Chapter 125: Aerial Ember-Gorgons (2)

[Hostile Entities Detected: Aerial Ember-Gorgons]

[Level: 65 - 68]

[Rank: Elite Sovereign]

Erupting from the sulfuric clouds was a flock of absolute nightmares. They were massive, serpentine horrors that defied conventional biology.

Their lower halves consisted of long, heavily scaled, crimson-plated snake tails that whipped through the air with terrifying speed. Their upper torsos were vaguely humanoid, but completely encased in jagged, volcanic rock. Sprouting from their backs were massive, leathery wings composed entirely of condensed, roaring fire.

But their most terrifying feature was their heads. Instead of hair, thick, writhing serpents of pure magma hissed and spit from their scalps. And their eyes—massive, glowing orbs of molten gold—radiated an aura of petrifying, localized gravity.

Leon’s mind processed the data in a fraction of a microsecond.

"Fire-breathing aerial Gorgons," Leon noted, an icy, predatory smile touching his lips. "I haven’t encountered this monsters before. It seems the eastern thermal vents only activate during the evening. This is a nocturnal, atmospheric Monster type."

There were six of them, moving with terrifying synchronization, entirely adapted to mid-air combat.

The leading Ember-Gorgon shrieked, a sound like grinding tectonic plates, and locked its molten gold eyes directly onto Auris.

Ding!

[Warning: Petrifying Gaze (Thermal Variant) initiated. Target is attempting to fuse your cellular structure into volcanic glass.]

A beam of searing, concentrated golden light erupted from the Gorgon’s eyes, striking the leading edge of Auris’s void-steel armor.

"Auris! Glacial Aegis!" Leon commanded through the soul-bond.

The High-Dragon reacted instantly. A massive, contoured shield of absolute-zero ice violently materialized over the void-steel plating. The petrifying thermal beam slammed into the ice. Instead of turning the dragon to stone, the sheer cold of the Glacial Aegis fought the thermal petrification to a standstill, generating a massive, blinding cloud of steam.

"They rely on line-of-sight execution and elemental superiority," Leon calculated, drawing the Legendary Epitaph from his hip. "Let’s strip them of their altitude."

Leon didn’t just sit in the saddle and cast spells. He utilized the absolute synergy he had forged with his bonded beast.

Bank left, drop fifty feet, and hit them with your breath, Leon projected his tactical intent directly into Auris’s mind.

The dragon executed the maneuver flawlessly. Auris aggressively folded his right wing, diving sharply beneath the blinding cloud of steam, completely breaking the Gorgons’ line of sight. As he pulled up, positioning himself directly beneath the flock, Auris’s chest expanded with apocalyptic blue light.

Absolute Zero Breath!

The SS-Rank draconic talent erupted like a localized blizzard. The beam of catastrophic frost washed over the lower tails of three Ember-Gorgons. The extreme, sudden temperature shift was devastating. The magma-infused scales on their tails instantly crystallized and violently shattered, completely destroying their aerodynamic balance.

The three crippled Gorgons shrieked in agony, their fiery wings violently sputtering as they began to plummet toward the jagged obsidian spires thousands of feet below.

But the remaining three were veterans of the sky. They instantly broke formation, diving aggressively to flank the High-Dragon from both sides.

Two Gorgons swooped in on the right flank, opening their jagged maws to unleash torrents of superheated, liquid magma directly at Leon.

Leon didn’t flinch.

"Aegis of the Void," Leon commanded calmly.

The spatial fabric around the right side of the saddle aggressively warped, forming a pitch-black, shimmering shield of dimensional energy. The torrents of liquid magma crashed against the shield and were instantly, violently sucked into the spatial rift, completely disappearing from the physical plane.

Because of the recent Realm Lord prime fragment he had fused into the skill, the Aegis of the Void absorbed the kinetic and thermal energy of the magma and violently expanded its surface area, creating a massive, impenetrable wall of dark space protecting Auris’s entire right flank.

"Now," Leon whispered, his eyes tracking the final Gorgon diving in from the left flank.

The beast was moving at supersonic speed, its flaming wings trailing streaks of fire across the night sky, aiming to decapitate Leon with its jagged, obsidian claws.

Leon stood up in the saddle. He didn’t use magical projectiles. He relied entirely on the terrifying, physics-breaking properties of his Legendary weapon.

"Phantom Weight," Leon activated.

He swung Epitaph vertically through the air. During the swing, the dark silver axe weighed absolutely nothing, allowing Leon to accelerate the blade faster than the diving Gorgon could process.

The razor-thin, crescent-moon blade of the axe casually tapped the leading edge of the Gorgon’s left wing of fire.

At the exact microsecond of contact, Leon released the Phantom Weight restriction. The weapon instantly regained its catastrophic Level 150 mass.

The Absolute Edge property completely ignored the magical density of the fire. The blade sheared cleanly through the wing, but Leon wasn’t aiming to amputate. He was aiming to detonate.

