At that very mont, just as Ethan and his group strolled confidently out of Erald Castle—
Not far from the castle, atop a desolate, craggy mountain, a towering woman stood. Her body was barely covered, her long hair whipping in the wind, her figure sinuous and dangerously alluring. Her face was striking—seductive, almost inhumanly beautiful—but in her hand, she gripped a massive whip, glowing red-hot like it had been forged from molten lava, its jagged edges radiating nace.
Suddenly, she snapped her head up, eyes narrowing.
Her voice was sharp, commanding. "Skorvex. Vhydrakk. Wake up. Sothing’s happening at Erald Castle. Soone just left."
"ROOOAAARRR!"
A deafening roar tore through the mountain air.
From the shadows, a monstrous creature rose—its body massive and covered in dark purple scales, its tail bristling with venomous spikes. A Venomspike Manticore, terrifying and primal, stood tall among the rocks.
"Hssssss... hssssss... hssssssss..."
At the sa ti, from the opposite side of the mountain, a chilling hiss echoed through the air.
There, beneath a swirling mass of black clouds, a colossal hydra lay coiled—its body pitch-black, its nine heads slowly rising, each pair of eyes glowing with savage bloodlust.
These weren’t just any monsters. They were the elite—three of the Dungeon’s most feared lieutenants, tasked with watching over Erald Castle.
They served directly under the Dungeon King himself—the Crimson Ultimate, the Shadow Dragon hero.
12-Tier Venomspike Manticore: Skorvex.
12-Tier Dark Hydra: Vhydrakk.
And 12-Tier Shadow Matriarch: Xaltheira.
"Who was it? Who left Erald Castle? Was it that damned Green Dragon?!" Skorvex snarled, his voice dripping with rage.
"They’re the ones who slaughtered my kin! I’ll tear them apart! I’ll gnaw their bones, feast on their flesh, drink their blood!" His roar echoed like thunder, filled with bloodlust and fury.
"It wasn’t the Green Dragon..." Xaltheira said, shaking her head, her brows furrowed in thought. "It was the little unicorn, the Gold Dragon... and soone else. A stranger. Looked like a human—probably from the Castle faction."
"A human?" Skorvex sneered, baring his fangs. "Pathetic little species."
"If it’s not that cursed Green Dragon, then who cares? A baby unicorn, a Gold Dragon, and so worthless human? Let them go. They’re nothing. They won’t stir up any real trouble." He let out a cold, dismissive laugh.
"But..." Xaltheira hesitated, her voice trailing off.
"Xaltheira," ca a low, chilling voice, cutting through the tension like a blade. "Which direction did they go?"
"And what about the Green Dragon?"
"Is she still inside Erald Castle?"
The voice belonged to none other than Vhydrakk—the 12-Tier Dark Hydra hero. His nine heads lood in the shadows, each one watching, waiting.
"Direction?" Shadow Matriarch Xaltheira’s eyes flickered, her body shrouded in a shifting veil of shadow. The darkness rippled around her like a living thing. After a brief pause, her gaze sharpened, and she spoke.
"They’re heading toward Verdant Ravine."
"And the Green Dragon... she’s still inside Erald Castle."
"Verdant Ravine?" Vhydrakk let out a cold, mirthless chuckle. "Heh... what, are they running off to beg the Firebirds and Phoenixes for help?"
He scoffed, voice dripping with disdain. "Let them. It’s just a desperate last gasp."
"They really think the Firebirds and Phoenixes allied with the Dungeon will save them? Pathetic. Naïve. They’ve got no idea what’s coming. If my timing’s right, the operation over there should already be underway."
"Even if that roost of Firebirds and Phoenixes has a Crimson Ultimate hero guarding it—so what? Skarvex, Drexon, and Xenodrath are working together. The three of them combined can take her down."
"And once they finish the job, once that threat is wiped out, Sylvanwood will be ours to ravage. To burn. To slaughter. Heh... hahahahaha..."
His laughter echoed through the sky—unhinged, twisted, and cold as death.
It sent a chill crawling down the spine, the kind of sound that made your skin crawl and your scalp tighten.
So that was their real target all along—not the northern Archmage Eldrin like everyone thought...
But the Firebird and Phoenix sanctuary?
A feint. A full-blown misdirection.
"Exactly!" Vhydrakk hissed. "He’s right!"
"Once Skarvex, Drexon, and Xenodrath finish their mission and wipe out those damned birds, I’ll personally reduce Sylvanwood to ashes!"
"And Erald Castle—oh, I’ll make sure every last one of them dies screaming. I’ll tear it all down, rip them apart, destroy everything! Hahahaha! HAHAHAHAHA!"
Skorvex, the Venomspike Manticore, burst into maniacal laughter, his eyes gleaming with savage bloodlust and pure, unfiltered madness.
His voice was a storm of violence, his killing intent so thick it felt like the air itself was curdling.
Xaltheira watched them, her expression unreadable. She still felt a gnawing unease in her gut, but she said nothing.
She knew better.
She was strong, yes—but not as strong as Skorvex or Vhydrakk. If she pushed too hard, tried to give orders or question them again, she’d be the next target. And those two? They wouldn’t hesitate to tear her apart.
So she kept her mouth shut.
Besides... maybe it really would be fine.
