In the heat of battle, Fiora had become separated from Aurora's company.
Aurora and her company fought desperately to break through and reach the Eighth Gate, but the Scarlets continued their relentless assault, turning the battlefield into a massacre. Aurora wielded all her mystical rings, summoning an array of elemental weapons to counter the beasts.
"Hold the formation! We're almost at the gate!" the beautiful queen commanded.
The protective shield the soldiers were holding began to crumble under the relentless breath attacks of the scarlet dragons. Then, three even larger Scarlets emerged, planting themselves before Aurora's company. With a powerful blast of their breath, they shattered the protective barrier, incinerating four soldiers in the front lines. Aurora was forced to conjure an enormous boulder to shield them, while the rear guard tried to hold back the onslaught. They were trapped, there was no way out.
Amid the raging snowstorm, Fiora fought for her life, blocking and countering the near-perfectly synchronized attacks of the Scarlets. She wielded her spear and shield with expertise, parrying and dodging each strike. But one of the beasts finally landed a hit, its tail smashed her through the air. Fiora quickly repositioned herself, but another Scarlet was already waiting, jaws wide open, ready to devour her whole.
At the last second, Fiora raised her shield, bracing against the crushing bite. Her armor held, absorbing most of the impact, but the Scarlet then unleashed its fiery breath, slamming her against an ancient wall. The impact made her drop her spear and shield, leaving her barely conscious. The Scarlets slowly closed in, savoring the moment, eager to tear her apart.
Fiora struggled to move, her limbs heavy from the direct hit. Even though her armor had absorbed much of the damage, she was still badly wounded. As she reached for her shield, she suddenly noticed something—the Scarlets had stopped. They were backing away.
From within their ranks, a mysterious figure emerged, walking toward Fiora.
"You are the last person I expected to find here, Fiora Windham." A cold, eerie voice declared.
Fiora couldn't recognize the figure. Through her blurred vision, she saw a woman with long blonde hair falling to her waist, dressed in a deep blue trench coat. Her skin was so pale it looked cadaverous—as if she no longer belonged among the living.
"Who the hell are you?" Fiora asked, an unfamiliar fear creeping into her heart.
The strange woman stepped closer, grabbing Fiora by the throat and lifting her effortlessly into the air. Fiora struggled to break free, shocked by the sheer strength of this woman.
"You wouldn't recognize me. You've never seen me before." The woman said calmly. "But your name and reputation echo through every stone in these lands."
Fiora's vision darkened as she lost oxygen. She was on the verge of losing consciousness.
"Imagine the reward he will give me" the woman whispered.
Fiora's fading vision caught sight of the snowflakes falling from the sky, the world slipping away.
"When I tell him that I have ended the life of Fiora Windham."
But before Fiora's life could be extinguished, many searing-hot rock spikes suddenly impaled the mysterious woman's back, one of them cut off the very arm that was choking Fiora. The woman staggered back, snarling in pain, as Fiora collapsed onto the snow.
The attacker turned, searching for the source of the assault—only to find the Scarlets behind her had been pierced by massive volcanic stone spikes, left motionless.
"How did someone get this close without me noticing?" the woman muttered. She quickly regenerated her lost arm as she cautiously advanced. Then, she spotted a silhouette.
"You're bold… and quite skilled to have surprised me like that." The woman admitted.
The silhouette remained still. The woman lunged with inhuman speed, slicing through the stone—but she had been tricked.
"Interesting." She whispered, her reptilian eyes glowing with a deep purple hue, filled with anger. Her demonic wings unfolded, and she took flight, disappearing into the blizzard.
Fiora slowly regained consciousness, realizing someone was carrying her with great effort, whispering a healing incantation.
"Am I dying?" Fiora wondered, lifting her gaze slightly. She was still in the heart of the snowstorm.
Turning toward her rescuer, she was stunned to recognize Woodrow. She had taken her shield and was using it to protect her back.
"Woodrow… what are you doing?" Fiora asked weakly.
Woodrow smiled with relief, realizing she had managed to save Fiora Windham's life. He carefully set her down and returned her shield.
"Your grace, I arrived just in time. I thought you were dead!" Woodrow exclaimed happily.
Fiora tried to stand, but Woodrow urged her to remain still so he could properly heal her.
"Woodrow… where is my spear?" Fiora asked.
Before he could answer, a powerful crash shook the ground before them. As the dust and snow cleared, massive demonic wings unfurled, dispersing the mist and revealing the mysterious woman who had nearly ended Fiora's life.
"You were clever… you managed to deceive me." The woman admitted. "But you won't live to see another day."
Woodrow finished healing Fiora just in time. Both warriors assessed the battlefield, and Fiora issued a firm command.
"Woodrow, watch my back."
"KOMMT ZU MEINEM OMEN!!" Fiora whispered.
She summoned her spear and a new shield from her mystical bracelets.
"Woodrow, get ready!!" Fiora ordered. Woodrow raised his staff, conjuring a barrier. The mysterious woman grinned as she advanced toward them.
"Why are you here, Fiora?" she asked. "Are you after something in these ruins?"
