The precipice's summit.
The ever-burning Chaos Flame completely consumed the Magma Wyrm's breath, without exception, gathering it all into a single, massive crimson fireball.
It floated above Frieren like a small sun.
Yet no one would underestimate its power; it was hard to imagine what kind of force could devour and burn even ordinary flames. Although she had used it before, and it was considered one of the more famous techniques in The Lands Between, it was always terrifying.
For some reason, the monster took a step back.
The Magma Wyrm then paused slightly, realizing its body was instinctively resisting another devouring power.
So that was it. This power was no benevolent force either; like the blasphemous Great Serpent, it possessed the nature to distort and reshape.
Whoosh!
As if breathing, the small sun devoured all the heat and flames that had been dissipating into the air, a bottomless pit in every sense. The destruction wrought by the earlier breath attack was trivial in comparison, suppressed with a casual gesture.
Enraged, the Magma Wyrm lunged forward.
Unfortunately, it was met by a golden blade and a fluid sword style. Lacking in raw power, they nevertheless always struck at its weak points, pinning down its modified body.
They had to buy time.
Although Frieren didn't ask for help, instead wearing the expression of someone conducting an experiment on the blasphemous flame, Melina and Millicent knew they couldn't let the behemoth continue its rampage. Otherwise, the great fire they had just managed to contain would ignite once more.
The two danced with nimble figures amidst the inferno, and the Magma Wyrm couldn't even touch the hems of their clothes.
Too fast. It simply couldn't react.
Every time it thought it had finally caught them, it would feel a sharp pain as another slash landed on a weak point in its scales, creating a new wound. Even if its massive size allowed it to endure the injuries, it couldn't let this drag on.
Whoosh—
Suddenly, the small sun rapidly faded, taking the surrounding inferno with it.
The view cleared, and the ever-burning sensation was finally gone. Otherwise, it would have felt like fighting inside an oven.
The Magma Wyrm, unwilling to yield, prepared to unleash its breath again, but the high-speed assault from Melina and Millicent left it no opportunity, forcing it to remain mobile.
With her hands now free, Frieren smiled.
"I've figured it out. It is indeed Rykard's handiwork. So the God-Devouring Serpent also has reshaping properties." She warned, "Finish this thing quickly, otherwise the contamination might spread."
Glintstone Sorcery joined the fray, as volley after volley of Shard Spirals took aim at the enemy.
Unlike the attacks from Millicent and Melina, its first instinct this time was to dodge, because the amount of magic power emanating from the projectiles was extraordinary. The damage would surely be immense.
Unfortunately, it was too large.
Unable to evade in time, the Magma Wyrm was hit by a multi-stage, continuous assault. Its flesh was torn open, its scales stripped away by the spiraling pebbles.
The simple, brutal, yet effective magic caused it untold misery.
"Grraagh!"
A moment's lapse in concentration invited even more hits, each one excruciating.
Combined with the pincer attack from the other two maidens, it was now in full retreat, unknowingly driven deeper into the cavern.
Frieren knew that this was not a suitable place for large-scale destructive magic, so she chose a sorcery that was highly effective against large targets. The spiral-structured glintstone was hard and sharp, and its inherent high velocity allowed it to easily pierce armor.
The larger the body, the bigger the target.
Some of the projectiles even burrowed into its organs and couldn't be dislodged. Of course, there was another way, and that was to pour all its strength into its own flesh, like it was doing now—
Suddenly, the Magma Wyrm's scales bristled as its body swelled. Flames seeped from its skin, turning it crimson red as the intense heat annihilated the glintstone.
It was burning itself, but it had no time to care.
Where its dragonclaws stepped, the rock melted and sank, the ground crystallizing and hissing with steam. The trio felt a wave of heat wash over them, drying the moisture from their skin and parching their throats. Their vision blurred in the heat haze.
"Get back."
As she warned them, Frieren used Thops's Barrier to deflect a stream of fire. Just keep pressing forward; a complete annihilation would end this.
At that moment, Millicent was already panting, half-kneeling on the ground. If not for her sword propping her up, she might not have been able to stand.
The omnipresent high temperature had left her weakened.
"Sorry, I think I'm holding you back... It's too hot."
"Don't worry about it. This is a semi-enclosed environment with poor air circulation, and the Magma Wyrm has been entrenched here for years. It's completely its home turf, so being at a disadvantage is normal."
"Leave it to me. I won't let anything happen to you."
Melina helped the one-armed swordswoman move to the other side, not forgetting to cast a healing incantation while giving Frieren a look. Hurry up, or our squad might have a casualty.
