Melina obviously intended to stop Bernahl from interfering in the battle.
She shot a firm look at Frieren, who nodded and strode past her with large steps. Ranni followed closely behind.
The strength of a Would-be Lord was not to be underestimated, but for Melina, who wielded Destined Death, keeping him occupied for a short time would not be a problem. The two sides were actually not far apart; treating it as the same battlefield was fine, and support could be provided at any time.
Moreover, Bernahl was holding back.
He did not use his weapon that was truly renowned throughout the world, the Devourer's Scepter, but instead attacked with pure swordsmanship.
Frieren was also unwilling to fight a life-and-death battle against a pure warrior-type enemy; the feeling was poor, and the compatibility was bad. It was better to leave him to Melina to stall first.
What truly determined the direction of this stalling battle was the clash of Kings inside the lava cave.
This could be considered a tacit understanding between her and Bernahl.
God and King stepped onto the Audience Pathway together. Before them was a wave of heat, stinging their faces and blowing their long hair. The ground rumbled, magma bubbled continuously, and steam rose into the air.
They had arrived.
Before them was a limestone pillar that stretched to support the ceiling, pitch-black but glowing with the crimson red of flames.
The ornate crystal chandelier above spoke of the lingering charm of the once-magnificent decor. Once, this room was not a hell on earth; it must have been the place where Rykard received guests. Now, it had been reduced to purgatory.
Occupying the center was a coiled great serpent, pieced together from countless masses of flesh.
The snake head lifted, revealing a hideous human face that even squeezed out an ugly smile:
"Ranni, you have changed so much."
The blue-haired doll first showed a look of unbearable pity, then sighed deeply: "Not as much as you have changed, Rykard. The current you no longer looks human; you do not even have the dignity of dying as a King. It is truly a pity."
At the mention of this, the Lord of Blasphemy flew into a rage and roared sternly:
"What do you know? This is all the fault of that ugly Fell Omen. He ruined the plan between you and me; I had no choice but to resort to this inferior strategy of fusing with the Great Serpent."
"I understand. I am sorry. We will kill Margit to avenge you, but you must also be set free."
"You understand nothing!"
Rykard roared, interrupting Ranni's words of regret.
Immediately, he turned his head to look at Frieren and said through gritted teeth: "This fellow is also guilty."
"Me?"
The silver-haired girl stared blankly with wide eyes, her face full of confusion. She had clearly lowered her presence as much as possible to let the family members reunite, yet the topic suddenly fell on her head—an unexpected calamity.
Actually, she had been thinking just now about whether it was possible to separate the Great Serpent and save Rykard, but the more she looked, the heavier this guy's madness seemed.
The former Praetor of the Golden Dynasty was dead.
Anyway, she was already prepared for the subjugation. The key lay in Ranni's attitude; as a betrothed partner, she still had to be considerate. Even if her partner was indecisive and dawdled, there was always the backup plan of sealing him away; there were always more solutions than difficulties.
But Ranni had always been decisive.
While she was pondering, the spectral face on the blue-haired doll's visage looked directly at Frieren.
"Let us kill Rykard together, Your Majesty. Only the God-Devouring Serpent exists here; those voices are merely echoes within its belly. Let us end this quickly."
"Understood." Frieren took out her staff, poised and ready.
Suddenly, she glanced aside and noticed a long spear stuck in the ground not far away, accompanied by numerous messages reminding her...
Boom!
At this moment, a pile of sludge dripped from the ceiling. It turned out to be Aldrich, who had been stuck up there all along. At the top was Gwyndolin, who had been half-devoured. The familiar face held a long blade with aggressive intent, magic swirling around him; he had already taken aim at his enemy from the past.
"I still have a fragment of your soul here, Gwyndolin. I will save you."
Hearing Frieren's words, the Child of God nodded silently as if half-understanding, while the sludge monster below let out a shrill roar, jumping with rage.
Two god-devouring monsters had locked onto them.
Ranni pulled out a small doll and said, "Your Majesty, I can sit on your shoulder and fight together with you at any time."
"No need."
Frieren's refusal stunned the blue-haired girl, making her feel a bit lost.
"Last time, it was because Miquella and Radahn fused that we fought in that matching stance. Since the opponents facing us now haven't fused, why should we use that form? Let's fight normally."
