BOOM!!
The lava basin trembled violently as the rock walls cracked under the impact, sending flames and rubble flying in every direction.
Like a falling meteor, Nergigante charged high into the sky, colliding fiercely with Teostra in mid-air.
The air was torn apart as the scents of searing heat and death instantly interwove into a massive killing field!
"Observe their battle patterns first!" Leon shouted, forcing down the shock in his heart as he quickly pulled Dumpling and Biscuit behind a crystal outcropping for cover.
"How strange, meow!" Biscuit whispered. "Teostra actually came looking for Nergigante on its own, meow..."
"Indeed," Leon said, his tone heavy. "Unless Teostra has already lost control, to the point where even its instincts are no longer its own."
— Qurio.
Foreign entities that shouldn't have appeared in the New World were now quietly eroding the very top of the ecosystem—
Now it seemed that even Elder Dragons were not exempt.
Hearing this, Vos stood there in a daze.
He gripped his shield tightly and asked in a low voice, "What are these Qurio you're talking about? To be able to infect even an Elder Dragon... exactly what level of enemy are we facing?"
Leon didn't answer because he was also confused; he only knew that before his transmigration, he had never discovered a similar plotline in the game.
High in the sky.
Teostra's wings stirred up a massive cyclone of fire.
Nergigante, meanwhile, fought like a demon possessed. Every attack was accompanied by exploding spikes, and its body began to glow with a faint, ominous red light.
There was no reason in its eyes, only destruction.
BOOM!!
With a thunderous roar, Teostra dived from the sky, its massive wings whipping up scorching air currents as it slammed toward the ground like a falling sun.
Its entire body erupted in a torrent of flames, its mane standing on end as the fire accumulating in its maw was unleashed in an instant.
Nergigante roared to the heavens, opening its maw filled with rows of sharp teeth as if it were swallowing the lava itself. It didn't dodge, instead charging upward against the flames.
A storm of fire and darkness clashed and exploded!
Teostra's breath drew a semi-circular arc of flame in the air, scorching the atmosphere until it warped.
Nergigante crashed straight into it, its bone armor creaking and groaning as it forced its way through the intense heat, its claws hooking into the edges of Teostra's wings!
RIP!!
The wing membranes were torn, and Teostra roared as it rolled sideways, whipping its tail around to strike Nergigante and send it flying.
THUD!!
Nergigante smashed heavily into the rock wall, causing the entire lava basin to shudder as rubble and molten flows splashed everywhere.
"This is basically a battle of gods..." Vos watched the scene in awe, his voice swallowed by the roaring combat.
Dumpling screamed, "Look over there, meow!"
From within the rock wall, Nergigante stood up again. The red spots on its body were squirming even more violently, and a thick black mist began to seep from its mouth and nose.
"Self-strengthening," Leon muttered. "The Qurio are stimulating it, driving it into a frenzied state..."
The next moment.
Nergigante roared and leaped forward, its bone spikes exploding in a shockwave as it charged Teostra with a tyrannical aura.
Teostra was also burning. It spread its wings and slammed its paws into the ground—
Like a volcanic eruption, dense arrows of fire surged from its body, turning into a fiery hurricane that covered the entire battlefield.
Nergigante tanked the impact of the fire arrows, pouncing through the sea of flames. Its claws flashed with a cold light, tearing through a layer of Teostra's scales.
The two Elder Dragons were locked in a lethal struggle in the air!
Claws, tail-whips, bites, rams...
Every collision was enough to tear the ground apart; every roar vibrated through Leon and the others' eardrums.
"Their battle is intensifying!" Leon stared at the center of the fray. "If we don't stop them soon, they might destroy the entire Elder's Recess."
Vos asked, "How are we supposed to stop that?!"
Leon didn't speak; his gaze shifted to the red spots on Nergigante's body as he fell into thought.
