“She was the ideal for me ♫

The bringer of children’s smiles ♫

Alas, the world seemed bleaker without her ♫

But all wounds must heal, we must force back the tears ♫

Her legacy remains for everybody to hear ♫

All these wounds will heal, mourning must end ♫

Our path is made clear through the loss of a friend ♫”

[Shield of [The Light]] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]

The geisenlarg’s crocodile mouth-like pincer opened up and bit into Tasianna’s ice serpent, tearing one of them off its legs before crushing its body with a loud crunch, breaking it into two. Although the lower half of the serpent broke into snowflakes, the head section still was “alive” and slipped through the pincers to attack the geisenlarg abomination.

“Duke Greenveil, you take the knight archers and work with Lady Muraina! Knights, field support. Mages, cover fire and ensure support for Lady Hestia’s Aurora and any other members of the vanguard! Begin!”

“““Your will, your majesty!””” The knights and nobles of Artorias erupted in unison, acknowledging their king’s orders. It took them sooooo long to finally get their asses off from their comfy seats, but it was a sight for sore eyes when they finally did appeared, honestly.

Griffons and hippogryphs screeched as they assumed their positions while the mages on their gargoyles flew up higher, around where Muraina was hovering, and began unleashing their various spells on the geisenlarg.

Water, wind, and fire spells rained down like artillery while the earth began to mold to push the geisenlarg further away from the gate. With how destructive attacks had to be to hurt this thing, pushing it back to the barren land Muraina created would be best to avoid collateral damage.

However, the geisenlarg king wouldn’t let that happen so easily.

“““Skrrrrrrraaaaaah!””” All the mouths on its flesh tower cried out before it destroyed the ice serpent and the earth spells. It then used its left pincer to shield himself from the artillery spells and its right to block the incoming cannon fire.

But as that oversized insect probably thought those measly attacks wouldn’t be able to hurt it, it turned around towards Saori, only for a white ball of mana to crash against its side. “Krraaaaaaak!” it roared as the flames began to burn its unprotected eldritch flesh. No shell, no protection.

Taking advantage of this opening, Saori shot out multiple stygian thunderblast at the monster as she raced towards it. Meanwhile, Tasianna turned the rain into a battalion of frozen swords, freezing anything she could to use as a weapon. With so much water around her, Tasianna was in her element right now. Literally.

“Slithering Frost Serpent x2!” Flapping her [Aifli eir Vintral] ice wings while standing on a hovering ice slab, Tasianna summoned two giant ice serpents, launching them at the geisenlarg king.

Wait, when did Tasianna learn that spell?

[Slithering Serpent] was Master Kush’s custom spell. Since he acted not only as my but also Tasianna’s magic tutor, we technically were apprentice sisters in a way. However, unlike me, who only inherited his magic battle and custom spell creation techniques, Tasianna also received instructions on how to learn his spells. The perks of being a water mage like him.

The thing is that Tasianna didn’t just copy his spell, she turned his water spell into an ice one. She made the spell her own, making it not only larger than the original but also like a puppet similar to [Winter’s Golem].

The geisenlarg began shooting its tail cannon, attempting to destroy the serpents coming towards it. Like actual snakes, Tasianna’s summoned constructs slithered through the rubble left behind after Muraina’s attack, dodging the attacks before striking at the monster’s legs once they came close enough.

Without delay, Tasianna constructed a huge [Winter’s Golem] using her catalyst’s mana slime function. The hulking construct, around my size, landed with a loud thud on the ground and grabbed the geisenlarg’s left pincer while it tried shrugging the serpents off. The three ice puppets were trying to freeze him.

Nice, Tasianna!

Arrows then began accompanying Tasianna’s ice sword rain. Led by Duke Greenveil, knight archers unleashed arrows empowered by mana, targeting the eldritch flesh of the geisenlarg, apparently having decided on the eyes as priority targets.

The elves and adventurers stopped shooting their arrows, acknowledging it would be best to leave this to the flying knights. Instead, they turned their attention to the wounded and the cannons. I was healing people, but some seemed to have lost consciousness. The only elves still actively fighting in this phase of this battle were Muraina and Krymdar.

