Warlock of Oceans: My Poseidon System-Chapter 468: Fifth Floor: The Molten Cavern of Lava Lizardmen (11)

As the dragon turned its attention back to Cyrus, Jesua once again immobilized its legs with her tendrils. This time, she sent a pulse of shadow magic through the restraints, causing explosions of dark energy along the dragon’s lower body. The beast howled in pain, stumbling slightly, and Sylus and Cyrus both charged at its vulnerable sides.

Cyrus delivered a rapid series of aetheric slashes to the dragon’s ribs, each strike chipping away at its molten scales and exposing the glowing magma beneath. Sylus followed up by freezing the exposed sections with precise strikes of his frost sword. Steam hissed violently as ice met magma, the rapid cooling causing cracks to spread along the dragon’s armored body.

The dragon let out another roar, shaking off the tendrils and rearing back onto its hind legs. It slammed its front claws into the ground, creating a shockwave that sent all three flying backward. Sylus hit a molten rock outcropping hard, groaning as he struggled to get back to his feet. Cyrus rolled to a stop near the edge of a glowing lava pool, his blade flickering as he steadied himself.

Jesua, now visibly sweating from the effort of maintaining her magic in such extreme conditions, rose slowly, her eyes narrowing. "It’s getting desperate. Stay sharp."

The trio regrouped, forming a loose triangle around the dragon. Each of them was battered and burned, but their resolve remained unbroken as the massive creature snarled, preparing its next assault.

The lava dragon let out a deafening roar, shaking the very ground beneath them as its glowing molten eyes locked onto its prey. Its tail swung again in a wide, sweeping arc, forcing the trio to scatter. Sparks flew as the tail slammed into the obsidian ground, leaving molten fissures in its wake.

Jesua darted through the shadows like a wraith, her form flickering in and out of view. With a swift gesture, she conjured a series of jagged shadow spikes beneath the dragon’s belly, forcing it to rear up in pain. The dark spikes cracked as they met the beast’s intense heat, but the distraction gave Sylus an opening.

Jesua sneered, her voice sharp. "Focus on its underbelly! That armor is too thick everywhere else!"

Sylus surged forward, his frost sword leaving a trail of shimmering cold in the superheated air. As the dragon’s head whipped toward him, he feinted left, drawing its attention with a sudden lunge. The dragon snapped its massive jaws at him, but Sylus dove beneath its neck, sliding across the scorched ground to strike at the vulnerable scales under its chest.

The frost sword bit into the molten flesh, steam hissing violently as the ice met the dragon’s fiery core. The beast roared in agony, thrashing its massive claws downward. Sylus barely rolled out of the way, a fiery claw missing his leg by inches.

From the side, Cyrus took advantage of the chaos. He darted to a nearby rock formation, scaling it with practiced ease to gain the height he needed. Channeling his aetheric energy, he leapt from the ledge with his blade glowing bright blue, aiming for the exposed section of the dragon’s ribs.

The dragon sensed him coming and twisted mid-thrash, swinging a massive wing in his direction. Cyrus flipped in mid-air, narrowly avoiding the strike, and landed hard on the dragon’s back. He drove his blade into its wing joint, sparks and molten ichor erupting as the weapon pierced through.

The dragon screamed, rearing onto its hind legs in an attempt to throw him off.

"Hold on!" Sylus shouted, raising his frost sword and slamming it into the ground. A shockwave of ice rippled outward, spreading a thin layer of frost beneath the dragon’s claws. The slick surface caused the beast to lose balance for a moment, giving Cyrus the chance to hold his position.

Jesua used the opportunity to strike again. She emerged from the shadows at the base of the dragon’s tail, her hands glowing with dark energy. With a sharp motion, she sent shadow tendrils spiraling up the dragon’s legs, binding them tightly and forcing the beast to crash back down onto all fours.

The lava dragon roared in fury, its entire body glowing brighter as molten energy surged within it. It flared its wings, shaking off the tendrils, and slammed its tail into the ground. A fiery shockwave erupted outward, knocking all three combatants back. Jesua’s shadow form dissipated briefly, leaving her coughing as she reformed near a jagged rock.

