A raging wave of fire surged toward Leon, its overwhelming momentum so terrifying that even Rebecca and the others, watching from a distance, were struck with primal fear.
"Captain!!"
Rebecca's cry was swallowed by the roaring heatwave, which knocked her back several steps. She stumbled, but Martin caught her just in time.
"Are you okay?" Martin asked, his voice tight with concern.
"I'm fine," she said, pushing herself upright. Her green eyes were wide with fear as she stared into the fiery maelstrom. "The captain... he has to be okay, right?"
Above them, Elizabeth's mocking laughter cut through the chaos.
"Ha! As much as I'd love to see your captain reduced to cinders, if he could be killed so easily, the Shadow Lord wouldn't have bothered with such elaborate preparations."
Rebecca gritted her teeth in fury and fired two rounds toward the sound of Elizabeth's voice, but the bullets were effortlessly intercepted by the swirling Bone Avians.
"Shut up, you witch!" Rebecca screamed.
Elizabeth's smirk was audible. "You impudent child. You'll be joining him in the magma soon enough."
At that moment, a sharp crack of thunder echoed from within the inferno. Rebecca's eyes widened as she saw a blue figure leap from the heart of the flames, surrounded by a protective lattice of lightning—the Lightning Skeleton Shadow. The blazing fire had failed to touch him.
"Captain..." Rebecca exhaled, a wave of relief washing over her.
Leon landed in a controlled crouch, the skeletal energy dissipating as he rose to his full height. His expression was cold and focused, his gaze locked on the Flame Demon.
Dragon Extinction was neutralized, and maintaining the Lightning Skeleton Shadow drains too much mana. Who knows what other tricks Elizabeth has in reserve, he thought, his mind racing.
This wasn't a battle where he could afford to expend his energy recklessly. He recalled his duel with Odin in Sky City, how his final, all-out attack had left him unconscious, waking only because Rossweise was there to tend to him. Here, if he fell, there would be no one to watch his back. The consequence would be final.
If magic isn't the advantage here, then...
Leon consciously suppressed his mana flow, his eyes narrowing. Slowly, he closed them, his expression becoming detached, serene. A faint, ethereal white glow began to shimmer around him, as if the underlying truths of the world were unveiling themselves to his perception.
Ultra Sense...
Elizabeth's smug smile faltered. "The Shadow Lord was right," she muttered. "Once you enter that state, you become a problem."
This was only Leon's second time consciously invoking Ultra Sense. While it came more readily now, the immense strain it placed on his body was undeniable.
Leon glanced at his hand, flexing his fingers. A dull ache was already spreading through his muscles. I'm still not proficient enough. No wonder there are side effects.
The Flame Demon roared, sensing the shift in the energy around its opponent. It charged, a tidal wave of incandescent death.
Leon's eyes snapped open. "I'll end this before my body fails," he murmured, his voice low and resolved.
The beast swung its massive, fiery horn like a warhammer. The move was clumsy but carried apocalyptic force. Leon sidestepped with minimal movement, the horn grazing his chest as it smashed into the ground, burying itself deep.
As the Flame Demon struggled to free its weapon, Leon stomped down on the embedded horn, pinning it. The monster thrashed violently, but Leon used the opening to deliver three devastating, precise punches to its skull.
The Flame Demon staggered back, dazed. Leon glanced at his fists; the skin was red and blistered, steam rising from his knuckles.
"Fire refined to this degree is a nightmare," he muttered, a note of grudging respect in his tone.
Summoning a violet aura, Leon activated the Eighth Gate: Rebirth's Radiance. The protective energy enveloped his hands, sealing the burns and shielding him from the intense heat.
"At least I won't cripple myself punching it now," he noted dryly, launching back into the assault.
The Flame Demon tried to reinforce its fiery armor, but Leon pressed his advantage, his movements a blur of controlled violence. His punches landed with thunderous impact, each strike resonating with a deep, concussive boom.
Crack!
A sharp sound echoed as one of the creature's massive horns shattered at the base, spinning through the air. The Flame Demon collapsed, its form flickering, the intense flames around it guttering and fading.
Even as it lay motionless, Leon delivered one final, decisive punch to its head, ensuring it would not rise.
