Chapter Thirty-Four


    Dark smoke and sanguine fire mixed, undulated, and morphed, changing and growing. Wings of shining stone lit ablaze, with membranes of shadow catching the sandy wind. Before him was what looked like a dragon of shadow and flame.


    All around them was nothing but golden sand, broken stone, and darkness above, lit only by the dim light of the hole they had fallen through. Heat from the flames made the sand glow a molten cherry color. Akaroth roared, the hallow of her throat lit up with iridescent blue, the smell of ozone, ash, and molten sand hanging in the air.


    She opened her maw, and lightning struck forth in a concentrated breath of arcing destruction.


    But the Djinn wasn’t out of tricks, yet. Its now serpentine head with burning coals for eyes swung around, and from its own maw, it unleashed umbric flame.


    With a sound like tearing rock, and sundering flame, the two elements clashed. Lightning, shadow, and fire mixed to create a truly mythological image of power.


    For a moment, it looked as if the Djinn might win the exchange, its beam pushing the lightning back. But Akaroth was no longer truly a dragon. She was an object, an axe with a consciousness, yes, but still an object.


    That meant he could infuse it.


    [Hellfire Manipulation] activated, and infernal mana rushed out of his core into Akaroth. Fires of acrid flame and gloom wreathed the blue lightning, giving it a rush of power. Ambrose could feel it when the Djinn put more mana into its attack, but it just wasn’t enough as Akaroth’s attack split through the shadow fire like an arrow splitting another arrow down the middle.


    A detonation of thundering boom and wildfire shook the ground as the attack landed. Blasted away, the Djinn skidded against the sand, creating a molten trail across the ground. Akaroth leaped onto the Djinn, raking with her claws.


    Like being shredded away, Akaroth’s claws rended shadow and smoke. Moving like an eel, the Djinn turned, biting at Akaroth with smoldering teeth.


    Akaroth pushed away, wings flapping, she rose into the air. Roaring, Akaroth breathed more lightning onto the Djiin, who rolled away and pushed into the air itself, wings of shadow creating a halo of darkness around it.


    Flying through the air, Ambrose tightened his legs around Akaroth as the two exchanged blows. She lashed out with a claw, and the Djinn ducked its head, avoiding the blow.


    Ambrose felt a little useless here, and the longer the battle raged on, the more mana he burned. Using [Infernal Sanctuary], he sent out chains of silver coated in a murky fire that he willed to wrap around the Djinn’s wings.


    He yanked on the chains with his will, and the Djinn cried out in a rumbling roar. Sending his thoughts to Akaroth, she enacted his plan, crashing into the Djinn and bringing it to the ground once more. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    It tried to slash out with its claws, but the mother of storms ignored it, pressing all of her weight into the creature. Using her front two claws, she grabbed the snout and jaw of the Djinn, yanking them apart.


    As she did, lightning built up in her throat, the ominous glow dancing with the shadow as Akaroth bent her head forward and unleashed devastation into the mouth of the Djinn.


    Like a vase shattering in slow motion, the fire, shadow, and gleaming stone of the Djinn’s body began to fracture, crack, and flake apart.


    The Djinn didn’t cry out in pain or rage. Instead, it let out a sigh. A sigh of something laying down a great burden. A sigh of relief.


    A final pulse of darkness echoed around them as the Djinn burned itself out into ashes on the sandy wind.


    Ambrose dismissed Akaroth’s form, landing on the ground, and the axe settled into his grip.


    [You have defeated a Fire Djinn Level 188. Due to defeating a foe beyond your level, you have earned increased experience. You have advanced to level 173.]


    A satisfying battle Akaroth projected into his mind. She sounded utterly smug. Noelle was a grumbling feeling in the back of his mind. She was upset with him, and he knew why.


    Consistently, Ambrose chose not to involve her in fights. He had a lot to get to and chose to give her some space for now. He rolled his neck and warily eyed the swirling darkness that coalesced where the Djinn’s body had been.


    Like the material of the body that had made up the Djinn, a dark stone with a center of burnished ember formed in the air. A notification appeared in front of him.


    [Claim the Djinn’s heart to clear the dungeon.]


    Ambrose waved the notification away and focused on the heart, tapping his [Retributions Gaze] skill.


    [Fire Djinn Heart-Epic]: The hearts of Djinn appear after the elementals have been defeated. It is an epic ingredient used for smithing, enchanting, or alchemy. It is said these hearts are formed from the leftover essence the spirits must leave behind when leaving the material realm.]


    He deposited the heart into his infernal realm. I’ve overcome another obstacle. One step closer to Eric. Having this, he had a real shot of allying with the dwarves and putting an end to this Incursion.


    Looking at his advancement, Ambrose had fifty-six points to spend. Some might say it is better to leave it alone for now. He hated doing that.


    He brought up his stats.


    [Constitution: 290


    Strength: 290


    Intellect: 290


    Wisdom: 287


    Willpower: 300]


    The first thing he did was bring all of his stats to three hundred. This cost him forty-three points. He assigned the final thirteen to his willpower. He looked over his stats with a nod. So far, he has maintained a fairly balanced advancement.


    Soon, he needed to think more about his Icon. Maybe an axe? He ran his fingers through his beard. He used an axe often, but did he most identify with one? No, not really. He was more than just a weapon, even if he didn’t feel it sometimes.


    [Would you like to teleport out of the dungeon?


    Y/N?]


    He mentally selected yes, and in a flash of darkness, he appeared at the entrance of the dungeon. Now, he needed to return to the dwarf. He was eager to do so, and at the same time, he wasn’t. He had been going at what felt like full-speed. Alice deserved that from him.


    But a weariness had slithered into his mind and settled onto his shoulders. Fight after fight, problem after problem. He needed to take that next step, but that weariness was holding him back.


    So, he took a break and sat down in front of the cave. He cleared his thoughts and allowed some images to come to him.


    Was he like a hammer? No, I’m not. Maybe he was an inferno, but again, that didn’t feel quite right. It wasn’t wrong, though. That thread of thought called to him. He focused his mind, like he would in battle, and let himself follow it. Hammers and fire, was something there?


    Yes, but what? He thought. A frown had curled his lips. He could feel the connection, just out of reach.


    It was sometime before he decided to give it up and open a portal back to Aleksei.


    A council with the dwarven king awaited him.