Chapter 1018: Reaching The Inside Of The Volcano

Chapter 1018: Reaching The Inside Of The Volcano



As the party finished clearing out what remained of the kobold army, deep inside the dungeon tunnels, it was clear to them that they were getting nearer the dungeon's core now.

"What is it with this heat? I thought it was supposed to be a dormant volcano..." Alex complained.

"Remember when I said it was becoming active again? Or were you not listening during the briefing?" David replied, looking at him with exasperation.

"I know, but still... I'm sweating all over. It's hotter than Satan's ba-oof!" Alex started saying before Kary elbowed him in the ribs.

"There are kids with us. Mind your choice of words," she admonished him with a glare. "Sorry," he replied with an apologetic gaze, rubbing his side.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

David chuckled as he kept walking, well aware of the landmine he evaded by keeping his mouth shut.

"In any case, this can only mean one thing," he said, looking at a bend in the tunnel ahead, where he could see a bright orange glow.

With the tunnels up to now having been dark from the start, seeing this glow was the cue for them to get on high alert.

"We've reached the epicentre of the dungeon," he declared, turning the corner and entering a vast open space.

He had to halt abruptly, as the tunnel ended on a narrow ledge, with a drop of several hundred feet leading into a small lake of magma below. The ledge extended to both his right and left, leading to bridges leading down to an elevated platform in the cavern's center.

On this platform, a semblance of a settlement was erected, with huts made of volcanic stone, all amassed around what looked like an altar in the center.

The construction looked like a dragon's head, sculpted in stone and adorned with bones, made to look down on the ones worshipping it below.

In its eyes sockets, two glowing orbs of vivid red shone in the already orange glow of the magma reflecting off the walls, making the statue look like it was watching everyone.

"That's creepy," Cory said, shivering as he saw the statue from afar.

Behind the settlement, opposite the ledge they stood on, a path carved in stone disappeared into the far-end wall. But by the dragon carving over the crack in the wall at the end of the path, Alex knew where this led instinctively.

Kary frowned at the lizard's words, something not adding up.

"Are you fighting under threat? Is that truly your motivation? Why don't you just let us through, and we can deal with him for you?" she asked, confused.

Spitting toward Kary, the lizard glared at her.

"As if your kind would ever have the power to contend against something as powerful as the great one. Don't mock me, human."

Alex wanted to interrupt the conversation and be done with the kobold, but when he stepped forward, Kary glared at him from the corner of her eye.

"He's mine," she growled.

Alex immediately backed off, raising his hands in surrender.

"Okay, don't bite my head off, jeez..."

"Just deal with the rest of the kobolds. I'll deal with this one," she replied, locking her eyes on him.

The sorcerer could tell the humans were about to split up, but he couldn't care less. He was already reaching deep within himself to prepare for a spell that would end them all, and he

couldn't be bothered to try to hold them together.

They would all burn equally.

Looking down on Kary, he opened his arms wide, the mana inside him welling up abruptly.

"May the wrath of fire devour your impertinence and teach you the meaning of power."

As he erupted with power, one last phrase escaped his lips.

"Volcanus Iram: Rain of Death."