A streak of fire tore across the sky as it closed in on the colossal dragon.

  Burning with a brilliance that scattered the darkness, May became a beacon—one that seized her companions’ gaze in that desperate moment.

  The Devourer shifted, its immense body coiling and twisting, threatening to swallow her light whole.

  But she did not yield. She traced the creature’s length with effortless precision, rising until she faced its monstrous head. Then she stopped, suspended in silence before the storm.

  A flare burst around her, fire flooding the air and revealing a new form born of will and fury.

  Flame bled from the joints like liquid gold before solidifying into wings. Each plume followed the lattice of the mechanical frame, filling every gap between the blackened ribs until the wings seemed woven from living light. When they moved, the fire did not scatter; it obeyed, bound to her every motion as though it shared her heartbeat.

  The fusion was perfect. Even the heat bowed to her command.

  Waves of red magic pulsed from within, each beat steady and resolute, carrying her weight as though the sky itself yielded to her presence. It was a masterpiece—a union of May’s unrelenting flame and Stella’s peerless genius, technology and will in perfect accord.

  With wings of fire unfurled, May hovered before her foe, sword poised. Embers spiraled downward like falling stars, framing her in the pure, defiant light of glory.

  Deveralna looked up at the figure standing between her and the Devourer in shock.

  Like any creation Stella forged, only she and the one it was made for knew the forms and shapes available at any given time.

  Stella, on the other hand, made a fist before her chest.

  “Yes! She found it!” Almost cheering for May, Stella readied Catharsis once more. “This changes everything. It’s not over yet.”

  Her words unexpectedly rekindled her will to fight. The two mother figures standing tall before adversity were captured in her eyes, radiating strength and perseverance.

  Answering her emotions, Catharsis’ blade began to glow, though Stella remained unaware. A veil of warmth wrapped around her shoulders, making the young girl shudder.

  Various feelings began to mix chaotically within her heart, but they quickly settled.

  A voice, faint but purposeful, whispered in her mind, like a call from eons past.

  ‘You do not possess the heart…’ The whisper echoed faintly as Stella’s eyes widened. ‘The Heart of a Valkyrie.’

  ‘That woman neither. She doesn’t understand it yet, but it shouldn’t be… long.’

  The voice vanished as quickly as it came. Stella was confused, but now was no time for questions. Lightning continued to pour from the sky.

  As the rain of plasma failed to harm any of them, Var’Lathen growled in frustration.

  It grew even more enraged as the small insects defying it kept finding ways to counter its attacks.

  Sparks of electricity danced wildly around the dragon’s massive body, surging into the storm above.

  When the dragon leaned forward, May began her attack.

  With booming speed, she closed the distance. Despite its size, the dragon barely moved as May drove her sword between two scales.

  “Eat this! Calcine Strike!”

  The blade flared, channeling a torrent of fire through its body. Around the wound, scales and skin swelled until they could hold no more. May withdrew, leaving the sword buried.

  A violent explosion followed. Bits of scorched flesh and molten scale rained from the sky.

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  The dragon winced but did not relent. As May forged another blade, it was already readying its next attack.

  A massive vortex of plasma swirled overhead, condensing between its enormous jaws.

  Then it fired, releasing the energy into the air. Three searing streaks arced toward them, each one locked on its target.

  “!”

  The heat-seeking bolts tore through the air.

  May, closest to the dragon, darted around its body at high speed to avoid them. Deveralna followed suit, joining her in a desperate aerial chase, while Stella, grounded, found herself trapped.

  Beams of fire and plasma crisscrossed the air as the two above attacked relentlessly, carving deep wounds across the Devourer’s body.

  At one point, their path crossed.

  “…”

  They nodded silently, understanding each other’s next move.

  May and Deveralna passed one another in a deafening rush of pressure and heat—one wielding her sword, the other her claws.

  The Remnant of Power caught the bolt pursuing May head-on, seizing it in her hand. The energy scorched her palm, but she crushed it with sheer magic.

  On the opposite side, the former general slashed through the streak chasing Deveralna, splitting it apart. It detonated, leaving a faint burn on her cheek.

  ROAR

  The dragon bellowed, trying to intimidate them again. Neither flinched this time.

  “You won’t get us again! We’re used to it!” Deveralna shouted as she descended.

