Chapter 315: The Burning Earth (Part 2)

The molten earth closed in from both sides, Raze’s sword still planted in the ground, his arms shaking violently under the weight of holding the technique steady. The remaining hunters sprinted for the safe platform behind him.

One glanced back mid-stride. "Raze!"

"Don’t look back!" he shouted. "Just keep running!"

The path narrowed further, the molten walls creeping inward inch by inch. He gritted his teeth and forced more mana into the blade, the path widening by a few precious inches in response.

"Come on..."

The first hunter reached the platform. Then another. Then a third. Mira stood at the far edge, waving them through. "Keep moving!"

Only three hunters remained. Raze’s voice cracked with the strain. "MOVE!"

They ran. One stumbled, his boot slipping near the edge of the molten ground, and the hunter beside him grabbed his arm and hauled him upright. "Get up!"

The path collapsed faster now, walls closing tighter with every second.

"Faster!"

The final three crossed, Mira grabbing the last one by the collar and pulling him bodily behind the emergency barrier. "Everyone’s through!"

Raze exhaled hard. "...Good."

He released the technique. The molten earth crashed together instantly.

BOOOOOOM!

The path vanished, smoke and heat rolling outward, and for several seconds nobody could see him at all.

Mira’s expression shifted. "Raze?"

Then a figure burst out of the smoke, landing hard on the safe platform. His greatsword slipped from his fingers and hit the stone.

CLANG.

Mira rushed over. "Are you hurt?"

He was breathing hard, chest heaving. "...No."

"You’re lying."

He looked down at his own trembling hands. "...Maybe a little."

She sighed. "Idiot."

He looked toward the hunters he’d just pulled clear, all of them alive, all of them standing. He smiled. "Worth it."

Kai landed nearby a moment later, Air Run carrying him across the ruined district in a few smooth strides. He looked at Raze, then at the massive scar carved through the earth, then at the rescued hunters catching their breath along the platform’s edge.

"You made it."

"Barely," Raze said.

Kai studied the scorched corridor. "That attack."

Raze glanced at his sword. "Earthbreaker."

"Yeah."

"It works."

Kai laughed. "Apparently."

Raze looked out over the still-glowing battlefield. "It doesn’t stop the disaster."

"It doesn’t need to." Kai gestured toward the hunters. "It gives us a way through."

Raze’s grin widened. "Exactly."

Mira joined them, arms crossed. "How many more times can you use it?"

Raze thought about it. "...The full version?"

She nodded.

"Maybe one."

"And the smaller version?" Kai asked.

"A few." Raze lifted the greatsword, testing its weight. "Full Grand Cleave burns too much mana." He looked toward the molten terrain stretching out ahead. "And the bigger the path, the harder it gets to hold open."

Kai nodded. "Then don’t waste it."

Raze grinned. "Wasn’t planning to."

Across the plaza, Lily was already pulling his combat data across her console, eyes brightening the moment the readouts settled. "Wait."

Elden glanced over. "What?"

She pulled up the city map, marking several isolated sections in quick succession. "We don’t need Raze to clear the Burning Earth." She traced a line between two disconnected districts. "We need him to connect them."

Elden’s eyes widened. "Temporary routes."

"Exactly." She kept marking locations. "Whenever a district gets isolated, Raze opens a path."

"Then we move hunters, medical teams, and mobile relays straight through it," Elden added.

Lily smiled. "Exactly."

Mira walked over to Raze, arms still crossed. "Congratulations."

He raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"You’re now part of the city’s emergency transportation system."

He stared at her. "...What?"

She laid out the plan while he listened, expression shifting from confusion to something closer to resignation. He looked at Kai. "I’m a road now?"

Kai laughed. "A temporary one."

Raze shook his head slowly. "I spent all this time becoming stronger." He raised the greatsword. "And now I’m building roads."

"Useful roads," Mira said, grinning.

He sighed. "Fine."

Another district went dark on Lily’s map a short while later, isolated by a fresh eruption.

"Raze! District Five!" she called over the network.

He was already moving, reaching the edge of the molten zone within moments, a group of hunters waiting anxiously on the far side. "When the path opens, don’t stop."

They nodded.

This time he didn’t gather the full technique, pulling in a smaller amount of mana instead. "Earthbreaker."

He swung.

BOOM!

A narrow path opened, and the hunters rushed through without hesitation. He lowered the sword, breathing steadier than before. "That’s better."

Kai watched, noting the difference immediately, the attack smaller but far more efficient than the first one. "You’re learning."

"Had to," Raze said.

The ground shook violently a moment later.

BOOOOOOM!

A huge section of the city erupted, then another, then a third in quick succession, safe routes vanishing as fast as they were mapped.

Lily’s face tightened. "Environmental stabilization network is reaching critical."

"How long can it hold?" Elden asked.

"Not much longer."

"Everyone toward the elevated zones!" Mira shouted, already moving hunters into position.

Kai looked out across Mythal. The city felt like it was being torn apart from beneath its own feet.

"The second half has begun," Tiamat said.

"I noticed," Kai answered quietly.

