Chapter 291: The Reactor

The pressurized cabin of the long-range transport aircraft hummed with the steady roar of its four engines.

Outside the reinforced windows, the darkness of the night slowly gave way to an unnatural red glow. The aircraft had crossed the equator hours ago and was now flying south toward the high, jagged plateau of the Andes.

Down below, the earth was on fire.

Through the cockpit partition, there was no peaceful sunrise waiting on the horizon. Instead, a wall of blood-red storm clouds stretched across hundreds of miles of the high-altitude desert. Crimson lightning flashed through the darkness, striking the barren rock below and lighting up the cabin in bursts of red.

In the center of the cargo hold, Selena stood over the holographic display, studying the map of the Laguna Caliente caldera.

The circular volcanic crater glowed amber on the screen, surrounded by unstable readings that kept shifting.

"The regional hero garrisons in Santiago and Lima have abandoned their forward outposts," Selena explained, her voice steady over the engines. "They couldn’t maintain observation posts within fifty miles of the caldera. The temperature around the rim is over three hundred degrees, and the air is filled with ash and concentrated plasma Qi."

Zero sat on a nearby jump seat with his longsword across his knees. His gloved thumb rested against the pommel, where the purple plague gemstone was humming restlessly.

"The stone inside that creature isn’t sitting in a normal container," Zero said quietly. "It has been fused with a living body for fifty years. The host’s mind is probably long gone, burned away by the power inside it. What remains is little more than a living engine of destruction."

"A walking thermonuclear plant with anger issues," Julie muttered from the rear bench.

She was strapped into a five-point harness and wrapped in three layers of thermal clothing, clutching her new heat-resistant camera rig against her chest. Her face was pale as she stared at the crimson lightning outside.

"I looked up the incident archives while we were fueling in Panama," Julie whimpered, her teeth clicking together. "Thirty years ago, an entire S-rank hero coalition from the Southern League went into that valley to stop it. Twelve heroes. High-level elementals, physical powerhouses, master barrier casters. Do you know how many came back?"

Vixen leaned against the wall across from her, arms crossed and wearing a calm smile.

"None?"

"One!" Julie squeaked, raising a trembling finger. "One guy crawled out through the salt flats with third-degree burns over ninety percent of his body, and his final recorded statement was him whispering the word ’furnace’ until he died! And we’re flying directly into the center of the caldera on an empty stomach!"

"You had two protein bars and an entire bag of dried mangoes twenty minutes ago," Nicholas said flatly.

Julie gasped, deeply offended.

"That was stress snacking, Phantom! A basic metabolic defense mechanism! If my body is about to be vaporized, I at least deserve to meet my maker with adequate caloric reserves!"

Nicholas stood and ignored her complaint. He walked over to the display and studied the map.

His dark combat jacket was open at the collar, and his breathing remained calm despite what waited ahead.

"Can the pilot bring us over the caldera rim?" Nicholas asked Selena.

"Not directly," Selena replied, zooming in on the red zone. "The heat rising from the magma vents is causing extreme turbulence. If we get within ten miles of the center, the engines could choke on volcanic ash. We’re dropping from twenty thousand feet and gliding down. Vixen will handle the final landing."

"Sounds like a lovely afternoon dive," Vixen said, stretching her shoulders. Spatial energy shimmered faintly around her fingertips. "I’ll make sure Julie lands somewhere soft. Like a pile of hot sulphur."

"I am writing you out of my will, Vixen," Julie said, tightening the straps on her camera gimbal. "I am leaving all my ad revenue to a golden retriever."

"Thirty percent still goes to the LLC," Nicholas reminded her.

Julie buried her face in her hands and let out a defeated scream.

The jump alarm suddenly blared through the cabin.

WHOOO-WHOOO-WHOOO.

The cabin lights changed to red.

The pilot’s voice came through the intercom, tight with tension.

"Strike team, we are five miles from the outer storm wall. Extreme turbulence ahead. Surface temperatures are rising rapidly. Drop zone approaching in sixty seconds!"

Nicholas moved toward the rear cargo ramp, keeping his balance as the aircraft began to shake violently.

Selena, Zero, and Vixen followed. Selena checked the latches on the empty containment case against her chest, while Zero took a slow breath and steadied his Qi against the heat waiting outside.

Julie unbuckled her harness with trembling hands and hurried after them, staying firmly between Selena and Nicholas.

"Ramp opening!" Selena called.

The heavy latches released with a loud hiss.

The rear ramp lowered into the storm, and the heat of the Andes rushed into the cabin.

The heat was immediate and suffocating. Dry, sulfur-filled wind slammed into them, carrying red ash and pieces of black volcanic glass that struck their armor and visors.

Far below, gaps in the crimson clouds revealed the caldera. Rivers of orange magma flowed through the black volcanic rock like glowing veins.

And in the middle of the molten lake, something moved.

A colossal silhouette rose from the boiling magma, towering over the surrounding rock.

Two burning crimson eyes opened.

They looked up through twenty thousand feet of storm and locked directly onto the aircraft.

"Jump," Nicholas said.

Without hesitation, Nicholas stepped off the ramp and disappeared into the storm.

Zero, Selena, Vixen, and a screaming Julie followed, their bodies quickly swallowed by the crimson clouds.

Meanwhile, eight miles to the north, three figures crouched on a frozen ridge of black volcanic rock overlooking the caldera.

Sniper lay behind a jagged outcrop, his dark coat pulled tightly around him. His long rifle rested against the rock as he watched the tiny figures falling through the storm.

"They’re dropping right into the pit," Sniper muttered, his cigarette struggling against the wind. "Crazy bastards. It’s hot enough down there to melt the soles off your boots, and they’re diving into it like it’s a swimming pool."

A pool of dark shadow spread across the rock beside him.

Shadow rose from it, her pale face covered in soot and her oversized hood pulled tightly around her head. She hugged her knees, trembling beneath the enormous pressure coming from the valley below.

"It’s too loud..." Shadow whispered.

Her voice was barely audible beneath the thunder.

"The thing in the fire... it isn’t human anymore. It feels like a star trapped inside a body. If it notices us, the heat will burn my shadows away before I can escape."

Behind them stood Hexi.

His chest was still wrapped in fresh bandages, and his injured ribs ached with every breath, but none of that mattered to him.

His eyes were fixed on the boiling caldera.

"Look at that power..." Hexi whispered, a twisted grin spreading across his face as black miasma leaked from his fingers and disappeared in the heat.

"The Earth Stone back in the cave was just a stone sitting in the dirt. But this... this is what happens when that cosmic energy fuses with a living body."

Hexi stepped forward, loose pieces of shale sliding from beneath his boots.

"The heroes think they’re going to put down a monster," he laughed. "They’re going to exhaust themselves trying to crack that walking volcano open. And when that crimson stone falls out of its skull..."

His grin widened.

"We won’t just take it back to Master. We will take it for ourselves."

Sniper took a slow drag from his cigarette, keeping his rifle aimed toward the crater.

"Sure thing, boss," he drawled. "Just let me know when you want me to shoot the sun. I’m sure it’ll feel great."

Down in the caldera, the red storm grew louder.

The S-rank calamity raised its massive magma-covered head.

Its mouth opened into a huge, furnace-like maw filled with raw plasma.

A blinding crimson light spread across the mountain range.

Then it roared.

The sound shook the air above the peaks.