Hawthorne was completely confused. After his attacks landed, he felt as if all the damage might be coming back to him instead.
Elizabeth fully understood. Liping had turned Hawthorne into his own destroyer. And the thing was, none of it was in Liping's control at all, no matter how much he liked to think so. Liping stood there confident, considering himself a legendary hero.
But in reality he did not know anything. In his delusion he was Elizabeth's devoted servant, feeding her in exchange for protection. And Elizabeth saved him this time too. As long as he is useful, he is safe. That was his entire philosophy. The poor guy was wrong, but happy.
Hawthorne did not care about the odds. He laughed. Not even half of his power had been used.
He rushed towards Elizabeth. He was furious at the rejection, and then something hit him and blew him away. This was not a glorious victory. He could not understand what was happening.
And then suddenly a dragon came. No ordinary dragon. A golden dragon queen, one-star demon king rank. The dragon pointed its tail at Elizabeth, as if asking to be petted.
Hawthorne was at death's door, but he was still not ready to accept it. The dragon had had enough. It stabbed him with a claw.
Liping was in shock. He looked at Elizabeth for confirmation. Elizabeth said that this space is fake. And then suddenly all three of them, Liping, Elizabeth and Annie, began to float. The dragon and Elizabeth started talking in some strange language.
And then, in the blink of an eye, the dragon transformed into a girl. Her name was Amelia.
Her eyes filled with tears. She clung to Elizabeth and started complaining that she had been made to wait so long. Nobody had seen this plot twist coming. Amelia was not some random dragon. That was Elizabeth's own beast.
Amelia's story begins in a forbidden land between heaven and earth. Elizabeth had found her there in the form of a fragile little egg. She gave her life with her magic, gave her a name, and gradually made her a loyal disciple.
For Amelia, Elizabeth was not just a master. She was a mentor. She was a playmate. She was the one who gave her life its meaning. So Amelia promised herself that she would always be with her, always protect her.
Their bond over the years became rock solid. Amelia went from a rookie to Elizabeth's trusted partner, in battles against all kinds of creatures. When Elizabeth decided to end all the wars and rule the world, Amelia did not take a second. She was all in.
In the beginning it was all rainbows and victories. But Amelia started to notice that Elizabeth's smile, which had once been radiant, was beginning to fade. Elizabeth became stronger, and Amelia began to feel that she herself was being left behind.
Everything came to breaking point when the holy sword drama started.
Amelia was on patrol, following the orders of her master, and it was then that Elizabeth set out in search of the legendary hero. Ten years passed. Elizabeth's chancellors were losing their minds. Rebellion was increasing, crime was rising, everything was going for the worst. Hymerdinger suggested that the different regions do a split up to stabilize things. Amelia looked at Jim Jim, who knew Elizabeth better than anyone.
Jim Jim was absolutely sure that she would never lose to the legendary hero. But Amelia did not care about any of this. She drank wine and remembered the old days, when she was Elizabeth's favourite. So she returned to that place where Elizabeth had first found her. Perhaps one day the master would return.
Seasons turned into years, and Elizabeth finally returned.
Amelia thought everything would become normal. Elizabeth wanted Amelia not to live in the past, to meditate and become stronger. But Amelia misunderstood the whole thing. She begged her not to be left behind. She was sure that Elizabeth had gone away because of her.
Then Liping shifted Elizabeth's attention to saving Annie. Annie woke up.
But Amelia was furious now. Elizabeth was not looking at her. The focus was on some random man, and when she found out that this random man is the legendary hero, the one Elizabeth had disappeared from the scene for all these years, she simply decided that this had to be settled.
Liping was completely clueless. He happily started introducing himself.
Amelia held out her hand, transformed it into a dragon claw and ran to teach him a lesson. But the attack bounced off. Liping was still oblivious. He extended his hand for a handshake, because in his pure eyes she was Elizabeth's friend. Elizabeth corrected him. This is her ride. Liping's wild imagination immediately pictured Amelia in human form, carrying Elizabeth on her shoulders.
Elizabeth used magic, and they were back home. Amelia was stunned at seeing her master's power. Liping was also impressed at how easily he had arrived back in the peaceful village. One thing in his mind was crystal clear. Live with Elizabeth and all the problems disappear.
Annie was out cold from the teleportation. Elizabeth asked Liping to take Annie inside and let her rest.
Amelia stood there like an eager student, waiting for instructions. Elizabeth now had bigger problems. She had to figure out the Demon Realm's Dark Guild. Amelia told her that it was made by Malfoi. The name felt vaguely familiar to Elizabeth. And this mattered, because this guild was full of people killing, and claiming that they had been tasked with bringing Elizabeth back to life.
This was absolutely unkind to Elizabeth. She ordered Amelia to wipe out the guild, but to keep its name and its location hidden. As a reward for this, she would finally get her freedom.
Amelia beamed, although her excitement was mostly because she would be there every night in Elizabeth's bed, able to curl up like a spoiled kitten.
The mission was cleared. Amelia started flying up into the sky. But the grand take-off plan did not go accordingly. Suddenly something struck her hard. She turned and saw that it was Wong Chai, who had apparently decided that Amelia would be his target practice.
One more missile came. She blocked it with a dragon wing. Confidence was beginning to build, and then the whole wave of missiles arrived.
When the smoke cleared, Amelia looked less like a powerful dragon and more like burnt chicken. Wong Chai saw that she was still alive and prepared for the next round. But Elizabeth gave him the death stare. Wong Chai did not want to go on the bad side of the Demon Queen, so he quickly added Amelia to the do-not-attack list, pretending he had not just roasted her.
Amelia hovered there, beaten up and humiliated, on the edge of tears, thinking about what she had done to cause all this.
Liping made fresh juice for Annie. Annie was still shaking. She picked up the glass and started drinking. As the juice went in, it felt like pulp and magic combined, relaxing her and energizing her at the same time.