"Halt—!"
The roar of the Grand Sultan of the Efreet shook the heavens and the earth. Cinders and embers whirled through the turbulent air, throwing the native inhabitants of the Elemental Plane of Fire into absolute terror.
The Grand Sultan was a name spoken only in legends, the monarch who had ruled this land for thousands of years.
A being akin to a god.
That was what the Grand Sultan of the Efreet represented in their hearts.
Yet Cassius paid him no heed whatsoever. Instead, he accelerated, folding his wings close and diving straight down, closing in on the efreeti's remains.
"Damned, suicidal red dragon!"
Another furious bellow shattered the skies.
The flames and smoke in the air swirled and churned incessantly, finally coalescing into a humanoid figure hundreds of meters tall.
A crimson titan towered above the land, crowned with an elaborate, heavy diadem, clad in robes woven of gold thread, and clutching the genie scepter that symbolized the sovereign authority of his realm.
Behind him lay a raging sea of fire, roaring clouds, and churning ash.
This was the mightiest ruler across the Elemental Plane of Fire, the master of the City of Brass—the Grand Sultan of the Efreet.
Exalted. Omnipotent.
These two words surfaced in the hearts of all who witnessed him, shaking their very souls.
"Lord of Flames preserve us..."
Yet none of them noticed that the titanic form flickered between brightness and shadow, appearing somewhat unsubstantial.
Witnessing this awe-inspiring spectacle, Cassius did not slow his descent in the slightest. He merely let out a cold sneer, mocking mercilessly, "Your Majesty, Grand Sultan, do you truly think a mere projection can frighten me off?"
"Do you honestly fancy yourself a god?"
"You—!"
The colossal, hundreds-of-meters-tall crimson titan glared in fury, his gigantic face contorting.
How dared this creature act so brazenly!
To humiliate him to his face!
Cassius's words had undoubtedly struck his rawest nerve.
Achieving godhood was the obsession he had craved with every fiber of his being for thousands of years, yet had never managed to fulfill.
Taking advantage of the Grand Sultan's momentary stunned stupor, Cassius had already reached the vicinity of Ismail's remains.
The red dragon opened his jaws wide, and a swirling magical vortex manifested within his maw, continuously vacuuming in everything around it.
*Dragon Absorption!*
Devouring Ismail's essence right before the Sultan's eyes was undeniably a far deeper provocation—practically cuckolding him to his face.
This was an efreeti pasha! Every single one was a direct servant groomed personally by the Grand Sultan, serving as a pillar of the efreet realm.
More importantly, each was a vessel of power that the Grand Sultan treasured dearly, intimately tied to his quasi-divine power.
"You dare—!"
The Grand Sultan roared once more, daring not waste a single moment as he reached out toward Ismail's ruined body.
"I wish for Ismail Enver to be resurrected!" the Grand Sultan cried out.
The moment the words left his lips, boundless radiance burst from Ismail's body, and immense power surged forth, distorting the very fabric of reality.
The fire element, ash, and smoke that had dispersed from the efreeti rushed backward as though time were reversing, steadily filling in the gaps of his mangled frame.
By planar law, the most powerful genies possessed three *Wishes*, but those could only be granted to non-genie beings.
Yet the Grand Sultan's sheer might had long surpassed the bounds of normal planar constraints.
He had forcibly bent the ancient covenant between the elemental planes and geniekind, causing the *Wish* to take effect upon Ismail himself, employing that miraculous power to bring him back to life!
"A *Wish*?"
Cassius slightly furrowed his brow spikes, the blinding light conjured by the spell reflected in his pale golden pupils.
Soon, however, the greed in his eyes eclipsed the light of the *Wish*.
"Even that won't stop me!"
The magical vortex within his jaws churned with even greater ferocity. The suction grew horrifying, gradually crossing the apex of ninth-circle spells—resembling a bottomless black hole.
*Metamagic: Empower Spell!*
Under this tremendous gravitational pull, Ismail's nearly restored body began to tear apart once more, drifting inexorably toward the red dragon.
"Stop!"
"Insolent dragon!"
The Grand Sultan raised his illusory scepter and swung it toward the orange-red sky of the Elemental Plane of Fire.
*Boom!*
Hundreds upon thousands of fiery chains surged into the air, hurtling toward the red dragon aloft to bind him in place.
Yet dark crimson flames swirled around Cassius's body, while the crown atop his head radiated brilliant white light.
*Chaos Fire!*
*Bahamut's Light of Order!*
The powers of two distinct dragon deities were unleashed simultaneously by Cassius, allowing him to maintain absolute sanity while resisting the encroaching quasi-divine force.
"Damn it, divine power!"
"Two diametrically opposed divine powers, no less! What in the world is this creature—?"
The Grand Sultan's expression darkened instantly. He was forced to brandish his scepter furiously, tracing arc after arc across the air to unleash even greater force.
Under the Grand Sultan's influence, the entire Elemental Plane of Fire seemed to tremble violently.
Tens of thousands of blazing chains surged toward Cassius from all directions, only to be turned aside by the divine flames and holy white radiance shielding him.
*Whoosh—*
Under the influence of the *Wish*, Ismail was on the verge of returning to life.
Yet at that final juncture, Cassius lunged forward and tore away more than half of the essence that embodied the fundamental power of the Elemental Plane of Fire in a single bite.
"No—!"
"You cannot do this!"
The Grand Sultan trembled from sheer, unadulterated fury.
Had his true body been present, he could have effortlessly shattered the lingering divine barrier and slaughtered the red dragon on the spot.
Yet here stood only an illusory projection, leaving him powerless to do anything but watch the horror unfold.
One of the vital cornerstones of power he had prepared for his ascension to godhood, an efreeti pasha nurtured over thousands of years—devoured in substantial part by a single bite from that red dragon!
Cassius felt the vast elemental energy flood into his body, bringing a sensation of incomparable ecstasy.
The energy was so immense, so potent, that he felt almost stuffed to bursting.
The mighty heart in his chest hammered vigorously, pumping this torrent of energy through every fiber of his being.
Even more crucially, he felt a distinct sense of dominion over the Elemental Plane of Fire—reminiscent of the sensations he had experienced when he first acquired his Kingdom Domain.
Prompts rapidly cascaded across his interface.
[You have devoured the essence of Efreeti Pasha Ismail Enver!]
[You have acquired the fundamental power of the Elemental Plane of Fire.]
[You have acquired the trait: Element Master. You have obtained an infinitesimal fragment of authority over an Inner Plane—the Elemental Plane of Fire. Your mastery over the element of fire has reached a new plateau.]
[The power, range, and control of your breath weapon have significantly increased.]
[As an Element Master, you automatically learn the majority of fire-related spells from the sorcerer spell list.]
[You have acquired Meteor Swarm, Summon Fire Elemental Monolith, Sunburst, Fire Storm, Delayed Blast Fireball, Purification by Fire, Firebrand...]
A vast expanse of magical knowledge poured into Cassius's mind.
*This power is incredible. If I could completely devour Ismail, could I take it a step further?*
In his state of intense euphoria, such a thought naturally crossed Cassius's mind.
A magical vortex materialized within the greedy red dragon's jaws once more. He actually unleashed *Dragon Absorption* a second time—intent on consuming every last trace of Ismail's power!
However, the radiant glow upon the ruined body grew increasingly dazzling, and the surrounding flames and ash converged in overwhelming abundance.
*Flash—*
The effects of the *Wish* finally came to an end.
Ismail reappeared midair, "whole and intact," his face still frozen in utter astonishment.
"I... how did I die?"
He rubbed his head, crying out in disbelief.
Chapter 460