A solemn silence fell for a few seconds.
Before them, the Cryo Regisvine shuddered slightly, as if sensing their presence.
Ice crystals slowly formed around its base, and the Cryo Hypostasis imperceptibly accelerated its rotation.
Lyra clenched her fists, a brighter flame igniting around her hands.
Lyra: "Alright… let's give them a reason to melt."
Venti nodded, already feeling the energy coursing around him.
Bram : "In position."
"Once we enter the arena… there's no turning back."
Without another word, the group advanced together, shedding their icy cloak to fully enter the arena.
The decisive battle of the dungeon was about to begin.
Bram: "Get ready."
Everyone takes their positions.
Bram: "Three."
"Two."
"One."
"..."
"NOW."
They emerged from their hiding places and charged towards the two bosses.
Venti, at the rear, was perplexed because he couldn't afford to make a mistake.
This time, it was a team effort, and he had to find a way to coordinate. For that, only one skill could be useful:
Wind Communication.
Clap
He snaps his fingers.
FFFFFFFFfffffffffff
The precise moment Venti activated Wind Communication*, an almost imperceptible breeze rose in the icy arena. It wasn't just a passing breeze:
It seemed alive, fluid, weaving an invisible bond between the five adventurers.
Venti: "...I see."
"So that's how it works."
He immediately felt something shift.
His heartbeat remained his own, but around him, he now perceived his companions' breaths, their tensions, their intentions.
Not in the form of words, but as impulses, sensations carried on the wind.
Bram, facing the Cryo Regisvine, suddenly felt a different shiver run through his body.
It wasn't the biting cold of the ice, but a clear intuition.
Bram: "Huh?"
"I... feel like I know when it's going to attack."
CRASH
CCRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEE
The Regisvine violently plunged its frozen roots into the ground, sending icy spikes flying.
CCRRRRREEEEE
Bram raised his shield just in time, as if he had anticipated the attack a fraction of a second before it happened.
Kael, meanwhile, was facing the Cryo Hypostasis, whose icy cubes were rapidly spinning around its core.
Kael: "Venti… is that you?"
Venti: "Yes. Don't overthink it. Trust your instincts."
At that same instant, Kael instinctively moved to the left.
BAM
Where he had been standing a second earlier, a block of ice crashed down violently, pulverizing the arena floor.
A determined smile spread across his face.
Kael: "Okay… I like this skill."
Venti: "Thank you."
Meanwhile, Lyra stood slightly apart, surrounded by a glowing red heat.
Flames danced around her hands, fueled by the mana potions Eron offered her at regular intervals.
Eron: "Major Potion."
"Drink it now."
Lyra: "Thank you. Let me know if you see an opening."
Before Eron could even reply, Lyra felt a clear impulse, almost like a whisper carried on the air.
Venti: "Now."
"The Regisvine exposes its heart."
Without hesitation, Lyra raised her staff and focused all her mana.
PYRO BURST
A gigantic wave of flames crashed down on the exposed heart of Cryo Regisvine.
BBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMM
The ice cracked with a deafening crunch, and thick steam filled the arena as the temperature plummeted, unable to withstand the explosion of heat.
Bram: "Right in the heart!"
"Well done!"
Meanwhile, Venti kept his skills active.
Bbbbbbbbbzzzzzz
His adventurer's crystal glowed brightly, a sign of the immense mental strain this represented.
Stat Boosting
Resistance Reduction
Stat Reduction stable
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFfffffffffffffffffffffffffff
He winced slightly.
Venti: "…And Wind Communication is still online. I understand now why it leveled up all by itself."
He suddenly realized that this ability didn't necessarily require conscious activation.
Every time he had fought alongside his companions, every time he had wished to protect or support them, the wind had answered in his place.
Venti: "The wind was already listening… even when I didn't know it."
CCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEE
The Cryo Hypostasis attempted a massive area-of-effect attack, its cubes glowing a blinding blue.
CCCCCCRRRRRRREEEEE
Kael: "He's planning something big!"
Before the attack was even unleashed, Venti channeled the wind around the core.
Venti: "All back now!"
The five moved almost in unison, as if they shared a single mind.
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEE
The cryo explosion ravaged the center of the arena, but none of them were harmed.
Lyra, her eyes shining with determination, focused her flames once more.
Lyra: "Keep holding them back, I'll give it my all."
Eron: "You have enough mana left for one last maximum attack."
Lyra: "Then that will be enough."
The wind swirled violently around the group, charged with heat, ice, willpower, and confidence. They were no longer just five adventurers fighting side by side.
And facing them, the two ice bosses began, for the first time, to waver.
Venti briefly closed his eyes and focused all his attention on Lyra.
Venti: "..."
The din of the arena, the cracking of the ice, the muffled roars of the two bosses… all of it seemed to fade away.
