The Hellfire Demon roared skyward, its flames intensifying once more, as a pure white orb slowly emerged from its maw, drifting above its head. Immediately, the pale blue flames engulfing it began shifting toward incandescence, causing the ambient temperature to surge violently. The entire Frozen Hall showed clear signs of thawing.

“Zheng Zha! I’m unleashing my final reserves of potential—I can hold out for thirty more seconds, or I won't be able to maintain this state afterward… Use your weapon to chop it into pieces! I will use the strongest frost aura of the Ice Age to freeze it!” Gunnir’s voice was less a roar and more a death rattle, a genuine howl of agony. At this moment, he was the frost, and the frost was him. If the frost melted as the demon’s power waxed, he would die. This was the sole possibility of death when utilizing the complete version of the Ice Age: the dissipation of the frost. And the Hellfire Demon was doing precisely that now.

Even shielded by the aura of his blade, Zheng Zha felt the heat was terrifyingly intense. The blade’s light could defend against physical attacks, but not against sheer temperature. He had been forced back by the intense heat moments before. Hearing Gunnir’s desperate plea, he had no choice but to yank the reins, pulling the skeletal warhorse back into the area still covered by ice within the Hall, before leaping from the saddle.

While Zheng Zha was completing these maneuvers, only taking two or three seconds total, the Hellfire Demon made its next move. The creature screamed aloud, and in the void before it, strange runes and arcane symbols began to flicker into existence.

These runes and symbols were composed of bluish-green flame threads, so they appeared indistinct, yet the moment they materialized, Gandalf’s expression drastically changed.

“Stop it quickly! That is the Roar of the Fire God! It will unleash its Life Fire in an instant—we will all die!” Gandalf shouted. He was currently dedicating all his energy to maintaining the protective shield and had no spare power for anything else. As he bellowed this warning, the floor of the Hall outside the shield began to crack and burst apart.

“Full activation of the ‘Ruin’ state… ten seconds… that temperature is too horrific. If I get close…” I’ll be reduced to charcoal within a second. There are only two ways to approach: either use the Red Flame to counteract the heat, or use the extreme speed of ‘Soru’ to instantly close the distance and attack… Better use the Red Flame; at least it’s safer… Zheng Zha made up his mind.

Blood-red flames began to erupt from his body. The moment he deployed this fire, he felt the surrounding temperature stabilize to a manageable level, no longer terrifyingly high. Then, stomping hard on the ground, he shot forward at a speed invisible to the naked eye, arriving right beside the Hellfire Demon’s head. He followed up with a powerful kick, the immense force instantly shattering the demon’s skull, from which a massive plume of incandescent white fire immediately erupted.

The moment Zheng Zha’s foot connected, he felt a searing pain, as if his leg were being burned by fire. The flame-nullifying property of the Red Flame could not entirely offset the temperature of this incandescent white fire; his leg was instantly scorched.

Fortunately, he was deep within the ‘Ruin’ state. The instant the pain registered in his thigh, he launched himself upward with a ‘Geppo,’ soaring nearly ten meters above the demon. Only then did he realize his thigh was already covered in angry blisters.

(What terrifying heat. Is this really a Hellfire Demon using only thirty percent of its original strength? No wonder it’s called the nemesis of humanity—it feels more like the nemesis of all living things.) Although Zheng Zha was thinking this, his hands never stopped moving. He raised the Tiger Soul Blade and brought it down fiercely toward the ground. This time, he did not summon the blade’s energy slash but used the physical blade itself to cleave downward, slicing directly through the center of the demon’s chest while suspended in mid-air, severing the flames—and the runes and symbols they formed—clean in half. The Hellfire Demon was now split into two disconnected segments.

“Not enough! Keep chopping it up and toss the pieces far away! Even with all my strength, I can’t freeze them at this temperature!” Zheng Zha’s initial downward slash slammed into the ground with a loud boom, carving several massive fissures into the stone. Hearing Gunnir’s voice, Zheng Zha pushed off again and leaped upward, sweeping the Tiger Soul Blade horizontally across the center once more, completely dividing the demon into four segments. These segments were still connected by pale blue flames, and the head continued to spew incandescent white fire. Seeing the head about to regenerate, Zheng Zha kicked one segment away, forcibly tearing it from the fiery connection.

