Aurianna turned to Gixo and instructed, “Show Kiana the locations. You know them, right?” She raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I know them. You just saw them," Gixo replied.

"Good. Show her while I distract the monster. Once Kiana reaches the arrow, I'll draw the monster's attention so she can activate it," Aurianna declared confidently, convinced her plan would work.

"We can't afford to fail; if we do, we die," she added coldly, causing Kiana to gulp.

"Are you really going to fight that thing?" Kiana asked, her voice trembling as her gaze shifted to the distant Dragon Iphranx, whose mere presence made her shudder in fear.

"Why are you worried, mermaid?" Aurianna asked with a cheeky smile, swimming closer to Kiana.

"Who is worried about you? Humph!" Kiana snorted, then swam off with Gixo.

Aurianna watched them go and mused, "I guess I have to wait now. Attacking it while Kiana is nowhere near the weapon would be extremely reckless."

"But maybe while she's going for one, I can go for the other!" she declared, swimming off towards the second weapon.

After some time, she finally reached it and stared in awe. It was an enormous arrow machine, over 50 feet tall, with blue lines glowing around it. It looked highly mechanical, far beyond her expectations.

"A god-slaying arrow, built by mermaids," she murmured as she swam around the weapon, inspecting it.

"It sure looks impressive, and the fact that it's glowing means it can still be activated," Aurianna noted, tracing her hand along the mechanical arrow. "For the Dragon Iphranx to be unable to destroy it means it either has a powerful concealment ability or is too powerful for even the Dragon Iphranx to destroy."

"Now, how do I activate this thing?" she wondered aloud, staring at it with a confused expression.

She looked around, searching for any clues on how to activate the weapon. After a while of rummaging through the rubble, she found a rock with some text on it.

"What is all this gibberish? Oh right, the ancient mermaid language!" she realized, recognizing it from the language they had encountered when they first entered the trial.”

"I have to learn it. What a pain," Aurianna whined.

"Hey, Kiana, have you reached there yet?" Aurianna asked telepathically.

"Yes, but Aurianna, there's a problem," Kiana blurted out nervously. "The riddle states that all the arrows must be activated at once!"

"What the hell?" Aurianna gasped in shock. "At once? That means the monster must be in a specific position to be attacked. What does the riddle say?"

"The four stars that shall slay the wicked being shall align at one point. And once they meet together on the beast, that will be its fall," Kiana read the text with a frown.

"Damn, so we need four people?" Aurianna clicked her tongue in displeasure as she sat on a rock.

"I guess I can summon Queen and Ipha to help, and maybe Pectus as well," she pondered, sitting atop a stone.

"So, I'll sacrifice my arms and a leg," she said, staring at her arm.

"But if I summon Hadina, I wouldn't have to cut off another body part. But would she be able to even operate this thing?" Aurianna wondered as she stared at the arrow. "There doesn’t seem to be any more arrows, so there's only one arrow left. We can't fail, no matter what."

"Maybe Hadina is smarter than she looks, so I'll summon her," Aurianna decided, getting up and cutting off each of her arms.

She then completed the summoning, and before her appeared Queen and Pectus in much smaller forms as she had intended. Despite their reduced size, they were still taller than her.

"Queen, Hadina, Pectus, I need you all to activate each of the weapons you've been assigned to at the right moment," Aurianna declared as she swam before them, and they nodded.

"I'll telepathically show you the locations. Each of you should pick one and get ready."

"Yes, master!" All three responded, and Pectus and Hadina swam away, leaving Aurianna with Queen.

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"What will you be doing, Aurianna?" Kiana asked telepathically.

"I want to fight it," Aurianna said with a grin, summoning two revolvers into her crystal hands.

"Are you crazy??!" Eva yelled.

"I know it may be dangerous, but this is my chance to test the power of a Regal!"

"You know it's not a Regal, right?" Eva retorted, arms crossed in her space.

"Yes, but it's a creation of a Regal! I will fight one of them one day, so why don't I try fighting one of their creations?" Aurianna asked with an excited smile.

"Fine, do whatever you want. Just kill it before your time ends," Eva sighed, waving her hand dismissively. Aurianna's eyes lit up with excitement.

"So, Kiana, have you figured out how to activate it?" Aurianna asked telepathically.

"It's actually simple. We just sit in the seat and aim the arrow at the Dragon Iphranx simultaneously for it to pierce at the same time," Kiana answered calmly.

"So, we need a countdown," Aurianna mumbled with a frown.

"Yes," Kiana confirmed.

"Alright then!" Aurianna declared. "In thirty minutes, I'll lure the Dragon Iphranx to the center of this place. Once Queen gives the command, you will all activate your weapons!" she instructed telepathically.

"Yes, master!" All three said at the same time.

“Hey, Dragon Iphranx!” Aurianna shouted, striving to catch the monster's attention.

‘How did I fail to sense that human? A mermaid too? What is going on?’ Dragon Iphranx pondered, glancing towards Aurianna before instantly appearing in front of her. The dragon stared down at Aurianna, who stood atop a broken building.

