"Who?" Fort demanded. "Who's here, Teddy?"
The world around them continued to quake. A fountain of lava shot out of the fissure, coating the bottom of the prototype and splashing onto the rocks of the ledge.
The surface of the lava was boiling with bubbles like Noble had never seen, and waves were forming against the high walls of the volcano's vent.
That's when Noble saw it. There was a shape amid the molten rock. A split second later, a long tentacle broke the surface of the lava, reaching far into the air like a pillar of fire.
Meters and meters of glowing flesh shot upward. Then, as if some mighty lumberjack took his axe to the base, it tilted and began crashing toward the ledge.
It fell against the ground and scraped across it, dragging Blaze's machine with it back into the lava.
The rocks left behind on the ledge glowed with an incandescent light, scarring the flat surface with rivulets of coagulating lava.
It all happened in a blink, and it was only after the first sweep that the people watching had any time to react.
"Get back!" Someone yelled.
While that was good for the mundane humans, Noble was not about to heed that warning. Her family was in danger, and she needed to give them time to escape. Fort caught her arm.
"I'll be fine," she assured him.
His face was unreadable. Like her, he must have sensed how powerful this being was. More than that, the creature seemed to be made of the environment in which it lived.
It was comprised of molten earth. If it dripped on Noble, or worse, grabbed hold of her during a fight, her Flaw would activate, causing her both physical and soul damage.
Fort continued to grip his wife's arm. He wanted to protect her more than anything, but in this situation, there was nothing he could do. Reluctantly, he let her go.
"Be careful, Bee."
Fort took off, grabbing Rain's hand and pulling her along after him. The girl had wanted to stay too. Sunny had taught her well, but this battle was way out of her league.
Depending on the rank of the creature, it was out of everyone's league.
'Why did I not listen to Teddy?!'
The assistant had read the signs better than anyone else, probably due to her Aspect.
Humans rarely came so close to the edge of the volcano, and even more rarely in large numbers. Between setting up and actually beginning, at least someone had been at the site for many hours. The scent of human souls was alluring, and so many of them had been irresistible.
Teddy had dealt with the immediate threat of the "unfriendlies," and now the real problem had arisen from the depths of the mountain.
However, it was done, and now they needed to deal with the ramifications.
Noble rose into the air, looking for any help she could get to back her up in the upcoming battle.
'Where is Lady Eunbin?'
Beyond standing, Beastmaster had not moved from her position in the risers. A blade was in her hand, but she did not seem intent on using it. Instead, she was staring intently at the lava-filled crater.
A subtle change in the air caused Noble to blink. While the attack had not been aimed at her, she could feel its unusual reverberations.
'Is she trying to enthrall it?'
Noble did not think the Saint would be able to enthrall the creature, at least not without giving up some of her other thralls. Releasing the other Nightmare Creatures would be less than ideal since they helped transport goods in and around the cities.
Thankfully, Beastmaster did not seem anxious to enthrall the creature, only to subdue it.
When the long arm came up again, it was slower this time. It barely reached the side of the cavern before losing all of its momentum.
It crashed against the wall, sending shards of rock flying towards the crowd. Using her levitation, Noble grabbed the largest pieces and threw them back at the lava monster.
The ground trembled, shaking visibly below Noble. Only two lone figures were left standing anywhere near the breach. But instead of running away, they were calmly walking toward the edge.
They were the pilgrims.
In unison, they held out their hands across the breach, their clothing beginning to smoke from the intense conditions at the edge.
Before the long arm of the monster could slip back into the soothing ocean of heat, the stones of the canyon edge began to extend across the surface of the molten lake.
'What in two worlds?!'
The whole surface was hardening! The entire structure of the volcano was reforming. It tightened around the arm in the center and coated it with stone, freezing it in place.
And freezing everything else, too! Without the warmth from the lava to heat the mountaintop city of Ravenheart, the whole place would quickly become like the ice bridge spanning between it and the Jade Palace.
No mundane human could live in those conditions. By containing the monster, Ki Song was going to kill all of the mundane inhabitants of her city. Already, Noble could feel the temperature dropping rapidly.
She thought about summoning her Fire Insurance Charm. Even fully charged, when divided between four people, it wouldn't keep them warm for very long. However, it would buy her a little time to get them to a lower altitude and warmer weather.
As for everyone else…
The ground growled, or maybe it was the creature within it. The seam between the vent's wall and the surface split, allowing lava to pour over it. The hardened stone began to sink, taking the encased arm with it.
'Ki Song…is pushing it down?'
That wasn't within any known power of the Sovereign.
In the distance, Noble could hear a faint sound from the Jade Palace. It sounded vaguely like the turning of gears. But there were no gears in the palace as far as Noble knew.
She's using the citadel!
Noble knew that every citadel had a quirk, and the one who possessed it could make use of its special powers. Now she knew the special property that Ravenheart possessed. It could terraform!
"No need to panic, everyone." Lady Eunbin lowered her hood and called out to those who were close enough to hear. "My mother has it well in hand. Please be patient while everything is taken care of."
Noble wondered if the Saint still had a hex on the creature while the Queen entombed it.
'She's too calm to be straining. She really must trust her mother to finish it off.'
As the heat returned to the city and the monster continued to be trapped by Ki Song, Noble began to relax.
She lowered to the ground and found her family safe and sound. The mother hugged each of them tightly, restraining herself just enough not to crush her loved ones.
All things considered, that had been far less traumatic than any of Noble's previous encounters with Nightmare Creatures. Other than deflecting the debris to protect the crowd, Noble hadn't needed to do anything at all.
That was strange, albeit a nice kind of strange.
What was not nice was the whispering that one of the pilgrims was now doing in Lady Eunbin's ear. Beastmaster looked their way and frowned.
'Uh oh...'