Its roar shook their minds. However, this was the sixth time they had faced this foenow, it was nothing more than a mindless blunter on its part.

Maria raised her weapon, her left hand striding against the blade as her right guarded before her.

The sharp jaws of the beast scrapped in a metallic ring against the blade as she stood her ground.

A figure came forth.

Ashe's accurately landed against its snout, the hardiness of bone creaking before her might.

The Hazard Flame Wolf staggered aback. Its reddish black tinted fur shaking with its body.

"."

The ground beneath the beast's four paws quaked into a blaze as a blazing inferno of a rope spurted alive and pounced onto its body. It whimpered as the rope latched onto its body and stung below its fur as its figure was truly bound.

A silver blade drew against the night air, gleaming with the moonlight as it flew towards its target.

A clean slice.

Ais sheathed her blade.

Blood flowed as the head of the beast detached and its body fell.

"Ugh," Arthur was the first to break the silence as he watched Ashe pull the core from the beast's core.

There had already been a silent agreement for her to take all the demonic beast's core they came across.

"I don't think we'll be able to find that temple anytime soon at this rate."

A blaze of blue flames. A low screech of the dying remnant soul of the beast within. The core turned dull in her hand before dropping down in a clink.

"Mhmm." She nodded.

Maria clapped her hands together as her Radiant set disappeared in a cove of light.

"It's time to split up into twos then, anyone against it?" She asked.

Seeing no raises of doubt, she continued.

"Good..."

"Then, Ashe and Arthur will travel together, this brother of mine is physically weak while you are magically weak. Overall, both of your styles are at opposite ends, however, this will make it easier to compliment each other well in battle." She pointed towards the two.

"I and Ais will move as one as....well...that's really the only choice left. She is my personal guard, after all, nothing could be more fitting." She shrug.

Ashe and Arthur looked towards each other.

They both grimaced.

"If you guys find it first, mix both of your flames into the sky. And if we find it first, look for a gigantic floating golden blade. After that, wait for each other and meet up before anything else is decided. Understandable?" Maria finished.

***

The two orbs, one a reddish tint and another a hazy white light, one from the Crimson Reaper and the other from Bultak, lightly played atop her palm to her whim as Ashe walked in deep thought.

'Hmm...'

"Why haven't you consumed them yet?" Arthur asked, his hands behind his head as he walked leisurely, a twinge of curiosity apparent within his voice.

They were currently deep within a valley raven, although it was a bit dark, with the magma continuously flowing through the cracks of the floor, they could still see their way quite easily. Though, the imposing mass of the mountainous walls at both sides were a bit nerve-wracking.

"I'm debating something." Ashe simply replied.

"What?" He raised a brow.

She stopped and turned towards him.

Her crimson eyes staring into his.

"To devour them now and increase my strength or wait until later."

He stopped as well and shrugged, "Why even wait?"

Ashe began back in a walk.

Arthur followed as silence trickled on.

"You see..." She finally began after some thought.

There was, after all, nothing wrong nor bad about him knowing a bit of info about the true depths of her power...right?

"Within the first 2 minutes of me consuming a demonic beast's core, I may use one of its abilities randomly. So I do sometimes keep a steady supply at the ready. I hadn't kept the core of the Crow we fought before because it seemed to only have the ability to shoot its feathers...which is useless if you do not have feathers." She trailed off for a moment.

'Oh?' The Boy was immediately intrigued.

"Unlike humans who's powers resides in their soul and allows them to have an infinite combination of possible skills. A demonic beast's abilities are usually severely tied with their physical body."

"Oh..." The eyes of the boy shined in understanding.

"Interesting."

"I suppose that's true." Ashe simply replied.

'Hmm?'

[...nothing.]

They continued on in an air of slight awkwardness while carefully avoiding any danger of magma beneath their feet.

And soon...

"Heck is that?" Arthur whistled as his eyes slightly widened.

Ashe squinted her eyes.

At the end of the raven was a flaming pile of boulders simply quietly and steadily there.

And when they reached 25 meters from its heat...

The area began in a quake as the ground beneath their feet rumbled.

Arthur and Ashe looked at one another before looking back at the blockage of the road before them with furrowed brows.

It was quite a mystifying scene...

The heated reddish boulders floated into the air, 6 in total, before forming the slight shape of a humanoid being lit ablaze. Finally...

A horrendous roar echoed as the rocks forcefully smashed into one, the air exploding forth with flames for a splitting moment.

A new figure came into being as it thundered onto the ground and fully raised itself from its crouched position.

The duo frowned as they had to look upward to glean at the figure...

