"Vi...Vic....Vicoorrrrrrr"


    A voice, twisted and uncanny, echoed through the narrow passageway.


    It came from a figure that once resembled a human, now grotesquely deformed. His blue hair hung in clumps, matted against patches of flesh barely clinging to his skull. The rest of his head was exposed bone, glowing with the moltenva that dripped from his eye sockets and gaping mouth. His entire body seeped molten liquid, sizzling as it scorched his skin and the ground beneath him.


    Yet, there was something different about him... Arge, sinuous tail swayed behind him, and a single, pale horn jutted from his forehead.


    "He''s almost finished transforming..." Raven whispered, her voiceced with concern as she observed the tragic figure.


    The transformation into a dragon is a slow, agonizing process. It requires time, a pure bloodline, and the strength of at least Level 50 to achieve. Anything less, and the body would be torn apart by the sheer force of the change.


    "Pitiful..." Thalia murmured, her voice trembling with sorrow. She couldn''t help but feel a pang of sympathy as she looked at Leon, whose dragon form was being forcibly unleashed by the curse.


    Just like the wyvern before him, with more time, he might have transformed into a pure dragon.... a majestic and fearsome creature. But now, he was nothing more than a man caught in between the transformation.


    "Raven, purify him," Thaliamanded, her voice hardening as she cracked her knuckles. Her eyes gleamed with determination, "I want to fight the former son of the Dragon Emperor, not this pitiful creature."


    Raven took white light in her hands. With a swift motion, she hurled them at Leon, who was slowly shuffling toward them.... or perhaps more urately, toward Victor.


    BOOM!!


    The crystal balls shined bright, but Leon merely blinked, a twisted smirk spreading across his face as he stepped forward, unfazed.


    "... Is it not working?" Victor asked, his tone filled with confusion and a hint of unease. He had seen the wyvern scream in agony when struck by the purifying light. So why was Leon still standing, seemingly unaffected?


    Raven, her brow furrowing beneath her sunsses, struggled to make sense of it. Something didn''t add up.


    "V...Vic....Vcrrrrrr"


    As she stared at the advancing Leon, something clicked. Nudging her sunsses up, she turned to Victor.


    "He still has his consciousness," she stated, her voice a mix of realization and surprise.


    "Hmm? How is that possible?" Victor asked, frowning deeply. "He died, didn''t he? How can he still be conscious?"


    "Well..." Raven began, her voice hesitant as she considered the possibilities, "Maybe... maybe his resentment toward you is so deep, so intense, that it''s keeping him anchored in his body, preventing the curse from fully taking over. It''s just a guess, but it''s the only exnation that makes sense."


    Victor''s frown deepened as he tried to recall what could have caused such hatred. It wasn''t like he had killed Leon''s entire family or anything—


    Suddenly, Victor pped a hand to his forehead, a look of realization dawning on his face. "Ahh! Fuck it, is he reallying after me because I just... kicked his balls?"


    "Just?" Thalia interjected her expression a mix of disbelief and exasperation. For dragons, such an act wasn''t just a simple assault; it was a deep, personal wound to their pride—one that could never be forgotten, not even in death.


    Victor sighed heavily, rubbing his temples as if to ward off an impending headache, "So, what do we do now?" he asked, his gaze shifting to Zombie Leon, who continued to stagger toward them, his movements slow but relentless, as if he would inevitably catch up to them.


    Raven considered the situation, her mind racing, "We either wait for him to fully transform into a dragon or let the cursepletely take over his body. But honestly, both options are risky."


    Victor frowned, his impatience growing, "But I don''t have time to wait around..." he muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing at the sight of Zombie Leon. Just then, Leon''s grotesque mouth opened wide, and—


    SSSSSSHHHHHHHHH!!!


    A torrent of green mes erupted from Leon''s mouth, filling the narrow passageway with searing heat.


    Just like before they blocked it... However—


    Chkc


    Raven''s eyes widened in horror as she noticed moltenva droplets clinging to her barrier, slowly eating through it. Her heart raced as she realized the severity of the situation.


    "Thalia, get behind me!" Raven shouted urgently. But it was toote—


    "Arrhhhh!!!" Thalia screamed as the moltenva sttered onto her forearm, burning through her skin like acid.


    "THALIA!!!" Raven''s voice was filled with panic as she watched in horror. Thalia''s hands were engulfed in moltenva, the searing heat causing her heart to skip a beat. Raven dashed toward her, trying to cover her with what remained of her barrier.


    Thalia copsed onto the ground, her body writhing in agony as she gritted her teeth, struggling to hold back her screams. The pain was unbearable, a scorching torment that felt as though she was being burned alive from the inside out. She was about to bite down on her hands in desperation when—


    "Don''t!" Raven''s voice was firm, cutting through Thalia''s pain-induced haze. "Wait! Let me handle this. I''ll cut it off if I have to!"


    "B-but..." Thalia whimpered her voice barely a whisper as the heat within her body intensified with every passing second. It felt like her blood was boiling, her very bones being consumed by fire.


    Raven''s expression hardened as she saw her barrier continuing to crumble under the relentless assault of the moltenva,


    ''The curse... it''s growing stronger,'' she realized, her mind racing as she tried to think of a solution. She reached for another set of barrier orbs, but before she could use them, the mes suddenly sputtered and died out.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Zombie Leon stood there, panting heavily, his twisted form trembling with the effort.


    Raven let out a deep sigh of relief, but...


    "What the...?" Victor''s voice wasced with shock and disbelief.


    Raven turned to see Thalia, her expression one of eerie contentment, despite the moltenva now dripping from her lips. She had bitten into her own hands, and yet... she seemed almost happy, as if the pain had somehow lifted.


