Isolde stared at the massive dragon rampaging through the city, her pale eyes wide with disbelief. The ice spread with every beat of its wings, consuming buildings, streets, people, nothing was spared.

"That’s... that’s impossible." Her voice was barely a whisper. "A human cannot become a full dragon."

Lilith appeared beside her, silver-threaded gown scorched, but her crimson eyes still sharp. Her gaze fixed on Croft’s transformed form.

"It’s possible now." She gestured toward the destruction. "That young man’s light skill [The Harvest], it gathered enough energy to push the merchant’s borrowed power past its limits." Her lips curved into a thin, cold smile. "Or perhaps the dragon’s power within the oath was always there, waiting for enough fuel to awaken completely. The child’s light simply... provided it."

Ignis landed beside them, flames flickering, golden eyes fixed on the dragon. Her voice was tight.

"His aura... it’s a dragon’s aura. But different from mine. It’s... colder. More distant. Like it doesn’t fully belong to him." She shook her head. "It’s mixed. Tainted."

The dragon raised its head. Frost gathered around its jaws, and a beam of pale blue light shot into the sky. The clouds darkened, thickened, and then—

Hail began to fall.

Ice crystals, sharp as daggers, rained down on the city. They pierced roofs, shattered windows, cut through flesh. The screams of the dying filled the air, rising above the howl of the wind.

Isolde raised her blood, forming a barrier above them. The hail struck the crimson shield and shattered, but the impact drove her to her knees.

"We need to retreat!" Her voice cracked with desperation. "Leave this city! Now!"

Lilith shook her head, her silver hair whipping in the frozen wind. "We still need the compass."

"The compass is broken! It’s useless!"

"Perhaps." Lilith’s voice was calm, unmoved. "But I refuse to give up so easily."

Another volley of ice spears shot toward them.

Ignis’s flames erupted, meeting the projectiles mid-air. Steam exploded between them, obscuring the street, the buildings, the dragon itself.

"We can’t keep arguing!" Ignis’s voice rang out, sharp and commanding. "I’ll confront the dragon! You find the compass!"

Before anyone could argue, her body began to shift. Flames rippled across her skin, scales replacing flesh, her form expanding until a true dragon stood before them. Her crimson scales gleamed in the fading light, her wings spreading wide.

Isolde stared at Ignis’s transformed form, then turned to Lilith.

"What about Adam?" Her voice was tight. "If he dies, the poison in my body will—"

Lilith’s eyes met hers, calm and certain.

"Adam is still alive." Her gaze drifted toward the fallen wall where Adam had dragged himself. "I can feel his presence. Focus on the compass. It must be nearby."

Isolde’s jaw tightened. Her internal voice was a frantic whisper.

’He’s alive. For now. But if the cold spreads further...’

She pushed the thought aside and turned toward the remains of the building.

"Fine. But make it quick," Isolde said, her pale eyes already scanning the debris.

Lilith’s lips curved into a thin smile. "Patience, vampire. The compass will not simply present itself. We must dig."

She raised her hand, and threads shot from her fingers—silver strands that burrowed into the rubble, lifting stones, shifting debris. Isolde’s blood answered her call, rising from the fallen soldiers, forming tendrils that helped clear the wreckage.

Above them, Ignis’s roar echoed across the city.

Ignis launched herself at the ice dragon without hesitation, her flames blazing brighter than ever before. The heat rolling off her body melted the frost coating the cobblestones, turning ice to water, water to steam. She opened her jaws wide and unleashed a torrent of solar fire directly at Croft’s transformed face.

"BURN!"

The flames struck the ice dragon’s snout, and for a moment, the frost covering his scales hissed and cracked. Croft recoiled, shaking his massive head, but the damage was superficial—ice reformed almost instantly, crawling back across his hide like living armor.

"Annoying insect," Croft’s voice rumbled, distorted by his draconic form. His jaws parted, and a blast of frozen wind exploded from his throat, catching Ignis mid-flight.

The cold slammed into her chest, and she gasped as ice crystallized across her scales. Her flames flickered, struggling against the sudden temperature drop. She beat her wings, trying to retreat, but the frost was spreading, weighing her down.

"Is that all you’ve got?" Ignis snarled, forcing fire back into her veins. Her flames surged, melting the ice, and she opened her mouth to counterattack.

[Solar Flare].

A beam of concentrated light and heat shot toward Croft’s chest.

Croft didn’t dodge. He raised a clawed hand, and a wall of ice materialized before him, absorbing the blast. Steam exploded between them, obscuring the battlefield.

Ignis pressed forward, flames wreathing her body. She slammed into the ice wall, shattering it, and drove her claws into Croft’s shoulder. The ice dragon roared, twisting, trying to shake her off.

[Dragon’s Will: Solar Claw].

Her claws blazed with solar fire, digging deeper into his flesh. Croft’s scales cracked. Blackened blood seeped from the wounds.

"Persistent," Croft growled. His tail whipped around, slamming into Ignis’s side.

She flew backward, crashing through a building, her body tumbling across the rubble. She pushed herself up, shaking debris from her wings, but her flames were dimmer now. Her chest heaved.

’He’s too strong. My energy is running out.’

Croft didn’t give her time to recover. His jaws opened, and a beam of pale blue light shot toward her—[Absolute Zero Cannon].

Ignis’s eyes widened. She tried to dodge, but her body was too slow. The beam struck her shoulder, and ice exploded across her form, freezing her wing, her arm, her chest.

She fell.

Before she could hit the ground, Croft’s tail swept toward her again, a killing blow aimed at her skull.

Ignis closed her eyes.

CLANG.

Ignis’s eyes snapped open. A massive serpentine body had interposed itself between her and Croft’s tail. Scales, black as midnight streaked with veins of silver, gleamed in the fading light. The tail struck the serpent’s flank, and the dragon’s momentum halted, the force of the blow absorbed by scales that had weathered worse.

The serpent turned its massive head.

Crimson eyes, flecked with gold, met Ignis’s gaze. A low rumble emanated from its chest.

Ignis’s breath caught. "Adam..."

The Ouroboros Progenitor reared back, his serpentine form coiling with power. His wings, tattered and torn from the earlier battle, spread wide. His jaws opened, and from his throat, a roar emerged.

"ROOOOOAAARRR!"

The sound shook the city. The buildings that still stood trembled. The ice that coated the streets cracked. Croft’s massive form stumbled back, his pale reptilian eyes widening.

Adam’s transformation was not yet complete—his left arm, vaporized by Caelum’s blast, was still a stump of half-formed flesh. His scales were cracked, blackened, still healing. But his wings, though torn, held him aloft. And his eyes, burning with hunger, fixed on the ice dragon with absolute, unwavering focus.

Croft’s voice emerged as a growl, edged with disbelief.

"You should be dead."

Adam’s mental voice brushed against the ice dragon’s mind, cold and sharp.

’So should you.’