Chapter 296: Please Call Me… Bella
While the Book of Fuxi and the two Fu Huas were in the Sea of Quanta, the real world was steadily progressing. Under Welt's sweeping leadership, more and more land was brought under unified governance; even the outer city of the former Anti-Entropy HQ—destroyed during the battle against Sirin—was rapidly being rebuilt. Everything was moving along smoothly.
Except for one place—the region where the Doom Dragon, Benares, resided. It remained a highly restricted area, still impossible to act upon carelessly.
On the third day after Kiana's return, she sorted through the memories of the original Sirin regarding Benares. With her thoughts gathered and emotions settled, she went to stand before the dragon.
"Rawr——"
The moment Kiana approached—though still a hundred paces away—Benares, despite her massive body being pinned in place by enormous pillars, struggled to lift her head and let out a low growl of joy.
"There, there… Be-na-res."
In a flash, Kiana crossed the distance and stood before Benares, raising her hand.
The dragon immediately lowered her head, letting Kiana reach out and touch her snout. She behaved obediently and gently, as though completely unfazed by the wounds still pierced by those massive pillars.
Kiana could clearly see that those injuries, still impaled by the pillars, continued to bleed a blue fluid laced with Honkai energy. But it was swiftly absorbed by the wires connecting her to the Throne of the Moonlight device, preventing any erosion of the land beneath her.
"Sigh…"
Kiana stroked Benares's smooth, sturdy snout and sighed deeply.
"Rrrr…"
Benares let out a soft rumble in response, as if to comfort Kiana and tell her not to worry.
Kiana leaned in closer, cupping the dragon's snout in both hands and resting her forehead against it.
"From the looks of it, you recognize me, don't you… Benares?"
"RAWR!!!"
"Thank you. Thank you so much. Listen, Benares—I'm not the original Sirin. I'm not even the one who awakened you, that 'other' me… I'm different. I love this world, and I want to live in it as a human being. I don't know how you feel about humans, and I don't know if you'd rather listen to the other me. But for now, we've reached a consensus. She's not going to come out and destroy humanity anytime soon. So… would you be willing to listen to me? Live in peace with everyone?"
Benares was silent.
After a long pause, she lifted her head very gently, pulling away from Kiana's hands.
She looked down at the girl who stood below, eyes full of hope and sincerity.
Then, the dragon raised her head and gave a long, echoing roar.
"RAWR——"
[Benares will forever follow the will of Her Majesty the Queen.]
Kiana's eyes lit up—she heard it. The voice of Benares, clear and pure, like a young girl with a heart untainted by the world. And Kiana knew… Benares did have such a form.
"Thank you, Benares."
She smiled and once more gently petted the dragon's bowed head.
At that moment, a cold and disdainful voice echoed from deep within Kiana's mind.
[Hmph! Useless trash! You can have that thing. I don't need it.]
[Sirin, being a tsundere won't win you any fans.]
[Do you want to die!?]
[Alright, alright, I get it. I'll take care of Benares for both of us. If you ever want to talk to her again, just let me know—I'll give you a day off.]
There was a final cold snort in her mind from Sirin, and then she fell silent.
Kiana shook her head and smiled helplessly, gently running her hand along Benares's head.
"If you're willing to listen to me, then let's make a deal. First—no attacking or destroying things at random. Second—get along with my friends. And third… just call me Kiana from now on, okay? 'Her Majesty the Queen' sounds way too weird."
"Rawr——"
"No 'but's! I want to be your friend. So just call me Kiana."
Would you like me to continue with the next chapter as well?
Despite Kiana's insistence, Benares still hesitated for quite some time before she finally responded slowly.
"Rawr——"
"That's great! Since we've made a pact, you have to follow it properly, okay?"
"Rawr——"
"Alright, I'll release you now… I'm sorry that, because you were once our enemy, my friends did some not-so-nice things to you. They'll apologize properly later, and I'll do my best to make it up to you. So, for my sake, please forgive them, okay?"
Kiana spoke with sincere regret as she raised her hand and snapped her fingers.
With the agreed-upon command given, Bronya, from within the inner base, began altering some of the systems.
Soon after, the massive stakes pinning Benares down slowly levitated and detached from her body. All the connected wires, restraints, suppressing devices, and destructive monitoring equipment were also disabled one after another.
Within a few minutes, the entire array of suppression tools was lifted. Benares spread her wings, and torrents of Honkai energy surged through her draconic body, rapidly healing her many wounds.
"ROAR——"
With a thunderous cry, Benares raised her head to the sky, the sound shaking the land for dozens of miles. The naturally released Honkai energy shattered nearby machines and installations—yet curiously, not even a single blade of grass at Kiana's feet was disturbed.
Then, Benares lowered her head and let out a low rumble.
"Rawr——"
"Huh? You want me to get on your head? Are you taking me somewhere?"
Kiana blinked in surprise but still complied, gently leaping onto the dragon's snout.
Benares slowly lifted her head, her claws cracking the ground beneath as she unfurled her wings.
BOOM!!!
With a powerful gust, she soared into the skies, leaving a spiral of clouds behind.
. . . . .
"Kiana!!"
From afar, Raiden Mei saw Kiana being carried off by the dragon. Lightning flashed around her, and her Herrscher armor appeared as she instinctively reached for her blade to give chase.
At that moment, a worker drone floated beside her, and Bronya's calm voice came through the transmission.
"Calm down, Big Sister Mei."
"But Kiana—"
"She's fine. Her vitals are stable. Benares probably just wants to spend some time alone with her, probably to talk. There's nothing to worry about. Kiana isn't that fragile."
"…Alright."
Raiden Mei took a deep breath, suppressing her emotions as she watched the dragon vanish into the distance. She waited in silence.
. . . . .
"Wow! So high! The view is amazing, Benares!"
"Rawr——"
"What?"
"Rawr——"
The dragon repeated her request.
[Please call me… Bella.]
"Bella…"
Kiana sat down, stroking Benares' head, her face softening into a gentle smile.
With another powerful beat of her wings, Benares took off once more, soaring through the clouds and bathing in the purest, brightest sunlight.
She was flying.
Ever since she was born, Benares had always been flying.
Soaring across tens of thousands of miles, never retreating from any enemy. Life and death were never things she worried about—for what she truly longed for was a single, soft call from her master.
Bella.
That's all she wanted—that one word, filled with intimacy. Whether it was said gently, coldly, joyfully, or even with rage—it didn't matter. As long as it came from her Queen.
"ROAR——"
"Alright, take me to see more beautiful places! The tallest mountains, the coldest polar caps, the widest plains, the most bustling cities… Take me there. Let's see it all together, Bella!"
Kiana raised her fist and laughed heartily.
And Benares felt an endless surge of strength well up from within. She beat her wings again, the resulting winds so strong they blew apart the boundless clouds ahead. With her draconic form, she tore through the skies at high speed.
"ROAR——"
"Hahaha!"
A dragon's roar and a girl's laughter echoed together across the sky that day.