As the barrier fell and the destruction began, Alicia's rage burned hotter than the flames devouring Avaloria.
Her sword glowed with an ominous light, its edge humming as if it sensed what was coming. Her breath was steady—too steady. Beneath her skin, her physique of Eternal Ruin stirred, an unnatural force coiling within her veins, responding to danger like a predator awakening.
The first dragon dove to unleash destruction upon the city.
Alicia vanished.
The ground exploded where she had been standing, but she was already in the air, her body moving faster than sound. Her blade carved upward in a single, merciless arc—
The dragon's neck separated cleanly.
Its massive corpse crashed into the streets below, crushing stone and steel alike.
For a heartbeat, there was silence.
Then came the screams.
Then came the rage.
The dragons turned toward her as one.