“Lady Hestia!” While I was hovering around, a woman’s voice entered my ears. I turned around, seeing Thyra flying towards me on her gargoyle. “I know we’ve already introduced ourselves, but I have this tingling to greet you once again. This is only my first time seeing it, but your true form is a sight to behold, Lady Hestia Kargryxmor!”

[“Thyra! Good to see you, too. You didn’t accompany your mother back to your land?”] I asked. All the dukes except for Duke Greenveil had left for their duchies yesterday to deal with issues that had cropped up.

“My younger siblings accompanied her. I might be the heir, but I am also the director of the royal academy. And now, I have to take up the mantle of Archarcanist, since neither mother nor Lord Duke Myrrdin are around. Now, enough talking, we have a beast to slay! Let’s both make sure to survive this, Your Imperial Highness!”

Flying forth, Thyra began rallying the mages around her, flanking the beast while the archers took the other flank. Thyra then began rapidly shooting spells from all four basic elements and their compositional elements, finally showing her power as a mage. At the sight of her casting spells the morale of the mages in her retinue soared.

King Drangleic, on the other hand, was only accompanied by three of his royal guards and the Lords Armado and Ulquint. The guards had their weapons unsheathed, but it seemed their king’s safety was their utmost objective, as they did not attempt to fight the monster.

On the other hand, their king took on a more proactive role. Wielding his sword, adorned with feathers, King Drangleic began gathering wind around his weapon, having it twirl around like a cyclone. With a single strike, a wind blade shot out.

As if he was training swordsmanship, he continued slashing and slashing, releasing more and more wind crescents to cut the monster. With a single stab, the wind even shot out like a miniature tornado, pushing the monster further away from the city.

Even Saori’s garms and Gael were participating in this battle by helping out at the wall. Ellaine and Grimnir were completely busy with maintaining that scrap of a cannon, shooting out mana shots once they prevented it from exploding. I guess since there were too many people around, Ellaine couldn’t assimilate with Klea’Hatma to join the raid as a vanguard.

“Wo-argh wraaaaaaaaaagh!”

“Evasive maneuvers, go— wiiiiiaaaargh!”

However, the fighting wasn’t all sunshine and good. This geisenlarg was still an A rank threat, and had finished assimilating with whatever demonic power it was injected with. Underestimating it was a mistake.

It destroyed one of Tasianna’s ice serpents and regained full control of its tail, using it to shoot out small black balls toward the knights and mages. Both groups cast magic to defend themselves, but unlike the mage battalion, the knights didn’t have powerful mages like Thyra around to defend them.

The balls exploded, catching a few of the knights. While griffons were sturdy and too stubborn to flinch back from the damage, hippogryphs were less so. They might be faster than a griffon but they didn’t have the defensive stats to fully shrug those attacks off, even with their armor. It was very likely that the knights would fall to their deaths…

However…

“H-Huh, what?! We’re okay?”

“Krraaaaieh?”

… Think again! I wasn’t just the best supportive dragon just for show! [The Heir of Hope] playing in the background has already spread [Shield of [The Light]] to everybody at this point.

The Heir of Hope

A song created by the Idol [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]. Through the images of accepting and becoming the beacon of hope inside the realm of darkness and despair, picking up the torch left behind by a martyr, this song will become the strength for all those who stand and rally towards this light. All allies affected by [Music Resonation] will receive these effects: Reduce dark elemental and demonic-source damage by 50%. Increase holy elemental healing by 50%. All attacks and spells will have [The Light]’s holy elements applied. All stats increase by 10%. Applies a [Shield of [The Light]] buff, which will act as a temporary Health pool that will regenerate over time if no further damage is taken for a period of time. [Shield of [The Light]]’s strength will scale depending on the number of allies with the [Music Resonation] buff. [Fear] and [Terror] can never rise above the [Minor] stage. These effects will not apply if an enemy of terrifying proportion or strength isn’t present, or if none of the allies present have either [Fear] or [Terror]

The description was already essay levels long, but essentially, this was my plan to keep everybody alive. [The Heir of Hope] was my first fully defensive spell song without any negative effects for my enemies. Increased healing through holy spells along with a pseudo-barrier acting like a secondary life bar, in addition to reduced dark and demonic damage, made it incredibly hard to kill anybody while I was around.

