"These… These… These… Imbecilles!" She forced the words out of her throat. "I will kill them, no, I will reduce them to nothing!" Aqua's hand clenched and teeth gritted.
The swarm of dragons and savages invaded her home, and what was worse, they were accompanied by the beasts of rot.
This could not stand. She would make them all suffer; she would destroy everything they held dear.
Her eyes were instantly attracted by a massive 7-headed dragon; her breathing grew shallower, and she flapped her wings.
In the blink of an eye, she sent the large dragon high into the atmosphere, her face turning toward Soleah. "Phoenix worked… good."
She couldn't stand looking at her new home being ruined. A tear ran down her face, yet she needed to make the invaders pay.
I needed to kill them before leaving the academy. I needed to find them all!
She had made yet another mistake that cost her new home once again.
She flew into the air, and a series of crimson circles appeared over every hostile group that dared invade her home. The circles quickly turned dark, corrupted by the black fire.
With a mere thought, pillars of black fire consumed every dragon and every beast that dared enter Onost.
Her attention then focused upward, where the massive dragon attempted to stabilize himself.
She flew up and grabbed the throat of one of the heads.
"Who are you, and why did you attack my home?!" She shouted, demanding that the dragon answer.
The dragon cackled. "Powerful one. Surprising for a mortal."
It waited for a moment. "I am the Dragon God, Zm'Aj; my purpose was to destroy this civilization as was stated by the pact."
Aqua stared at the head with disdain.
The Dragon before her was certainly a Dragon Lord, its arrogance spoke volumes about its position in the world as one that only gods could match.
Her fingers pierced his scales, and black flame dug into its throat.
Other heads attempted to breathe fire on her.
"Immune to fire, just like that woman." The dragon said.
Aqua could not listen to it anymore; its words melded together. She pulled back her hand and then launched multiple powerful punches, splattering the dragon lord into a paste, yet not killing him.
Her hands formed a hammer, and she struck at Zm'aj's chest, leaving the dragon lord at the brink of life.
However, he quickly regenerated and attempted to strike and bite her; her wings flapped, and Aqua found herself far above the world.
In an instant, the cosmic storms ravaged Zm'aj's body.
The Dragon Lord thrashed. She ignored its threats and attacks.
"Bathe in the cosmic storm, you scum!"
In a last desperate attempt, it cut off its own head and flew toward the planet. Aqua grabbed the dragon lord by the tail and yanked him up. "What, do you not like the beauty of the cosmos?" She mocked him.
Its head regenerated before quickly being destroyed by the cosmic currents.
Its screams were a melody to her ears.
She spun and launched the dragon lord into the atmosphere.
She followed after him, her hands digging into its back.
Then it crashed, leveling even more of Onost.
Aqua couldn't sense anyone alive; the entire city, except Lucia and a few guards, fell in battle.
Her nostrils flared, and she spat at the dragon that she buried deep under the ground.
Its head lunged from underground, all of them already regenerated.
I will make you regret everything you have done, you monster!
She casually avoided the heads and pulled the massive palace-sized dragon out of the ground. She teleported next to the base of one of his heads and used the black fire to consume it.
The other heads realized the danger and reeled back.
The consumed head did not regenerate.
I want you to suffer. I want you to regret being born! She screamed in her mind before grabbing the dragon and teleporting deep into space.
She let go of it, letting it fight the storms in deep space. The planet's outer atmosphere was hundreds of miles away, making it difficult for the dragon to fly, despite being capable of massive speeds. His wings were shredded, and his soul sundered with each moment.
Despite Zm'aj's power, it was impossible to resist forever.
It breathed immensely hot fire, which had no effect.
The eyes once filled with malice were now tainted by fear. In its desperation, it attempted to cast [Cataclysm], yet before the spell could take effect, Aqua cut off Zm'aj's heads with a spatial slash.
She teleported the dragon and herself to the ruins of Onost, and she peered at his regenerated heads. With a snap of her fingers, all but one head was consumed by black fire, making the dragon lord roar in pain.
The Dragon Lord flapped its sundered wings, yet flight was not possible.
"Tell me, Dragon Lord. Do you know what fear is?" She teleported in front of the final head's snout.
The most powerful dragon in the known world scrambled to escape. "You will regret opposing the Dragon God!"
She snickered. "Ah, so you claim the title of divinity, embodying their cruelty while doing so. You are no better than a god then. And so I will treat you like one."
The flames obscured Aqua's vision, or they were meant to. The Dragon's wings regenerated, and Aqua conjured magical bindings that kept him close to the ground. "You must be proud of your fire," She said, chuckling. "Let me show you what real fire looks like!" She shouted, and a crimson circle covered the sky.
The Dragon's eye slits widened. Despite being immune to fire, he sensed the power behind the crimson flame of Aqua.
"Feel the heat of the ten thousand suns!" She shouted, and a pillar of immense heat collapsed upon the dragon.
Despite the so-called immunity to fire, its scales cracked and melted, shortly followed by the flesh.
A shriek shattered the ground, splitting Onost in two.
Before the dragon died, she dispelled her flame, leaving a charred dragon behind.
Aqua landed on its head and leaned to the hole that served as its ear. "You know, I am sure my friends in this city felt even more fear than you are feeling right now when you and your spawn dared destroy the city. Let me humble you. [True Polymorph: Lizard]."
Its massive body reshaped under Aqua's spell and shrank.
It resisted the spell, fighting with everything it had left to not be reshaped, yet Aqua pushed more mana into the spell, overpowering the Dragon Lord.
"Stop!" It roared, causing a blast of pure force that pushed her and demolished the rest of Onost.
The Palace fell, activating Lucia's [Heart of the Phoenix].
As the palace crumbled, the polymorph reshaped the dragon, leaving only a small gecko in her hand.
Aqua gripped the lizard, her eyes widening. "No, I got ahead of myself."
Lucia did not need to die, yet due to Aqua's selfishness, she had let the Dragon Lord destroy the palace. This is enough; die, you scum.
The Black Flame enveloped her hand before spreading to the polymorphed Zm'Aj, consuming the Dragon Lord.
She exhaled and looked over her ruined home. A tear rolled down her face. "I lost my home again… I can't take this anymore."
She sat down and brought her knees closer.
Did I prioritize the world soul too soon? I should have dealt with the enemies threatening my home first. When will I learn my lesson?
She picked up ash from her city.
"I hope my Azu is safe at least." She forced herself to stand and approached Soleah's egg. At least her dear ones would remain alive, even if her home was lost again.
I need to check on Azu. She plunged into her mind.
However, when she reached out telepathically toward her in an attempt to check the state of the heart, it failed.
Everyone except Sheira's [Heart of the Phoenix] was activated, yet there was something worse. Azure was dead.
Her Azu was dead. The one person she had truly started to love was taken away from her, again. Just like with Umbra, the moment she had fallen in love, some cruel entity had to take them away from her.
It was unacceptable; it was unforgivable. Suddenly, Onost was the last thing on her mind; instead, it was filled with her Azure.
It must have happened while I was in Valerie's mindscape.
Did they wait for the resurrection before killing her? She could not answer. Whatever happened, they sinned against her. Whoever had killed her love would feel her hatred.
Aqua's mind raced, and she teleported where the Academy once stood.