"If we can take advantage of the moment it's suppressed by Teostra to pull out those Qurio you mentioned..." Vos gritted his teeth. "Maybe there's a chance to restore its sanity."
"Sanity?" Leon countered. "Even a normal Nergigante would attack other Elder Dragons. Our priority is finding a way to drive Teostra off; hunting Nergigante is the only logical path forward."
Dumpling muttered quietly, "That sounds like a suicide mission, meow..."
Biscuit asked in return, "Then you don't want to stop them from destroying the entire ecosystem?"
Dumpling frowned. "...Meow."
Leon took a deep breath, gripped the handle of his Clutch Claw, and whispered, "Wait for them to fall. I'll go up to lure Nergigante away; you guys take care of Teostra."
"Are you crazy?" Vos's face was grim. "You're planning to face Nergigante alone?"
"Teostra is more controllable." Leon looked toward the intense battlefield, his eyes burning with battle intent. "Find a way to lead it back to the ravine..."
High in the sky.
The two Elder Dragons began a new round of entanglement—
BOOM!!
The two Elder Dragons collided once more, sending out a shockwave powerful enough to collapse mountains. Searing flames and exploding bone spikes intertwined like the coming of the apocalypse.
Leon gritted his teeth and whispered, "Now!"
He suddenly vaulted out from behind the crystal, his feet skipping across the rock fragments as his figure darted through the gaps in the fire. With a sharp click, his Clutch Claw pinned itself onto Nergigante's body.
The next second, Leon was launched like an arrow, flying straight toward Nergigante.
Seeing this, Vos no longer hesitated. He roared to Dumpling and Biscuit, "Let's go! Our target is Teostra—lead it toward the original ravine!"
"Understood, meow!"
"Don't fall behind, meow!"
The two Felynes immediately rushed up the floating rock steps, lifting Large Barrel Bombs high and tossing them directly at Teostra.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The thick smoke cleared.
They successfully drew Teostra's attention.
"Over here—" Biscuit shouted while holding a Large Barrel Bomb. "Hey, you overgrown turkey, look over here, meow!"
Teostra turned abruptly, letting out a low roar that pierced the heavens, its burning pupils locking onto the small running figures in the distance.
It suddenly flapped its wings and gave chase to Vos and the cats!
Vos looked up at the trailing flame trajectory in the sky and murmured, "The rest is up to Leon..."
The two Elder Dragons were split apart according to the plan.
Nergigante turned its head, saw Leon hanging onto its body, and let out a deafening roar at him.
"Come on, old friend..." Leon gritted his teeth, pulling the Clutch Claw to swing in an arc through the air, skimming past Nergigante's neck to leap onto its back.
Leon raised his dual blades, stabbing them down again and again into the gaps between Nergigante's shoulder and spinal plates.
PSH!
Red mist exploded as Nergigante spiraled in the air, trying to shake off the external force.
Leon held onto the bone spikes for dear life, using the Clutch Claw to stabilize his position while continuing his assault.
SWISH! SWISH-SWISH!
The dual blades carved through the bone armor, throwing off a shower of sparks!
Leon was like a relentless parasite, sticking to Nergigante's back. His twin blades struck continuously, the tips accurately piercing the Qurio and drawing out clumps of thick black mist and gore.
Under the attack, the Qurio flapped their wings frantically.
They dyed the entire sky a deep, bloody red.
Nergigante's back spikes stood straight up like spears from hell, unleashing a massive shockwave.
BOOM!
Leon was blown back several meters, but he forced his body to twist in mid-air. The Clutch Claw clicked into Nergigante's left shoulder once more, and he whirled back onto its back.
Nergigante roared and slammed itself toward the rock wall!
WHAM!
It slammed its entire shoulder into the rock, trying to crush the nuisance on its back.
Leon gritted his teeth, his Clutch Claw locking onto the hard shell as his legs braced against the spike gaps, desperately holding on to avoid being thrown off.
"Think you can shake me? Not that easy!!"
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