Of course, I didn’t say they were immortal. Although the barrier would become stronger with more people around, a vaporizing attack would kill them anyway. If you were too weak, this thing wouldn’t do you any good. However, it synergized well with those already strong and well-equipped.

If I keep [Halo of Consecration] active, I can ensure a low mortality rate so long as they are careful. If they can deal damage, then being able to deal [The Light]’s holy element through the attacks will benefit them greatly against the geisenlarg. After all, it was super effective against demonic beings.

[“Everybody, you have my protection! Listen to my song, listen to the voice of an Idol of the Goddess of Light!”] I announced it to everybody, rallying the knights even more once my flames began to heal any wounds they sustained. Duke Greenveil knew not to let this opportunity pass and immediately regrouped everybody to continue the assault.

Of course, if I had the ability to play two songs at once, I would. [My Darkest Thoughts] would really help out, but just like playing two songs side-by-side, it would be hard to hear the lyrics of either one. The song itself provided the powers, after all.

“Skkkrrrrra!” The geisenlarg roared in frustration at not having killed anyone with its latest attack, and in its rage, readied himself to shoot a black laser at them. Fortunately, Tasianna recognized this and made her last summoned serpent instead grab its tail.

A struggle broke out, as the geisenlarg could now move again, only slightly encumbered by the ice golem. With its right pincer, it grabbed the golem and pried it away from its left pincer. With one loud crunch, the golem broke apart, allowing the geisenlarg to destroy the last ice serpent.

With its freedom regained, its numerous mouths contorted into a smile as it prepared its tail cannon once again, only for a large wind arrow to interrupt everything. Tree bark then flew out to attack the monster followed by a [Hadaen Dragon Thunder].

“Wrrrrraar!” Wrapped up in her [Shadow Armament], Saori had finally reached the geisenlarg, and began using [Dark Tendrils] and mana threads to try and wrap its legs up. Her maneuverability with [Shadow Dash] really made her hard to hit.

Good. Time to get back into the fray!

With my Health back to its maximum and my scale-dust having the time to recover, I used my rocket boosters to zoom over to the geisenlarg, re-engaging the thing, now with everybody’s support.

Cannonballs flew, spells sizzled the air, arrows hit their targets, and ice and black thunder were tearing into flesh and breaking shells. And with me around, white flames were unleashed onto the geisenlarg. After all, after a hard day of fighting and destruction, this bug certainly deserved a warm shower of holy flames, right?!

“Skrrruch!”

It was unable to shoot its laser, and could only throw out black balls of demonic energy, but [Barrier of [The Light]] kept everybody unharmed. It eventually figured it could scoop up some of the earth with its mouth-like pincers to then “throw up” everything like a projectile rain. Earth, tree bits, rocks, anything it could find was used to shoot down the flyers.

As effective as my song’s barrier was, it couldn’t exactly protect you from the law of physics. Some knights or mages were hit and had to restabilize themselves, while others, far less lucky, were hit by a boulder or such. Griffon knights could survive such damage easily, but those on hippogryphs or gargoyles were taken out of the fight as they crashed landed.

I could see my white flames healing them as they fell and I also didn’t receive any fan loss notifications, but it didn’t exactly fill me with confidence. I earnestly wish for nobody else to lose their lives today, but this battle was just pure chaos. In the chaos, anything could happen. But, just like with Eshe’s death, I must grit my teeth and fight on.

Please, survive!

I continued fighting.

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Younger knights were sent down to check up on any fallen knight or mages, making sure they were alive and would be brought back to safety. Everybody flew back to the wall with somebody unconscious on their backs. I could see white flames on some of them, while others didn’t have any. I couldn’t tell if they were dead or not.

I continued fighting.

[“Hestia, let’s do this! We’re taking the tail down!”] Saori called out and I agreed.

With her lightning and my hellblade tail, if one of us could create a crack in the carapace, we could cripple or hopefully even sever the geisnlarg’s tail. While two more [Slithering Frost Serpent]s kept the monster occupied, Saori and I rushed up to its tail.

