Chapter 994: Lava
The ancient tome flipped open by itself, revealing a page swirling with four-colored light. From within, crimson and golden rays shot forth, forming a curtain of radiance that cascaded over Leon.
Then, the tome turned another page, the sound of fluttering parchment echoing. It stopped at a particular leaf, flipping so slowly it felt as if burdened by a thousand pounds.
Leon rapidly chanted ancient runes, which sank into the Death Tome. At last, the heavy page turned, unveiling a new leaf.
Most of this page was blank. At the top were four strange and unfamiliar runes, yet with a single glance, Leon recognized them—this was the Senluo Chapter.
Just four characters, but they emanated the essence of all creation. It felt as though an entire world was gestating within, infinite and ever-changing, making one believe that everything in existence was contained therein.
Beneath those four runes were two more unfamiliar symbols, which together meant: Lava!
As Leon recited several runes, the two for 'Lava' burst into light. Though their glow was a dim, dark red, it was as blinding as the midday sun.
Leon's Lava Giant avatar crashed to the ground, like a comet falling from the heavens. A wave of flame swept across a hundred meters in an instant, igniting the towering trees nearby. In less than a second, those massive trunks—over two meters thick and dozens of meters tall—were reduced to ashes...
Leon slowly rose to his feet. His body, already seven or eight meters tall, stretched upwards again, stopping only when he reached eighteen meters. Countless runes of lava floated within the molten rock that flowed across his skin, and a faint aura of Law began to spread.
In an instant, the earth for three hundred meters around began to churn, as if a dragon slumbering beneath had awakened. Countless web-like cracks appeared, and torrents of magma erupted violently from the ground.
In the blink of an eye, magma geysers burst forth all around Leon, shrouding the three-hundred-meter radius in thick, rolling smoke. Ancient trees that had stood for centuries were incinerated by the infernal heat in mere seconds, raining down black, ashen dust.
The entire three-hundred-meter area was transformed into a world of magma. Leon stood at the center of the raging magma lake, like a descendant of some god or demon crawling out from a realm of lava.
The surging force whipped up violent winds, warping the air and making the area around Leon shimmer like an illusion.
The raging magma surged into towering waves, carrying Leon's body at breakneck speed toward the Red Flame Fire Fox. The magma lake beneath his feet raced with him, transforming into a stampede of molten waves.
Everything in their path was swallowed and incinerated by the advancing magma pool.
Confronted by Leon's aggressive charge, the Red Flame Fire Fox howled in fury. Its three flaming tails, each over a hundred meters long, whipped around and aimed straight at Leon.
In an instant, the orange flames on its tails solidified, growing thicker and longer, like massive spears spanning hundreds of meters. They shot forward, closing the distance to Leon.
Leon's body dissolved into magma in an instant. The fox's fiery tail pierced through the molten lake, and even managed to ignite some of the magma itself.
The orange flames radiated an eerie, supernatural aura, igniting any magma that escaped the lake. In an instant, that entire mass of molten rock was burned into nothingness.
The orange Foxfire that fell into the magma pool acted like crazed flame sprites, igniting the magma within a meter of their touch. They seemed eager to spread, but were quickly drowned and suppressed by the endless flood of magma, snuffed out in less than a second.
Leon frowned slightly...
Foxfire—an eerie, supernatural flame whose power is so great it can ignite even magma. Its most troublesome trait is its strong contagion and tenacity; a single spark could set an entire mountain ablaze.
With a flick of his wrist, Leon sent Theo flying. As a prime-tier flame spirit, Theo's specialty was devouring all manner of magical fire to strengthen itself. The most forbidden, yet simplest method: consume flames and absorb their traits, growing ever more powerful.
At this point, Theo was nearly as strong as a level thirty-five magical beast. Every flame Leon encountered had been fed to Theo; with no new flames to consume, it could only grow slowly by absorbing those it had already devoured.
Now, upon seeing this strange Foxfire, Leon immediately released Theo.
The Foxfire in the magma lake was constantly being suppressed and worn down by the endless flow of magma. Its speed of igniting magma was far slower than the rate at which it was extinguished—conditions perfect for Theo to devour it.
Otherwise, this flame—capable of igniting magma—would instantly burn Theo, the flame spirit, to death...
Theo darted through the magma lake, devouring stray Foxfire wherever it found it, its strength rapidly increasing.
Foxfire—mastered only by certain fox-type Sky Rank beasts—was purely a matter of luck, not bloodline. Possessing Foxfire greatly boosted a beast's combat power. Anything below Sky Rank, if touched by Foxfire, would be burned to death, leaving no trace; even their ashes would be incinerated into nothingness...
