The heat inside the dragon’s lair was a physical weight, pressing against their chests like a heated iron. The walls of the caldera were encrusted with glowing "Fire-Quartz," pulsing in time with the heartbeat of the mountain. At the center of the lake of lava sat Ignis-Vex, his massive wings folded like cooling obsidian.
"The hide is too thick," Kaelan gritted out, his golden shield steaming from the ambient temperature. "Even with my Aether flared, my blade is just scratching him. We can't get close to the core."
Rika’s Final Stand
Rika stepped forward, her face pale but her hands steady. She reached into a hidden compartment in her belt and pulled out a vial filled with a swirling, unstable black liquid. It hummed with a sound like a swarm of angry hornets.
"This is the God-Dissolver," Rika whispered. "It’s my masterwork. It’s designed to eat through any magical defense, but it’s highly volatile. If I throw it from here, the heat will evaporate it before it hits. I have to get under him."
"Rika, no!" Elara shouted, blasting a volley of silver arrows to distract the dragon’s snapping jaws. "That’s suicide! If he breathes on you, there won't even be ashes!"
"You two saved me from becoming a mindless doll for a King," Rika shouted back, her eyes blazing with a fierce, 17-year-old’s defiance. "Let me save myself from a marriage that feels like a grave! Cover me!"
The Suicide Run
Kaelan roared, charging the dragon’s front right leg. He used his greatsword to wedge open a gap in the scales, creating a momentary distraction. Elara channeled her Level 87 Null-Aether into a dome of freezing energy around Rika, shielding her from the literal ocean of lava.
Rika ran. She slid beneath the dragon’s massive, pulsating chest, the heat so intense her leather boots began to melt. She looked up at the "Soft-Point"—the glowing patch of skin where the dragon’s Level 92 Aether-core resided.
"For my freedom!"
Rika smashed the vial directly against the dragon’s chest.
The Melt
The reaction was instantaneous. The black liquid hissed and expanded, eating through the magma-proof scales like acid through paper. Ignis-Vex let out a scream that caused the volcano to tremble, a sound of pure, agonizing shock.
The dragon’s Level 92 defense dropped. The "Magma-Mind" hallucinations shattered as the beast’s concentration broke.
"Now, Elara! Kaelan!" Rika screamed, rolling away as the dragon’s blood—liquid fire—began to pour from the wound.
The Killing Blow
Elara didn't hesitate. She combined her power with the resonance of Kaelan’s star-crest. They moved as one, a blur of silver and gold.
"Final Art: Star-Shatter Spear!"
A massive lance of light, fueled by their bond and the dragon’s own weakened Aether, pierced the hole Rika had created. It drove straight into the Heart of the World, the artifact embedded in the dragon's chest.
A shockwave of pure, white energy exploded outward. The volcano didn't erupt; it was silenced. The lava froze into glass instantly as the heat was sucked out of the mountain to fuel the final blast.
Ignis-Vex turned to grey stone, his massive form crumbling into dust.
The Bitter Sweet Goodbye
As the dust settled, the "Heart of the World" lay on the ground, a small, pulsing ruby. But no one was looking at the treasure.
Rika stood in the center of the chamber, her clothes singed and her goggles broken. She looked at the quest-mark on her guild card. It had turned gold. She was now officially a S-Rank Alchemist, a hero recognized by the Global Guild.
"The courier will be waiting at the base of the mountain," Rika said, her voice trembling as she looked at Elara and Kaelan. "With a dragon-kill like this on my record... my father can't sell me off like a horse. The Guild will protect my status."
Elara pulled her into a tight, tearful hug. "You're really leaving?"
"I have to go back to the South to sign the emancipation papers," Rika said, wiping her eyes. "But hey... once I’m the head of the House of Valerius, I’ll have enough money to buy you two a kingdom. Or at least a better wagon."
Kaelan knelt and handed her a small piece of his broken shield—the part with the star-crest. "If you ever need us, Rika. Just pulse your Aether into this. We’ll cross the world for you."
Rika took the shard, hugged them both one last time, and began the long walk down the mountain toward her new, self-made future.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡohqoA7utVS
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt1gHoTqCKa
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjiJvhRZd6H
and then Add to home screen.