A thunderous roar shattered the silence as the skies above the Scourge Castle turned into a warzone. Drake soared ahead, his massive ice wings slicing through the air, flanked closely by Valkor, whose body was shrouded in deep purple flames, and Elise, whose fiery presence painted the air behind them crimson.
The three Emperor-tier dragons led the assault—at the frontlines of castle with the rest following behind them.
Drake's voice boomed as a giant ice pike, over ten meters long, formed midair and shot toward the Scourge Castle.
The pike smashed into the castle gates, freezing and cracking them apart.
As the metal gates of the Scourge Castle broke open like floodgates, a sea of corrupted dragons poured out.
Valkor didn't wait. Deep purple flames exploded from his palms as he dashed in. The fire lit up the darkness like daylight, burning down the first Scourge beasts that came into sight.
"Outta the way!" he roared, swinging his flaming broadsword sideways and cutting through three beasts like paper.
Elise jumped high, spinning midair. Orange fire coiled around her spear as she brought it crashing down. The blast blew a hole straight through a group of Scourge beasts. The fire hissed as it spread.
More Scourge beasts rushed out—twisted, ugly things with horns, claws, and gaping mouths. Some looked part dragon, part nightmare. But none of them looked sane.
"Tch." Drake raised his hand. A wave of frost burst out, freezing a group of them in place. He swung once—CRACK!
"Ice sculptures. Nice," he smirked.
Their defense should've been brutal, but… it wasn't.
Thanks to Nox's title—[Sovereign of the Lost]—all of them had 50% resistance to the Scourge corruption which greatly weakened their enemies.
"Feels like these freaks are slapping me with pillows," Valkor laughed as another claw bounced off his shoulder.
"Same here, hahaha. He wasn't lying when he said he would make us stronger," Elise laughed, stabbing a beast in the throat. Her purple flames exploded inside it.
Behind them, the rest of the Alpha team engaged the Scourge in brutal fights. Meanwhile, the three pushed in deep. Dozens of Scourge fell before them like trash mobs. Drake froze, Valkor incinerated, Elise sliced through the rest.
"Keep moving!" Drake shouted. "We're punching through the courtyard!"
Valkor nodded and threw another wave of flame. "Don't fall behind!"
Elise dashed ahead, killing two more beasts with a spin. "Please. I'm the one carrying you two."
Even with the castle unleashing everything it had, the trio moved like a storm.
A loud bell rang from inside the castle. The trio didn't need to be geniuses to know that was a warning signal.
"They're panicking now," Drake muttered. "Everyone be careful and don't get cocky. I think we're drawing out the main force."
He raised his sword. "Elise, take the left. Valkor, with me. We hold this breach."
"Got it," Elise answered, eyes sharp.
The three split, each taking a section of the battlefield. The air filled with fire, frost, and screams.
At the castle's east side, things were quiet.
Nox pressed a hand against the cold wall. He could feel the battle on the other side, and thanks to his connection with his pets, he could tell they were handling the situation perfectly well.
It was at that moment that the gong sounded, echoing in the air. Afterward, Nox felt several powerful presences rushing outside.
"…Now," he whispered.
The Earth Prince stepped forward. He knelt and pressed his palms to the ground. Brownish-gold light spread under his hands.
The ground trembled—then opened as a tunnel formed.
Zara and Nyxirith didn't need orders. Nox slid in first. Zara followed next, manifesting a frost spear from her inventory. Nyxirith came after, her shadow element active. The Earth Prince sealed the entrance behind them.
Within seconds, they were under the castle.
The tunnel sloped upward.
The roof split open quietly as a corridor appeared above.
Nox climbed out first. He scanned his surroundings with a calm gaze. They seemed to be in a dark hallway lined with deep blue torches and black banners bearing a dragon sigil.
Currently, there was no guard in sight.
One by one, they came up behind him. If it had been before they became Nox's pets, the suffocating corrupted energy would have overwhelmed them, but thanks to the Sovereign of the Lost title, they could breathe just fine.
When everyone was out, the Earth Prince sealed the tunnel again.
"Let's proceed," Nox said as he summoned the Oblivion Edge, the blade faintly glowing blue under the torchlight.
As he was about to take a step forward, the familiar ding echoed in his head. Nox's eyes twitched slightly as he read the system screen in front of him.
To his surprise, it was... a quest.
'It's been a while,' he thought inwardly. He couldn't even remember the last time he had received a quest.
[Ding! You have received a quest:]
[Description: Eliminate 20 Scourge Champions & 10 Scourge Commanders.]
[Reward: 20,000 Shop Points.]
His lips parted slightly into a small smile.
The font, the glow, and the sudden chime—it all pointed to one thing.
His patron goddess from the Pantheon of Mythical Beasts.
'So she's still watching…' he thought. A flicker of something warm touched his chest—but only for a second. Now wasn't the time to get sentimental.
Terra didn't just hand out quests like candy. If she sent one, it meant she was expecting results.
And twenty thousand Shop Points? That was enough to buy a few items from the Monster Shop—maybe even a beast egg, depending on what the shop rolled.
That was a ridiculous number.
'She really wants me to go all out, huh?'
He exhaled through his nose and looked up, the faint blue glow of the quest screen still hovering in his vision.
The mission they came here for—and the quest—lined up perfectly, as killing the Scourge dragons was his initial goal. Now that there was a reward, it was even more exciting.
"Let's go." Nox spoke afterward as he closed his system screen.
They moved through the halls, careful and fast. Just a couple of steps later, the group had to halt and rush behind a large pillar. A few seconds later, they heard footsteps and scraping on the ground.