God, Help Us All [Monster Evolution/Progression/LitRPG]-Chapter 60: No, YOU Fall

The world burned around them. Elyra hovered high above, her form a dark silhouette against the roiling sky, molten feathers casting flickers of light across the jagged landscape. The air shuddered under the weight of her power, the molten arsenal she conjured—a deadly array of blades, spears, and orbs—hovering around her like a predator’s snarl given form.

Arthur stood below, battered but unbroken, his body a monument of scorched obsidian and molten strength. His claws dug deep into the shattered ground, the heat rising around him like a second skin. His molten eyes tracked her every move, his thoughts razor-sharp despite the pounding in his skull.

The battlefield fell silent for a heartbeat, the tension between them palpable.

Elyra’s voice invaded his mind, dripping with malice and triumph. "Look at you. The mighty Drake of Destruction brought to his knees. Do you even realize how pathetic you look? All that power, and for what? A dying beast clinging to its last breath."

Arthur didn’t respond immediately. He could feel the weight of her power pressing down, could see the calculated intent in her movements. She wasn’t toying with him anymore; this was the kill. Yet, even as her molten arsenal hovered above, pulsing with volcanic energy, Arthur’s focus didn’t waver.

Finally, he spoke, his voice low and seething. "You talk too much."

Elyra snarled, her molten feathers flaring brighter. "And you think too little. That’s why you’ll lose. That’s why you’ve already lost."

With a savage cry, she unleashed Inferno Strike.

The molten blades descended first, their edges glowing white-hot as they carved through the air. Arthur braced himself, his Obsidian Skin flaring as the first blade struck, shattering against his armor but sending a web of cracks rippling across its surface. Another followed, then another, each one slamming into him with enough force to stagger his colossal frame.

Arthur roared, lashing out with his Destructo Beams. The beams cut through the fiery onslaught, detonating molten spears mid-air, but Elyra was already on the move. Her wings flared, propelling her in sharp, unpredictable arcs through the sky. The molten orbs followed, streaking toward Arthur with explosive energy.

One struck his flank, the eruption of heat and force nearly toppling him. Another grazed his tail, molten energy searing through his armor and into the flesh beneath. The pain was sharp, immediate, but Arthur didn’t falter.

Arthur’s growl rumbled deep in his chest, his molten eyes narrowing as he tracked her erratic movements. She was fast, yes, and her strikes were precise. But he could see the pattern now, could feel the rhythm of her attacks. She was overconfident, relying on her speed to keep her out of his reach.

He crouched lower, letting his exhaustion show, the cracks in his armor glinting like fatal wounds. His breaths came heavy and labored, his claws digging into the scorched earth as though he could no longer stand tall.

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Elyra circled above, her molten eyes gleaming with triumph. "Finally," she hissed.

Arthur didn’t respond. He lowered his head, his body sagging under the weight of her relentless assault. The battlefield seemed to shift around him, the air thick with the scent of molten stone and ash. Elyra’s laugh cut through the oppressive silence.

"You did last longer than the other petty challengers though, beast of the earth," Elyra laughed again. "Though, still a mere beast regardless."

"And, now my favorite part,"

She dove, molten talons outstretched, her beak wide as she prepared to tear through his exposed neck. Her molten arsenal followed, spears and orbs trailing in her wake like a meteor storm.

The moment she closed in, her molten eyes blazing with anticipation, Arthur moved.

His head snapped up, his molten eyes locking onto hers with a sudden, predatory focus. The destructive beams orbiting his horns surged, their energy compressing into a single, searing point no larger than an apple.

"Fuck off."

Elyra’s triumphant laugh twisted into a scream of rage and panic.

"You—"

Arthur unleashed the beam.

The focused energy struck her core with pinpoint precision, the force of it tearing through her molten feathers and into the heart of her body. The world seemed to pause for an instant, the sheer destructive power of the beam consuming all sound, all movement.

And then Elyra was falling.

+

Her molten form spiraled downward, half her body atomized by the strike, the remnants scorched and smoking as they crashed into the shattered earth. Arthur stood still for a moment, his molten eyes tracking her broken form as it lay crumpled amidst the wreckage of their battle.

