"Hey, hey. How long are we going to walk? It's getting boring," Setanta asked. They had been walking for an hour through an underground tunnel. Val chose that route to avoid enemies, but Setanta wasn't pleased by the 'no enemy' part.

Irritated was not enough to describe Theo's and Val's feeling. Setanta had been asking questions since they entered the tunnel. After around ten minutes of answering pointless questions, Theo and Val decided to ignore him. But that didn't stop him from messing with them.

Elizabeth had been apologizing for his behavior. She also pleaded him to stop acting like a spoiled child, sometimes reprimanding him and even yelling at him, though it all fell on deaf ears.

"For such a powerful weapon to fall to the hand of an idiot. What is happening to this world," Val said to herself.

Theo looked at her with a smile on his face. He felt something has changed within Val, though he didn't know the exact thing that has changed.

After looking at Val's face for some time, he noticed that there were some cuts and traces of blood on her cheek that she hasn't cleaned yet. Without her permission, he rubbed her cheek and cleaned the blood off it. Her body jumped. She almost flicked his hand away, but stopped herself at the last moment and let him finish.

"What was that for?" she asked after he was done.

"There's a cut on your cheek." Theo tried to clean it again, but Val moved away.

Val rubbed her cheek and noticed there were a few cuts there that she hasn't healed yet. "I can clean it myself ... hell, I can heal it."

With a simpled hand gesture, the cuts disappeared like it never existed to begin with.

Theo noticed a few more open cut on her skin. "There's another one there." He pointed his finger and Val healed it. "How can you not realize you're wounded?"

She looked away. Theo noticed her dark skin turned red a little bit. "I rarely got injured, and my pain resistance is too high to notice the pain of a small cut."

"Hmm. When was the last time you got injured in battle? You know, before all this Fire Invasion."

"Let's see ... Two years ago, I think." She stopped talking, seemingly deep in thought. "We were fighting the legendary golden scaled hydra-" Theo was surprised, he didn't ask her for the detail, but she kept on telling the whole story. "-So that's it. The item that the legend says can raise your level turn out to be fake. We still get a thousand gold for it, though."

"Say, Val, you also have reached your level caps right? Why aren't you as desperate as Vex?"

"It's just a phase, Theo. Everyone who reached their caps will go through that phase. I went mine a hundre-" She coughed. "a long time ago. Though I must say that Vex' phase is a little bit longer than normal. Four years and she's still as desperate as the day she found out she will never level up again."

Val looked away. She didn't understand why she stopped, why she fake a cough. She was never bothered by her true age before, so why was she too embarrassed to admit it to him?

They kept walking and walking until they reached a sharp turn. And after that, a bright red light assaulted their vision from a distance.

"Hohoho. Finally." Setanta Said with a child-like glee. "Hey, Theo, let's have a race." Theo ignored him. "Let's see who can close the portal first. Hmm, what do you say?"

"Right now, we're a team, Set. There's no 'who close it first'. We all do it together."

Set walked in front of Theo and gave him an irritable smirk. "Really? Where's the fun in that?" His gaze moved to Val, who didn't give him the slightest of attention. "You know what? The winner will have the right to Lady Val's love."

Val's eyes shot open. "W-What the hell was that?"

"Ignore him, Val," Theo said. Contrary to Val, he was not bothered by Set's challenge. After all the childish thing he had done, it was hard to take Set seriously.

"You can't ignore me if I close it first!" Setanta turned his body and dashed toward the bright red light at the end of the tunnel. Theo and Elizabeth tried to grab his arm and stop his stupidity, but he was too fast for them.

"SET!" Elizabeth shouted and started running to follow him. The rest of his women followed suit. "SET! Wait!" They called, though he ignored them.

Val buried her face in her palm. "Why the hell is he the Chosen One?" She and Theo then ran, following them to the bright light.

"Val," Theo called. "Don't worry, I won't lose to that man."

"W-W-W-W-W-WHAT?!" She yelled. If not for the bright red light washing her face red, the blush on her cheek would make it so.

They ran to the bright light and it swallowed them. Theo and Val closed their eyes due to the sudden change of brightness. When their eyes finally adjusted, a massive portal stood before them. Even Set stopped to look at the humongous marvel.

The portal was 40 meters in diameter and hovered 10 meters above a pool of Lava. Its edge was red and hazy like a circular mist while the portal part that connected two worlds was like a dirty mirror.