Saori’s [Dark Tendrils] anchored me onto the monster’s back while I bite into the lowest point of its tail. I held it back, making sure it wouldn’t struggle too much. The geisenlarg immediately took notice, but so did Tasianna, controlling her serpent to grab the eldritch flesh tower and subsequently its attention.

Using her catalysts, Saori went into [Lightning Revolt (Limited)], causing her fur to stand up like a bad hair day. She channeled her electricity in her paws and began to pound against the tail’s carapace. Every strike hit like a piledriver, and the carapace began to shatter.

Seeing this, I created more crimson fire inside my mouth and used its explosion to crack open the shell I had bit into. As the monster roared just behind us, I grabbed the flailing tail with my claws. Saori then used her tendrils to grab onto the tail for us, although it was more or less futile since the monster was too strong. Still, I rocket boosted myself up to the wound Saori had created and used [Instant Heat Ignition] on my tail.

As I was ready to cut off its tail, [Foresight] activated to warn me of something coming from the wound. As if it was a repeat of the same situation as the demonkin, black tentacles poured out of the wound like ants. Saori and I dodged back with [Air Walk] and flight respectively, shooting out thunder and fire to burn away those things, only for more to appear.

Scheiße!

“Skrree!” The geisenlarg cried out, rearing up on its hind legs before intentionally falling on its back, prompting us to move the fuck away from him. At this moment, it showed some serious dexterity for its size as it swung its tail around in an attempt to stand up.

The swing sundered the serpents in two and nearly managed to hit us. As it struggled on the ground, its flesh tower proved to be a detriment for its plan, the only problem was… the flesh was moldable. It adapted to the monster’s needs, its urgency.

From a towering eldritch monstrosity, it morphed and transformed, like a meaty piece of clay. Its eyes and mouths contorted as it twisted in sight, turning that useless tower into something resembling a form. It became thinner in appearance, but that flesh simply turned into four more pincers for it to use.

To crown all of this, a skull revealed itself from underneath all of that. Black fluids oozed out from its eyes, rising up to its top to create a black crown. With its newest form done, it stood back up and unfurled the purple flaming cape it had on its back. In the next moment, it unleashed a beam from its mouth.

Woah!

I grabbed Saori and blasted the two of us away from that attack, not a second too late as, when it touched the ground, it exploded in a black explosion. Rattling its skull in delight, the monster jumped around, using its new pincer to grab any knight foolhardy enough to stay too close.

Let them go!

I let go of my grip on Saori and shot out a [Dreadflare Breath] as a laser, forcing it to release its captive. My attack was followed up by Tasianna’s hail of ice swords and Wisperia’s tree bark, keeping the thing from jumping around too wildly. Thanks to my [The Heir of Hope], those caught weren’t immediately crushed by the pincers.

But the monster wasn’t done with its tricks just yet. Gathering mana on the tips of its tail, it began digging it into the ground, performing a previous attack. That earth erupting one.

The ground erupted underneath us. As everybody kept to the skies to stay mobile, seeing all the rocks and balls of dirt shoot up was a disaster.

Griffons, hippogryphs, and gargoyles fell from the skies like flies. I believe most survived the initial fall, but many couldn’t get themselves up in time, and the geisenlarg fell upon them like a praying mantis.

54 human followers lost

Total follower count updated. Total follower of [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]: 7186

Nooo, noo! Fuck!

I wanted to do something about this, but I was equally trapped inside this eruption of earth. I could melt everything around me with [Dreaflare Aura], but my parallel minds reminded me that I wasn’t fit. My solar core had to begin working again to cool my body down. If I didn’t want to crack it, I had to slow down.

But how could I?

People were dying all around me. I was not responsible for their lives but I was weak to seeing them die. Seeing my allies die. This whole day was getting worse and worse for my psyche.

I’m gonna turn you into ash and dust, you piece of shit. I will burn you for everything you’ve done!

[Battle Frenzy (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]

Demonkins, Yanderu, Hamil — they will suffer for all of this. But first, I need to—

“Dammit!”

My head snapped around to that voice. It was Thyra’s.