  She thrust her left hand forward, gathering every ounce of lightning she could muster.

  Following the dragon’s vast body, she finally reached her mark.

  “I’ll be taking that with me!” Her body turned to plasma as she dove faster. “Ion Python!”

  Her form became Ophion—a colossal serpent of lightning with two gaping jaws ready to consume its prey. The air bent under the immense energy, scorching even the dragon’s scales as it descended.

  Ophion’s expanding body pierced one of Var’Lathen’s arms, disintegrating its flesh upon impact.

  The serpent vanished, leaving Deveralna gasping as she fought to regain control of her fall. Below, the severed claw crashed into the ground, sending rocks and dust skyward in a thunderous explosion.

  Smirking, Deveralna watched the Devourer stare in horror at its missing limb.

  But its agony wasn’t over. Out of sight, May’s voice cut through the air.

  “Blackflare!”

  From within a vortex of roaring flame, May raised her sword.

  The black fire swirled hungrily around her blade, ready to devour.

  She thrust it forward. The flame shot toward the dragon’s the upper right claw, consuming it in seconds. Scales melted, bones liquefied.

  The Devourer shrieked in pain as its flesh disintegrated into ash.

  As it tried to recover, the creature drew in a deep breath, dragging clouds into its mouth.

  That proved a mistake.

  A blinding crescent of grey energy sliced through the air, tearing into its chest and exposing the organs beneath. Scales ruptured. Blood erupted in every direction.

  Three wounds—enough to cripple even this beast.

  Var’Lathen sagged, its head lowering toward the ground.

  “We’ve done it,” Stella said, pride trembling in her voice. “The Devourer is almost down.”

  But she spoke too soon.

  A white light enveloped the dragon’s body before a thunderous roar shook the air.

  The shockwave threw Deveralna and May backward, crushing Stella to her knees.

  No one had expected retaliation. What followed was the Devourer’s last stand—a furious, all-consuming onslaught.

  Its body uncoiled violently before lunging at Deveralna.

  She barely had time to raise her arms before impact.

  A moment later, May was hurled downward, unable to deflect the hit. The Devourer’s vast mass made resistance futile.

  As May steadied herself midair, another strike swept both her and Stella from the platform.

  In a surge of rage, Var’Lathen shattered the entire rocky foundation beneath them, leaving nothing but open sky.

  May and Stella fell unconscious, blood streaking from their temples. They had survived, but the impact had left them broken.

  “May! Stella!” Deveralna cried, diving to catch them.

  The Remnant seized May in her arms, shaking her gently.

  “May! Wake up!”

  The dragon roared again, its eyes fixed on the two below. She ignored it, still shaking the redhead.

  “Hey! Open your eyes! It’s not time to rest yet!”

  May’s eyelids fluttered. A few seconds later, her eyes snapped open, and her wings flared, propelling her upward.

  “Damn it! I messed up!” she cursed, scanning the battlefield. “Deveralna, where’s Stella?!”

  The lamia pointed to the girl still plummeting toward the world below. There was time to save her, but none to hesitate.

  “I’ll get her! Hold the Devourer until I’m back!” May dove toward Stella’s falling form.

  Deveralna nodded. There was no other choice—she alone could withstand the Devourer’s wrath.

  With May gone, only the Remnant of Power and the Devourer remained, staring each other down.

  “It’s between you and me,” she said, exhaling a plume of white smoke. “This has gone on long enough.”

  “It’s time for you to disappear, relic of an ancient world. Your imprint on this age is nothing but a stain.”

  “No one needs such power to serve only themselves. But, a beast like you could never understand my words anyway.”

  She sighed.

  “Still, let me waste my breath on you. Indulge me for a moment…” A dark veil shadowed her eyes, her pupils turning from orange to white. “Because this is your last day in this world.”

  Her words carried a strange, regal finality—an echo of the pride once held by true dragons.

  The sigil of Power formed over her pupils. She was ready to give everything, even her life.

  “!”

  But suddenly, her consciousness wavered. Her vision blurred, and she shut her eyes.

  Var’Lathen hesitated, confused. The air around Deveralna shifted, its scent transforming—sweet, radiant, divine.

  It shuddered, sensing what was coming.

  But the hope to feast on this meal would never come to pass.

  For Deveralna had awakened the Valkyrie within.