“I challenge you to a fight!” Aurianna declared, aiming her revolver at the dragon.

“How arrogant!” Dragon Iphranx sneered, her eyes narrowing as she began circling Aurianna slowly.

“It can talk?!” Aurianna gasped, taken aback. ‘I didn’t expect this monster to be sentient,’ she thought nervously.

“Of course, anything made by a Regal wouldn’t be stupid,” Eva said, rolling her eyes at Aurianna, who responded with an equally annoyed glare.

“Are you another participant in this Ruin? A human?” Dragon Iphranx asked, her tail swaying side to side.

“You could say that. Our mission is to kill you so we can leave!” Aurianna proclaimed boldly.

“Aurianna, why would you tell it that?!” Kiana cried in a panicked voice, overhearing the conversation between her master and Dragon Iphranx.

“Rarararrara,” Dragon Iphranx laughed, her voice resonating like a mature woman’s. “Human, you’re extremely funny,” she said before her gaze turned cold. “Do you think a mere Grand Human like you can injure me?”

‘Does she mean not even Grand Humans can harm her?’ Aurianna thought, beginning to feel nervous. ‘Maybe I should have listened to Eva.’

“Then why don’t we make a deal?” Aurianna proposed with a nervous smile.

“And why would I make a deal with a human trying to kill me?” Dragon Iphranx asked, lowering her head for a closer look at Aurianna.

“You’re probably thinking of getting me to the center to use those god-slaying arrows on me, right?” she asked, pointing to where each of the weapons was located.

“You’re quite perceptive,” Aurianna admitted, clearly surprised.

“Of course I am, and for you to reach this far means you killed Kingsnaver,” Dragon Iphranx said calmly, to which Aurianna nodded.

“You know him?” Aurianna asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I do, why do you ask?” Dragon Iphranx responded with a cheeky smile.

“I won’t deny my curiosity. What exactly happened 300,000 years ago? I want to hear the full story from the other side. You must know since you’re also trapped in this Ruin, meaning you’re probably another individual from the world war,” Aurianna speculated, looking up at Dragon Iphranx calmly.

“As you can see, this kingdom—or so-called Promised Land—around me, do you think I’m the good guy in this situation?” Dragon Iphranx asked arrogantly, using her tail to point at the rubble and broken buildings surrounding them.

“I have no idea. I didn’t see you in the history books,” Aurianna shrugged.

“I suppose I can have a quick chat with you, child. You’re interesting, and I’ve been bored lately,” Dragon Iphranx said, settling down in a cat-like position while staring at Aurianna.

“So, what would you like to know?” she asked, her two tails lazily swinging around.

“Anything you can tell me, and who’s the strongest in this Ruin. Because it looks like this Ruin was made as some sort of prison,” Aurianna replied quickly, sitting down and staring up at Dragon Iphranx.

“And it is. gods are bound by rules, so they can’t kill the heroes themselves, but their followers can. They created these Ruins, and their followers placed people like me inside,” Dragon Iphranx said with a wry smile.

“The High god of this world is a sick man,” she added with a cold expression.

“The High god? What does he have to do with this?” Aurianna wondered, hoping for clear answers.

“Heroes were summoned due to the large number of monsters being created in this world. And who do you think had the power to stop anything bad from happening?” Dragon Iphranx asked.

“The gods,” Aurianna answered.

“Yes, but mainly the High god. He’s bound by no rules,” Dragon Iphranx stated coldly.

“Heroes were the bad people, yes. But they were fools to believe their wishes would be granted if they did what the High God asked,” she snarled, shaking her head.

“The High god thrives on chaos. He’s so bored that he would do anything for his entertainment, even creating a large, unnecessary war,” Dragon Iphranx sighed.

“Was he the one who made you?” Aurianna asked curiously.

“I have no idea. What I remember from when I was born is that I was in the hands of a hero. My master is probably in this Ruin. I can feel her nearby,” she said, turning her head towards a certain direction, closing her eyes, then opening them and turning back to face Aurianna.

“What is with that dumb expression?” Dragon Iphranx asked, noticing Aurianna's vacant look.

“Give me a few minutes to process this. It’s a lot of information,” Aurianna said, shaking her head and closing her eyes, pondering everything she had heard.

‘What a foolish human,’ Dragon Iphranx thought.

“Why are you interested in the past?” Dragon Iphranx asked, curious. ‘Most participants who come here don’t care about such things; they just want to complete their mission and leave.’

“I’m just curious,” Aurianna answered calmly. “And I believe history isn’t what it seems.”

“So, every hero summoned—were they all bad people?” Aurianna asked.

“From those I met back then, yes, they were,” Dragon Iphranx answered with a nod.

“So it’s a trend,” Aurianna muttered with a frown.

“Do you know where heroes come from or who summons them?” Aurianna inquired, raising her head to stare at Dragon Iphranx, her hand resting on her chin.