“Hold up your spells! Concentrate on using wards but don’t neglect to control your gargoyle!”

With her mages behind her, Thyra swerved through the mess like an expert rider, focusing her spell usage on protecting her group. Lightning and lava shot out to eliminate everything. It seemed like they would be able to survive this, but that was when I noticed the geisenlarg charging at them, its pincers ready to grab.

No!

Scale-dust exploded around me, destroying any debris. [Tailwind] activated to give me a boost of speed, which I needed even with my rocket boosters to get through all of this. I breathed out fire, making sure nothing stood in my way.

[“Thyra, watch out!”] I warned her through telepathy.

“Wha-?!”

““Griiieeaaaaaak!”” Two mages were captured by the monster’s pincers. Their shrill cries were silenced forever.

“Skkrrrrrrrrrouuuuuuuk!” Like a nightmare, the skull of the beast appeared with a loud roar behind a veil of dust and debris.

Seeing this creature in front of their eyes, the mages couldn’t keep themselves calm as they cried out. Unable to control their gargoyles nor cast spells finely, they were easy prey to the erupting debris. Anybody hit survived it due to my barrier, but it allowed the geisenlarg to crackle in delight as it attempted to squish its enemies.

“Back off, mongrel! Purple lightning, godly speed — spells will weave to my need! Purple Flash! The Goddess’s tempest, I beseech you! Cyclone Madness!”

A huge tornado immediately burst in between the falling mages and the geisenlarg, preventing the large creature from catching them. Due to the storm, the mages stopped falling as they were caught in the spiral.

“Aqua Prison!” Thyra shouted multiple times, imprisoning the mages with their gargoyles in individual balls of water for their own protection.

[Lightning Magic Lv. 2] and [Storm Magic Lv. 4] — Thyra just cast two high tier spells in a row, and one of them was [Purple Flash]. It allowed you to cast long-winded spells immediately, but it also meant you needed to pay triple the mana cost. And she then cast multiple [Water Magic Lv. 10]’s [Aqua Prison]. I couldn’t see Thyra’s complexion, but that was just a recipe for arcane corruption!

“Urgh!”

“Lady Thyra!”

Through the debris, I saw Thyra groan and slouch on her gargoyle. All that mana usage had to have affected her!

“Skkrrrrrouuuuuuuuuu!” And the geisenlarg did not let this opportunity go.

“Crap! Purple lightning, godly spe—”

Faster! NOT ANOTHER ONE!

I zoomed through all the debris I could, my eyes set on Thyra, but when I saw how close the geisenlarg was to Thyra and her squadron, I turned my eyes to the bug.

“—ed — spells will weave to my—”

“KrrrrrriiiiiiiAAAAAAAAAHHH!”

In the last very second, I rammed my head against its pincer, piercing it with my horns. I then released [Dreadflare Aura] and rocket boostered myself to get to its skull, spewing white flames out of my mouth to scorch the monster’s body.

Die you piece of— Woah!

But it was as if I fell into its trap — it caught my tail with one of its pincers.

“Skrrrra!” He stumbled back from all my flames, trying desperately to extinguish it, but with six arms, it had enough to concentrate on different tasks. Two to kill off the fire, three to grab and kill some of Thyra’s mages, and one to slam me against the ground to stomp at me.

Go— Argh!

I tried to rocket boost myself away from its foot, but when I did, [Foresight] warned me too late when its tail aimed at me. It told me there was no way for me to dodge.

I was smacked by its tail, flying up like a ragdoll, only for him to catch me by the tail again. I increased the potency of [Dreadflare Aura], literally melting its pincer, but it still did not let go. That overgrown insect slammed me once again on the ground, and this time, its foot hit its mark.

Like a kid giving a tantrum, its constant stomping was unbearable. I could feel my scales cracking, my bones failing against the pressure, and my head ringing from all that weight. I would be lucky if I could get out of this with only a concussion. What my mind was actually telling me was —

I messed up.

[“Hestia!”]

“Lady Hestia!”

I saw lightning and ice crashing against the monster’s back, but it didn’t budge.

“Lady Hestia, no! Whisperia, save her!”

