Inside a gigantic volcano crater.
Angel stood on a small path carved along the volcano wall, silently watching Toby, who was "bathing" in the volcanic magma below... Well, to be precise, it was Toby in Gryphon form.
The elemental tide had not yet receded, and the fire rain continued to fall from the sky.
So, Toby was both bathing and enjoying a shower, looking quite content.
By Angel’s feet lay a severed hand, none other than Dangross. It was perched at the edge of the path, peering down at the volcanic magma pool below, its gaze fixated on Toby.
The eyes formed of flame radiated evident admiration.
Dangross’s five fingers kept curling and stretching, as if in reverent worship of Toby.
Above the volcanic magma pool, a tall "demon" figure floated, surrounded by flocks of Flame Sparrows flying in circles.
This demon was the new king of the Region of Fire — Magma Lord Midir.
Magma Lord Midir was issuing orders to the Flame Sparrows, after which they dispersed.
Magma Lord Midir gracefully descended, suspending in front of Angel, offering a courteous salute: "I have sent my underlings to explain to the Phoenix and others that the previous conflict was merely a misunderstanding caused by Dangross’s ignorance."
"Please allow me to introduce myself..."
Faced with Magma Lord Midir’s graceful and polite action, Angel returned the gesture appropriately. However, his mind was still in a daze because he never expected a situation of such confrontation to suddenly take such a rapid turn.
The story began half an hour ago—
Earl Mi created a chaos that even Magma Lord Midir could not respond to. Angel knew the time had come, immediately choosing to activate the Illusion Node, using the Heart Illusion Technique to confuse Magma Lord Midir.
Then, Earl Mi returned to Angel’s shadow, retreating together with him.
The Heart Illusion Technique was based on Magma Lord Midir’s thoughts, so the "Earl Mi" it saw responded in ways it imagined, truly baffling Magma Lord Midir for a time.
This also bought Angel the time to retreat.
Angel performed an Astral Projection, fully activating the Gravity Meridian, and in less than half a minute, moved ten miles away.
Angel’s initial plan was to find a hidden place, have Earl Mi turn into flames to envelop him, and then activate the illusion for perfect concealment.
In fact, Angel did exactly that.
But unexpectedly, as Angel achieved perfect invisibility, Toby, who was engrossed in absorbing energy from the flames, unknowingly entered a peculiar state. Taking advantage of Angel’s inattention, it elegantly flew out of the pocket, soaring into the sky... transforming into the Berserker Gryphon.
In an instant, the Gryphon’s mane ignited the fire rain that fell upon it.
A series of fiery explosions occurred around Toby.
Though Toby remained unharmed, even lazily rolling in mid-air as if enjoying it, Angel found himself startled by this behavior.
He quickly flew into the air to check on Toby’s condition.
Only upon approaching did he realize that Toby had not yet awakened, and was subconsciously absorbing the fire energy from the surrounding elemental tide in its Gryphon form.
Although subconscious, the energy level of the flames surrounding Toby increased rapidly.
Seeing this, Angel immediately realized that it was a leap transition of Toby’s Gryphon form energy level!
In other words, due to the elemental tide’s cleansing, the Gryphon’s fire energy had rejuvenated, pushing it to the breakthrough stage.
Similar to a wizard’s advancement, Toby’s breakthrough could not be disturbed by outside influences, otherwise, it could easily fail or even backfire.
Angel initially wanted to awaken Toby but dared not touch it anymore, simply standing guard beside it.
However, his heart was filled with bitterness.
"Early no breakthrough, late no breakthrough, but it just had to breakthrough now..." Although Angel knew this was not Toby’s fault, since Toby had not felt its Gryphon form would enter the breakthrough state, it was entirely by accident— the elemental tide had directly pushed Toby to the brink of breakthrough.
Seeing matters were set in motion and unable to pause mid-process, Angel could only find a way to protect Toby.
However, the current location wasn’t far from where the fight with Magma Lord Midir had happened, if concealment could work, it would be fine, but now Toby’s condition didn’t allow for cooperation in hiding, so within mere breaths, the discerning Magma Lord Midir, along with the berating Dangross, appeared before them.
Greeting a formidable foe, Angel sighed, beginning to operate the Magic Vortex within him. This time, he not only needed to fend off external threats but also protect Toby; relying solely on Earl Mi might not suffice, he had to personally step in.
At least, until Toby’s breakthrough was complete, no harm could befall Toby.
In a flash of thought, Angel already simulated various scenarios in his mind, how to confront, how to defend, what to do if the enemy targets Toby... Angel had to consider almost every possible situation, having a plan at heart. After all, this concerned Toby’s safety.
As Angel and Earl Mi entered a state of high tension, the unexpected occurred.
Magma Lord Midir, though arriving with great momentum, strangely restrained his aura upon approach, quietly glanced at Toby in the distance, then hovered silently a hundred meters away, making no moves or sounds.
On the contrary, Dangross, clenching Magma Lord Midir’s wings, upon seeing Toby, exclaimed in a trembling voice: "That’s, an... ancestor?!"
Dangross pointed to Toby, who was sleeping soundly mid-air, with an unprecedented shock in its eyes.
Angel also had no idea how Dangross could mistake Toby for an "ancestor", but it was precisely due to this that Magma Lord Midir showed friendliness towards Angel.
Magma Lord Midir did not take action against Angel or Earl Mi, even waiting quietly for Toby to advance.
After Toby successfully advanced, Angel did not perceive any malice from Magma Lord Midir, who seemed to have something to convey. After a momentary reflection, Angel finally followed Magma Lord Midir to this current volcano.
...
Below the volcano crater.
After Magma Lord Midir introduced himself, he waved his hand lightly, and Dangross, who was secretly watching Toby "bathe" by the edge, got caught in mid-air.
Dangross struggled and swore, but Magma Lord Midir showed no intention of releasing it.