The volcano breathed again — and the world turned red.
The ground trembled with every pulse of Vulcarion Basal's molten heart. Ash storms twisted around its massive body, painting the sky in streaks of black and crimson. From its vents came the deafening roar of molten wind, as if the planet itself screamed.
Alder staggered beside Seren, his great sword dragging furrows through the burning ground. His lungs stung with every breath; even the air was flame.
"Seren! You have to fall back!"
But she didn't move.
Her armor smoked, the molten light of the wyvern's fury reflected in the shattered edges of her shield. Every breath she took came out ragged, half air, half pain. Yet her stance—knees bent, shield forward—never wavered.
"I said—" Alder took a step forward, voice cracking, "you'll die if you keep—!"
"Then I'll die standing!" she shouted.
The words struck harder than the heat.
Kael, crouched farther back, heard her over the roar. His Observation Haki flared again — faint, fragmented — tracing the erratic rhythm of Vulcarion's inner flow. The temperature patterns beneath its armor danced like currents in a raging ocean. But something was changing.
"Wait…" he whispered, squinting through the smoke. "The vents… they're glowing unevenly."
He watched as the monster's shell shifted color — the black exterior fracturing under the sheer intensity of its own heat.
Veins of molten red began spreading across its chest and neck, pulsing like arteries under stone. And then — in the faint spaces between those pulses — he saw the flickers of vulnerability.
Kael's eyes widened. "That's it. The underbelly and the neck seams — they're venting too much heat! That's where it's weak!"
He shouted over the chaos, voice barely cutting through the roar. "Hunnt! Alder! The weak points are open — under the chest and the neck vents!"
Alder glanced up from behind his cracked visor, sweat dripping down his chin. "Finally!"
Vulcarion raised its head, inhaling sharply. The glow beneath its shell brightened to near-white.
Kael's stomach dropped. "It's building for another—"
The Molten Rebirth began.
An explosion of magma vented from the wyvern's chest. The ground split open, rivers of fire cascading across the battlefield. The temperature spiked beyond survivable limits.
Alder threw himself behind a half-melted ridge, clutching his sword close. Kael dove for cover, cloak singed by the blast.
Seren stood her ground.
The molten surge washed over her shield, blasting her backward through the ash. She landed hard, armor smoking. Her shield cracked in two and fell from her grip, the emblem scorched beyond recognition.
She gasped, her throat raw. The next breath she took burned.
But she pushed herself up anyway.
Vulcarion stomped forward, each step splintering the ground beneath it. The molten fissures glowed brighter, cracks racing across its chest and neck like glowing scars.
Alder crawled out from cover, coughing. "Seren! Fall back, damn it!"
She ignored him, gripping the broken half of her shield. "No… not yet."
Hunnt finally emerged through the smoke — his gauntlets glowing faintly from heat and Haki alike, steam hissing off the blackened metal. He'd finished the swarm; every lesser monster in the basin lay shattered behind him, their molten remains cooling into glass.
His arms were cut, his left pauldron dented, but his eyes burned sharp.
He saw Seren standing in front of the wyvern — small, human, stubborn — and he knew that if she fell, the line broke with her.
He planted his feet beside her, the ground cracking under his stance. "You did enough," he said quietly.
Seren shook her head, voice weak. "It's not enough if it's still breathing."
Hunnt gave a faint exhale. "Then let's make it stop."
Behind them, Kael emerged from cover, clutching his light bowgun. His breathing was shallow, but his aim steady. "Weak points are still exposed! It's cooling unevenly—hit the glowing fissures when you can!"
Alder nodded, pulling himself upright. He took a deep breath, downed his second potion, and let the cool liquid steady his shaking hands. The pain faded just enough for him to raise the Heartflare Great Sword again.
"Got it."
He charged.
The wyvern's claws slammed down, molten earth splashing upward. Alder leapt, rolling under one arm and slashing at the chest seam as he passed. Sparks and molten blood sprayed across his armor — the first real damage they'd done all fight.
Vulcarion's roar shook the entire valley.
"Confirmed!" Kael shouted. "It's bleeding magma!"
Hunnt followed, fists glowing with Armament Haki. He struck upward into one of the fissures, both gauntlets connecting in a cross. The blow shattered part of the crusted armor, exposing a patch of glowing red tissue beneath.
The ground shook violently as Vulcarion lashed out in fury. One wing clipped Alder, throwing him across the rock. Seren caught the next swing on her broken shield, but the force launched her back several meters, rolling through burning ash.
She coughed hard, chest heaving, then forced herself to kneel. Her vision blurred from the heat, her arms trembling. Her armor had begun to fuse to her skin.
"Seren!" Kael shouted, seeing her falter. "Drink it — now!"
She fumbled with her belt, grabbed a potion, and downed it. The green liquid hissed against her lips, the cooling wave crawling down her throat like ice water. Her breathing steadied just enough to stand.
Another strike came — a sweeping claw tearing through the ridge beside her. She blocked again, the shield cracking apart fully this time, fragments scattering into the fire. She grabbed the metal rim, turning it into a makeshift blade, and charged anyway.
Kael fired to cover her, aiming for the eyes. One bullet hit — Vulcarion blinked, staggering for half a second.
Seren didn't waste it.
She leapt, thrusting her broken shield's edge into the fissure at its chest, screaming through gritted teeth.
The impact seared through her hands — molten light spilling across her armor — but the blow stuck.
The beast roared, rearing back, lava bleeding from its chest wound.
Kael shouted over the roar, "She's got it open—!"
Hunnt and Alder looked up from below, realizing what she'd done.
"Now's our chance!" Hunnt barked.
Alder steadied his stance, slamming his sword point into the ground. He took a long breath — then pulled it free, molten heat swirling along the edge. The ground cracked beneath him as he charged.
One clean swing — the blade hit the exposed seam beneath the chest.
The crack widened. Lava poured out like blood.
Vulcarion staggered, its massive form trembling. The glow across its body flared, cycling from red to blinding white.
The air warped — and for a heartbeat, everything went silent.
Then it roared again.
Louder. Angrier.
The second rage wasn't the end — it was only the beginning.
The wyvern's shell split further, molten fissures racing up its body as its wings ignited like burning sails. The earth beneath their feet melted into flowing rivers of light.
Kael's ears rang as he shouted, "It's going into Molten Rebirth!"
Alder stumbled backward. "How many damn rage modes does this thing have?!"
Hunnt's gauntlets glowed white-hot, the symbol of the Eternal Wanderer barely visible through the heat haze. He glanced at Seren, who was barely conscious but still on her knees, shieldless and smiling faintly through cracked lips.
He spoke quietly, only to himself.
"She's proven herself."
Then, louder: "Everyone—regroup!"
The hunters scrambled for footing as the volcano itself came alive, rivers of molten fury consuming the basin.
The third rage was coming.
And this time, even the fire trembled.