Soul of Searing Steel

Dark clouds filled the sky. As summer approached, the area from Moldavia all the way to the Great Ajax Mountains has already been shrouded with clouds a while ago. The relentless snowstorm also became heavier, making the atmosphere cold and wet.

In the middle of the heavy rain on the Great Ajax Mountains, four people dressed in black raincoats with red linings walked near the volcano. Their clothes sported the symbol of the Radcliffe family, holding a sword on their sides. Though they were wearing just ordinary raincoats, the winds and rain barely left any stain on their bodies.

"Are you serious about not inviting a mage to come along, Joshua?"

The four of them arrived at a secret tunnel. As they were walking into the tunnel, one of them wearing a long robe could not help but speak to the person next to him. He took the long robe off as his face looked puzzled. "You and I have almost zero knowledge about magic—Not really… but at least we know that none of us can cast a spell. We won't be able to do anything with the dimensional door."

"Calm down, Roland! Truth to be told, there is nothing we can do as, even if we brought a mage with us."

In the volcanic cave, Joshua untied the robe from his body. He wore a full set of light-weighted armor. Magic runes that belonged to the elves were floating around the armor. Joshua spoke, "If it was really the elemental storm that caused the dimensional passage on the other side to close momentarily, Master Nostradamus will not be able to do anything from here even if we brought him here. But Pope Igor might be able to solve this problem though."

"Why?" the holy knight asked, a little confused. "Even though his strength is omnipotent, it doesn't mean that he is great in regards to the dimensional spells. Besides, Master Nostradamus is famous for having a wide range of knowledge about the dimensional spells. Even the legendary council, 'Skypiercing White Tower' has praised him for his achievements."

"Because the dimensional passage is just right there. It is simply blocked by some sort of power."

He took the helmet from the hands of Ying and put it on himself. Then he spoke behind the helmet with a low voice, "It is just like a tunnel. On our end, there is nothing wrong with it. However, on the other end of the tunnel, there are mud and rocks blocking the way—we don't need a dimensional mage to open up a new path for us, right? All we need to do is to clear the mud and rocks away and get the passage connected again. In regards to strength, who else in this world can be more powerful than the pope?"

So that was his case, using raw power to stomp our way through the elemental storm ahead of us. By doing so, the dimensional door will open temporarily—yes, that was the theory… but my friend… there is a problem with the example you just gave!

Roland wore a strange expression. Though he vaguely understood the meaning of the warrior's explanation, the answer and example given by the warrior felt a little odd. He waited as the surrounding atmosphere became a little warmer before walking deeper into the tunnel. Before they arrived at the pool of lava, which they previously discovered together during their last expedition, Roland could not help but ask, "Then… what are we going to do when we reach the site?"

"Didn't I just tell you our plan?"

The warrior who was fully armored turned his head around as he spoke, "Get over to the dimensional door and 'open' it up."

*****

The World of Illgner

A dazzling aurora emerged over the sky above the Babel Province.

With Mount Nasir, which was leveled down to nothing but a pit hole, as the starting point, strong Magic power was surging in the atmosphere, causing the situation across the world to change and was brewing up an invisible tide. Greenish blue light of magic energy gleamed in the sky. The other colors of the elemental lights were gleaming brightly too. None of the elves could have imagined the scene that lied before their very eyes—it took merely two days for the density of the magic in this entire world to restore itself to the density it had four hundred years ago. That was the time with high density of magic energy and people across the entire Illgner continent were able to use various magic spells.

Though the density of the elements in the atmosphere was still declining because of some unknown reasons, the rate of magic energy increasing in the world was much faster than that of the declining rate of elements' density in Babel Province. Many mages discovered that they were no longer insignificant clowns that could only use Reading Spells, Identifying Spells, Reconnaissance Spells, and other boring and useless spells. They were activating their spells and magic power while feeling overwhelmed by surprise. After rediscovering their abilities, they went to the battlefield and tried out all sorts of Spells to battle against the seemingly endless streams of golems.

The Mana Tide did not make the golems stronger, not even in the slightest way. It seemed to have increased their number though. A few scouts personally saw numerous giant golems splitting their own body parts into smaller golems. These smaller golems consumed rocks and dirt and grew rapidly bigger. They then join the golem hordes and relentlessly launched their assaults at the cities. The entire process became a loop.

In the capital city of Babel Province, the streets remained busy with fierce fighting. The concentrated magic energy had yet to take effect on the ordinary soldiers. These soldiers were at an extreme disadvantage against the unyielding horde of golems.

