• The One Who Saved a Life

Thunderous silence.

Everyone was shocked at what just happened, even more at the speed at which it did. The world seemed to stand still as the reality sank in.

For a heartbeat, no one moved. No one breathed. The sight of her consumed by the Corrupted Paragon was too monstrous to process.

Deremiah stood frozen, his wide eyes locked on the giant beast floating above the river face. It was just as he had described it in his writing; unlike normal sharks, Moltensharks possessed an oxblood colored hide layered with heat-resistance scales that had lines of volcanic veins.

Its dorsal fin was roughened and blade-like, while the pectoral fins were broader but just as sharp. It had an elongated head, round and ugly, ember eyes, and long, serrated teeth filling its wide mouth.

Apart from the two thin, muscular tendrils stretching from the sides of its nose which it used to ensnare victims and pull them into its open jaws, Deremiah was most terrified of its Echelon.

Paragon Beasts progressed into damnation just as Awakened Mancers progressed into salvation. For the Moltenshark, it held the Echelon of a Corrupted Paragon which was the same rank as an Ascendant Mancer.

However, Paragons ranked in different Echelons possessed innate traits. Some were territorial, some harmless, some predatory, some violent and some defensive.

Unfortunately, as Deremiah knew, Corrupted Paragons were extremely violent. This meant that they attacked for little to no reason, and they would not back down until their target was dead.

The Corrupted Paragon shifted in the molten sea, and when it brought its head down, its ferocious gaze locked onto the remaining team members.

An interface appeared beside it:

[Your adversary is: Moltenshark]

[Beast Mode: Paragon]

[Echelon: Corrupted]

Deremiah's limbs froze. There was no leaving this Trial unless they killed that beast, but it seemed at that very moment that it was them who were most likely to be killed.

"Go, go, go, go!" Mist, who had only been shaken by her friend's death for a second, barked. "Alfis! "Run! Get across the bridge now!"

The moment they began to move, the Moltenshark lashed out its slimy tendrils again. One of them shot toward Mist and the other was coming for Deremiah.

Allowing instinct to take control, Deremiah stumbled back with a yelp, and the tendril whipped past, just missing him.

He wanted to regain his posture when he realized that the tendril was retracting and coming back for him. Quickly, he performed his signature dive to the ground, although backwards, and narrowly avoided it.

As skillful as she was with the sword, it was no surprise when Mist brought her blade down in a quick motion and severed the tendril aimed at her cleanly.

But this only angered the Paragon Beast as it shrieked madly, thrashing around in pain while its tendrils wriggled in the air. Then, it submerged into the river of lava.

Deremiah's eyes followed its massive shadow, and saw it moving swiftly toward them beneath the molten surface.

"It's coming for the bridge!" Mist yelled. "Go, go, go now!"

Led by Alfis, the team sprinted forward, desperation driving them as the beast's form grew closer, its dorsal fin appeared above the lava as it rippled through with immense speed.

Deremiah couldn't stop looking as he hurried behind Mist, but he saw clearly that they weren't going to make it.

"Hurry?" Mist cried, seeing that as well.

The Paragon burst out of the red river and rammed its body into the bridge from below. Everyone froze, instinctively extending their hands on both sides for balance as the makeshift structure creaked dangerously.

"Hold on!" Mist shouted as the beast struck again, the impact this time sent splinters of wood flying. "Just stay still. We're gonna move slowly so it doesn't break."

The beast struck it again, diving into the lava after each time it did. The logs groaned under the strain, and the heat from the lava was also scorching the wood as Deremiah remembered. It wouldn't take long for the makeshift bridge to collapse.

"Walk slowly," Mist directed, raising her feet up and placing it forward. "Slowly."

Again, the beast attacked the bridge.

"Ohhh my. I can't believe Faya's dead," Pallock's trembling voice came from behind Deremiah.

Deremiah turned to see the pudgy boy shaking like a leaf, his swollen face pale and glistening with sweat. "We're all going to die," Pallock whimpered.

Deremiah frowned. 'If he's this terrified, then how should I be feeling?'

Abruptly, the beast rammed the bridge once more, and this time, catching everyone by surprise, the center cracked with an ominous splintering sound.

"The bridge!" Alfis shouted. The structure began to collapse, splitting in two and separating Mist, Alfis, and Dane from Deremiah and Pallock.

Deremiah moved backwards, as the shattered end of the wooden bridge sunk into the lava, hissing away into steam. Pallock lied down flat on the ground, trembling as he scrambled backward on his hands and knees to the anchored end of the bridge, which they had secured by a large rock.

Mist's eyes widened as she watched from the opposite end. "Jump, Deremiah!" Mist yelled with an urgent tone, clearly only bothered for Deremiah.

