Chapter 546: I’ll hold her, find the cause.
The heat emanating from Scarlet was almost unbearable. Her scaly skin seed to glow like living embers, and her every movent left a fleeting trail of fire in the air. The inner fla that had fueled her vampiric and draconic soul for centuries now burned more intensely than ever, consuming her completely—but it was a fla that did not burn to destroy, but rather to forge, transform, and protect.
Her breathing quickened, almost as if a storm of fire were contained within her chest. She felt the energy flow like incandescent lava through her veins, increasing her power with every passing second. Then, with a slow and determined gesture, Scarlet began to concentrate that energy in her hands—a fire so pure, so hot, that it seed to be on the threshold between matter and light, almost plasma.
The fla took shape, curving until it assud the form of an incandescent spear, its tip burning like the core of a miniature sun. The heat from the weapon made the air around it ripple, and the light it emitted bathed everything in a vibrant and nacing orange-red hue.
Scarlet held the spear firmly, her red gaze piercing the darkness of the volcanic chamber. She felt her body almost lting, but she didn’t stop—she couldn’t stop. That fire was the last defense, the last hope to rescue Scathach from that monstrous prison.
She turned to Strax, who was still catching his breath after the initial confrontation with the beast. His eyes shone with a mixture of concern and respect for what he saw.
“Strax,” Scarlet said in a firm voice, the heat almost choking the words out of her, “you and the others need to find who is controlling Scathach. This creature is not her. Soone is manipulating her mind, imprisoning her soul. Find the source of this control—quickly.”
Strax nodded, his countenance hardened with determination. “I will. Ouroboros and Tiamat will help too. Nothing will stand in the way.”
Ouroboros, in her female human form, erged from the nearby shadows, her gaze cold and calculating. The serpent she had been before now resided in her gaze, and her lethal agility made her perfect for tracking magic and hidden enemies. Tiamat, powerful and imposing in her human form, emanated an aura of ancient strength, ready to crush any resistance.
“Let’s end this,” said Tiamat, her voice deep and authoritative, as they set off in search of the true enemy.
As Strax, Ouroboros, and Tiamat disappeared into the depths of the volcano, Scarlet turned her attention to Scathach. The monstrous creature that had once been her friend stood before her, a tangle of black and red scales, enormous claws, and wings that beat violently in the air, raising a storm of ash.
Scarlet raised her spear of fire, which now seed like an extension of her own being. She felt the ancient power vibrating in her hands, a mixture of vampiric magic and draconic energy, forged by decades of struggle and refinent.
The beast advanced, its roar echoing like thunder, a brutal challenge that seed to want to swallow Scarlet whole. But Scarlet did not retreat. She moved with the grace and speed of a predator, dodging the sharp claws and puffs of black fire that Scathach exhaled.
With a cry that mixed pain and determination, Scarlet drove the flaming spear into the creature’s shoulder scale, where the skin seed hardest. The incandescent tip burned the scaly flesh, provoking a roar of pain that made even the surrounding rocks tremble.
But the monster was not just brute force. Amidst the fury, there were fleeting monts when Scathach’s reptilian eyes glowed with a flash of consciousness, as if the warrior’s soul was still trying to erge from that prison.
“Scathach, listen to !” Scarlet shouted, advancing with her spear in hand. “You’re still there! I’m going to bring you back! I won’t give up on you!”
The creature hesitated for an instant, a precious mont that Scarlet took advantage of to increase the power of the spear, making it even more incandescent, almost a ray of plasma that seed to tear through the air.
Scathach’s roar echoed through the volcanic chamber, reverberating off the stone walls like distant but devastating thunder. The monstrous beast lunged at Scarlet, its black wings beating violently, raising a whirlwind of ash and sparks. The heat was almost unbearable, and the light from the warrior’s incandescent spear could barely pierce the dense cloud of smoke and dust.
Scarlet narrowly dodged, feeling the sharp claw scrape the air beside her head. Her scaly body was too hot to think about retreating, and adrenaline burned like a second sun inside her. With a fluid motion, she rolled to the side, feeling her skin burn from within, the energy of the fire consuming every fiber of her being, as she counterattacked with a quick and precise strike of her plasma spear. The tip of the weapon tore through the beast’s scales, leaving a glowing mark that smoked like molten iron.
But Scathach was no ordinary enemy—her monstrous strength ca from centuries of training and draconic power warped by the evil control that imprisoned her mind. She roared, full of fury and pain, spewing a blast of black, acidic fire that Scarlet barely managed to block with her spear. The impact shook the chamber, small pieces of rock falling from the ceiling.
Scarlet felt the heat hit her skin, but her will was stronger than any pain. She scread, summoning all the power she could muster, and the spear beca a living torrent of fire, illuminating everything around her. With one thrust, she drove the weapon into the ground and used the concentrated energy to propel herself forward, advancing against the beast with the speed of a cot.
Scathach tried to counterattack, extending her claws to tear Scarlet’s scaly flesh, but the warrior spun in the air, deftly dodging, and using her own spear as a club, struck the creature’s chest with brutal force. The impact sent the beast reeling backward, a guttural sound of pain escaping from its reptilian throat.
Scarlet took advantage of the opening and launched a spiraling attack, enveloping herself in an aura of fire so intense that it looked like a flaming whirlwind. Each strike of the spear sent sparks flying into the air, each step burning the stone beneath her feet. Scathach tried to protect herself, raising her wings like shields, but the force of the incandescent magic was overwhelming.
The creature roared again, this ti with a more desperate sound, an echo of humanity lost in the beast. Scarlet saw her friend’s green eyes shine for a mont, a flickering light in the midst of the storm of destruction. And that gave her the strength to continue.
“I won’t lose you, Scathach!” Scarlet shouted, her voice hoarse from effort and pain. “Fight it! Co back to !”
In a quick and risky move, Scarlet jumped onto the beast’s back, plunging her spear directly between the scales at the nape of its neck, where the magic of control probably took root most strongly. The fire spread like an internal explosion, causing Scathach to gasp, but the beast did not give up.
With a savage movent, Scathach shook Scarlet off, throwing her against the chamber wall with a crash that cracked the stones. Scarlet felt the impact reverberate through her body, but she quickly got to her feet, the fire on her skin now burning like a storm about to explode.
She advanced again, launching into a series of rapid attacks, her spear a flaming blur. Scathach counterattacked with claws and black fire, a deadly dance between destruction and hope. With each blow, Scarlet felt the weight of the battle not only physical, but spiritual.
On the opposite side of the volcano, Strax, Ouroboros, and Tiamat seed to have found sothing…
“What the hell is this?”
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