Only the flow of the wind remained, stretched like an invisible thread between him and the fire mage.
Venti: "Stat Boosting… again."
"And again."
He unleashed the ability in a flurry, without taking the time to fully consider the consequences.
Stat Boosting
Stat Boosting
Stat Boosting
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFfffffffffffffffffffff
With each activation, the wind around Lyra intensified, becoming hotter, faster, as if directly fueling the flames she was gathering.
Stat Boosting
Stat Boosting
Stat Boosting
Stat Boosting
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFfffffffffffffffffffffffffff
Without Venti realizing it, a translucent green glow began to appear around them.
At first faint, like a luminous mist, it quickly intensified.
Filters of Anemo coiled around Lyra's body, tracing intricate, almost runic patterns in the air.
Lyra frowned, surprised by the sudden sensation.
Lyra: "...What did you just do?"
She felt her mana react violently.
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
Each beat of her heart made the heat pulse through her veins.
Its flames, usually orange-red, were now taking on brighter hues, almost white at their center.
Bram, still battling the Cryo Regisvine, glanced back.
Bram: "Hey… you see that too?"
Kael, busy maintaining pressure on the Cryo Hypostasis, replied without looking away.
Kael: "Yeah."
"The wind around them… it's different."
"Much denser."
Eron, for his part, immediately sensed the side effect.
The vials he was holding vibrated slightly, as if the ambient energy was interfering with their contents.
Eron: "Venti, be careful… this amplification doesn't seem normal."
Ventin: ".............."
But Venti could only half hear him.
He was immersed in a state of intense, almost instinctive concentration.
His skill reacted on its own, piling up, strengthening itself, as if Stat Boosting had found an ideal vessel in Lyra.
Venti: "This is strange… I've never felt this before."
The green glow spread further, now enveloping their figures up to their shoulders.
The wind swirled around them in tight spirals, drawing in the heat emanating from Lyra's flames and redistributing it, amplifying it.
Lyra took a deep breath, her eyes shining.
Lyra: "My power… it keeps increasing."
"I feel like my spells are forming themselves."
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
The frost crystals on the ground began to melt.
She slowly raised her staff, and the ground beneath her feet began to crack, the ice melting instantly around her.
Venti finally opened his eyes and saw the green glow that enveloped them both.
For a brief moment, he remained frozen.
Venti: "What…?"
"Since when does Stat Boosting do that?"
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
The wind responded with a stronger gust, as if confirming something Venti hadn't yet grasped:
This skill, combined with Wind Communication and the group's perfect synchronization, had just crossed a threshold.
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Facing them, the Cryo Regisvine let out a low growl, while the Cryo Hypostasis slowed its movements slightly, as if it finally sensed a real danger.
The green glow pulsed one last time, more intense than ever.
And at the center of this aura, Lyra was ready to unleash an attack of unprecedented power.
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
Eron: "......... "
Eron, who had stayed a few steps behind them, immediately sensed that something was more than just a temporary boost.
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFffffffffffffffffffff
The pressure in the air, the heat mingling with the wind, that oppressive feeling… everything pointed to an abnormal surge in power.
Without wasting a second, he took out his adventurer's crystal and activated it, pointing the translucent surface towards Lyra.
Bbbbbbbbbbzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
The crystal vibrated violently, much more than usual.
Bbbbbbbbbbzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Lines of light flashed by at an unusual speed, as if the object was struggling to properly analyze what was in front of it.
Eron: "…What?"
His eyes widened.
He blinked several times, convinced he'd misread.
He shook the crystal slightly, recalibrated it, and then resumed the analysis.
The numbers reappeared.
Identical.
Eron: "THIS CAN'T BE IMPOSSIBLE…"
He turned abruptly to the others, his voice deeper than usual.
Eron: "LYRA'S STATS… they're comparable to those of a level 55 adventurer."
Bram: "WHAT?"
Bram, who had just dodged an attack from the Cryo Regisvine, nearly lost his balance.
Bram: "LEVEL 55?"
"Are you kidding me?"
Kael, for his part, managed to momentarily freeze the Cryo Hypostasis and glanced quickly at Lyra.
Kael: "WAIT… that means right now…"
Eron nodded slowly, still focused on the data projected by the crystal.
Eron: "Yes."
"At this precise moment, Lyra is stronger than the Abyss Lector we faced earlier."
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
A brief silence fell, almost unreal amidst the chaos of the arena.
Even the monsters seemed to hesitate, as if instinctively sensing the shift in balance.
Lyra, surrounded by the green glow and the superheated flames, felt the others' gazes upon her.
She lightly tightened her grip on her staff.
Lyra: "…That's Venti, isn't it?"
Venti, still enveloped by the Anemo currents, frowned.
He had never seen an amplification reach such a level, let alone surpass it.
