BOOOOM!
A massive explosion tore through the freezing storm of the surface once again. But this sound was not the detonation of a bomb or an ordinary spell.
It was the sound of molten earth and boiling stone surrendering before absolute heat.
Deniz stood with both gauntlets crossed in front of his face as a shield, his feet planted into the ground so forcefully that he had sunk into the earth up to his knees. The enormous wall of earth and rock surrounding him, three meters thick, was being licked by emerald-green flames and turning into liquid glass within seconds.
"Hold…" Deniz growled through clenched teeth. The temperature inside his armor was boiling him alive."I… am the shield of the kingdom!"
[ANCIENT EARTH: TITAN'S SHELL]
Deniz poured every last drop of mana in his body into this defense. Earth mana tried to weave new layers of fresh, diamond-hard rock over the liquefying glass.
But the being before him was not bound by physical laws or mana balances.
Ignis walked forward with slow but unstoppable steps, his massive body made of emerald flames. There was no anger on his face. No hatred.
Only the weary indifference of a man pushing a stone out of his path.
Ignis raised his enormous burning right hand and slowly placed it on the so-called "unbreakable" Titan Shell.
CZZZZZZZT!
"What you call a shield," Ignis said, his voice no longer carrying the dry echo from the depths of the ocean, but roaring like a raging inferno,
"is nothing more than… wood waiting to burn."
The green flames spreading from Ignis's fingers slowly melted the rock. Deniz's massive earth wall crumbled outward from the center with terrifying speed, turning into gray ash that scattered into the storm.
Behind the destroyed wall, Deniz's eyes widened in shock.
Ignis's enormous flaming hand had not stopped after piercing through the wall.
It struck directly into Deniz's chest armor.
"GAHH!"
Deniz was thrown meters away as if a meteor had smashed into his ribcage. The chest plate of his armor had already melted during that single moment of contact, glowing red-hot and searing into his flesh.
He didn't crash into snow.
He slammed onto the boiling ground beside the massive abyss he himself had created.
On the other side of the battlefield, Hope slowly rested his scythe on his shoulder while watching the apocalyptic scene.
The green flames in his eyes resonated with Ignis's presence, pulsing in calm rhythmic waves.
He analyzed Deniz's condition in seconds.
He isn't taking physical damage, but his armor is melting. Oxygen is running out. His resistance is about to break.
Hope already knew Ignis could not lose this fight.
Against an ancient spirit… especially one that had been suppressed for centuries at the bottom of the ocean and now unleashed on the surface with oxygen feeding its flames…
A gladiator's chances were zero.
So Hope turned his gaze away from the battle.
He turned around and began walking toward his team, who stood frozen in shock at the heavy metal hatch of the submarine.
His footsteps echoed across the molten ground.
The wind whipped his black leather armor.
Kai gripped the daggers in his hands so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.
Bianca's lips were slightly parted.
Lypin stood there holding her chest with one hand—the place where the dark parasite inside her was suppressed—watching Hope.
Hope stopped directly in front of them.
His voice cut through the freezing storm around them.
"What are you waiting for?" he said, staring straight into Kai and Bianca's eyes.
"We don't have time."
Kai slowly turned his head from the battle back to Hope.
"You… that thing…" Kai struggled to gather his words. Looking at the boy who had gone from an orphan of the arena to someone commanding a being capable of burning oceans filled him with both fear and respect.
"…did you really tame the man who burned the ocean?"
"I didn't tame him. He's not a pet," Hope said, briefly glancing at Mira crackling on his shoulder with storm-colored sparks.
"He's my ally. And right now, he's keeping that obstacle busy for us."
Hope stabbed his scythe into the ground and crossed his arms.
"Here's the plan," he said with the absolute authority fitting of the Architect Class.
"Ignis will hold Deniz here. We're leaving. Lypin and I will head toward the World Tree."
Hope turned to Kai and Bianca.
"Kai. Bianca. According to what you said, your journey ends here. Even though I don't want you to go, you can disappear and continue your own path. You're master thieves after all… it'll be nearly impossible for Deniz to track you."
A faint sadness appeared in Bianca's eyes.
Their strange journey that began with an attempt to assassinate Hope was ending here on this frozen coastline.
"Are you sure, Hope?" Bianca asked softly, her cold assassin tone noticeably gentler.
"The outside world is still very dangerous for you… We don't even know if the World Tree is real. We could help until you're completely free from Deniz."
"No," Hope cut her off.
There was only protective certainty in his voice.
He couldn't reveal Lypin's secret. If Starfallen lost control, he wanted as few people around as possible.
"You don't owe anything to this fight anymore. You've already helped more than enough. It's time for you to live your own lives. If you stay with us, trouble is the only thing waiting for you."
Kai slowly sheathed his daggers.
He tried to put on his usual sly thief grin but couldn't hide the gratitude in his eyes.
"Alright, Captain," Kai said.
"If you insist this much, we'll go find a warm kingdom far away from this frozen hell and continue robbing rich people. But first…" Kai pointed at the submarine hatch.
"…we need to grab the loot inside."
"Now," Hope said, waving his hand quickly.
"Go down. Take weapons, supplies, thick cloaks, mana potions, whatever you can carry. Don't waste time trying to split things fairly. Grab whatever will keep you alive. Just be quick!"
