Thinking of this, Angel ignored Duroche’s gaze and headed towards the Iceflame Cave on his own.
After moving away from the Magma Pool, the prickling sensation on his back disappeared. Looking back, Duroche had already sunk to the bottom of the lake, presumably to guard Dangross.
Angel shook his head and walked along the Scorched Earth path invisible in Twilight, returning to the cave.
Two more days passed.
In these two days, Angel still focused on Kelonkcro.
During this period, Angel noticed that Kelonkcro, due to its stuttering when speaking, rarely expressed its opinions unless necessary, though its inner world was richer than imagined.
Moreover, although Kelonkcro seemed to passively accept many things, this did not mean it lacked its own opinions; they were just suppressed.
It was precisely due to noticing this suppression that Angel realized Kelonkcro’s emotions were deeply hidden, and he also noticed that Kelonkcro did not have a particularly good impression of him.
It just didn’t show it.
If Kelonkcro inherently harbors resistance, convincing it would be difficult. Therefore, Angel’s main effort these past two days shifted from persuasion to closing the distance.
At the very least, he needed to eliminate Kelonkcro’s wariness, bringing it back to a normal level.
However, because Kelonkcro was too introverted and thus more sensitive, any attempt to deliberately close the distance could easily be detected. So Angel used unnoticed details in daily interactions to gradually dissolve its guard.
Doing so indeed prevented Kelonkcro from sensing his ulterior motives.
But there was a minor side effect: the efficiency was too low. While Kelonkcro began to let down its guard, it was still a long way from fully trusting and successfully strategizing it.
Moreover, Angel couldn’t stay here for too long, which made him quite anxious.
...
As nightfall arrived that day, as usual, Angel sent Kelonkcro back to the Lava Lake.
Just as Angel was about to leave, Toby, perched on his shoulder, suddenly called out to the sky.
Angel looked up and saw a Flame Sparrow, with a burning long tail feather, flying from the distant sky and landing in front of him.
"We meet again." Angel nodded slightly to the Flame Sparrow.
This Flame Sparrow was precisely Fesspanra, who used its wings as hands in a very human-like manner, performing a salute: "Mr. Pat, His Highness has ended his retreat and would like to invite you for a conversation. Do you have time now?"
Angel nodded nonchalantly: "Alright."
After all, he still had to meet with Demonfire Midir again. He also wanted to know Midir’s attitude towards the future entry of humans into the Tidal World.
Angel patted Toby, who immediately understood his meaning and transformed into a Flame Gryphon many times the size of Fesspanra.
In Fesspanra’s astonished gaze, Angel seated himself on Toby’s back, signaling it: "Let’s go."
Fesspanra, in a daze, nodded: "Please follow me."
During the flight to the volcanic crater, Fesspanra occasionally cast curious and doubtful glances at Toby.
"Are you curious about Toby?"
Pointed out of his thoughts, Fesspanra nodded somewhat sheepishly: "Although I vaguely saw something during the World’s Harmony before, it’s the first time I’ve seen a descendant of Kalomchis at such close range... Truly powerful and majestic, just as Teacher Magu described."
Praised by Fesspanra, Toby let out a proud call. Only Toby forgot that it was in its Gryphon form now, and its call was much louder than in its seabird form, creating waves of sound ripples that drew the attention of many nearby fire creatures.
Angel even saw a disturbance in the Lava Lake below, revealing Duroche’s figure.
Angel glanced at Duroche and then looked away, casually saying: "Toby is very pleased with your praise."
Fesspanra replied earnestly: "I am merely stating the facts."
Hearing this, Toby let out an even more excited cry.
Angel patted Toby’s mane, signaling it to calm down first; if it kept calling, they would indeed become the center of attention.
To avoid being overly observed, Angel quickly changed the subject: "By the way, how is Dangross lately, is Duroche still guarding him?"
At the mention of Dangross, a sympathetic and pitiful expression appeared on Fesspanra’s face: "Yes, Dangross is still cowering over at Teacher Magu’s place, not daring to show its face."
"Does Duroche hate him so much? Could it be that during Duroche’s period of obscured Spirit Intelligence, Dangross did something unforgivably evil to it, making it unable to let go even after regaining its intelligence?"
Fesspanra shook its head: "Not really; with Dangross’ level, it couldn’t do anything too evil. The main reason is, in the past, Dangross often claimed Duroche as its subordinate to intimidate and oppress other elemental creatures, doing many troublesome things."
"Moreover, although Duroche gained something from this setback, it doesn’t negate the fact that Dangross misjudged Mr. Pat’s stance and strength, leading to Duroche’s Origin being damaged."
"Thus, Duroche refuses to let it go."
Angel nodded in understanding, summarizing: "In short, Duroche won’t overlook the past mistakes just because the outcome was positive."
Fesspanra: "However, Duroche doesn’t really intend to act against Dangross. It’s more of an expression of attitude. After being exploited by Dangross all these years, it deserves some payback. I estimate it will last at least one to two more months, during which Dangross will need to lay low... which is good, as Dangross’ respite brings tranquility to us all."
Angel: "Listening to you, it seems Dangross isn’t very well-liked?"
Fesspanra shook its head: "Not really; it was born from the ashes of Kalomchis, so everyone is more tolerant of it. Having been tolerant for so many years, everyone is naturally willing to relax a bit."
As they chatted, the massive silhouette of the volcanic crater appeared beneath them.
Fesspanra stopped at this point: "His Highness is waiting for you below, so I won’t go further."
Angel nodded, patted Toby, and the latter, in a dive, rushed into the glowing red crater.
Inside the crater, on a man-made platform, Angel saw the Demonfire Midir, now expanded in size, maintaining a demonic form; its flame-constructed horns were larger, spiraling upwards. Though its fleshy wings were not spread, the aura it exuded was imposing.
Angel instructed Toby to cultivate in the volcanic magma and himself walked to a nearby spot in front of Demonfire Midir, bowing slightly as a greeting.