Rebecca allowed herself a sharp, triumphant smirk, kicking one Bone Avian into another, sending both clattering to the ground. "What Flame Demon? The captain just pummeled it into submission."
Leon nudged the defeated monster with his foot, sending it sliding across the scorched earth toward Elizabeth's general direction.
"Sorry about your pet," he said, his voice laced with mock sympathy. "Maybe now you can move on to this 'Infernal Fire Plan' you mentioned. Care to elaborate before you try again?"
Elizabeth's expression remained unnervingly calm. "You think it's over because you felled it once, Leon? I told you—the Shadow Lord invested too much to let you die so simply."
Leon's eyes narrowed. "What...?"
Before he could process her words, the ground beneath the vanquished Flame Demon fractured. Molten magma, bright and viscous, bubbled up from the fissures. The lava flowed toward the creature's body, which absorbed it like a parched sponge drinking water.
Through his Ultra Sense, Leon could feel the horrifying truth—the Flame Demon was reviving, its energy signature swelling with each passing second, fed by the very heart of the valley.
In moments, it stood tall once more, its severed horn completely regenerated, burning brighter than before.
"This thing doesn't stay down..." Leon gritted his teeth, launching another furious assault.
But his powerful blows, which moments before had been decisive, now seemed futile. The wounds they inflicted sealed almost instantly, the magma continuously healing and empowering the beast.
Elizabeth's voice was smug and triumphant. "You see? It is unbeatable here. It can burn your magic, outlast your stamina, and revive endlessly. Accept it, Leon—you have already lost."
Leon clenched his fists, frustration and exhaustion warring within him.
"You have two choices," Elizabeth proclaimed. "Activate the final stage of your technique and obliterate everything in this valley—including your dear comrades—or surrender and allow me to grant you a swift death."
Leon shut out her taunts, focusing on the impossible battle. But as he gathered himself for another charge, a new horror unfolded.
From behind him, the remaining Bone Avians broke away from their engagements with the guild. They swooped down, not to attack him, but to fly directly into the Flame Demon. Their skeletal bodies disintegrated on contact, merging with the fiery beast, their bones reforging into a framework for two enormous, jagged, black wings of solidified flame.
Leon's heart sank. This is bad...
Elizabeth cackled, the sound unhinged. "Behold, Leon! This is the perfect instrument of your demise!"
Despite the screaming protest of his muscles and the drain on his spirit, Leon forced himself into a fighting stance. But his body betrayed him. A wave of crippling pain shot through his limbs, and he coughed, a splatter of blood hitting the blackened ground. His knee buckled, and he collapsed to one knee, his vision swimming.
Elizabeth grinned victoriously. "It seems your time is up. Flame Demon, finish him!"
The newly winged abomination seized Leon, its grasp like burning iron. It lifted him into the air, beating its powerful wings, and soared directly toward the volcano's bubbling, molten heart.
The searing heat stole the breath from his lungs and blinded him. He struggled weakly, but his strength was gone, his mana depleted.
Is this... really how it ends? The thought was a quiet, regretful whisper in his mind. Rossweise... I'm sorry... I broke my promise.
High above, unseen by any, a figure cloaked in shadows let out a soft, worried sigh. Her dark eyes, pupils like pools of midnight, had been tracking Leon's every move. She had been watching, always watching. As the Flame Demon ascended toward the caldera, a flicker of light gathered at her fingertips, ready to be unleashed. But then she paused, a slight, relieved smile touching her lips as she looked toward the southern sky. "Don't make me worry so much, my boy," she murmured into the wind, her form dissolving into the shadows just as a new presence tore through the air.
A piercing cry, sharp and commanding, ripped across the sky.
A massive shadow streaked downward faster than a lightning bolt. Just as Leon was about to be consumed by the lava, the figure intercepted his fall, snatching him from the Flame Demon's grasp with impossible speed and grace.
The cool rush of wind against his face shocked Leon back to awareness. He forced his eyes open, blinking against the glare, and stared in utter disbelief at the creature that held him securely, carrying him away from certain death.
It was a magnificent beast, its six powerful wings beating rhythmically against the superheated air.
"A... Six-Winged Dragonhawk?"