⚠️ The Lead That Looked Too Good
A message came through a smuggler in the borderlands of Eramun:
"There's a surviving Ashura tower. Intact. Sealed tight. Only opens to high-rank bloodlines."
For the first time in months, it felt real.
A ruin not destroyed.
Not looted.
Hidden.
Protected.
And possibly still linked to the transfer magic they needed.
"We go now," the Demon King said.
Queen Alira didn't argue.
🏯 The Tower of Black Glass
They found it at dawn — a jagged spire of obsidian cutting into the clouds, buried between crags of scorched rock.
Symbols of the Ashura Dominion still glowed faintly on the outer walls.
Traps had long been deactivated. Guards long dead.
But something was wrong.
Too quiet.
Too... clean.
"It's not a lead," Alira murmured."It's bait."
"I know," he replied."Let's spring it."
🔥 The Ambush
The ground ruptured first.
Firestorms erupted around them, sealing off escape.
Demonic beasts—corrupted, clawed, twisted — burst from the walls.
And among them, remnants of Ashura elites.
Old armor. Young faces.
Desperate. Vengeful.
"The Last Flame will never die," one hissed."Verdantia will fall!"
The Demon King stepped forward, unfazed.
"She already did."
He raised his hand.
And fire obeyed.
⚔️ Side by Side
They fought without speaking.
Queen Alira moved like silk — her blade a ribbon of steel and frost.
She struck with precision, reading his every movement as if choreographed.
He carved through the beasts like falling dusk — calm, merciless.
One came from behind — she caught it mid-air.
Another charged her blind side — he broke its jaw in a single strike.
They moved like two stars in orbit.
Not guiding.
Not following.
Matching.
💢 The Final Blow
The last Ashura loyalist tried to retreat.
A spell detonated behind him — not cast, but reflected.
Alira's blade pierced his chest.
He dropped.
It was over.
Ashes filled the air.
Their cloaks were torn. Blood smeared. Breathing heavy.
But both were still standing.
🤐 Aftermath
They sat in the shadow of the tower's corpse.
Neither said "thank you."
Neither said "you saved me."
They just drank from a cracked canteen, passing it wordlessly.
"Still nothing inside," she muttered.
"Just another false hope."
He stared at the ashes swirling in the wind.
"Then we keep walking."