Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

"Mo Fan, are you still holding onto the Time Liquid?" Lingling asked in a serious voice.

"I do, is it going to help?" asked Mo Fan.

"I've been studying about time by looking at all the information I can find. There are historical records of things similar to the Time Liquid from other countries, but I'm not sure if it's going to work. Since you're in a pinch now, I guess you'll need to try it out," said Lingling.

"Try it out? How am I going to try it?" wondered Mo Fan.

It would take Lingling some time to investigate the strange bird. The problem was, Mo Fan's team was running out of time. No one knew how long the Barrier could last.

"You can think of it as a temporary growth hormone. It doesn't seem to be effective on humans, but it might cause a reaction in some creatures," said Lingling.

"Some creatures? Are you asking me to sprinkle the Time Liquid at the strange birds?" said Mo Fan.

"No no no, you'll be doomed if you do that. You can ask your Summoned Beast to drink the Time Liquid, like the Swift Star Wolf, or Little Flame Belle. If my speculation is right, the Time Liquid might be able to save your life!" said Lingling.

"Are you sure about giving it to my Contracted Beast?" said Mo Fan.

"Yes, at least there won't be any side effects. I'll help you investigate the strange birds as quickly as I can, but you'll have to live until I find the answer, and can you take a clearer picture of the colorful crests that you found from the strange birds? That's all for now, good luck!" said Lingling.

"..." Mo Fan was speechless after hearing the ambiguous suggestion from Lingling.

What good would giving the Time Liquid to Little Flame Belle do?

However, Mo Fan had no choice but to follow Lingling's instructions, considering how urgent the matter was.

----

The Royal Felipe Castle...

General Mott stood on top of the observation tower and stared at the creatures shrouding the sky in the distance...

"Why haven't the birds left after so long?" asked a female advisor in a black military outfit.

"Perhaps they are still alive," said Ariosto.

"How is that possible? It's been so long... do you think a bunch of Magicians in their twenties can stand against a giant horde of strange birds?" asked the advisor.

"Maybe they are stronger and more resilient than we thought," said Ariosto.

"They are still going to die still, and once they die, these monster birds from Nazca will disappear, and everything will go back to normal," said General Mott confidently.

He admitted that the young Magicians were stronger than he first thought. On top of that, the terrain and the defense of the ancient castle had bought them extra time too, but what difference would it make? They had offended the existence that was treated as the God of Death in Peru. No one could possibly save them!

----

Parts of the cliff started to fall off after endless collisions. The ancient castle was tottering in a way that it felt like it was about to fall into the ocean.

The Barrier came later than expected, looming over the ancient castle and the cliff that was on the verge of collapsing.

The thin, glowing Barrier was as thin as paper. It did not provide any sense of security to the team. Everyone sat inside the castle in silence, all worn out. It was deadly quiet, apart from the cries of the monster birds and the screech of lightning outside.

"Is this the end?" Mu Tingying leaned against a pillar. The look in her eyes implied that she was reluctant to die like this.

The best part of her life had only just begun, yet she was about to die in a place like this!

As a matter of fact, the others were experiencing the same feeling. They were all talented young Magicians in their country. It was a great honor for them to represent their country in the intense, magnificent competition, yet they were forced to hide here after being chased around by some monster birds. They would be eaten alive once the Barrier collapsed!

"When the Barrier collapses, everyone should split up and run for your life," suggested Ai Jiangtu.

He basically wanted as many people to survive as possible. Perhaps the birds were not interested in a particular person on the team.

However, they all knew they were only trying to comfort themselves with lies. The army of monster birds numbered around a hundred thousand demon creatures. No matter how split they were, they would still be devoured by the feathers and claws of the birds!

----

Time gradually passed. Mo Fan, who was as hopeless as the others, sat in a corner, staring at Little Flame Belle closely.

He had asked her to drink the Time Liquid, but the little creature did not show any reaction. She was staring back at Mo Fan while blinking rapidly.

"What is it? Are you placing your hope in that little creature?" mocked Guan Yu.

"I have no time to waste talking with an idiot like you, so you better stay as far away as you can!" Mo Fan returned the favor.

"Humph, everyone is going to die! Stop acting so aloof," spat Guan Yu.

"So you're going to smash a pot to pieces just because it's cracked, and try to get yourself killed by troubling me? If you don't want to treat the remaining half an hour you have preciously, I don't mind sending you out there," growled Mo Fan.

Mo Fan totally ignored Guan Yu thereafter. He remained seated and waited patiently.

Little Flame Belle was feeling guilty, too. She wanted to help, she wanted to help Mo Fan by driving the strange birds outside away, but with her current strength, there was no chance she could take on so many demon creatures at once. It was similar to the situation she went through in the Death Space. She could only kill so many undead, and it was insignificant compared to the enormous tide of them!

