Chapter 24: Alchemical Warfare

The dragon's lair was a vast, cathedral-like cavern, the heart of the volcano. Rivers of magma flowed down the walls, casting a hellish red glow on everything. And in the center, sleeping on a mountain of gold and jewels, was Ignis.

He was magnificent and terrifying. His scales were the color of cooling embers, and smoke curled from his nostrils with every breath. He was easily the size of a small castle.

"Okay," Kenta whispered, his voice trembling slightly. "So he's… big. That's fine. We have a plan."

"The plan was to sneak in while he was asleep," Rina hissed. "But someone," she glared at Kenta, "tripped."

Kenta had, in fact, tripped over a stray gold coin, sending it skittering across the stone floor with a loud clink clink clink.

One of the dragon's massive, slitted eyes snapped open.

Ignis rose to his full, terrifying height, his horned head nearly scraping the cavern ceiling. He fixed his molten gold eyes on us, the five tiny mortals who had dared to disturb his slumber.

"WHO DARES?" his voice boomed, not with sound, but with pure, telepathic force that rattled our skulls.

"That's our cue!" Chloe yelled, and our chaotic plan lurched into motion.

Rina charged forward, not at the dragon, but at one of the cavern's support pillars, slamming her mace into it. "Hey, lizard brain! Over here!" she roared, trying to draw his attention.

Ignis swiveled his massive head towards her and unleashed a torrent of fire. It was like a river of liquid sun, a solid wall of incandescent rage.

"Luna, now!" I yelled.

Luna, her face pale but determined, thrust her hands forward. A multi-layered shield of shimmering blue light erupted in front of Rina, the dragon's fire splashing against it harmlessly. The Grimoire was screaming tactical advice from her bag. "Angle the barrier at forty-seven degrees to maximize deflection! Modulate the mana frequency to counter the thermal dynamics!"

While the dragon was focused on Rina, Chloe took her shot. She loaded a flask of her super-cooling agent into a small, specially-made crossbow and fired. The flask sailed through the air, a tiny missile aimed at a giant target.

It was a perfect shot. It sailed right into the dragon's open, roaring mouth.

There was a loud HISS, like a thousand blacksmiths quenching their blades at once. The fire cut off abruptly. Ignis blinked, a confused look on his reptilian face. He shook his massive head, and a puff of frosty white vapor came out of his nostrils instead of smoke. He had the world's most powerful brain freeze.

"It worked!" Chloe cheered.

The dragon, enraged and confused, whipped its massive tail, trying to smash us. But Kenta was ready. He had coated the floor around us with the leftover Tanglefoot Tar. The dragon's tail slapped down and got instantly stuck. Ignis roared in fury, pulling and tugging, but he was only entangling himself further.

We had a dragon. A giant, ancient, terrifying dragon. And we had successfully given it a cold, made it angry, and glued it to the floor. Our plan, as stupid as it was, was working.