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"Come then!" he bellowed.
He released his magicules, a storm of raw chaotic power that bent the environment to his will. At the same time, he let loose his draconic haki—a pressure so immense that the molten creatures quivered, their forms distorting, collapsing under his sheer presence. The lava that clung to him evaporated instantly, blasted away by the oppressive weight of his spirit.
The flames hissed and recoiled, retreating like beasts cowed by a greater predator.
The core of the chasm glowed brighter, and there—nestled within molten stone—was a crystalline cluster of Sunfire Mithril. Unlike ordinary ore, its surface shimmered with molten cracks, golden veins that pulsed as though the metal itself had a heartbeat. Each pulse released bursts of unbearable heat, warping space around it.
Veldora chuckled, stepping closer, the stone hissing beneath his feet.
"So this is it. The Sunfire Mithril… Aniki will love this." His grin sharpened. "But first—let's take it first."
He raised his hand, magicules condensing into a swirling vortex of storm and flame. The ore resisted, trembling violently as if alive, the surrounding magma surging to protect it.
But Veldora simply pressed forward. His aura roared like a tempest, tearing the magma apart. He clenched his hand around the Mithril cluster—its searing heat enough to melt mountains—yet in his grip, it faltered.
"Damn it," he growled.
With a surge of haki and storm energy, he crushed the fiery resistance. The Sunfire Mithril pulsed once more, then went still, its golden veins glowing steadily as though acknowledging him.
Veldora smirked, lifting the blazing ore casually as though it weighed nothing.
"Fuhahaha! Victory!" he declared, his laughter booming across the land. "Now—time to bring this to Aniki. He'd better make me a weapon worthy of my efforts someday!"
With that, he soared back into the skies, leaving behind the scorched battlefield that now bore the scars of his dominance.
Shift to Reinhart
Reinhart cut through the sky at frightening speed, his sharp eyes fixed on the endless horizon. His cloak snapped behind him as the wind howled, but he paid it no mind. His thoughts were only on one thing—Helios Gold.
"Helios Gold… the divine ore said to have been touched by the sun's eternal flame," he murmured, his voice carried away by the rushing air. "But what does it look like? Is it truly gold, or something far beyond?"
He narrowed his eyes, stretching out his perception. His magic senses unfurled like a vast web across the land, combing through every ripple in the atmosphere. Immediately, the weight of the region pressed down on him—dense, suffocating.
The land below radiated with concentrated magicules, so much so that even Reinhart's battle-hardened body tensed under the pressure. To normal sorcerers, this zone would be death. Even high-ranking Majin would crumble if they dared set foot here.
Reinhart smirked.
"As expected… a material worthy of Lord Velsun won't be lying around in a meadow. This place is filled with danger."
The earth stretched below—cracked, shimmering, a barren expanse where heat waves distorted reality itself. Veins of molten energy pulsed through the ground like living arteries, as if the land itself were infused with a heartbeat. From above, Reinhart could see the outlines of giant craters glowing faintly with golden light.
The closer he drew, the heavier the air became. Each breath he took felt like fire entering his lungs. His muscles tightened, his aura instinctively flaring to protect his body from the oppressive wave of magicules. Still, he pushed forward.
"Hah… It's trying to crush me?"
Suddenly, his magic senses caught it—a flicker. A presence, radiant and commanding, hidden beneath layers of stone. Unlike ordinary ores, this was no lifeless metal. It pulsed faintly, like a sun fragment embedded into the world's flesh. Helios Gold.
But it wasn't unguarded.
The magicules in the area thickened violently, swirling into patterns that distorted the very sky. The ground trembled, magma surging upward as titanic constructs began forming out of raw elemental energy—molten guardians, beings born from the land itself, their bodies glowing like freshly forged steel.
Reinhart's eyes sharpened, his aura igniting around him in a blazing corona.
"So… that's the price of entry, huh?" He drew his blade, its steel shimmering faintly in the oppressive heat. "Then I'll carve my way through."