On the other side of the portal was a world of fire and molten lava and boiling air. An innumerable legion of fire elementals and Flame-Born Knights lined up on the other side along with their leader, Calamity. And as Theo could see them through the portal, they too could see the intruders trying to stop the summoning ritual.

In front of the portal were three fire elementals. One was moving his hand erratically and jumping around like a wildcat. Upon each of its six hands were a different colored fire that left a trail of smoke as they moved through the air. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. The other two were Flame-Born Knights, though one of them was different from any Knights Theo or Val had seen before. He was taller, more imposing, his weapon bigger and his armor was golden along with an extra part of his helmet.

He was their captain.

"Mirst, defensive position." The captain commanded. The two Flame-Born Knight bent their knees, lowered their stance, raised their shield and pointed their weapon towards the intruder.

"Summon me faster!" Calamity's voice resounded in the caldera.

"Y-yes, my lady!"

Along with her voice was an air of gravitas. One that made everyone shiver, including her own subordinates and even Val. In that moment, everyone realized the extent of Calamity's power, and how minuscule they were compared to it.

While the other was frozen in fear, Theo was ... happy. Calamity hasn't been summoned to this world yet. There was still a chance that he didn't have to use his the secret item. " WAKE UP! We can still stop the summoning," Theo shouted as he drew Panes from the sheath.

His voice woke the rest from their stupor. "Right-right. There's no way I will lose to you, Theo Gladium," Said Setanta with a big grin on his face.

Theo felt a tug on his armor from behind. "Remember your promise," He heard an unusually meek voice of Val, "Don't die and don't get close to dying, or else I won't be able to focus on the fight."

Theo looked over his shoulder at Val and smiled. He wanted to say that he didn't make any promise, but knew that it would be futile. "Sure."

The support began casting buff. Val flew to the sky and chanted an incantation of powerful magic. Theo and Set charged towards the summoner along with Elizabeth who served as their tank.

Tars and Mirst stood in their way, but a massive spear of ice rained down from the sky. Then followed by a shower of magic-imbued arrows.

As much as Theo hate to admit it, Set's party was excellent. their composition, combination, and coordination were comparable to high-ranking adventurer party.

Theo and Set attacked Mirst while Elizabeth held back Tars. "Theo Gladium, distract him while I prepare my spear." He stood back and took a thrusting stance.

Red aura erupted from the tip of Setanta's lance as the metal vibrated like crazy.

Theo took out two spell papers and a bottle from his pouch. He activated both at once and threw the bottle at his enemy.

The first one was a torrent of water. Mirst activated a defensive spell and evaporated the huge amount of water like it was nothing.

There was no room for underestimating his opponent. Before all the water evaporated, lightning came out from the second paper and hit the water.

The spell was not enough to hurt Mirst, but it was enough to distract him for Theo to come near. "[Vaporizing Slash]"

Usually, it would be suicidal to charge towards a Flame-Born Knight in his condition, but Val and Setanta's women were showering Mirst with spell and arrows.

Mirst blocked two out of four slashes. If not for him having to defend against Val's spell that came from the other direction, he could have blocked all four.

The two that slashed dealt a significant damage to his armor, creating holes on it.

Theo then followed it by a [Serene Slash], which Mirst blocked.

Theo didn't have to fear for any counter attack. Val's spell had made sure of it.

"Move!"

Theo moved out of the way. Setanta jumped high into the air in an awkward position. Though the sheer overpowering pressure radiated by his spear was enough that no one noticed his ridiculous jumping posture.

Setanta released his spear as a blazing red ray.

A thunderous crackle drowned every other sound. The spear was too fast to be seen by naked eyes. Even Val with her magical vision only caught a glimpse of it.

Mirst crossed his arm in reflex. He couldn't see it coming, but a spear throw has a linear trajectory at that range. Even from before Setanta launched his spear he could predict where it would hit.

He let Val's attack hit him. Her spell was less damaging than a full frontal unblocked hit from Gae Bulg. Far less damaging.

He concentrated all of his power on his arm. A thick shield of golden flame formed.

"[Shield of Calamity]" It was his most powerful form of defense, his most prized possession.

The two power clashed.

The spear wasn't able to pierce the shield. But it didn't stop there. Gae Bulg was a Legendary Cursed spear not without reason.

The spear still moved, still trying to pierce the shield, still trying to hit its target. For Mirst, it felt like the spear was still being pushed by its owner.

The struggle didn't end there. While the spear refused to be stopped, Mirst's shield refused to be pierced.

There seemed to be no end in their show of power. The struggle between the two was almost instantaneous, but time was stretched to its limit for those who witnessed it.

