"You dare defy me?" Grain exclaimed in anger, lifting me off the ground. "I'll try to pull her out before it's too late!"
The mage leaned over the edge of the hole, but I pushed him back. "That won't help us. It's better to close the hole and join the others."
"Are you serious? She'll die!" Grain was ready to charge at me with his fists, but I stood calmly at the edge of the abyss, not letting him come any closer.
"If you pull her out now, she'll definitely die. But if she manages to escape on her own, we'll have a chance," I explained.
"What are you talking about?"
"Just trust me. Enough arguing, let's go back up." Grain obediently closed the hole and took one last look at it before running after me up the stairs.
Upstairs, the battle was in full swing. Hilda was drawing the dragon's attention and showering him with a hail of ice shards. None of her attacks reached their target, shattering against the thick scales, and in response, the dragon sent flames towards her. She blocked the fire with an icy aura, but with each attack, it became more challenging to do so. Katrina and Rizel were trying to break through the monster's defense with their magic, but the burns on the dragon's body were healing at an unnatural speed.
"Enough fooling around!" a plan of action was already forming in my mind.
"Where have you been?" Ragni snapped angrily and noticed the missing link, "and where did you hide Seli?"
"She's getting ready, she'll join us soon. Hilda, as always, charges head-on," I turned to Kurone, "can you tell her to retreat?"
"Sorry, but it's not going to work. She's too engrossed in the battle and pays no attention to anything else."
"What a reckless woman. Fine, Liri, Algo, are you ready?"
Liri heard me through telepathy and was ready to attack at any moment, "Do you want us to attack him from above?"
"Algo, can you and Liri create a powerful wind magic together?"
"It's possible, but I doubt it will have any effect on him."
"Just create a circular wind around the crater, spinning over the volcano. The descending airflow will hinder his flight and slow him down. Aileen, Miriam, use the poison you took from the shinobi on your arrows. If he tries to fly out of the crater, stop him."
I turned to those who remained below. We needed to distribute responsibilities precisely to prepare for the final attack.
"Grain, lift all the loose boulders in the air. Let them become our staircase to Ultras while he's airborne. Asura, Vivien, we're going on the attack. Don't aim for his body; try to cut his wings and legs. We can't let our weapons get stuck in his tissues, so strike and retreat immediately to avoid a counterattack. If possible, try to stop that berserker woman. Katrina, don't waste your energy; gather the most powerful lightning spell and be ready to attack on my command. Rizel, your decomposition magic is too weak against his regeneration. Use the Thanatos shield to cover the ground group and, if possible, those fighting him in the air. Werner, protect everyone and try to reason with Hilda when the opportunity presents itself."
I prepared for the attack, but a black paw stopped me.
"Seems like you forgot someone," Ragni frowned in disapproval.
"You wait here and save your strength," I pondered for a moment. "But you know what, try to reach Seleria's consciousness and support her."
"Huh? What does that mean?" Instead of answering, I leaped onto a stone ascending into the air. The dragoness was displeased but didn't disobey me, attempting to connect with the crimson princess.
Grain gathered all his strength and lifted all the stones lying in the crater into the air. It was a dangerous, awkward, and unfamiliar battlefield, but we had no choice. The three of us surrounded the dragon, but he paid no attention to it.
"Physh, pathetic mortals. Whether there are a hundred or a thousand of you, you are nothing compared to the power of a god!" Ultras exhaled flames around him, attempting to incinerate us in one attack. The area covered was enormous, but we managed to evade the attack. The earth mage was moving the stones just in time to give us a chance to escape.
I climbed up the stones and approached the gigantic head.
"It's not about the number of fighters, but their quality!" I shouted, leaping into the air and striking at his eyes. However, the enemy dodged, and the attack missed, only grazing his brow slightly.
"You're still just pathetic flailing!" The dragon twisted, trying to swallow me in one motion, but I had already jumped back and continued leaping from stone to stone, evading his wrath.
The girls approached him from the sides and aimed for the base of his wings. The katana easily cut through the membranous tissues of the wing, but in the next second, they began to heal. The spear pierced the muscles at the base, but it only momentarily slowed his movements. As soon as the wounds closed, he unleashed a fiery storm upon us again.
His flames were much stronger than any mage could create, not to mention that even all the fire mages of the Academy would have struggled to produce something equally powerful. However, before each attack, we had a couple of seconds to dodge, and we used them to the fullest. The pressing force of the cyclone forming above the crater was steadily pushing the monster down, but it also made it difficult for us to move on unstable stones with such strong winds.
The battle had only lasted ten minutes, but it felt like an eternity. All our attacks didn't inflict serious damage on him, and small wounds healed instantly. But we were merely buying time to let the others prepare. At least, that's what I thought, but it wasn't as obvious to the white princess.
