The Alpha inhaled deeply, its ribcage glowing brighter than ever before.
Then, with a thunderous exhale, it unleashed a wave of fire in all directions.
Noah threw up a shield of darkness, the impact hitting him like a hammer.
The world turned into a cacophony of heat and noise, his armor creaking as the flames washed over him.
When the blast faded, his breath came ragged, and the walls around them glowed red from the heat.
Cecilia reappeared beside him, singed but alive, her breathing steady. "You all right?"
"I’ll live," he muttered. His armor was cracked in places, smoke rising from his shoulders. "This thing’s ridiculous."
The wolf was already charging again, staying relentless. And that was what made this so fun.
Noah met it halfway, slamming into it with the force of a battering ram.
The impact sent both of them tumbling, claws and fists striking in a blur of motion. The sound of bone cracking filled the air.
Cecilia raised both hands, her palms burning bright. She unleashed a wall of fire across the wolf’s flank, forcing it to back off for a moment.
Its bones glowed, some melting from the heat, but still, it refused to fall.
"It’s regenerating," she said grimly.
Noah could see it too, the faint shimmer of mana running through its cracked ribs, knitting them back together.
He gritted his teeth. "Then we don’t give it the chance."
He lunged again, this time applying Flash Step to move faster.
His hammer slammed into the creature’s chest, cracking its sternum.
He spun and kicked, hitting its jaw and sending fragments of bone flying.
The wolf retaliated with a snap of its jaws, grazing his arm.
Noah ducked under it, shoving his hand against its side and firing a burst of Rot. The bone hissed as corrosion spread across it.
Still, the Alpha kept coming.
Cecilia landed beside him, her clothes tattered, sweat streaking her brow. Her eyes were fierce and unyielding.
"We can’t keep trading blows like this," she said. "It’s wearing us down."
Noah panted, his armor flickering faintly. "Then what do you suggest?"
A grin spread across her lips. "We go big."
She stepped forward, her aura flaring to life, becoming more radiant than before.
The air shimmered around her as flames erupted from her back, coalescing behind her into wings.
She raised her hand to the sky.
The flames above her twisted, condensing into a massive sphere before taking form, a creature of fire, regal and blindingly bright.
Her giant phoenix.
Its wings were spread wide, each beat of them filling the cavern with waves of heat. It screeched, the sound echoing like a battle cry.
Noah shielded his eyes from the radiance, his grin going wider.
"About time you stopped holding back," he muttered.
Cecilia smirked, her golden eyes burning. "Let’s burn it down."
And the phoenix screamed again, diving towards the roaring Alpha.
The air ignited with golden fire, every flap of its wings scattering embers that lit the dark cavern.
The Alpha roared in defiance at the new attacker.
The two forces collided with an explosion of heat and force that shook the ground.
Cecilia’s phoenix slammed into the Alpha, driving it backwards across the cavern floor.
The Alpha lashed out with claws wreathed in flame, striking at the phoenix’s neck.
The blow sent ripples of fire cascading through the phoenix’s body, but it retaliated, its beak clamping down on the wolf’s shoulder and tearing through bone.
The Alpha howled, flames erupting from its maw, engulfing the phoenix in a wave of black-red fire.
The creature screeched, twisting through the inferno, its wings beating furiously.
Instead of retreating, it dove straight through the blast, turning the wave of destruction into fuel.
The flames wrapped around it like armor, transforming its feathers into pure golden brilliance.
Above the raging battle, Cecilia moved like a comet. Her wings of fire blazed behind her as she darted through the smoke-filled air, summoning spears, lances, and pillars of flame that rained down like meteors.
Each spell struck with unnerving accuracy, carving deep fissures into the Alpha’s armor of bone.
The Alpha snarled, shaking the phoenix off with a violent twist of its body. Its tail lashed upward, a whip of burning bone that smashed through one of Cecilia’s fiery constructs.
She vanished in a burst of light, reappearing to the side, both hands outstretched.
A swirling sphere of fire formed between her palms, the construct dense, and spinning faster by the second.
Solar Core!
The sphere detonated, a beam of blinding flame lancing downward, striking the Alpha square in the chest.
The creature staggered from the force of the attack, the bone around its ribs blackening and cracking.
But even as the fire ate at it, the Alpha began to regenerate. The cracks sealed, the bone hardening again. Its blue eyes burned brighter, as if mocking their efforts.
Noah had seen enough.
He charged forward, drawing his shadow hammer into his hand.
He swung the hammer downwards with all his strength, the impact connecting with the Alpha’s foreleg.
Bone shattered, the creature’s massive limb buckling under the force.
The Alpha retaliated instantly, its tail snapping across Noah’s chest.
The blow sent him skidding backward, his boots gouging trenches in the ground. He caught his breath, bracing as the Alpha lunged for him, its jaws opening wide.
Noah teleported with Null Stride, appearing above its back as it lunged.
He spun in the air, bringing the hammer down in a crushing arc. The weapon connected with the beast’s skull, the impact sending cracks splintering through its cranium.
The Alpha crashed into the floor, its roar echoing like thunder.
"Stay down!" Noah snarled, driving his knee into the side of its head and swinging again.
But the Alpha’s regeneration flared once more. The fissures in its bones sealed shut, glowing with crimson fire.
It snapped its head up, catching Noah as he was swinging his hammer, and flung him into the air.
Before he could hit the ground, Cecilia swooped down, catching him by the arm with one hand while channeling a massive surge of mana with the other.
Her phoenix screeched below, slamming into the Alpha again, this time locking its talons around the creature’s torso.
The two beasts writhed and clashed, claws and flame tearing through each other.
Cecilia’s voice rose over the cacophony. "Its regeneration runs on fire essence. My phoenix is burning it cleaner!"
Noah’s eyes widened as realization struck him. "You’re saying..."
"I’m going to purify it!" she finished.