A gigantic humanoid mass lit ablaze in flames, towering over the two and at the very least both their heights combined. An empty eye socket that held nothing but a dark hole. It was a crudely rocky figure, chunks of rocks protruding from its bipedal self. Its arms and legs seemed as big as tree trunks and its massive head to glare down at the two.

"My name is Ignius, Ignius the flame giant." Its voice thundered.

"This is my valley."

The duo looked at each other.

It made its presence known in a mostly empty area...

It talked...

All these signs pointed to only one thing...

It was a fing boss!!

...and behind it...the exit of the valley.

"All who cross my territory must meet death!"

Its gigantic right fist flew forwards as it took massive steps that thundered against the world.

Ashe instantly held a bad premonition, her beastly instincts screaming danger.

"3rd form!!"

Her core pumped and bet in drums as blood rushed crazily around her body.

Fur rose from her skin as her entire body underwent a new change. Ash gray fur crawling onto her body, her arms transforming into beastly claws, and her crimson eyes seemed to deepen and narrow into a glare.

She clenched her fist.

Bang

Blood spluttered from her lips as she felt the massive force crash into her.

Her feet skidded against the ground as she dug a trench within,

The soles of her footwear ripped to reveal a transformed beastly form as the claws within forcefully dug into the earth.

Her right arm creaked in pain and she felt as if it could break at any moment.

"Hurry up!" She screamed.

She felt the heat within the area rise in an exceptional degree and an orange hue overshadowing the land.

She looked ahead leftward to see the boy fling his hand.

"Fireball!"

A rising sun crashed into the gigantic arm.

Boom

An explosive force ripped apart the area as it brightened in engulfing flames.

Chunks of the rocky arm of the 'beast' exploded every which way as the limb blew apart.

However...Ashe's expression was anything but happiness of winning.

"A Flame Mage?" The voice of Igrius rang in curiosity.

Chunks of rock floated back into the air, from the surroundings, ripping straight from the ground and forming into a new arm for the flaming beast.

"A lowly creature dares to play with fire before me!!?!" Its hand waved once.

A sea of flames instantly burst forwards with that singular wave, consuming the depths of the valley as it thundered forth. Towering above the two figures in an intense heat.

"Get behind me!" Ashe commanded, and Arthur followed her word.

Her crimson eyes burned towards the flames.

She gapped her mouth open as a bluish orb like aura floated at the depths of her throat, burning in great intensity.

"!"

Vroom

A blue pillar of flames boomed through the air as it shot forwards, tearing through the night sky in a mighty ring.

Boom

The night shined in an azure and orange hue as the two flaming mights collided.

The valley scorched in radiating heat as the air asundered.

Ashe's core ran into overdrive as it continuously pumped power onto her attack while her bloodlust fueled her rage.

Her crimson eyes seemed to deepen.

Finally...

The azure pillar of flames pieced through the sea of orange blaze.

"What!?!" Ignius screamed in disbelief.

Boom

"Ugghhh."

The giant's hands crossed before itself as he forcefully took the might of the blow.

Its body skidded backwards as a deep trench formed with the soles of its feet breaking through the earth.

"Ahhhhh!"

It flung its arms out, as if breaking through the flames as the rocky texture continued to break.

"

A bang rang as an explosive force resounded from within the golem's body.

It was like a exploding star as a raging behemoth of fiery flames exploded outwards with it as the center.

Swallowing everything within its path, the flames devoured even the azure pillar and Ashe was forced to close her mouth and backtrack from fear of being consumed along with it.

It was not until moments passed before the flames dissipated and the rock giant stood in fury.

"To test me at my own game!?!" Its voice thundered, enraged. Ignius's body regenerating visibly as chunks of the earth seemed to crawl back onto its burning figure.

An existence which could regenerate?

Arthur held an answer to that!

"!"

His mana fanned out as he held his right arm forwards.

Ignius looked around his area and staring back at him was a barrage of fireballs surrounding his very existence in full.

Arthur clenched his hand.

Small explosions rippled through the air.

The boy looked back and couldn't help but lightly frown.

Ashe breathed in rush breaths as she crouched forwards.

A cough escaped her lips and the reddish ground before her dyed a new

[That took too much of a toll on the core.] Ain's voice resounded from her head.

[You should consume one of the cores...]

'Not yet.' She clenched her teeth.

Her body stood back up.

The fireballs did absolute nothing as the towering giant stood back up as if only a fly had bitten him.

"Hmm, it seems something is supply it with its regenerative power. Based on the traces of its mana covering the earth below its feet, it's safe to say its demonic core is pulling the earth and its element to heal it." Arthur quickly spoke, high enough for Ashe to hear.

"