Realm Wars

This Islet was nothing but desolate lava flows and rocks, and volcanoes were erupting from here and there. Heat and spurting fumes of fire attacked everyone, and not only that, the Islet was filled with crawling Rank-A Lava Golems that no matter how hard they tried to cut would just regrow with their lava blood.

Lava Golems were comparable to human size and were formed from lava. They were like Rank-A beast and possessed strong defense, though they were slow. Many experts died in their hands. 

Waves of heat percolated everywhere, and it was difficult to see beyond the distorted horizon.

"Lucian, hurry on over," yelled Cecily from afar. 

Lucian squinted his eyes. It was still blurry, but he managed to go where the other humans had gathered. Including him and Cecily, there were a total of three men and two women.

The two men were Rank-A mages, Jules and Blight, while the woman with short white hair, dark skin, and had a fierce aura was none other than Morgan, a Rank-A nearing Rank-S hunter and leader of Griffin Wings.

"Now that everyone is here, we will discuss our plans," Morgan said with a calm face. She posed as the leader of their temporary group since her Rank was higher than the rest.

Lucian and Cecily had no qualms about it since they were both hiding their identity. This Lava Islet was their second Islet already, and they had been stuck here for more than a month until they had found the exit due to sheer luck.

"The Lava Titan is roaming near the Volcanoes, and no amount of spell or skills could kill it," Morgan started and laid out her plans.

The Lava Titan was the boss of this place, and Lucian lost count on how many lives it claimed. From their number of hundreds, they were down to two digits. 

A few managed to slip by the exit and proceeded to the next Islet but most didn't make it. And that was because. . .

"The only way is to destroy those hard rocks on its body with our most devastating spells and skills, and once its layers of defense shattered and exposed the exit, we'll dash inside it before it had the chance to gather lava and reconstruct its body again."

Like Morgan had said, the exit was the core of the Lava Titan, and the only way to get out of the place was to destroy the layers of its rocky body and expose the exit.

It sounded simple, but only high-tier skills and spells could manage a dint on the Lava Titan's tough form. Not only that, it could reconstruct its body by drawing lava from its surroundings within seconds.

The Lava Titan was hundreds of meters tall, and its body was composed of hard layers of molten rocks. Its strength and defense were comparable to an Ancient Beast. One single hit from it, and it was instant death.

To make matters worse, the Lava Titan could control the Lava Golems. Not only were they going to fight the titan but the golems as well.

"Lucian, Cecily, and I will attract the Lava titan and the golems' attention; meanwhile, Jules and Blight will conjure their most devastating spells. Since Jules is an ice mage and Blight is a fire mage, the opposing force is perfect for destroying that Tyrants tough hide."

Lucian and the others agree to Morgan's plan. It was direct and straightforward.

"What about the others?" Cecily asked, nodding in the direction of the other groups. There were humans in the other groups, and Cecily felt obligated to at least save them.

Morgan didn't bat an eyelid and said, "They'll only hinder us."

"But––" Cecily didn't finish her words when Lucian squeezed her shoulder and shook his head.

Cecily swallowed her discontent and looked away.

"If there is no more question. We'll take an hour break to replenish our mana," Morgan dismissed, and their group dispersed within ten meters.

The area they were at was hidden behind large hills and rocky formations. It was safe and away from the pesky Lava Golems that were roaming the vast dystopian land.

Cecily crossed her arms and looked at Lucian with judging eyes.

Lucian sighed and faced Cecily. "You know that they'll only hinder us. This is not the mortal realm where we could do whatever we wanted. This is a monstrous place, and one wrong move could cause our lives."

Cecily scoffed. "I didn't say anything."

Lucian took an audible breath. "You didn't, but your face says it all." He then sat on a rock. His body was sturdy, and the heat and fire from below didn't bother him at all.

Lucian took a peek at the others. He couldn't do anything about their current predicament since he had to think about his and Cecily's lives first. They couldn't die in a place like this. It was expected that the stronger once would congregate while the weaker once formed a group by themselves.

"I hope Rosa and the others are oaky," Lucian muttered after a short silence.

Cecily sat beside Lucian and leaned her head on his shoulder before she closed her eyes tight. "That girl is probably causing havoc right now just to find you."

Both Lucian and Cecily chuckled at the thought.

Lucian was more worried about Rosa since she was separated from them. But at the same time, he believed in her abilities. She was strong, and he knew that Rosa wouldn't give up without fighting. At least those thoughts comforted him.

"What about your servant? Ryu? Do you feel him at all?" Lucian asked since Cecily was Ryu's master. The master-servant seal connected their soul.

Cecily shook her head. "The master-servant seal doesn't seem to work in here."

"Well. .. I hope he's okay, at least." Lucian didn't have high hopes even after he said that. Ryu was just a mere halfbreed. If someone was going to die first from their group in this Islet, it was him, especially that he didn't know how to manipulate mana.

And even if he teamed up with Rosa, the latter would never save a halfbreed knowing that he was Cecily's servant.

Cecily's mood plummeted every time she thought about her servants. Ferris was dead before she could even be useful, while Ryu was useless since day one.

Suddenly, an image of a lean youth with angular jaws and golden amber eyes entered Cecily's mind, and a tinge of worry enveloped her heart. But she immediately killed it before it could blossom into something else.

She would never fall in love nor even like that halfbreed! Cecily ironed those words in her head.

At Cecily's silence, Lucian thought of the demoness he saw in Mother's skull ship. He couldn't get her out of his mind, and he regretted it until this day that he didn't get her name. 

He hopes that she is safe, and they meet up in one of the Islet. 

Lucian bitterly smiled at himself. He had met and been with all types of women in the Mortal Realm. It was easy for him to get any girl with his status and good looks. But he didn't know that the one who would catch his interest the most was a demoness.

If his father knew about it, he was sure that he would beat him to a pulp.

But he couldn't help it. No amount of lectures nor conditioning to hate the other races could dictate what this heart's want –– and he wants her.

Lucian looked over the sky. It was covered in eternal darkness with occasional thunder, but the rain was elusive.

How long were they in the Islet again? It was hard to tell. Month's maybe? And Lucian wanted to keep it that way. He didn't want to be stuck in here for years.

Though time was different here compared to the real world, it didn't lessen the fact that they were still trapped here. 

Morgan strode towards them with a serious expression. "Is everyone ready?"

Lucian blinked. Was it an hour already? He and Cecily stood to their feet while Jules and Blight were already behind Morgan.

Morgan swept them a gaze before she gave a slight nod. "Alright, let's go."

Morgan called forth her griffin. A giant winged bird with a face of an eagle and the body of a lion. But unlike ordinary Griffins, hers was bigger in size, and its wings span almost ten meters. Its fur was thick on its neck, and its tail was like a whip with a spike on its edge.

At Morgan's signal Lucian and the others flew in the direction of the Lava Titan. 

It also didn't escape their notice that most of the groups were following behind them, hoping that they could slip through the exit after they did most of the works like what the others before them did.

Jules clicked his tongue, and Blight spat, "Leeches!"

Cecily frowned. It was their fellow humans who they were calling names.

"Don't mind them!" Morgan warned. "We're almost nearing the Lava Titan!"

At Morgan's words, the approaching catastrophe in the form of massive molted rocks forming a titan of magma came into their view.

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A/N

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