"Gwahaha!! Thank you for creating such a splendid arena! Now I'll show you the strength of northern warriors!" I don't know when she managed it, but she appeared on the largest rock right above Ultras' back. "Oraaaah!"
With a battle cry, the girl enveloped her battle axe in a massive chunk of ice and brought it crashing down on the dragon's spine at the base of his neck.
The blow was indeed impressive, and it could have decapitated any dragon if its neck hadn't been three times thicker than the valkyrie herself. The axe had penetrated halfway into the monster's neck, and the icy aura quickly dissipated from the heat of its blood. But the strike couldn't go any further, just as its owner couldn't pull the axe out.
"Damn, it's so sturdy. Let's push harder," the girl pressed both feet against the monster's neck and tried to pull the blade out, but it wouldn't budge. The creature's skin was regenerating, closing the wound around the blade.
"Fool! Get away from there," though she probably couldn't hear my shout, it was worth trying.
"Such persistent pests," the dragon extended its paw backward and grabbed the white princess. He attempted to pull the girl out, but Hilda held tightly to the axe's handle. With some effort, Ultras managed to extract the valkyrie along with the axe. "Tch, she can't wait to die; I wanted to interrogate her first. Oh well."
Swinging, the dragon forcefully threw the girl against the crater's wall. Grain managed to react and conjured a dust cloud to soften the impact. However, the dragon's grip broke a couple of bones in the princess's body. But the monster didn't stop there; he turned towards the girl lying on the ground and widely opened his mouth, flames gathering in the depths of his throat.
"Rizel, can you do something?" I asked.
"Too far, I won't be able to block such force," the necromancer tried to protect the reckless girl, but she clearly lacked the strength.
"Use me as a conduit," Werner touched his scythe to the necromancer's staff and rushed to help.
A stream of flames comparable to a solar flare burst out of the dragon's maw and engulfed Hilda. In the last moment, the guy managed to stand in his way. The Thanatos shield, partially transferred to the adamantium blade, stood between them, but even it couldn't fully contain the force of the flames. The dragon showered them with his breath for twenty seconds until he grew tired of it.
"Alright, kid, you gave her a few more minutes of life," turning away, Ultras returned to more pressing matters, still being attacked from all sides.
"Hey, how are you holding up?" Hilda struggled to sit on her knees after the harsh landing and addressed the guy who protected her.
"Well, could've been better," the adamantium blade melted, losing its original form. The young man's body had several burns. "But I hope I won't have to do that again."
Werner leaned down and helped the princess to her feet.
"Why did you take such a risk? I would've come up with something," Hilda was dragging her feet, trying to hold herself proudly.
"Don't talk nonsense. That attack would've turned you into ashes," Werner looked thoughtfully at their comrades fighting in the sky. "Your attack was a pure suicide. I might want to fight alongside everyone, but I don't have enough strength for that yet."
"Speak for yourself; I have more than enough strength!" Hilda pouted.
"Maybe so, but you're absolutely terrible at fighting in a team. If you had listened to Krito, you wouldn't have been hit by such an attack."
"Hah, you're going to teach me how to fight monsters? I was the best warrior of the north; I can handle everything myself," a sudden surge of pain brought the girl to her knees. Her external injuries were minimal, but the internal trauma was making itself felt.
"And look where your arrogance has led you," Werner bent down and lifted the white princess in his arms.
"What are you doing?!" It was the first time someone treated her like a weak girl, and this pleasant feeling spread across Hilda's cheeks like paint.
"We need to join the ground group as soon as possible. If I'm right, Krito is already ready to initiate the main attack."
"What? He's just teasing this monster; there's no way he'll win like that."
"You just don't know him well," Werner smirked and rushed forward. "Now is the time for him to show his miracle."
The powerful wind started swirling into a tornado right above our heads, and Katrina was already sparkling with accumulated energy.
"Vivi, I hope you still have the gloves that Aileen made for you?" I winked at the brave spearwoman.
"Yes, why?" she asked.
"Run up and jump onto Ultras. Try to hit him in the heart."
"Alright, though I'm not sure about the success."
"Katrina, get ready to strike as soon as Vivien attacks, hit her spear with lightning!"
"What? Will she withstand it?" Katrina was worried about her comrade. During the tournament, she almost died absorbing such a powerful charge.
"I'll endure, don't worry. But I won't be able to fight for some time after that."
"No problem, that's part of my plan," I gathered wind mana in my blades and inflicted two slashes on the monster's face to attract its attention. "Attack!"
Ultras rushed at me, and I barely touched his head before somersaulting in the air and landing on his neck. The girls started their attack.
