Body of Garyx (Part 2)

"Awoo—" High in the sky, Cassius threw his head back and let out a resounding roar. Spreading his wings, he unleashed his boundless draconic aura, clashing head-on with the oppressive might of the dark red dragon. Flames churned in the red dragon's pupils. Rivers of fire and thick smoke swirled around his frame, radiating a formidable charisma far beyond mortal limits. Metamagic: Quicken Spell! Metamagic: Empower Spell! In an instant, beneath the all-out exertion of the True Dragon Sorcerer, the world twisted to his will. The Weave crisscrossed and folded beneath his command. Undying Inverted Scale, Draconic Agility, Draconic Justice, Energy Scales, Cataclysmic Dragon Eye, Protection from Energy, Sacred Veil, Bulwark Against Evil... Radiant hues of magical light interwove across the surface of his draconic body, turning in slow, rhythmic orbits. At the same time, the numerous sacred runes pre-inscribed upon his scales flared with blinding white radiance, making every scale across his body shimmer with a lambent sheen. At present, Cassius's spellcasting prowess from his class levels alone had reached legendary heights. Layered atop this were the innate spellcasting of a progenitor dragon, his dominion over the elemental planes, his extraordinary charisma, and an array of formidable enchanted equipment... Under the synergy of all these factors, the red dragon sorcerer's spellcasting power had ascended to an unimaginable realm. In terms of sheer destructive capability, even Source-tier spellcasters would struggle to rival him. "Jerlazax— "Taste the welcome gift I've prepared for you!" Cassius bellowed at the dark red dragon, unleashing the full torrent of spells he had long gathered. "Roaaar—" All at once, blazing meteors rained down from the heavens. A tempestuous storm of fire raged across the mountain ranges, while endless bolts of lightning crashed from storm-blackened clouds. Boom! Boom! Boom! Mountains howled and the earth roared. All of Anstica seemed to shudder beneath this cataclysmic force. This terrible disaster reduced the surrounding landscape to utter ruin. What had once been pristine white snow peaks became choked with flowing magma and arcing lightning, inundated everywhere with scalding water and searing steam. "Cassius—" "Is this what you rely on? Such utterly feeble magic? It seems I overestimated you." Coiled atop the snowy peak, the hundred-meter-long dark red dragon lifted his head, his expression unchanged. "Tens of thousands of years ago, in the war where the gods sealed me away, even the mere aftermath of the battle was vastly stronger than these cheap spells of yours." Watching the ferocious disaster spells descending upon him, Jerlazax showed no hint of panic. The corners of his maw even curved upward, offering the red dragon a deliberate sneer of mockery. The dark red dragon slowly spread his broad, ragged wings. Like a shroud of night, they blanketed the earth, casting a colossal shadow while turbulent torrents of chaos swirled beneath them. Jerlazax's posture made it look as though the distant snowy peaks themselves had sprouted wings, radiating a terrible, suffocating grandeur. Whoosh— Accompanied by shrill shrieks and a cacophony of enraged howls, those battered wings swept forward with violent force, conjuring a tempest of purest chaos. A torrent of utterly disordered Abyssal power surged from beneath the dragon's wings, congealing into a turbid, ink-black mist. Countless vengeful spirits wailed and shrieked within it, sending chills down the spine. Boom! A deafening explosion rang between heaven and earth. In that instant, the world seemed cleft in twain: one half an apocalyptic inferno of lightning and flame, the other an Abyss of churning chaos. Cassius's cataclysmic spells released terrifying shockwaves of energy, seeking to disperse the black mists. Yet the power of the Abyss was capable of unraveling all order, decomposing every spell into its most primal forms—nothingness and chaos. The stretching snow mountains were stained black by the abyssal fog, glowing with an eerie luminescence. Even the snow packs turned an unnatural, sickly greenish-black. Beneath the shadow of the dark red dragon's wings, countless winged demons coalesced out of the chaos, filling the air with grating, discordant shrieks. Jerlazax laughed with manic intoxication amidst this scene of pandemonium, writhing freely around the snow-capped peak, causing countless boulders and even entire mountain crests to collapse in ruin. "Awoo—" Cassius unleashed a clear, resounding roar. Snapping his wings, his speed surged to terrifying heights, turning him into a scarlet afterimage streaking across the sky as he circled above the abyssal dragon. He continuously blasted scorching draconic fire, hurling bolts of lightning, pillars of flame, and searing rays of radiance, bombarding Jerlazax's body—which was so immense it bordered on clumsy. Nearly every strike from the red dragon was launched at full strength. Reinforced by his progenitor dragon bloodline and dominion over the elemental planes, each blast carried enough destructive