The air vibrated as the Gateheart pulsed gold, its rhythm syncing with Erza's breath. The corrupted flames around the obsidian platform began to recede, replaced by thin lines of celestial gold—like old scars slowly healing.
But peace never lasted long in a world like this.
From the churning black sky, a pressure fell—like gravity multiplied.
Lysra looked up. "Something's coming through."
A rift tore open above the mountain, bleeding cosmic ichor.
A shadow dropped from it.
He landed hard, stone cracking beneath armored boots.
A hulking figure clad in obsidian-plated armor stood tall—shoulders broad, arms crossed, and a curved tail of dark matter coiling behind him. Crimson sigils pulsed across his armor in the shape of a scorpion constellation, twisted and alive.
"Warlord incoming," Seris whispered, raising her weapon.
The figure stepped forward. His voice was low and metallic, like rust scraping through magma.
"I am Velgron, the Venomsting Tyrant. Scorpio's avatar, Noctyros's blade."
Erza's eyes narrowed. "You're the one who led the breach on my kingdom."
Velgron tilted his head. "Correction. I led the execution."
Korr vanished, reappearing behind the warlord in a flash of speed.
His blade struck—
—and shattered against Velgron's tail.
The scorpion tail whipped forward, slamming Korr into the mountain wall. He crumpled with a gasp of pain.
"Korr!" Seris shouted.
Auren loosed three photon arrows in a volley. Velgron didn't dodge. His armor absorbed them, the sigils glowing brighter.
"I don't come to spar, children," Velgron growled. "I come to kill Leo's heir."
He raised his right gauntlet, and a storm of stingers—shadowy, molten—rained from the sky toward Erza.
The Flame Roars Back
Erza stepped forward.
His aura burst gold. The Leo sigil on his chest glowed, not perfectly—still cracked—but burning with purpose.
"✴ Solar Fang: Radiant Divide!"
A wave of solar flame erupted from his arms, carving a crescent through the incoming stingers. Each one dissolved midair in a hiss of molten energy.
Velgron smiled. "You've grown. Good. It'll be fun crushing you now."
He charged.
The mountain shook beneath his sprint—his massive tail slicing through the air.
Erza clashed with him, fire against force. Each strike sent out shockwaves, toppling ancient spires and fracturing the sky's illusions.
Seris joined the fray, slashing at Velgron's knees. Auren circled wide, raining star-tipped arrows on his exposed flanks.
But nothing pierced his armor.
"He's layered in Aether-Scorite plating," Lysra said. "Concentrated myth-metal. Only direct mythic resonance can damage it!"
Erza clenched his fists.
Then we match it with our myth.
Lionheart's New Flame
Erza leapt back, eyes blazing.
"✴ Celestial Drive: Myth-Aspect – Leo!"
A golden lion burst behind him—a ghostly form that roared as it merged with his body. Flames wrapped around his limbs, tailing from his shoulders like a crown of embers.
He charged once more.
This time, he was faster.
Velgron brought his tail down—
Erza caught it.
"✴ Solar Fang: Regalia Break!"
He drove a sun-forged fist into Velgron's chestplate. The sigils across it cracked, and the warlord staggered for the first time.
But not enough.
Velgron snarled and backhanded Erza into a cliff face. Rock shattered. Blood trailed from Erza's mouth.
Still, he stood.
"You should be ash," Velgron growled.
Erza wiped his lip. "Funny. That's what they said when you slaughtered my father."
His fire flared again—brighter than before. The Gate, sensing the myth within him, shimmered in resonance.
Lysra gasped. "The Gate's aligning with Erza. He's restoring Leo's truth!"
Velgron realized it too—too late.
Erza summoned a flaming sigil behind him, shaping it with both hands. A lion's eye formed, then flared open.
"✴ Mythic Final: Ascendant Eclipse!"
A pillar of golden flame surged upward, engulfing Velgron in light. His armor cracked. The scorpion tail sizzled. With a final bellow of defiance, Velgron launched backward—out of the gate's rift.
The Gate snapped shut behind him.
Silence.
Then Erza fell to one knee, panting. The flames around him dimmed—but didn't fade.
He'd survived.
And won.
Aftermath: What Comes Next
Korr limped back into view, groaning. "Next time… I take his boots as a trophy."
Seris helped Erza up. "You good?"
He nodded. "Not whole. But getting there."
Above them, the Leo constellation pulsed—stable, no longer inverted.
Lysra looked at her readings. "The Gate is closing. But we made a dent in Noctyros's hold."
Auren stepped beside them. "One Gate down. Eight more remain."
Erza looked at the stars above—still stained with shadows.
"Noctyros won't stop."
He raised his fist.
"But neither will we."
End of Chapter 17