"Laevatain!"
Surtr's voice echoed from atop the city wall. A massive fiery arm gripped a blazing longsword, slashing toward the black dragon in the sky, aiming straight for its wings that kept it aloft.
But the black dragon, well aware of Surtr's presence, had been on guard.
"Foolish!"
With a sneer, the dragon spread its wings, deftly dodging Surtr's attack.
"Tch!"
Surtr clicked her tongue in annoyance, frustrated but helpless—after all, she couldn't fly.
However, her strike created a vital opportunity. Within the swarm of disaster beasts surrounding him, Garde endured their relentless assault, channeling Ascension Power into his massive greataxe.
Under normal circumstances, throwing the weapon with enough force to harm the black dragon was impossible for him. But with the Ascension Power infused, the axe became a different story.
"Take this!"
The greataxe hurled through the air, twisting like a boomerang. The black dragon, having dodged Surtr and Garde's initial attacks, failed to avoid the axe's return trajectory.
The razor-sharp blade sliced into the dragon's wing, drawing a roar of pain.
"Curse you, Adakrys! You'll pay for this!"
The wound wasn't enough to bring the dragon down, but it left the beast in agony.
The massive, winged body—a hundred meters wide—dove toward the ground like a warplane, its claws aimed straight at Garde.
Yet, as the dragon neared its target, it caught sight of Garde's calm expression and the sinister smirk curling at the edges of his mouth.
"Damn it, this blasted crocodilian is baiting me!"
Mid-dive, the dragon forcefully halted its descent.
"You conniving Adakrys! I won't fall for the same trick twice. You won't catch me this time!"
Instead of striking with its claws, the dragon unleashed a fiery breath, scorching the ground below.
At that moment, Surtr leaped from the city wall.
Her initial fiery arm was just the beginning. As she descended, the flame extended further—first forming legs beneath her, then a complete torso and limbs.
Within moments, an enormous headless flame titan, nearly 80 meters tall, rose within the ancient city. Its fiery footfalls crushed countless disaster beasts beneath its weight.
With a single swing of its longsword, the titan absorbed the black dragon's fiery breath into the blade, transforming it into its own power.
The titan slashed upward, leaving a blazing streak across the sky.
"Disgusting! This is so disgusting!"
The black dragon roared furiously, dodging Surtr's attack. Against either Garde or Surtr individually, the dragon was confident it could outlast them with its overwhelming strength.
But the two of them together? They nullified its physical and fiery attacks entirely.
In close combat, it couldn't overpower Garde. And against fire, it was countered by the flame titan.
Then, noticing Surtr's condition, a sinister grin spread across the dragon's face.
"Hmph, you won't last long. Didn't I just shatter your body last time? How much longer can you hold out now?"
Standing atop the flame titan, Surtr frowned. She had thought she was finally standing high enough—yet she still had to look up at the dragon.
Wiping the blood from her nose, she smirked defiantly.
"Long enough to kill you!"
Meanwhile, as Surtr manifested the flame titan's full form, Garde called out:
"Surtr, forget the dragon! Let's destroy the ancient civilization's terminal first!"
Garde understood his current state well. He was merely bluffing. The psychological shadow he had inflicted on the black dragon last time was the only reason it hesitated to land.
But if the dragon realized he couldn't unleash the same power as before, it wouldn't hesitate to kill them both.
"You're so annoying!"
Surtr muttered irritably, but still directed the flame titan toward Garde's location.
From above, the black dragon's expression shifted uncertainly as it watched them.
Neither breathing fire nor withholding it seemed like the right choice.
The black dragon, despite its intimidating presence, was stuck in a tactical conundrum. The flame titan, with its unique ability to absorb and grow stronger from fire, posed an unrelenting threat. Yet, the titan's Achilles' heel was equally apparent: the red-haired girl controlling it. If the dragon could close the distance, the titan's downfall would only be a matter of time.
However, that required approaching within striking range of both Garde and the titan, a risky move the dragon wasn't eager to make. On the other hand, standing idly in the sky without using its fire made it look foolish, undermining its domineering appearance.
Charging in with confidence, only to discover it was at a disadvantage, the dragon was left seething with frustration as it watched Surtr methodically dismantle the city's defensive systems.
Despite its struggles, the dragon was no fool. Its combat intellect was legendary—even Garde, who once managed to best it, couldn't deny its brilliance. Four years ago, when they first crossed paths, Garde barely survived their encounter; the only reason the dragon spared him then was an error in judgment it had no intention of repeating.
"Shelter Three's terminal intelligence, intercept them! Especially that flame titan—exhaust its energy, and they'll be powerless against me!"
Surtr's titan was immensely powerful, but not invincible. Titans like it were a nightmare for individuals, but against coordinated armies, they could still fall.
The ancient civilization that built this city had accounted for such scenarios. Its formidable defenses posed a significant threat to the titan.
The Khagan observed the unfolding chaos from afar. His former mentor, Kal'tsit, was advancing toward the shelter with uncharacteristic urgency. It was clear that Kal'tsit, instead of stalling for time, had opted for a direct assault.
The dragon's fiery destruction had already obliterated the city's outermost defenses. Now, Surtr's flame titan was breaking through the secondary barriers with alarming speed. Soon, the only thing standing between them and the shelter would be the Mechanical Nightzmora Knights.
Standing at 80 meters tall, the titan's colossal strides devoured ground with every step, covering tens of meters in a single motion. It would cross the kilometer between the city's outer and inner defenses in just 20 or 30 strides.
Each swing of its burning sword annihilated scores of mechanical defenders, reducing them to smoldering heaps of scrap. The titan was an unstoppable force, a godlike figure carving a path of ruin through the ancient city.
Yet, the city's surveillance systems caught the critical detail that even the titan's might couldn't obscure: the red-haired girl controlling the flame titan was bleeding. Her body was visibly deteriorating with every swing, and her strength was waning.
The Khagan narrowed his eyes and gave a decisive order:
"Stall her!"
<+>
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