A large defensive building started sinking nearby, tilting slowly into the glowing ground. A hunter looked toward Kai. "Should we try to save it?"

Kai studied the building, then the relay attached to it, then the hunters waiting for his answer.

"No."

The hunter hesitated.

Kai pointed at the relay tower instead. "Save the relay."

The building collapsed behind them.

BOOM!

The hunters moved without another word. Mira nodded. "People first."

"Critical systems second," Lily added.

"Everything else is expendable," Elden finished.

Raze kept moving through it all, one path here, a smaller strike there, a controlled Grand Cleave when the gap demanded it. Every use drained him a little more, his breathing growing heavier, his arms trembling harder each time he lifted the blade.

Mira noticed. "Raze."

"I’m fine."

"You’re slowing down."

He looked at his sword. "...I know." Then toward another stranded group in the distance. "But they need a path."

She sighed. "You’re going to kill yourself."

He grinned. "Not today."

Kai fell in beside him a while later, watching him catch his breath between calls. "You know, you could let someone else handle one."

Raze glanced at him. "Who?"

Kai looked around at the ruined district, at Sera holding a barrier steady nearby, at Mira hauling debris off a collapsed relay. "...Fair point."

Raze laughed. "Exactly."

"You’re really enjoying this," Kai said.

"A little."

"Even though you’re exhausted?"

Raze shrugged, wiping sweat from his brow. "I finally got an ability that lets me do something nobody else can."

"That’s the point of getting stronger," Kai said.

Raze looked out over the burning city. "Yeah." A pause. "Not just hitting harder."

Kai smiled. "Exactly."

[Burning Earth Duration: 5:06.]

Lily read it aloud. "We’re halfway."

Everyone paused for half a breath. Five minutes survived, but the city already sat badly scarred.

"Infrastructure?" Elden asked.

"Lower than we wanted," Lily said.

"Hunters?" Mira asked.

"Still above seventy percent."

Kai nodded. "Then we’re still on target."

Raze glanced at the timer. "Five more."

"Five more minutes," Kai corrected.

"That’s what I meant," Raze said, laughing despite the exhaustion pulling at his voice.

The next wave hit far harder than anything before it, the ground beneath three districts collapsing almost simultaneously.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Floating platforms shook violently. Hunters lost their footing. A relay tower toppled, crashing into the street below.

"Move the network!" Lily shouted, already rerouting.

"Where?" Elden asked.

"North!"

"North is unstable!"

Gabriel, standing nearby, suddenly went still, watching the pattern of cracks spreading through the district. "Wait."

Kai turned toward her. "What?"

She pointed at the glowing fractures. "The eruptions aren’t random." Everyone paused. "They’re following the heat."

Elden’s eyes widened. "The underground pressure."

Gabriel nodded. "The old records mentioned something similar. Certain civilizations mapped the pattern before it repeated."

Lily was already adjusting the network. "Then we can predict the next eruption."

"Not perfectly," Elden cautioned.

"We don’t need perfect," Lily said.

She started marking likely zones on the map. "Three."

A crack appeared exactly there.

BOOM!

She pointed again. "Five."

The ground erupted right on cue.

Elden smiled despite himself. "We’re starting to read it."

"Keep going," Kai said.

For a few minutes, the team stopped merely reacting and started anticipating, catching eruptions a beat before they landed.

Then the entire southern section of the city lit up at once, brighter and wider than anything before it.

Lily’s expression fell. "...That’s too much."

Three hunter groups were trapped this time, the terrain between them and safety stretched impossibly far. Raze looked at the distance and understood immediately what it would take.

"Raze, don’t," Mira said sharply.

He looked at her. "They need a path."

"You’re already exhausted."

"I know." He gripped the sword tighter. "But I can still make one."

Kai stepped closer. "You don’t have to."

Raze smiled. "I know." He walked forward anyway. "That’s why I’m choosing to."

He planted his feet, and mana gathered around the blade in far greater volume than before, his sword shaking violently in his grip, breathing turning rough and uneven.

"Earthbreaker..."

The energy compressed, the ground cracking beneath his boots from the sheer pressure of it.

"GRAND CLEAVE!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The earth split across a massive distance, a corridor tearing open wide enough for all three groups at once. The hunters bolted the instant it formed.

"Move!" Kai shouted.

They ran. The path held.

For a moment.

Then the molten earth began flowing inward from both sides at once, faster than anything Raze had produced before.

His eyes widened. "...That’s new."

Mira’s voice cut sharp through the chaos. "Raze!"

The hunters were still only halfway across, the path shrinking around them. Raze’s breathing turned ragged, and he knew immediately he couldn’t summon another full Grand Cleave, not with what little he had left.

He refused to move anyway, planting his sword into the cracking ground.

"KEEP MOVING!"

They sprinted harder. The molten walls closed. One meter. Two. Three. He forced the last of his reserves into the blade, the path widening by a fraction.

"COME ON!"

Kai saw exactly what he was doing. "Raze!"

Raze glanced back just long enough to grin. "I’ve got it!"

Only one hunter remained, nearly across, the gap shrinking around his final steps. He jumped the last stretch, and Mira caught him bodily on the far side.

"Got him!"