Climbing up to the highest rock, Vivien leaped down, and the force of the hurricane pressed her to the ground, enhancing her strike. Katrina released a huge lightning bolt that, piercing the sky, started being drawn towards the spear like a lightning rod. The blade of Naganata grew in size and was enveloped in a golden light. Aiming precisely at the heart of the creature, the warrior thrust the spear into the dragon's body. An electric discharge drilled into the massive body, branching out into small sparks. I took advantage of the moment and thrust my blade into the neck; the discharges spreading across the dragon's body were partly absorbed by my small blade, but most of them paralyzed its muscle movements.
The red lord howled in pain, but the attack wasn't lethal; the spear slowed down in its flesh and, colliding with something deep inside the chest, rebounded to the side.
"You beasts, know your place!" the dragon performed a sharp somersault in the air, and Vivien and I were thrown aside. Grain and Rizel managed to catch us before we hit the ground, but the tremendous charge gathered by Katrina continued to dissipate in the atmosphere. The storm clouds collected by the hurricane began to crackle with static electricity.
In the sky, there was only the dragon one-on-one with the white clan's warrior.
"Hey, red princess, where are you?" Ragni was meditating behind her comrades' backs, and Kurone was trying to help her reach her friend's consciousness. "Why can't I hear her... She's not dead, is she?"
The dragoness was completely immersed in the realm of the mind, wandering in the darkness, searching for that bright girl who always cheered her comrades. It seemed like an eternity had passed, but she was nowhere to be found. Yet in the darkness, a little light flickered - a red tear glowed dimly.
"I hope it's her," Ragni approached the strange stone uncertainly. The tear was slightly larger than a fist and looked like a very bright ruby, with flames raging inside it. "I want to take it."
Making sure that no one saw her, the girl reached out to the stone. And as soon as she touched it, the darkness opened up, and an unstoppable flame enveloped everything around. Under her feet, there was no solid ground; she was simply floating in a sphere of eternal flame, but it felt like she wasn't here; these were the sensations of the one she was looking for. The dragoness's mind circled around the girl's body hugging the red ruby in an ocean of fire.
"Seleria! Wake up, how much longer are you going to sit here?" Her words didn't reach the princess; they were extinguished in the ocean of roaring fire. But the girl began to wake up; she blinked timidly, and the flames around her started taking shape. A huge body, sharp scales, and rows of pointed horns— a massive red monster circled behind Seleria's back. "Ultras!? No... something else..."
The fiery monster resembled Ultras, but there was something different about it. It didn't evoke the same fear and revulsion as the cursed dragon. Its aura was more powerful, majestic, and calm. "Who are you?" Ragni hoped to get an answer from this monster, but in response, it merely smiled slightly and charged forward. "Stop!"
Ragni couldn't halt it; the red dragon lunged at Seleria and entered her body. The girl's body began to glow, as if all the surrounding flames became an extension of her. She opened her eyes, and a red flash expelled the black princess from the depths of her consciousness.
"Hey, the brains of the team, looks like your plan didn't work!" Hilde was more interested in teasing me than coming up with a new plan.
"Where did you get that idea? My plan is just starting to unfold," I smirked and surveyed the battlefield again.
The tornado slowly and uncertainly descended from the enormous thundercloud. Golden lightning flashed through the sky every minute. The ground trembled in anticipation of disaster.
"Graine, stop playing with stones, take everyone and get out of the crater," I gave the command to the mage, and he instantly picked up Algo, Leira, and Asura, soaring towards the crater's edge. "Miriam, Aileen, climb higher on the rock and keep it in the center. The show begins in three..."
Two...
One...
Dr-rrrrrrrrr.
A deafening roar shook the earth. The volcano on which we had just stood began to burst from within. Hundreds of lightning bolts struck the ground, and black ash clouds started rising into the sky. The earth began to shake violently.
"Well, that's it! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Only the red dragon found this spectacle immensely pleasurable. "With the power of the awakened volcano, I will turn this whole valley into a scorched desert. You've lost, insects!!" The dragon landed on the crater's edge and eagerly awaited the long-awaited power.
"Come on, wake up and give me your power again!!"
The earth trembled one last time, and a massive stream of lava and flames erupted into him, lifting the crater's bottom and throwing it up into a cloud of ash in the thunderous cloud. The eruption further intensified the charge in the sky, and lightning flashed almost every second.
"Yes, give me your power," the red monster extended his paws towards the fiery stream, trying to absorb its strength, but something was wrong. His face changed, bewilderment and fear flickered across it. "Why can't I absorb it?!"
"That's because..." a thunderous female voice sounded from the volcano's maw, "it's all MY power now!!!"
The lava formed the shape of an enormous paw and swatted the red lord into the sky. The lava flow that erupted from the volcano didn't fall to the ground; instead, it gathered in the sky, forming a massive fiery star.
But the color of this flame was not the same as lava should be. It was a bright crimson, creating a fiery star, and in its center, one figure was visible. In the midst of the raging flames, there stood a young girl. Her eyes burned with red light, and her hair rose upwards, immersed in flames. On her temples, there were small red horns, and behind her back, red scaly wings fluttered.