"What kind of logic is that... but it does make some sense. So, Your Majesty wants a two-on-two?"
"I want to fight two by myself."
After speaking, Frieren stepped forward and forcefully pulled out the Serpent-Hunter. For the first time in battle, she two-handed a non-staff weapon; it was visibly heavy and difficult to control.
The moment she obtained the weapon, she understood. She didn't even need to look at the messages; she knew it by heart. It was indeed exactly the same.
Ranni understood even less and muttered, "Why is that?"
"Because only a storm can fell a Great Tree!"
Before her voice had faded, the weapon in Frieren's hands condensed a terrifying storm tornado, gathering in a conical shape.
Witnessing this scene, Aldrich seemed to understand something and immediately rushed up, attempting to interrupt.
However, the silver-haired girl forced him back with a Divine Beast Dancing Lion Stomp.
Must a mage have a staff and hands to cast spells? Magic is not such an inconvenient thing.
Storm Spear!
The mighty gale tornado bypassed Aldrich and ruthlessly struck Rykard. Sure enough, the God-Devouring Serpent let out a mournful cry, its movements slowing by a beat. It wasn't over; Frieren swept horizontally again, beating the curled-up snake ball into stiffness just like that.
In the next moment, she leaped up and delivered a ruthless critical hit with the Serpent-Hunter. Blood splattered everywhere, accompanied by the sound of a giant object crashing to the ground.
Almost simultaneously, Gwyndolin's long blade arrived for the kill—
Frieren blocked with her back turned, instantly switching the Serpent-Hunter for her staff. A Soul Stream blasted the latter, causing him to wail.
In just one round of combat, she had suppressed two Demigods single-handedly.
Ranni now understood that her King's heroic declaration of "one against two" was by no means false; she was serious. Ever since her attributes reached the level of a powerful Demigod across the board after the Rune reinforcement last time, her strength had been further liberated.
So fast.
Her impression of Frieren's current movements was speed. Sometimes using gravity to pull, sometimes teleporting for heavy strikes, her agile footwork and uninterrupted magic prevented the enemies from lifting their heads, causing them to frequently fall into stiffness.
The silver-haired girl moved through the center of the eye of the storm, and even using the Serpent-Hunter, a weapon she was not good at, she was full of overwhelming momentum.
However, Aldrich and Rykard were still resisting, relying on their massive bodies.
Ranni couldn't really just watch and not help; after all, Frieren hadn't said she wasn't allowed to intervene.
Dark Moon Magic.
Ranni's attack exploded from the air at just the right moment.
The attributes of frost and magic negation struck them solidly. The big guy stiffened immediately. This instant became an excellent opportunity for Frieren to deal damage. A fully charged Serpent-Hunter was thrown with a boom; the gale descended from the sky, and the devastating blow echoed through the magma cave.
Given Rykard and Aldrich's bodies, they were actually blown away like this, rolling together in a wretched state.
Purely relying on brute force to work miracles.
The magic power Frieren outputted in that instant further strengthened the special anti-serpent effect of the Serpent-Hunter, which was why it presented such exaggerated damage output.
It was a pity the feel of the weapon was too poor; she had to two-hand it to make it work.
Even so, it was enough for the two behemoths to suffer. After a bout of fighting, they were significantly dispirited. The brothers in hardship crashed together, faces covered in dust and ashes, no longer possessing the arrogant and domineering appearance from before.
She slowly put away the Serpent-Hunter.
It was already good enough to knock off so much health. In the end, her own fighting style was more suitable.
Besides, the enemies were not idiots who would only take a beating. At this moment, their auras were constantly climbing and changing; they were about to erupt.
Crack, crack!
Rykard's scales fell off continuously as he shed his skin. Countless bloody hands grew out, baring fangs and brandishing claws, while bursts of mourning and wailing echoed. At the same time, he took out a long and straight greatsword, also entwined with countless cursed hands, resembling humans, resembling snakes, fusing countless curses.
His current posture could truly be called the Lord of Blasphemy.
Unknown numbers of flesh and blood had become nutrients, all transforming into Rykard's weapon. The powers of flame, magma, and flesh curses existed together, seething with murderous intent.
"I will kill you, and then you will become the flesh and blood upon my sword."
