Leon led his team deeper through the wide, ash-strewn gorge, eventually reaching the volcanic heart of the Flaming Valley. The air grew thick with sulfur and heat, and the ground vibrated with a low, constant hum.
Here, the nutrient pipes they had been tracing ran along the ground like metallic veins, all converging and stretching toward the base of a massive, smoldering volcano that dominated the horizon.
Martin, observing the pipes burrowing directly into the volcanic rock, couldn't hide his astonishment. "They're drawing power directly from the volcano itself... I've never seen or read about magic or technology capable of this."
Leon furrowed his brow, his eyes fixed on the ominous peak. "This isn't just any volcano. Remember the historical records? After the original Flame Demon died, its body became the foundation of this valley. The magma flowing beneath us isn't just molten rock; it's the crystallized, residual life force of a primordial being."
Martin nodded slowly, the gravity of the situation settling upon him. "That... explains the sheer scale of the energy we're sensing."
Rebecca, having finished reassembling her custom hand cannon, hefted it onto her shoulder and glanced at Leon. "So, Captain, what's the play? Do we just blow these pipes to smithereens and call it a day?"
"Let's investigate their terminus first. Destroying them blindly might trigger a chain reaction we can't control," Leon replied, his tone cautious.
"Got it."
As the group pressed forward, Rebecca's boot came down with a distinct crunch. She looked down and shifted her foot, revealing a large, strangely shaped bone half-buried in the ash. Unfazed, the battle-hardened gunner bent down, picked it up, and inspected it with a playful smirk.
"Hey, Captain, you think Donkey would like a new chew toy?" she asked, referring to the stubborn pack animal they sometimes used for transport.
Leon sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "First, Donkey is not a dog, and he has a very specific diet that does not include ancient bones. Second, that is not a standard-issue weapon. And third, for the last time, stop picking up random, potentially cursed artifacts from magical wastelands."
"Tch, you're no fun," Rebecca muttered, tossing the bone aside. She then clapped her hands clean and made an exaggerated move to wipe them on Martin's shirt, who sidestepped her with the weary grace of a man who had performed this dance a hundred times before.
Their familiar, playful banter felt like a relic from a simpler time, reminding Leon of their early days in the Dragon Slayer Corps. But the nostalgia was short-lived.
Maite, the team's dangerous-species scholar, had quietly retrieved the discarded bone. He held it up, his eyes alight with academic curiosity. "Fascinating. I've dedicated my life to the study of dangerous species, but I've never encountered a bone structure quite like this."
Leon raised an eyebrow. "Is it significant?"
Maite turned the bone over in his hands. "It's hard to say definitively. It could be from a creature uniquely adapted to this environment, perhaps altered by the same primordial energy that changed the Blazing Flame Deer." He weighed it thoughtfully. "Notice how incredibly light it is? The curvature is also anomalous, not matching any known terrestrial or avian species. My professional hypothesis is that this belonged to a flying dangerous species, but one unlike any on record."
"Impressive analysis," Leon acknowledged. While this wasn't his field, he respected Maite's expertise. However, academic curiosity was a luxury they couldn't afford for long. Maite carefully wrapped the bone in a cloth and stowed it in his pack for later study.
"Let's keep moving," Leon ordered, his voice cutting through the scholarly moment.
They hadn't advanced more than fifty paces when a thunderous, grating roar echoed from behind them, followed by the sound of shattering rock.
Leon spun around to see massive boulders, each the size of a small house, crashing down from the gorge walls, completely sealing the entrance they had just used. A thick cloud of dust billowed out, choking the air.
"What in the world? That was too coordinated to be a natural rockslide!" one of the mages exclaimed.
Leon raised a fist, instantly silencing the team. Rebecca and Martin fell into defensive stances, weapons at the ready. Leon's sharp eyes scanned the dust-shrouded cliffs above, and there, standing silhouetted against the hazy sky, was a lone figure.
He didn't need to see her face. The posture, the timing, the sheer audacity—it could only be one person. Narrowing his eyes, he muttered the name like a curse. "Elizabeth."
Rebecca, following his gaze, asked, "Captain, you see her?"
"She's made her move. But if she thinks a pile of rocks is enough to trap us, she's sorely mistaken." Leon's voice was calm, but a dangerous energy began to crackle around his fists. "Martin, signal the team to form up. We're retreating—now."
The question of what lay at the end of the pipes was now secondary to the team's immediate survival. Leon would not risk their lives for a clue.
The group pivoted with practiced efficiency, moving swiftly back toward the newly created wall of stone. Leon began gathering crackling lightning energy in his palm, preparing to blast a path through the rubble.
But before he could release the spell, the ground beneath their feet erupted into a violent tremor, far more intense than before.
"What's happening now?!"
"Earthquakes in an active volcanic zone are generally a very, very bad sign!"
"Thank you for that brilliant insight!"
Despite the panic in their voices, the Lionheart members held their formation. They were veterans, their nerves steadied by the unshakable presence of their captain at the center.
Leon planted his feet, analyzing the tremors. "This isn't a natural quake," he declared, his voice cutting through the chaos. "The vibrations are too localized. Something is moving. Something big. Rebecca, Martin, combat positions!"
"Yes, Captain! But where is the enemy—"
Before Rebecca could finish her sentence, jagged streaks of blinding white shot up from the earth all around them, moving with impossible speed. They weren't projectiles; they were things unburying themselves.
The Lionheart members tightened their defensive circle, magical auras flaring and weapons humming to life.
At that moment, Maite's backpack began to shake violently. His eyes widened with realization. He ripped the pack open, snatched the wrapped bone from inside, and threw it onto the ground as if it were red-hot.
The moment the bone touched the earth, the streaking white lights converged upon it. The bone glowed with a sickly pallor and rose into the air, acting as a nucleus. The white lights solidified around it, their forms twisting and knitting together in mid-air.
A moment later, the light faded, revealing the true forms of their attackers. A cold dread, colder than the mountain peaks of the Dragon Lands, washed over Leon.
"Captain... by the gods... what are those things?" Rebecca whispered, her voice trembling for the first time.
Hovering in a menacing ring around them were skeletal creatures shaped like monstrous birds. Their bodies were composed entirely of bleached, polished bone, devoid of any flesh, feathers, or sinew. They had no wings, no membranes, yet they floated effortlessly in the air, held aloft by some unseen, malevolent force.
"They're flying without wings... that's just not right," Rebecca murmured, a shiver running down her spine.
Shaking off her shock, she shouldered her hand cannon, took aim at the nearest bone bird, and fired. The shell struck true, shattering the creature into a hundred pieces that clattered to the ground.
"Hah! See? All show, no substance! Just brittle antiques!" she declared, a smirk returning to her face.
But her triumph was short-lived. The scattered bone fragments quivered, then shot back into the air as if pulled by invisible strings. In the blink of an eye, they reassembled, the skeletal bird reforming perfectly, hovering once more as if nothing had happened.
"What the—? How is that even possible?!" Rebecca stammered, her confidence evaporating.
The circle of bone birds suddenly parted, creating a hushed corridor in their ranks. A larger, more ornate skeleton—this one resembling a predatory hawk with a vast, wingspan of bare bone—descended gracefully. And perched upon its spine, as calm as if sitting on a throne, was a figure in a fluttering white dress.
"Long time no see, Leon Cosmodeous," Queen Elizabeth said, her voice a silken whisper that carried over the unnatural silence.
Leon's expression hardened into a mask of cold fury.
"Elizabeth."