Chapter 470: Burning Night
On the other side of the city, Alice stood atop a partially collapsed rooftop. Her eyes were fixed on the plaza where Ignis had vanished. Her void barrier was still active, but something felt off.
Alice tapped the tip of her boot against the stone, her tail flicking restlessly behind her.
"Why is it taking so long," she muttered. "Ignis is usually the fastest one back when you tell her to destroy something."
Azrynn landed beside her, light as a cat. She leaned her back against a tilted chimney and glanced at Alice.
"Something’s wrong. Ignis wouldn’t just disappear like that." She nocked an arrow on instinct, her fingers rolling the shaft. "We should go help her."
Alice didn’t answer immediately. Her eyes stayed on the plaza, unblinking. Then she turned her head slightly toward Azrynn.
"Is your arrow supply still enough?"
Azrynn reached over her shoulder and tapped the bow strapped across her back.
"I’m not just good with arrows, you know. I can still fight." She paused, her expression turning serious. "But if Ignis is in trouble, we shouldn’t waste time."
Alice stared at her for a beat longer, then nodded once. She turned back toward the plaza, her tail settling.
"Then let’s go."
Alice lowered her hand. The massive void barrier above Selena’s residence dissolved into wisps of shadow, the black kitten’s head fading like smoke in the wind. The energy curled back toward her palm, sinking into her skin, returning to her.
She turned her head toward the window below and shouted.
"Hey! The barrier’s down!"
Inside the residence, Selena looked up sharply. Her expression didn’t crack, but something in her shoulders eased just slightly. She stepped closer to the shattered window and met Alice’s gaze.
"Understood." Her voice was steady, calm as ever. "Thank you. I can protect myself from here."
Alice shrugged, already turning away.
"Don’t get the wrong idea. I wasn’t trying to protect you."
She didn’t wait for a response. She leaped off the rooftop, void energy trailing behind her like a ribbon of shadow.
Azrynn glanced down at Selena once, gave a small nod, then followed Alice without a word. Her boots barely made a sound as she landed on the next rooftop and kept running.
Behind them, Selena stood alone by the broken window, watching them disappear into the burning night.
A faint, tired smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
"Not trying to protect me, huh."
She turned away from the window. Her remaining hand reached for the sword resting against the wall—a simple blade, nothing ornate, but well-maintained. She drew it slowly, testing its weight.
Her voice was quiet, barely above a whisper.
"That’s fine. I never asked to be protected anyway."
She walked toward the door, where her people were already waiting.
"Move out. We’re taking back our city."
Meanwhile....
Wincent stood a few paces away, the God Hand gleaming, the golden aura steady. Frost clung to his shoulders, his breath misting in the cold.
"It’s over," he said.
Ignis’s head snapped up.
Her eyes now blazed white-hot. The frost on her legs hissed and steamed, then cracked. The air around her warped, shimmering with heat that hadn’t been there a moment before.
"Over?"
Her voice was low, trembling with rage.
"You think this is over?"
She slammed her fist into the ground.
The plain erupted.
A shockwave of pure white fire exploded outward from her body, tearing through the frost, shattering the ice spears, and slamming into Wincent like a physical blow. He skidded backward, boots carving trenches in the cracked earth, his golden aura flickering under the intense heat.
The God Hand hissed, steam pouring from its joints.
Wincent’s eyes widened just slightly.
Ignis rose from the crater, flames no longer crawling along her arms. They engulfed her. Her wings spread wide, each feather blazing like a shard of the sun. Her scales glowed molten gold beneath the fire. Her eyes were twin stars, burning with something ancient and terrible.
"This isn’t over," she said. Her voice echoed across the domain, deeper now, layered with something that wasn’t quite human.
She took a step forward. The ground melted beneath her feet.
Wincent raised the God Hand, the crimson tips flaring. "You’re burning too hot. You’ll exhaust yourself."
"I am a dragon," Ignis said. "Fire is not my weapon. It is my breath."
The flames around her condensed, compressing, turning from orange to white to something almost blue. The air screamed. The barrier at the edge of the domain groaned, cracks spreading across its surface.
Wincent’s calm expression finally broke. He took a step back.
"Easy there—"
Ignis raised one hand, and a sphere of blue-white fire formed in her palm. The raw, unbending intent of a creature that had existed before mortals learned to fear the dark.
"I’m going to burn that annoying arm of yours," she said, her voice low and absolute, "until there’s nothing left but ash."
She crushed the sphere and the domain exploded.
The explosion tore through the domain like a dying star.
Alice and Azrynn felt it before they saw it, a sudden wave of heat that washed over the rooftops, hot enough to make the air shimmer. Both of them stopped mid-step, their eyes snapping toward the plaza.
A pillar of blue-white fire erupted into the sky, so bright it painted the clouds in shades of gold. The barrier around the domain cracked, fractured, then shattered entirely, dissolving into motes of fading light. And through that rupture, two figures were hurled out.
Wincent crashed into the ground first, his body carving a deep trench through the stone plaza. His God Hand sparked and hissed, frost and fire warring across its surface. The golden aura around him flickered, weakened, barely holding together.
Ignis landed a moment later. Her wings spread wide, each feather still burning with that terrible blue-white light. Her eyes were stars. Her scales glowed like molten gold. She looked less like a dragon and more like a god of fire given flesh.
The mages and soldiers scattered. The Javelin Squad froze mid-formation, their weapons lowering as they stared at the creature descending from the sky.
Giorno took a step back, his face pale.
"What... what is that thing?"
Wincent pushed himself up slowly, one hand pressed against his ribs. Blood seeped between his fingers. The God Hand trembled, the crimson veins flickering like a dying heartbeat.
Ignis touched down on the shattered plaza, flames rolling off her in waves.
"Told you," she said. "I’m going to burn that arm to ash."
She raised her hand.
Wincent raised the God Hand in desperation, the crimson tips flaring one last time. Space cracked around him, a dozen tiny fractures forming in the air—a final, desperate defense.
Ignis’s flames condensed into a single point in her palm—a tiny, blinding star.
"[Solar Nova]."
The world turned white.