Chapter 78 — Sun
The throne room was steeped in palpable tension, the air still thick with dust, dried blood, and magic. The large cracked columns barely allowed the reddish rays of the sun to pass through, even though the sky had darkened. Vulcan, his eyes empty and injected with black, growled like a rabid beast. His body suddenly burst into flames and he vanished in a burst of lava.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
He reappeared at blinding speed right in front of Alexander, fist raised, ready to reduce his head to ashes.
But Alexander remained motionless, almost serene. With a gesture of infinite elegance and delicacy, he simply raised two fingers. The air around Vulcan froze like invisible ice. The flaming fist stopped dead just a few millimeters from Alexander's face, trembling under colossal pressure.
"Easy, Vulcan. You might hurt yourself," murmured Alexander in a calm, almost friendly voice, laced with ancient politeness.
"It's not really you speaking right now. Rest."
He placed his open palm on the dragon's forehead. A pure, warm, soothing red light burst from his hand. The black runes of Almadraco hidden on Vulcan's skin cracked violently before dissolving completely with a painful hiss. Vulcan let out a long, hoarse sigh. His eyes regained their natural glow for a brief second, then his massive body collapsed. Alexander caught him with surprising gentleness and carefully laid him on the ground.
"Noël, please take care of him. He'll need attentive care."
Noël, still on his knees, nodded mechanically, his eyes filled with disbelief. Damian and Kana remained frozen, breathless. The ease with which Alexander had neutralized Vulcan one of the most powerful dragons left them speechless.
"How… is that possible?" Damian murmured, his throat tight. "He didn't even move… this is insane."
Alexander didn't have time to answer. A strange, unstable, and dangerous aura suddenly invaded the room. Space tore open with an electric pink crackle. A circular portal with razor-sharp edges opened in the center of the chamber ..,Vaeris stepped out, her long white hair floating in an invisible wind, her golden eyes filled with hostility. Alexander tensed immediately. Vaeris hadn't taken long to catch up.
"Vaeris..." he said in a low voice
. "You arrived faster than expected."
A cold, mocking smile stretched Vaeris's lips.
"Alexander… don't tell me you actually thought you could escape me? Even if you fled to another world, I could track you down here or even across the infinite dimensions that exist."
Alexander narrowed his eyes.
"What did you do to Flora? She's not here so where is she?"
Vaeris scanned the room, frowning.
"I thought I'd find her here too. But unfortunately or perhaps fortunately she isn't. Don't look at me like that. This isn't my doing this time, I promise…"
Damian, Kana, and Noël all felt the crushing aura radiating from her. The air seemed to twist and bend around Vaeris. Kana instinctively took a step back. Alexander placed a calming hand on Damian's shoulder.
"Stay calm… She won't do anything to you as long as I'm here. This woman or rather this dragon is Vaeris, one of the Five Sacred Dragons, just like me, Obliranca, and Abraham. She had disappeared for over a century, but the truth is she travels between parallel worlds. That is her power."
Vaeris let out a dry, mocking laugh, her eyes shining with hatred.
"Stop with the ridiculous praise, Alexander. I didn't come here for you to sing my praises. I came solely to massacre that bitch Flora."
Without another word, she attacked.
She moved at terrifying speed, her fist wrapped in a tearing spatial spiral that threatened to rip space itself apart. Alexander blocked the blow with one hand, without retreating a single centimeter. The impact made the entire throne room vibrate like a giant gong. Vaeris immediately followed up in a frenzied fury: spinning kicks charged with dimensional distortion, sharp white energy lances, waves of void that sucked in everything in their path. Each strike was lethal, infused with deep rage toward Alexander. Yet he blocked everything.
Perfectly. With an almost insulting economy of movement as if he hadn't been taking the fight seriously for even a second. He deflected attacks with the back of his hand, absorbed distortions in his palm, and neutralized energy lances with a simple breath. He didn't counterattack. He simply contained the storm that was Vaeris.