As Theo devoured more and more Foxfire, its threat diminished. Each time, Theo could absorb even greater quantities, its level rapidly soaring to thirty-six—and still climbing.
With Theo on his side, Foxfire was no longer a danger. The Red Flame Fire Fox's attacks were left with only raw, terrifying force.
Leon flashed around the magma lake, instantly appearing anywhere within the three-hundred-meter radius. The Red Flame Fire Fox's three tails couldn't stop him; instead, Leon had already closed the gap, entering the fox's three-hundred-meter zone.
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The magma pool had already spread beneath the Red Flame Fire Fox's feet.
But Foxfire erupted under the fox's paws, transforming into a sea of flames—the magma pool couldn't burn the Red Flame Fire Fox at all.
By now, the others had reached attack range. The Red Flame Fire Fox howled in rage, its roar sending visible shockwaves rippling outward, shattering the surrounding trees.
As a Sky Rank beast, it had unleashed its destructive energy spheres, yet hadn't killed a single foe—instead, it was being besieged. The Red Flame Fire Fox was utterly enraged.
Its three flaming tails, now stretching hundreds of meters, lashed out like colossal whips, furiously striking at everyone nearby.
Hubert charged straight in, swinging Slaughter at one of the tails, but was sent flying even faster than he'd come. He crashed through over a dozen giant trees, each forty or fifty meters tall, before finally stopping. Upon landing, Hubert spat blood, his face flushed, and it felt as if every bone in his body was about to shatter.
Foxfire clung to Slaughter, but it couldn't ignite the warhammer forged from the hardest bone of an ancient Venom Dragon. In fact, the Foxfire seemed to awaken a hidden power within Slaughter—a strength Hubert shouldn't have been able to wield at his current level.
A muffled dragon's roar echoed, shaking the space around Slaughter. The Foxfire was shattered by the vibration, which also rippled through Hubert, compelling him to roar like a dragon himself.
In an instant, everything within dozens of meters around Hubert was pulverized into the tiniest fragments.
A halo of light appeared over Slaughter, enveloping the warhammer. Hubert was overjoyed, unsure what had happened, but he knew it was to his benefit. Wiping blood from his mouth, he grinned fiercely and charged back into the fray.
Elsewhere, Reina had transformed into a Frost Dragon, soaring through the air at incredible speed. A faint hint of transcendence already emanated from her; after fusing with the ancient Venom Dragon's shell magic crystal, her progress was astonishing...
Reina's flight was fast, but she still couldn't break into the Red Flame Fire Fox's three-hundred-meter zone. The rapidly lashing three giant tails had formed an orange shield; anyone entering that area would be relentlessly attacked.
Reina could only cast frost spells from afar, but these had little effect on the Fire Fox.
If she got any closer, she'd be struck by a Foxfire-laced tail, and the Foxfire would infect her—forcing her to expend mana to expel it, with little effect.
Anderson and the Patchwork Golem moved together, darting among the treetops, circling the Red Flame Fire Fox and unleashing spell storms.
Violent spells from four elements merged into a pure destructive elemental storm, clashing again and again with the fox's three flaming tails.
"Damn it, tin can, get out of the way! That blasted Foxfire will burn Anderson to death..."
Anderson, controlling the Wheel of All Magic, floated above the Patchwork Golem's head, ready to shove the golem forward as a shield at any moment.
Foxfire is a bizarre flame that can even ignite magical artifacts; getting even a little on you is a huge problem...
Anderson and the Patchwork Golem kept dodging and attacking, but the distance was too great; only a few spells made it through the defense of those three tails, and any that did were instantly wiped out by a swipe from the Red Flame Fire Fox.
Up in the sky, the Mage Legion ran into serious trouble. Their sea of elemental fire was contaminated by Foxfire, and nearly half of it turned into Foxfire. The mages had to scatter, forcing the infected portion to split off.
But regrouping wasted precious time, and they couldn't launch a strong attack.
On the ground, Leon kept casting spells, unleashing an endless storm of lava magic at the Red Flame Fire Fox. But a single swipe from the fox could shatter a meteorite ten meters across...
Suddenly, the Red Flame Fire Fox bared its fangs in a cold sneer and swiped its paw. In midair, the paw abruptly expanded.
In an instant, the paw spanned three hundred meters, transforming into a massive flaming claw dozens of meters across, and slammed down toward Leon.