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Sylus groaned, pulling himself out of a shallow crater where he’d landed. "This thing’s not going down easy."

Cyrus skidded to a halt near the edge of a lava pool, his boots smoking. "No kidding!" he shouted, gripping his blade tighter. "It’s like it gets stronger the more we hurt it!"

The dragon inhaled deeply, its chest glowing like a furnace.

"It’s about to breathe again!" Jesua warned, already darting toward the shadows.

The trio split apart as the dragon unleashed another torrent of molten fire. Sylus sprinted to the left, diving behind an obsidian boulder just before the flames engulfed his previous position. Cyrus leapt into the air, using his aetheric energy to propel himself higher and avoid the inferno. Jesua melded into the shadows, appearing behind the dragon with a growl of frustration.

"This isn’t working," Jesua muttered, her dark eyes narrowing. "We need to overwhelm it!"

"Overwhelm it how?" Sylus asked, bracing himself as the dragon’s tail slammed near him again.

"Focus fire!" Jesua barked. "All three of us on one weak spot!"

Cyrus nodded from his perch on a ledge. "The chest. It’s exposed enough—if we hit it together, we might crack it open."

Sylus gripped his frost sword, his eyes steely. "Let’s do it."

Jesua didn’t reply, but her shadowy form surged forward, reappearing near the dragon’s chest. She unleashed a barrage of shadow spikes, each one slamming into the exposed flesh and forcing the dragon to recoil.

Sylus charged in from the dragon’s left, his frost sword glowing with an icy brilliance. He struck with precision, each swing aimed at deepening the cracks in the molten scales protecting the dragon’s chest. Frost spread across the exposed magma, creating fractures that hissed and popped.

Cyrus leapt from his ledge, his aetheric blade blazing as he drove it downward with all his strength. The blade sank into the fissured scales, a surge of energy blasting outward and causing the dragon to stagger back.

Jesua followed up with another wave of shadow tendrils, wrapping them tightly around the dragon’s limbs and chest. Her voice rang out, sharp and commanding. "Now, hit it with everything you’ve got!"

The dragon roared, thrashing wildly as the trio continued their relentless assault. Despite its overwhelming strength, the coordinated attacks began to take their toll, cracks spreading further along its glowing chest.

But the beast wasn’t done yet. It reared up again, its molten body radiating an intense heat that forced the trio to shield their faces. With another deafening roar, it launched into a renewed frenzy, its claws and tail lashing out in every direction.

The fight was far from over.

The trio’s coordinated attack struck true, and the lava dragon let out an agonized roar. Cracks spiderwebbed across its molten chest, and its movements slowed as if weighed down by its own mass. For a fleeting moment, it seemed like they were gaining the upper hand.

But then the battlefield changed.

The ground trembled violently, fissures opening and spewing jets of molten rock. The dragon’s molten scales shifted as its form glowed brighter, taking on an incandescent fiery red. Miniature volcanoes erupted along its back, spewing gouts of molten lava that cascaded around the battlefield. The dragon reared up on its hind legs, its molten eyes burning with renewed fury as the heat intensified to an almost unbearable level.

Jesua’s voice was sharp and urgent. "It’s entered a second phase! Keep moving or we’ll be cooked alive!"

Sylus dashed to the side, narrowly avoiding a torrent of lava that spilled from one of the dragon’s back-volcanoes. He leapt onto a craggy ledge, his frost sword gleaming as he focused his energy into its blade. With a powerful swing, he launched a crescent-shaped arc of ice toward the dragon. It struck one of the volcanoes, briefly cooling the molten eruption and slowing the flow.

"Target those volcanoes!" Sylus shouted. "If we can stop them, we might weaken it!"

Jesua nodded, her shadowy form darting forward. She conjured spears of darkness, hurling them with precision at the nearest volcano. The dark energy splintered against the molten rock but managed to disrupt the flow of lava, causing the dragon to falter.

Cyrus leapt into the air, his aetheric energy surging around him like a protective shell. He vaulted over the dragon’s swinging tail and landed briefly on its back, aiming for one of the glowing volcanoes. With a powerful thrust, he drove his aetheric blade into the molten mound, causing an eruption of steam and rock.