The sting of exhaustion clung tightly to my body after hours of nonstop sparring with Amelia and Yura. Every muscle ached. My arms felt heavy. My ribs still burned from Amelia's last punch, and frostbite lingered faintly along my shoulder where Yura's magic had clipped me.
But beneath the pain…
I felt alive.
Stronger.
The mountain around us had practically become our battlefield over the last several weeks. Entire sections of forest had frozen over from Yura's magic while Amelia's blood-infused strikes had shattered cliffsides into rubble. And despite the massive difference in experience between us…
I had managed to push them.
Not win.
Not even close.
But I had forced them to try.
Amelia rolled her shoulder slowly as crimson energy faded around her fists. Her long black hair swayed gently in the cold mountain wind while her red eyes locked onto mine with open amusement.
"You're improving way too fast," she said with a smirk. "A few weeks ago, you couldn't even properly track my movements."
I wiped blood from the corner of my mouth and laughed quietly.
"Yeah. And now I can almost survive them."
"Almost," Amelia corrected immediately.
A sharp chunk of ice smacked against the side of my head.
I looked over to see Yura lowering her hand calmly, her icy-blue eyes carrying the faintest trace of smugness.
"Don't encourage your ego," she said softly. "It's already becoming unbearable."
I clicked my tongue.
"You froze my left lung thirty minutes ago."
"You healed."
"You stabbed me with an ice spear."
"You dodged poorly."
Amelia burst out laughing.
For a moment…
things felt normal.
No gods.
No destruction.
No war.
Just us.
The mountain winds calmed slightly as the three of us made our way back toward the cabin nestled deeper within the snowy forest. Smoke drifted lazily from the forge chimney while the late afternoon sun painted the mountain peaks gold and crimson.
I flexed my fingers slowly.
Even now, my body continued changing.
The armor we forged together several days ago rested comfortably against my skin beneath my cloak, almost alive in the way it adjusted itself naturally around my movements. My scales had spread farther along my chest and arms, though the armor concealed most of them now.
And my magic…
It felt denser every day.
Like something sleeping deep inside me was slowly opening its eyes.
Yura noticed me staring at my hand.
"You're thinking too hard again," she said quietly.
I looked away.
"Can you blame me?"
Neither of them answered immediately.
Because they understood.
Ever since escaping Raiku and surviving the battle against the phoenix and peacock servants, my power had begun evolving uncontrollably. Every fight pushed me farther away from what I used to be.
And honestly…
I wasn't sure how much of the old me remained anymore.
Amelia suddenly stretched lazily before glancing toward the cabin.
"Well," she announced casually, "before you spiral into another dramatic existential crisis, we're cleaning up."
I frowned immediately.
"Separately."
"No."
"Yes."
Yura grabbed my arm before I could escape.
"We already heated the water," she said calmly.
"That sounds like a threat."
"It is."
Several minutes later, I found myself trapped inside the massive stone shower room behind the cabin while Amelia laughed at my suffering.
Steam filled the room as hot water cascaded from enchanted dragon-head fixtures overhead. The entire chamber glowed softly with warm crystals embedded into the walls.
Honestly…
This world was absurdly luxurious sometimes.
Amelia stepped beneath the water first, dark hair clinging against her pale skin while crimson magic flickered faintly around her body to regulate the temperature.
Yura entered beside her more gracefully, icy-blue hair shimmering beneath the steam like frozen silk.
Meanwhile I stood there contemplating jumping through the wall.
"You fought planet-killers but this is what scares you?" Amelia teased.
"Yes."
Yura tilted her head slightly.
"Coward."
"You both are insane."
"Probably," Amelia admitted cheerfully.
Despite my complaints, the warmth slowly melted the lingering tension from my body. Blood washed away beneath the water while Yura quietly healed some of the deeper injuries left from training.
Amelia mostly spent the time bullying me verbally.
Which apparently counted as emotional support.
Eventually, after enough arguing and near-fatal embarrassment to last several lifetimes, we finished preparing and headed toward the nearby city resting farther down the mountain range.
The moment we entered through the gates, noise and life swallowed us whole.
Massive crowds filled the streets.
Magic-powered vehicles floated overhead.
Merchants shouted across colorful market rows while enchanted signs flickered with glowing advertisements. The city blended futuristic architecture with ancient magical design seamlessly. Towering metallic structures stood beside rune-covered temples older than some civilizations.
Compared to the isolated mountain cabin…
it almost felt unreal.
Amelia walked confidently beside me, earning nervous glances from nearly everyone around us. Yura drew quieter attention, her unnatural beauty and cold aura making people instinctively avoid getting too close.
Meanwhile I kept my hood up.
Mostly because the horns were difficult to explain.
We wandered through several districts casually.
Amelia dragged me into weapon shops.
Yura stopped repeatedly at bookstores and artifact stalls.
And somehow I ended up standing inside an enchanted armor store again.
The old beastman shopkeeper stared at me strangely the moment I walked inside.
Not fear.
Recognition.
Like my magic reminded him of something ancient.
Without saying much, he disappeared briefly into the back room before returning with a dark-purple armored coat lined with silver draconic engravings.
The moment I touched it, my destruction aura resonated instantly.
The armor practically hummed against my fingers.
Amelia noticed immediately.
"Oh that's concerning."
Yura narrowed her eyes slightly.
"It synchronized with him."
The shopkeeper swallowed nervously.
"That armor hasn't reacted to anyone in over two hundred years…"
I bought it immediately.
Naturally.
Because apparently every ancient cursed object in existence enjoyed attaching itself to me.
By the time evening approached, we reached the central district near the city square.
And that's when everything changed.
The crowd had stopped moving.
People stared upward silently.
A strange pressure filled the air.
Slowly, I lifted my gaze toward the sky.
My eyes narrowed instantly.
Floating above the city…
was an enormous airborne fortress.
Ancient.
Massive.
Its metallic walls stretched across the clouds like a second continent suspended in the heavens. Purple energy pulsed beneath its structure while enormous engines roared softly underneath it.
Amelia's expression darkened.
"One of the floating war cities…"
Yura's hand slowly moved toward her weapon.
"Something's wrong."
Then—
magic flared.
A violent surge of dark energy erupted from beneath the floating city's core.
My instincts screamed.
"MOVE!" I roared.
A beam of destruction crashed downward.
The explosion swallowed several city blocks instantly.
Buildings vanished.
Flames erupted everywhere.
Screams filled the streets.
Panic exploded across the city as debris rained from above.
Without hesitation, my magic surged outward violently.
Dark-purple flames erupted around me as I raised one hand toward the sky.
"Kyoko!"
Space distorted instantly.
A massive dragon emerged overhead with a deafening roar, her obsidian-purple scales reflecting the burning city below.
At the same time, shadows beneath the streets twisted violently.
Sangui emerged next.
Then Baal.
Then Nocturne.
The citizens scattered in terror as my summoned beasts materialized around the city square like harbingers of apocalypse.
Amelia looked toward me.
"You're smiling."
I touched my face unconsciously.
She was right.
I was.
The destruction above us…
The chaos…
The overwhelming magic pouring from the floating city…
Something inside me loved it.
I hated that feeling.
But there wasn't time to think about it.
I stepped onto Kyoko's back as purple flames exploded from my armor.
"Let's tear that thing out of the sky."
Amelia smirked savagely.
Yura's icy aura erupted beside us.
And together—
we launched toward the heavens.