Raze exhaled and let the technique go. The molten earth crashed together behind him.

BOOM!

He vanished into the smoke. For a long moment, nobody moved.

Then he jumped clear of it, landing hard on the platform, sword clattering from his hand.

CLANG.

Mira ran to him. "You’re an idiot."

He smiled, exhausted. "They made it."

She looked toward the rescued hunters, all of them alive, all of them standing. "Yes."

He nodded, letting his head fall back against the stone. "Then it was worth it."

[Burning Earth Duration: 8:01.]

"Two minutes," Lily said.

"Hold the network," Elden answered.

"Everyone stays in the safe zones," Mira added.

Raze sat slumped against a broken platform, greatsword resting beside him. Kai crouched next to him. "Rest."

"For once, good idea," Raze said, letting his eyes close.

Kai looked back toward the battlefield. The city was badly damaged. The people were still alive.

The final phase hit without mercy, the earth erupting across the city in overlapping waves.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Platforms shook. A defensive tower gave out entirely, collapsing into the glowing earth below. The network flickered dangerously.

"Come on..." Lily muttered, hands flying across the console.

"Keep it alive," Elden said beside her, feeding it everything he had left.

The network stabilized. Mira kept moving hunters between shrinking safe zones. Sera shielded a group from falling debris. Gabriel coordinated the Astral Church members holding the eastern line. Kai used Air Run to reach a collapsing tower and redirected the falling structure away from a cluster of hunters before it could land.

Everyone was doing something. Nobody stood idle. This wasn’t one hero holding back a disaster anymore.

It was an entire city fighting to survive.

[9:30.] The ground shook.

[9:40.] A massive crack split open, and the hunters braced together.

[9:50.] The network flickered again, and Lily held it steady through sheer will.

[9:55.] Kai looked out across the battered skyline. "Five seconds."

[9:56.] [9:57.] [9:58.] [9:59.]

Everyone held their breath.

[10:00.]

Silence.

The glowing cracks slowly faded. The molten earth cooled district by district. The shaking finally stopped.

Nobody moved for several seconds.

[Calamity Three: Burning Earth — Survived.]

[City Leader Survival Condition: Satisfied.]

Weapons lowered slowly across the city. Someone sat down right where they stood. A hunter laughed, disbelieving. "Three."

Another answered. "Three."

Raze looked toward Kai. "We really did it."

Kai nodded. "We did."

Mythal looked dramatically different now. Red Storm had left crimson scars across the skyline. Black Flood had erased entire sections outright. Burning Earth had gutted the city’s foundation from beneath, leaving collapsed streets, sunken buildings, cooled molten scars, broken platforms, destroyed underground systems, damaged towers, and whole districts abandoned to the wreckage.

But the core of the city still stood.

[City Infrastructure Integrity: 68%.]

"We lost more than we wanted," Elden said, studying the number.

"But less than the simulation," Lily said.

Mira checked the hunter survival rate. "Above seventy percent."

Kai exhaled. "Then the plan worked."

Raze looked out at the temporary paths he’d carved, most of them already sealed shut, the hunters they’d carried still standing among the survivors.

Kai walked over. "Your ability changed today’s result."

Raze looked at him. "Really?"

"Without it, several groups wouldn’t have had a way out."

Raze smiled slowly, glancing at his greatsword. "So... the road-building was worth it."

Mira crossed her arms. "You almost broke your arms."

"Minor detail."

"It’s not minor."

"...Still worth it," he said, grinning.

Everyone laughed, tired and genuine.

The team gathered a short while later, the exhaustion of three survived disasters settling over all of them at once.

"Three down," Kai said.

"Three left," Lily added.

Raze groaned. "Why did you have to say it like that?"

"Because it’s true," Sera said, laughing.

Gabriel looked toward the horizon, and unlike everyone else, she wasn’t laughing at all. Her expression had gone quiet, thoughtful.

Kai noticed. "What?"

"Nothing," she said.

She didn’t look convinced by her own answer.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then Kai noticed his breath curling visibly in front of him. He paused. "...Cold."

Sera glanced at him. "You feel that?"

He nodded. The temperature kept dropping, faster than it should have.

"That’s not normal," Raze said, looking around.

Gabriel’s expression shifted fully now, eyes fixed on the horizon. "...Already?"

Kai turned toward her. "You know what’s next."

She nodded slowly. "Yes."

A single white snowflake drifted down and landed on Kai’s palm, melting instantly against his skin. Another landed on the cracked road nearby. Then another. Then dozens, the damaged streets slowly turning white beneath a fine layer of frost. A broken relay tower nearby became sheathed in ice within moments, and even the last lingering warmth from Burning Earth’s scars began fading away.

Raze looked at the frozen ground. "...That’s fast."

Gabriel said quietly, "This is White Frost."

Kai looked toward the horizon, where a pale fog was already spreading across the land beyond the walls.

"The fourth Calamity," Tiamat said inside his mind.

His expression hardened.

[Calamity Four Detected.]

The temperature dropped again, sharper this time. The city fell silent around them.

Then, somewhere nearby, a frozen crack spread across the road.

CRACK.