A blast of force cracked the sky like thunder, rippling in every direction. The orb-map flickered, unable to render the sheer power of the clash. Lightning licked the clouds. The air itself shook. Idalia dug her claws into the table to stay upright.

  Rhaya's voice echoed through the comms, strained but fierce. "I've… I've clashed with an Orun General! It's Ruargo! Vest, tell the fleet to fall back without me!" Meanwhile, the man on the ferret-shenlong laughed, deep and wild, filled with relentless battle hunger.

  His spear whirled, sending shockwaves that blasted apart clouds and nearly knocked Rhaya from the sky. She caught herself on a ripple of vibration, levitating by sheer will. But the General's shenlong gave her no moment to breathe, it lunged with explosive force, claws raking through the air. Rhaya was thrown back slightly, struggling to maintain her speed and precision, her vibration-wings trembling from the sheer force.

  Kelix sprinted to the center of the room. "Idalia! Portal! NOW!"

  Idalia's pupils narrowed. A portal for Kelix? The risk was high, but she felt a spark of feral excitement. However, the thought of opening a portal while the entire fleet descended through Orun fire, made her stomach flip, but she could feel the battle pulsing through her. The wyverns, the cannon fire, the shaking air, the distant ships were all part of the hunt she was controlling.

  "Idalia! Open a portal! I'm diving down to assist Rhaya!"

  Her muscles tensed. This was her hunt too.

  "Yes!" she roared. "Portal for Kelix! Hang on; you'll fly safe!" Her roar cracked the space between the Pearl and the clouds. A shimmering, jagged portal snapped open beneath Kelix, just wide enough for him to dive through safely.

  "Coordinates here!" Vestella exclaimed.

  The orb-globe spun around Idalia's paws, showing her the battlefield in three dimensions, allowing her to see where each shot would land, where each wyvern hid, and where Rhaya needed assistance.

  "Fire! Strike left of the Pearl's wing! Protect Ships Two and Four! Now! Rhaya, you must fly to this position!" Idalia shouted, and the fleet obeyed with the precision of instruments under a master conductor. Beams, cannons, and magical barrages carved paths through the air, exploding wyverns mid-flight.

  Her {Sight} saw it all—the sky around them was chaos incarnate—explosions, beams of light, clouds of smoke, and the screeches of wyverns filled the air. Rhaya, using every ounce of vibration and momentum, navigated through the enemy while clashing against the Dragon-Tamer. As Rhaya neared the coordinates that Vestella had provided for her, Kelix finally dove through Idalia's portal, the air crackling around him as he aimed to assist Rhaya.

  Idalia's tail lashed with exhilaration. The Pearl continued its rapid descent, while the clash between Rhaya and the Dragon-Tamer ignited the sky in electric fury; yet the Orun Dominion realized too late that they were fighting against a predator that could see and command everything.

  "This is mine! This is my hunt! Hit them! Hit them all!"

  Outside, Kelix emerged from the other side of the portal Idalia had conjured, his body crackling with electricity that danced along his arms and legs. He streaked through the clouds like a comet, fists ready to unleash lightning bolts. As he approached the massive ferret-like shenlong carrying the Orun General, he coiled his body and swung a lightning-coated fist directly at the beast's head. The strike collided against the scales in a thunderous crack, sending the shenlong lurching downward. Sparks cascaded across its back, and a screech tore from its throat.

  Idalia's tail whipped furiously. "Yes! Hit it! Hit it! Make it fall!" But her grin faltered as she saw the Orun General. Despite the shenlong's stumble, the man remained poised atop it, a figure of cold menace. His dark-orange aura flared around him, flickering like fire trapped in shadow.

  Rhaya spun backward to regain distance, her pole-weapon attached to a net snapping through the air like a whip. With her composure gathered, she struck. Each swing was calculated to entangle the General, but every attempt met with a perfect parry. The axe in the General's hands cut through the air and the net alike, moving with the skill of someone who had spent a lifetime mastering the art of death.