Given Millicent's current fragile state and the Scarlet Rot from the Unalloyed Gold Needle, it was best to avoid any injuries.
"Understood."
Before the words faded, a clear, cool breeze swept through the area.
It was moon-aspected magic, swirling around the silver-haired girl. The air temperature plummeted. The Magma Wyrm, which had just been building momentum, snorted; the moment its flames emerged, they turned to chunks of ice and shattered.
Damn it, something was wrong. This was an unbelievably powerful energy. It was having such a terrifying environmental effect before the spell was even formed?
The next moment, the energy finished coalescing, and a surging tide crashed against its body.
Survival instinct drove the Magma Wyrm to retreat, but its back was already against the cavern wall. It finally understood that this whole battle had been to block its escape route.
Then it would fight to the death.
It opened its gaping maw, and all the magic in its body converged. Lines of fire coursed along its neck like glowing blood vessels, finally erupting from the depths of its throat as a breath of flame that shot straight towards its target. This desperate attack caused the temperature to climb again, melting the rocks on the ceiling and floor along its path.
In the nick of time, a pale white moon rose to meet it.
The extreme exchange of cold and heat canceled each other out. Snow and flames danced together—a world of ice and fire.
Its all-out killing blow was neutralized so easily? But the Magma Wyrm had no time for shock, because even now, Frieren's magic showed no signs of ending.
No, there was a second moon.
Take this!
It made a crisp sound, like pottery shattering on the ground, but no one would underestimate such a sorcery. It slammed into the ground, kicking up a shockwave that sent even the massive monster flying, tossing it into the air. As it crashed down, a chilling cold seeped into its body, freezing its blood and organs.
The cavern walls were coated in a layer of white frost. Every breath turned to ice.
Even though it was gravely injured, the Magma Wyrm forced itself to stand. Its modified, blasphemous body granted it immense vitality, allowing it to hang on by a thread.
Then, to its despair, it discovered it still wasn't over.
For the final blow, Frieren held her staff with both hands, channeling all the magic in her body into a moon that she smashed viciously into the ground. The solid rock became a trampoline, fiercely rebounding with terrifying force. The world turned bitterly cold as a blizzard raged.
This was the Twin Moon Sorcery.
In an instant, the Magma Wyrm was turned into an ice sculpture, then shattered into dust and vanished without a trace.
The freezing storm that had eliminated the main target did not end, echoing through the depths of the mine, easily erasing the lava scars and solidifying them into black volcanic rock.
The view was clear.
Using the twin moons for the first time, Frieren was very satisfied with the result.
Not only had the cavern at the precipice's summit become an icy grotto, but a large amount of snow even slid from the cave mouth, carried down by the mountain winds. The melting ice crystals in mid-air formed a rainbow bridge, shimmering with myriad colors.
Below, the stationed army looked on, dumbfounded. Even the Undead Legion of Farron couldn't help but reach out to catch the flakes, feeling the pleasant coolness.
The roars of the Magma Wyrm could no longer be heard.
Although they didn't understand combat on that level, they at least recognized the magic of the moon. It was highly likely that Frieren had eliminated the target. Finally, they no longer had to worry about falling rocks.
"Faster than I thought. As expected of Her Majesty. That pest is finally gone."
"Send back a battle report and have the Magic Academy dispatch more personnel. We're to clear a path along the route Her Majesty took and construct a passage. Even if it can't support a large army, we must have another option."
The garrison at the bottom of the valley sprang into action.
Above.
Breathing in the cold air, Millicent finally recovered her strength, taking a moment to thank Melina beside her.
They no longer had to listen to the Magma Wyrm's incessant, ugly cries, nor worry about the risk of losing their footing and falling.
The two looked past the swirling snow and saw Frieren stretching lazily. Only then did she pick up a dragon heart and a sword. The blade was entirely black and strangely shaped, as if pieced together from hundreds of scales.
[Magma Wyrm's Scalesword]
[A curved greatsword with a blade covered in hard scales.]
[Weapon of the Magma Wyrms, modeled after a dragon's jaw.]
[The Magma Wyrms were once human heroes who partook in dragon communion, a ritual that concluded in a tragic failure.]
[Their crawling, serpentine form is the result.]
The description was more or less what Frieren had estimated. After all, such massive wyrm-like monsters were often born from human folly. Of course, with the southern army mostly dealt with, it would be difficult for such complete mutations to occur as long as one's soul remained stable and under the Grace's blessing.
Now, she was more interested in the weapon's special ability. Since it was inconvenient to wield—a bit too heavy—it would have to have some other redeeming quality.