After all, Skarvex, Drexon, and Xenodrath weren’t just any commanders—they were the Dungeon King Vorundar’s most powerful lieutenants. And now they were working together.
With them on the job, what could possibly go wrong?
That thought settled her nerves. For now.
...
anwhile, not long after, Ethan, Elyra, and Auremax reached the entrance to the Dungeon hidden deep within Verdant Ravine—without encountering a single obstacle.
And on the way there, Ethan finally got the chance to pull Seraphina aside and ask her the question that had been burning in his mind:
About the Crimson Ultimate hero...
And the truth behind the Primordial Force.
"Seraphina, you’ve absorbed both fragnts of the Crimson Ultimate Hero’s Primordial Force by now, right?" Ethan asked, his eyes lighting up with curiosity. "How do you feel?"
But the mont the words left his mouth, Seraphina’s expression flickered. Her eyes trembled slightly, a flash of panic and gloom surfacing deep within them. She hesitated, then lowered her head, sneaking a cautious glance up at Ethan.
Even her voice had changed—soft, uncertain, tinged with guilt. "Master... do you think I’m useless?"
Ethan blinked, caught off guard. "What? Why would you say that?"
"I... I..." Seraphina stamred, struggling to find the words. Then her shoulders slumped, and she looked utterly defeated. "You gave sothing so rare, so precious... and I still couldn’t make it work. I could feel it—my Primordial Force was right on the edge of evolving. I was so close... but I just couldn’t push it over the line."
Her voice trailed off, heavy with disappointnt. She looked down, her whole deanor deflated.
"I’m sorry, Master. I let you down... I didn’t live up to your expectations."
Seraphina had always been proud, fiercely so. But the truth was hard to ignore—when it ca to hero Tiers, she just didn’t asure up. Not compared to Cicero. Not compared to Kyros.
Cicero was a B-Tier Crimson Ultimate Hero.
Kyros? Also B-Tier.
And her? Just C-Tier.
She hated admitting it, but it stung. Badly.
Cicero was one thing—he was her brother. That was easier to accept, even if it still gnawed at her pride. But when Ethan successfully hatched Kyros, and even he turned out stronger than her...
That hit her hard.
It wasn’t about jealousy. She didn’t resent Cicero or Kyros. It wasn’t about being petty.
It was about pride. About effort. About loyalty. She hadn’t lost because she didn’t try hard enough, or because she wasn’t devoted enough. She’d lost because of sothing she couldn’t control—her Tier.
And that was a bitter pill to swallow.
So when Ethan brought out those two fragnts of Order Dragon Asha’s power, it was the first ti Seraphina had ever shown such raw, unfiltered desire in front of him.
Because she knew—if she had any hope of catching up to Cicero and Kyros, those fragnts were her only shot.
But deep down, she also knew the truth.
Those fragnts weren’t ant for her.
By all logic, they should’ve gone to Cicero. He was the strongest of the three Crimson Ultimate Heroes in Erald Castle—no question. Smarter, more powerful, higher Tier. If not him, then Kyros. After all, the Order Dragon Asha fragnts were B-Tier and didn’t require any specific magic affinity.
Kyros was B-Tier.
She was still just C-Tier.
Hell, even if neither of them got it, Ethan himself should’ve been next in line. As the lord of Erald Castle and the master of all three Crimson Ultimate Heroes, Ethan had more right to those fragnts than any of them.
And yet... in the end, he gave them to her.
To Seraphina.
That fact alone had shaken her. Moved her.
She was overwheld—grateful beyond words.
But what Seraphina never expected—what completely blindsided her—was that even after using both fragnts of Order Dragon Asha’s power, nothing changed.
She was still stuck at the sa Tier.
No advancent. No breakthrough.
And that hit her like a punch to the gut.
She had truly believed this was her mont. That with these fragnts, she’d finally catch up. But instead, she was left standing in the sa place, holding the shattered pieces of her hope.
It crushed her.
She couldn’t believe she’d been so useless—wasting sothing so rare, so powerful. If she’d known this would be the outco, she wouldn’t have even wanted them in the first place. She didn’t feel worthy. Not of the fragnts. Not of the chance. Not of the faith Ethan had placed in her.
That’s why she’d been so down lately.
Why she’d been avoiding Ethan.
Normally, whenever Ethan returned to Erald Castle, she was the first to greet him, practically glowing with excitent. But this ti... she held back. Kept her distance. Tried to stay invisible.
Even now, Ethan had only asked a simple question—just curious about how things had gone.
And she’d already started to unravel.
Because the guilt was eating her alive. She felt like she’d let everyone down—Ethan, who had trusted her with sothing so valuable; Cicero and Kyros, who had stepped aside and let her have the fragnts without a second thought.
She knew they’d done it out of love. Out of respect. And she’d failed them all.
Whether human or divine, any being with a mind and a heart can break down in an instant.
Because when you care, failure cuts deeper.
And Seraphina cared. She cared so damn much.
Ethan watched her for a long mont, stunned by the raw emotion in her voice, the way she couldn’t even look him in the eye. Then, finally, he let out a soft, helpless laugh and shook his head.
"So that’s what’s been bothering you," he said, his voice gentle. "I was wondering why you seed a little off lately..."
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