“Princess Hestia! No, stay strong!”

A giant owl treant grabbed its tail, trying to get him off me, but the geisenlarg was stubbornly staying on the ground. The constant debris rain had already stopped at this point and I could see King Drangleic charged forward to my rescue with his knights unleashing whatever attacks they had.

But, for some reason, I was seeing everything thrice. The world was shaking. My mind was becoming numb. Spells and scale-dust activated, trying to protect me and ward against this beast, but everything became futile.

For some reason, this thing wanted to kill me desperately. I could see its tail, carapace, and even pincers destroyed by everybody. But this kept going. It was as if—

It hates me.

The geisenlarg queen. A Quest where I thought I had caused the issue due to my negligence. I thought my fight against Astalos caused it, so I felt compelled to stop it. Could it be? Could it be possible this thing was trying to kill me for its mother? But Saori was her killer. I simply… burned down all the eggs.

Ah, I get it. This is revenge. Of course. Such mindless zeal, it could only be possible with a deep seething emotion. It wants me D.E.A.D. Dead.

…

… AS. FUCKING. IIIIIIIIIIFFFFF!

[Symphonie des Feuergottes (Finale)] [Overheat (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]

“KriiiAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

Vitality surged throughout my body, healing all my wounds. I felt an immeasurable power rising from the depths of my soul, telling me to fight on for this is the final dance! Like a volcano. I was like a volcano!

Symphonie des Feuergottes Movement (Finale)

The curtain call is near, the spotlights shine brighter than ever, for the final act is here. Like the epitome of the inferno god, fire will explode. Fully heal Health, Mana, and Stamina. Increase all stats by 100%. Increase fire damage by 50%. After this effect ends, apply [Exhaustion (Moderate)], [Arcane Corruption (Minor)], and [Mana Stress (Minor)]

I ignited the scale-dust in my scales causing a significant explosion. Taking advantage of the narrow window of opportunity opening up from the explosion, I rocket boostered myself up, ramming against the monster as I began to drag it up in the sky with me.

Crack.

I heard it again. I could not maintain this form. I was overheating too badly. To survive I had, no, I must deactivate this buff immediately. Unfortunately for myself, I was a stubborn girl. And at this point. [Battle Frenzy (Minor)] probably had me in its clutches already.

[“You want revenge, you bastard? Huh?! Well, I’ll show what real revenge is!”]

With fire surrounding me like armor at this point, I kept my grip tightly around the geisenlarg, pulling him higher and higher into the sky. Raindrops turned into steam the moment they came close, all while the bug in my hand was melting before me.

“Skrrouiekomaarkrkrrk!” Cries of agony resounded, but I didn’t stop. I kept flying higher and higher. My rocket boosters wouldn’t stop until I killed this thing.

And then turned back towards the ground. I was supersonic.

[“Run!”] I screamed to everybody below me.

Like a comet, I descended. I was a meteor who will bring this thing to its grave!

[“Now! DIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!”]

Letting out every scale-dust I still had, our impact devastated the area like a nuclear bomb. My parallel minds, thankfully, managed to keep the explosion range to a minimum with [Pyrokinesis], but even they couldn’t stop everything. It was too powerful.

Even for me.

The shockwave blew me away at ground zero the moment we crash-landed. I was blown completely away. [Symphonie des Feuergottes] was turned off immediately.

[Overheat (Moderate)] [Exhaustion (Moderate)] [Arcane Corruption (Minor)] [Mana Stress (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]

Hot! Hot!

“UuuuuuARRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHH! KiiiiiiiiiiiAIIIIIIERRRRRK!” I screamed as I ragdolled through the air, crashing multiple times against the ground.

The moment I landed, the heat inside my body felt like it was ready to consume me. My solar core began cooling me down as fast as it could, but I could feel an immeasurable amount of pain coming from my chest now. It was agony.

This was like the rachonoid queen raid when I overheated myself again. However, as I did last time, pouring ice-cold water should be able to solve this problem. But first I had to reduce my size. Less body, fewer places for the heat to stay inside.