Yet, between a spear that had been released from its owner's hand and a shield whose owner still held it tightly.

The winner was clear.

The spear stopped, but not before shattering the shield in a massive shockwave that split the heaven and shook the earth.

Mirst stood still like a statue, yet his mind and heart was in a great turmoil. His whole being was unable to believe what happened. He rejected it, rejected reality.

He was only slightly injured, but the shield, the unbreakable shield that Calamity, his goddess, gave to him was shattered before his eyes.

"I-I-I Impossible."He stared blankly at what left of the shield. He lost focus on anything other than that.

Gae Bulg hovered in the air, suspended on the exact same spot it was stopped. Gravity had no effect on it.

Setanta, still in the air from his previous jump, reached his arm out and commanded his spear to return. And obey it did. Gae Bulg returned to his hand in an instant.

With a smile on his face, Setanta arched his body backward and assumed another throwing stance.

Red aura raged and whirled around the spear once more and Gae Bulg was released for the second time that night.

"Mirst!" Tars called his fellow knight, realizing his impending doom.

Mirst woke up with the call of his captain and caught the spear with both hands just before the tip impaled his throat.

Just like before, Gae Bulg refused to be stopped and still tried to pierce his throat.

The spear wasn't as powerful as the first one, but it was still a force to be reckoned with. His arm was shaking even after he used all his strength.

"AHHHHHH!" Mirst let out a battle cry as he pushed the spear away, but it still didn't budge.

It was the same as before, their power was equal. Something has to disrupt the balance of power if one wished to triumph over the other.

"[Serene Slash]" A blade struck Mirst neck. The cutting power contained within the edge of that blade was mind-boggling, but it only served to destroy Mirst's neck armor. It was unable to go any deepe- "[Vaporizing Slash]"

Four slashes assaulted his neck in an instant and Mirst's head flew off from his body then dissipating into a puff of smoke.

"MIRST!" Tars shouted and charged towards Theo, but that was a fatal mistake.

Rain of ice showered him from above while spire of ice impaled him from below and pinned him in place.

"Theo, now!" Val shouted.

Theo nodded. He looked over his shoulder for a moment to look at Setanta. He was gasping on the ground, exhausted and in pain after overusing his legendary spear.

Theo refocused his gaze on the summoner, who was desperate to summon Calamity. But Theo knew that summoning Calamity was not an easy and quick process. There shouldn't be enough time to complete it.

"Ignore him!" Calamity shouted from the other side.

Theo was confused. He hesitated for a second. What was Calamity planning? Was this a trap? There was no way for the summoner to summon her in time. "THEO!" Val shouted.

'Right.' He thought. There was no time. He has to kill the summoner before Tars moved again. "[Vaporizing Slash]"

Four consecutive slashes ripped the summoner's body to shred, or so it should have. A barrier of fire stood between him and the summoner. A barrier that was never there before.

His gaze moved to the portal. Calamity was more than halfway through and already able to cast a spell on this side of the portal.

"Shit!"

Calamity erected the barrier that stood in his way. She also threw a few spell at him, but Val and Elizabeth took care of that.

"[Vaporizing Slash]" It felt like thunder was running inside his arms. "[Vaporizing Slash]" He felt his muscle torn. "[Vaporizing Slash]"

Again, and again, and again he used it. Even if it broke his hand and destroyed his body, [Vaporizing Slash] was his strongest skill. He had no choices but to use it if he wanted to stop the summoning.

"Vapo- aghh!" He screamed. His hand felt like it was cut off.

He looked at his hand. He couldn't feel anything, but it was still there and he could move it. He swallowed the pain. "[Vaporizing Slash]"

Theo screamed in agony. "[Vaporizing Slash]"

The shield shattered.

Theo jumped forward.

"[Vaporizing Slash]" The summoner body was shredded, cut into four different pieces.

"NOO!!" Calamity screamed and extended her hand out.

With the last vestiges of his fire, the summoner reached toward her hand, trying to grab it.

"My....Lady." But his hand flew off before he could touch her. Theo wouldn't let it happened. Who knows what kind of tricks they have up their sleeves.

"NOOO!!!" Calamity screamed again.

The portal went in reverse. Instead of spewing things out, it began to suck things in as it closed. Air, lava, rocks, fire, people, fire elemental, anything and everything else in its vicinity was pulled to the portal.

Theo, who stood closest to the portal, felt the strongest pull. He could barely stand being pulled, not to mention the wind pushing him into the portal.

