CHAPTER 89: MELIRA’S ROAR

[: 3rd POV :]

The sea roared beneath the gathering armada, waves breaking violently against the colossal battleships that cut through the waters with grim purpose.

From the largest of them, an ominous vessel adorned with obsidian runes and crimson banners, stepped the Demon King Xerath.

His eyes, sharp as volcanic glass, scanned the horizon.

Beside him, Demon Queen Lilith’s elegant form radiated power and unease.

Kiel and Demon Lord Manork stood at their flanks, joined by the other Demon Lords—each one silent, their expressions carved from stone.

"So this is it," Lilith murmured, her voice a haunting whisper.

"The Forbidden Continent..."

Xerath’s gaze did not waver from the storm-wreathed land.

"A place no ruler dares to tread. And yet, here we stand—because of one boy."

From another direction, a fleet bearing the crest of crystalline wings approached. Empress Caelira emerged, clad in battle regalia, her silver hair glinting against the stormlight.

At her side stood her daughter, Aeriwen, and twelve Archmages whose auras shimmered like beacons of raw magic.

"Mother," Aeriwen said softly, her voice trembling as she gazed at the cursed land ahead.

"Is he... really there?"

Caelira’s lips pressed into a thin line, her amethyst eyes fierce yet weighted with dread.

"He is and we will not leave without him."

The sound of another armada broke the tense stillness.

The King of Beasts, Kaelgor, towered over his warriors, his leonine mane glinting like golden fire beneath the crimson thunder.

Queen Selena stood beside him, calm yet alert, her sharp eyes scanning the barrier.

Rika stood slightly behind, flanked protectively by her three elder brothers—Torren, Vaelen, and Draven—and seven towering War Beasts whose growls rumbled like distant earthquakes.

"I don’t like this," Torren muttered, his hand tightening on his weapon.

"That barrier... it reeks of something beyond our powers."

Rika nodded faintly, her lips trembling as she whispered, "Daniel... please... just hold on."

Another fleet sliced through the horizon—this one carrying the banner of dragons.

Empress Sylthara stood proudly at the bow, her draconic wings shimmering faintly as her daughters—Lysandra, Rena, and the youngest, Erina—stood close by.

The twelve Drakon Force warriors, clad in enchanted armor, stood in perfect formation behind them.

Lysandra spoke first, her voice calm yet laced with unease.

"The barrier’s energy... it feels alive."

Rena’s fists clenched. "Alive... and hungry. I don’t like it."

Erina, the smallest of the sisters just watched in silence.

Then came the heavy thrum of iron-bound warships.

The Dwarves had arrived.

Dwarf King Thrain, broad and grizzled, stood beside Queen Brynja, whose emerald eyes glimmered with restrained concern.

Their daughters, Hilda and Freya, along with their two warrior sons, Balin and Doran, stood flanked by five towering Ironslayers—dwarven constructs carved from rune-infused stone and metal.

Thrain grunted as he studied the barrier.

"Aye... that’s no simple warding magic. Feels like it was made to keep gods out, not mortals."

Brynja nodded grimly.

"Then we’ll have to hit it harder than the gods ever dared."

Lastly, the winds shifted and shimmered as the Spirit Empress Sylvene arrived upon a gliding vessel of luminous crystal.

Her two daughters, Seraphina and Mirielle, stood behind her, along with twelve High Oracles, their forms shimmering faintly with ethereal light.

Sylvene’s golden eyes locked on the storm ahead, a rare trace of fear flickering within them.

"He’s there. I can feel him... his essence... burning against the weight of the continent."

The gathered rulers and their imperial families now stood together, side by side—a sight that had not been seen in centuries.

They owed Melira, and now, the unthinkable had drawn them all to one place.

Their attention turned toward the land before them.

The Forbidden Continent loomed like a scar upon the earth, surrounded by a barrier of bluish-white light that pulsed faintly, as if it had a heartbeat.

Above it, dark clouds swirled violently, streaked with crimson lightning that roared like an angry god.

A black mist seeped across the land, writhing like living shadows.

Lilith exhaled sharply.

"It’s... worse than I imagined."

Kaelgor growled low, the sound primal.

"Whatever waits beyond that mist...was something that our ancestors had sacrificed to seal it"

Caelira took a step forward, her aura surging like a violet tempest.

"Not for much longer. We break through. No matter what it takes."

Melira’s voice—fierce and commanding—cut through the tension from the deck of her own vessel as she approached from behind the gathering forces.

"Prepare yourselves. The barrier will not welcome us—and neither will what lies beyond it"

"But we will reach him. And we will not let the Forbidden Continent claim my son."

No one spoke further.

The sight of the cursed land, the weight of what awaited them, silenced all but the storm.

