Chapter 81: Fallen Sun
The mid-day sun beat down on the outskirts of Ignis-Vara, casting long shadows across the dry, scorched grass.
Vince walked leisurely past the final watchtowers of the village, looking around for his companions. He didn’t find Vetra, but down in a small rocky clearing, he spotted Lyrielle. Her eyes were tightly closed, her hands raised as she manipulated swirling wisps of fiery mana, attempting to weave them into a completely new spell matrix.
"What are you doing all the way out here?"
Vince asked, stepping into the clearing.
Lyrielle gasped slightly, her concentration breaking as the fire vanished into thin air. She dropped her hands and wiped a faint sheen of sweat from her forehead.
"Just research,"
She said, catching her breath.
"You were sleeping like a baby when I left... I didn’t want to disturb you."
"Needed the rest,"
Vince replied casually, stopping beside her. He crossed his arms and looked up into the pale sky, watching a few stray clouds drift past the volcanic peak.
Lyrielle turned her head, carefully observing Vince’s profile. She didn’t bear the Sovereign crest imprinted on her skin like the others, yet somehow—through a subtle, unexplainable bond forming through their travels—she could feel the heavy, silent gears turning inside his mind.
"What’s on your mind?"
She asked softly.
Vince kept his eyes on the horizon.
"The village Chief offered to host a banquet for us tonight because I was able to get Vetra down from the mountain."
Lyrielle smiled faintly.
"That’s great. We could certainly use a large, proper meal before we hit the road again."
"Yeah... but I just have a feeling there’s something more to it,"
Vince murmured, his brows narrowing slightly.
"Something more?"
Lyrielle echoed, tilting her head.
Before Vince could elaborate, a deafening whistle tore through the air from directly above them.
"VINCE!!!"
Vetra’s roaring voice echoed from the clouds as her massive form plummeted straight out of the sky like a falling meteor.
"Eek! Ahhhh!"
Lyrielle shrieked in absolute panic, scrambling backward away from Vince as fast as her legs could carry her.
Vince, though caught off guard by the sudden drop-in, didn’t move an inch. He simply stood his ground, hands stuffed casually in his coat pockets.
"You promised to spar with me!"
Vetra barked as she fell toward him.
Mid-air, a blinding surge of fiery mana welled up deep within her throat. She channeled an astronomical amount of heat straight from her dragon core—so much raw energy that the orange flames inside her throat shifted, glowing a dangerous, piercing blue.
"Hmmm..."
Vince muttered, his gaze locking onto her.
The instant Vetra came within range, she unleashed the inferno.
"FALLEN SUN!"
A colossal wave of hyper-condensed blue fire erupted from her mouth with apocalyptic force. The mere shockwave of the blast scorched the earth for fifty yards, kicking up a gale of burning wind.
Lyrielle raised her hands casting a barrier around her from the heat.
Vetra maintained the roaring, star-hot beam of blue fire to her heart’s content before crashing down to the earth on her feet, the ground cracking beneath her weight.
A towering pillar of blue flames consumed the spot where Vince had been standing.
Lyrielle stared at the infernal blue fire from behind a boulder, her face pale with utter terror.
"Calm down, Elle. Your heart rate is considerably high,"
Vince’s voice sounded smoothly from within the inferno.
"You gotta have some faith."
With a casual flick of his right hand, Vince sliced through the air. The resulting pressure wave instantly extinguished the entire storm of blue flames into nothingness, leaving him standing amidst the ash without a single singe on his clothes.
His eyes shot back toward Vetra, a mocking grin spreading across his face.
"C’mon, was that all the heat you’ve got? Honestly, that was disappointing. And I didn’t forget what I said yesterday."
Vetra stood frozen, her slitted amber eyes wide with a flicker of genuine shock. That was one of her absolute highest-tier fire attacks—an attack capable of melting fortress walls and leveling entire cities—and it hadn’t even ruffled his hair. He was completely, utterly unfazed.
"I’m just getting started!"
Vetra growled, her excitement instantly overriding her surprise as she lunged forward with explosive speed.
"I’ll head back now!"
Lyrielle yelled from afar, scrambling to her feet and sprinting back toward the safety of the inn.
Vetra unleashed a blinding barrage of claw swipes, heavy tail whips, and fiery strikes, but Vince casually bobbed and swerved around every single blow. His movements were fluid, effortless, and entirely insulting.
"Are you going to dodge all day?!"
Vetra demanded, swinging a heavy hook that whistled inches past his nose.
"Depends on you,"
Vince replied, wearing a wicked, taunting grin.
"Are you going to get serious enough to force me to use my hands?"
Feeling the direct insult—yet somehow deeply turned on by his total dominance—Vetra roared and ramped her offense into overdrive. But no matter how fast or hard she struck, it still wasn’t enough. Vince dodged every blow with his hands comfortably remaining in his pockets.
---
hours later, the dust finally settled.
Vetra lay flat on her back in the middle of the ruined clearing, panting heavily with a satisfied grin. Vince was sitting comfortably on her chest, using her soft upper body as a temporary lounge chair while leaning back.
"We’ll be having a banquet in a few minutes,"
Vince said down to her.
"Had enough?"
"Not even close,"
Vetra purred, her eyes gleaming.
Suddenly, a strange chill ran down Vince’s spine. A brief, vivid system-linked visual popped into his perception—a thought bubble floating directly above Vetra’s head, showing her wild fantasy of aggressively pinning Vince down right there in the dirt.
She reached her arms up, about to get on with it—
"Vector Drive,"
Vince whispered quietly.
FWIP!
Before Vetra’s hands could snap shut around his waist, Vince vanished into thin air. Vetra grabbed empty air, tumbling forward into the dirt. She sat up, puffing her cheeks out in an annoyed, flustered huff.
"Hmph!"
Fifty yards away, Vince reappeared beside a tree, wiping imaginary sweat from his forehead.
"That was close..."
He muttered, turning around to walk casually back toward the city.
---
A short while later, Vince and Vetra met up outside the front entrance of the inn, where Lyrielle was already waiting for them.
"All right, let me get a move on,"
Vince said, taking a step toward the upper district where the Chief’s pavilion was located.
Lyrielle immediately stepped into his path, blocking him with her hands on her hips.
"Don’t tell me you two are going to a formal banquet dressed so casually! Especially you, Vetra!"
Vetra blinked, looking down at her simple hide wraps.
"What’s wrong with our clothes?"
"I’m with Vetra on this one,"
Vince added smoothly, gesturing to his jacket.
Lyrielle slapped her forehead with a loud sigh, muttering an elegant elven incantation under her breath.
SWOOSH!
In a flash of shimmering mana, their outfits were instantly transformed.
Vince was now wearing a stunning, dark-navy coat woven from fine silk with golden dragon-scale embroidery along the cuffs, paired with a fitted dark vest and tailored trousers.
Vetra found herself wrapped in a majestic, fiery crimson gown with a slit along the side for her leg and tail, trimmed with dark velvet that highlighted her muscular frame.
Lyrielle herself wore a breathtaking emerald dress that flowed like liquid silk, matching her bright eyes perfectly.
"There!"
Lyrielle said proudly, skipping forward with a bright smile.
"Now let’s go!"
Vetra tugged awkwardly at the fabric around her chest, leaning close to Vince as they walked behind her.
"This is a little tight..."
She whispered.
Vince adjusted his collar with a wry smile.
"Same with mine."
Lyrielle paused up ahead, turning her head back toward them with an amused look.
"What’s the hold-up?"
"Nothing,"
Vince chuckled, picking up his pace.
"Right behind ya."