[Weapon Skill: Magma Guillotine]
[Swing the scalesword in a great arc, slamming it into the ground to create an explosion of magma.]
[A follow-up input performs a pulling attack.]
Makar had used a similar attack earlier, but it was blocked. It wasn't much of a threat; its weight and damage type were insufficient.
A pity.
With her current vast inventory, the last thing Frieren lacked were average weapons, or even superior ones. It was a luxurious problem to have. But no matter; collecting everything was its own kind of pursuit. At least it was a unique weapon.
In her eyes, the loot dropped by the Magma Wyrm was trivial and not her objective.
The silver-haired girl turned around and stood with her two companions at the cliff's edge, looking down the path they had come. Unconsciously, the clouds and mist had dissipated. The rainbow bridge illuminated the well-ordered wooden platforms, turning a treacherous path into a thoroughfare. Despite the intensity of the battle's aftershocks, the structures stood firm.
"The quality is decent. Let's reinforce and modify it a bit."
Frieren repeated her earlier feat, reinforcing and widening the upper section of the cliffside mine just as she had repaired the lower half, laying a solid foundation.
The subsequent engineering work would be easier.
With the craftsmanship of the Magic Academy, building a military supply route would not be difficult. They had managed to handle the site of a fallen star before; this would be a piece of cake. This place would become the fulcrum for the assault on the Altus Plateau, a way to deliver a surprise.
The three of them gazed out for a long time. From here, they could overlook all of Liurnia of the Lakes, and even faintly see the scarlet—no, the crimson-purple lands...
Caelid?
They had met at the southernmost tip of The Lands Between, and now they were about to ascend to the plateau.
A journey most people could never complete in a lifetime was now measured beneath their feet. Gazing into the distance from such a height, their hearts swelled with emotion.
"...Is it time to say some words of farewell?" Millicent murmured. "I have a feeling I'll probably never come back. So then, my homeland, farewell for now."
"What would you say, if it were you?"
"Leyndell is my home. I have always been heading towards the foot of the Erdtree."
"Me? This cliff really makes me want to shout:"
"ROOOOBEEERT!"
The inexplicable cry echoed through the valley. Although they didn't understand it at all, it was rare to see Frieren so openly express herself. Both of them smiled knowingly, happy to see their friend becoming more and more passionate. She had changed. Would they change too? Perhaps this is what a journey brings.
Even the usually stern-faced Melina had an extra hint of a smile, her heart soaring, celebrating this moment and wishing for a smooth road ahead.
Afterward, the three turned and headed for the deepest part of the mine, where they found an elevator. Even after so many years, it was still operational, likely a remnant from the mining operations.
Clatter!
The chains pulled taut within the high cavern, carrying the passengers upward.
This was no short distance either, passing through the very summit of the precipice. One could only imagine how vast the Altus Plateau was.
After a while, a sliver of light finally appeared above.
They eagerly stepped forward, exiting the rock formation that shielded the elevator and walking up a slope into a world of gold and crimson. The trees, leaves, and earth all possessed a brilliant, golden quality.
"So it's not just Leyndell itself. The entire Altus Plateau seems to be blessed."
"Yes, which is why the armies here are the strongest in The Lands Between."
Melina added a reminder, though whether Frieren was listening was another matter. To her, it was all a challenge. She was probably already looking forward to what new magic she would encounter.
The expression on the silver-haired girl's face now was just like the first time she walked out of the Chapel of Anticipation, the first time she gazed up at the world of the Erdtree.
How magnificent.
The journey had reached its latter half....
"Thank you for taking care of me on this journey," Millicent began, "but I must be going now, to continue on toward the Haligtree." She reiterated her goal, her gaze growing ever more determined.
"May the Erdtree bless you," Melina said, nodding farewell.
Frieren returned from her reverie and urged, "The curse of the Scarlet Rot hasn't been cured. Your willpower is suppressing it. Unfortunately, I haven't found a complete cure yet, but saving your life won't be difficult. If it erupts again, just remember that I will definitely save you."
"Thank you. Goodbye."
With that, the one-armed swordswoman set off on her journey, heading towards the distant north amidst the dancing golden leaves.
The silver-haired girl who remained behind stared for a long time at the spot where she had stood, as if reading some message, then whispered to herself:
"Shaded Castle?"
"I need a map of the Altus Plateau. Melina, did you bring one?"
"I knew you'd ask."
Before she finished speaking, she produced a map from within her cloak. It looked ancient, but it was drawn with a precise scale, markings, and routes, and was filled with her own handwritten notes, meticulously detailed.
____
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