Ignis’s aura surged.

Flames erupted from her body in a spiraling column, pushing back the frost, pushing back the cold. The rain around her turned to steam, hissing and spitting as it evaporated before it could touch her skin. Her golden eyes blazed brighter than ever, and the air around her shimmered with heat.

Croft’s internal voice was sharp, assessing.

’Her aura... it’s exceeding normal draconic levels. This girl is far from ordinary.’

Ignis lunged.

Her claws, wreathed in solar fire, swept toward Croft’s chest. The air itself seemed to ignite around her strike, and Croft’s eyes widened as the flames coalesced into a massive, claw-shaped projection that extended far beyond her physical reach.

[Dragon’s Will: Solar Claw].

The burning claw slammed into Croft’s hastily raised ice barrier. The frost cracked, spiderwebbed, then shattered. The claw struck him across the chest, and Croft flew backward, crashing into a pile of rubble.

He pushed himself up, his robes smoking, a deep gash across his torso bleeding steadily. His breathing was ragged, his pale eyes fixed on Ignis with a mixture of fury and disbelief.

’That power... it’s too much for my borrowed strength. The transformation won’t last much longer.’

Ignis strode toward him, her claws still blazing, her golden eyes cold.

"That’s what happens when a human tries to wield a dragon’s power." Her voice was flat, almost pitying. "Your body can’t handle it."

Croft’s lips curled into a snarl. "You arrogant child. You know nothing of what I’ve sacrificed, what I’ve endured, to obtain this power."

He pushed himself upright, his body trembling. The dragon tattoos on his arms flared with pale blue light, the last dregs of the borrowed power surging through his veins.

"Perhaps I can’t wield it for long," he said, his voice hardening. "But I can wield it long enough to kill you."

His form twisted.

Bones cracked, lengthened. Scales erupted from his skin, pale blue and glistening with frost. His jaw elongated, teeth sharpening into fangs. His hands curled into claws, and a tail, thick and powerful, tore through the back of his robes.

[Dragon Transformation].

He was no longer human. His face retained some semblance of his original features, but his eyes were now fully reptilian, gleaming with cold, ancient hunger. His body was covered in scales, his limbs elongated, his posture hunched but coiled with power.

Ignis’s eyes widened. ’He’s... becoming more dragon.’

The air around Croft grew cold. Frost spread from his feet, crawling across the stone, reaching toward Ignis like grasping fingers.

"Now," Croft’s voice emerged as a growl, resonant with an ancient, icy authority. "Let’s see how your flames fare against the ice of the north."

Ignis lunged.

Croft’s claw swept toward her throat.

Isolde’s blood intercepted it.

A tendril of crimson, thick as a serpent, wrapped around Croft’s wrist, yanking his strike aside. The claw passed inches from Ignis’s face, close enough to ruffle her hair.

"What—" Croft’s eyes darted to the source.

Isolde stood a few paces away, her hands raised, blood swirling around her like a living shroud. Derrick’s body lay crumpled at her feet, his throat torn open, blood pooling beneath him. More blood rose from his corpse, joining the crimson tide.

"I’ve finished my business with your dog," Isolde said, her voice cold. "Now it’s your turn."

Croft’s eyes swept over Derrick’s body, then back to Isolde. His jaw tightened.

’So the swordsman has fallen. How troublesome.’

He raised his clawed hand to strike, but Isolde was already moving. Blood lashed out, wrapping around his arm, his torso, his throat, pulling him off balance. He stumbled, and Ignis’s fist slammed into his side.

CRACK.

His ribs broke. Blood sprayed from his mouth. He staggered, caught himself, and raised his head.

His pale eyes met Isolde’s.

"You..." His voice was strained, but steady. "I recognize those scales. That pattern." His lips curled into a bloody smile. "You’ve made an Oath of the Dragon with the Frost Dragon of the North."

Croft’s blood dripped from his lips, staining his torn robes. His pale reptilian eyes, still sharp despite his injuries, fixed on Isolde with grudging respect.

"Your eyes are sharp, vampire. To recognize the nature of my tattoos so quickly."

Isolde’s lips curled into a cold smile. Blood swirled around her hands, eager and hungry. "I’ve lived long enough to know when a human is borrowing power that doesn’t belong to him. But I never expected to see a merchant make an Oath with a dragon."

Croft spat blood onto the stone. "I was lucky."

Isolde’s eyes narrowed. "Lucky?" Her voice hardened. "Then your luck has run out. Die."

She raised her hand, blood already condensing into a spear.

But before she could strike, something shifted in the air behind them.

Kurt’s light erupted.

His body blazed like a newborn star, and the light spread outward in waves that washed over the street, over the buildings, over the entire city.

Lilith’s threads, still tangled around him, dissolved where the light touched them. She leaped back, her crimson eyes flashing with alarm.

"What are you doing?" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Kurt didn’t answer. His eyes were fixed on Croft, his face pale with exertion, but his voice steady.

"Master. It seems we don’t have much time."

Croft’s lips, hidden beneath his mustache, curved into a thin, knowing smile. He glanced at Kurt from across the battlefield, his gaze steady.

"Do it."

Kurt nodded. "Understood."

The light intensified.

Lilith’s breath caught. She felt it now—a pulling, a draining, a hunger that reached beyond the battlefield, beyond the soldiers, beyond the immediate chaos. It reached into the city itself.

Energy began to flow through the streets of Kaelthar. It rose from the huddled masses in their hovels, from the merchants in their stalls, from the children huddled in doorways. It flowed like invisible rivers, converging on Kurt’s blazing form, feeding the light, making it brighter.

Kurt’s voice rose, strained but triumphant.

"Harvest of the Forsaken!"

The light exploded outward.

Lilith recoiled, her threads dissolving where the radiance touched them. Her crimson eyes swept the city, feeling the life forces winking out, one by one, their energy drawn into Kurt’s blazing form.

’So that’s it.’ Her internal voice turned cold and venomous. ’The food distribution. It wasn’t kindness. It was a harvest.’

Her gaze snapped to Croft, who stood watching the light with pale, satisfied eyes.

’Every person who accepted his ’generosity’—he marked them. And now he’s collecting.’

Isolde’s blood shield flickered as the light pressed against it. Her voice was sharp with disbelief.

"He’s... draining the entire city?"

Croft’s smile widened. "I’ve been preparing for this moment for years. The food, the medicine, the protection—all of it was an investment." He spread his arms wide, his dragon claws gleaming. "And now I’m collecting the dividends."

Kurt’s form blazed brighter, the light condensing around him until he was barely visible—a star burning in the heart of Kaelthar.

Lilith’s threads shot toward Kurt, aiming to bind him, to stop the drain before it was too late. But the light around him was too bright. Her threads dissolved before they could touch him.

A frustrated hiss escaped her lips. "This is... troublesome."