Boom!
Song Jia could hear explosions rocking the oubliette as the battle outside continued to rage on. She pursed her lips as she poured all of her focus on escaping, sweat trickling down her neck.
If the vengeful reincarnator had the time to check on her, she would surely be surprised by the magical energy that was filling up the room. This magical energy came from Song Jia, as she determinedly spilled out everything into her surroundings.
Shā shā.
Like the sound of leaves blowing in the wind, her power was rapidly leaving her body in a fast rate. Nearly everything that the Great Demon King gave her had already disappeared. And with a speed that was visible to the naked eye, Song Jia's body continued to shrink.
From an adult figure to a pre-teen, then back into a child...
Pēng!
When she finally reached a figure that was even smaller than before, Song Jia gingerly slid out her small ankle from the manacle. Her clothes spilled out into the floor, too loose for her childlike body. Even the hairpin that was holding her hair clattered to the floor, causing her hair to cascade down to her waist.
"Aiyaa~" Song Jia spread out her small hands, glancing at them. "This grandma became a baby again, ah."
She pulled out a small knife from her storage space, and cut away the excess cloth. Because what she wore was a ruqun hanfu, a traditional Chinese clothing, with the right adjustments, it could fit her small body.
Song Jia looked up at the trapdoor that led upwards. Because her own power was too low right now, she needed to wear her anti-gravity boots to be able to jump out of the oubliette.
Song Jia didn't encounter anyone on her way out. She followed the sounds of explosion until finally, the edge of the battlefield came into view.
By the time Song Jia arrived, everything had became quiet.
It was because the battle was now over. A graveyard of corpses greeted her, most of them angels with their wings torn and their limbs cut off. As she continued to walk forward among the dead, Song Jia's eyelashes trembled.
It was a desolate and ruined landscape, a testament of the violence that happened here which she didn't manage to witness.
She could see an army made up of demons and monsters not far away, their numbers immeasurable. Some of them had feasted upon the flesh of the dead, and as blood flowed down and solidified, it made the ground look like a carpet of red.
For the first time, Song Jia truly acknowledged that the place she had transmigrated into was hell.
"This is..." Her mouth dried up, as there were no words to describe it.
Suddenly, Song Jia heard a muffled groan of pain. The almost inaudible sound drew her to the center of the battlefield, where a large radius of the ground was empty, as if even the dead couldn't approach it.
The first thing that Song Jia saw was the dead body of the vengeful reincarnator, her empty eyes gazing up at the sky. She was almost unrecognizable from the angel that visited her a few hours earlier. There were horns protruding from her head, and her wings were black, not white.
Song Jia's gaze slid sideways and settled on the figure that had collapsed halfway on the ground. A sword had pierced his stomach, fresh blood gushing out from the wound. His eyes were filled with pain.
The Great Demon King slowly fell to the ground.
With a 'pop', Song Jia's mind went blank.
Before she realized it, she was already running and shouting his name.
"Xu Jinhai!"
After what seemed like a long amount of time, Song Jia finally reached his side. Her small hands tried to press on the wound, but blood continued to leak despite her efforts. The Great Demon King's eyes were closed, and Song Jia noticed the poisonous magic that ran through the sword and was wreaking havoc on his body.
Song Jia bit her lip and said, "Jinhai, trust me."
Then she gripped the sword's hilt with both hands and yanked it out of him.
A pained moan escaped his lips, and Song Jia pressed her hands on his wound again. Her heart pounded wildly, making her fingers tremble. As if the Great Demon King could sense her fear, his left hand subconsciously grabbed her wrist. The hot temperature of his skin managed to somewhat clear her mind.
At that moment, Song Jia felt that the smell of blood was too sickening.
She snapped her head, about to call for help. But before she could open her mouth, Nova was already there. He knelt beside her and with serious eyes, he gently moved her hands away.
"Let me, Jia."
Song Jia couldn't help the plea that came out of her lips.
"Please save him!"
Nova's gaze lingered at Song Jia's face for a few seconds, before he focused on channeling his power to heal the Great Demon King's wound.
"I know."
A few minutes felt like several hours to Song Jia, who watched as the blood that flowed from the wound started to lessen little by little. And just as Nova's complexion was becoming pale, the Great Demon King finally stopped bleeding.
The Great Demon King's hand was still holding Song Jia's wrist, not letting go.
"Would His Majesty be alright?" A choked up voice asked them.
Song Jia glanced up and saw a battered Chuljang. She was using a sword as her crutch, and just behind her, the few demon lords that survived were also anxiously watching their situation.
Because most of the Great Demon King's army were too afraid to approach them, they hovered worriedly just a few steps away. Only the demon lords dared to come close and voice out their concerns.
"He'll have to consume a lot of elixirs for his situation to become stable," Nova said in response to Chuljang's question. "Without Taishan, I'm probably the best one in the entire demon world to treat His Majesty."
Song Jia suddenly remembered. Although he wasn't a demon lord, Wen Yu was only second in power to the Great Demon King. After all, he had managed to master three deadly sins. She heard that the sins he managed to master were envy, pride, and sloth.
"Who is this child?" Chuljang finally noticed Song Jia's presence. "Can any random person just carelessly approach His Majesty?"
Songdi's eyes narrowed as he observed Song Jia's features and noticed that the Great Demon King was still subconsciously holding onto her wrist.
"You are...the Great Demon King's bride?"
Song Jia grimaced. With her small body, everybody had to look down just to meet her eyes. Each one of them looked like giants to her. When Chuljang realized who she was, more scorn and contempt filled her expression.
This weak demon...became even weaker. Chuljang couldn't help but get more angry. She hated iron for not becoming steel [1].
Songdi had a different reaction to the demon lord of wrath. He almost looked amazed.
"I heard that you got captured by the angels. Even if it was me, I would have a hard time escaping. How did you manage to do it with your weak power?"
"I managed to escape because I was weak."
"What?" Songdi looked confused at Song Jia's reply.
In the end, Song Jia just shook her head and didn't explain.
Along with Nova, Song Jia rode the Great Demon King's pet dragon while holding his unconscious body. The moment they got back to the castle, everyone got busy to gather healing potions and elixirs.
Even until now, the Great Demon King was still holding onto Song Jia's wrist. Every time Song Jia tried to release his hold, the Great Demon King would murmur her name in the midst of his burning fever.
Song Jia could only sit beside his bed and watch helplessly as everybody else flurried around him.
[1] Ch. idiom that means to feel resentful towards somebody for failing to meet expectations and becoming impatient to see improvements.