Alden staggered.

All around him, a furious rumble shook Inferno’s Plain as if an enraged Colossus had descended on the igneous land. Following that, a vast crack rolled across the molten plain like a deafening thunderclap - the frozen layer shrouding it immediately hissed, melting, the resulting steam boiling and evaporating almost in an instant.

’Not good.’

The golden web in Alden’s vision quaked.

The squall of violent motion was even more intense than when the Defiled Salamander had first arrived to slay them for trespassing.

Alden’s expression turned grim.

The Keeper’s Apprentice disappeared just in time to evade a ferocious breath from the Salamander. At the same time, the ground beneath him shattered, heralding a fountain of hot, scorching, sizzling magma.

Alden reappeared beside Yuki and Isolde, seeking safety in the Frost Clan duo’s ice.

He stared at the burning landscape, his gaze reflecting a molten plain drowning in rivers of fire.

Yuki and Isolde bit deep into their reserves, unleashing torrents of ice.

Unfortunately, both were still a half step away from becoming Experts, so the overall effect they had was not as significant. However, that was not to say they were not useful.

As the two members of the Frost Clan pressed their hands together, forming a large, expanding crystal sphere which hissed in the scorching heat of Inferno’s Plain, Avel, Terra and Clay created barricades of earth, quickly sealing away any nearby fissures which threatened to spew more fountains of hot, liquid fire.

With the rest of the Provisional Paladin Squad protected by Yuki and Isolde, Alden did not have to worry about them. He shifted his gaze towards his right hand - there was no longer any sign of the Defiled’s spawn.

Sensing the urge to devour within him grow stronger and stronger, the Keeper’s Apprentice gritted his teeth and growled. In the next moment, a searing breath slammed into the crystal sphere, destroying several layers of ice and some of the supporting stone beneath.

A burst of golden light escaped Raphaela’s staff from behind, lending them a surge of renewed vigour. That sudden rush was able to dispel some of the maddening desire afflicting Alden, but only for a very brief moment.

A heartbeat later, the urge to devour almost overwhelmed him again.

With the way things had unfolded so far, Alden had a genuine fear he would lose himself within the troubling sensation, unable to distinguish between friend and foe, his sanity eroded from trying to keep himself in check.

So... he had to end the battle before things got too out of hand.

Teleporting, Alden allowed his hunger and surging blood lust to fuel his movements. He materialised in the air above the Defiled Djinn, his white hair flapping in the wind.

As inertia grabbed at his frame, the Keeper’s Apprentice waved his hand.

Immediately, a volley of gleaming abyssal shards blasted towards the Salamander, each projectile imbued with [Haste]. At the last possible moment, he snapped his finger, willing the shards to ignite with a dark, dreadful flame.

At the same time, down below, Avel and Clay slammed into the abomination.

As the barrage of abyssal shards assaulted the Defiled Salamander, consuming a few of its molten scales, the abomination spun and let out a pained roar, fixing its fury on Alden. Seemingly recalling what he had done to its spawn, or rather sensing the fading scent of its dead child on him, the Fire Salamander’s rage soared - if that was even still possible.

Meeting the abomination’s frenzied gaze, Alden grinned.

...That grin faltered a moment later, though.

Because just then, a fountain of fire erupted beneath the Salamander. However, instead of burning, the abomination simply absorbed the hot, scorching magma into its frame.

And in the next moment... unleashed a breath so searing that Alden feared the very air would melt.

A squall of ice-cold terror flared in his heart.

Alden could feel it. This breath was almost twice as strong as the Djinn’s usual attack.

As his gaze constricted and time slowed to a crawl, the Keeper’s Apprentice shifted, abyssal decay bursting to life in his hands. A pair of dark, stygian gauntlets swiftly formed. Then, after solidifying, a surge of decay escaped from Alden, coalescing to form eight, lightless tentacles. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

They roiled frantically, as if mirroring his urge to devour.

Very soon, the scorching breath was upon him.

Alden gritted his teeth, surrendering himself completely to his instincts.

Inertia continued to grab at him, relentless in its pull. However, as the scorching breath tore through the air like a blazing, infernal beam ready to incinerate him, Alden used its persistent pull to his advantage.

The Keeper’s Apprentice relaxed his body, falling through the air just that little bit faster. Thanks to that, he no longer had to face the incandescent beam head on.

That didn’t mean Alden was out of danger, though.

However...

As decay gushed out of him like a river, shrouding his stygian gauntlets in a dark, nebulous pall, Alden redirected the scorching breath away from him. Even though he no longer had to face the ray head-on, the impact still crashed into him, stealing his breath away and rattling his insides.

The Keeper’s Apprentice bit back a scream, feeling as if his arms would come off.

Alden gritted his teeth harder, opening the gate to his mana reserves, holding nothing back. The dark tentacles surrounding him wrapped around his figure as he redirected the infernal beam.

The appendages and his decay devoured the flames, the heat, and anything which threatened to harm him, yet Alden still felt like he was suffocating in a boiling furnace. The sleeves of the fabric covering his arms quickly turned to ash, while his skin turned red.

Like the pain generated from sliding on a thick rope, Alden sensed himself burn.

His decay churned, consuming and devouring the fiery beam like a starved beast gone mad.

However, it still wasn’t quite enough.

As his decay flickered, his mana reserves close to drying out, Alden finally escaped the range of the scorching beam. He plummeted to the ground like a fiery comet, a network of burns and scars marring his figure.

Less than a moment later, he crashed into the molten plain, breaching its surface layer.

As currents of hot air slammed into his back, the young man shifted his crimson gaze, a vast fiery pool reflected within, drawing closer and closer with every heartbeat that passed.

Alden cursed his terrible luck.

’Blasted Ast....’