Vaeris jumped back, panting, her eyes wide with shock and rage.
"…How?! Is he mocking me?!"
Alexander looked at her calmly, without any triumph.
"You're still as predictable in your anger, Vaeris… That's why you've never been able to defeat Flora. And from what I remember, you've always been the youngest and weakest among the five of us…"
At the same moment, high above the ruins of the capital, Luppy was observing the scene through her invisible spy flies. A worried smile stretched her lips.
"Dominus… Look closely. Alexander is in the throne room. And there's this woman… this Dragoness who cast the spell."
Dominus let out a long, excited, almost voluptuous moan. Her cheeks flushed and her eyes shone with a demented glow.
"Ohhh… Alexander… And another Sacred Dragon? This is getting so… exciting… I want to go down there and play with both of you… Do you think he likes doing it as a threesome? I can already picture him naked, completely naked..his dick... all mine…" She let out a moaning cry.
Meanwhile, in the throne room, Vaeris was preparing a far more destructive attack, both hands charged with a sphere of spatial void, when a powerful and warm voice resonated throughout the room.
"It has been a long time, Vaeris."
A stable white portal opened. Obliranca stepped out, majestic, accompanied by Seth and Reynard. Their combined auras instantly filled the room with an overwhelming yet reassuring presence.
Alexander smiled genuinely, a rare glimmer of sincere joy in his eyes.
"Obliranca… Seth… Reynard. You came."
Obliranca nodded gravely.
"As soon as I sensed Almadraco's corruption, I immediately stopped Seth's training in the Frozen Time Chamber. We came as fast as we could."
Seth stepped forward with a big smile and gave Alexander a powerful hug.
"Good to see you, Alex! You still look like shit, but you're holding up. We'll fix everything together!"
Kana slightly averted her gaze, her cheeks turning pink despite her detached expression. Too handsome… and that aura… she thought despite herself.
Seth scanned the room.
"By the way, where's Alma?"
Noël got up with difficulty.
"I'm not exactly sure… She should be near the armory. I hope she's okay."
Vaeris and Obliranca suddenly stared each other down with explosive intensity, ready to fight. The air between the two Sacred Dragonesses literally crackled.
"You still have the same ugly face, you dirty whore," Vaeris spat.
"Coming from a bitch who fucks everything that moves, that's rich," Obliranca retorted. The two dragonesses were about to attack.
Then, abruptly, Noël's eyes froze. His face turned deathly pale.
"Alexander! Look at the sky! Quickly!"
Everyone turned toward the large broken windows.
High above, behind an abnormally close and gigantic sun, a magnificent dragon with a blazing orange glow spread its immense wings. A crown of pure fire swirled around its head like a divine halo. Its mere presence made the atmosphere tremble and heated the air until it became suffocating.
Flora…
Alexander felt his heart tighten painfully.
"Flora…"
He understood immediately. She too had been affected by Almadraco. All this time, she had been using her colossal power to pull the sun closer to the Earth. She intended to make everything explode the entire solar system.
Vaeris took a step back, genuinely shocked for the first time.
"Even with her illness… she still possesses such power?"
A sharp portal suddenly opened beside her.
Vaeris gave Alexander one last look filled with hatred.
"Goodbye. There's no point continuing here. If this planet explodes, Flora will die too. No dragon can breathe in the vacuum of space."
"Wait! Stay here, you!" Seth shouted, reaching out as he leapt toward her through the portal.
Too late. Vaeris violently grabbed Reynard and him by the arm and said,
"You two are coming with me." The three disappeared into the portal, which closed with a sharp, hostile snap, leaving everyone stunned.
Alexander remained silent, his gaze fixed on the orange dragon shining like a second star behind the dying sun.
He murmured in a heavy, almost broken voice:
"If Flora continues using her magic like this… she… she risks dying."
The hot wind rushing into the throne room carried with it the scent of the end of the world.
To be continued…