The atmosphere was growing hotter by the second, the heat rising in oppressive waves that shimmered across the cracked, magma-veined floor.
Against the far wall, Zhou Rui lay slumped unconscious, his breathing shallow, one arm limp across his chest.
Saya and Serena had arrived now, stepping into the chamber side by side.
Julius felt a surge of relief—and no small measure of satisfaction—when he saw the Magma Tyrant's hulking form split neatly in half by Saya's devastating attack.
"We finally defeated it. Serena, can you—"
But before he could finish his sentence, the impossible happened.
The Tyrant's severed halves quivered, strands of molten flesh knitting together as if time itself rewound. In seconds, its entire body regenerated—horned headband and all—until it stood whole again, towering in the flickering glow.
"Wait…what in the fuck is this?" Julius breathed, horror creeping up his spine.
The Magma Tyrant's ember-bright eyes locked onto him.
In a blur, it lunged forward, appearing directly in front of him, its colossal blade already in motion—a horizontal arc aimed to slice him in two.
"Wind Shield!"
Julius thrust his staff forward, conjuring the protective barrier just in time.
The blow landed with a deafening impact, and for an instant the shimmering shield held—then fractured apart with a crystalline shriek.
Before the blade could cleave him, an arrow struck Julius's left shoulder—ordinary-looking, yet faintly glowing with some strange energy.
The instant it embedded in his flesh, his body lit up in a halo of protective light.
A heartbeat later, the sword connected.
Julius gasped as pain flared in his side, blood bursting from his mouth—but the blade did not sever him. Whatever magic the arrow held had shielded his life.
He was flung backward, smashing into the wall with a bone-jarring crash.
Saya's face twisted into fury.
"HOW FUCKING DARE YOU HURT MY MASTER, HUH!?"
Her voice cracked like a whip across the molten hall.
She vanished in a streak of motion, crossing the distance in a blink.
The Magma Tyrant turned to meet her, pivoting on one massive foot. Its sword swung in a broad, building sweep, molten sparks fountaining from its edge.
Saya's twin blades met it in midair—a screaming collision of steel and heat.
CLASH!
Her black katana siphoned the searing energy pouring off its weapon, draining the heat into the blade's bottomless core. With her white katana, she tried to expel that energy straight back into the Tyrant's body in a counter-surge of annihilation.
But it wasn't working.
The Tyrant simply absorbed the expelled heat again, growing hotter, brighter, stronger by the second.
Julius pushed himself upright, bracing on his staff, blood dripping down his chin. His voice was raw:
"Saya! It's taking the heat you give back—it's feeding on it, amplifying its power!"
Even as he shouted, another arrow hissed across the chamber. It struck the Tyrant's left shoulder and detonated in a cascade of hissing vapor. The entire limb was vaporized in an instant.
Serena lowered her bow, her breath ragged.
"Water arrow."
Her quiver was running low. She had already used one ice arrow on the Tyrant, one sturdiness arrow to shield Julius, and one water arrow. She had only two of each left—and every shot devoured precious mana she could not replenish quickly.
The Magma Tyrant didn't falter.
New magma welled up around its missing arm, congealing into flesh once more. It roared—a sound that cracked the pillars lining the chamber—and twisted with a sudden, brutal surge of strength.
Saya was forced back, her boots skidding across the floor. Sparks blazed under her heels as she dug in, using friction to anchor herself against the monster's sheer force.
The heat roared higher. The walls themselves glowed brighter, and flakes of searing ember drifted down like deadly snow.
The chamber writhed with heat, magma pulsing through the walls like veins of fire. The Magma Tyrant stepped forward, each impact of its molten blade splintering the scorched stone.
Julius planted his boots wide, the staff braced before him, mana churning to life at his call. His chest heaved, sweat streaking ash across his face.
"Wind Blade."
A volley of twelve air-blades burst forward in a shrieking wave, carving furrows across the floor as they closed the distance. The Tyrant's massive sword swept up to parry, splintering half the blades in midair. But the remaining arcs tore gashes across its plated torso, splashing liquid fire to the ground.
Unfazed, the Tyrant lunged. Julius threw himself aside, feeling the blast of heat as the blade smashed where he'd stood, exploding the floor into shards.
Serena's breath was calm, her aim unwavering as she pulled her bowstring back.
"Ice Arrow."
A shimmering bolt crackled into being. She loosed it, and it struck the Tyrant's flank in an eruption of frost that sealed half its arm in jagged rime.
Saya was already there. Her black katana slashed across the frozen gap, drinking in the captured heat. She twisted in the same motion, her white katana flashing as she hurled the stolen energy back into the wound. The impact hammered the Tyrant sideways, spraying molten shards.
It drove forward anyway. A seething roar broke from its core as the magma sword ignited again, blazing even hotter.
Serena sidestepped, drawing another arrow.
"Water Arrow."
A spiral of shimmering blue wrapped the shaft. The moment she released, the projectile smashed into the Tyrant's chest, steam billowing in an explosive cloud.
Julius raised his staff again, shoulders trembling.
"Wind Blade."
Twenty blades erupted at once, a hurricane of razors shrieking down the chamber. Each strike tore strips of molten armor from the Tyrant's limbs and chest. But Julius felt the cost in his bones. Every arc of power drained more of his strength until black spots danced in his eyes.
Saya moved like a shadow, blades flickering in relentless tandem. The black katana devoured the heat with each strike; the white katana turned it into surging counterattacks that drove the monster back step by step.
But it never stopped.
Serena shifted her footing, frost streaking her knuckles as she nocked her final ice arrow. Breath hissing between her teeth, she loosed it with perfect precision. The arrow smashed into the Tyrant's skull, a blast of rime encasing half its head.
The creature reeled.
Saya lunged again, her twin blades crossing the Tyrant's sword in a screaming clash. Sparks flew as molten metal and void-black steel ground against each other.
Julius stumbled to one knee, drained to the edge of collapse. Blood slid down his ribs where searing heat had scored him.
Serena's quiver was nearly empty, her mana wavering.
Saya's arms trembled as she locked blades with the towering monster.
All at once, the Tyrant reared back, magma gushing across its body in molten rivers.
In the lull, a ragged, guttural breath sounded behind them.
Zhou Rui was rising.