force to slay a fully equipped legendary paladin. Yet before these spells could even touch the abyssal dragon's flesh, they were disrupted and annihilated by the film of chaos coating its scales. In Cassius's eyes, this creature was as troublesome as if it came with an innate Antimagic Field. "Roaaar—" With a furious roar, Jerlazax swept his forelimb toward the heavens. Massive claws spanning more than ten meters cleaved through the air, their terrifying force nearly tearing space to shreds. Cassius's expression tightened. Flapping his wings, he whipped up a howling gale, streaking across the firmament like a comet to evade Jerlazax's assault. Amidst the groans of warped space, the abyssal dragon's colossal claws swept down, carving scars nearly a hundred meters long and a dozen meters deep into a snow-capped mountain. Boom— The summit sheared to one side and crashed down in an earth-shattering collapse. Thick snow and shattered stone cascaded in a torrential avalanche, burying the entire valley beneath. Thick mists of chaos spread like storm clouds, surging toward the red dragon aloft to form terrifying vortexes. Yet by virtue of his superior speed, Cassius darted and wheeled amidst the encroaching chaos, weaving through the encirclement without allowing a single wisp of abyssal power to touch him. Set against the abyssal dragon's length of over a hundred meters, the red dragon seemed remarkably nimble. "Do you see, Cassius? "The magic you pride yourself on is utterly useless against me! Your struggles are as fragile as paper! "Red dragon, abandon your delusions! Facing the great Abyss, you are like a mortal before an earthquake or a tsunami—you have no means of resistance!" Boom— Amidst the tremors of the earth, Jerlazax strode through the mountains. Dragging roiling mists of chaos in his wake, the hundred-meter-long dark red dragon corrupted everything he touched. "It is the essence of the cosmos, the alpha and omega of all existence, an inevitable destiny, and your final resting place..." His whispers reverberated through the mountain ranges, causing all living creatures within thousands of kilometers to shudder and succumb. Yetis in mountain caves raced madly toward the chaotic mist. Giant eagles of Anstica plunged into it from mountain peaks like moths to a flame, dissolving into sustenance for the Abyss... As the abyssal power spread, endless plumes of chaotic mist converged upon him. The dread dragon swelled ever larger, expanding toward a length of nearly two hundred meters, looming like a mobile mountain of dark crimson. He was plundering everything from the Material Plane! Jerlazax meant to drag all of Anzeta down into the Abyss! "This is the purpose of the great Abyss—whether mortal or immortal, all shall evolve anew into an entirely fresh cosmos, an existence freed utterly from order and all intent!" Finally, accompanied by the piercing howls of dying life, the raucous shrieks of demons, and the heavy groans of the earth, the dark red dragon lifted his head. He released a wilderness-shaking roar at Cassius: "Red dragon— "Bow before me! "Submit to the great Abyss! Merge into my flesh, and fulfill your destined purpose!" The abyssal dragon parted a gaping maw over a dozen meters wide. Dim, sickly yellow light pulsed between the seams of all his scales, while endless abyssal fog swirled and churned around his jaws. A chaotic, mottled luminescence burst forth. Flames of chaos erupted from the depths of the abyssal dragon's rotting throat. Boom— With a concussive blast, a pillar of blackish-red flame several meters wide surged from Jerlazax's maw, its chaotic fire threatening to tear the sky asunder. The Breath of Chaos—and this chaotic breath was far thicker and hotter than the one Cassius had unleashed during his madness. "Spawn of the Abyss, you seek your own death—" The red dragon thundered. Beneath his skin and scales, fundus vessels blazed like a network of glowing roots. Scorching white steam and brilliant flame vented from the vents along his neck and tail. Energy from throughout his entire body surged into the dragon crystal set in his chest. A violent magical fission reaction took place within him, particles and arcs of light colliding and bursting in dazzling arcs. Yet this was still not the end. Scarlet flame symbolizing elemental dominion manifested in the red dragon's right claw, causing roaring fires infused with the essence of the elements to erupt behind his back. Dominion over Flame. A rune representing the power of an Elemental Master materialized at his right claw. His entire body resonated with the element of fire, driving the surrounding flames to climb in temperature until they blazed a brilliant white, even edged with a faint hue of blue. Elemental Resonance! In an instant, his dragon crystal shone like a sun blooming in the dead of night, illuminating the pitch-black sky shrouded by chaos. A violent thermal gale radiated outward from the red dragon, reducing everything within a hundred-meter radius to ash. Snow sublimated, rock melted, and even the thick mists of chaos were driven back. Cassius opened his great