“Diamant?” Az asked. He tilted his head, which was his whole body, and rubbed his eyes with his rocky hands. “You made a contract?”

“Sadly,” Diamant said and lowered his head. A moment later, his eyes gleamed and he smiled at Az. “But, very shortly, I won’t be the only one in this position.”

Az shuddered and took a step back. “What do you mean?” he asked, his eyes narrowing at the mountain elemental. His gaze shifted onto Vur and Stella before shifting back towards Diamant. “I refuse. I am a volcano elemental, king amongst fire elementals; how can I submit to a human?”

“He’s a dragon, Mr. Red Boulder,” Stella said, speaking the words Vur was about to say. “And you’re going to help him grow wings by forming a contract with him. Understood? Great!”

E stepped to the side, turning his head away as he suddenly took an interest in the designs on the base of the volcano. Az shifted his gaze onto the dwarf and frowned. Who is this man? Az thought as his gaze landed back onto Vur. Vur was shirtless, and part of his pants were torn. A purple tattoo of a flower gently pulsed with light on Vur’s chest while the roots of the flower were entwined in the runes on Vur’s arm. Az’s eyes widened at the sight. “You’re absorbing his power,” he said to Stella and whirled to face Diamant.

Diamant sighed and shrugged. “Yes, the little fairy is taking some of my essence, but the mana in Vur’s body is so abundant that it doesn’t matter,” he said. “I bet you’ll grow stronger too if he contracted with you.”

“Unlike the warped hearts of you earth elementals, a fire elemental’s heart is pure, unwavering,” Az said as rings of fire appeared underneath his obsidian eyes. “After the death of Miriam, I swore I’d never form another contract.”

“But I really need a sun,” Stella said and furrowed her brow. She tapped Vur’s head. “Capture him and force him to willingly contract with you!”

A hollow laugh escaped from Az’s mouth. “Do you have the power to, human?” he asked. The air around the boulder shimmered as its arms and legs crumbled into a fine powder. A blazing red light erupted from the boulder’s surface, forming a tiger-like figure in the air above it. “I don’t know how you forced Diamant to submit, but don’t think he and I are on the same level.” The fire tiger’s body expanded like a balloon, and a roar blasted through the air. White flames spewed out of Az’s mouth, jetting towards Vur.

Vur turned his head towards E, unconcerned about the flames flying towards his body. “Does this count as a rebellion?” he asked. The white flames washed over him, but he didn’t even flinch. A brown glow had enveloped his body, blocking the flames.

“Probably?” E asked as he took a step away from Vur. The heat from the flames caused blisters to appear on E’s arms, and he scratched his head. “That doesn’t hurt?”

“Nope,” Vur said. “Diamant’s blocking most of it.”

“I’m blocking all of it,” Diamant said from the runes in Vur’s arm. The humanoid projection he had created had dissolved when Az opened his mouth. “And it hurts a lot. Haven’t you ever heard of dodging? What if I was unable to stand up to Az’s attack?”

“Oh, quit complaining,” Stella said from the air above Vur. She was hovering over his body to avoid the heat. “With Vur’s mana, you should be unbreakable.”

The flames gradually died down, and Az’s eyes widened as his vision was unobstructed. “Impossible,” the volcano spirit said. “You’re weaker than me, Diamant. How are you unscathed? Even with a contract, a human shouldn’t be able to provide you with that much mana.”

“I’m. A. Dragon!” Vur said. His body glowed black as he activated his awakening, his wings and tail taking shape. Diamant let out a groan as an earthen bracer covered Vur’s right arm, and Stella retreated behind E, who had an expression of shock on his face. Vur took a step forward, causing the volcano to tremble. A few puffs of ash shot into the air as lava bubbled in the volcano’s crater.

Az’s fiery hairs stuck straight up as Vur’s reptilian eyes glared at him. “I, I will never yield,” Az roared as he took a step backwards. He took another step back as Vur stepped forward. Az swallowed as he retreated once again, the walls of the cave in the volcano pressing against his back. “B-but I will retreat when necessary!”

The fire tiger dissolved into a mote of red light that rushed towards the ground, but before it could enter, Vur lunged forwards and grabbed it. “How!?” Az’s voice shouted from the struggling wisp of light in Vur’s palm. “R-release me, human!”

“Some people never learn,” Stella said and sighed from atop E’s head. The dwarf king gulped and thanked his intuition for making the right choice. Stella cupped her hands around her mouth. “Last chance, Mr. Red Boulder. Call him a dragon and beg for your life.”

Vur squeezed his palm, causing Az to scream. Vur’s head tilted to the side as his eyes narrowed. “Am I a human?” he asked, wriggling his fingers to grind the wisp of light. A scream was the only response.

Diamant sighed. “Just submit, Az,” he said. “A contract ends after the contractor’s death. A volcano is eternal. A hundred years of your life is nothing; don’t give up your hard work for the sake of your pride.”

“I … will never submit!” Az roared. “I’d rather die than live subordinate to someone else! Die with me, human!” His body shone with a white light that caused E and Stella to turn their heads away. Vur frowned as he smothered the light in between his palms. A massive shockwave rippled outwards with his hands at the epicenter, causing E and Stella to fall over. But other than that, the trio were unharmed.

“He exploded?” Vur asked and tilted his head as he opened his hands.

“He reverted back to his original self,” Diamant said. “He’ll reform in a few centuries or so as an ember spirit.” He paused. “And the volcano will probably erupt within the next few seconds, so you might want to formulate a plan to survive.”