Only hesitating for a second, Deremiah took a running leap, his heart soaring into his throat as he cleared the gap and landed on the other side. It was a far jump at all, and the rock anchoring the other end of the bridge seemed to be stronger.

He turned to look behind him and saw that Pallock was still lying chest down on the ground, holding onto the sinking wood and completely paralyzed by fear.

'What is wrong with this guy?' Deremiah grimaced. "Hey you!" he called to him. "Get up and jump!"

Pallock lifted his head and looked up at him, uncertainty and fear in his eyes. "Uhhh..." he looked around himself. "I— I can't."

"What are you talking about? Do you want to die?" Deremiah looked into the lava river. 'And even if he does, scorching to death is not the best way to go out.'

"Leave him!" Mist snapped. "If he won't jump, it's his choice!"

Alfis nodded grimly. "He's dead weight anyway. And I mean that literally."

Dane, his brother, just watched hopelessly.

"Let's go, Deremiah," Mist extended her hand to him.

Deremiah gave them all silent looks before turning back to Pallock. "Look, get on your feet now and jump! If you're gonna die, it's better you die trying than die doing nothing!"

Pallock instantly lifted his head, gazing at Deremiah who looked back at him with a clamant expression on his face. It was like at that moment, he had received a burst of inspiration. One no one had ever given him before.

So, slowly, he picked his heavy self from the sinking bridge, squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath.

At the same time, the beast's shadow loomed beneath the molten surface, speeding toward the crumbling structure. Then, with a desperate cry, Pallock ran and leaped.

But so did the Moltenshark. Out of the lava. Jaws open.

Deremiah's eyes widened. Time seemed to slow as Pallock remained mid-leap while the Paragon's jaws closed in on him.

Suddenly, Alfis hurled his greatsword with all his might. It sped through the air and embedded itself in the side of the Moltenshark's scaled face.

The beast wailed out loudly in pain. Its massive body slithered and recoiled back into the lava, dragging the other half of the broken bridge with it.

"I got it!" Alfis roared triumphantly. "I got the damned thing!"

Pallock's jump, however, was far from graceful. His feet had missed the mark and his hands scrabbled at the edge of the platform as his legs dangled perilously over the lava. "Help!" he screamed. "I'm slipping!"

One finger lost grip, then two, then all of them. He was about to fall.

But quickly, Deremiah lunged forward, grabbing Pallock's wrists just as his grip faltered. "I got you!"

Pallock looked up and saw his face, somehow he felt assured that he was going to make it. Nonetheless, the heat rising from the lava was unbearable, and he whimpered, "My shoes, they're melting! And my feet are burning!"

"Hold on!" Deremiah grunted, using every ounce of strength to pull him up. His muscles burned, sweat streaming down his face, but he refused to let go.

Mist's eyes widened and she saw that if they continued at this rate, Pallock's and Deremiah's weight would pull both of them into the lava.

With a grunt, she yelled at Alfis and Dane to; "Anchor the bridge! Keep it steady!"

The two brothers stood there for a moment. Alfis looked at Mist, letting her know what he was thinking. This was about the best of opportunities they were going to get to rid themselves of those two.

Mist only appeared to think of it for a moment, before she narrowed her eyes and repeated her order. "Anchor it!"

Alfis and Dane tentatively obeyed, while Deremiah was putting in all of his strength to pull Pallock up.

He gritted his teeth, his muscles straining as his weight caused creaks on the bridge. Pallock looked up at him, hopeful but also scared. Then, his eyes saw something.

A purple moving liquid slowly appeared from Deremiah's hand and coiled itself around Pallock's. Pallock recognized this liquid as the same one Deremiah was controlling last night, and he watched as Deremiah's strength suddenly seemed to increase.

Slowly, the purple-eyed boy pulled him up and with one final heave, Deremiah dragged Pallock onto the bridge.

With no time to waste, they both ran off the collapsing bridge and collapsed on the scorched ground, gasping for air. Pallock turned his head to Deremiah. "Y— you saved me."

The other nobles watched in silence. Alfis, especially, had a scornful look on his face.

Finally, Mist stormed over, glaring down at Deremiah who was now sitting on the ground. "Don't risk yourself like that again," she said sternly. "My job is to keep you alive. I can't do that if you're risking your life saving someone else."

Deremiah looked up at her and said nothing. He especially didn't even have the chance to because just then, a loud, guttural shriek echoed through the chasm. All eyes turned to the lava river.

Mist frowned. "Alfis, when you struck the Moltenshark, did you get a notification from your Status Cube?"

Alfis hesitated. "Now that you mention it… no."

Mist stepped forward, her expression grim as she peered into the molten depths. "Then that Paragon isn't dead."

Then, right on cue, the beast erupted from the lava, roaring furiously. Lava splashed everywhere, and its tendrils lashed wildly in the air. The battle wasn't over yet.