maw, blinding brilliance bursting from his throat. Boom— The sound of exploding air echoed to the heavens. Primordial Breath! The next instant, a blue-white pillar of flame erupted from the red dragon's throat, vaporizing everything in its path. At that exact moment, the chaotic fire imbued with abyssal power surged toward Cassius. Boom! Cassius's Primordial Breath collided with Jerlazax's Breath of Chaos, the two interlacing and triggering a terrible explosion hundreds of meters across, leveling an entire peak beneath them into a flat plain. Yet the chaotic power churning within the blackish-red flame continuously eroded Cassius's Primordial Breath, unraveling the fire. For a moment, Cassius was actually pressed into a disadvantage in this clash unique to dragons, the abyssal breath creeping ever closer to him. If this continued, the fire of chaos would scorch the red dragon's scales, reawakening the chaotic power slumbering within his body. It could very well plunge Cassius back into madness, allowing him to be assimilated by the Abyss. When that time came, it would become a duel between "Garyx" and Jerlazax. The Abyss would treat them like venomous insects in a jar, determining the ultimate victor to serve as the vessel for the will of the Abyss. However—Cassius had no fondness for such an outcome. "Puppet of the Abyss! Did you truly think this would defeat me?!" "Roaaar—" With a furious roar, Cassius's expression turned savage. Atop his skull, the majestic Crown of the Supreme True Dragon manifested, the silver-white gem embedded in it shining with magnificent brilliance. Instantly, the divine power of order surged into the pillar of fire. The resonance of the Elemental Master intensified, layered further with the destructive essence of the Elemental Plane of Fire. The energy level of Cassius's breath had reached the threshold of quasi-divinity. Blinding flecks of light sprayed from the pillar of flame. The draconic fire flared with newfound fury, bearing the terrifying might of universal laws, and began to obliterate the fire of chaos. Boom! Explosion after explosion capable of annihilating all things burst in midair, leaving the surrounding mountains in absolute shambles, pockmarked with colossal craters. Both dragons twisted their necks and swung their heads, seeking to strike directly at the other's body, yet each anticipated the other's next move, locking them in a temporary stalemate. The world was once again split in two: above was Cassius's primordial fire that consumed all, and below was Jerlazax's chaotic fire that drove all creation into madness. Whoosh— At the edge of the battlefield, along the outermost perimeter of the Anstica Mountains, a ripple passed through space, and a teleportation portal opened out of thin air. Staff in hand, an elder with a snow-white beard, wearing silver robes and bearing eyes as deep as the starry sky, stepped out in a hurry. A single glance at the scene in the sky froze him dead in his tracks. His jaw dropped in dumbfounded shock. The wrinkles on his face bunched together, and even his grizzled beard trembled. "By Bahamut... "What has happened to this world? What on earth are those things? "Am... am I still in the Third Age? Could I have been swept into a temporal turbulence caused by a time dragon?" The old man even suspected he had crossed through time and space, arriving in the First Age when gods and fiends roamed unchecked and dragons ruled the earth. In his memory, only in that primordial era before his birth—before the gods had taken their thrones—had battles capable of destroying heaven and earth ever erupted. His name was Pablicheko Melvold, a wyrm silver dragon, an elder of the Melvold clan, and the younger brother of Oszedro, the "Silver Wings." Upon hearing the report from his kinsmen, Oszedro had treated the matter with utmost gravity. However, hampered by his injuries, he could not make the journey himself, and so he had dispatched Pablicheko, a fellow wyrm silver dragon, in his stead. Yet now, the severity of the situation had far exceeded anything the silver dragons of Clan Melvold could have imagined. "Lord of the North Wind... "A red dragon forty meters long, and... a dragon nearly two hundred meters long. Has a progenitor dragon returned to life?" Gazing at those two mountainous, towering silhouettes and feeling the cataclysmic shockwaves capable of destroying all things, Pablicheko could not help but mutter to himself. At this point, even a wyrm silver dragon was powerless to intervene. Even if his elder brother, the Silver Wings himself, were to arrive, he likely could not alter the outcome. Right now, Pablicheko could only pray silently to Bahamut, hoping that the emperor would secure the final victory. "By Bahamut... "I beseech You, grant victory to His Majesty Cassius." At the very least... according to his brother Oszedro, though the red dragon emperor was tyrannical, he was by no means beyond redemption. Creatures of the Abyss were entirely different. To the Material Plane, they were vermin of the purest order, and even the kindest silver dragon would spare no effort to purge them.