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Chapter 18: Freedom At Last!

With the boss defeated and their group leaving the boss's arena, the voices of the many cheered. The clouds above to part, the sun casting its warm golden light upon the victorious group. They had faced a fearsome adversary and emerged triumphant. However, those who were not involved in the fight but saw it happen wondered who was truly the monster.

The giant boss… Or Aella…

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With the sudden increase in her stats, Aella sprung back to life playfully, throwing her hands up, “I did it!” She exclaimed.

Looking up at the sky with her two tails flicking contentedly, The wind, her ever-present ally, whispered around her, congratulation her on the victory. Behind them, the castle began to dissolve into particles of Mana that numbered in the trillions, and the giant, albeit far slower, followed suit.

All that remained was a plateau and twin mountains on top of a low-hanging cloud, tranquil and still.

“Yay! Aella was so cool!” Seraphina cheered like the hype woman she was. “I didn’t know you could move that fast! You gotta teach me.”

“Y’know… I didn’t either. And maybe. After all, you have to be a candidate for being the strongest, like me!” She taunted playfully.

‘I’m not averse to teaching Seraphina an Aetherstream, but how would I go about that? Age shouldn’t realistically be an issue if her Strength stat is high enough, but I’d need to figure out her soul shape. Perhaps I should just give her a high grade one for now and upgrade it later?’

As the group walked down the steps… Well, Aetherion flew with Stormy trying to bite at him once again, but during this time, Slade looked at Aella curiously from behind.

‘She grew a second tail? Her abnormal abilities… Is it related to that?’ As those thoughts passed through his head, his face became grim.

‘If that’s the case… Those Sun worshippers are likely aware of her existence now… If they’re active again after all these years, I must do everything in my power to make sure they cannot harm Aella!’

Feeling a pair of eyes on her, Aella turned to Slade with a smile, closing her eyes to avoid eye contact.

“What’s up, Papa? Did you finally realize how great I am? Oh, who am I kidding? I’m your daughter, of course. I’m this great!” She buttered him up before turning back around.

‘I should Charm him. Mother and Seraphina’s parents as well. If I don’t, I could run into problems in the future… Meh, let those problems come. Mind control is where I’ll draw the line, at least with those who I’m fond of…’ Aella nodded, reminding her that even thieves and warlords like her had codes of honor and a moral compass.

Even if her moral compass was broken beyond repair, it was still there.

“I’m gonna go see Mama! Seraphina, you wanna come?”

“Mmh…” Seraphina thought about it for a moment, “Yeah!”

Without another word, Aella picked up Seraphina in a princess carry before looking at the cloud, which was the resting place of her most dangerous foe yet, with a smile.

“This certainly marks the beginning of a new journey, doesn’t it?” She mumbled to herself, oddly proud of her accomplishment despite it being among her worst by all metrics.

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With newfound energy and a grand leap to begin her descent, Aella dashed down the massive stairwell, Seraphina and her laughing playfully with their hair flying all over the place as their dragons chased after them with vigor.

‘And perhaps a new partnership. I truly hope you don’t disappoint me, Seraphina. As a child of prophecy, it’s the least you can do, right?’

With the wind at their backs and their hearts light with the joy of victory, the duo quickly made it to the bottom of the stairs quicker than anyone else possibly could, even those who were flying on their dragons at top speed and started earlier than them.

“Mama!” Both of the girls shouted at their respective female parents.

“My my, Aella. What’s with that speed of yours? Are you planning to become a participant in the [Dragon Games?]” Anastasia asked in her usual gentle voice.

‘Eh? That’s it And… Who’s this runt?’ Aella wondered, surprised by both the lack of any surprised tone in her mother’s voice and by…

A small boy with feathers around his wrists. Tears dried on his cheek and bloodshot eyes making it dreadfully clear that he was crying for a long time.

“Uhm… I hit level 25, and then it kind of just happened! So uh. Who’s this?” Aella asked.

Technically she is not lying. That aside, Anastasia’s face grew melancholic at the question asked by Aella.

“He’s… His name is Cid, and from today and onward… He’ll be your little brother.”

‘What?’

“What?”

Accidentally letting her thoughts slip as she took a few steps back, Aella processed that information for a whole 2 seconds before she realized what happened. Glancing over at the group her parents had come with, they were now celebrating that the Abyss Nest was cleared, but that wasn’t the case prior.

Aella had naturally noticed their mood, but she ignored it. Surprisingly, or un depending on how you wish to look at the experiences of Aella’s previous life, this was not the first time she got dragged into another dimension or space unwillingly with other people.

The somber air around them was normal, so she didn’t think much of it.

‘They let someone die in the battle against the Miniboss? Did they use them as bait? No, that’s out of character for them… They failed to protect this child’s parents?’

While not exactly right, she was close enough to the point that nobody would correct her if her words were said aloud.

“I know it’s sudden, but the circumstances are quite… Unique.” Anastasia explained, only for Aella to shake her head.

“I understand! Nice to meet you!” She put on a smile, pretending to be ignorant. “Oh! I need to go say bye to Seraphina!”

Ending that conversation there before any lore she didn’t care about was dropped on her, Aella’s attention was set on the mother-daughter duo of Blair and Seraphina.

“Ah! Aella! You gotta come over to our house after this, okay!” Seraphina joyfully commanded.

“Mmh, I’ll ask Mama! I came to say goodbye!” Aella responded, watching the timer to their return count down.

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With only 21 seconds, she waved to Seraphina before speaking once again, letting the wind guide her words for Blair's ears only.

“Tomorrow at 2 PM. There's a park on the outskirts of the city that rarely has many people. We’ll meet there. Don’t make me wait, Mrs. Blair.”

With an ominous smile, the entire event ended just like that.

Everyone was returned to the exact spot where they had vanished from when they initially entered the Abyss Nest… Except for Stormy, who flew straight into the ground at top speed, and Cid for some reason.

Aella couldn’t possibly think of a reason he came with them if nobody else did, but she also really didn’t care enough.

The Birthday decorations that were placed before they left were still there, and bugs had gathered around the uneaten cake, causing Aella to chuckle a little. With all the excitement these past two days, she forgot that she turned 8 just yesterday.

“I… Need a bath…”

Her parents, looking at each other before looking at their carefree little girl, nodded in agreement. Slade quickly went to run Aella’s water while Anastasia tended to Cid.

With Aella back to her own devices once again, let out a sigh.

‘Status.’

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Aella Rossi | Foxin | Baby Dragon

EXP: 70,000 | Level 34 (0%) | Stat Points: 70 | Skill Points 33

Dragon Slots: 1 used, 0 remaining

Dragon Core: Auilanthros Stormweaver | Rank: 2

Health: 39,000/39,000 | Mana: 34,495/35,000 | Stamina 2141/6000

Traits: 2 Tails | Whirlwind Maestra

Dragon Skills: [Dragon’s Breath] | [Electricity Manipulation] | [Water Manipulation] | [Wrath]

Personal Skills: [Foxfire LV 2] | [Transformation LV 2] | [Charm LV 1] | [Appraisal LV 1] | [Whirlwind Maestra LV 1] | [Advent Compass LV 1]

STR: 130 | DEX: 140 | SPI: 70 | AGI: 160 | MND: 45 | CHA: 45

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The site of her growth in these past 2 days made her whistle, even if some of it wasn’t ideal, as she glared at her Charm skill. After that, she raised her vision to her numerous stat points and skill points, pondering what she wanted to use them on.