The outer rim of the lava zone simmered under oppressive heat.

Lyle wiped the sweat from his brow, exhaling heavily. "All that effort, and they only countered my resurrection spell once. Honestly thought they'd try harder."

During his third attempt at reviving Quaiesse, Lyle had sensed that the Slane Theocracy had responded with resurrection magic of their own. Their reaction speed had far surpassed that of the Zurrernorn.

He'd been cautious from the start, preparing for the possibility that the Theocracy might deploy higher-tier resurrection spells.

Fortunately, tucked away in his passive skill Spell Preload, he still had an unused 7th-tier spell: Resurrection stored up.

Of course, if they had used a 9th-tier resurrection spell, he'd be utterly outmatched.

But that seemed far-fetched.

It had been over six centuries since the Six Great Gods walked this world. Any scrolls or artifacts of that caliber would have been depleted by now.

And besides, Lyle seriously doubted that the Theocracy would burn a priceless magic item like that just to revive Quaiesse.

Even spending a 7th-tier spell seemed extravagant.

He turned his gaze toward the mind-controlled Quaiesse, asking flatly, "What relics from the Six Gods still exist in your Theocracy?"

Each time he revived the boy, he got three questions. And since Quaiesse's knowledge was incomplete, Lyle had to be picky about what to ask. Just as he finished the third question...

Bzzz—

[Detected spell: "Object Locate"— Requires Psychic Caster Level: 22–28. Current condition not met.]

[Detected spell: "Clairvoyance"— Requires Mental Caster Level: 29–35. Current condition not met.]

Lyle's expression darkened.

"So… it begins. Time to speed this up."

Without hesitation, he glanced over the notification panel one last time and redirected his focus back to Quaiesse.

A clean slash ended Quaiesse's life.

Then came the questions.

Then another resurrection.

Again and again.

This cycle drained Lyle's mana rapidly. Eventually, Quaiesse's level dropped to the point where he could no longer be revived, somewhere around Level 3 or 4.

His fragile body simply couldn't handle the stress of another revival spell.

Unlike the last time, when he'd conserved mana by recycling the corpse of a gray-robed caster, this time he had no such intentions.

"Raise dead."

Lyle invoked the final use of his Mad Archmage class skill. A holy white light engulfed Quaiesse's remains.

But it was too late.

The man's body, unable to withstand the power of resurrection, began to bubble and disintegrate, vanishing completely in moments.

Lyle let out a long breath and wiped his forehead, now drenched with sweat from the sweltering heat.

"Finally done."

He stood up. The intelligence he'd gleaned about the Slane Theocracy painted a much more formidable picture than he had expected. As the most powerful human nation in existence, their capabilities had clearly been underestimated.

"But before I leave..."

He flipped his palm over and withdrew several magical items stripped from Quaiesse's body - a ring, a necklace, and a few other trinkets.

"A shame, really. These were excellent pieces."

He cast a spell.

[3rd-tier Spell: Composite Element Summon – Swamp Elemental Spirit]

Squelch!

A mass of muddy sludge formed on the scorched ground, rising to about five feet in height. It had no arms, legs, or face - just an amorphous block of glistening muck.

The moment it appeared, the sweltering environment around it began to hiss. Water vapor boiled off its body in thick, curling plumes of steam.

"Elemental Attribute Change – Fire."

With that command, Lyle triggered his Mad Archmage passive ability.

The swamp elemental began to quiver and distort. Flames flickered across its muddy surface, gradually spreading. Half of its body had turned crimson with fire.

Then something went wrong.

The transformation stalled. The elemental started to collapse in on itself, unable to stabilize.

"What the—?"

If the passive worked on elemental spirits, this should have been a simple transformation.

Suddenly, Lyle's eyes narrowed. He realized that only half of the elemental had converted to fire. He had an idea.

"Elemental Attribute Change – Fire and Earth!"

BOOM!

The instability ceased. Fire and earth energies merged, creating a surge of high heat that radiated outward in a visible wave.

Moments later, the swamp elemental had fully transformed, its entire body now glowing with molten lava, a walking embodiment of volcanic fury.

The Lava Elemental Spirit was born.

"That's more like it."

Lyle's eyes gleamed. Composite elementals like this were far more durable than single-element types.

With a wave, he tossed all the looted magical equipment into the elemental's waiting arms.

The Lava Elemental trudged forward toward the lava sea deeper in the zone.

Lyle watched with a wince.

Those items from Quaiesse were worth a fortune.

But after discovering that the [Omnipresence Walk] spell could be used to track items, he had no choice. Keeping those artifacts would have made him a glowing target.

At least the Lava Elemental, with its resistance to extreme heat, made it to the lava's edge without a hitch.

Then it dropped the artifacts into the molten sea.

FWOOSH!

In the very next instant, a wave of lava surged upward.

Something erupted.

A massive, lantern-shaped organ, resembling both a hand and a grotesque lure - lashed out from the depths and seized the elemental in one fluid motion, dragging it beneath the molten surface.

SPLASH!

The lava churned violently.

From the inferno rose a colossal creature, over 50 meters in length. Covered in thick, blazing red scales, it resembled some hellish anglerfish built for a world of fire.

It was a fish-like monster, but calling it a "fish" felt like calling a dragon a lizard.

BOOM!

Two enormous, glowing crimson eyes, each larger than a human torso - locked onto Lyle from across the sea.

It hung in the air for a breathless moment before crashing back down, sending lava geysers shooting skyward.

A blistering heat wave followed in its wake.

"La-Angler Lava Lord..."

Lyle raised his arm to shield his face, eyes squinting.

Fifty meters long and seething with elemental power, it was a true terror of the molten deep.

Even he felt a chill from the sheer presence of such a beast, especially as it moved effortlessly through the lava like a fish in water.

Lyle's face hardened.

That thing was Level 47.

No way he could fight it head-on right now.

Luckily, the La-Angler couldn't leave the lava.

As long as he didn't approach the sea, it couldn't do anything to him.

He turned to leave.

Only to stop abruptly.

Above him, the sky darkened.

A crimson shadow swept toward him, closing the distance in mere seconds.

Wings spread wide.

A creature over 20 meters long descended, wings flapping in the thick air before landing squarely in Lyle's path.

The pressure shifted. The air, already stifling, grew even hotter.

Lyle's expression turned grim.

Red scales. Massive frame. The telltale ridges along its serpentine neck.

No doubt about it.

"A Surface Sovereign… an Ancient Fire Dragon."

He cursed under his breath.

Why was this thing here?

The original records had only mentioned it in passing. It wasn't even supposed to show up.

The dragon's glowing eyes narrowed.

"Human," the dragon rumbled. Its voice was deep, ancient, and disturbingly smug. "Hand over your magical treasures."

Lyle didn't respond.

The Ancient Fire Dragon studied him with a blend of greed and wariness.

It could sense the mana building up in Lyle's body - dangerous, unstable, and ready to explode.

A predator's instincts… tempered by caution.