CHAPTER 458: CHAPTER 458: THIS IS WHAT I GET FOR SAVING A MAN

Isabella just stood there, hair slightly frizzed from humidity, clutching her fan, staring like she’d just been publicly roasted while he laughed heartedly.

"...What?" she said finally. "What’s so funny?"

But the phoenix man only kept laughing, bright, rich, and maddeningly confident, like he’d just found the whole universe hilarious at her expense.

The man laughed. And laughed. And laughed.

It started as a short, startled sound—then it grew. Louder. Deeper. Until the entire cave was echoing with the sound of his laughter. Water rippled across the pond, little glowing creatures darted away in alarm, and even Glimora flinched and covered her tiny ears with her little hands.

Isabella just stood there, staring at him, mouth open in disbelief.

This man—this half-dead, wingless, dramatic phoenix of a man—was laughing like someone had just told him the funniest joke in the world.

She crossed her arms, waiting.

He kept laughing.

She tapped her foot.

He still kept laughing.

"Oh, for the love of all things holy," she muttered under her breath. "Did I save a warrior or a comedian?"

Finally, when his laughter began to slow, she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Are you finally done?"

He inhaled, trying to catch his breath... and then smirked. "No," he said, voice still rough but mocking. "I think I’ll go for another round."

Her jaw dropped. "Are you sick? Why the hell are you laughing?"

He tilted his head slightly, golden eyes glinting under the cave’s blue glow. Then he did it again—looked at her from head to toe, his gaze slow, almost lazy.

"You look like an ant," he said calmly, as if stating a fact. "And you expect me to believe you saved me?"

She blinked. Once. Twice.

"I—what?" she stammered.

He shrugged, half-amused, half-serious. "You saved me. You." He scoffed, running a hand through his wet hair. "That’s rich."

Isabella froze. Then her jaw clenched so tight a vein ticked at her temple.

Did this man just call her an ant?

She blinked again, slowly, in disbelief. "I—wait, hold on. You think—" Her voice pitched higher. "You think I look small?"

"Tiny," he corrected, smirking.

"Tiny?"

"Like an insect."

Her jaw fell open. "Like an—"

Glimora made a small, worried squeak and scuttled behind her leg for safety because Isabella’s expression had gone full oh-I’m-gonna-kill-this-man.

For a full second, Isabella couldn’t even form words. Then she threw her arms in the air. "Unbelievable! I regret everything! Saving you, dragging your overgrown self here, letting you breathe the same oxygen as me—all of it!"

He blinked. "You dragged me here?"

"Yes!" she snapped. "Who else do you think brought you to this cave? You think you crawled in by yourself?"

The man raised a brow, unimpressed. "Seriously? Have you seen how small you are? You expect me to believe you carried me? No offense, but unless you found me at the entrance already, I don’t buy it."

She stared at him, her eye twitching. "You think I found you here?"

He shrugged again, calm and smug. "I don’t even sense cultivation energy from you. You don’t look like someone who could carry a feather, much less me. So forgive me if I find your story... implausible."

Her jaw dropped in utter betrayal.

"Oh my God," she muttered, clutching her chest. "This is what I get for saving a man. This. This is my punishment for trying to be a good person."

Bubu hummed quietly in the back of her mind, clearly enjoying the show.

Isabella ignored it. Her voice rose an octave. "You don’t believe I saved you? Fine! Maybe next time I’ll just leave you to rot in a ditch somewhere. See if your ego keeps you alive then!"

The man blinked, looking mildly alarmed at her tone.

Then he said calmly, "Look, I’m sorry if I offended you. But it’s okay to admit you found me here. No need to lie for credit."

That was it. The final straw.

Isabella’s head snapped toward Glimora. "You hear that?" she asked in disbelief, voice trembling. "He thinks I’m lying!"

Glimora squeaked softly, trying to calm her down.

"Oh, no. No, no, no." Isabella took Glimora off her legs gently, her hands trembling—not from fear, but from rage. "No one. Calls. Me. A liar."

"Host—" Bubu started.

"Don’t host me!" she snapped, already marching toward the pond. Her boots splashed through the shallow water with sharp, angry slaps. Her eyes were blazing, her jaw set, her breath coming fast and heavy.

The man blinked, his brows knitting together. "Wait—what are you doing?"

"What did you say to me?" she hissed, her voice dangerously calm, like a ticking bomb with lip gloss.

"Stop coming closer," he said quickly, panic flashing in his eyes.

"Oh, so now you don’t want me to come closer?" she shouted, her tone shooting up again. "You were all confident five seconds ago!"

"Woman, you’re insane!" he said, taking a cautious step back as the pond rippled.

"Insane? Oh, honey, you haven’t even seen insane yet!"

With one furious motion, she flicked open her fan. The sharp metallic edge shimmered, catching the faint light of the pond, releasing a pulse of wind that sent the small cave creatures scattering.

The phoenix man swallowed hard, his eyes darting between her and the fan. He could feel the energy rolling off it—the same kind of power that could slice through stone if she so much as sneezed.

"Stay. Back," he warned, his voice lower now, though his stance betrayed nervousness.

"Or what?" Isabella shot back, her voice shaking—not from fear, but anger and exhaustion. "You’ll insult me again? Maybe tell me I’m too small to breathe next?"

Her grip on the fan tightened. The glow along its edge pulsed in sync with her heartbeat. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her face flushed red with fury and adrenaline.

He looked like he couldn’t decide whether to defend himself or bolt out of the cave entirely.

"You’re crazy!" he said again, his voice cracking slightly this time.

"Say it again!" Isabella snapped, taking another step closer. Water sloshed around her knees. "Come on, say it! Let’s add brave to your list of bad decisions!"

Glimora, from the corner, squeaked frantically, waving her tiny arms like Mommy no!

Even Bubu, who usually had something sarcastic to say, stayed quiet. The system hovered nearby, watching the situation spiral like it was witnessing live entertainment.

For a heartbeat, the only sound was Isabella’s breathing—ragged, uneven—and the faint hum of her fan.

The man’s shoulders tensed. His eyes flicked between her and the cave entrance, clearly calculating the odds of survival if he ran.

He raised his hands slowly. "Listen, just—put that down. I don’t want to fight you."

"Oh, really?" Isabella said sweetly, her tone pure venom. "Because you didn’t mind fighting my patience."

The man’s throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. "Just—don’t come any closer, okay?"

Her fan crackled faintly, threads of wind swirling around its edges.

Then, just as she raised her arm—ready to let him taste exactly how much of an "ant" she wasn’t—

A shriek echoed through the cave.

Loud. Piercing.

It came from the entrance—a sound so sharp it rattled the stones.

Then—

A crash. Something huge slammed into the ground outside, shaking the cave and sending dust cascading from the ceiling.

The light from the pond flickered. Glimora dove into Isabella’s lap, trembling. The phoenix man’s head snapped toward the noise, feathers of light flickering faintly behind his back.

And Isabella—still soaked, still furious—froze mid-swing, fan trembling in her hand.

Her voice dropped to a whisper. "What... the hell was that?"