Venti: "I boost your stats, yes… but not to this extent."
"There's something else."
"The wind… it doesn't just amplify, it synchronizes."
Eron slowly lowered his crystal.
Eron: "Regardless of the exact cause."
"The result is clear."
He took a deep breath before concluding.
Eron: "If we give her an opening now… Lyra can melt this entire arena."
Bram smiled fiercely, tightening his grip on his weapon.
Bram: "Then let's not waste any time."
Kael nodded, already repositioning himself.
Kael: "We create the opening."
"Lyra strikes."
Venti looked up at the fire mage, the green glow still pulsing around them.
Venti: "This power... use it."
"We're with you."
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
In the center of the ice arena, the balance of power had just shifted.
And for the first time since they had entered the dungeon, it was no longer the bosses who inspired fear, but the adventurers themselves.
The plan, on paper, seemed simple.
But everyone knew that between the theory and the reality of fighting two cryo bosses, there was a chasm.
Kael tightened his grip on his weapon and observed the Cryo Hypostasis, whose ice cubes slowly rotated around its luminous core.
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Each movement it made froze the air, creating crystals that shattered on the ground with a sharp crack.
On the other side of the arena, the Cryo Regisvine undulated slowly, its massive stem creaking under the pressure of the frost, its exposed heart glowing an ominous icy blue.
Kael: "Bram, if we want this to work, they have to be right next to each other."
"Not just close."
Bram smiled confidently, planting his weapon in the ice to launch himself forward again.
Bram: "Don't worry."
"I've attracted monsters way dumber than that."
Kael took a deep breath and moved.
Slash
He attacked the Cryo Hypostasis at an angle, striking a peripheral cube to provoke an immediate reaction.
CCCCCCRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEE
As expected, the entity responded violently:
The cubes moved apart, then the core shifted toward him, tracing a line of frost on the ground.
Kael: "This way, you icicle."
Meanwhile, Bram positioned himself facing the Cryo Regisvine.
He slammed the ground hard, triggering a shockwave that traveled up the monster's icy stem.
The Regisvine reacted instantly, slamming a massive root toward him.
Bram: "Yeah, that's it!"
"Look at me!"
Every attack, every provocation was calculated.
Bram deliberately retreated, step by step, forcing the Regisvine to advance, while Kael circled the Hypostasis, gradually closing the distance between the two bosses.
Meanwhile, standing back, Lyra closed her eyes for a moment.
The heat around her was becoming almost suffocating.
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
The flames she was condensing vibrated, unsteady, as if waiting to be unleashed.
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFfffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
Venti's green glow still pulsed around her, amplifying each mana pulse.
Lyra: "…Let me know when they're lined up."
"I can't maintain this charge forever."
Eron, kneeling beside her, handed her a freshly brewed mana potion.
Eron: "Drink this now."
"After that, it'll be your time."
Venti watched the scene with intense concentration.
The wind swirled throughout the arena, connecting the five adventurers like an invisible thread.
Thanks to Wind Communication, he could sense their intentions almost before they spoke.
Venti: "Just a little longer… Kael, slow him down."
"Bram, move him forward two steps."
Kael understood immediately.
BAM
He blocked an attack from the Cryo Hypostasis at the last moment, then feigned an opening, forcing the entity to move closer to the Regisvine.
Bram, for his part, took a freezing attack, slipping on the ice before getting back to his feet.
Bram: "Hey!"
"Is that all you've got?"
CCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
The Cryo Regisvine advanced further, its heart now within range of the Hypostasis core.
Venti sensed the exact moment everything aligned.
Venti: "Now."
Kael and Bram leaped back almost simultaneously, leaving the two bosses side by side, their cryo energies dangerously overlapping.
Lyra opened her eyes.
Lyra: "So… let's finish this."
Heat exploded around her.
All the power she had accumulated, concentrated into a single attack, ready to be unleashed.
Lyra: "......".
Lyra inhaled deeply, as if trying to draw the air itself into her chest.
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
Around her, the temperature rose sharply, the ice beneath her feet cracking with a dry crunch as scorching steam rose in swirls.
The flames she had kept contained began to swirl slowly around her body, tracing increasingly rapid, incandescent circles.
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
Her gaze hardened, fixed entirely on the two bosses frozen side by side in the center of the arena.
Lyra: "All this fire… I will return it to the world."
She raised her arms, and mana surged forth like a raging tide.
In an instant, flames exploded skyward before collapsing in a gigantic spiral, giving birth to a firestorm.
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
Burning blasts laden with embers and glowing blades crashed down upon the arena, engulfing the Cryo Hypostasis and Cryo Regisvine in a vortex of devastating heat, melting ice, shattering frozen structures, and transforming the very heart of the arena into a blazing inferno.
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Chapter 42: Destruction by fire
The End