Advent of the Dragon

A searing-white pillar of flame struck straight into the balor's chest, detonating violently midair. Scorching shockwaves seared the sky and earth, and the sweltering heatwave expanded rapidly across the entire wasteland. Misha unfurled the dragon wings at her back. Crimson scales surfaced along her forehead and cheeks, while flames and thick smoke coiled around her body, the fiery light in her golden eyes blazing even brighter. —The "Daughter of Dragonfire" was channeling the power of the Cinder Emperor! "Boom!" The sweltering, venomous torrent of flame distorted the surrounding air, churning into clouds of fire, yet it still failed to slay the balor. Black and red flames surged over the balor's hide as countless wronged souls shrieked and swirled around him, coalescing into an annihilating Abyssal shield. "Roaaar—" Throwing his head back, the balor unfurled his wings and let out a heaven-shaking bellow that sent a shudder through every soul on the battlefield. That was Blasphemy! "Damn it..." "Sacrilege! It's blasphemy!" The imperial wizards maintaining the immobilization array instantly felt their heads splitting with excruciating pain, completely unable to concentrate to keep the formation active. Trump tightened his grip on his scepter and yelled, "Watch out! I can't hold him anymore!" "Rumble!" Bolts of lightning crashed down from the sky, driving back the blue and silver dragons circling above for an opportunity to strike, as a black-red pillar of fire erupted skyward. "You wretched mortals really think— You can kill me?!" Clatter! Abyssal fire flared wildly from the balor's eyes. Spreading his limbs and thrashing his wings, he violently shattered the heavy chains binding him. Yet Misha showed no fear, ravenous tongues of fire spewing from her golden eyes. Her slender, tall frame underwent an increasingly drastic draconic transformation: her delicate fingers shifted into razor-sharp dragon claws, dragon fangs sprouted in her mouth, and golden-red dragon scales crept over her cheeks and neck. Through the link to Cassius's power, scalding dragon blood had completely supplanted the blood in Misha's veins. At this moment, she could hardly be called human anymore—she was a red dragon wearing human skin. Hatred blazed in Misha's eyes. Outstretching her hands, she unleashed even more terrifying dragonfire, screeching, "Leo Bosque!" "Boom!" Scorching dragonfire clashed against chaotic black flames. The collision of two peerless energies produced a colossal detonation high in the sky, billowing plumes of thick smoke into the air. Leo—or rather, the balor—swung down his storm greatsword, a flicker of surprise crossing his ferocious face. "Who are you? How do you know my identity?" He searched his memories, but could not recall offending such a powerful warlock back when he was still mortal. "Five years! For five whole years, not a moment has passed where I didn't want to kill you, you butcher of innocents, you so-called Duke Leo!" Misha laughed out of sheer fury. Beating her dragon wings, she easily dodged the thunderous slash, her long crimson hair whipping wild behind her. Dozens of ethereal chains rose into the air from the ground, lashing around the balor's massive frame. Then, Misha gathered all her flames together, conjuring dense, high-energy fireballs a hundred meters above her head. She thrust her hand toward the balor, and answering her command, the fireballs plummeted from the heavens like falling stars. Meteor Swarm! "Boom!" "Boom! Boom! Boom!" Struggling free of the chains, the balor beat his leathery wings and flew at top speed, darting and weaving through the air. Yet the falling meteors streaked across the sky and rained down with terrifying blasts, leaving the balor nowhere to hide. Even so, the balor deployed a spell-like ability, shrouding his body in the chaotic mist of the Abyss to unravel all ongoing spell effects. Greater Dispel Magic! The balor narrowed his eyes at the dragon-girl not far away. The corners of his mouth curled into a sneer of derision and contempt. "Five years ago... Ah, a descendant of those lowborn wretches. No wonder I didn't remember." Cracking his fiery whip, he laughed maniacally, his voice booming like thunder. "My greatest regret as a mortal was that I didn't slaughter every last one of you ungrateful, wretched curs!" Crack! The whip, ablaze with chaotic flames, lashed through the air, carving distorted rifts like an Abyssal serpent striking toward Misha. "You're dead!" Misha shouted fiercely. Flames swirled around her, ripping open a burning spatial rift. By the time the whip cracked down, she had already used her fire stride ability to