He pulled a bottle of potion from his pouch and threw it to his feet, breaking it open. The liquid inside condensed, creating a gel-like material that glued his feet to the ground. To be sure, he stabbed Panes to the ground and held it tight.

The portal already shrunk to half of its original size, and it kept shrinking without any sign of slowing down. Calamity effort to maintain the portal was fruitless. As the portal grew smaller, the suction was getting stronger. If not for Panes, Theo would have flown into the portal. He was safe.

Or so he thought.

The ground beneath him cracked. Pieces of the ground started flying to the portal. It was not long after that the entire chunk of rock beneath Theo flew to the portal, bringing him along with it.

Theo tried to jump off, but the gel-like substance kept him from doing so.

A chain of ice coiled around his right arm, stopping him right before his feet entered the portal. The rock under him crumbled and vanished as it entered the fiery world.

"Hold tight!" Vals shouted. It was her who created the ice chain. She and Setanta's women were trying their best to pull the chain.

"Theo Gladium," Setanta threw his legendary spear. "catch it!" Theo caught his spear with his other arm that didn't hold Panes.

"Hold tight!" Setanta extended his hand. "Gae Bulg, come back!"

Gae Bulg hovered mid-air and started to move towards Setanta, bringing Theo along with it albeit with great difficulty.

Theo's body was wracked by pain. Not only was he pulled by two powerful and opposing forces, the temperature difference of the ice coiling around his arm and the rest of his body was extreme. Despite the pain, he gripped both the chain and Gae Bulg with what left of his might. It was after all, his literal lifeline.

"Aghh!" Theo screamed. He could endure the pain before, but something was hurting him even more now.

The skin on his legs melted. Even though he was farther away to the portal than he was before, it was much hotter. His whole body was burning like smothered by fire.

Even without looking, Theo knew who it was. "Pull me, mortal!" Calamity yelled as she pulled his legs.

Now, the force pulling him to the portal was stronger. His body slowly moved towards the portal.

"Theo, Hold on! The portal is about to close." Val shouted.

The portal was about to close. What left was slightly larger than Calamity herself.

"Calamity! Are you insane? You can't stop a portal closing! Not even you can!" Theo shouted.

"Then pull me to your world!" calamity's ruby eyes were filled with rage and determination. Theo kicked Calamity's head, but only hurt himself.

The portal imploded.

For a brief moment, the suction became so powerful that Val's chain broke and his hand slipped off Gae Bulg.

The portal already closed, but it didn't mean he was not in danger. Without anything holding him, Theo fell towards the pool of Lava below him.

Val quickly flew and caught him before he touched the lava. The heat was unbearable, especially for an ice mage like Val. She carried Theo with a princess carry and flew him to a safe place.

Val laid Theo's body on the ground, resting his head on a small rock. Theo was exhausted, everyone was. The ground was hot, not ideal for sleeping or doing anything, but he couldn't complain. "Thanks, Val."

Val slapped Theo. "You lie," tears fell from her eyes. "You ... you almost died."

Theo felt his cheek with his hand."Ouch, you almost kill me with that slap, Val." He chuckled a little. "Guess, we're even now."

Val smiled through her tears. "You owe me a big one. You'll do whatever I ask you after this."

Theo smiled. "Yeah, yeah, sure. Whatever."

Val moved to his legs and healed the wound Calamity caused. Not only his skin melted, his flesh was boiled, and his bones charred just because Calamity grabbed on to it.

"Holy shit, Theo Gladium." Setanta approached Theo with his woman on each side, though this time it was to help him walk. "You looks horrible."

"You look like shit."

Setanta smiled. "I guess it is my loss then." He then laughed. "Hahaha, you know, this is the first time I lose to someone unwillingly."

"NOOOO!!" A voice rang out. "MY LADYYY!!!" Tars struggled to get on his feet. Val's ice still pinned him to the ground, but it broke one by one.

He reached his arms out towards where the portal used to be. He was trying to reach what was not there, denying that Calamity had failed. He gripped the air, but there was nothing to be gripped.

"It's over. It's over." Theo said.

"NO!" Tars broke all the ice pinning him down and stood up. "I'll kill you! I'll kill all of you!"

Val stood between Theo and Tars, followed by Setanta and his women. "Try it."

"ENOUGH!" A woman's voice rang out all across the mountain

A pillar of fire rose hundreds of meters into the heaven, painting the world red. A shadow emerged from the fire.

"Ahh ... M-My ... Lady ... " Tars cried out a voice of relief.