Scorching waves of heat, thick with the stench of sulfur, swept through the depths of the factory like an invisible giant hand, violently overturning piles of scrap metal. Crimson flames licked at the rusted steel beams, hissing sharply, and the once-silent mechanical ruins were instantly transformed into a roaring sea of fire. Forced back by the heat, Kai felt his cheeks burn as he watched the flames race along the oil-stained ground. In mere seconds, their path of retreat was completely cut off.
"Damn! They have set up a trap a long time ago!" Lenore cursed, covering the wound on her arm and running back, her long silver-white hair being blown messy and flying by the heat wave. Her ice-blue eyes swept around, and finally landed on the cracked gap on the top of the factory building - it was the only way to survive, but the gap was ten meters high from the ground. There was only a rusty iron chain hanging next to it, and the other end of the chain was wrapped around the shaky drive shaft.
The flames had already crept to their feet, and the searing air nearly suffocated Kai. He tightened his grip on the wrench. Against the blazing firelight, the star core fragment's blue glow seemed softer than ever, strangely calming his racing heart.
"We have to climb up!" Kai shouted hoarsely, pointing at the opening while choking on smoke. "The chain—we can climb out using the chain!"
Linor glanced up at the chain, her brow furrowing. It was badly rusted, clearly hanging there for years. Whether it could support two people was anyone's guess—but they had no other option.
"You go first!" Linor clenched her longsword between her teeth and grabbed the chain. With a flex of her wrist, she lifted herself upward, her movements agile as a wildcat. Even with her injured arm, her speed barely faltered. Watching her back, Kai took a deep breath and grabbed the chain himself. It was scalding hot, searing his palms with pain, but he gritted his teeth and climbed anyway.
Flames licked at the bottom of the chain, and the heat curled the tips of Kai's hair. Behind him came the thunderous crash of collapsing steel beams—the entire factory was shaking, as if it might crumble at any moment. Linor had already reached the edge of the opening. She turned back and stretched out her hand.
"Hurry! Faster!"
Kai clenched his jaw and forced himself upward with everything he had. Just as his fingers were about to touch Linor's hand, a sharp crack rang out. The chain's connection to the transmission shaft—rotted by rust and weakened by heat—snapped.
"Watch out!" Linor cried.
Kai felt weightless as his body plunged toward the inferno below. His heart seized, his mind went blank, and he flailed instinctively, grasping at empty air. At that moment, the wrench in his hand erupted with dazzling blue light. The star core's energy surged into his limbs, and an unseen force caught him, drastically slowing his fall.
Before he could process what was happening, he collided with something soft. Opening his eyes, Kai realized he had fallen into Linor's arms. Half her body hung outside the opening as she desperately clung to his arm, sweat covering her face, her lips pale from strain.
"Hold on to me!" Linor's voice trembled, but her resolve did not.
Kai quickly wrapped his arms around her waist. Both of them dropped another short distance as chunks of concrete broke away from the edge of the opening. It was about to give way completely when the wrench in Kai's hand flared with intense blue light. A powerful force burst forth, hurling them out through the opening.
Boom!
They slammed hard onto the grass outside the factory, dirt spraying everywhere. Behind them, the factory collapsed with a deafening roar, flames shooting skyward and painting half the sky red. Kai lay on the ground coughing violently, feeling as though every bone in his body had been shaken loose. Linor pushed herself upright as well, blood seeping again from her arm wound after the exertion.
"Cough… we… we survived," Kai gasped, his voice raw.
Linor nodded, lingering fear flickering in her ice-blue eyes. She looked at the wrench in Kai's hand, then at the pocket watch on his chest. "The star core fragment saved us," she said softly. "Its power is even greater than I imagined."
Kai lowered his gaze to the pocket watch. The blue glow of the fragment had faded back to its gentle sheen. He clenched it tightly, gratitude filling his heart. Without it, they would have perished in the flames.
After resting on the grass for a while, their strength slowly returned. Linor took out a small vial and applied pale green ointment to her wound. Before Kai's eyes, the skin around it healed at a visible speed.
"That's… magical ointment?" Kai asked in amazement.
"Yes," Linor nodded. "It's a healing salve from the Aurora Continent—very effective for ordinary wounds." She handed the vial to Kai. "Your palms are burned too. Use some."
Kai accepted it with an embarrassed smile. As he applied the ointment to his scorched hands, a cool sensation spread through his body, and the pain eased noticeably.
Just then, a rhythmic sound of hammering drifted through the night.
Clang—clang—clang—
Steady and powerful, it echoed clearly in the still darkness. Kai and Linor looked up at the same time, exchanging puzzled glances.
"That sounds like… hammering metal?" Kai frowned. "There shouldn't be anyone living nearby."
Linor's expression turned wary. She rose to her feet, gripping her sword. "Let's take a look. Carefully—no more traps."
Kai nodded and stood as well, tightening his hold on the wrench. Together, they followed the sound deeper into the forest. Night had thickened, and a light mist hung among the trees. In the moonlight, the shadows of the forest stretched like grasping claws, eerie and unsettling.
After about half an hour, the hammering grew clearer. Pushing aside the last cluster of bushes, they froze at the sight before them.
In a forest clearing stood a small wooden cabin, beside it a crude blacksmith's shed. Inside, a short, stocky man worked bare-chested, swinging a massive hammer down onto an anvil. Sparks flew, illuminating his sweat-soaked face. His skin was dark, his arms corded with muscle, and his long beard was braided thickly down his chest. Most striking of all was his bald head—and his large, round ears.
"A dwarf!" Linor exclaimed, shock filling her voice. "How could there be a dwarf on the Eros Continent?"
Kai stared as well. He had seen drawings of dwarves in ancient illustrated books—master smiths of the Aurora Continent, reclusive and fond of deep mountains. Never had he imagined encountering one in a forest on Eros.
The dwarf seemed to hear them. He lowered his hammer and slowly turned around. His gaze landed on Kai and Linor. When he noticed Linor's pointed ears, surprise flashed in his cloudy eyes. Then his gaze dropped to the wrench in Kai's hand. At the faint silver glow on its surface, his eyes flew wide open, and the hammer slipped from his grasp with a clang.
"Mechanical enchantment…" the dwarf murmured, his voice low and rough. His entire body trembled with excitement as he stared at the wrench."This is… the power of the Star Core!"