Smoke drifts aimlessly into a red sky, marked only by dark clouds of soot and ash slowly wandering across. Ash hangs in the air, eventually falling gently onto the terrified face of a young boy.

Astraoth, still standing near the summit of the central volcano, stares blankly at magma and ash streaming constantly out of its peak, frozen in fear at the massive energy lumbering just beneath the volcano's surface. The soft rumbling grows ever more fearsome until it seems to shake the entire mountain range, spreading throughout the entire east.

Astraoth begins to back away from the volcano's summit, a deep feeling of dread permeating through his entire body. But he is too late- the volcano's peak erupts in a sudden burst of energy, exploding magma and flame into the air. From the volcano's innermost depths emerges a leviathan.

With a flat head, massive hands, and a mass of flame and magma taking place of legs, it looks like a giant coated in liquid rock. Its body is a dull brown, with streaks of crimson red energy pulsing through its body. Standing at over twenty meters tall, it dominates the peak, with glowing red eyes of flame staring intently at Astraoth.

Astraoth, realizing its stare is directed at him, feels his legs go soft; he instinctively realizes he is no match for the beast in front of him. He trembles, thinking,"How powerful is this monster...The Pegasus was strong...But with this size, just how much stronger could it be?"

The Flame Demon swipes its hand downward, sending tons of magma and rock flying through the air as it crashes into the ground. Astaroth's vision is blanketed by stone and lava exploding toward him.

Astraoth steels his nerves as he dodges the assault, narrowly avoiding the masses of lava as they pelt the ground beside him. Astraoth focuses on the Flame Demon as it continues to launch attacks at him, sending tons of stone and rock hurtling toward him. Astraoth bypasses these obstacles with ease as he expands his consciousness outward, harmonizing with his environment as he rushes toward it.

The onslaught of flame and magma and rock doesn't faze Astraoth and is dodged easily, as Astraoth prepares his first attack. Pulling out his wooden pole, Astraoth gathers Essence Energy, channeling it quickly into the polearm. Arriving at the Guardian, Astraoth leaps into the air, reaching ten meters swiftly. The pole strikes out, launching a slash of multicoloured energy at the giant. The Flame Demon turns around, absorbing the slash with ease, and slaps its hand out towards Astraoth.

Astraoth, seeing the hand racing at him, jabs his pole outward, using the Essence Energy expelled from it to fly backward, attempting to evade the hand. Astraoth manages to avoid most of the hand, but the tip of his pole touches the beast lightly.

Astraoth lands quickly on the ground, tossing the pole away as it begins to melt, the lava from the beast's hand already beginning to destroy Astraoth's weapon. The Guardian looks down at Astraoth, with smoke and ash twisting around its massive body as it towers over him. The beast lifts its two hands and brings them together, forming a small circle with them.

Immediately, the volcanoes throughout the east begin to erupt simultaneously, sending enormous amounts of magma and flame into the air. This lava twists around the central peak, converging around the Flame Demon. As its eyes glow a dark red, the lava is launched at Astraoth, covering the sky with its attack. Astraoth raises his guard, channeling his energy into the blue sphere in his clothes.

Wisps of icy blue energy curl around Astraoth and converge into a hazy shield around his body, solidifying into a blue sphere around him. Tons of magma and flame and rock assault the shield endlessly, as the Guardian continues its ruthless attack. This shield neutralizes the heat and manages to hold under the barrage; however, Astraoth is still pushed back and is sent flying away from the mountain, overwhelmed by the assault of the Demon.

The colossus of flame turns its head slightly as Astraoth is launched away, and releases the rest of the lava and rock gathered around him, launching it outward in all directions. Even the sky is obscured by the sheer scale of its attack, and it collapses back into the volcano under it, its assault finished. Astraoth, now speeding toward the ground, whips his head around toward the Demon as it descends back into its lair. As Astraoth accelerates toward the ground, he looks upward, turning downward as he grimaces at his precarious situation.

Astraoth channels his energy into the bead, offsetting his downward acceleration with a slight upward propulsion. His shield glows with a frigid light as it brightens with intensity, growing in strength as Astraoth desperately injects energy into the icy blue bead. Astraoth crashes to the ground only moments later, sliding through the dirt and rock as he slows down. Eventually, Astraoth stops entirely, with his shield still intact. But then, the thousands of tons of magma and rock and stone smash into the ground, covering the east in layers of liquid stone. Only a small fraction lands onto Astraoth's shield, but the weight and immense heat cause Astraoth to struggle under even such a tiny amount.

The lava doesn't cool quickly; the heat of the east prolongs its existence. Slowly, it begins to cool, and Astraoth waits for the magma above him to cool; seconds turn into minutes, and minutes flow into hours as Astraoth waits until he can safely leave. Eventually, the lava cools, and Astraoth releases a small burst of energy, forcing the dried magma off him, and dissipating his shield, standing up to survey the scene.

Looking out over the east, all Astraoth can see is utter devastation, thinking,"This destruction...This power...I have no chance against this." His vision is filled with giant craters and pockets of bubbling magma, with every inch of ground in sight burned black by the Demon's single attack. Astraoth swallows silently, turning to walk back to his home as he ponders his absolute defeat.