Humanize! Humani—

There was one issue I hadn’t thought of — [Mana Stress] prevented mana usage until it went away. It usually appeared when you have zero mana, but this time, it prevented me from turning myself back into a dragonewt nor did it allow me to use [Storage Magic].

I could also not heal myself, neither with flames nor healing spells.

Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!

“KiiissssssAAAAAAARRRRRRCCCC!”

“Lady Hestia!”

[“Hestia! Oh shit! Tasianna, cool her down now! She’s overheating!”]

“Right, I— Arck! Hot! Wha—?! My water and ice are turning into steam! It’s too hot!”

[“Use [Tor Eiclere’s Finulaflei]!”]

“Y-Yes, of course! Tor Eiclere’s Finulaflei!”

I could see ice appearing around me as I rolled around, unable to correctly make out who was speaking to me. In the next moment, my vision was completely shrouded in white clouds.

“H-How?! NO! Lady Hestia! Come on, work!”

[“Are you kidding me?! Even a spell-like this is useless against all this heat— Urk! It’s getting hotter!”]

“KkrrrrrrrriiiiiiAGGHHH”

Help!

HELP!

“Skkkkkkkrrrrrrrrrqqqqqqqqqquuuuuuuuuuuuesssssschuuuuuuuuqqqqqm…”

[“A-Are you kidding me?!”]

“Saori! Tasianna! That thing is still not dead! It’s just a blob of flesh at this point so we can— W-What is with this heat?! Wha— Meoschaera!”

“Miss Muraina don’t go closer! Urk! More! More ice! Colder! Tor Eiclere’s Finulaflei! Tor Eiclere’s Finulaflei! Tor Eiclere’s Finulaflei! Princess Hestia, please, PLEASE!”

I could finally hear them… Saori, Tasianna, Muraina. I could hear their voices… the moment my consciousness began to drift.

Crack.

Another crack. The outside world and my constant wailings became more and more distant to me. It felt like I was trapped inside my own mental world now. The cries of my parallel minds felt fleeting. I could feel the heat burning my own soul.

I think this was it.

I couldn’t think of a plan. I couldn’t get my body to obey me. I couldn’t stop my parallel minds from panicking from all the pain. Like an overworked PC, the heat was causing everything to slow down.

Eshe… I failed. Everybody… Saori, Tasianna, Ellaine, Grimnir, I’m so sorry.

“—y— ia!”

My senses were fried. The world seemed darker and my hearing was impaired.

… Papa… Mama… I fucked it up, aga—

[“My h-hatchling!”]

My eyes opened. That voice. The soothing voice. Where is it? Where did it come from? It’s so dark…

[“M-My hatchling… Y-You… I’m here!”]

Cold… Cold… Cold!

[Divine Quest: Otherworldly Intruder Destruction] completed. You have done well, Champion, please accept your reward

Experience has reached a breaking point. [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor] has risen from [Level 16] to [Level 18]

Attributes have increased due to level up

Acquired 1400 skill points

Unique skill creation in process. Analyzing current skill set to appraise the proper creation

I felt my mind returning to my body. Vitality and mana re-entering my body. The heat — it was still unbearable but it somehow cooled down.

“Krrrrrrrrrk!” I grit my teeth, trying to endure through it, but I couldn’t. I felt so, so, so, so, so, sleepy.

Snow?

It was only now that I realized the sky was dropping snowflakes. It should be in the middle of summer, it couldn’t possibly be snowing. Was Peolynca already facing a global warming threat?

… But I didn’t care. I felt cooler. The heat inside me began to dissipate.

Cooler… please.

The sky darkened for a moment, before it twisted around, returning the bright blue sky. I could hear a soft thud. I detected something around me, something unknown and large… but I wasn’t feeling scared. In fact, I felt safe.

[“Ocean Healing. Take my mana, my hatchling. Take it all to become healthy. There is nothing to be afraid of. I will keep you safe, I swear that on my tail.”]

That voice… it came back. Like a lullaby. Drowsiness became stronger. The heat was gone, replaced by a cool breeze. The mana raging inside me settled down, feeling… manageable.

[“Hestia? It is a beautiful name. A beautiful name for my beautiful daughter. My little Hestia~”]

[“Mama…”]

Sleepy, so sleepy…

…