  Confused by this spectacle, Idalia's {Sight} zoomed in, tracking every movement and observing how Rhaya's strikes arced to trap him, as well as how the Orun General anticipated her swings, his aura acting like a second shield, absorbing or deflecting force. The duel was fluid yet vicious, a deadly hunt in the clouds.

  Kelix dashed along the shenlong's back, his lightning bolts sparking and slicing through the air, aiming to strike the General from another angle. He landed a few blows that glanced off the General's aura, sending shockwaves across the clouds, but the General only grinned with feral delight. Every strike Kelix threw was met with a counter, as though the man had eyes everywhere at once.

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  Two against one, and both Kelix and Rhaya struggled against him. Together, they forced micro-adjustments in his guard, exploiting even the smallest gap but the General's skill was beyond mere coordination. He twisted and spun, deflecting Kelix's lightning strikes with a sweep of his axe while parrying Rhaya's net swings.

  Idalia growled, frustration spilling out in a low, rumbling hiss. Her claws flexed, tail thrashing. "I can see it! I can help! I need to jump in!" She scanned the battlefield, trying to find a weak point, some gap where her power could turn the duel.

  Vestella's voice cut sharply beside her, cool and commanding. "Idalia. Stay. You cannot join them. If you leave the Pearl to dive in, the fleet loses its eyes. Every Orun strike force, every hidden attacker—they will tear through us before you can even land a hit."

  Idalia's ears flattened. Her teeth showed in a snarl, tail lashing like a whip. She could feel the duel's rhythm, the way Rhaya struggled to contain the General's axe and aura, the electricity dancing around Kelix's fists. She wanted so badly to leap into the air, roar, and smash the enemy into pieces.

  But Vestella's gaze was steady, the calm amidst chaos. "Focus. Your role is command. Sight. Targeting. You guide. You do not duel."

  Idalia's jaw clenched, frustration brimming hotter than the lightning crackling around Kelix. She flattened herself against the control console, fur bristling, and watched. Her mind raced with possibilities, every plan she could try if only she were allowed in.

  She jumped with a start as the Orun General's axe slashed again, forcing Rhaya backward on the shenlong's back. Sparks flew from the net pole as she blocked, her legs kicking to maintain her balance on the ferret-like beast's quivering back. Kelix, leaning into the strike, shouted, "Idalia! Now—help now!"

  Vestella's voice cut over his. "No! Hold position! Eyes on the battlefield! Guide, or we all die!"

  Idalia huffed, her joy twisted into sharp, feral tension. She could see them clearly—every move of Rhaya and Kelix, every lurch of the shenlong—but she had to wait. She had to stay back. For now, her claws flexed, and her mind burned with the urge to direct every strike of destruction from afar.

  But the sky erupted in chaos. Lightning and shockwaves twisted around the duel, painting the clouds in violent streaks of yellow, red, and orange. Rhaya lunged at the Orun General, her net-pole swinging, but the General's axe moved faster. A single, brutal strike of red energy cleaved through the air. Rhaya cried out, caught mid-spin, and the force of the blow sent her twisting, crashing into the clouds below. Idalia's claws clenched, tail lashing violently.

  "No!" she roared, ears flattened against her head, eyes burning. Before she could react further, the General's axe swung again, and Kelix, diving to assist Rhaya with fists crackling, was struck squarely. The lightning that had defined him flickered and died as he tumbled, stunned and broken, crashing down through the turbulent sky.

  {Emotional State: 50%}

  {Approaching Condition: [Rage Active]}

  ???

  [Idalia's Rage]

  [Rage Values]

  STR: 184 [+52] → 920

  DEF: 224 [+83] → 1120

  FPWR: 264 [+130] → 1320

  ??? ??? ???

  Idalia's mind snapped. Her roar split the chamber's interior, shaking the deck of the Pearl as if she were tearing the atmosphere itself. "Enough!" Her control shattered. She spun toward Vestella's orb-screen, swiping her claw to lock the fleet into a descent pattern. "Go! Take the fleet down to the surface! Obey this one last command!"