The sun set and rose again. The drizzles came and went. The number of enemies did not reduce even by the slightest bit. Instead, the number increased rapidly. Many of the elves accepted the despairing truth that their comrades had fallen like leaves or passed out due to exhaustion. The Elven force was getting weaker as time passes. However, the stream of incoming golems seems endless. Each Elf felt like they were abandoned by their fallen ones to face the golems themselves.

In the middle of a narrow alley, the soldiers kept the enemies at bay but one could only see more enemies charging at them after one goes down. Their nerves were dead, as they could not process what was happening anymore. The aerial golems finally made it into the capital city. Those monsters were conquering the city like a black fog covering the sky.

If it weren't for the volcanic dragon, shooting down aerial golems with its incredibly powerful light beam attacks, the capital city of Babel Province would have fallen much sooner.

Black was currently shuttling back and forth to every corner of the city with its top speed. Its immense power was simply an overkill to be used to slaughter weaker golems. It was simply hunting only for the golden golems, slaughtering also the Mithril-tier golems along the way.

Though the city had nothing to do with Black, neither do the elves and this entire world, Black was not calculating at all—a battle was simply fun to Black. Following the footsteps of its master was also part of the fun. Not to mention that unleashing the power which it had buried deep within its body, there were no other thoughts coming to the draconic horse's mind. It felt happy and it would anything to keep that feeling around for a little while more.

Black rammed a golden golem and pushed it towards a building, destroying it. Dust and sand were hurled up into the air. The draconic horse struck its claw right into the joint of the left shoulder of the golden golem lying before the ruin. Black had been fighting on for quite a while since it came over to this world. It had finally adapted to the shape and strength of its new body. After engaging into battle with the golems for so long, it had also analyzed the patterns of attack of the golems. Hence, when it engaged into a battle with the powerful but rigid monster right before it, Black managed to easily lock the movements of its opponent and dismember it before ending the golem's life with its dragon breath.

After a long battle, the spirits of the elves were diminished. They were still having some disadvantages despite the cooperation with Black in the battle. As the concentration of the Magic Energy in the air gradually increased, the long-rested mages began to show their strength and skill, casting various spells beneficial to the soldiers, buffing up their spirits and strengths and restoring the health of the soldiers. Judging from the current situation, the elves would be able to turn the tide of the battle – as long as it didn't worsen.

Black felt uneasy throughout the battle but it could not seem to put a finger on it. A part of it was because it was feeling insecure about the fact that the golem forces were coming at the elves without the slightest sign of slowing down. A war was not a game. So why were the enemies waiting? That felt funny. The draconic horse believes something is brewing on the golems' side, perhaps, building up momentum to launch their true offensive to end the battle.

Black felt flustered deep in its heart.

" Roar! "

It shook its head and groaned loudly, giving up on the thoughts of its anxiety. There were still many places in the city that needed help. There were still many things left to be done.

*****

Back on Mount Sigma

The presence of the volcanic ashes had caused the atmosphere surrounding the volcano to be hazy. The previous eruption of the volcano had evaporated every single trace of water within a few hundred miles of its vicinity. The water vapor had spread over all regions across the continent. Mount Sigma is currently showered by heavy rain. Purplish lightning flashed in the dark clouds. Some of the lightning struck down on the mountain peaks in that area.

Right within the volcanic crater, the golden magma boiled. The raindrops condensed the magma into dark volcanic rocks. White water vapor contaminated with impurities rose into the sky to form thick, white fog that floated over the crater.

A strong magic power collected in the volcano. The magma, as the blood of the earth, contained the primitive magic that was born and shaped by the birth of the world. Whether it was Magic or physical defense, it could easily erode. It was also because the power of the magma was violent to the point that it was difficult to be contained and to be utilized by one. Hence, since the ancient times, before the power in Mycroft Continent was formed, there was a controversial debate among the warriors.

Bathing in lava.

If a warrior could bathe his own flesh and bones in the lava without being injured, the said warrior would be deemed as the 'Battle Instructor'. He would become capable of providing guidance to all the warriors across several cities on in a country. Everyone would have to address him as 'Teacher' with respect.

But now, a strange vortex was seen emerging in the middle of the volcanic crater.

Layers of dark blue light patterns appear in the middle of the vortex. It was shining brightly, so strong that the surrounding lava is bathed in its light. If someone were to look upon it, they would certainly be shocked by the mesmerizing view.

When the light shone at its brightest, it exploded loudly. The volcano trembled, creating oscillating waves out of its crater, spreading in all directions, sweeping across the whole mountain area.