The guardians let out a soundless roar, the very earth shaking with their emergence. The battlefield was set. The Helios Gold glimmered faintly deep within the earth, calling out like a beacon, promising unimaginable power—if Reinhart could claim it.
Reinhart remained stoic, adrenaline rising.
His aura surged, and Reinhart dove into the fray.
The golden beasts roared again, their forms shifting and bending like mirages, each one radiating an overwhelming presence that distorted the air around them. Reinhart narrowed his eyes, already irritated at the delay.
"I don't have time for this," he muttered, his voice carrying a sharp edge of authority.
He raised his sword, magicules swirling violently around him, condensing until the sky itself seemed to tremble. With a single breath, Reinhart unleashed it—
"Ultimate Skill: Astral Breaker!"
The blade became wrapped in an ethereal glow, light not of this world—pure, unshackled destruction. The strike tore forward, not as a slash but as a principle, a law made manifest. The beasts lunged in unison, but the instant Astral Breaker connected—
RIIIIIP—!
Their bodies unraveled. Not torn, not destroyed by mere force—their very essence was denied. Claws that could rend mountains shattered mid-swing. Scales harder than diamond cracked like glass. Even the glowing shields of causality protecting the beasts faltered and were cleaved apart, as if reality itself had yielded to Reinhart's command.
The shockwave followed, splitting the air and gouging a deep scar into the floating landscape around him. When the brilliance dimmed, nothing remained of the golden guardians but shimmering fragments dissolving into the atmosphere.
Reinhart lowered his blade, expression still calm but firm. The mana-rich sky pulsed again, and for a moment it was as though the world acknowledged his dominance.
"Now then," he murmured, resuming his flight toward the Helios Gold's heart. "No one will stand in the way of my lord's will."
The ground shuddered violently, cracks spreading across the golden terrain as molten fissures erupted into the sky. The air thickened with raw mana, crushing, suffocating, like the breath of an ancient god. Out of the rift, a massive figure began to rise—its body layered in radiant scales, each one shimmering with countless golden runes. Its eyes burned with molten fury, and its roar shook the very fabric of the space.
Reinhart hovered midair, watching with steady eyes.
"A calamity-class threat…" he whispered, his grip tightening slightly on his sword. The pressure of its presence alone threatened to crush his lungs, and yet, he smirked.
"If this was me before being under Lord Velsun…" Reinhart thought, his silver hair fluttering violently in the mana storm, his silver cloak billowing behind him like a banner of inevitability. " I would have died the moment I tried to fight this guardian."
His smirk sharpened, his gaze unwavering as the guardian's colossal form fully emerged, snarling and preparing to strike.
"But now?" His thoughts rang like steel. "Not a chance."
The beast's body glowed, its claws large enough to split continents tearing toward him with divine rage. The world seemed to quake as its power rushed forward—unstoppable, unshakable.
Reinhart, however, was calm. His aura expanded with blinding radiance, his form outlined in silver light. Slowly, deliberately, he raised his sword toward the sky, as though calling upon the heavens themselves. The mana around him surged, collapsing into his blade until even the guardian paused for half a heartbeat, sensing the sheer inevitability of what was about to come.
His voice was steady, calm, and absolute.
"Astral Breaker"
The silver sword cut through the air.
SHIIIIING—!
The strike wasn't a slash—it was an end. Reality bent, defenses shattered, and the rushing claw of the calamity guardian dissolved as though it had never been. The beast howled, its body splitting down the middle, its radiant scales offering no resistance, its molten heart bisected by the absolute force of Astral Breaker.
The impact tore the sky apart. Shockwaves rippled outward, shaking the entire domain of Helios Gold. For a moment, silence. Then, with a final shuddering roar, the guardian's immense form collapsed into fragments of golden light, scattering like stardust into the atmosphere.
Reinhart exhaled, lowering his blade, silver hair glinting under the unnatural glow of the golden sky. His smirk widened ever so slightly.
"Not a chance indeed."