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Chapter 57: Burning Passion

The Dragon Maiden of Calamity.

Nikita Cynthia.

Standing before her, I could feel an icy chill seeping into my bones.

Nikita’s gaze was as cold as the void itself.

Her face, though regal, had always carried an underlying kindness.

But today, there wasn’t a shred of that kindness left in her.

Instead, a blazing thirst for revenge roared within her heart.

“...So, you’ve come?”

Her voice was low and heavy as it escaped her lips.

Nikita repeated my words.

“Does that mean you knew I would come?”

Nikita, ever perceptive, didn’t miss a thing.

“Yes.”

I responded and threw the sword I had been gripping onto the ground.

Clang—

The sword rolled across the frozen ground, echoing against the icy stillness.

Nikita’s brows furrowed slightly at the unexpected gesture.

She hadn’t thought I would surrender my weapon right before her eyes.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

Suspicion lingered in her gaze, but it soon faded.

In its place, a chilling gale swirled around her.

“Hand over Iris Hysirion.”

Hearing her words, my eyes widened in disbelief.

“Are you saying you’ll spare our lives if we hand over the princess?”

“Yes. This matter doesn’t concern you.”

Despite wielding the magic of an ancient dragon—power potent enough to consume reason—Nikita sought only the head of her enemy, Iris.

She had no intention of harming anyone else.

That’s why she had waited until no one could oppose her anymore.

It was a mercy characteristic of Nikita.

But her mercy was not something I could rely on now.

“No.”

“...Hania, I know you care for the princess, but you should value your own life.”

“Of course, I value my life.”

I raised my hand instead of the sword.

Ironically, laying down my weapon made me feel at ease.

“But there are things more precious than life.”

Preventing this cursed world from descending into a bad ending.

That was the only way to save my own life, too.

“Iris must be truly important to you.”

Nikita muttered as she lowered her head.

On her lashes, a tear crystallized into ice and fell.

Her sorrow was palpable, piercing my chest.

“I lost what mattered most to me, too.”

Nia Cynthia.

Her only sibling, her older brother, who had been her unwavering support within their family.

He had been murdered in cold blood, without justice.

“So now, I’ll take something, too.”

As she finished her words, Nikita vanished.

In her place, only a single footprint remained.

She’s coming.

The moment I sensed it, I swung my hand with all my might.

Claaaang!

A resounding clash echoed as her frost-covered blade collided with my hand.

Crunch!

Instantly, the freezing magic from her sword began to encase my hand in ice.

As expected of an ancient dragon’s magic.

Just touching her weapon felt like my hand would shatter.

Vrrrmmm—

But I was prepared for this.

The magical engravings etched into my steel skin began to glow fiercely.

Heat surged through my body as flames erupted.

The high thermal conductivity of my steel skin turned it into a blazing furnace.

The fire magic engraved into my skin was a special enchantment, one I’d begged Sharin to inscribe.

The heat spread rapidly through me.

Though I lacked the Flame of Resolve of Lucas,

I could imitate it, at least a little.

Nikita’s gaze tightened as she felt the heat radiating from me.

“You think that will be enough?”

The frost around her grew even fiercer.

Nikita’s mastery of ancient dragon magic made her an unrivaled wielder of extreme cold.

The perpetual snowcaps of the Dragon Mountain Range were a testament to the sheer power of this magic.

‘Nikita lacked talent in all other forms of magic…’

Ironically, her sole affinity for ancient dragon magic was extraordinary.

But the side effects of this magic were unavoidable, even for her.

The more she used it, the closer she came to becoming a dragon herself,

ultimately consumed by the very magic she wielded.

Her frost and my flames collided.

Their clash was so intense that—

BOOOOM!

A deafening explosion followed, and blinding white mist engulfed the surroundings.

Through the mist, I sensed Nikita take a step back.

Her eyes darted, searching for me.

Thud!

Grabbing Iris, I sprinted away.

The explosive enchantments on my boots activated, propelling me forward.

I fled the scene at a breakneck pace.

Nikita, realizing this too late, chased after me like a furious demon.

‘I have to get out of here first.’

A direct confrontation with Nikita was futile.

I needed to lure her to the place I’d prepared.

“Mmm...”

Perhaps due to the heat and commotion, I heard a faint groan from Iris in my arms.

But I didn’t pay it any mind.

I simply ran harder, swinging my legs furiously to escape.

Boom! Crash!

Behind me, Nikita closed the distance at an alarming speed.

Before she mastered ancient dragon magic, she was already a formidable fighter and vice president.

She had honed her skills even during sleepless nights.

Nikita’s combat prowess was top-notch.

With ancient dragon magic augmenting her body, escaping her was nearly impossible.

That’s why I’d spent days preparing for this.