He immediately dropped back into the saddle, crouching low behind the dragon’s neck.

Zero point five seconds later.

The Kinetic Rupture injected into the Gorgon’s wing violently detonated. The shockwave was a compressed pulse of sheer kinetic force that imploded inward. The Gorgon’s entire left shoulder and torso were instantly atomized, turning the beast into a cloud of pulverized volcanic rock and raining magma.

The sheer force of the mid-air kinetic detonation generated a massive atmospheric shockwave that violently scattered the remaining sulfuric clouds.

Leon turned his attention to the final two Gorgons, who had realized their magma breath was useless against the expanded Aegis of the Void.

They abandoned their ranged assault and initiated a suicide dive, their molten gold eyes flaring with terminal intensity as they attempted to physically crash into the High-Dragon and petrify him through direct contact.

Auris, finish it. Void-Piercer Wings, Leon commanded.

Auris let out a deafening roar. The dragon didn’t try to evade. He beat his massive, armored wings with absolute, catastrophic force. The S-Rank Void-Piercer Wings ignited, but instead of using the aether-magic for propulsion, Auris weaponized it.

The dragon launched two massive, crescent-shaped blades of highly compressed cyan aether-magic directly at the diving Gorgons.

The magical blades crossed the distance instantly, cleanly bisecting the two Level 68 Elite Sovereigns mid-dive. Their severed halves erupted in massive plumes of fire and ash, raining down toward the obsidian spires below.

The night sky suddenly fell deathly silent, the heavy sulfuric clouds entirely cleared away by the catastrophic forces unleashed during the engagement.

Auris leveled out his flight, hovering majestically in the clear, starlit sky, letting out a low, satisfied rumble. The synergy between master and beast was absolute. They hadn’t just fought in the same airspace; they had perfectly complimented each other’s defensive and offensive capabilities, turning a high-tier aerial ambush into a one-sided slaughter.

Leon stood up in the saddle, sheathing Epitaph at his hip.

He looked down at the falling, burning remains of the Aerial Ember-Gorgons.

His SSS-Rank Talent Devourer surged to life in his chest, hungering for the innate talents of the newly discovered monsters.

Golden and crimson motes of dense system data began to rise from the falling corpses, swarming upward toward Leon’s outstretched hand.

Ding!

[Talent Devourer: Residual Talent Energy Detected: "Ember-Flight" (Fragments Available: 40)]

[Talent Devourer: Residual Talent Energy Detected: "Thermal Petrification" (Fragments Available: 45)]

Leon’s eyes gleamed with cold, calculating satisfaction. The hunt had been an absolute success.

"System," Leon commanded, the wind whipping his dark hair. "Extract all forty fragments of ’Ember-Flight’. Fuse them into a new talent."

The crimson motes of data violently spun in the palm of his hand, compressing into a dense, burning singularity before sinking directly into his mana core.

Ding!

[40 Fragments of "Ember-Flight" have been fused.]

[New Talent Acquired: Wings of the Ashen Lord — Grade: A]

[Description: The user can actively manifest a pair of massive, ethereal wings composed entirely of compressed, superheated ash and aether. These wings grant high-speed, sustained atmospheric flight and render the user entirely immune to environmental thermal damage while airborne. The wings can also be detonated manually to create a localized, blinding smokescreen of searing ash.]

Leon felt it weave itself into his spine. He no longer required Abyssal Stride for short-range aerial repositioning, nor was he entirely reliant on Auris for atmospheric combat. He now possessed his own, highly offensive mode of flight.

"Excellent," Leon murmured. He turned his attention to the remaining golden motes of data. "System, take all forty-five fragments of ’Thermal Petrification,’ and fuse them directly into my existing ’Gorgon’s Decree’ talent."

The golden data surged into his chest, seeking out the specific B-Rank talent he had acquired weeks ago in the lower sectors.

Ding!

[45 Fragments of "Thermal Petrification" have been assimilated.]

[Sufficient talent fragments fused for a talent upgrade!]

[Commencing Upgrade...]

[Talent Upgrade Successful!]

[Gorgon’s Decree (Grade: B) has evolved into: Gaze of the Volcanic Sovereign (Grade: S)]

[Description: The user’s visual perception becomes a weapon of absolute elemental suppression. Upon locking eyes with a target, the user can project a localized beam of thermal gravity. The target’s physical structure will rapidly superheat and fuse into brittle volcanic glass, fundamentally shattering their defense and permanently slowing their movement speed by 60%.]

Leon closed his system interface, feeling the immense, crushing weight of his newly integrated talents settling into his Steadfast-tier frame. He had transformed a standard, low-tier petrification gaze into a devastating, S-Rank execution tool that crippled both armor and mobility simultaneously.

He looked out over the vast, darkened expanse of Sector 12, the wind howling around him. The elimination cycle was counting down, the general player base was tearing itself apart in sheer terror, but he was only growing stronger!