Before the Field Team Leader could fire the flare launcher in his hand, that heart-stopping resonance and the blinding red light from the Scoutfly jar triggered an even more terrifying change, like ice dropped into scalding magma!
The last syllable of the Sapphire Star's bitter complaint had barely faded when the massive steel hull beneath her feet lurched violently!
That was no wave rocking the ship, but an impact from deep beneath the sea, so heavy and muffled that it shook their very organs! It was as though some colossal creature had struck a mighty hammer blow at the bottom of the ocean!
The Sapphire Star lunged toward the railing, with the Field Team Leader right behind her.
The sight before them made both gasp. The deep, inky-blue seawater was being stained an ominous dark red at a visible rate!
That red light shone up from the ocean depths, growing brighter and richer. Wherever it reached, the seawater boiled unnaturally, churning with searing bubbles like surging lava!
An overpowering, suffocating mixture of sulfur and molten metal rose skyward with scalding steam, like a volcanic eruption, instantly overwhelming the salty tang of the sea breeze!
"Holy shit, which country dumped something out here? Why's the seawater glowing red...?"
The Field Team Captain's voice took on unmistakable gravity and disbelief.
"Hiss... come to think of it, if it's a red glow..."
"Oh, whoops, now I remember. This should be Dire Miralis, right? Captain, we're so dead today~" The Sapphire Star waved helplessly, tried to slip away again, and was hauled back by the captain.
Beneath the sea lurked a forbidden monster among forbidden monsters! The legendary destroyer that could stir the molten currents of the earth and turn the ocean into a boiling furnace!
Wasn't it supposed to be slumbering in the legends of the Old World?! Why had it appeared in the waters near the New World?! And judging by this... it was definitely coming for the Sapphire Star, or the Fatalis Demolisher on her back!
The Field Team Captain felt as though his scalp were about to explode.
"Sapphire Star, please tell everyone else aboard to take shelter! You can spare a moment before running away!"
Once Dire Miralis unleashed its power, this massive steel ship and everyone aboard would be as fragile as a skiff in a storm.
Left with no choice, the Sapphire Star spun around and shouted with every ounce of strength at the sailors and handful of passengers on deck, who stood dumbstruck by the sudden red light and tremors:
"I'm the Sapphire Star! By order of the Commander, this is the highest-level alert!! Everyone, immediately! Get belowdecks, find the sturdiest place you can, and secure yourselves! This is not a drill! I repeat! This is not a drill!!!"
Her voice exploded through the searing sea breeze and eerie red glow.
Panic spread like a plague, but under the weight of the Sapphire Star's name and the threat of imminent death, the crowd's survival instincts erupted. Screaming and shoving, they rushed toward the entrances leading inside the ship.
The Field Team Captain had already fired the highest-level red distress flare without hesitation!
Its dazzling red light streaked into the sky with a long fiery tail, clearly visible even over these waters shrouded in an infernal glow. It was a desperate plea for aid to the New World and every force within possible reach.
Watching the crowd evacuate in chaotic yet orderly fashion, the Sapphire Star kept her eyes fixed on the dark-red molten core beneath the surface, which grew brighter and spread wider, as though it might erupt at any moment. Inside, she screamed in even greater despair:
"Oh, come on! Why does a girl like me always have to fight forbidden monsters?! First Fatalis, now Dire Miralis, and next it'll be White Fatalis!"
What kind of world was this?! She just wanted to go home and relax by hunting a few Jaggi! Why were forbidden elder dragons lining up one after another to "catch up" with her?
Fatalis's corpse wasn't even cold yet! Now Dire Miralis had come to join the fun! At this rate, even the legendary White Fatalis that had created heaven and earth would probably pop out of some forgotten corner to say hello!
Did this "Sapphire Star" title come with a built-in "top-tier elder dragon aggro MAX" curse?!
The scorching gusts seared their skin.
The Sapphire Star could clearly feel the Fatalis Demolisher on her back radiating astonishing heat through its sheath, its blade giving off a low hum.
Under that terrifying heat, the Velkhana disguise began to make faint cracking sounds. Wisps of crystalline cold were forcibly evaporated, vaguely revealing the darkness beneath, deep as night, that belonged to the forbidden Fatalis.
At the critical instant before this hellish scene unfolded in full, an almost savage resolve flashed through the Sapphire Star's eyes! She shouted at the Field Team Leader beside her, who was braced for battle as well, sweat beading on his forehead:
"Captain! Listen! If... I mean if! We make it back alive this time!" She paused, then shouted her deepest wish with every ounce of strength:
"Can't you let me go back to the Old World~? Pretty please~?"
"No! Ask again and I'll throw you overboard to feed Dire Miralis!"
"Fine! Whatever happens, this time I'm going home and dragging Lone Bird over here! This Fifth Fleet Commander position, and this damned Sapphire Star package... I can't be the only one enjoying them! Lone Bird can forget about hiding in the Old World and slacking off anymore! Not even the Admiral can save him! I mean it!!!"
Amid the terrifying pressure and scorching gusts of Dire Miralis's imminent emergence, her voice sounded so small, yet carried an almost shameless determination born of being driven into a corner.
It was as though dragging her best friend into this mess had become the sole emotional pillar holding her up against the molten-sea behemoth before her.
BOOOOM-!!!
The sea ahead bulged violently upward as though a gigantic bomb had been dropped into it, forming a terrifying mound hundreds of meters across, burning with dark-red molten currents!
A monstrous head wreathed in lava chains, seemingly formed of red-hot obsidian, slowly rose from the boiling sea of blood, carrying a destructive presence that could burn the world to ashes.
Dire Miralis's enormous eyes, blazing with molten cores like two miniature suns fallen into the abyss, instantly locked onto the tiny hunter on deck whose presence filled it with an overwhelming urge to destroy-and the humming blade on her back!
"ROOOAR-!!!!!!!"
A soul-rending roar swept toward them with a tsunami of scorching wind!
At last, the Sapphire Star's hand closed around the scalding hilt.
In the heat of Dire Miralis's arrival, the Velkhana disguise seemed to fracture and evaporate inch by inch, revealing the Fatalis Demolisher's true, savage form, which devoured every glimmer of light!
"Come on!" Every trace of complaint and retreat in the Sapphire Star's eyes gave way to blazing battle spirit. She growled at the world-ending silhouette, "Once I'm done with you... I'm dragging his ass over here!!!"