teleport nearly a hundred meters away. In the distance, Trump raised his staff high, instantly bestowing Haste, Iron Flesh, Protection from Energy, and an assortment of other buffs upon Misha. Misha brought her hands together once more and pointed toward the balor. A searing-white pillar of flame erupted anew, submerging the balor's body in an instant. "Aaaagh—" The sky was devoured by scorching dragonfire. Billowing black smoke blotted out the sun, revealing only the demon's savage silhouette trapped within. Sunburst! The surrounding silver dragons, blue dragons, ogres, and imperial wizards unleashed their spells together, sending countless bolts of lightning, frost, and fire surging toward the demon. Yet in an instant, the tide turned. Boundless Abyssal power poured from the balor's body, transforming into a pitch-black vortex that swallowed nearly all incoming spells whole. The balor remained standing amidst the smoke, slowly beating his wings as his low, rumbling laughter echoed across the wasteland. "Mortals— You cannot comprehend the greatness of the Abyss, nor do you understand the supreme status of I, Leo Bosque, as Lord Jerlazax's proxy! Hahaha! I am that great lord's beacon on the Material Plane! So long as He wills it, I am immortal! None can destroy me!" The balor spread his arms wide as pitch-black, chaotic fog churned around him. Behind him manifested the colossal phantom of a demon hundreds of meters tall. The phantom appeared exceptionally gaunt, yet its turbid, dimly glowing eyes struck terror into the hearts of everyone present. Its lips even curled into an eerie, sinister smile. —That was the demon lord, the mastermind behind this invasion: the Demon of Vengeance, Jerlazax! Amidst howling winds, all surrounding energy converged toward the balor—or more precisely, surged toward the phantom—before being converted into ultimate, chaotic Abyssal power. Space tore apart incrementally, opening ghastly fissures that spewed forth pitch-black smoke, gnawing at the fabric connecting space to the Material Plane. This demon actually intended to drag this land down into the Abyss! "Ruin! Despair!" "Fall into the Abyss!" Witnessing this, millions of demons across the wasteland chanted fanatically, their cacophonous roars celebrating the magnificent spectacle. Trump shouted in panic, "Quick, stop him! This demon wants to summon the Demon of Vengeance into this world and sever Anzeta from the Material Plane!" "Yes!" Misha gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. Chanting in an ancient, drawn-out Draconic, she reached out for the profound bond connecting her to the Red Dragon Emperor. At once, an immense dragon phantom emerged behind her. Violent tongues of flame slashed through the surrounding space, forming a massive fiery rift. Planar Breath! "Roaaar—" A long, resonant dragon roar reverberated across the sky. Scalding heatwaves expanded at breakneck speed, and a colossal draconic presence swept across hundreds of kilometers of wasteland in a single breath. Whether human, tiefling, hobgoblin, or frenzied demon, every soul felt a soul-deep shudder before this higher existence. Even the balor, so arrogant a moment ago, panicked, his whole body trembling. "He... he's coming." "Yes, this presence... it's Cassius!" Leo stared at the expanding fiery rift in the sky. Fear, tension, exhilaration, and hatred tangled within his chest, rendering his expression a fascinating spectacle. Though vengeance had been on his lips, now that his living nightmare was truly arriving, this demon transformed from a mortal was still seized by blind panic. The fiery rift in the sky widened further. First, a massive, majestic dragon head emerged slowly from within, followed by a powerful, serpentine neck, and then wings as vast as the land itself... The shadow cast upon the ground blanketed vast swathes of the wasteland. Every living creature present looked up at the forty-meter-long colossal red dragon in the sky, an overwhelming impulse to bow and worship welling up inside them. At this moment, millions of gazes converged on him. He was the master of this land, the sole emperor of the Great Anzetta Wasteland—the legendary Cinder Dragon, Cassius! "Cassius above..." "It's His Majesty!" "It's—it's truly His Majesty Cassius!" "The Dragon Lord descends! He will crush every enemy standing before the Empire!" The Empire's subjects wore expressions of fanatical devotion, their eyes locked on the entity in the sky as though beholding their god. A decade of habit told them that whenever this peerless dragon appeared over the battlefield, the brutal war was drawing to a close, and the Empire would usher in a glorious