Caelum’s golden eyes flicked toward the blazing figure, his lips curling into a cold, appreciative smile. "Heh. What a cunning skill. Using gratitude as currency... turning kindness into chains." He shook his head slowly, his grip on the Lance of Pride tightening. "I’ll have to remember that."

Adam’s crimson gaze followed the flow of energy, watching as it streamed from the city’s huddled masses into Kurt’s waiting form. His voice was low, cold, carrying a weight that cut through the chaos.

"Sickening. All of you... are beyond forgiveness."

Kurt’s chest heaved as the last of the stolen energy settled into his core. He could feel it—every drop of life force, every ounce of hope, every desperate prayer that had been offered in exchange for Croft’s "generosity." It burned within him, hot and yearning, demanding to be used.

"Master," Kurt called, his voice strained but steady. "The harvest is complete."

He raised his hands, and the light around him shifted. It coalesced, condensed, formed into streams of pure, concentrated energy that flowed from his palms and shot toward Croft.

[Light of magic : Harvest Offering].

The streams struck Croft’s transformed body, sinking into his scaled flesh, merging with the borrowed dragon power that already pulsed through his veins. His eyes widened, then closed, as the energy flooded into him. The frost around him intensified, spreading outward in a wave that cracked the stone and turned the rain to ice. His wounds began to close, the gash across his torso knitting together, the broken ribs mending.

Lilith’s crimson eyes blazed with fury. "I won’t allow it!"

Her threads shot forward—silver strands, thick and pulsing with psychic energy. They wrapped around Kurt’s arms, his legs, his throat, pulling taut. But the light around him flared brighter, and her threads began to dissolve where they touched his skin.

Kurt’s voice was calm, almost pitying. "Your threads are useless now. The power flowing through me is beyond your ability to contain."

Lilith’s gaze sharpened. Her threads retracted, smoking, frayed. She could feel the heat radiating from him even from a distance, could feel the weight of the stolen life pressing against her senses. Her internal voice was sharp, assessing.

’He’s too strong now. Direct attacks won’t work.’

Croft opened his eyes.

The pale blue glow within them had intensified, burning with a cold, ancient light. His scales, already glistening with frost, now seemed to shimmer with an inner luminescence. The dragon tattoos on his arms pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat, and the power radiating from him pressed against Lilith’s senses like a physical weight.

"Excellent work, Kurt." Croft’s voice emerged as a growl, resonant with icy authority. He flexed his claws, and frost crystallized along their edges. "Now... let’s end this."

Ignis’s flames flickered as she felt the shift in Croft’s power. Her golden eyes widened.

’He’s stronger than before.’

She lunged anyway.

[Dragon’s Will: Solar Claw].

The massive claw-shaped flame shot toward Croft’s chest.

Croft raised his hand.

Frost erupted from his palm, meeting the Solar Claw head-on. The two forces collided and for a moment, they hung suspended, neither yielding.

Then Croft’s frost began to push back.

Ignis’s eyes widened. "What—?!"

The ice crept along the flames, freezing them mid-air, turning the Solar Claw into a frozen sculpture that shattered into a million glittering shards.

Croft lowered his hand, his reptilian eyes fixed on Ignis. "Your flames can’t match the power I’ve accumulated."

Ignis’s jaw tightened. Her flames flickered, struggling against the sudden cold that pressed against her from all sides.

The frozen shards of Ignis’s Solar Claw still hung in the air like a glittering curtain when Croft’s counterattack came. His clawed hand swept forward, and a wave of frost erupted from his palm, racing toward Ignis with the speed of a winter gale.

Ignis’s flames flared, but she was too slow. The frost caught her across the chest, and she gasped as ice crystallized on her skin, spreading across her torso, her arms, her throat. She stumbled back, her flames sputtering, and the cold began to seep into her bones.

Isolde moved.

Blood shot from her palms, forming a crimson barrier between Ignis and Croft. The frost struck the barrier and hissed, steam rising where the two forces met. The ice didn’t penetrate, but Isolde could feel the pressure building, the cold pressing against her blood like a living thing.

"Regroup!" Isolde’s voice rang out, sharp and commanding. "We can’t fight separately!"

She swept her hand forward, and the blood barrier expanded, pushing back against Croft’s frost. The ice cracked, spiderwebbed, then shattered. Isolde didn’t wait. She launched herself at Croft, blood swirling around her hands, forming into whips, blades, spears.

[Blood Dominion: Crimson Tempest].

The blood exploded outward in a radial wave, a sphere of crimson death that expanded in every direction. Soldiers caught in its range screamed as the blood tore through them, shredding armor, flesh, bone. Croft raised his arms to shield his face, and the blood struck his scaled form, carving shallow grooves in his frost-coated hide.

But he didn’t fall.

Isolde landed in a crouch, her chest heaving, her eyes fixed on Croft’s advancing form. "My attacks won’t work if I fight alone. We need to coordinate."

Ignis, still shivering from the frost that clung to her skin, forced herself upright. Her flames flickered weakly, but her golden eyes blazed with determination.

"Together, then."

Isolde nodded.

On the other side, Lilith’s crimson eyes narrowed as Kurt’s form blazed brighter, the light around him condensing into streams that coiled around his arms like living serpents. His power had grown, the stolen life energy feeding his flames, making them hotter, more intense.

He raised his hands, and the light coalesced into a dozen laser-like projectiles that shot toward Lilith from every angle.

[Photon Blades].

Lilith’s threads snapped up, weaving a barrier of silk and shadow. The blades struck the barrier and exploded, sending shards of light in every direction. One slipped through, grazing her shoulder, and she hissed as the heat seared her skin.

’I have to make him stop for a moment.’

Her crimson eyes blazed.

"[Crimson Gaze]."

The psychic pressure slammed into Kurt’s mind, a spike of pure, debilitating terror. His concentration wavered, the light around him flickering. He staggered, his hands flying to his head.

"Ggh—!"

Lilith pressed the advantage.

"[Psionic Cascade]."

A wave of psychic energy erupted from her, washing over Kurt in a tide of confusion and pain. His vision blurred, his thoughts scattering. He stumbled back, his barriers crumbling.

His jaw tightened. His hands dropped from his head, and his eyes, dark and furious, fixed on Lilith.

"That won’t work twice."

He raised his hand, and a beam of condensed light shot toward Lilith’s chest.

Lilith twisted, the beam grazing her ribs. She felt the heat, the searing pain, but didn’t stop. Her threads shot forward, wrapping around Kurt’s ankles, pulling.

He stumbled, caught himself, and raised his other hand.

"[Light Scream]!"

Light exploded between them, blinding, disorienting. Lilith’s threads dissolved where the light touched them, and she leaped back, her crimson eyes streaming.

’Tch. He’s adapting.’

She blinked the tears from her eyes, her threads already reforming.

Kurt advanced, light gathering in his palms.

Lilith’s lips curled into a cold, sharp smile.

"[Mind Spike]."

The psychic lance shot forward, aimed at Kurt’s temple. It struck, and he gasped, his concentration breaking. The light in his hands sputtered, dimmed.

Lilith didn’t hesitate.

Her threads shot forward, wrapping around his arms, his torso, his throat. She pulled, and he stumbled, off balance.

"[Crimson Cascade]."

A wave of psychic energy erupted from her. It struck Kurt full in the chest, and his eyes went wide. Blood trickled from his nose, his ears, the corners of his eyes. His body convulsed, the light around him flickering, dying.

He fell to his knees, gasping.

Lilith stood over him, her threads still wrapped around his throat.

"Not so bright now, are you?"