They no longer drifted aimlessly, but began gathering from the shadows on every side like living things with minds of their own,
surging like a tide toward the center of the firelight and dragonfire-where Redd and the others were.
Redd's heart sank.
Watching more and more creatures of flesh charge toward him, then looking at the black mist closing in like something alive,
he suddenly had an extremely bad feeling, a sense of déjà vu, as though countless zombies had surrounded him on all sides.
Tonight would probably be far harder than he had imagined.
The little dragon King Ghidorah refused to be outdone, wriggling his tiny body hard as he tried to help with the weak electrical arcs he could spit out.
Yet against the creatures of flesh pouring in from every direction like a tide, King Ghidorah's arcs, flickering like fireflies, seemed utterly insignificant.
An arc occasionally struck an approaching lump of flesh, but could only make it give a hoarse screech, perhaps scorching a patch of the growths on its surface black,
while its massive, constantly writhing body kept crawling toward the Dragonpit, as though it could not feel pain-or rather, had long since grown numb to it.
Redd knew full well that staying here was no different from waiting to die.
There were simply too many of these creatures of flesh, and their numbers were still growing,
and their fearless rush toward death-or rather, their complete ignorance of it-made Redd's scalp prickle. We have to leave!
But he could not abandon the weakened Aegon.
Redd rejected that thought himself the moment it arose.
Aegon was not only his companion, but also an important fighting force for him in these ruins.
His sharp gaze swept their surroundings. Suddenly, waves of searing red light shone from beneath the ground not far away,
the glow of the volcanic lava where the Dragonpit lay, like a beating heart in the darkness.
That's it! Redd immediately had an idea.
He jabbed a finger toward the lava and roared at Aegon, who was struggling to crawl below:
"Aegon! Crawl that way! Hurry! Get back to the lava vent!"
Although Aegon was so weak that even spreading his wings was difficult, let alone flying, he could still crawl along the ground.
Hearing Redd's command, he seemed to understand the urgency of their situation. Though his movements remained sluggish, he began using the last of his strength to inch toward the lava.
Occasionally, he would jerk his head up as he crawled and spit out a small burst of dim red dragonfire,
like a flame in its death throes, trying to ease the pressure on Ehm above.
Ehm, meanwhile, was like a true war machine, constantly spewing devastating Black Dragonfire at low altitude, reducing the approaching creatures of flesh to ash.
At the same time, it twisted its massive body nimbly, lashing its thick dragon tail like a whip,
each strike whistling as it tore through the air, knocking approaching enemies flying or even bursting them outright!
Occasionally, Ehm would also beat its wings fiercely, whipping up a violent tornado,
blowing the creatures of flesh that had not been killed or swept away off balance, sending them crashing into one another with dull thuds.
The battle reached a fever pitch.
Redd clung tightly to Ehm's scales, feeling the vibrations from below and smelling the mingled stench of scorching, blood, and rotten flesh all around him.
Even more alarming were the creatures' dying screams, roars, and scraping sounds in his ears,
mingling with Aegon's and Ehm's battle roars and the beating of their wings,
forming a ceaseless, mentally shattering noise, as though countless little hammers were pounding his temples, giving him the illusion of demonic sounds pouring into his brain.
Redd gritted his teeth. He knew he had to escort Aegon to the lava vent as quickly as possible. Perhaps that was the only place where they would be safe for the time being.
As they continued moving toward the lava vent, Redd keenly noticed
that the black dragon Ehm, which had been operating like a war machine, was also deteriorating rapidly.
The intervals between its blasts of dragonfire grew longer and longer, and after each blast, Ehm would let out a heavy gasp,
while its wingbeats also seemed strained, and even its once-sharp eyes were clouded with exhaustion and pain.
This is bad! Redd's heart clenched. He immediately opened the system panel and brought up Ehm's status information.
When he saw the familiar word "Cursed" replace its previous "Good" status, he almost cursed aloud!
How could this happen? Could Ehm be infected merely by getting close to these creatures transformed by the curse?
It seemed he really had severely underestimated the danger of the Valyria Ruins at night.
The ruins that seemed peaceful by day became a vast trap filled with resentment at night.
What was inside those creatures was not mere decay or mutation at all. Countless dormant vengeful spirits dwelled within them!
He recalled the scattered information about the curse from before, and a terrifying conclusion gradually became clear:
throughout the Valyria Ruins, every living creature harbored these vengeful spirits within its body to some degree.
By day, they lay dormant, like venomous snakes lurking in the shadows, allowing the creatures to remain in a relatively "normal" state.
But once night fell, these vengeful spirits would awaken, becoming active and frenzied.
Especially when they encountered fire-one of the things they feared most-
and dragons-powerful beings whose very existence could pose a threat to them-
they would erupt with utter madness and aggression, trying to drag every "intruder" into an abyss of eternal damnation under the curse.
Redd knew his blood was the key to lifting the curse.
As long as he could get close to Ehm and feed it a little of his blood, he could temporarily clear its cursed status.
But reality was cruel.
Their current situation did not allow him any room for distraction!
He tried leaning down, only to feel immense pressure bearing in from every direction. Though Ehm and Aegon were temporarily holding those lumps of flesh at bay,
there were simply too many of them. If he fought them at close quarters, a "tiny" human like him
would probably be crushed and torn apart in an instant, becoming the next moving lump of flesh.
Above all, the ceaseless screams in his ears, mingling pain and madness, were like sharp needles,
constantly pricking his nerves, leaving him agitated and almost unable to concentrate.
He looked at Aegon crawling slowly below, then at Ehm, whose condition was also deteriorating, and a profound sense of helplessness and anxiety seized him.
They had to reach the lava vent as quickly as possible. Perhaps some special condition there could temporarily suppress these vengeful spirits, or at least give them a chance to catch their breath.
But now, every additional second they held on felt like dancing on a knife's edge.
Watching the black dragon Ehm's mental state continue to decline, Redd's heart rose into his throat.
Before you continue