    "YOU!!" Raven shouted in anger, her voice trembling with a mixture of rage and desperation.


    "I... I''m sorry..." Thalia mumbled, her voice weak and trembling. "The pain... it was too much..."


    Raven gritted her teeth, her frustration boiling over as she turned to Victor. "Block the path, now!" shemanded, her tone brooking no argument. Victor nodded quickly, conjuring a massive, thick wall of ice, sealing off the passageway.


    Raven immediately activated the purifying crystal balls, cing them all over Thalia''s body. Each crystal began to glow intensely, filling the space with a bright, ethereal light before gradually dimming as they settled down.


    Victor watched closely, a deep frown etched on his face, his concern growing with each passing second.


    Thalia felt a momentary relief wash over her, her body seemingly calming. "I think... I''m fi—" she started to say, but was abruptly cut off as she began coughing violently. "Cough, cough!!" Moltenva spewed from her mouth, sttering onto the ground.


    Both Victor and Raven''s faces turned as pale as death.


    Raven''s expression hardened with determination. Without hesitation, she gathered every remaining crystal and pressed them against Thalia once more, praying they would work this time.


    Meanwhile, on the other side of the ice wall, Zombie Leon continued to unleash torrents of mes, desperately trying to melt the ice wall that separated him from his prey.


    Yet, despite his relentless assault, the ice wall remained unscathed, much to his frustration. He frowned deeply, his decaying mind struggling toprehend the situation.


    "Vccrrrrrr..." he growled, his voice low and menacing. Slowly, he turned his head away from the ice wall, his cracked lips curling into a sinister smirk as he seemed to have another n.


    Back with the trio, Raven was growing increasingly desperate. She used every single purifying crystal in her possession on Thalia, yet...


    Cough, Cough


    Thalia doubled over again, more moltenva forcing its way up from her throat. Her vision began to blur, her eyes growing hazy as she looked up at Raven, who was trying everything in her power to help.


    Through the fog of her fading consciousness, Thalia thought she saw something that stunned her... a single tear slipping down from behind Raven''s usually imprable sunsses.


    With a soft, bittersweet smile, Thalia whispered, "R-Raven... it''s fine..."


    "J-Just wait," Raven stammered, her voice trembling as she tried to maintain control, "I''ll figure something out, just hold on—"


    "It''s fine," Thalia insisted weakly, her voice barely audible, "Don''t... waste any more of your values... you needed for the real game..."


    Raven''s hands trembled, pain and frustration boiling within her. The purifying crystals should have worked... they always worked. So why... why wasn''t it enough this time?


    Thalia felt her consciousness slipping away, her body growing colder by the second. With thest of her strength, she murmured, "F-Forgive me... Mother, Father... I couldn''t avenge your deaths... Please forgive this useless daughter..."


    Raven''s body shook with emotion, her usually steely resolve cracking. "T-Thalia... no..." she whispered, her voice breaking.


    Victor, who had been silently watching, finally spoke up. "Is it because Leon is still conscious?" he asked, his frown deepening as he looked at Thalia with a rare, sombre expression.


    Raven clenched her fists in frustration, "The curse... it''s evolving. It follows from one host to another, so it''s possible the mutated curse passed from Leon..." she trailed off, her voice filled with uncertainty and dread.


    Victor''s mind raced, piecing together the puzzle. ''Just like a virus mutating from host to host,'' he realized.


    He looked at Raven and asked, "Would you let me treat her?"


    Raven blinked in surprise, taken aback by his offer. "Treat her? How? You''re not a healer..." Her words trailed off as she noticed a ck mist beginning to envelop Thalia''s body.


    "W-What are you doing?" Raven demanded, her voiceced with both fear and confusion. But then she saw something that made her eyes widen in disbelief—Thalia''s hands, which had been bitten off by her, were slowly healing, the moltenva receding as new flesh regenerated.


    Raven stared in shock, "Is this... healing?" She was utterly baffled, unable toprehend what she was witnessing. The magic Victor was using... it didn''t look like light magic. It was dark, almost ominous, yet it was undeniably restoring Thalia''s body.


    Slowly, Thalia''s form returned to normal, her breathing stabilizing. She coughed once more, but this time, nova came out. She looked up at Victor, her eyes wide with amazement and relief. "I-I''m fine..." she mumbled, her voice weak but steady. Raven, too, turned to Victor, her expression a mixture of surprise and gratitude.


    [+100 AP]


    [+100 AP]


    Victor inwardly had a satisfied smile, ''It''s working...'' he thought, relieved that his unconventional magic had managed to counteract the curse''s mutation. He''d been worried it might not, but now it seemed... it worked well.


    "Well, I am happy that sh---"


    Instantly,


    SSSSSHHHHHHHH!!!


    A st of green mes erupted from the side, catching them off guard.


    The trio was mmed against the ice wall, their clothes igniting from the intense heat. Victor, instinctively preparing to retaliate, barely had time to react when—


    Crack


    The ice wall fractured, splintering under the force of a massive impact.


    BOOMMM!!


    A colossal tail, covered in scales and dripping with moltenva, smashed through the ice, shattering itpletely and sending the trio flying into the side wall with bone-crushing force.


    Cough!!


    They all coughed violently, struggling to catch their breath as they red at Zombie Leon, who now stood in the opening, a malicious grin twisting his decaying features.


    Victor''s lips twitched in irritation. Realizing that the curse was no longer a concern, he grabbed hold of the monstrous tail and, with a fierce snarl, yanked it hard. Stay tuned for updates on empire


    "Fuck you~" he spat out.


    "ARRRRRRRHHHHHHHH!!!!"