Revenge: A Path of Destruction
Chapter 151: Mount Blanc

Chapter 151: Mount Blanc

Finally, after a week of travel filled with cautious movement and playful squabbles, they arrived.

Mount Blanc loomed before them—no longer the serene, snow-veiled giant once whispered of in history books, but a wrathful colossus that scraped at the heavens with fire and fury.

Where once the gentle clouds had embraced its majestic peaks, a sinister transformation had taken place.

Now, the skies were choked with ash, swirling in a chaotic maelstrom of deep crimson and ominous black, resembling a furious tempest conjured by a vengeful deity.

As thunder rumbled ominously beneath the surface, it reverberated through the air like the hollow groan of ancient stones shifting under the weight of unseen forces, accompanied by the fiery hiss of pressurized flame escaping from deep within the earth.

The air itself tasted like iron and smoke. Ash drifted downward in gentle spirals, soft as snow but hot enough to blister skin on contact.

Screeches echoed from the mountaintop—piercing, guttural things that sounded less like animals and more like the tortured cries of the mountain itself.

The earth at their feet was cracked and bone-dry, veins of glowing magma running through it like molten lightning. Every few seconds, a distant roar would ripple from within the volcano’s throat, as if it resented being disturbed.

Alex paused at the boundary. His eyes narrowed, scanning the transformed terrain.

This place reeked of rage.

"This was supposed to be a mountain, right?" Nyxara muttered from his shoulder, her tone oddly subdued.

Alex didn’t respond. His eyes were fixed ahead, thoughtful. Alert.

The tigress’s voice came again, this time tinged with wary humor. "Looks more like a temper tantrum wearing a volcano’s skin."

The temperature had soared—oppressive and dry, pressing down on their skin like invisible weights. Even with Alex’s layered protections, sweat beaded along his brow. A rare occurrence.

He knew then: any being below the Master rank would die here within minutes. Dehydrated. Scorched. Or simply broken by the pressure.

Before they could proceed, movement in the sky caught their attention.

At first, it was subtle—black specks swirling like soot. But the wind shifted, and the specks grew... fast.

Birds.

No monsters in avian form.

They descended like celestial reapers—six colossal birds, each with wingspans that stretched longer than city buses. Their feathers shimmered with living flame, and their presence flooded the atmosphere with violent mana. Power surged from them like drumbeats—rhythmic, proud, and threatening.

Their eyes glowed with intelligence. Not beasts. Guardians.

They didn’t attack. Instead, they circled—strategic, precise. Their formation screamed discipline honed over centuries.

Alex and Nyxara stood motionless, watching. Waiting.

Then one of them broke rank—a titan with molten eyes and plumage the color of burning blood. It lowered its massive head, a gesture that felt far too regal for something born of fire.

"The Empress has been awaiting your arrival," it spoke, its voice deep and resonant, like stone grinding against magma. "We are to escort you to her."

Alex blinked slowly, his gaze flicking toward Nyxara. The surprise in her golden eyes mirrored his own.

"Well," she drawled, "either we’re being treated like honored guests... or served on a flaming platter."

Alex exhaled. "Guess we’re about to find out.

He climbed atop the offered bird with quiet resolve. Nyxara leapt smoothly to his shoulder, her claws digging in lightly for balance. The other birds tightened formation and lifted, beating massive wings as they rose into the sulfur-drenched sky.

Then Nyxara’s voice echoed in Alex’s mind. "You noticed it, right?"

Alex nodded and replied, "It seems the reason why all those other emperors and empresses, along with their subordinates, didn’t attack us—only the smaller ones did—is that she commanded them not to."

Nyxara responded, "I was a bit confused when we got close to the mountain, and the Emperor and Empress rank beasts didn’t attack. I was sure they would, given the formation.’

Alex said nothing but was amazed by how the Legend-rank beast controlled her domain. Unlike the Thunder Wolf, which took a more passive approach, she was actively engaged.

At the border of the mountain, the Emperor and Empress rank beasts, along with lesser members of their species, occupied a specific area around the mountain. As no one could approach the mountain range without encountering at least one or two members of their beast.

The higher they climbed, the worse the heat became—not just physically, but spiritually. The very air vibrated with pressure, charged with mana so dense it warped the atmosphere.

Below them, rivers of lava cut through blackened forests like glowing arteries. Ancient ruins peeked from the ash, half-swallowed by time and flame.

It was magnificent—and horrifying.

Alex squinted into the distance, calculating. ’This level of heat... most Master-ranked beings would be reduced to brittle bones in less than ten minutes.’

"Feels like I’m being cooked in my fur," Nyxara grumbled. "If this is the greeting, I’m dreading the hospitality."

As they neared the peak, the sky itself seemed to fracture, snapping with heat lightning. The wind howled like a beast in chains, and the mountain exhaled bursts of superheated steam that shimmered like ghosts.

But instead of guiding them into a fiery maw or some gilded roost, the birds dipped toward a plateau carved from obsidian and cooled magma, shaped like a battle arena of old.

And there, in the center of that circle, was a woman.

She stood barefoot upon the scorched rock, red hair cascading like molten silk down her back. Her skin shimmered with an inner glow, and her eyes—her eyes burned with something deeper than flame. Authority. Eternity. Command.

It wasn’t her beauty that held the world still. It was her presence.

Reality warped subtly around her, as though it knew it had to make room. Her aura wasn’t suffocating, but inevitable—like the rising sun or the approach of a tide you could not stop.

"She took a human form..." Nyxara whispered, almost reverently.

Alex remained silent, eyes sharpened to a blade’s edge.

The woman smiled.

And the mountain exhaled, as if even the volcano itself submitted to her will.

"Welcome," she said, her voice gentle yet carrying with impossible strength across the scalding winds. "I’ve been waiting."