but hugged her tighter.
"Angus, let this be the first and last time you try this. You can never do this again, promise?"
Angus released Lily and looked into her beautiful ocean eyes. "I can't promise you that. I would even give my life for you; to ensure your safety, I wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice anything, even myself," he swore.
"That won't do! If you dare to do that, then I'm telling you that I will abandon you," Lily threatened.
"I'm not afraid," Angus replied almost immediately. "As long as you are safe, I don't have any regrets."
Lily's eyes narrowed. "Do you even know what you are talking about? You can't lose your life for a stranger who arrived without any warning and would leave just as suddenly!" she shouted, tears streaming down her face.
Angus narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Angel," he called softly.
"You promise me that this won't repeat itself!"
"But—"
"Why don't you understand? What if you keep giving me your powers and I leave accidentally? How will you protect yourself? Will you be bullied like I saw earlier? You won't be able to survive alone, and you would become food for others. Do you think I wish for that?" Lily yelled in frustration.
Angus immediately hugged Lily. "Don't be angry, okay? I will listen to you," he promised.
Lily took a deep breath. "I don't know what the future holds, but you mustn't put yourself at a disadvantage because of me," she thought, gently caressing his handsome face.
Angus's brow was slightly knitted. "What does she mean by her statements?" he pondered suspiciously. "Let's leave here immediately," he said, getting up.
As Angus stood up, a cold breeze swept over Lily's body, and only then did she realize that she was completely naked. "Damn!" she cursed inwardly, using her arms to shield her body.
Angus noticed Lily's nervousness and looked around. He found her clothes, which were already torn into pieces, and immediately gathered them together. Skillfully, he joined the pieces and created a new style of dress. "Here," he said after he finished, handing the garment to Lily.
Lily's eyes widened at the sight of the new handmade dress. "Goodness!" she exclaimed, taking the dress from him.
The dress was just a simple gown, but if accessories were added, it would be worth millions. If not for the fact that it was made right before her, she would never believe it was crafted by bare hands; there were no traces of error. It was just perfect, as if it were made by a machine.
"Angel like it so much?" Angus questioned, scratching the back of his head. "Didn't I make the type of weird cloth she always wears? Why is she so excited?" He thought in confusion, little did he know that this random skill of his would be a huge advantage if the kind of dress exist in the modern world, because it logo itself was one thing.
"Geez, Angus! You are just too talented, intelligent, and awesome!" Lily praised in excitement.
"Err, compared to you I'm still far behind," Angus replied, staring at a particular spot on Lily's body.
Lily rechecked the dress again before putting it on. The dress reached her knee, and it was free-flowing. "The dress is just too..." Lily giggled.
Angus cleared his throat. "Let's head up immediately," he suggested, wrapping Lily up with his tail. He transformed into his snake form and climbed back up to the cave.
....
"Beauty!" Liam immediately ran up to Lily as soon as he spotted her, dragging her to himself. "How are you? I've checked everywhere in the cave, but there was no sign of you! I decided to stay here and die if you didn't come out!" His panicked voice echoed as he pulled her into his embrace, hugging her affectionately.
Lily's mouth twitched slightly. "Why is everyone so unafraid of death, willing to die for me, huh?" she thought. "I ban that statement from your mouth; never say the word 'death' again," she admonished.
"Right, I will always listen to you, Beauty..." He didn't complete his sentence when his nose caught an odor. He leaned forward and sniffed Lily's chest, stunning her. "Beauty, you've mated with him already!" he exclaimed, his heart stopping for a long moment, and his eyes widened.
Lily scratched her nose, quite embarrassed. "You've got sharp instincts, right?" she thought. "The situation caused it, don't—" Before she could finish her words, a cold wind blew past her, and Liam had already disappeared from her sight. Looking back, she saw him transform and lunge at Angus.
"Liam, listen!" Before the alarm in Lily's voice could fully register, Liam was sent flying back by Angus's majestic tail.
"Angus!" Lily scolded in anger.
"He was coming with the intention of killing me," Angus defended himself.
Liam stood up, traces of blood visible at the corner of his mouth, his expression a mixture of sadness and anger.
"Liam, listen," Lily called out, taking a step forward, but before she could reach him, he turned away and ran off at high speed.
"Liam!" Lily shouted, but he didn't give any sign of stopping, and all she could do was chase after him.