She twitched weakly, her wings spasming as molten blood seeped from cracks in her once-majestic feathers. The blazing mantle of power that had encased her was now a fragile flicker, the embers dimming with each labored breath. Her body trembled as she fought to lift herself, claws scraping against the scorched stone, leaving trails of glowing magma in her wake.

Arthur moved forward, each step deliberate, his colossal frame towering over her broken figure. His own body bore the scars of their clash—Obsidian Skin cracked and bloodied, his massive chest heaving with exertion. But he didn’t stop. The heat of his destruction pulsed around him, radiating as if the earth itself trembled in submission.

"I told you," Arthur said, his voice low and unyielding, the words resonating through the silence like a death knell. "You’d fall."

Elyra shrieked through the blood filling her lungs, her body wracked by the effort, a wet, gurgling sound that sent more molten blood spilling from her beak. And then she laughed—a weak, rasping laugh that rose from somewhere deep and bitter. It was not the laugh of defeat. It was sharp, cruel, and filled with venom, as though her agony only fueled her hatred.

"Fall?" she rasped, her molten eyes flickering as they locked onto his. The madness in her gaze burned brighter than her fading feathers. "Yo-You think this is a victory, you arro-arrogant bastard?"

Elyra coughed again, the sound cutting through the thick silence, but her defiance refused to falter. Her body quaked, every movement sending fresh streams of molten blood dripping down her fractured frame. "You… with your brute strength, your mindless destruction. You’re nothing but a fool. Do you even know why you fight? Why you kill? You think yourself untouchable, but you’re just a blind beast stumbling through a world you can’t even understand."

Her voice grew louder, her words breaking into sharp gasps of air as the fury in her tone reached a fever pitch. "I fought for something, Drake. My kin, my lands, my legacy. And you… you fight for nothing. Nothing!"

Arthur’s growl rumbled low and deep, but he didn’t interrupt. Her molten eyes flared again, a final burst of light igniting as she forced herself upright, her wings trembling violently under the strain.

"I want you to remember this, beast," she hissed, her voice cracking with the weight of her pain. "I want you to remember that the blood of Volcranax does not bow. You’ve stolen this moment from me, but I’ll make damn sure it costs you everything."

Arthur stepped closer, his molten eyes fixed on her with cold resolve. "You’re finished, Elyra."

Her beak twisted into an impossible grin, jagged and horrifying, her molten teeth glinting through the blood. Her laughter returned, harsher this time, rattling in her throat like a dying ember stoked by spite. "Finished?"she whispered, her voice soft and venomous. "You’re the naive one. You should have ended me the moment you could. Now… you’ll pay for that mistake."

Arthur’s molten gaze narrowed, his claws tensing as he stopped in his tracks. "What are you—"

She spat blood, the glowing liquid hissing as it hit the ground. "Let’s meet again in the netherworld, beast."

Arthur tensed as he saw her body begin to glow. The dim embers in her feathers reignited, burning with a searing intensity that sent waves of molten heat rippling through the battlefield. The ground beneath her split and cracked, glowing veins of magma spreading outward like a pulse of fury.

Oh no, she wasn’t actually going to-

"Flare of Sacrifice," Elyra whispered, her voice filled with cruel satisfaction. "If I’m to die, I’ll take you with me."

The detonation came without warning.

A massive burst of molten energy erupted from her body, consuming the battlefield in an inferno of heat and light.

"No-!"

BOOOOOOOOOM!

Arthur lunged forward, a roar ripping through the air, but it was too late. Elyra’s broken body erupted in a cataclysmic explosion, the molten energy consuming the battlefield in an inferno of heat and light. Arthur’s frame was thrown backward, his Obsidian Skin cracking further as the sheer force of the detonation seared his body.

The last sound he heard before the flames engulfed him was Elyra’s laughter, ringing out like a twisted requiem. "Burn, beast. Burn!"

The fire burned hotter than anything he had faced, searing his body and mind as his consciousness began to fade.

In the haze of pain and heat, the system’s voice echoed faintly in his mind.

[SYSTEM ALERT]

Energy critical. Essence absorption initiated. Survival override active.

Arthur’s vision darkened as the flames roared around him. The last thing he felt was the surge of essence flooding into his core, the system’s desperate attempt to keep him alive as the battlefield fell silent once more.