Chapter 70: The Molten Citadel Disaster

The table was silent for a few seconds except for the regular ongoings of the guild.

Then Collin spoke.

"We need the money. The guild credits from the Frost Keep were good, but they won’t last forever. We need to keep pushing." He looked at Emeric. "You said it yourself—we need to get stronger as a party and clear more rifts. We won’t know until we try"

Emeric met his gaze. He made a good point but he did not think it was time to go into a higher ranked rift after several attempts on his life,

"I did."

"Then let’s do this. Together."

Emeric was quiet for a long moment.

Then he nodded.

"Fine. But we retreat at the first sign of trouble."

"Agreed."

---

The commute did not take too long. They were at the entrance of the rift.

They stepped through one by one.

When Emeric’s vision cleared, he found himself standing in a different world.

---

The Molten Citadel was nothing like the Frost Keep.

Of course it wasn’t.

The air was hot and dry. The ground was black volcanic rock, cracked and uneven, with veins of glowing orange lava running through the fissures. Smoke rose from vents in the earth. The sky above was a dull red, like a permanent sunset. Ash drifted down like snow.

"Stay alert," Collin said. "This place is unstable. Watch your footing."

They moved forward in formation.

The first creatures they encountered were a swarm of scorch beetles. They were small and quick. Their glassy body smoking with heat. They swarmed in groups of ten or more, attacking from cracks in the rock.

Emeric used Wind to scatter them. Maynard’s arrows picked them off. Collin’s shield crushed them by the dozen.

"Easy," Maynard said.

"Don’t get cocky," Collin replied.

The second wave of monster attacks was different.

They had walked for what felt like an hour with no incidents until they came upon a cavern of obsidian walls and molten rivers. No doubt melted by heat.

It was being patrolled by a massive four legged creature.

It was a Magma Hound. Its body was black rock, cracked and glowing with internal heat. Its eyes were pools of fire.

"That’s a C-rank beast," Mira said quietly. "We need to be careful."

"Same strategy as always," Collin said. "I’ll draw it. Maynard, ranged. Emeric, flank. Clarisse—"

"On it."

They engaged.

The Magma Hound was fast. Faster than its size suggested. Its claws left trails of fire in the air. Its jaws snapped with enough force to crack stone. Emeric circled right, searching for weak points. The Hound’s body was armored—but its joints were exposed.

He found one.

He closed the distance, Wind gathering around his daggers. Lightning crackled at his heels. He drove both blades into the joint behind the Hound’s front leg.

The creature roared.

It spun, its tail whipping toward him. He dodged—barely. He rolled, came up, and struck again. Another joint. Another wound.

Collin slammed his shield into the Hound’s head. Maynard’s arrows found its chest.

Mira rushed to them to heal a burn on Emeric’s arm. Clarisse’s magic confused the creature, making it stumble.

The Magma Hound collapsed.

"Good," Collin said. "Let’s keep moving."

-The third wave was worse.

It was an open air area. The deeper into the rift they went the more the heat intensified.

They happened upon a nest.

Three Magma Hounds. Two adults. One smaller—a juvenile. They attacked together, coordinating, driving the party back.

"Fall back!" Collin shouted. "Defensive formation!"

They retreated to a narrow cave they had seen earlier. Collin held the front, his shield blocking the Hounds’ attacks. Maynard fired over his shoulder, trying to discourage them from coming any closer.

Mira activated full range magic, keeping everyone alive as the fumes flared even harder. Clarisse’s magic confused one of the adults, making it turn on the other.

Emeric saw an opening.

He climbed the wall—Wind propelling him upward—and dropped onto the juvenile’s back. His daggers found its neck. It collapsed.

The adults were harder.

He was finding it hard to breathe over the gas fumes.

They had to have accounted for this. But the rift diving had been rushed. He couldn’t do anything about it now but he was definitely going to go give Collin a talking to later.

They fought for what felt like hours. Collin’s shield had cracked. Maynard’s arrows ran low. Mira’s mana was nearly depleted. Emeric’s arms ached. Clarisse’s face was pale.

But they won.

They stood over the bodies, breathing hard.

"Everyone okay?" Collin asked.

"Alive," Maynard said.

"For now," Mira said quietly.

---

They should have turned back.

They should have recognized the signs. The increasing difficulty. The dwindling resources. The fact that the rift was deeper than any C-rank had a right to be.

But they pressed on.

They were on what felt like the fifteenth wave of creatures now.

They had come into a vast, open space of black rock and molten rivers. The ceiling was lost in shadow. The air was thick with smoke and heat.

At the center, a creature waited.

A Molten Serpent and it was another massive. Its body coiled around a pillar of obsidian. Its scales were black. Its veins glowed with internal fire. Its eyes were embers.

"That’s the boss," Collin said. "Same plan as before."

"What is it with snakes for bosses?" Emeric said, bringing out his daggers again.

"Let’s take his down and call it a day!" Collin said. ℴ

"No," Emeric said.

Collin looked at him.

"Something’s wrong."

"What?"

Emeric’s Wind affinity stretched outward. He felt the air pressure, the heat and the movement.

The pressure in the air affected his ability to sense the creatures but there was no doubt about it. They were about to be overwhelmed.

"There’s more."

"More what?"

The ground trembled.

From the shadows, more creatures emerged. Magma Hounds. Scorch beetles. Frost—no, not frost. Something else. Fire Sprites. Dozens of them. They poured from cracks in the walls, from tunnels in the floor, from the darkness above.

They were surrounded.

"Defensive formation!" Collin shouted. "Now!"

The party formed up. Collin at the front. Maynard behind him. Mira in the center. Clarisse and Emeric on the flanks.

The creatures attacked.

It was chaos.