[Chapter 309. Collateral]

As the flames died down, the Greater Drake closed its massive maw. Dark smoke rose from between its formidable fangs while it fixed the two of them with molten golden eyes that burned with primal fury. His drones fanned out in a coordinated pattern, their metallic forms moving like a deadly swarm across the platform, and began firing. Each violet beam left a small blackened burn mark on the beast's near-impenetrable scales, the impacts barely registering against its formidable armor.

Iris shook herself, her dark fur rippling with suppressed energy. Her blade lifted from the ground with a sharp scrape against the volcanic rock. With an explosive movement, she dashed forward—a blur of motion against the fiery backdrop of the caldera.

Reaching the flank where Searanox's prior attack had left a gaping wound, she leapt into the air, her powerful legs propelling her upward with enough force to crack the stone beneath her feet. At the apex of her jump, she could just barely reach the open wound, her body arcing gracefully through the heated air.

Bringing her frost-covered sword down in a powerful swing, she bridged the gap with terrifying speed. With a sickening squelch, the entire blade vanished into the exposed flesh beneath, carving a deep gouge through the beast's side. The sound of tearing muscle was barely audible above the drake's enraged roar. Frost crystals formed instantly along the edges of the wound as the blade slit through. A small river of deep crimson followed, hissing and steaming as it puddled on the volcanic rock below, the heat instantly cooking the blood as it spilled.

As gravity brought her back toward the ground, the gigantic beast moved with a swiftness that seemed unreal, its massive form belieing its incredible speed. It reacted with pure instinct to the pain lancing through its side. Its thick, scale-covered tail lashed out at Iris the moment she landed beside it. The appendage moved faster than sight—a blur of crimson death aimed to crush her against the solid stone.

Before it could make contact, D2 absorbed the blow, positioning itself between Iris and certain death. The first layer of its barrier broke under the immediate impact, crystalline hexagons shattering into nothingness with a sound like breaking ice. D2 was shoved back several meters along with Iris, the kinetic force of the blow sending them skidding across the rock surface. The drone's stability systems whined in protest at the sheer power it had just intercepted.

While Searanox and his offensive drones fired away, violet beams striking against the drake's armored hide with little effect, Iris took a wide-legged stance, her muscles coiling like springs. Her Zweihänder began to glow with an eerie, deep turquoise light, eldritch energy crackling along the blade's length as she prepared to strike. Then, she vanished in a swirl of dark fog, leaving behind only faint traces of silver light where she had just stood.

She reappeared directly above the drake's thrashing tail, her silhouette outlined against the molten glow of the caldera below. As gravity pulled her down, she swung her sword with every ounce of her enhanced strength, the massive blade slicing cleanly through the air.

The dark metal of her blade met the red scales of the appendage with a deafening impact that echoed through the caldera like a hammer striking an anvil. For a heart-stopping moment, the scales held against the assault, resisting the enchanted edge. Then, with a sound like shattering crystal, the scales beneath her blade broke, the turquoise energy crackling as it overwhelmed the drake's natural defenses. The sword dug deep into the tail, its momentum stopping halfway through the thick muscle as it struck the solid bone within with a sickening crunch.

She had hoped to cleave it clean off to prevent another strike in the future, but the drake's physiology proved far more resilient than anticipated.

In the meantime, the last layer of D1 shattered as the drake brought its massive claw down upon him. D1 was dismissed the moment its protective wall collapsed, its metallic form dissolving into blue motes of light, leaving Searanox standing directly underneath the descending foot.

He braced for impact, raising his crossed forearms over his head just in time to take the brunt of the crushing force. The stone cracked beneath him like a spiderweb as all the pressure of the drake's frontal assault rested solely on his body, his enhanced coat groaning under the immense strain. He screamed—not from pain, but from sheer exertion—as he pressed back against the weight of the beast, his muscles burning as they fought the crushing force.

Hearing his scream, Iris looked back. The only thing she saw was the massive front foot of the dragon pushing down on him, its talons digging into the stone around his body. Searanox's knees began to buckle under the strain. The stone beneath him fractured further, and his boots began to sink into the ground, creating small craters in the volcanic rock.

With a desperate heave, she wrenched her blade free, the turquoise energy sizzling as it tore through muscle and scale. She tried to use Blade Step to teleport to his side, but it didn't activate—the familiar pull of spatial energy was absent, a harsh reminder that she had just used it moments ago. Instead of teleporting, she broke into a sprint. Her legs pumped with renewed urgency as she dashed across the platform, her silver eyes locked on the horrifying sight of her Progenitor being crushed beneath the dragon's weight.

