Clearing
"Dra....Dora-... od."
The Vampire King didn't respond directly despite him shaking her, in fact she would likely fall back down if he didn't support. all she did was keep mumbling something incoherently.
Then a response came, but it wasn't from Valerie.
It was that girl.
She'd taken a deep breath, the air seemed to momentarily get thin, making it hard to breathe. Then she exhaled, but wat came out wasn't some condensed air canon or an ear shattering scream.
Fire, that's what it was.
Brilliant flames, brighter and more noble than fires of the sun itself. It wasn't of this world. No, to compare it to fire would be nothing but an insult, if anything this was what fire aspired to be.
It flowed from the girl and consumed Shinji entirely, but it didn't stop there. It kept going, enveloping the entire forest behind him as far as the eye could see, burning the the trees that had been untouched for centuries some millenia to ash.
"The Dragon God...." Valerie finally croaked out something audible, yet immediately after went mute as if it had taken a toll on her.