BOOOOM!

At that moment, an explosion erupted beneath Nikita's feet, shaking the entire area.

Beneath the frozen snow, fragments of torn parchment scattered through the air, caught in the blast.

What Nikita had just stepped on was a scroll engraved with explosive magic.

A magic scroll.

A remnant of the old age, magical engravings had been refined in the present era.

Though inferior to the power of a real magician, the scroll I had just used was more than adequate in performance.

‘Made by the Frenzied Magician, I suppose.’

Stolen from the mid-boss, Vinesha, its effectiveness was unquestionable.

Whoosh!

Through the lingering smoke of the explosion, Nikita emerged once again, hot on my trail.

She had taken the explosive magic head-on, yet she was only slightly singed, showing no signs of serious injury as she pursued me.

Of course, it was only to be expected.

The body of an ancient dragon could hardly be harmed by an explosion contained within a mere scroll.

However, the restricted vision and unstable footing created by the explosion gave me just enough of an opening to widen the gap between us.

Boom! Boom!

But as if mocking my efforts, Nikita recklessly trampled on more explosive scrolls, chasing me with relentless fury.

Her eyes burned with an even fiercer intensity, clearly enraged.

But I couldn’t afford to stop now.

By this time, I had climbed onto a sloped surface.

Between the frozen patches of the floor, another magic scroll lay in wait.

I stomped on it without hesitation.

Fwoosh!

Black smoke erupted from the floor, rapidly filling the surroundings and obscuring visibility.

In the cover of the smoke, I stomped on another scroll right in front of me.

Crash!

The loud sound of someone dramatically falling behind me reached my ears.

The source of the sound was Nikita.

The activated magic made the floor slippery.

With her vision obstructed by the black smoke and the ground rendered treacherous, even Nikita couldn't help but slip.

This gave me more distance.

Using every means I had prepared, I tenaciously widened the gap between us.

Just a little more...

The final point I had prepared was close.

With that thought, I pushed my legs to move as fast as they could.

Shiver!

A primal sense of danger crawling up my spine forced me to lean forward instinctively.

Krrrrrrrrrsh!

A beam of ice shot past me from behind, narrowly grazing me, before smashing into the museum wall ahead.

CRAAAAASH!

The wall crumbled under the impact of the icy beam, and the resulting shockwave sent me sprawling to the ground.

A searing pain spread across my back.

It seemed the area grazed by the ice beam had frozen over.

Flicker—

Even the heat of the magical engravings wasn’t enough to thaw the icy patch on my back.

"Tch..."

Swallowing my frustration, I forced myself back to my feet.

There was no time to waste.

Just as I was about to dash forward again—

A blade filled my vision, forcing me to dodge quickly.

Whoosh!

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The wind trailing behind the sword as it narrowly missed me caused my body to waver.

Silver hair billowing, Nikita’s face was now partially covered in dragon scales.

She had fired the ice beam and closed the gap in an instant.

Such absurd leg strength.

Though I staggered, I used the opening to drive a fist into Nikita’s unguarded side.

Crunch—

Yet Nikita remained unfazed, and instead, pain shot through my fist as though my bones had shattered.

At this moment, most physical attacks were ineffective against Nikita’s body.

Thanks to the ancient dragon’s magic, she was clad in an impenetrable icy armor.

Knowing this, I had chosen escape over confrontation, but Nikita was faster than I had anticipated.

I barely dodged her sword as she swung again.

Every strike was a one-way ticket to the afterlife, and my desperate determination to survive was clear.

BOOM!

Desperately using the explosive magic to create more distance, I gasped for air.

The heat of the magical engravings fended off the cold, but the intense heat was draining my stamina faster than I expected.

Nikita lowered her sword and turned to face me.

"Hania, I see now how dedicated you are to protecting the princess."

Unlike me, Nikita wasn’t out of breath at all.

I had burned through an obscene number of magical scrolls that even the wealthiest nobles would hesitate to use, yet I hadn’t left so much as a scratch on her.

"But this is the end."

Nikita gave me one last chance.

"Leave the princess and walk toward the exit now."

She promised to spare my life if I complied.

I remained silent for a moment before letting out a sharp laugh.

Nikita’s eyes narrowed, her expression turning puzzled as though I had lost my mind.

Seeing her reaction, I took a deep breath in, then let it out.

"Senior Nikita."

I decided to reveal one truth to her.

"I think you’ve misunderstood something."

Misunderstood?

Confusion flashed in Nikita’s eyes.

I slowly lowered Iris, who I had been carrying, to the ground.

Then, I carefully began unwrapping a bandage that connected her to me.

As the bandage unraveled from Iris’s body, her form began to change.

The bandage was no ordinary wrapping; it was the Veil Bandage.

