OP Sister Chapter 510: Welcomed With Open Arms

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“Jack! They’re coming! A bunch of enemies are coming!” 

Fenrir panicked, his wolf-like form swiftly warping into a giant wolf of shadows wreathed in chains, positioning himself in front of us. 

Violet followed suit, while Snow and Shiro stayed behind, guarding our rear. 

“I can tell!” 

SPLASH! 

The boiling lava lake quaked as creatures emerged from its depths, leaping onto the hard stone floor. 

They were enormous, reptilian beasts resembling red or black lizards with sharp golden horns. The smallest measured ten meters long, while the largest exceeded thirty. 

They surged forth by the dozens, still emerging relentlessly. The largest among them appeared more amphibian, as if their forms had evolved. 

Some resembled bloated, catfish-like dragons, while others mimicked seahorse-like dragons. 

But the arrival of these monsters wasn’t the only threat. No, what truly stunned us was the manifestation of a fiery entity. 

FLUOSH! 

A wave of scorching heat surged toward us, nearly incinerating us had we not swiftly formed a combined barrier with our Auras above us. 

It coalesced into a colossal blazing dragon with an imposing presence, boasting massive arms and claws, enormous wings, and a sharp, menacing face. Its head was crowned with golden horns, and its eyes blazed with piercing flames. 

“Ahhh, welcome, welcome, you insignificant specks, to the grand stage of my Dragon Lair! Behold the brilliance of my Domain, crafted by the unparalleled genius of Vulcanus, the supreme architect of arcane mastery! I, the greatest mind in all existence, have long awaited some foolhardy human to stumble into my meticulously designed gauntlet so I might showcase my invincible defenses! Truly, you are privileged to witness the work of a god among dragons!” 

The entity’s voice boomed with commanding authority, dripping with self-aggrandizing arrogance and a playful, malicious glee. This was no mere brute but a cunning, self-proclaimed genius reveling in his own brilliance. 

This was a True Dragon. 

Most likely Vulcanus, not in the flesh, but a magical avatar conjured to greet us with his insufferable pomp! 

Such a feat confirmed he was indeed a Grand Master of Arcane Magic, as all True Dragons are. 

“You’re…!” 

Hilda gasped at his figure, her eyes widening in disbelief, her mouth agape. 

“You! I remember you! You’re that monster! The monster that came out of that gate that set my entire home ablaze! You killed everyone! You monster!” 

“Hoh? Oh, what a delightful twist of fate! Could it be? One of the pathetic humans who scurried away from my glorious conflagration?! Hahaha! To think I, Vulcanus, the unparalleled sovereign of flame and intellect, would be graced with my own personal little nemesis! Yet, lass, you are woefully unimpressive, a mere speck before my grandeur. Why not entertain me? Fight here, perish spectacularly, and allow me to evaluate the mettle of my exquisite draconic Homunculi! Crafted with my divine Blood and Soul Fire, they are marvels of my genius, though I confess, far too dim to bear the title of True Dragons. I care not if they fall, for they are but tools to demonstrate my supremacy! Go wild, little pests! I am positively giddy to measure the laughable prowess of this world’s humans!” 

He sure loves to hear himself talk, the insufferable bastard. 

“So you are the Dragon known as Vulcanus, huh? We were looking for you.”

I shouted, confronting his magical avatar. 

He gazed down at me, raising a scaled eyebrow with theatrical disdain. 

“I am astounded you already knew my illustrious name… and I discern at once you’re a peculiar specimen, are you not? Oh, look! A gaggle of Constellations peers down upon us, their starry eyes agog! Do they dare imagine one of their feeble champions could challenge ME, Vulcanus, the pinnacle of draconic intellect and power? Hahaha! Survive my first wave, and I shall regale you with tales of how I crushed their so-called heroes beneath my magnificent claws! Enough prattle, you primitive primates! Unleash your paltry might and amuse the greatest genius in all creation!” 

This dragon’s personality is utterly deplorable! What kind of creature is he? And he’s unfazed by Constellations… so he’s undoubtedly beyond the level of Death Apostles? Or perhaps… 

No, surely not, right? 

[“Anna…”] 

I heard Gram’s voice as the blazing avatar of Vulcanus vanished. 

“Gram?” 

[“After I heard that bastard’s voice… I now remember! Vulcanus is a feared True Elder Dragon! He’s one of the oldest in service of Muspel, a direct child of her…!”] 

“And…?” 

[“And he’s super strong! He’s probably stronger than almost anything you’ve fought before…”] 

“No way he’s stronger than a Demon King or Ouroboros, right?” 

[“True Elder Dragons are unique existences, though I don’t know much about him… don’t underestimate him! He’s bad news! I am glad you went through that trial. If you didn’t, you would have been cooked if you came unprepared!”] 