dawn. And this time would be no different. The players were equally thrilled, shouting words that bordered on blasphemy as waves of cheers erupted from their ranks. "Long live Emperor Kai!" "The dragon descends! It's so hype!" "It's in the bag! Now that Brother Kai is here, it's cutscene time again—this barbecue's gonna be epic!" "I wanna touch His Majesty Cassius's tail, damn it!" The Abyssal demons, on the other hand, glared with venomous hatred and naked fear. Apart from those completely driven mad, even the dimmest dretch and the most reckless minotaur could feel the immense, terrifying power of this dragon. "By the Abyss..." "Could this... could this be our enemy..." In the Abyss, strength was everything, and nothing else mattered. Yet from this dreadful red dragon, they felt a pressure even more overwhelming than that of a demon lord, an even higher plane of existence. "Another balor, is it? This makes the second one I've slaughtered." Cassius spoke casually, as if talking of butchering livestock rather than a mighty demon. Though gripped by fear, the balor forced a defiant front and barked at the red dragon: "Don't celebrate too early, Cassius! My revenge is far from over! "Lord Jer—Lord Jerlazax stands right behind me! He will protect me! I will repay everything you did to me in full! "I will destroy your empire, slaughter your—" Before he could finish, the red dragon cut him off. "So it really is you, Duke Leo Bosque, former ruler of the Northlands. My old friend, it really has been... A long time." Cassius bared his teeth in a contemptuous grin as he gazed at the demon and the phantom behind him. High above, the red dragon flapped his wings, whipping up a scorching gale. Then, he slowly parted his cavernous maw. The radiance gathering in his throat outshone the sun, dying the sky crimson. This was the "greeting gift" Cassius had prepared for his old friend. Immediately after, a searing-white burst of flame erupted, surging toward the balor and engulfing him in an instant—a Maximized Dragon Breath! "Come then! Let me show you the power of the Abyss! Behold my fire of vengeance!" The balor roared at the top of his lungs, pouring all the vengeful power from his heart into a pitch-black Abyssal smokescreen. "Boom!" Abyssal energy and dragonfire collided and entangled once more, triggering a violent magical reaction that erupted into a terrible explosion. But this time, it was a breath weapon unleashed by the red dragon in the flesh! Its power far exceeded anything the balor had imagined; the dragonfire carried the authority of the elemental fire laws, infused even with the essence of destruction. The pillar of fire pierced straight through the Abyssal smoke. The extreme heat distorted space itself, dispersing the mist entirely as it struck true against the balor. "Boom—" Once more, the balor was swallowed by endless fire, but this time, his burning form could not resist the breath weapon's might in the slightest. "No— Lord Jerlazax will—" Leo let out a shrill shriek of despair. Before he could finish, his horned head, broad chest, and muscular arms—his entire upper body—were reduced directly to ashes. Balors possessed immunity to fire, but Cassius's breath was undeniably an attack from a higher plane—even the efreet, rulers of the Elemental Plane of Fire, could not withstand it. Could it all be over just like that? The question rose in everyone's minds. Indeed, before a breath that annihilated all in its path, even a balor was doomed to destruction. What other outcome could there possibly be? Yet the phantom of the Demon of Vengeance in the sky had not dissipated. Those deep, faintly glowing eyes remained fixed on Cassius, glinting with a sinister smirk. Cassius met that gaze without hesitation, a mocking smile appearing in his pale-gold slit pupils. "Jerlazax, is this all the courage you possess as a demon lord? To turn a laughable mortal noble into a demon, stuff him with vengeful power and souls, and make him the commander of your invasion... Rather than the Demon of Vengeance, 'Demon of Deceit' would suit you better." Cassius beat his wings forcefully, carrying his colossal draconic bulk aloft as he rose another hundred meters into the air. "Though, a vile creature like you surely has another trick up your sleeve." Sure enough, Abyssal mist surged incessantly toward what remained of the balor's lower body, knitting together the missing flesh—from head to neck, arms to torso... Rebuilding the balor's monstrous form step by step. The balor had revived, completely unscathed! Shock rippled through everyone present. Even Cassius narrowed his eyes. "As expected... Let's see what else you have in store."