  Vestella’s voice, calm but sharp, barely reached her over the roar in her ears. "Idalia—"

  "No time!" Idalia growled, eyes glowing. "I'm going! I am going!" She lowered her head and leaned into the portal she had conjured with a roar. The shimmering space tore open beneath her, a jagged tunnel of pure vibration and light.

  Vestella glanced at the interface and stiffened but nodded. "Understood. The fleet will obey your guidance."

  With no more words, just frustration burning through her mind, Idalia hurled herself into the portal. Space stretched and bent around her as she propelled herself straight at the Orun General and his dragon.

  The General's eyes widened in astonishment. "A T-Rex cub?!" he shouted, even as Idalia slammed into him with the force of a meteor. The shenlong bucked violently under the impact, sending them both careening toward the earth.

  Idalia's claws dug into his mana-fortified armor, rending it in jagged scratches. Sparks of energy flared where they tore through the magically reinforced plating. The General's breath hitched, astonishment flashing across his face as he realized the strength behind a creature so young, so small, yet impossibly powerful.

  They plummeted through the clouds, the wind screaming past them, the earth below rushing up at unimaginable speed. Rhythmic vibrations coursed through Idalia's muscles, guiding every claw strike and grapple as she wrestled with the General.

  "You… what are you?!" the Orun General gasped, wide-eyed, as Idalia twisted her body.

  "I. AM. AN. HUNTER!" Idalia bellowed, teeth bared, claws slicing the wind as she wrapped around him in midair. The General swung his axe, attempting to regain leverage, but Idalia's atomic roar ripped through the air. The {Atomic Burst}'s soundwave alone pushed him back, disorienting him in mid-fall. Her roar, immense and feral, cracked the sky like lightning splitting stone.

  They tumbled through clouds, weaving around mountains, Idalia's tail snapping violently. The earth rose to meet them in a blur of dust, stone, and thunder.

  They hit. The impact was cataclysmic.

  Mountains shuddered, the ground beneath them shattered into jagged cracks, and dust and debris exploded outward. Idalia pinned the General beneath her weight, her claws sinking into armor and flesh alike. The sheer force of her atomic roar still radiated above them, a shockwave shaking the nearby descent of the fleet.

  The Orun General, flattened by the overwhelming power and the impossible ferocity of a T-Rex cub, gasped, stunned and incredulous. His dark-orange aura sputtered, wavering as he realized the predator who had thrown him into the earth was not even fully grown. He blinked up at her, a mixture of fury and grudging awe in his gaze. "I… I've never—"

  "You hurt my friends!" Idalia roared back, her tail thrashing and teeth bared. "And I do not forgive!"

  The ground quaked around them. Her roar lingered in the air like an aftershock. She growled low, her feral eyes locked on him, vibrating with barely contained power. The sky above still raged with warfare, the fleet descending, but below, on the earth, she had taken control of the hunt.

  "Stay down," she hissed, her claws flexing at his throat. "Or I'll make sure you never rise again."

  ENTER THE SANCTUM: OFFICIAL RELEASE FEB 24

  Monster-LitRPG Kingdom and Guild Building Isekai Fantasy

  A human life lost. A monster life gained. When she awakens in a brutal world ruled by creatures stronger and hungrier than anything she has ever known, survival should be impossible. Yet she refuses to break. She chooses to build something better for those who cannot protect themselves.

  Welcome to Chimeron Sanctum. A dream forged by determination and compassion. KiAera stands at its heart, a mythical-class chimera scribe who refuses to bow.

  But the world shifts. Ancient powers turn their gaze toward her. Sovereigns watch. Systems stir. The Ultimatum approaches. The path she walks demands courage and sacrifice and the future of her sanctuary may depend on every choice she makes.

  Chaos rises Feb 24. New monsters. New power. A new beginning.