Little Flame Belle squeezed into Mo Fan's arms, just like what she always did when she was sad. She started sobbing like a little girl.

"It's fine, it doesn't matter if it didn't work. You're going to be fine… and maybe I'm going to be fine too," Mo Fan tried to comfort Little Flame Belle.

Mo Fan was only hoping that there were enough hordes and tribes of sea monsters in the Pacific Ocean. Otherwise, Peru was about to face a great disaster, not because of the monster birds, but because of a demon that needed enough souls to pay his debt...

"The Barrier… is about to break!"

"I don't want to die, I don't want to die still!"

The weak Barrier finally reached its limit. The ancient castle was trembling as if it was being hit by a rain of rocks. The entire building was collapsing and falling...

Little Flame Belle suddenly let out a long cry, like the ending note of a tune. It sounded very pleasant.

Mo Fan held Little Flame Belle in his arms. However, he soon noticed Little Flame Belle's body was boiling hot, so hot that even Mo Fan was having trouble touching her.

Brown Calamity Fire started spreading uncontrollably and covered the petite figure of Little Flame Belle...

"Mo Fan, what's happened to your Little Flame Belle?" Jiang Yu, Nanyu, Jiang Shaoxu, and the others looked at him in astonishment.

The Calamity Fire was unstoppable, it soon turned into a little, erupting volcano. The team could no longer see Little Flame Belle through the flames.

Mo Fan stared at Little Flame Belle with a blank face. He immediately thought: the Time Liquid is working!

The flames spurted higher into the air and penetrated the ceiling. It surged into the sky in an instant.

The fierce flames started spinning like a dragon rising out from water and pierced through the brown, scorching lava. Mo Fan caught a glimpse of Little Flame Belle through the gap.

Little Flame Belle was growing. She was turning from a little doll-like girl into an elegant, imperious fiery woman bathed in the flames!

The tongues of fire wrapped around Little Flame Belle's waist like the veil of a fairy. Her fiery long hair draped over her shoulders. The fire provided her with a sacred charm, her feet were stepping on a carpet of flames, to avoid being stained with the dust of the mundane world...

"This...this is..." Mo Fan was stunned.

Mo Fan was not unfamiliar with the sight. When he first Awakened the Demon Element, Mo Fan also had the same fiery shadow behind him. It had the silhouette of an elegant goddess engulfed in flames. Therefore, Mo Fan had guessed that it was Little Flame Belle's final form once she matured.

Mo Fan had once stumbled into the Fiery Sorceress who guarded the mountain of the North Burning Valley alone. He initially thought Little Flame Belle would grow into something like the Fiery Sorceress, but he was totally wrong about it.

The Fiery Sorceress, Jiang Feng, was only a guardian. She was not a real Flame Belle. A real Flame Belle would look like what Mo Fan was currently seeing in front of him!

She was hiding behind scorching, blinding flames, like an empress looking at him standing behind a veil. Her peerless temperament and stunning figure brought a great shock to the team!

Flame Belle, a Flame Belle in her mature phase, the one and only Empress of Flames in the world!

"So this is the effect of the Time Liquid, to speed up time and let a living creature grow in a short period of time!" exclaimed Mo Fan in astonishment.

Even though the effect would only last temporarily, it was more than enough for Mo Fan!

How could Mo Fan not look forward to the extraordinary power of a real Flame Belle?

The others on the team were dumbfounded. The Flame Belle that was still an adorable little creature just moments ago had turned into an Empress of Flames with a temperament that was urging them to submit to her. They all marveled at how powerful her aura was.

"Mo...Mo Fan, how did you do it?" Jiang Yu's eyes and mouth were wide open. He was also a Summoner, but he never realized Mo Fan's Little Flame Belle was only in the Adolescent Phase, let alone how shocking the little creature's mature form would be!

Little Flame Belle's voice was pleasant as always, yet it was a lot deeper and longer than before. It was not as crisp, but sounded more imperious, like the difference between a cute little loli and a composed, mature woman. Mo Fan could not help but swallow a few times after noticing the difference.

Although Little Flame Belle's form had changed, Mo Fan could still tell that her heart was still the same. She floated toward him together with the fiery veils, trying to squeeze into Mo Fan's arms for a big hug.

Luckily, her imperious Calamity Fire would not harm Mo Fan. Anyone else would be burned into ashes within an instant!

"Later, we'll hug later, can we deal with the trouble outside first?" Mo Fan was having a hard time getting used to how his little daughter had grown into an adult. Her body was still made of fire, yet she was utterly glamorous.

Little Flame Belle... oh, Flame Belle Goddess nodded and blasted away the ancient castle that was in her way with a fiery tornado. She flew directly at the horde of monster birds in the sky!