Lin Jun, who had been following the adventurers from a distance, felt increasingly uneasy as they walked.
Why did this path seem so familiar?
Wasn't this the route to the Flame Demon's lair?
Lin Jun was certain that no battles had occurred near the Flame Demon's nest—otherwise, the mushrooms he had stationed nearby would have definitely detected magical power fluctuations.
Could it be that the Flame Demon never returned home after that time it went out, and they had missed each other when these people came down?
He had previously assumed these people had descended through some route unknown to him. After all, the deep layers were vast beyond measure, with far more than just one entrance—he simply lacked the ability to explore them all.
Since they were taking the route through the Flame Demon's nest, the question now was—had the Flame Demon returned home?
————
"Ha, now I can finally relax."
Having found the Duke's daughter, Garr's mood had brightened considerably. What adventurer wouldn't covet the reward of an entire city?
"Captain, you don't know how desperate I felt when you said the direction had changed on the 9th floor. I thought she really had fallen into the touch—"
Before he could finish, Garr was kicked by Night Owl.
Seeing Night Owl holding the pink pudding creature, he suddenly remembered that Inanna was still here. His words just now had been far too careless.
"Ahem."
As always, it was Captain Nova who stepped in to change the subject.
"Ivan, are you confident you can dispel Miss Inanna's transformation spell? Do we need to find some professional curse-breakers after we get back up?"
Ivan didn't appreciate those words: "Do you think I'm inferior to those third-rate hacks? It's just a transformation that's been solidified with a fixation potion. You think that can stump me? It won't be any harder than turning you all back from scarecrows after that Scarecrow Abyss incident."
Nova had only meant to change the subject, but hadn't expected to step on Ivan's landmine. He could only laugh awkwardly: "I don't understand, I don't understand. As long as you're confident..."
Without realizing it, the group had returned to the entrance connecting to the upper level.
It was as swelteringly hot as ever here.
Night Owl already couldn't stand the heat, and now holding a pudding creature made it even worse. But considering that Inanna was still a noble lady—even if transformed into a pudding—it wouldn't be appropriate to have one of the men carry her.
Night Owl could only endure the heat, though her pace quickened slightly.
Conversely, Inanna in her arms showed little reaction to the blazing environment. After all, she had All Resistances LV6.
"Wait!"
Archmage Ivan's sharp voice made Night Owl and the others freeze in their tracks.
"The magical power fluctuations are different."
【Reconnaissance】
"Night Owl," the archmage's voice was calm, "take the young lady and go."
Night Owl glanced at Ivan. Though this old halfling often went mad during his magic addiction episodes, when lucid he was the most experienced member of the entire team.
Without hesitation, she merged with the elongated shadows of the group, carrying Inanna at extreme speed into the passage.
The moment she disappeared, the entire cavern began to tremble.
The lava pools on both sides suddenly surged like boiling blood vessels, sticky golden-red bubbles bursting in succession as sulfurous smoke mixed with heat waves erupted forth.
Night Owl's departure made the hidden enemy realize it had been discovered. Now it didn't intend to let the remaining prey escape.
Accompanied by an inhuman roar, a massive form rose from the lava pool.
Its mountain-like upper body was assembled from semi-solidified lava and charred bones, with dark red rock shell wrapping around its torso like armor, encasing the molten heart within.
At the same time, numerous flame creatures about human height—like miniature versions of itself—leaped out from the surroundings, blocking the way forward.
Gulp—
The half-dragon swallowed hard.
"Flame Demon... and Lava Golems..."
"Careful, it's level 64." Ivan, who had already used Reconnaissance, announced the Flame Demon's strength.
There was no time for further communication—the Flame Demon was already swinging its massive molten fist down at them.
【Shield Domain】
Garr raised his shield, forming a huge shield phantom in front of him that forcibly blocked the strike.
However, given the level gap, he wasn't unscathed—blood continuously seeped through his arm guard.
【Revival】
【Life Potential】
Nova took a sharp breath and released both healing and enhancement magic, allowing Garr to barely maintain his Shield Domain.
Another roar rang out. Seeing it couldn't simply crush these insects, the Flame Demon stirred up massive waves from the lava pool beneath it.
Sensing danger, Ivan decisively inserted an A-rank magic crystal into his abdomen, simultaneously casting【Clarity】on himself to maintain sanity amid the surging magical power—though this would cause him tremendous pain.
Facing a LV64 Flame Demon, he didn't dare hold back even slightly. From the start, he went all out at 300% power.
【Ice Ring】
The embedded magic crystal provided him with power amplification far beyond ordinary magic staffs. The ice ring spread outward from the three of them as the center.
It froze the rocky ground and those Lava Golems, finally colliding with the molten wave and barely managing to solidify it.
"We... need to run quickly."
Immense pain stabbed at every nerve in Ivan's body—he couldn't maintain this state for long.
Even with this explosive enhancement, his magic could only barely match the Flame Demon's casual power. If this dragged on, all of them would surely die.
"I'm afraid it won't be that simple."
The Flame Demon had actually moved near the passage entrance while they were blocking the lava, now standing before the three men.
Seeing this, even Ivan rarely let out a curse: "Damn it, if we can get back alive this time, I definitely need to apologize to Kemo. When she said Flame Demons had high intelligence last time, I actually laughed at her..."
"What do we do? Should we retreat?"
The half-dragon glanced back at the passage they'd come from—retreating now might still be possible.
"No, hold on a little longer."
Nova's tone sounded like he'd made some kind of decision. Garr, who had worked with him for 10 years, knew exactly what he was thinking.
"You want to use that? Even so, we might not be able to handle this Flame Demon!"
Ivan remained silent on the side. After blocking another wave of molten lava, he was in too much pain to speak—his last bit of strength had to be saved for the next spell.
Nova didn't explain, only glanced at the half-dragon, who could only choose to trust his captain as always.
A small branch with two tender buds was drawn from Nova's chest.
Lin Jun, who had been watching from afar, immediately noticed this item that appeared on his interface.
【Divine Artifact: Life-Granting Wood Core (Fragment)】
Another divine artifact!
Magical power flowed into it, but not just magical power.
Nova's life force was also being heavily drained—his face visibly grew gaunt.
After finally satisfying the divine artifact's hunger, Nova pointed it at a corner of the Flame Demon's chest—where there was a tiny crack in the rock shell.
It was only after noticing this that he dared to counterattack here.
A tender bud transformed into green light that flashed past, piercing through the Flame Demon's armor and shattering the molten heart within its chest.
The Flame Demon, which had thought victory was assured, suddenly suffered a fatal blow.
With its core destroyed, it could no longer support its massive body. It collapsed beside the lava pool, letting out one last weak wail.
The strongest magical creature Lin Jun had ever seen, which had trapped him alive for several years, died just like that—so abruptly.
Feeling the Sun Stone fragments still heating up beneath his carapace.
So this was the power of divine artifacts...
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