Dorian and Vaeilina moved around the tunnels as best they could, relying on their union to fight off the streams of hot air that threatened to char them to ash.
They weren’t sure of the exact location of the Fire Soul, and they also knew that Ironvale had certainly made a move. Unwilling to run into him too soon, and unknowing of exactly how to get to the location they were looking to get to, they could only do one thing…
Go deeper.
While Ironvale had his great strength, and Selena had her Fire Mana affinity to rely on, they had their own advantage: that being an understanding of the landscape.
They had scouted out this region long ago, and over the course of several openings to the Secret Realm. Plus, they had a rudimentary understanding of Fire Souls.
Thanks to this, they knew enough to know that if there was anywhere the Fire Soul was going to go, it would be toward the largest concentration of Fire Mana in the region.
The only place that could be would be the depths of the volcano-like region.
Down below.
So, as they weaved through the tunnels, they always chose the path that seemed to go downward. Although this wasn’t perfect, and they ran into several dead ends, they were slowly but surely getting closer and closer to their destination.
And then they finally saw it, a light at the end of the tunnel, an endless sea of red gold laid out before them.
‘It should be up ahead.’
Dorian looked back to his wife-to-be, and they communicated with their eyes alone.
Without a word, he pulled himself forward, clearing the last.
Their exit hole, much like Theron’s, was attached to a far-off wall. In the expanse of vibrancy, it was very easy to pick them out. But that also went for everyone else.
The fact that the sea of red gold below was so open was both a detriment and a help. They would be exposed to their enemies, but they would also be able to spot anyone almost immediately.
They landed on the lava, their eyes scanning the region. Standing shoulder to shoulder, their Mana was already churning. Their plan was really simple…
While they weren’t Fire Mancers, they were Mancers. They could feel the variety of Mana nonetheless. From a far-off distance, they couldn’t possibly pick it out. But here, they would be able to sense the differences in Fire Mana concentrations.
All they had to do was head toward the place it was highest.
What they didn’t expect was to see a figure streaking in the distance, rushing toward one particular location.
Thessa.
Their eyes sharpened. This was the last person they expected to see, but given how she had dared to expose herself like this and what they knew of her, they didn’t hesitate.
With a burst, they rushed ahead, their speed blazing compared to the newly advanced Silver Mancer.
Dorian realized about halfway through that the sea was too vast. It would be hard to tell exactly where Thessa’s destination was. But he dismissed the thought quickly. All he had to do was follow the line she was following now and he would eventually find the Fire Soul.
Mana coated the bottom of his feet as he pressed down hard. The sea of red gold rippled, but its density was far higher than that of water. Dorian knew that he could get away with it.
It was only the slightest of slip-ups, the smallest of hitches in his and his fiancée’s communication. She was already prepared to accelerate once more as well, more than ready to follow her fiancée’s lead. In another blink, they would have been basically shoulder to shoulder once again.
But that briefest of instances was enough to decide life and death.
The sea of red gold beneath them rippled, a scythe of cool blue appearing. It was so out of place in the sea of red gold that it felt blinding.
But the result was even more so.
Vaeilina continued to rush forward, not realizing what happened even until the end.
Her face slowly slid off of her head, a clean cut from the bottom of her jaw to the top of her skull.
Dorian seemed to realize that his wife didn’t follow after him as quickly as he expected, only to look back to find half of her brain reflected back at him.
But it was only for the briefest of moments before she was charred to ash.
His steps lagged and he almost stumbled. His mind buzzed, not quite understanding what was happening.
His wife-to-be… dead? Just like that?
What? How…?
A scythe came for him.
Honestly, he didn’t know how he had managed to react to it at all. His chest just felt hollow and nothing was working properly. But the original attack had been for his wife, and he was up ahead. With his speed, although he slowed to a stop, it was still a separation of several dozen meters.
But even though he barely blocked, still in a daze, it sent him flying off of his feet.
Powerful.
So heavy, so dense…
Was this really water?
Wait, water?
A figure almost levitated out of the sea of red gold, lava pooling to the sides and steaming off of him as though it had just come into contact with something even it couldn’t quite burst into a fiery heat.
And then the last of it fell off.
Dorian’s eyes widened when he saw the face. He didn’t believe it for a single instant of time. Nothing, not even in the deepest depths of his soul could have allowed him to accept what he was seeing now.
Theron.
He stood there, his Mana so radiant and blinding that he looked like a bright blue star in the midst of the magma.
And yet, it was all so perfectly controlled, so tidy, so neat. As neat as the stainless sword that had just taken his future wife’s life.
Dorian’s mind collapsed and he unleashed a furious roar, his Mana pooling out in waves that caused the lava to ripple like violent tides.