'What in the hell is that thing!?'
Kael's eyes widened in horror.
'No wonder even Igni was intimidated.'
He muttered in his head.
The absurd age, the strength, defense, and mana, he could ignore all but…
Fire Immunity, Immortality, and Instant Regeneration!?
Does that even make sense!?
What were they supposed to do against this monster!?
There was no way for them to get rid of it!
It was fucking immortal!
While Kael was still reading through the stats, Igni moved and barely dodged another one of those death rays that came out of the monster's core.
"Haaahhh… Haaahhh… Haaahh…"
Kael's breathing turned heavy. Seeing the death ray pass so close to him made his heart rate jump in fear.
Soon, however, his attention was grabbed by something else.
Another screen had popped in front of him as his eyes fell on the somewhat dull volcano that was behind the Titan.
[State: Extinguished]
[The Heart of Crucible is the core of the Infernal Crucible, the very source of its balance and stability. However, the once raging inferno that fueled the realm's existence now lies in a dormant, lifeless state. Without its flames, the Crucible's structure is collapsing, and its inhabitants are devolving into mindless beasts of destruction.]
[Effects of Extinguished State]
[Realm Instability: The Infernal Crucible will collapse in 22 hours.]
[Berserk Titan: The Titan who once protected the realm and was connected to it has gone berserk due to its instability and is attacking every movement it senses.]
[Volcanic Activity: Earthquakes and magma eruptions have increased in frequency and will continue to increase until the entire realm collapses.]
[Conditions to Reignite the Heart of Crucible]
[Bathe the Heart of Crucible in Endless Flames for 20 seconds without interruption.]
[Flames must originate from a Primordial Fire Source.]
[Any disruption will reset the process.]
Kael finally realized it.
'So basically, the mission wants Igni to heat that volcano up for 20 seconds…'
There was no other 'Primordial Fire Source' here other than his Igni. The description couldn't have been more obvious.
'Doesn't sound very complicated.'
Kael thought inwardly, but just as he did,
His breath hitched the moment another death ray passed right by him, with Igni barely dodging the attack.
How are we supposed to do it with that monstrosity standing right next to it!?'
Kael's opinion changed very quickly.
Igni, on the other hand, flapped its wings and moved down, taking cover behind the volcano and hiding from the Titan.
The monster couldn't move, and the dragon decided to use that fact to his advantage.
In a few seconds, Igni landed on the ground with Kael.
"Father! Are you hurt?"
He questioned with a worried look on his face.
Kael nodded as he patted Igni's head, reassuring his son. But then,
He noticed something.
The volcano right behind them…
The volcano that was supposed to be a cover and a shield…
Kael's eyes widened in horror as the crack became wider and wider with every passing moment.
Kael screamed as he saw the thick volcano wall collapse and the death ray piercing through it like it was made of paper.
Quickly, Kael grabbed the little dragon in his arms and then,
Wings came out of his back as he launched himself into the air, dodging the incoming attack.
Kael's golden eyes shined as shimmering red scales covered his entire body.
His wings and a tail emerged, the air itself crackled, as if submitting to him—even when a monster such as the Titan stood right in front of him.
Igni called out, once again sensing the same familiarity from his father as he did the last time.
Yes, Kael had activated it again.
[Ascendant of the Ancient]
He called out, and a screen showing his new stats appeared in front of him.
[Talent: Genesis of the Ancients]
[Talent Rank: EX Rank]
The Titan, however, didn't seem to care about what Kael had become.
It simply shot another one of its death rays while Kael was in the sky. This time, however, Kael didn't panic. Rather, he simply flew towards the Titan, easily dodging the incoming beam without much problem.
"Igni, balance yourself."
"Father?—Aaaahhhhhh!!"
Kael ordered, and before Igni could understand anything, he threw him into the air while he himself flew right toward the core of the Titan's chest.
The monster attacked him again. Right now, however, it didn't matter.
The current Kael was even more monstrous than the monstrous entity. His claws elongated as he gathered his strength.
Then, as if all of this wasn't enough already,
Kael activated his two skills, raising his power to an even more absurd level and,
He pierced through the Titan's core with his body and flew out the other end.
And the Hero didn't stop there.
With his now enhanced speed that was above 260—pretty much reaching the speed of sound itself—he moved towards its eye just in case it was a core instead of an eye and,
He pierced through it as well.
With the two possible cores now crushed into pieces, technically, the Titan should be down.
Or at least, that's what Kael expected, but…
He cursed as he realized that the moment he stopped attacking, both the cores regenerated back to how they were before.
Was entirely meaningless.
"So the core wasn't the weakness, huh…"
The Hero realized it.
Then, as he noticed that the monster had turned its head towards him, he quickly flew away, grabbed Igni—who was still free-falling in the air—and went back to the ground again with his back facing the Titan.
Igni was confused, soon, however, his eyes widened in horror.
The Little Dragon shouted, but before it could say or do anything anymore, Kael simply tightened his Hug around him, making sure to cover the Dragon's entire body with his own and,
[Time Remaining: 0 Seconds]
His transformation was undone, and then,
The beam of extreme heat engulfed both the father-son duo and… they perished.
It was another failure.
*Eternal Flame Wolves*
*Tital of the Crucible*