Dragon's Wrath

Yet in that grandest clash, in this pure collision of dragon breath, Cassius was gradually falling into a disadvantage. Boom— The silver dragon's breath harbored a wisp of Bahamut's divine power—supremely holy, absolute in its order, the very essence of the Lord of the North Wind. This sliver of divine order suppressed the magical fission within the red dragon's Primordial Breath, causing the scorching blue-and-white flames to steadily wane, while the extreme cold brought stillness to the surrounding space and time. The nexus of their collision shifted steadily toward the ground, the pure-white breath drawing ever closer to Cassius. If things continued at this rate— The red dragon might be engulfed in this Breath of Bahamut, his entire personality erased as he was subjected to complete "purification." Yet not a flicker of fear showed on Cassius's savage draconic visage; instead, his pale-gold pupils burned with fierce exhilaration. He shuddered from sheer excitement, the fundus vessels throughout his draconic frame surging with blazing fiery light. Sizzle... The crackle and pop of burning echoed as a streak of blood-deep crimson surfaced within the dragon crystal on the red dragon's chest. Beneath his hard scales, a bloody luminescence began to glow. Promptly after, that red hue spread at blinding speed into his breath. It was an ultimate divine power representing chaos and destruction—Garyx's All-Cleansing Flame. Breath of Chaos. Cassius had strained with all his might to temper his mind, going days without killing merely to free himself from the influence of that Heart of Garyx. Yet when high-stakes battle arrived, when he fell into a disadvantage during the clash of might and faced mortal danger, that alluring, incomprehensibly vast power surged forth of its own accord. Boom! Another deafening explosion rang out. The chaos of deep-red flames dismantled the order within the Breath of Bahamut, shattering the precarious equilibrium. The pillar of fire tore straight through the white glacial torrent, driving it back at terrifying speed. Oszedro's expression twisted in shock. Bloodshot threads webbed Cassius's pale-gold slit pupils. A manic grin crept across his maw, and bloody radiance shimmered across his body. The red dragon beat his broad wings, whipping up a tempest. Incredibly, while maintaining the searing pillar of fire, he lifted his massive bulk into the air, slowly advancing toward the wyrm silver dragon high above. Looking up at the astounded silver dragon, a single thought rose in Cassius's mind: Kill him. Kill him, kill him. That way, I can gain even greater power—and that ultimate ecstasy. The dragons locked in battle around them also noticed the shift in the tide. The blue dragons threw their heads back and roared, shouting in exultation. "Lord Cassius!" "He's going to win!" "As expected of His Highness the Dragon Prince! Even a wyrm silver dragon crumbles before him!" "Oszedro was long overdue for the grave!" "Kill him! Tear that old fossil to pieces!" Christina's eyes shone with adoration, lending fresh vigor to her fighting. Fierce and aggressive, she knocked down the silver dragon before her with a single swipe of her claws. "No, no, no..." Midair, Olivia shook her head incessantly, tears brimming in her eyes as she muttered in despair. Watching the advancing red dragon spewing the flames of chaos, she remembered that dreadful look brimming with destructive lust, remembered the ordeal she could hardly bear to recall. She knew what it meant. Cassius was about to be overtaken by the power, reduced to a beast of destruction. "Roar—" Cassius continued beating his wings, closing in until less than a hundred meters separated him from the ancient wyrm. His scalding heart pounded violently, as if rejoicing in the impending hunt of such mighty prey. The blazing flames of chaos finally swallowed the white glacial torrent whole, turning the heavens into a realm of fire. Scorching sparks spattered Oszedro's body, searing punctate scars across his massive silver frame and giving off an acrid stench of burning. The divine power of destruction and chaos roiled the nearby Weave, creating turbulent magical currents that prevented the Spellhoarding dragon from casting any spells. He could scarcely even hold his ground in midair. By now, the wyrm silver dragon was in utter disarray, cutting a truly wretched figure. His silver wings, tattered like rags, flapped with agonizing effort, the ragged gaps howling shrilly against the wind. "Awoo—" Oszedro let out a shrill, piercing wail. The metal disc on the wyrm silver dragon's chest turned slowly and floated into the air, radiating sacred brilliance. Expanding to a diameter of a hundred meters, it shielded him like a buckler. Yet the red dragon roared maniacally without the slightest hesitation. Shrouded in the flames of chaos, he slammed into the metal disc again and again. Thud! Thud! Thud! The chaotic fire burned upon it, continually dissolving the residual divine order clinging to the disc. Finally, with a crisp crack, spiderweb fissures crept across the center of the disc before it shattered completely, dispersing into airborne silver shards. The silver-white gemstone symbolizing divine favor, the "Wind of Bahamut," plunged toward the ground alongside the shattered fragments. "I will kill you!" Cassius roared, crashing through the stubborn barrier and lunging straight for Oszedro, deep-red flames already gathering anew within his throat. Facing the final moments of his life, Oszedro grew strangely calm. His mercury-like eyes mirrored the incoming red dragon without a tremor, before sinking into a profound sigh. The wyrm silver dragon began to look back upon his life. He had lived a thousand years, witnessed countless vicissitudes, and even unconsciously grown hypocritical and decayed along the way. To meet his end in a magnificent, all-out battle didn't seem so bad after all. So Oszedro thought. "No—" "Stop, Cassius! That isn't you!" "Don't let that power control you!" Olivia beat her wings recklessly, screaming at the top of her lungs as she tried to rush forward and intervene. Yet the violent tempest produced by the colliding energies tossed the ten-meter-long silver dragon to and fro, leaving her struggling helplessly in the air. Olivia could barely maintain basic stability in flight, let alone impede the red dragon's advance. Yet her efforts were not in vain. The red dragon seemed to hear her cry. Within Cassius's mind, nearly overwhelmed by the craving for destruction, a sliver of remaining sanity surfaced. That was not solely thanks to the silver dragon; it was also the fruit of his efforts over recent months to find ways to anchor his will and construct mental fortresses. And Olivia's shouts had evidently triggered this automated defense. This wyrm silver dragon is Bahamut's Chosen, an elder of Melvold. Killing him would mean completely breaking with Bahamut, making enemies of every metallic dragon, burning all bridges, and having no choice but to throw myself entirely into Tiamat's embrace. His lingering reason told him: Do not kill Oszedro. Yet the will of the Heart of Garyx fought repeatedly to seize his mind, stirring the desires for slaughter and destruction buried deep in his bloodline. "Kill him!" "I will gain supreme might!" The chaos flame in the red dragon's jaws was on the verge of erupting, ready to reduce the wyrm silver dragon to ashes. At the very last instant, Cassius's eyes flickered slightly. He tilted his head a fraction, and the deep-red pillar of fire grazed past the wyrm silver dragon's heart, blasting straight through his left wing. "Aargh!" Oszedro let out a harrowing shriek of agony. His broad left wing was instantly incinerated to ash. The deep-crimson flame of chaos continued creeping from the wing toward his torso, eating away at his flesh. The massive wyrm silver dragon plummeted helplessly from the high heavens. An injury of severed limbs imbued with chaotic divinity might take centuries to gradually recover from; short of a deity's direct intervention, even ninth-circle divine magic would find it nearly impossible to heal. Yet Oszedro had at least survived, sparing his precious life. "Elder!" "Uncle!" "Quick, save him!" "Get him out of here, hurry!" The silver dragons of Melvold rushed forward frantically, silver wings beating in disarray as they threw themselves between danger and their revered elder to shield him.