"For now… I'll just end you." Fiora said coldly, "Now you're going to tell me you weren't really fighting my dragons" the woman sneered.
The battle ignited. The mysterious woman moved at blinding speed, but Fiora anticipated the attack, smashing her shield into the woman's face and sending her crashing into a wall. As Scarlets emerged behind Fiora, Woodrow obliterated them effortlessly.
The woman rose from the rubble, furious.
"Now I see why they call you the Iron Lady." She admitted.
Fiora charged forward, clashing fiercely with the enemy. In a decisive strike, she impaled the woman through the abdomen with her spear. But the enemy retaliated, shattering Fiora's shield. Fiora swiftly countered, cutting off both of her opponents' arms before landing a devastating, mystic-infused kick to her face.
The battle was far from over, and the true terror was yet to unfold. Near the eighth gate, the soldiers managed to launch a second attack with the arcane cannons, but the scarlet dragons continued to regenerate. Aurora realized this and exclaimed, "We're killing the same dragons over and over again. We're doomed!"
The strange woman emerges from the rubble, angry, wondering how she blocked her attack and managed to land a good blow. The damage to her face is noticeable; the kick imbued with magical energy that Fiora delivered was brutal. "That didn't hurt," said the woman.
"Tell that to someone who believes you" replied Fiora. The queen summoned her powerful red ray, striking the base of her spear against the ground. The ray hit the demonic wings that the woman had managed to summon in time, but the power of the ray pushed her violently toward the zone of eighth gate, surprising the other kings who were fighting for survival alongside a handful of soldiers.
Behind Fiora, Woodrow masterfully murdered the Scarlets and then ran after Fiora. The Queen Fiora easily killed two Scarlets and went to deliver the final blow to the strange woman, but she was no longer where she had struck her.
"Where are you?" Fiora asked herself.
"Watch out, Fiora" Woodrow shouted.
A huge breath of purple fire was launched at Fiora, who barely managed to summon her shield, sustaining second-degree burns but narrowly escaping being burned to death. As a result of the snowstorm, a huge black wyvern with a blue belly easily reaching 4 meters in height was revealed.
"What the hell!" exclaimed Fiora.
The dragon attacked again and Fiora barely resisted the Wyvern's fire. Woodrow arrived running after destroying two Scarlets and immediately summoned volcanic rock spikes beneath the Wyver, causing considerable damage and stopping the attack.
"Your Majesty!" Woodrow shouted, approaching Fiora and seeing her in bad shape.
Fiora was moaning in pain, the Wyver was about to attack when Aurora appeared from the sky and struck the dragon's head, canceling its attack. "Woodrow, Fiora! Run!" Aurora shouted.
Aurora descended next to Woodrow and Fiora.
"Your Majesty, Queen Fiora is in a bad way, we must get her out of here!" exclaimed Woodrow, worried for Fiora's life.
Aurora activated her rings, creating enormous spears of fire, rock, and water around them, ready to launch them at the Wyver.
"You will not leave this place" exclaimed the Wyver.
This horrified the women, as they had never encountered such a creature before.
"The dragon spoke!" said Aurora, terrified.
The Wyver slowly disappeared into a thick dark mist until it took on the humanoid form of the strange woman who had attacked Fiora.
"You have opened one of the seals of the eighth gate, you have made my task easier," said the woman.
Aurora and Woodrow were terrified, even more so when they saw a whole horde of Scarlets appear behind the strange woman.
"These ruins will become your tomb" said the strange woman, raising her right hand and firing six black fireballs at the plateau, destroying the teleportation portals, their only way back to their realms, leaving everyone with no escape.
"This is the end," exclaimed Aurora, visibly horrified.
The strange woman stared at them intently, flashing a sinister smile. Ezequiel, Mustaffa, and the Downmore brothers watched as the strange woman destroyed the portals and had Aurora and Fiora on the ropes. "Is the cannon ready?" asked Mustaffa, "We need one more minute" replied a soldier.
Almost all their forces have been slaughtered, and only few swordsmen remain alongside the kings, horrified by the tremendous power of the strange woman and the Scarlets, who destroyed their entire camp in a matter of minutes.
Woodrow desperately tries to heal Fiora's severe burns, while Mustaffa takes a deep breath and steps forward with two swords drawn. The other kings whisper to him not to expose himself like that.
"Who are you?" asked Aurora.
The strange woman remained silent, only the sound of the snowstorm, the wind blowing strongly, and Woodrow's desperation could be heard. Her healing spell was working, but slowly. It was taking too long to heal the burns, and the pain was reflected in Fiora's gasps. Aurora asked the woman again, but this time with a loud scream that echoed through the rubble and the dismembered bodies of the soldiers. Aurora's question was answered by a powerful roar from a Scarlet, it was as loud as the roar of cannons being fired. The woman begins to laugh hysterically, clutching her abdomen with her arms, almost gasping for breath.
"I think I asked the wrong question" Aurora said. "What are you?" she finished.
The woman simply remained silent again, which angered Aurora, who this time shouted loudly, demanding an answer.