Frieren was unmoved. She adopted her standard configuration of the Dark Moon Greatsword in one hand and Lusat's Glintstone Staff in the other. She maintained the standoff while backstepping; after all, she still had to face Aldrich's magic pursuit.
"Brother..."
The shocking sight made Ranni sigh deeply. In appearance, this was even more horrifying than Radahn.
The familiar Rykard was long gone. This insane Praetor had sunk too deep, becoming indistinguishable from the serpent of Mt. Gelmir. He hopelessly viewed this as part of becoming stronger, making her feel both heartache and anger; he must be subjugated.
He didn't care what his own sister thought upon seeing this appearance. Only one thought remained in his mind: kill the Soul Cinder King.
Whoosh!
The Blasphemous Blade swept in, wrapped in a torrent of magma.
Before the blade edge arrived, the mighty sword energy had already rapidly evaporated the moisture from Frieren's skin. She backstepped to dodge, and the opponent pursued with another slash.
A gap was sliced open in the hall.
This move's destructive power actually sliced open the dome, but no cool air flowed in, only increasingly terrifying super-high heat. Not only that, but it was accompanied by Aldrich's magic bombardment, closely following the direction the silver-haired girl moved.
However, none of it hit. Some attacks that seemed to have caught up were deflected.
Even the maddest powerhouse should have understood by now; it was Frieren's Gravity Magic, exquisite beyond compare, cooperating with Miriam's Vanishing to deflect the magic power together. Ordinary attacks were meaningless.
Suddenly, she steadied her body, planting a staff into the ground with both hands. Murderous intent rose abruptly.
Thorns of Rejection!
Pitch-black thorns grew from the magma and volcanic ash. The scorching flames could not affect their strength in the slightest. They instantly filled the space, naturally entangling the two of them as well.
The two crashed into the wall with a boom, shaking the entire cave.
Strong tremors were felt even on the outside.
Melina and Bernahl, who were fighting, could not help but assume their stances again to avoid instability in their footing amidst the shaking. However, compared to that, did this Would-be Lord feel somewhat constrained?
"Is it possible that you are arrogant enough to hold back? I must show you a higher degree of power."
"In the face of Destined Death, how would I dare?" The corners of Bernahl's mouth twitched. "The battle is so intense, yet Frieren still has magic power aimed at me."
"What!"
"She is the one arrogant enough to dominate the entire battlefield."
After the reminder, Melina understood what that faint aura of magic power was about. Really... she didn't trust her? But she accepted this concern and gripped the Blade of Calling even tighter.
Meanwhile, Aldrich's magic power suddenly surged. His body gradually assumed a burning state, and streams of magic light fell from the sky.
"Ashen One, die!"
The resentment spanning worlds was released here; the hatred of the past would be settled all at once.
However, what greeted him was the stronger, superior New King. Ancient Dragons' Lightning Strike fell like rain in mid-air, shooting down the magic light bullets one by one, and even landing on Aldrich, electrocuting him until he was crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.
Frieren glanced at him indifferently and said: "You are no longer qualified to intervene. I sent Prince Lothric away not long ago; you should go back too."
"Who would want to stay in that hopeless world?"
"I will make the First Flame burn brightly again, but you must learn a lesson first."
"Shameless boasting."
Frieren responded to this mockery with a cold Soul Stream, knocking the opponent back a significant distance with one move.
How could Aldrich, who did not understand her bond with the Fire Keeper, understand the resolve to save the world? And the intertwined bonds of Londor, the Painted World, and so on... The world must see the light again.
The progress of her fusion with various powers was accelerating, becoming more and more vigorous. Of course she could do it.
This was something mere two madmen could not fathom.
After smacking Aldrich away, Frieren didn't forget to reward Rykard with a Meteorite. Amidst the rumbling loud noise, it hit him right in the face. The snake head saw stars and almost couldn't see the direction clearly.
They had to admit, the Soul Cinder King had now stepped into a new realm.
Tactics must be changed.
With this thought, Rykard released a flame-cloud-shaped ancient death rancor. The crimson skulls floated toward the silver-haired girl.
The same went for Aldrich's magic.
"Careful, Frieren. They want to blow this place up."
