Chapter 95 - 95: Blessing in Fire Disguise
Lucien had almost reached the middle of the compound when he suddenly felt something scorching. The sensation barely registered before a violent torrent of flame suddenly crashed down from above.
It smashed into the mansion and unleashed a massive shockwave that scattered everything. Even though he had rushed in to save both Lady Varlyeth and Valerie, he was hurled back just as they were.
He tumbled away and rolled, his back slamming against the iron bars of the gate.
[You have sustained heavy damage]
Lucien winced beneath his mask and groaned as he struggled to his feet.
The pain struck sharper than before. When he reminded himself that he had no reset or respawn button right now, his gaze turned fierce.
He stood up only to see the once clean, peaceful, and pristine mansion engulfed in flames.
The light in his eyes dimmed.
'What the hell?'
What was happening? How was this possible? He was just…
Lucien's thoughts barely formed when he heard an ear-splitting screech. Something soared through the air, flying in circles, then suddenly landed with a thunderous crash.
The creature standing before him looked carved from steel. Lucien wasn't sure if calling it a bird did it justice. It had four legs—all bird-like—along with beaks, wings, and every other feature of a bird, except these features were cut straight from steel that somehow resisted melting.
How else could it withstand the blue flames radiating from within its body?
The metallic frame bore several scrapes that opened like tears in a metal wall.
When he looked at it, he could see its life bar. The monster was barely surviving… and clearly fleeing.
[Monster Profile]
Name: Aetherion
Race: Sentinel
Level: 300
Health: 13,409/158,090,000
MP: 12/15,890
First Evolution: Metallica
Second Evolution: Sentinel
Third Evolution: Scorchwing Sentinel
Lucien froze. His body trembled.
'What the… what is that health point?!'
Beyond that, a level 300 monster?
'How is it that one minute I could actually die, and the next something wants to kill me?'
He gritted his teeth and prepared to bolt from his position, to make a desperate run for his life.
However, he suddenly heard a weak groan…
"Help…"
Lucien spun around to see Lady Varlyeth buried beneath a pile of branches and a large chunk of stone that had exploded from the building.
Valerie crouched in front of her, having seemingly avoided serious injury. It looked like she had been pushed out of harm's way.
Lady Varlyeth looked up weakly.
"Please… I… am sorry."
Lucien stared at her, but he couldn't linger—not with the Scorchwing Sentinel's burning gaze fixed on them.
He turned quickly and shoved the heavy debris off the lady. Without wasting time, he flung her over his shoulders and tucked Valerie under his arm.
The Sentinel bird was already charging toward them, staggering with each step. Lucien's face hardened as he broke into a run.
With the weight he carried, he couldn't run as fast as usual. But he didn't stop or look back for even a moment.
His legs pumped forward with desperate speed. He crossed the gate and kept going. The monster followed, easily crushing the entire gate with its claws.
The creature continued pursuing Lucien as he ran through the garden, but he didn't dare glance back. It felt like a blade hovered at his neck, ready to slice the moment he turned around.
The moment stretched like eternity. No matter how much he ran, he felt he would never outrun the monster. The bodies he carried made his legs ache quickly, and muscle spasms began shooting through his arms.
But he couldn't stop.
The monster suddenly screamed and released another torrent of flames from its mouth. Lucien glanced back and saw it coming. He rolled away from the path, flinging both mother and daughter into the garden on the side, completely clear of the flames' reach.
He was completely swallowed by the fire. It was then that the people who had been pursuing the monster—perhaps fighting it—finally caught up.
An enormous white snake the size of many tall trees bound together slithered across the ground with lightning speed and threw itself onto the Sentinel, immediately restricting its movement.
The White Snake roared.
"Now!!"
A boy who looked like a twisted mix between a harpy and a peacock nocked an arrow as long as a javelin, wielding a bow that seemed ready to swallow him whole.
He released the arrow and was sent flying back through the air, only managing to stop himself with the colorful wings at his hips.
The spear twisted through the air, and just as it was about to strike the Scorchwing, the creature shifted with all its strength, putting the white snake in the spear's path.
The spear pierced her body, sending crimson blood spraying. The White Snake screamed, but before she could finish the sound, her body crumbled into blue specks of light.
"Damn it!"
The harpy-looking boy gritted his teeth in frustration. He had somehow killed a member of his own clan—not just any member, but the assistant to the clan leader.
He was going to get an earful.
"Focus!"
Someone else shouted from behind. He was surfing on a tide of brown mud that swept over the building, putting out its flames. Two other players in human form followed behind him.
With the White Snake gone, the Scorchwing's restraints vanished. The monster spread its metallic wings and shrieked at the sky.
It released a shockwave of flames that rolled through the air and devoured everything in its path. The Harpy boy soared up, straight into the clouds. The mud boy shielded himself and the other two players by wrapping them in a ball of mud.
Only one person remained unprotected.
Already burning, Lucien faced another wave of flame.
The strange thing was… he wasn't really burning.
At first the flames had stung, but then the pain faded and he felt nothing except this wild heat. Now he could even stand up, his eyes fixed on a certain weak spot in the middle of the monster's body.
[Congratulations, you have met requirements for the Black Egg to hatch]
[Hatching cannot be possible without a heat providing mother body]
[Your body will be used as the Heat providing mother body]
[You are fusing with the Egg of the Obsidian Dragon]
[Congratulations]
[You have gained Title: Father of the Black Dragon]
[You have gained a new race: Black Dragon Kin]
[Because of this race, every Black Dragon will be able to communicate with you mentally and will respect you]
[You have gained a new racial skill]
[You have gained a new racial skill]
[You have gained a new racial skill]