Chapter 488: What the Dragon Couldn’t Burn

As the golden flames continued to grow, devouring everything around them, the night sky seemed to brighten once more beneath their overwhelming radiance. Isolde stared into the blazing inferno, her expression tightening with concern.

"Adam will disappear if this keeps going. We have to get him out!"

She was about to step forward when Lilith placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"That won’t be necessary, Isolde."

Isolde turned toward her, disbelief in her eyes. "Aren’t you worried? Those flames burn everything they touch. No matter how strong he is, he won’t be able to withstand them."

"Of course I’m worried," Lilith replied calmly. "But I also trust Ignis. She would never hurt Adam."

Isolde fell silent. She finally understood. Lilith wasn’t unconcerned. She simply had absolute faith in Ignis, believing that the young dragon would never allow her flames to harm Adam.

Then, within the raging inferno, a figure slowly emerged.

At first, only his silhouette could be seen through the golden flames. But as he continued walking forward, his figure gradually became clearer. Adam emerged from the fire, carrying Ignis in his arms. The young dragon was completely unconscious, her body limp against his chest.

As Adam continued forward, the flames around him gradually began to die down, their overwhelming radiance fading until the night slowly returned to its former darkness.

Lilith finally removed her hand from Isolde’s shoulder and glanced at her with a faint, knowing look.

"See? Wasn’t I right?"

Isolde simply let out a quiet snort.

"You really know how to make people worry."

The two of them then walked toward Adam.

Adam looked at the two of them as they approached and gave a tired smile.

"I almost became a roasted snake in there."

Lilith looked at him and nodded slightly. "Good work, Adam."

Isolde, however, wasn’t nearly as calm. "Next time you want to get yourself roasted to death, just tell me. I’ll gladly grant your wish. What were you thinking, suddenly rushing in there without considering anything? What if you had disappeared?"

"But I didn’t disappear, did I?" Adam replied casually.

Isolde could only sigh. They trusted each other far too much. Somehow, that trust also left a distance between them, a gap that made her heart ache whenever she noticed it.

Lilith glanced around before speaking. "It seems we end up getting ourselves into trouble every time we arrive in another city."

Adam continued walking and casually replied, "That’s because of you, Lilith. You’re always fooling around, and somehow you still end up blaming me for everything."

Isolde pushed those thoughts aside and sighed again.

"That’s because the two of you simply can’t control yourselves."

Adam shook his head. "No. This time, it’s Lilith’s fault, so reflect on yourself, Lilith."

Lilith raised her right hand to her lips, covering them slightly as a teasing smile appeared on her face.

"My, my. But aren’t you the one who usually causes trouble, Adam? Shouldn’t you take a look in the mirror first?"

She lowered her hand and continued, "This is also because of your suggestion, wasn’t it? You were the one who wanted us to stay here for a few days. So, from the very beginning, this was your fault."

Adam stared at Lilith’s teasing expression, clearly annoyed.

"What are you talking about? If you hadn’t caused trouble, we could have left without any problems. And because of what you did, we’re going to have trouble once we enter the Demon Territory."

Isolde could only sigh as she listened to their argument.

"Enough. Stop blaming each other. If you ask me, both of you are at fault. We should just meet the Demon King and apologize for tearing apart his forces."

Adam immediately shook his head. "Sorry, but I don’t want to apologize. This wasn’t my fault this time, so Lilith should be the one to apologize."

Lilith glanced at him and calmly replied, "No, no. As the leader, you should take responsibility for the mistakes of those under you, Adam. Otherwise, you would simply be failing as a leader."

Adam stared at her for a moment before pointing out, "You just admitted that you were at fault, didn’t you? That means it really was your fault."

Isolde’s expression slowly became more exhausted as their argument only grew worse. She shook her head and placed her right hand against her forehead.

"Haaah..."

"You three really are as close as ever..."

The three of them turned toward the voice and saw Sera standing there. She had recovered from her injuries, although her right arm had still failed to heal even after Adam gave her some of his Ouroboros blood. Perhaps the Necrotic Corruption was preventing her regeneration from functioning properly.

Adam looked at her. "Are the others all healed?"

"Yes. It’s all thanks to you," Sera replied. "Thank you for saving our lives."

She lowered her head respectfully.

Isolde immediately turned her face away with an arrogant expression. "It was nothing. Just a coincidence."

Lilith glanced at Isolde and smirked. "You’re really terrible at being honest about your feelings, Isolde."

"Forget about that," Adam said, cutting in. "We’re friends. It’s only natural for us to help each other."

Lilith turned toward Adam. "But this was all thanks to me, wasn’t it? If I hadn’t held those demons back, Sera would have died."

Adam understood what she was getting at and reluctantly replied, "Yeah... you could say that."

Lilith stepped closer to him, a playful smile slowly forming on her lips.

"So... shouldn’t you be thanking me properly?"

Adam stared at her for a moment before narrowing his eyes. "What do you want?"

Lilith leaned slightly closer, clearly enjoying his reaction. "Hmm... I’m not sure. Perhaps you should think of something yourself."

Adam sighed. "You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?"

"Of course." Lilith smiled without hesitation. "After all, thanks to me, Sera was able to survive."

Isolde, who had been listening from the side, couldn’t help but sigh again. "Here we go again..."

Sera looked between the three of them with a slightly confused expression, while Adam simply rubbed his forehead.

"Fine. I’ll thank you later. We still have to figure out what we’re going to do about the Demon King."

Lilith’s smile softened. "Very well. I’ll hold you to that."

Adam shook his head and continued walking, while Lilith followed beside him with a satisfied expression. Isolde and Sera could only exchange glances before following after them.