She had returned to her home—
her own Nibelungen at Subway Station No. 100.
And the moment she arrived at the entrance, she saw the path that now ran straight through the labyrinth.
A path that had been smashed open.
The walls blocking the way had been blasted through, and a train on the railway was overturned at the side.
"Who the hell did this?!"
Seeing her carefully constructed alchemical domain in such a state—
Jörmungandr was genuinely furious!
This was her home—her lair!
"Damn thief!"
Jörmungandr followed the path all the way to the deepest part of the labyrinth.
It was her brother Fenrir's room.
And now, the room had a huge hole blasted into it.
Fenrir, who was supposed to be bound here, had already escaped.
The ground was in complete disarray.
It had just rained, and water still dripped down through the cracks.
Jörmungandr's expression grew even uglier.
She didn't believe her brother had escaped on his own.
Someone must have helped him.
And not just anyone—someone strong.
Jörmungandr wanted nothing more than to go find her brother right now.
But she was a clever girl.
Anger clouds judgment and leads to mistakes.
Suppressing the rage boiling inside, Jörmungandr took a deep breath.
Now wasn't the right time to go looking for him.
The Nibelungen had a massive rupture that needed to be repaired.
This was her lair. It absolutely could not be discovered by hybrids.
Moreover, since a Dragon King had appeared here, it was inevitable that many hybrids would come to investigate.
There were many secrets in this Nibelungen—secrets that must not be exposed.
Jörmungandr didn't want to return home one day and find it robbed because she'd gone off to find her brother.
Standing in the center of the labyrinth, Jörmungandr's body became covered in sharp, glimmering scales.
Her hands and feet transformed into the claws of a Dragon King.
And then she began to recite the indescribable language of dragons.
Word Spirit: Heaven and Earth as the Furnace
Serial No.: 96
Bloodline Origin: King of Bronze and Flame
Danger Level: Medium
Discovered and Named By: Ye Fashan
Within the caster's domain, this Word Spirit smelts metal from thin air and reshapes it freely.
Science cannot explain how it works, but extremely strong magnetic fields have been detected within its area.
To the King of Bronze and Flame himself, this is a high-tier Word Spirit.
Its greatness and potential are no less impressive than more destructive ones like Candle Dragon.
For ordinary casters, it can only melt a limited amount of metal elements within a small range.
But in the hands of a Dragon King-level caster, it's effectively an unlimited, colossal furnace.
It can be used for massive-scale metal smelting, or to purify metal ore in a short time.
There's no evidence so far that it can regenerate metal from scraps.
The name comes from the Han Dynasty poem Ode to the Roc:
"Heaven and Earth as the furnace, Creation as the artisan; Yin and Yang as the coals, all things as the copper."
In ancient China, alchemists called this Word Spirit Wish-Fulfilling Furnace and Samadhi True Fire.
The former refers to the furnace's shape and size adjusting at will,
the latter means that the caster uses the fire of the mind to refine matter.
Jörmungandr's low chanting voice enveloped the entire alchemical labyrinth.
The ruptured exit gradually sealed up.
The whole alchemical labyrinth began to move, as if it had come alive.
Jörmungandr's alchemical domain now completely covered the entire labyrinth.
She would reshape it—reshape its rules.
The living alchemical labyrinth coiled and twisted like a serpent, contracting and expanding.
The kamaitachi hanging in the tunnels flew about in panic,
trying to dodge the furious queen as she restructured the entire domain.
As time passed, the surrounding cracks were gradually repaired.
The Nibelungen returned once again to its state as a "land of the dead."
"It's done."
Jörmungandr ceased her Word Spirit.
She had returned just in time, and her judgment had been correct.
And this time, she had completely sealed off the entrance to the Nibelungen.
No one—except her and her brother Fenrir—would be able to enter again.
Door closed.
Door locked.
Key taken.
Biometric lock added.
Jörmungandr was going to find her brother now.
"Beep beep beep!!"
Just then, Jörmungandr's phone rang.
The phone belonged to her human identity—Xia Mi.
Jörmungandr's right claw shifted back into a human hand.
She picked up the phone placed nearby and turned on the screen.
A stranger had sent her a video.
The thumbnail was an image of her brother—Fenrir.
A flicker of coldness and fury passed through Jörmungandr's eyes.
Then she tapped the video open.
In the video—
Old Tang and Constantine were happily playing on a swing set.
Then a voice sounded.
"It's starting!"
Obviously, the person speaking was the one recording.
As soon as they heard the cue, Old Tang and Constantine launched into a spinning, leaping dance off the swings.
"Hey, who's this? Could it be… Jörmungandr?!"
Old Tang said flamboyantly while breakdancing, pointing straight at the camera.
Constantine did the same—though a little shy.
After another round of painfully awkward street dancing—
Old Tang went on.
"Guess who didn't get invited to today's Dragon King gathering? Oh, you guessed it right—it's you, Jörmungandr, you little piece of trash."
The two dragons launched into more cringe-worthy moves.
Spinning kicks on the ground.
Then they stood back up. Old Tang took a step forward.
"Hey, this weekend, I'm heading to Japan for a super cool party with some cute, pretty maid girls. All the Dragon Kings will be there. Even the White King is coming back to life. Oh, and guess what? The Black King will show up too! Now guess who wants to come but can't? Yep—you again, Jörmungandr."
Old Tang's tone and gestures were over-the-top arrogant, both fingers pointed at the lens, legs swinging nonstop.
"Go hide in your mommy's arms and cry like a little girl! Jörmungandr—God might forgive you."
At that moment, a big dumb-looking head popped out from behind the two Dragon Kings. He was munching on chips, with an expression of pure contentment—like a kitten enjoying cat food.
Jörmungandr's pupils contracted as she saw that familiar figure.
"Brother!"
The video ended there.
Less than two minutes long—but packed with information.
"Japan, the King of Bronze and Fire… and the Black and White Kings? Impossible. How could he have revived so soon? Norton lied to me. No—he might actually have been resurrected by now. But even if he's alive again, that doesn't mean he's back to his peak strength."
Jörmungandr didn't hesitate.
She immediately decided to go to Japan.
Sending her this kind of American-style bullying video clearly meant to lure her there. She didn't know exactly what they were planning—but it probably wasn't good.
For pure-blood dragons to strengthen their lineage, they had to devour others of equal purity.
Jörmungandr would never allow her brother to be eaten by another Dragon King.
If anyone was going to devour her brother, it would be her.
°°°
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