"This time you asked the right question, Your Majesty" the woman replied. "I am a memory, a ghost, a mirage, isn't that right, Queen Aurora?" exclaimed the woman, who walked slowly toward them. They looked around in all directions, Woodrow was searching for dragons surrounding them while Aurora looked for the monarchs.
"It's incredible to see you again, I've been waiting for this moment" said the strange woman, flashing a Machiavellian smile directly at Aurora.
Aurora reactivated her mystical rings and prepared to attack pieces of rock in the shape of spikes and spears made of lightning forming above her as she took an aggressive stance.
"I don't understand what you're saying. How do you know me?" asked the queen threateningly.
The woman stopped when she saw that Ezequiel had joined them, positioning himself between her and the Queens. The strange woman mocked Aurora fervently. Mustaffa and the Downmore brothers silently pulled the great mystical cannon, aiming it at the strange woman. Woodrow had canceled his healing spell on Fiora, keeping it a secret that she was already healed, waiting for the right moment to attack.
"Your name isn't as well-known as Fiora's, but I haven't forgotten you, Aurora" replied the woman.
Aurora threw all her elemental spears at the woman, who summoned one of her dragon wings to protect herself, although she was hit by one of the lightning spears, which hurt her considerably. The woman was surprised to see one of the lightning spears still embedded in her wing. She laughed at the pain she was feeling and grabbed the spear with difficulty. She pulled hard until she got it out, and a large amount of blood fell to the ground. The monarchs noticed its black, putrid color and were confused and terrified.
"I must admit, that hurt, and it's a shame it only gave me that sensation" said the woman mockingly. "I thought your magic would be a little more intriguing" she said, belittling and underestimating Aurora's power.
"That's not the only thing it does" Aurora replied with a mischievous smile as she snapped her fingers. Everyone speculated and remained silent. Only the echo of Aurora's snapping fingers could be heard throughout the place, until the lightning spear she held in her right hand exploded loudly, stunning her and her army of scarlet warriors and causing muscle spasm that prevented them from moving. The woman screamed in pain. She immediately fell to her knees, vomiting blood. The pain caused her to spread her wings, and Aurora laughed out loud.
"It's our chance, fire!" ordered Mustaffa. The cannon opened fire, surprising the Queens. A group of dragons rushed to intercept the cannon's shot, saving the strange woman from being reduced to ashes. Mustaffa and the others lamented, cursing the dragons for saving that strange woman. The woman began to regenerate at great speed, and the other scarlet ones behind her began a new attack on Ezekiel and the queens.
―Die Holle auf Erden―
The kings turn around after hearing that unknown spell cast by a voice that sounds very painful. Fiora, despite being healed, her body and muscles ache from the great effort and suffering. She remains lying on the ground with her hand on the earth. Aurora is surprised that she is still alive. The spell that Fiora has cast causes the ground beneath the woman and the Scarlets to turn into boiling lava, consuming all the dragons. The woman quickly took flight to save herself.
"You won't get away, shoot now Everard!" shouted Ezequiel.
Everard activated the carts that King Mustaffa had brought,
which have been converted into harpoons. Everard and other soldiers activated the harpoons, catching the woman in midair. They managed to grab her by the abdomen, her hands, and one of her wings. Everard immediately gave the order to activate the dragging mechanism, violently dragging the woman to the ground.
―Das Gefangis der Dornen― Woodrow quickly conjured, summoning black thorn-covered roots from beneath the woman's feet that penetrate her body, leaving her immobile and in so much pain that she vomited blood again. The other Monarchs are stunned by this strategic display by Everard, Woodrow, and Ezequiel, who have trapped the strange woman, who is so badly injured that she could barely move. In the end, they managed to win despite losing almost everything. Mustaffa ran to Fiora, who was still in Woodrow's care.
"My Queen, Thanks Throme that you managed to survive" Mustaffa stated.
Woodrow emphasizes that her health has recovered but that her body still feels the wounds and pain. Fiora's strength of spirit is incredibly enormous. Aurora was incredulous at what had happened and slowly approached the woman, who was moaning and writhing in pain, trying unsuccessfully to free herself from the thorns and harpoons.
"Look at you now―pathetic. And I thought you were a threat bitch!" Aurora gloated, mocking her for now being at the mercy of her desire. She watched her closely, enjoying the moment. For her, watching the woman squirm fed a dark satisfaction Aurora rarely admitted―even to herself. Ezequiel approached with the axe in his hands, ready to behead her, but just as he was about to do so, Dracus stopped him.
"What's going on? It's better to kill her now," Ezequiel replied angrily.
"We must get all the information we can out of her," replied Argus, backed by his brother and Aurora. Mustaffa and Woodrow watch and insist on casting healing spells to restore vitality to Fiora's body, but they have no effect. Fiora is still unable to stand up on her own. Woodrow desperately wonders why it isn't working. She tries again and again, but Fiora's body does not obey his attempts to get her up. Woodrow could hear her diaphragm and lungs struggling to catch her breath, and every breath hurts her greatly. Woodrow finally understands: Fiora was succumbing to the poison of the Scarlets.
TO BE CONTINUED…