Logan had not expected Zorah Magdaros to be able to reach such a state.
Although he too feared death—after all, he had died once before—his previous death had been somewhat inexplicable, and so that fear mostly stemmed from the unknown.
For that reason, he found it somewhat difficult to understand how Zorah Magdaros, which was clearly already at the end of its strength, with a body so weakened that a single energy confrontation would cause it to collapse, still chose this manner to face death.
This was completely different from the Kushala Daora he had encountered last time, which had calmly accepted death at the end.
Before Logan could continue observing anything, a wave of scorching energy pulses suddenly spread outward at high speed.
This scorching aura was such that even Logan could feel its warmth.
Zorah Magdaros had completely died. The massive residual life energy within it was, at this moment, finally no longer bound by anything.
When ordinary creatures die, the life energy within their bodies rapidly returns to the heavens and earth at the instant of death; Elder Dragons are no exception.
It was only that Zorah Magdaros's special nature caused its life energy to carry absolute heat, and what manifested was precisely what was happening now: a volcano that, no longer suppressed by the effluvium of the Vaal Hazak, began to erupt without restraint.
Rolling black smoke surged skyward. Vast quantities of crimson magma spewed forth and poured down like a sea, seeming as though it would incinerate everything nearby.
With everything proceeding just as the Vaal Hazak had long expected, they began exerting their strength in unison. Countless streams of effluvium rushed into the magma, acting like a coolant, rapidly lowering the magma's temperature amid a sizzling hiss. In an instant, the space—already dim because of the effluvium—became incomparably pitch-black.
Faced with this scene, Logan's curiosity was piqued. Just as he was about to fly closer to take a look, several roars came from not far behind him.
Turning his head, he saw three more Vaal Hazak arriving.
They directly ignored Logan's presence, plunging straight into the effluvium and joining this "burial" work.
Piles upon piles of crimson, glowing organs moved through the black fog. After thinking it over one last time, Logan still did not fly over. With a spread of his wings, he left this place directly.
Within the effluvium, a Vaal Hazak that had been sparing part of its attention to keep a tight watch on Logan saw him leave. Its head—still draped in the hide of a rotten monster—tilted slightly, and it finally let out a breath of relief.
This was the most critical moment. If it was mishandled, not only the area—perhaps half of the Rotten Vale—would be covered by this magma. If something went wrong then, it would affect the entire New World!
Now that the greatest threat had left, their work could formally begin.
Aside from those transporting effluvium to cool the magma, the other Vaal Hazak landed one after another and began guiding the flowing magma to enter the Everstream at an appropriate rate. Of course, the life energy within the magma had already been handled by them; it would no longer have Zorah Magdaros's exaggerated aggressiveness, and it would not stir up the Everstream and cause volcanoes to erupt everywhere.
...
Flying out of the effluvium, the Terastal shell covering Logan's body rapidly receded.
Under the sunlight, his scales dispersed that faint, lingering chill.
One Fire Wyvern after another still hovered in the air, not having departed yet. Under little Loren's lead, they continued circling in the skies over this region.
Although the skies of the Coral Highlands were Legiana territory, when faced with such a large group of Fire Wyverns, even the likewise pack-dwelling Legiana would not foolishly rush over to drive them away. They could only choose to stay holed up in their nests within the Coral Highlands, silently observing their movements.
Of course, not all flying wyverns turned a blind eye to the Fire Wyverns.
After all, within the Coral Highlands, among the commonly seen flying wyverns besides Legiana, there was also the "Cherry Blossom Queen"—the Pink Rathian!
There was a young and robust Pink Rathian whose nest was nearby.
Originally, this was merely a combination of ordinary Fire Wyverns and Radiant Fire Wyverns—something this Pink Rathian would not even spare a glance at, the sort she would look down on even if she could not defeat them.
But then another little Loren flew out at the end!
Although little Loren's appearance, compared to an Azure Rathalos, leaned more toward that of a Silver Rathalos, with an overall image somewhere between a Silver Rathalos and a Radiant Fire Wyvern, within Fire Wyvern aesthetics, the present little Loren's appeal to Rathians was in no way inferior to Logan back in the day.
Back then, Logan had Aki at his side, watching closely, and as Logan's presence grew ever stronger—until those Rathians could no longer match him—their thoughts were finally extinguished.
But little Loren was different. Leaving aside the fact that he had not yet grown to his optimal state, just the absence of even a trace of any other Rathian's scent on him was enough to make some Rathians of suitable age fall under his spell.
Up on the Ancient Tree, the Radiant Fire Wyverns who knew little Loren's lineage naturally had a clear sense of their own standing. No matter how tempted they might be, they would not dare to try.
But this cherry-colored "country girl" did not know all that. She only knew that little Loren's appeal to her far surpassed that of any Azure Rathalos she had ever seen.
Thus, when Logan emerged from the effluvium, the first scene that met his eyes was a Pink Rathian that looked to have only just reached adulthood, her scales still exceptionally smooth and brilliant. Ignoring the surrounding group of robust Radiant Fire Wyverns, she continuously circled little Loren in flight, showing off her own "charm" to him.
As for his own foolish son, who was only a few years short of full adulthood, he was completely unmoved by this. He even flicked his tail as if swatting away flies, turning a blind eye to the Pink Rathian's courtship, with a faint hint that he was about to make a move.
When little Loren caught sight of Logan's figure, he flicked his tail, nearly striking the Pink Rathian who was trying to press closer. Ignoring the other party's somewhat plaintive low growls, he quickly flew toward Logan.
Seeing that Logan appeared to be completely unscathed, he let out a dragon's roar that was noticeably more mature, filled with excitement.
Ordinary Fire Wyverns had no idea what had happened within the effluvium, but little Loren—who possessed Elder Dragon blood—clearly sensed those energy fluctuations that even the vast amount of effluvium had failed to conceal.
For ordinary Fire Wyverns, they only knew that the laser breath which finally pierced through the effluvium was most likely an attack unleashed by Logan. Little Loren, however, understood that the energy contained within that breath was probably something Logan could only reach by exerting his full strength at the present stage.
And now, seeing Logan completely unscathed, the worry in little Loren's heart was thoroughly put to rest, replaced instead by excited jubilation.
That old father of his—whom he regarded as the lifelong goal he would always chase—still had not suffered a single defeat!
The Pink Rathian that had flown after little Loren, upon seeing Logan for the first time, immediately drew her neck back. Her entire body instantly became well-behaved and restrained, not daring to act recklessly in the slightest.
The gap in ecological position was simply far too vast.
She might still dare to harbor some thoughts toward little Loren, but when facing Logan, this young Pink Rathian could only play the part of a cowering quail—reining in her violent temper and silently praying that Logan would not take offense at her and launch an attack.
As for little Loren's major life matters as a dragon, Logan had no intention whatsoever of intervening.
Little Loren's bloodline was simply too high. As the small one born from Logan and Aki seizing an exceedingly rare opportunity, once he reached adulthood, he would already be a fully qualified Elder Dragon.
After all, given the current circumstances, it was very likely that little Loren might never find a suitable mate in his entire life. On this point, Logan did feel a bit guilty.
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