CHAPTER 42: DON’T UNLOCK THIS CHAPTER YET

Elio could not make the faces of the people on the dragons. He only said it was Peony because the colours of the dragons looked familiar with his Floating Fleet.

That’s why he was surprised when he heard Peony shouting his name. There, on the second dragon, stood a figure clad in an amethyst dress, waving at him.

He waved back.

Elio didn’t know how Peony had managed to realize that it was him from such a long distance.

’Maybe because of my armor, plus my cascading sliver hair.’

Yeah! His armor. Though it had transformed, it still looked pitch black for anyone a bit further away from it. Plus, there was no other person with sliver hair and Purple Bubbles... though these ones had also transformed.

"Increase speed please!"

He heard her commanding the ’white dragon’ rider.

Since Elio had rose so high, the dragons seemed a few meters lower than his current position. The reason why he decided to drift downward to meet them. He was not going to hug Peony in the air, after all.

However, before he could descend, he saw the dragons three ascending. It was Peony’s order.

"Please, reach him!"

She was still begging despite being only a matter of seconds to reach him.

Elio could understand her desperation. She was too worried for him when she received the letter Tsundria had forced him to write, afraid that the Venomous Beauty was up to no good.

Plus, the fact that she was returning, it meant that she had reached the other side of the canyon and didn’t see him there... or, did she?

Elio was not sure if the dragons had really circled the Dead Forest and reached the other side of the canyon. Because, if so, Peony would have showed herself to the others.

If the dragons had failed to circle the forest, Peony’s worry doubled knowing she had no way to help him out. That meant the joy she felt when she saw him, hence the desperation to fall into his embrace.

’I’m lucky to have her as my wife!’

These thoughts distracted Elio that he didn’t realize that the dragons had reached him. He almost collided with the red one.

Luckily, its rider had seen him. He skillfully maneuvered past his left side and left him to face the white dragon.

Peony was trying to get up.

"It really is you!" she exclaimed.

Elio couldn’t help but laugh.

"Ha! Ha! Who else would it be, my sweet flower?"

Yeah! His sweet flower. Peony was a flower’s name, after all. He plucked it and it was his. So sweet both in staring at it and smelling it. It sounded fair to call her a sweet flower.

"Don’t sweet-talk me."

She was pointing at him.

"You have to face the consequences of abandoning me all those hours, knowing I was worried for you."

Elio chuckled.

"Who said I’m afraid of being responsible of my mistakes? Besides, I know what kind of punishments you can give me. Nothing new or terrifying."

At his words, Peony patted the shoulder of the bald man riding the white dragon.

"Take me to the ground!"

She then turned to Elio.

"Let’s meet on the ground and see if what I’m going to do to you is really nothing new or terrifying."

A thought crossed Elio’s mind before he could do as she had suggested. It was none other than having Peony jump off the dragon and fly with him within his bubble.

"Yeah! Yeah!" he muttered to himself, happy for the thought.

"Why are you grinning like a fool?"

"I just had a thought," he replied. "Why don’t you jump to me?" He was lowering his bubble so he could be a few meters beneath the white dragon.

Peony furrowed her eyebrows.

"Don’t stare at me like that! I was only trying to tell you that jumping to me can save you some time. You’re the one who want to do wicked things to me, after all."

Peony let out a chuckle.

"Oh husband, it’s not that I’m refusing to jump at you. I trust you. You know it."

"Then what?"

She pointed at his bubble.

"There’s no space for me to jump to."

"Oh! It’s that! Ha Ha! Just jump! I have a secret!"

Peony didn’t even tell him to be ready. She was already on her feet inside the cart that was fastened on the back of the white dragon. All she did was jump a little.

Elio’s bubble had long reached a few meters beneath the dragon. When he saw her plummeting toward him, all he did was dismiss his bubble.

Peony reached him when the bubble had started to dissolve into the mist of purple sparks.

Surrounded by that purple mist, they embraced each other, plummeting downward with inhuman speed.

This took Peony by surprise. While tightening her grip on him, she asked, "What are you doing?"

She jumped because she thought she would fall onto his bubble. she did not expect he was going to commit suicide.

"You said you trust me. Don’t worry then!"

Elio assured her.

"I do trust you but there’s no way we can survive this fall."

Peony didn’t know that Elio had already summoned his bubble back. He understood the reason for her worry.

"Who said we’re falling?" he asked and planted a kiss on her lips afterwards.

He could feel the bubble wrap around them as he devoured her damp lips.

’What a sweet taste!’

Elio didn’t know which shape the bubble was going to take. He just knew that it would wrap around both he and Peony as it did that time when he fought with Tsundria over the mysterious canyon.

When Peony felt his lips on hers, the worry and panic that they were falling dissolved into a mixture of pleasures and longing for more. Thus, she gave him access into her mouth.

Their tongues intertwined, creating a loud hymn of wet sloppy sounds.

"You taste good!" Elio said when their lips parted to take in some breath.

"Thank you, husband!" Peony replied. "And you too!"

Her cheeks had turned red.

Before Elio could say something, he felt her grip on his back tighten. She looked scared.

"What are you scared of?"

He asked this taking his arms away from her body to show her that there was something else holding her.

Panicking, Peony tried to grab him to restrict them from leaving her body, but she soon realized that his bubble was around their waists, covering their entire lower body that even their feet were not visible.

"See? I told you we were not falling. We were flying."

Their was a grin on his face.

"You should have told me about the bubble," Peony replied as she leaned in for a passionate kiss.

"I’m doubling your punishments," she added as their lips parted.

Elio could only see lust and admiration in her sapphire blue eyes.

"I told you I’m not afraid of your punishments!"

She harrumphed at his words.

"Take me to the ground so I can see for myself that you really are not afraid."

Elio knew what kind of things they were going to do. He didn’t want the poor dragon riders to die of jealousy.

Glancing upward where he had left them, he saw that they were still hovering nearby, seemingly because they, too, might have panicked when they saw him plummeting to the ground without anything to help him land safely.

"You guys can go and continue helping the ones at the cave to transport our expedition rewards," he shouted. "I won’t need dragons anymore."

True. His transport portal had upgraded. All he now needed to do was draw the wide portals here and there.

The dragon riders didn’t even question his order. He saw them leaving but not before the bald guy said, "Enjoy!"

Peony didn’t allow him to give a reply. "What do you mean we won’t need the dragons anymore?"

"Don’t you see that everything about me has changed?"

While asking this, Elio commanded his bubble to fly toward the Dead Forest. They were going to be intimate with each other. The eerie view inside the forest seemed like a perfect location instead of doing it into the open.

"I can see that your bubble had changed... Eh! And your armor... and your..."

Peony took a pause as if she didn’t believe what she had just realized. "You have levelled up?!"

Elio grinned.

"But how?"

She was still in shock.

"It’s your shard!"

Elio lied this to her so he could avoid a prolonged interrogation. His little brother was already throbbing, a cry that he needed to hurry up and take Peony into the forest.

"My shard?"

"Yeah! Your powers helped me level up."

She didn’t seem convinced. However, she didn’t ask another thing about the topic. She had realized where he was taking her. She decided to ask about that.

"Are you sure about receiving my punishments inside this eerie forest?"

"Can you leave questioning for later and just punish me?"