"Now we'll fight on equal terms, cursed god!" Seleria shook the earth with her voice alone.
From the fiery sphere, a paw made of pure flame burst forth and with one strike, sent Ultras soaring high into the sky.
"YOUUU, WORTHLESS CREATURRRE!! HOW DARE YOU TAME DIVINE FLAME!!!!" The dragon boiled with rage.
"Just like that, very easily," Seleria smirked slyly, intentionally teasing the monster, and it was yielding results.
"That's MY power!!" Ultras fiercely lunged at the princess, but a massive fireball shielded her. The dragon tore at it with his claws, but the flames immediately regenerated. He tried to consume it, but only burned himself with its power.
Seleria raised her hands, and small tongues of flame shot out from the sphere. Transforming into shurikens, they rained down upon the enemy. The flames easily seared his skin, and stars fell like hail on the surrounding forest, leaving deep gouges. However, even hundreds of stars couldn't inflict significant wounds; the dragon absorbed them instantly.
The girl spread her arms wide, as if wielding invisible weapons, and two crimson blades materialized from the crimson flames. Skillfully wielding the swords, she delivered two attacks to the dragon, but he shattered the fiery blades in mid-air, causing them to dissipate. The girl continued to summon various weapons, but Ultras repelled all the attacks. While he couldn't counterattack, the battle seemed to be a stalemate.
"Yes! That's it!! Go, Seli!!" I don't know where Vina had been hiding until now, but if she had the right materials, she would have made numerous posters and turned us into a fan club for the red princess.
"Vina, it's too early to celebrate. The battle isn't going in our favor yet," I carefully observed the new suns around Seleria. "Each attack slowly depletes Seleria's strength; the fireball has already shrunk by almost twenty centimeters after only three attacks. If this continues, she'll lose."
"But Ultras' power isn't limitless either," Ragni protested against my conclusions. "He won't be able to regenerate forever!"
"Perhaps, but I wouldn't risk betting on who will come out stronger. Seleria still lacks something," I said as the flame mainly remained in the form of a sphere, changing only for attacks. "It's her first time harnessing such immense power, and she doesn't know how to wield it properly."
"Well, she could create several royal hydras from it; they worked pretty well with me," Ragni nonchalantly scratched her side, recalling the bites of fiery fangs.
"That's only because you were trapped in a dome; now it's too foolish. The most impressive form she has ever seen is Ultras, but she can't summon him to this battle. He knows his weaknesses better than anyone, so she needs to find a better form," I explained.
"But there is one such form!" Ragni delved into her memories. "I saw it just now, the creature that helped her rise from the flames."
"But you saw it, not Seleria," I smiled, and it began to dawn on the dragoness. Spreading her wings, she soared towards the fireball. "Kurone, do everything you can to merge their minds."
"It won't be easy," Kurone focused on Ragni. "In the end, Seleria is protected by divine power."
"Are you saying you won't be able to do it?"
Kurone let out a satisfied snort.
"Oh, of course not. It'll just take a bit more time," she replied.
"SELERIA!" The black dragoness flew into the fiery sphere at high speed, but the red flames didn't burn her; instead, they allowed her passage to the spellcaster.
"Ragni, what are you doing here?!" The girls reunited at the center of the sun, holding hands as they floated in an ocean of flames, beyond the world's reach.
"I came to give you a little help. Not too long ago, I did wake you up, or do you not remember?" Ragni frowned in disapproval.
"I heard your voice, but I thought it was just my imagination," Seleria admitted.
"No, Kurone tried so hard to lead me to you, and now you're saying nothing happened. I want to share with you the image of someone who could fight Ultras on equal terms."
"Eh?" Seleria paused for a moment. "Could it be your mother?"
"Nope," a cunning smirk appeared on the dragoness' face. "Someone even better."
The girls closed their eyes and connected their memories. Images of a massive dragon awakening within Seleria's power flowed from Ragni's mind. The crimson aura enveloped the princess and gradually began to encompass her companion.
"What's this?" Ragni looked in awe and fear as the glow rose from her hands and covered her entire body.
"Calm down, I just thought I could share a bit with you."
For a moment, the colossal sun contracted to ten meters and then suddenly expanded into a new form. From the scorching center emerged tongues of flame, which immediately took the shape of scaled limbs. Huge wings and a sharp-toothed face on a long neck completed the appearance of the red dragon.
Now, two red dragons of immense size hovered in the sky. Ultras, the dragon of destruction, and the dragon of crimson flame. They appeared equal in size, but the crimson dragon was slimmer and more elegant than Ultras. Its paws were covered with sharp spikes up to the elbows, and it had only two rows of pointed horns on its head. Yet, somehow, it exuded an aura of much greater strength.
"F-Father?" The voice of the red dragon conveyed genuine fear.
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