While Ranni warned her, she released the power of the Moon to actively absorb and deflect the enemy's magic. In contrast, Frieren was unmoved, merely shaking her head.
"This place is already fragile; it can't be stopped. We need to prepare to shift the battlefield."
In the next moment, the silver-haired girl arrived at her side, hugged the petite doll body, and flew into the sky. Sure enough, her foresight was correct; the magma in the Audience Chamber below was boiling, and there was already no place to stand.
It didn't stop there.
Bubbling sounds came from beneath the rock layer, brewing astonishing energy that could erupt at any moment.
They were right directly above the aim.
Aldrich and Rykard had made preparations, simultaneously stimulating magic power to resonate with the entire volcano. They had planned this long ago; this move was specifically for strong enemies.
Frieren unhurriedly raised her hand for a strike first, only the target was directly above.
Boom!
A gap was forcibly blasted open in the dome of the Audience Chamber, letting light shine through. No, a mass of oppressive ancient death rancor permeated through, accompanied by countless crystal soul spears.
She understood that the damage just now hadn't hurt the two big guys to their core; she still had to rely on the killing power of Soul Magic to secure victory.
Immediately after, the super-large-scale magic of both sides collided with each other.
One side was Soul, the other was Fire. While annihilating and exploding in the air, shockwaves spread.
Boom!
The explosion echoed in Frieren's ears. The Fire Magic, which was conducive to spreading, still bypassed the magic and reached her side. However, with the defensive barrier she actively released, it didn't matter; she only felt the temperature was slightly higher.
The enemies were not having a good time. The Soul Magic had covered the targets from high above.
Given Rykard and Aldrich's sizes, they couldn't dodge at all. They instantly cried out in misery, scrambling to avoid the attack route.
"They're hiding!"
Ranni, in her embrace, pointed from afar to remind her.
Although she knew perfectly well that Frieren was the one with keener perception, she couldn't help but worry. The latter nodded very calmly, her gaze scanning the Audience Chamber—no trace.
"Rather than saying they are hiding, it's better to say they are looking for cover. They are going to trigger the power of the volcano."
The silver-haired girl paid no heed to the two strong enemies. Instead, she used a Gravity Blade to slice open the main gate. There, Melina and Bernahl were fighting fiercely, currently inseparable.
Lightning Spear!
While forcing Bernahl back with a bolt of lightning, she used gravity to grab Melina's body.
"We are going to the crater. I advise you to move quickly too, Bernahl, otherwise everything here will turn into ruins."
Before her voice fell, she took the two of them and flew into the sky. In the blink of an eye, they leaped out of the hole she had just made. At this moment, everyone understood; it turned out arrangements had been made long ago, anticipating the actions of the two madmen.
Rashly attacking the magma pool would be an unwise move.
It was better to wait for them to make their move first; otherwise, a frontal conflict would only create greater destruction.
Bernahl, realizing the danger, also left quickly. After taking a deep look at the silver-haired girl, he quickened his pace. It was a pity they couldn't truly decide a winner, but the situation at Mt. Gelmir would become completely clear this time.
Perhaps he should consider how to embark on the path of finding Destined Death.
"Roar!"
Bursts of roars came from the magma pool, accompanied by the boiling magic power continuing. Rumbling boomed from all directions as earth and stone collapsed.
The murderous intent had locked onto Frieren. In the next moment, a blazing flame exploded from the magma pool, climbing vertically into the clouds. In an instant, it flooded the entire Audience Chamber and advanced toward the highest point of the volcano.
Seeing that it was about to touch the silver-haired girl, her figure flashed, agile as a stream of light in the air.
This was the teleportation the King of Promise had used; naturally, it was not a problem.
The pursuers didn't think that much.
How could the two madmen, overcome by rage, care to distinguish? They simply blindly urged the volcano to erupt, and a red thermal current flooded up just like that.
Outside, at first, only a wisp of thick smoke rose from the volcano, and people didn't take it seriously.
But immediately after, the ground trembled more and more violently.
Finally, amidst a loud noise, terrifying magma rushed forth and was released, completely exceeding the volcano's carrying capacity. Thick smoke accompanied the crimson, scalding liquid rushing into the vast sky, dyeing the firmament, then turning into a meteor rain of fire that dotted the earth.
Bang, bang!