Considering the immense strength Zheng Zha possessed in the ‘Ruin’ state—a kick that could atomize a several-meter-diameter stone pillar—the segment’s resilience surpassed his expectations. The hard kick only managed to throw it clear; shattering or completely mangling it was still out of reach. However, this was enough. As the segment was violently pulled away, severing the flame connection, everyone seemed to hear a deep, muffled scream.

Gunnir had been waiting for this precise moment. The instant the burning segment flew clear, a blizzard of frost immediately enveloped it. Ice and fire clashed, generating dense steam that billowed outward. Gandalf’s shield offered no defense against steam, meaning everyone received an involuntary steam bath. This bath wasn't over, as the remaining three segments were kicked toward three different directions in the Hall. As several more frost storms enveloped them, the Hall filled entirely with steam, leaving everyone too hot to even speak.

At this point, Zheng Zha had already deactivated the ‘Ruin’ state. The entire engagement with the Hellfire Demon had lasted only six or seven seconds. Although he appeared bloody all over, he retained over forty percent of his combat power. Thus, when the steam began to dissipate ten seconds later, he slowly started walking toward the increasingly bright orb on the floor. He had not yet reached a state of total collapse.

“Damn it, a near-death escape, thankfully…” Zheng Zha muttered to himself as he walked. In fact, he had already received the notification chime from the ‘Main God,’ which was why he had confidently allowed Gunnir to freeze the four body segments while he headed for the fire-attributed energy orb.

This energy orb radiated immense power; it was likely at least an A-grade energy stone, and if luck held, perhaps even a dual-A grade. Zheng Zha immediately decided to secure the stone first, figuring the true danger had passed… “Muxin!” Gandalf’s voice suddenly rang out. The old wizard, seeing the Hellfire Demon destroyed, had relaxed and dropped his shield. But when he saw Zheng Zha moving toward the fire-attributed energy orb, particularly as the orb grew brighter, the old man shouted loudly and rushed frantically toward Zheng Zha.

Zheng Zha had just exited the ‘Ruin’ state and was at his weakest; he could only approach the orb slowly by walking. Gandalf’s shout startled him, and he turned to look, only to see the wizard rush past him toward the energy stone. While Zheng Zha stood stunned, Gandalf snatched the stone and began chanting a spell with difficult, archaic words.

The fire-attributed energy stone was now blazing brightly; even Zheng Zha sensed something was wrong—it looked ready to explode. As Gandalf chanted, silver flames erupted from his palm, attempting to envelop the orb. But the orb flashed violently. Before Zheng Zha and the others could react, Gandalf’s entire body burst into flames, and bluish-green fire streamed incessantly from the stone. These flames seemed to be growing larger and higher, as if attempting to re-form a new Hellfire Demon.

“I am the servant of the Holy Fire, bearing the Arnorian Blazeflame… Zheng Zha, protect Frodo for me!” Even as flames consumed him, Gandalf continued his chant, his silver flames still trying to bind the orb. Simultaneously, Gandalf gripped the fire-attributed energy stone and leaped backward, plunging into the abyss of the chasm behind him. The old man only managed to utter his final words before he, along with the blue-green flames, vanished from sight.

“No!” Frodo roared first, followed by several of the story characters. The members of the Reincarnation Squad stood frozen, clearly still processing the events. It wasn't until a massive explosion and violent tremor echoed up from the depths of the chasm that the cliff face and the narrow bridge completely collapsed. The ground where the group stood began to crumble inch by inch. Clearly, the fire-attributed energy stone had detonated. The violent blast rising from the chasm shook both cliff walls into collapse, encompassing the area where the group stood. Taking the brunt of the initial shock, Zheng Zha plummeted toward the ravine floor amidst the falling debris, closely followed by several story characters and a few veteran members of the Reincarnation Squad… Jumping into…

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