The heat within the crater grew unbearable.
Each breath clawed at their throats, each heartbeat thundered against the rhythm of a living volcano. The air shimmered so violently it bent the light — the world seemed to melt around them.
Vulcarion Basal loomed ahead, half-shrouded in smoke and glowing embers. The wyvern's molten shell pulsed like a beating heart, magma coursing beneath layers of hardened rock. Every exhale released waves of steam and ash that rolled down the valley like whispers of the underworld.
Hunnt squinted through the haze, his armor glowing faintly from the heat. "Kael — any sign of an opening?"
Kael steadied his stance, planting his boots on a slab of charred stone. His light bowgun trembled in his grip from the air pressure alone. For a heartbeat, he closed his eyes — and then the world slowed.
He called upon Observation Haki, not as a weapon but as instinct. The air around Vulcarion shimmered in colors of temperature — layers of red, orange, and white. But amid that blinding inferno, he caught flickers of blue — cooler spots hidden deep beneath the creature's armor.
"There," Kael breathed. "Underbelly and neck vents — the heat flow breaks there. It's weaker underneath the chest plate."
Alder wiped soot from his forehead, panting. "So we hit the parts that can melt us alive. Great plan."
Hunnt smirked faintly. "Welcome to hunting."
Kael fired a volley of armor-piercing rounds, aiming directly at the glowing seams near the neck. The bullets struck, sparking bright — but instead of breaking through, they ricocheted, skidding off the molten plates like stones skipping across water.
Vulcarion shifted. The movement alone created a wind strong enough to knock Kael back a step. Its golden eyes ignited — twin suns peering through the smoke.
"Move!" Hunnt barked.
The wyvern's chest swelled, the vents along its torso expanding — and with a sound like the world splitting open, it unleashed Scalding Breath.
A torrent of superheated gas blasted across the battlefield, flames spiraling into the air like whips. The ground liquefied under its fury.
Seren raised her shield just in time. The impact threw her backward, her boots carving trenches through the rock. The edges of her shield glowed white-hot, metal hissing where molten air struck.
Alder grabbed her before she fell, heat blistering against his armor. "You're gonna burn yourself alive!"
"Not before it does," she hissed back, planting her feet again.
Kael dove behind a jagged boulder, smoke curling around him. His mind raced — calculating angles, airflow, the creature's movement patterns. "It's hiding its weak points! Every time it turns, it covers the chest with its forearms — like it knows where it's vulnerable!"
"Then we force it open," Hunnt said, voice hard.
He charged, his black gauntlets flaring with faint crimson lines as Armament Haki crawled along his arms. Lava cracked under his steps as he sprinted toward the beast's flank.
"Kael, keep it busy! Alder, follow when I signal!"
Alder gripped his Heartflare Great Sword, the molten-red edge still flickering with residual firelight. "Copy that!"
Hunnt leapt forward, swinging a left hook into the wyvern's leg joint. The impact echoed like thunder, shaking fragments from its armor. For a fleeting moment, the shell dimmed — faint cracks forming under the pressure.
But Vulcarion only roared. Its tail lashed, sweeping Hunnt off his feet and into the side of a rock face. He slammed shoulder-first, coughing as heat shimmered off his armor.
Kael fired to draw the wyvern's attention. "Hey, over here!"
The beast turned, molten eyes locking onto him. Its wings unfurled, each flap stirring hurricanes of fire and ash. The ground trembled as it stepped forward, dragging molten trails beneath its claws.
"Too close—too close!" Kael rolled aside, firing explosive rounds mid-dive. The blasts struck the creature's snout, blinding it momentarily — long enough for Alder to move.
Alder charged.
The Heartflare Great Sword ignited blue, its heat cutting through the haze. He swung in a broad arc — the blade meeting Vulcarion's plated thigh. Sparks flew, metal screamed — and the sword bounced off, throwing him backward.
He landed hard, rolling through ash. "What the—?!"
"It's the outer crust!" Kael shouted. "The armor's too dense while it's venting heat!"
"Then what's the play?" Alder barked.
Hunnt rose from the rubble, spitting dust. "We make it vent harder."
As if on cue, Vulcarion's wings spread wide, heat shimmering through the air. The creature reared back and let out another roar — deeper this time, the sound vibrating through bone and stone alike.
The glow beneath its armor brightened from orange to white.
Kael's eyes widened behind the soot. "Oh no… it's building pressure—"
The volcano moved.
Vulcarion slammed both forelegs into the ground, molten waves rolling outward. The earth split apart, lava geysers erupting from the cracks. The hunters scattered — Seren dove behind a ridge, Alder barely clearing the blast radius. Kael ducked low, shielding his weapon.
Hunnt braced with Anchor Step, the ground cracking beneath his stance. He glared up through the distortion — the creature's form blurring from the sheer heat.
"It's entering rage state!" Kael shouted over the roar. "Everyone fall back!"
But there was no room to retreat — the entire basin was fire.
Vulcarion's molten seams flared brighter, light bleeding from every vent. It exhaled in short bursts, its roars transforming into waves of concussive pressure. Every sound shattered something. The ash around them whirled into cyclones.
Alder dropped to one knee, his blade half-melted at the edge. "We're not even scratching it!"
Seren staggered beside him, her shield cracked, breathing ragged. "Then we stand until we do."
Kael fired into the haze, trying to buy them time. "Hunnt—!"
"I see it!" Hunnt called back, voice barely audible over the monster's fury. His gauntlets glowed red from the heat, Haki resonating under the strain. "It's not invincible. It's just too angry to break."
"Then make it angrier!" Alder shouted.
Hunnt smiled faintly through the ash. "That's the plan."
The wyvern roared — flames spiraling upward, blotting out the sky.
The first rage had begun.