After the explosion, two masses of light balls, one red and the other white, were seen flying out of the crater and landed on the black volcanic rock by the volcano.

"What the hell was that all about?"

Joshua took off his red-hot helmet that was heated up by the lava. He looked at the burnt ground with a stoned-face and then spoke with a dense voice, "I still remember that it was a green forest here the last time we visited. We could even hear birds chirping and catch the scents of the flowers and plants. So, when did this place turn into a volcanic site?"

They descended into the middle of the lava.

Ling looked at her surroundings. The black-haired boy seems to be a little shocked at the moment. A moment ago, when the warrior and Roland joined hands in blasting the dimensional door open, an endless stream of golden magma was pouring out of the dimensional passage. He almost drowned in it. Fortunately, Joshua reacted swiftly, just in time to reactivate his Combat Aura to shield himself, Ying and Ling. They would have been separated by the flowing magma if it was not for his reflexive move. Though the Divine Armament will not be destroyed merely by the lava, it would have become extremely difficult for the warrior to locate the two Divine Armament in the sea of lava if they ever got separated.

"This place has just experienced the eruption of a volcano."

After calming himself down by feeling the raindrops on his skin, Ling was very sure of what had just happened. Ying who stood right beside her brother nodded her head in agreement. She groomed her silver hair a little and then narrowed her eyes and said, "There is a scent suggesting that many have died here… hmm… there is also Black's scent!"

Before Black awakened its bloodline and advanced into the tier of an Ancient Dragon, the silver-haired girl was the one who cleaned up its place and groomed its hair. Both of them were very close. When Joshua went to Nissia to observe Winter Fort Academy, Ying had even gone surfing and diving at the Paw Print Lake of the Snowy Mountains with Black.

Joshua nodded. He also noticed that the scent of his mount remained in this spot. Soon after, the warrior furrowed his brows. He looked around vigilantly and asked the holy knight, who was still shocked, "Wait a minute, Roland. Do you feel it? Something is not right."

Something is not right? There are so many things that are not right about this! How could you all remain calm at times like this?

In the middle of the heavy rain, the holy knight seemed to be overwhelmed by shock and surprise. Despite the fact that the warrior had literally opened up (physically) the dimensional door with his bare hands, and the fact that he also almost drowned in a pool of magma—it was not because Roland was terrified. He could have easily resisted the heat of the magma with his current strength. But the holy knight did see the condition of the surroundings just as the warrior did. He was not prepared to appear in the middle of a pool of magma. Without wasting another moment, Roland activated his holy shield and put it in front of him to shield himself from coming into contact with the magma and to prevent his clothes from being burned by it.

As they thought they would only be taking a look at the dimensional door, the holy knight was wearing only an ordinary uniform. Roland was completely unprepared to engage in any form of battle. On the other hand, Joshua was wearing the enchanted armor of excellent workmanship, forged by the southern elves and given to the warrior as a gift by Clyre.

Ling was smiling. It seems that he had noticed the expression on Roland's face. So he said, "Mr Roland, you will have to get used to this if you're going to go with Master."

"That's right." The silver-haired girl nodded in agreement. As long as their master was present, it was certain that accidents were bound to happen, and those accidents were usually extremely dangerous.

Suddenly, an invisible wave swept past the entire area. The holy knight, who was smiling bitterly as he shook his head, fixated his stare and turned his head around, looking serious. He then spoke to Joshua who seems distracted by his surrounding, "My friend, you are right. There is something wrong here."

"This place has…"

Before he could finish his sentence, white light exploded out of the holy knight, Joshua, Ying, and Ling.

That was the color of the power of Order.

"It's the presence of Chaos."

The warrior completed the sentence that Roland did not manage to finish. Joshua then placed his hand on his chest as he felt the reaction of the Azurite. The Azurite was unleashing high heat. The warrior frowned as he observed his surroundings. He did not discover anything out of ordinary. Then he spoke with a low voice, "Be ready. There are presences of Chaos daemons around and their presence is extremely strong!"

A sudden unease filled up the chest of the warrior. He could not believe the fact that there were Chaos daemons in this world, too. Would his own mount be safe? Was it doing fine? Would Black be damned by some sort of accident?

After all, Black had been accompanying him ever since the battle with the orc in the northwest. So the draconic horse had been battling alongside the warrior long before Ying and Ling came into his life.

However, now is not the time to worry about anyone or anything.

High above in the sky, light shone brightly. The low buzzing sound echoed in the sky as if the presence of the warrior and the others had triggered some sort of alarm.

The apocalypse, has once again, begun.