Long lay sprawled on the bed, his brawny frame trembling slightly. The heat radiating from Lia's tiny palms against his skin felt like small embers, causing his back muscles to twitch instinctively.
"Ugh... easy, Lia... ugh... umm."
He gritted his teeth, his fingers gripping the bedsheets until the fabric bunched up in his grasp. Long's face flushed a deep crimson; his breath came out hot and ragged as sweat beaded on his temples and trickled down his neck. The tactile intimacy, combined with that wet, ticklish sensation, sent a jolt of electricity surging down his spine.
"Stop it... ugh! Don't lick there anymore..."
Long hurriedly used his powerful arm to block the diminutive fairy trying to nuzzle into him. Exhaling a sharp breath, he tried to adopt a serious tone to mask the embarrassment rising to his ears.
"Seriously, this is so unscientific!" he raised his voice, though his eyes still didn't dare meet the blood-stained lips of the fairy girl. "Do you really think licking a wound makes it heal faster? Saliva is crawling with bacteria!"
Lia looked up, her large purple eyes blinking innocently, her translucent wings fluttering faintly as her voice cracked.
"I'm sorry... I must have bitten you so hard it hurt."
Long didn't answer immediately. He slowly reached out his thumb, gently placing it on her quivering lips. With a light stroke, he wiped away the smear of fresh blood lingering there, his gaze locking onto her tear-filled purple eyes.
"It doesn't hurt," Long said softly, his voice deep and resonating. "So, why do you crave the title of Fairy Queen so much? Is it just to revive the Mother Tree for your people?"
Lia lowered her head, her small fingers clutching Long's trousers until her knuckles turned white. A long silence followed, broken only by the whistling wind through the door cracks.
"I want to save my mother..." Her voice was as fragile as a cicada's wing, drenched in a profound sorrow. "My mother was imprisoned for defying the ancestral laws... and I am the living proof of that shame."
Lia hesitated, her shoulders shaking as she confessed her secret.
"I am a half-breed... born of human and fairy."
Her small shoulders shuddered violently. She cast her gaze downward, habitually avoiding the eyes of others. The familiar cold dread crawled deeper into her soul, suffocating her.
As Long reached out toward her, Lia instinctively recoiled, her eyes squeezed shut, bracing for a blow or a cruel rejection. But what touched the crown of her head wasn't violence—it was a gentle, soothing stroke, carrying a radiating warmth.
"You've been through so much, haven't you? You must have been so sad and afraid. I understand now. I will help you get that crystal."
Hypnotized by the unfamiliar warmth, Lia slowly opened her eyes and looked up. For a fleeting second, her mind blurred, and the youth before her was replaced by a towering, magnificent figure. A brawny man with wind-swept white hair, clad in golden armor that radiated the aura of a world-conquering sovereign.
"Alex..."
The name escaped her trembling lips just as reality snapped back. The majestic phantom vanished, leaving only Long standing there.
...
Standing before the pulsating violet glow of the portal, Long's silhouette was as imposing as a small fortress. He wore his grandfather's heavy coat—the only garment broad enough to fit his massive frame. Beneath the rugged fabric, plates of midnight-black scales from the Great Serpent had been meticulously inlaid, hissing faintly with every movement—a resilient and cold suit of hidden armor.
A motorcycle helmet completely concealed his face, the dark visor reflecting the violet hue of the dungeon gate. His right hand gripped a makeshift spear—a long wooden shaft tipped with a steel blade sharpened enough to split the air itself. On his left arm, a shield fashioned from the serpent's skull was bolted tight, its grey bone ridges surrounding a high-powered flash-lamp, ready to sear the retinas of any monstrosities lurking in the dark.
Lia hovered beside him, her gear more streamlined. A rugged leather belt held pouches of sharpened steel nails, while she clutched an industrial nail gun reinforced with heavy springs. The flashlight mounted on her shoulder trembled slightly with her rapid breathing.
Long let go, allowing his mountain bike to lean against him. He tilted his neck, the sound of vertebrae cracking echoing through the silence. The violet light of the dungeon gate shimmered off his helmet visor.
He clenched his fist, then effortlessly hoisted the bike as if it weighed nothing. A decisive nod followed.
"Let's go."
Without a second's hesitation, they plunged into the swirling violet vortex. The darkness of the old cellar was left behind, replaced by the howling wind and the biting chill of a realm never meant for mankind.
...
Barely recovering from a bout of nausea, a sharp whiz tore through the air, aimed directly at Lia, who was still doubled over in pain. Without a heartbeat of delay, Long swung his left arm, the bone shield intercepting the arrow's trajectory. A dry crack resounded as the steel arrow snapped, shattered by the violent impact against the skull shield.
Long looked up, his pupils narrowing into slits that glowed with an eerie emerald light. With eyes capable of piercing the crushing depths of the midnight ocean, the murky gloom of this dungeon was nothing. Instantly, the scrawny silhouette of a goblin archer, trembling behind a distant rock, came into sharp focus.
Gripping the spear, Long kicked off the ground. Thud! The earth shook under his explosive power. He lunged forward with gale-force speed, wind roaring against his helmet. He kept his left shield raised, swatting away incoming arrows as if brushing off mere dust.
The distance between him and the hideous creature closed in a matter of heartbeats. Long rotated his shoulder, shifting his weight as the spear hissed in anticipation of a lethal thrust. In a state of high-focus, time seemed to slow into a frame-by-frame crawl. He could see every yellowed tooth, every drop of foul saliva dripping from the goblin's maw.
And then, Long's pupils contracted. He saw it... smiling. A twisted, triumphant smirk.
"ABOVE YOU!"
Lia's frantic scream shattered the heavy air. Long's body froze, his survival instincts screaming in his brain. He twisted his torso, his gaze sweeping toward the dark ceiling.
There, two scrawny shadows had released their grip on the jagged stalactites. They plummeted like demonic bats, the glint of rusted blades flashing in the air, aimed straight at the head of the inexperienced youth.