With a jump that shattered the stone beneath her, Iris propelled herself upward with explosive force, the sound echoing through the cavern as volcanic rock splintered under her boots. She gained just enough height to land squarely on the dragon's massive foreleg, her claws digging into the crimson scales for purchase. She ran directly up the limb, dragging her Zweihänder behind her. The frost-coated blade carved a shallow wound that hissed as it cut through the dragon's armored hide.

For a precious moment, the wound frosted over with delicate crystalline patterns before the intense heat of the caldera melted them away, allowing dark blood to bubble up and flow freely down the leg, sizzling as it hit the ground.

Suddenly, all of Searanox's drones stopped shooting at once, their violet beams vanishing mid-air. The caldera filled with a deep, resonating hum once again, the sound growing in intensity as energy rapidly accumulated. Iris's ears swiveled instinctively at the frequency before she looked toward the source of the hum. Her silver eyes widened as she witnessed all of his offensive drones taking a clustered position to the side of the platform, their weapon ports glowing with an ominous violet light that grew brighter by the second.

Her eyes opened even wider as she saw where they were aiming. The realization hit her like a physical blow: she was standing directly in their firing path.

In the next moment, a brilliant violet beam of light tore through the air—so intense it bleached the color from everything it passed. Iris's Mystic Ward came up out of pure reflex as she jumped off the dragon's front leg, the barrier forming just microseconds before the beam struck.

The beam ripped the joint of the leg clean off. The sound of vaporized flesh and bone was followed by a deafening screech as the kinetic energy tore through the limb. The thick beam of energy had only nicked her protective ward, but it shattered it in an instant. The pale white light cracked like glass before dissipating into nothingness. The residual energy traveled onward, blasting into the caldera wall on the opposite end. Massive portions of the wall collapsed, falling into the lava below with thunderous impacts. Showers of molten rock were sent flying into the air, raining down around the platform like deadly, glowing hail.

Iris lay in a large, bubbling puddle of steaming dragon's blood, the coppery stench filling her nostrils as the viscous, crimson liquid seeped into her dark fur. Around her, bits of charred flesh and splintered bone fragments were scattered across the slick volcanic ground, still sizzling where they made contact with the rock. Steam rose in thick, ghostly tendrils around her form, partially obscuring her view of the chaos.

With a pained groan, she pulled herself up from the slick ground. Her muscles protested with each movement, the sheer kinetic impact of the explosion still reverberating through her bones.

She looked back toward Searanox, her silver eyes widening slightly as she watched him nonchalantly heave the severed, still-smoking leg of the dragon aside with casual strength. The massive limb hit the rock with a wet thud, sending another spray of hot blood across the platform. His terrifyingly calm demeanor in the face of such brutal violence sent a shiver down her spine—a strange mix of admiration and unease coiling in her gut.

In the next moment, the entire platform shook violently as the massive body of the dragon crashed down upon it. The sound was deafening—a sickening combination of cracking stone, tearing flesh, and the enraged roar of a creature in absolute agony. Its head came down hard as it lost its balance from the sudden amputation of its foreleg, failing to support its immense weight on its remaining limbs. The impact sent shockwaves through the ground, causing Iris to stumble.

Seeing her chance, Iris sprang up from her crouched position, her Eldritch Zweihänder already in hand. Its turquoise glow intensified with her battle fervor. With a swift, fluid motion that seemed to defy gravity, she spun around, gathering momentum as she brought her blade down in a deadly arc aimed directly at the beast's exposed neck.

The blade cut deep, the turquoise energy crackling as it sliced through scale, muscle, and sinew. Dark blood fountained from the wound, steaming violently as it hit the volcanic rock below.

But before her sword could inflict a lethal amount of damage to the drake's vital arteries, the dragon beat its massive wings with desperate fury. The downward thrust created a miniature hurricane of scorching air and loose debris. Iris lost her footing on the slick, blood-covered ground, her boots skidding uncontrollably across the surface.

She fell to the ground once more, her body sliding toward the precipice of the platform as she was blown backward by the powerful gust. Her claws dug deep into the stone, creating long gouge marks as she fought for purchase against the overwhelming force. She angled her body low against the rock, her fur whipping violently in the turbulent, scorching air.