Hope's urgency caught Lypin's attention.
She stepped closer, frowning.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" she asked.
"Ignis clearly has the upper hand. Deniz has no chance. Let him finish the job, then we can collect our things calmly."
"Because we're not at the bottom of the ocean, Lypin," Hope said, looking toward the gray snow-covered mountains on the horizon.
"We're on the surface. Releasing a massive high-level mana source like Ignis on the surface… is like setting off a giant firework in a dark room."
"All nearby kingdoms, armies, and guilds can feel this mana disturbance right now."
"We're attracting too much attention."
"We have minutes."
That explanation immediately set the team in motion.
Kai and Bianca jumped through the open hatch of the submarine without wasting a second.
Lypin followed them to grab her personal mana kits and scrolls.
Hope remained outside, standing guard at the entrance of the submarine while watching the battle behind him.
[Architect Sight]
The fight had turned from a battle into a one-sided execution.
"Hah… Hah… Hah…"
Deniz had been forced to discard one of his shattered gauntlets.
His left arm was burned nearly to the shoulder.
He had fallen to his knees, struggling to breathe.
Ignis, standing ten steps away, had not received a single scratch.
His emerald flames danced gracefully in the wind.
"They say the earth always smothers fire," Ignis said as he walked toward the gladiator.
"But my flames do not come from nature, warrior."
"My flames… are hell itself."
Ignis condensed pure emerald fire into a massive magma sphere in his hand.
Deniz knew that if this attack struck his body directly, not even ash would remain.
His eyes widened.
With the last of his mana, he controlled the ground beneath his feet.
[EARTH MAGIC: SEVEN-LAYERED FORTRESS]
Seven enormous earth walls rose in front of Deniz, reinforced with massive boulders and steel-like stone.
A defensive spell powerful enough to protect an entire fortress.
Ignis casually threw the emerald fireball like a baseball.
BOOOOM!
The explosion pierced through all seven walls in seconds.
They didn't just collapse.
They vaporized.
The shockwave launched Deniz into the air.
The gladiator rolled across the snow for meters as pieces of his armor scattered everywhere.
And yet…
Deniz stood up.
Staggering.
Bleeding from the mouth.
His yellow mana nearly depleted.
His left arm hung uselessly.
His legs trembled.
This was the moment a champion should refuse defeat.
The moment to look death in the eyes and launch one final honorable attack.
But Deniz didn't attack.
Instead, he threw a handful of earth mana toward Ignis, creating a brief cloud of dust and smoke.
Then he ran.
He rolled backward.
Stumbled.
Got up again.
He hid behind massive ice formations.
Ignis tilted his head slightly when he saw this.
"You're running?" Ignis said.
"You're running from me instead of attacking?"
"All that pride… all that arrogance…"
"…was it for this?"
Ignis didn't even bother chasing him.
He simply lowered his hand toward the ground.
[GREEN HELL: ASHEN MARCH]
The ground began melting rapidly in the direction Deniz fled, turning into a flowing river of lava.
Deniz jumped from rock to rock, desperately avoiding the molten ground while continuing to flee in panic.
Hope, standing at the submarine hatch, slowly frowned while watching.
The gears in his mind began turning perfectly.
Something is wrong.
[Architect Sight: Maximum Capacity]
Hope read the diminishing mana flow in Deniz's body.
Deniz is a tank. A Vanguard. He was trained his entire life to absorb damage, act as a shield, and crush enemies.
Tanks do not run.
Tanks do not hide.
Their pride and class nature don't allow it.
Hope analyzed Deniz's movements further.
And he's not using his mana to heal or create defenses.
He's channeling all remaining mana into his legs and back muscles.
His goal is not defeating Ignis.
His goal isn't survival either.
Because even he knows he cannot escape Ignis by running.
Then why is he running?
Why is he prolonging the fight?
Hope remembered Deniz's earlier words:
"But Hope, whether you want me or not doesn't matter to me in the slightest. By the King's order, I will be with you throughout this journey—"
Hope's eyes widened in horror.
Everything clicked.
Deniz hadn't just been stalling them with that story about the king's agent.
He was still stalling them now.
Deniz wasn't fighting to win.
He was fighting to buy time.
Hope spun around.
At that moment, Kai climbed out of the submarine ladder carrying two enormous bags filled to the brim.
Bianca and Lypin followed behind him.
Lypin now wore a thick white winter cloak.
"We got the supplies," Kai said while throwing the bags onto the deck.
"Potions, maps, everything. Now call your flaming friend so we can get out of this hell—"
"MOVE!" Hope roared.
His voice was so loud and panicked that Kai froze mid-sentence.
Hope gripped his scythe tightly as every muscle in his body tensed.
His eyes locked onto the snowy mountain peaks on the horizon.
Into the thickest part of the blizzard.
"Drop the bags! Take only what you need to survive and get off the submarine immediately!"
"What's happening, Hope?!" Lypin asked in confusion.
"Isn't Ignis winning? Deniz is finished!"
"Deniz is stalling us!" Hope shouted, pointing his scythe toward the massive black army rapidly approaching through the storm.
The silent white surface began trembling under the thunderous sound of hundreds of heavy armored boots and war beasts.
"That stupid gladiator kept us here on purpose," Hope said through clenched teeth.
"Someone…"
"…is coming."