The air grew tense as the gathered rulers stood before the barrier, their ships anchored in grim silence.

Yet among them, none radiated more urgency than Melira.

Her eyes burned with an unrelenting fire, fixed upon the storm-wreathed land where her son fought alone.

"I’ve waited long enough," she muttered, voice low but trembling with fury.

Caelira turned sharply toward her.

"Melira, think—this barrier is unlike anything we’ve faced. Charging head-on—"

"Every second we waste, he fights... he bleeds... he faces those monsters alone! I will not stand here and watch!"

Melira cut her off, her voice cracking as emotions surged.

Xerath narrowed his eyes, his deep voice rumbling like distant thunder.

"You’re planning to use...to use your bloodline, aren’t you?"

Melira did not answer.

Instead, she stepped forward, the wind whipping around her as her aura exploded outward, rippling like waves of heat.

Crimson sparks danced across her skin, and the very air seemed to shudder beneath the force of her awakening bloodline.

Aeriwen’s voice faltered with awe.

"She’s... she’s really going to do it."

Then it began.

Melira closed her eyes and exhaled, her voice rising like a solemn oath.

[: Dragon Bloodline... Doom of Eternal. First Form—Genesis Extinction :]

The transformation was instant—and terrifying. Crimson light erupted from her body, followed by streaks of black and gold that spread across her skin like molten veins.

Then, with a sharp, echoing crack, her flesh hardened into scales—gleaming crimson at the edges, laced with streaks of obsidian and veins of gold that shimmered like divine fire.

Her spine arched, and from her back, a long, sinuous tail erupted, coiling with raw power.

Two massive wings unfolded behind her, each feathered with razor-edged scales, humming with energy.

Twin horns, curved and jagged, grew from her head, glowing faintly with a golden blaze.

Her eyes, once fierce and determined, now burned with a predatory brilliance—like molten suns staring into eternity.

The waves beneath the fleet rose violently, as if the ocean itself feared her awakening.

"By the gods..." whispered Queen Selena, gripping Kaelgor’s arm unconsciously. "She’s not holding back at all."

The Drakon Empress Sylthara studied her intently, her expression unreadable yet tinged with respect.

"That... is a form even among dragons spoken of in fear."

Melira’s voice thundered, laced with draconic resonance.

"No wall... no curse... no ancient seal will stop me."

Rika stepped forward, her voice almost pleading.

"Melira, wait! The barrier—it’s alive! If you strike blindly—"

But Melira was no longer listening.

She took one step forward, and the air cracked.

A second—and the waves split beneath her.

Then she launched herself skyward with a deafening roar, wings tearing through the clouds like scarlet lightning.

The storm above responded violently, red thunder clashing against her rising aura, yet she soared higher, faster, until she hovered directly above the barrier.

From below, Kaelgor muttered, "This... could shatter the continent itself..."

"Genesis Roar!" Melira roared, and the sky itself trembled.

Crimson, black, and gold energy spiraled around her body, condensing into a searing sphere of annihilation—so dense the air warped and cracked around it.

The sea churned violently, ships creaking under the sheer pressure of her power.

Sylvene’s voice broke through the growing cacophony. "She’s trying to tear open reality itself—strike at the barrier on a primal level. But if she miscalculates..."

"Then this whole continent... and us with it," Xerath finished grimly.

Melira gave one final cry, eyes blazing with fury and desperation.

"*OPEN FOR ME!"

"Breath of Nihil!"

The moment Melira unleashed the Breath of Nihil, the heavens trembled.

A devastating spiral of energy erupted from her maw, coiling like a living storm of annihilation as it tore through the air toward the Forbidden Continent’s barrier.

The roar that accompanied it was not merely sound, it was a cry, a declaration of a mother’s wrath and desperation.

The sheer magnitude of her attack split the clouds, sending shockwaves across the sea.

Waves rose like walls only to vaporize instantly as the energy tore past, leaving nothing but a hiss of steam and the glimmer of scorched mist in its wake.

The ocean trembled, then went eerily calm as the attack reached its target.

And then... nothing.

The spiraling annihilation struck the barrier and—was absorbed.

No explosion, no cracks forming across its surface.

Just a faint ripple, as if the barrier had drunk her attack like water poured into a bottomless well.

Melira’s draconic eyes widened, disbelief flashing in her gaze.

"No... impossible..."

Her voice trembled with rage and dread. She had poured enough power into that attack to erase a continent, yet the shield did not even waver.

From the battleship, Demon King Xerath muttered, his deep voice heavy with unease,

"That... was one of her strongest moves? And it did nothing?"

Empress Sylthara of the Dragons clenched her fists, her face grim.

"This isn’t an ordinary seal. This... this is a law beyond laws."