“Alright, I get it Gram, you’re scared. Don’t worry… I promised Hephaestus I would slay the bastard, and I am not doing it alone either way. I’ve got everyone here… and…” 

“RAAAHHHH!” 

“Hilda’s super mad right now.” 

Hilda roared like a dragon as she faced the Creations of Vulcanus. The draconic beasts bellowed and charged toward us with relentless speed. Some floated in midair, while others sprinted on long, muscular legs. 

She leaped into the air before any of us could react and summoned her Forging Hammer, enlarging it to ten times its size, its maximum limit. 

“{Gigante’s Blow}!” 

Channeling the ability imbued in her hammer, she smashed the head of one of the smaller draconic homunculi. The beast roared in agony, bleeding but still alive. It swiftly swiped at her with sharp claws as Hilda shielded herself with a small barrier, which expanded into a large wall of hard stone. 

“{Onyx Turtle’s Shell}!” 

The barrier deflected a lethal blow as Hilda pressed forward, swinging her hammer again, striking the beast one, two, three, and four times in succession. 

“GRYAR!” 

The monster screamed, bleeding and writhing in pain. It opened its jaws, unleashing a destructive breath of deadly flames. 

Hilda gritted her teeth, smashing the flames with her hammer and absorbing them through its flame-forging ability, then delivering a final blow to the creature’s forehead. 

BAAAM! 

As the monster collapsed to the floor, Hilda gasped for air, smiling… 

Only to find herself surrounded. Dozens of other draconic homunculi glared at her with piercing eyes, roaring and charging toward her. 

The flying seahorse-like draconic homunculi circled her, bombarding her with meteor-like blazing projectiles, while the larger catfish-like ones opened their maws, spewing magma breath that sealed her escape routes with hot, molten stone. 

“Shit, you’re kidding me?!” 

She was utterly reckless, diving into danger by letting her emotions overwhelm her… 

But I am no one to judge her, having faced similar trials in Bestia when I lost my temper after watching my master and adoptive father die. 

The pain she must have felt upon seeing the one who took everything from her… 

It must mirror my hatred toward Lucifer, the King of all Demons. 

“ROOAARR!” 

The dragons surged toward her. Hilda tried to defend herself, but it would have been futile. 

She had willingly leaped into a pool full of sharks. 

Hah, she needs to learn a thing or two from my masters. 

“{Myriad Blade Arts}: {Crescent Sun}!” 

FLAAASH! 

I descended, unleashing a single upward slash with my sword, Gram, as the world around us erupted in pure golden light. My powers manifested through my blade, even those tied to my Physique or Psyche. 

This was the pinnacle I had reached by evolving Thousand Blades into Myriad Blades, merging Myriad Self Arts into it. 

The power to channel the innate abilities within my body through my sword. 

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! 

The radiant sun blazed brightly. Each ray was a slashing attack, carving deep wounds into the monsters and beheading several on the spot. 

Hilda and the others gasped in disbelief at what a single stroke of my sword had achieved. 

“A-Anna?! Holy shit you’re strong as fuck!” 

Hilda was stunned, but I wasn’t about to smile and say “don’t worry!” or something. 

“Hilda! Don’t be reckless!” 

I reprimanded her instead. 

“You plunged straight into danger! You let your emotions control you, and look what happened! You nearly died! We didn’t come here for you to throw your life away, you know?!” 

“A-Ah… Anna, there’s another behind-” 

I pointed my hand at the approaching salamander-like monster, and a ray of light pierced a hole through it before its body exploded. 

BOOOM! 

“I am fully aware of my surroundings… Don’t be reckless, Hilda! We’ll help you with this but… you have to keep your shit together, okay? If you die, then everything would have been pointless, you know?” 

“I… Yeah, sorry… I understand… wow, you sound way older than me out of nowhere.” 

“E-Eh? Ahhh, hahah! I just got really mad, sorry if I sounded a bit too weird.” 

Maybe I let my inner venerable out. The personality of my adoptive mother has truly stuck with me, and I can’t help but act this way when I see people make such foolish mistakes. 

“ROOOAARRR!” 

Three more beasts charged toward me as I swung Gram horizontally. A slash of light and darkness surged, shaped like two dragons that collided with the beasts, slicing them and enveloping them in bites. 

That was merely Gram’s innate power, his Aura alone. I hadn’t even put much force into that slash. He must be ravenous for Dragons. 

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Vulcanus:

Author's Note: Yes, Vulcanus is not going to be your typical overly serious dragon, he is very wordy and loves to brag and act superior in flowery ways, he's also happens to be a mad scientists/alchemist.