They fell one after another, more terrifying than any trebuchet, indiscriminately bombing everything. The buildings on the mountaintop were destroyed in an instant, followed by the collapse of the mountainside. A magma version of a mudslide boiled and burst the banks, rushing all the way to the foot of the mountain.
The magma hadn't even arrived yet when the boiling aura had already burned some of the serpent-men guarding below into skeletons out of thin air.
Unstoppable. The disaster was still expanding and would not give up.
The Royal Capital in the distance naturally noticed the changes in their mortal enemy and immediately realized a Demigod battle was occurring, but they dared not act rashly.
"Rykard detonated the volcano!"
Morgott, staring into the distance, clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. If this continued, the disaster would definitely not stop at the Mt. Gelmir region; it might spread to the Altus Plateau.
"Get ready. Withdraw to the outer outposts to avoid losses. Try to evacuate the guards."
"Yes, sir."
What could be done had been done. The rest Morgott could only leave to the result of this battle. If Frieren won, she would truly establish a foothold in the Altus Plateau, and the political impact triggered would be immeasurable. However, they were not without countermeasures; the First Lord was not far from the Lands Between...
The volcanic blast in the distance reached another level. Thick smoke billowed, and seeing that there was still a large-scale destruction to come.
Of course, it was still aimed at the three people with Frieren in the sky.
Melina said with a frown: "If this goes on, half of the Altus Plateau will be burned. We cannot let this place turn into scorched earth."
Ranni chimed in: "I am already stopping it. Moon Magic is ready at any time."
"Help me block one wave."
Hearing Frieren's words, she didn't ask more and immediately released the Dark Moon with all her might. The high-hanging white chalk moon radiated frost, freezing and solidifying all the magma at the very edge, finally halting the rushing momentum.
Seizing this opportunity, the silver-haired girl's attention shifted to the interior of the volcano, hidden very deep at the bottom of the magma pool.
Indeed a bit troublesome; they were determined to hide and didn't want to be dragged out.
Unfortunately, this little trick was meaningless.
Frieren, no longer needing to stop the magma from spreading, spread her hands and summoned a ball of crimson red. Ultimate Chaos Fire was extracted and refined from within her body, mixed with the power of Demons. Not just the power of the Witch of Izalith, but also the Demon power from the ancient magical beasts—she accepted it all.
Although it was only a tiny flame, the terrifying pressure silenced the volcano crater, fearful of what would happen next.
Fight fire with fire!
In the next moment, the Chaos Fire smashed into the volcano all at once, reaching the target straight through the gap.
It was actively assimilating and absorbing the scattered flames within the magma, devouring them all. And at this moment, Frieren, with her perception opened to the maximum, had already found the location of the two targets. Now!
The Chaos Fireball detonated from the bottom of the volcano.
This explosion was no less than the eruption just now. A shockwave spread in a spherical shape from the center of the entire mountain, splashing flames and covering the entire area.
But at the same time, it released the pressure in one breath, finally ceasing the eruption.
Blasted out along with it were Rykard and Aldrich. The brothers in hardship were covered in fire and looked incredibly wretched.
They had long lost the arrogant and domineering energy from the beginning, appearing even dispirited and exhausted. Their bodies were full of scorch marks; even using fire as power, they could not withstand Frieren's strengthened Chaos Fire. It was simply a small witch meeting a great witch.
"Ashen One!"
The silver-haired girl ignored the clamor of this pile of sludge. Instead, she used a Gravity Sphere to wrap it up and throw it out, temporarily shifting it to the other side of the battlefield.
"Wait, what are you doing?"
Seeing the situation was bad, Aldrich panicked. Immediately, he watched helplessly as Frieren took out a remnant of a soul.
Gwyndolin's soul still remained here; it had not completely dissipated yet.
He understood instantly. From the beginning, the opponent didn't intend to destroy him completely, but to let Gwyndolin squeeze out his soul through the method of soul fusion, thereby achieving a complete subjugation.
"Rykard, what are you waiting for—"
He looked up but didn't see the Lord of Blasphemy. Instead, a humongous meteorite was thrown at the Great Serpent. He estimated Rykard would be too busy to look after himself for a short while.
In the next moment, Frieren placed Gwyndolin's remnant soul on her staff to gather power.
Soul Stream!
_____
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