The Magma Tyrant leapt high, descending with a crushing strike aimed straight for Zhou Rui. But Zhou Rui did not meet the attack with a simple clash. Instead, he planted the Guardian Blade firmly before him, and from the sword's edge, a shield of shimmering green energy materialized, absorbing the full weight of the Tyrant's colossal magma blade.
In the same instant, Zhou Rui twisted his body and swung with all his force. The blow sent the Magma Tyrant hurtling upward, smashing into the ceiling. A rain of glowing stone fragments clattered around the chamber.
Near the throne, the air felt almost suffocating around Julius. He was standing only steps away from the ancient seat, his body shaking, every nerve screaming exhaustion. His mana reserves were nearly depleted, barely enough to conjure a meager Wind Slash or Shield if he was lucky.
Suddenly, one of the towering magma golems lunged, molten fists raised to crush him. Julius tried to summon a barrier, but the spell flickered and failed. The golem's silhouette blotted out the ceiling—he braced himself for the impact.
But before the killing blow fell, a blur of steel sliced through the air. The golem's body split into jagged pieces and collapsed into splashes of magma around Julius's boots.
"Master, destroy the throne—leave them to us."
Saya stood there, both katanas drawn, her eyes locked on the remaining golems.
Julius turned to the throne, sweat dripping from his chin. The walls around him were streaked with old and fresh blood, the great pillars groaning under the strain of the battle. Amid the devastation, the throne seemed almost inviting in its sinister beauty, carved from black volcanic glass and rimmed in crimson veins of hardened lava.
Clutching his staff in both hands, Julius pressed its orb to his chest. He closed his eyes, breath slowing as he gathered the last of his power.
"The one who governs the wind—ruler of the island Aeolia. The one who trapped the winds in a cave and was crowned King of the Four Winds—Wind Turbo: Aeolus."
A gale screamed into existence. A razor-edged tornado burst from the staff, tearing horizontally across the throne with a deafening roar. Smoke billowed in all directions, a shockwave shaking the walls.
Both the Magma Tyrant and Zhou Rui turned their faces toward the eruption. Saya and Serena paused in their struggle as the remaining golems liquefied into pools of magma.
"Master did it."
The smoke churned, swirling in heavy clouds. Slowly, it began to clear, and a deep red glow flickered behind the settling ash.
The last shreds of vapor dispersed, revealing a single object pulsing like a living heart: a red orb, embedded in the cracked seat of the throne.
In a burst of speed, the Magma Tyrant landed in front of the orb, its massive silhouette blotting out the light.
"It's the same as those drawings—the red orb sustaining the Magma Tyrant's life." Zhou Rui said, voice low.
"Yeah." Julius rasped.
"Can you destroy that orb?" Zhou Rui asked, tightening his grip on the Guardian Blade.
"Of course." Julius answered with a smirk.
The Magma Tyrant straightened its colossal frame, molten veins surging brighter than ever.
"Come forth, humans. I will slay you all."
The exposure of the orb had made it stronger still—its sword glowed so hot that heat waves rippled out in every direction. The temperature spiked in an instant.
Julius staggered, feeling his skin burn.
"I barely have any mana left… The most I can do is a single wind blade or the fire magic I learned in that village."
Saya stepped forward, her black katana absorbing heat as she spoke.
"Master, leave the Magma Tyrant to me, Serena, and Mr. Zhou Rui."
"Yeah… Please, all of you—take care of yourselves."
Serena's eyes never left the giant.
"Don't worry, Master. I don't know about that Zhou Rui guy, but your maidens aren't that weak."
"Now that's harsh." Zhou Rui muttered, smirking despite the exhaustion.
Heat poured off the Tyrant's sword like a furnace. All of them winced, sweat running down their faces—except Zhou Rui, whose Guardian Blade shielded him in a halo of emerald light.
Julius drew in a ragged breath.
"Guys—now GO!"
"Are Mr. Zhou Rui and Mr. Airu really going to be all right?"
Yu Zhen, who had fled the dungeon earlier, now stood outside, his mind restless with fear. A tightening anxiety churned in his chest, cold and insistent as the mountain air.
Beyond the ragged archway of the dungeon's entrance, the weather had begun to turn. Icy gusts howled between the crags, tearing at the edges of his cloak. Evening shadows stretched across the snowfield like dark hands. Snowflakes, thin and glassy, began to descend in swirling columns. Overhead, bruised clouds gathered in heavy silence—a storm was returning.
"Should I go back inside?"
His voice was barely a whisper against the rising wind. Every instinct warred within him, each step of logic drowned by dread.
"Why… why did I even run out here?"
He clenched his jaw, feeling the shame burn hotter than the cold. He took one step forward across the frozen clearing. Then another. Then another—faster, surer, until he was running.
His boots cracked through a delicate web of frost each time they struck the ground. CRACK. The ice split beneath him in jagged fissures, echoing into the dark. The permafrost here was thinner than he'd thought, weakened by the labyrinth's buried heat.
"Even if I'm powerless… I can't just let them die in there. They matter to me—to all of us."
The wind tore through him, scattering his breath like smoke. He kept going, chest heaving, the dungeon entrance looming ahead like the mouth of some ancient beast.
Beneath his feet, the ice groaned. Another step, another shatter of cracks racing in all directions. Every inch felt as if it might crumble and swallow him into the frozen abyss.
"If I don't reach them in time… If something happens to them… How will I ever face my father again?"
His thoughts blurred as snow whipped into his eyes, stinging like tiny shards. But even as fear constricted his throat, he pressed on, racing toward the dark that waited beyond the threshold.
Yu Zhen was terrified—truly, helplessly terrified. But there was no turning back now.