As Iris’s appearance altered, Nikita’s eyes grew wide.

The person lying there was not Iris.

It was Dorara Corazon.

The fool who had fallen first among Iris’s team.

Using the Veil Bandage, I had disguised him as Iris and brought him here.

I threw him away as if discarding garbage.

“Guh-huk.”

The unconscious man rolled across the snowy ground.

Seeing this, Nikita's head slowly turned back.

“The real Iris is…”

“She was probably back there earlier.”

Nikita pressed her lips together and asked.

Her head gradually turned back to me.

Her eyes held irritation.

"Even if you bought time like this, it won't mean anything, will it? All I have to do is defeat you and return to the princess."

“Senior Nikita, nothing in life is meaningless.”

Everything has meaning.

The reason Nikita ended up like this.

The reason I had to act this way.

Everything had meaning.

Nikita targeted Iris.

And she drove her into a corner.

This much was now an undeniable fact in this world.

Act 3, Scene 6.

The Calamity Dragon advanced definitively.

Now, the scenario requires just one thing.

The protagonist defeats the Calamity Dragon.

And the Calamity Dragon meets her death.

Lucas tries to persuade Nikita again and again.

But Nikita, whose world collapsed due to Nia’s death,

despite Lucas's desperate efforts, ultimately seeks to kill Iris to the bitter end.

At this juncture, Lucas is left with no choice but to make a decision.

Will he kill Nikita?

Or will he let Iris die?

This is the trial imposed on the protagonist.

Nikita’s death is inevitable.

Her death propels the scenario towards its destined conclusion.

What this world needs is the death of the Calamity Dragon.

However.

My thoughts are different.

I am…

‘Not Lucas.’

Lucas is forced by the world to choose between two paths.

But I am not Lucas.

I am the extra, Vikamon.

Thus, I will not follow the two choices imposed by the world.

I will make the choice to advance the scenario my way.

For that, I prepared and prepared again.

The one and only way to pull Nikita out of the abyss of despair and allow her to live freely.

Whoosh—

The sound of flames igniting came from somewhere.

“And Senior Nikita, your premise is wrong.”

I decided to correct Nikita’s words.

“First, you need to defeat me.”

Whoosh—

Soon, Nikita also noticed something strange about the situation.

The ice gallery.

Here and there, the sound of flames flaring up resounded.

Red flames sprang up in various places.

These were no ordinary flames.

The stones used to capture the Steel Empress—mystical objects.

Essences of Fire.

The corpses left behind after fire spirits had lived out their lifespans and died.

Meanwhile, I unbuttoned my chest.

As I did so, my appearance began to change.

No longer Hania’s appearance.

But the form of Hannon Irey.

Nikita’s eyes started to widen.

“Wh… What? Junior?”

It was a face that clearly hadn’t expected to see me here.

“Why… are you here?”

Her bewilderment was my opportunity.

From beneath the shrouded bandages,

a vivid red stone wrapped within was revealed.

The magic of ancient dragons is undeniably powerful.

Thus, to counteract such magic, the Flames of Resolve are the standard.

However, alongside those Flames of Resolve,

there exists another means to combat the magic of ancient dragons.

A Spirit Monarch.

A being at the pinnacle of spirits.

Their power, even against ancient dragon magic, is formidable.

But I cannot form a contract with spirits.

Thus, I prepared a workaround.

The fiery essences embedded throughout the gallery burned fiercely.

All those flames surged upwards and began to converge in one place.

The direction the flames gathered—me.

Or, more precisely, the stone in my chest.

“That’s…”

Nikita belatedly recognized what the stone in my chest represented.

This was no ordinary essence of fire.

It was The Ember of Fire.

The Fire Spirit Monarch.

What remained of him after his death.

「Boy, state your desire.」

A reward granted to me under the Hero Special Act by the White Oak Duke.

And what I requested from her was this.

The rarest object in existence.

And a temporary substitute for the Flame of Resolve.

Whooosh!

The Ember of Fire, consuming every lingering trace of the spirits' flames from the surrounding essences, blazed ferociously.

The heat radiating from the Ember of Fire struck my body like a raging tempest.

Swathed in the flames of the Fire Monarch, I exhaled quietly.

My eyes met Nikita’s, her face filled with dismay.

Seeing her, I positioned my hand into a knife-edge stance and steadied myself.

The blazing heat seared my body.

The intensity of the heat was suffocating.

But the will of the Steel Empress, who had longed for warmth, resided within her steel-like skin, containing the heat perfectly.

The Steel Empress became a mystical entity that repelled heat.

Thus, her steel-like skin was optimized for absorbing heat.

The time I could endure the Ember of Fire wasn’t long.

“I told you it would sting, didn’t I?”

So within this time,

I would settle everything with Nikita.

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