Cataclysm

"Boom—!" With a ponderous, earth-shaking roar, the hundreds-of-meters-tall mountain slowly tilted and finally collapsed into ruin, throwing up a sky-blotting pall of dust. The red dragon's body was buried beneath it, hidden somewhere within the swirling haze of sand, stone, and smoke. Yet as an Abyssal lord who had usurped a divine corpse, Jerlazax could pierce through any veil of fog and see the true essence of all things. "Roar—!" "Cassius! Face the final judgment!" Jerlazax roared, unfurling dragon wings that eclipsed the sun and extending a colossal tail that wound like a mountain ridge. From tens of thousands of meters aloft, this majestic Abyssal dragon dove toward the ruins of the mountain like a falling mountain itself. As it plummeted, the violent friction between the Abyssal dragon's hide and the atmosphere generated searing heat in the thousands of degrees. Those wings looked like a burning firmament crashing down upon the world. A frenzied tempest raged across earth and sky, violently tearing at the fabric of space until it shrieked and shuddered in agony. In an instant, every living being throughout Anzeta felt an overwhelming wave of wind pressure. Trees snapped like twigs, and cliffs crumbled into dust. Even the silver dragons were forced downward by the crushing force, unable to lift their heads, their massive talons sinking deep into the earth. Frailer creatures were crushed outright, their bones snapping as they were reduced to bloody pulp. Pablichek beat his wings frantically, staring up at the terrifying spectacle above as he shouted in panic, "By Bahamut, get clear! This isn't an attack we can endure!" The wyrm silver dragon unleashed a radiant sphere of light, instantly breaking free of the several dozen demons swarming him. Without hesitation, he cast a teleportation spell, tearing open a massive spatial portal. Flocks of gold, silver, and brass dragons flew into the gate in droves, retreating from the battlefield. Meanwhile, the celestial beings flared with starlight as they shifted continuously across space, doing everything in their power to put distance between themselves and the plunging Abyssal dragon. An astral deva tore a long scroll from his person, writing furiously across the parchment as he murmured in distress, "My Lord, I beg of you, send forth an emissary. With only the strength of your faithful, there is no overcoming this crisis... That—that is an abomination!" "Your Majesty..." Trump looked up at the black sky descending upon them at terrifying speed, his expression grave beyond measure. Even he, who had held the utmost faith in the emperor, felt a tremor of doubt stir in his chest. Could a monster like this—an abomination—truly be defeated? Yet the ogre mage quickly remembered what he had to do. He raised his scepter high, and the skull necklace across his chest flared with rings of dazzling magical brilliance. "Quick! Leave this place! Under no circumstances may anyone approach this battlefield!" Mass Teleport! Amidst motes of shimmering mana, the core forces of the empire—the Dragon Oath Paladins, the Wyvern Legion, the Dragon-Pact Sorcerers, and the rest—retreated in an instant, reappearing several dozen li away. As for the players, they were hardly a priority. These fellows were "immortals" anyway. The tens of thousands of elite players still tangled with the demons on the battlefield soon noticed the Abyssal dragon falling from the sky. They froze, stunned by the sheer spectacle. "Holy crap!" "What the hell is that thing?!" "Run! A meteor's hitting the earth!" Players who possessed teleportation spells tore scrolls without a second thought to flee. Those who didn't scrambled by whatever means they had—flying or sprinting, fleeing for their lives into the distance. "Hum—!" The Abyssal dragon drew ever closer to the ground, the wind pressure swelling to an unbearable fury, yet Cassius still had not emerged from the ruins. At that moment, the pitch-black canopy crushed down against the earth, the ground violently giving way. It was a vision of the end of the world, one that seemed to make reality itself tremble. At last, people understood why this dark-red dragon called himself the "Dragon of World's End." Under countless terrified and panicked gazes, the Abyssal dragon slammed into the ruins with unstoppable momentum, the black sky crashing into the earth below. "Boom—!" The earth shook, and mountains groaned. A gargantuan explosion vaulted into the clouds, billows of thick smoke swallowing everything in an instant and blotting out the sun. Accompanied by a surge of pure chaos, a terrifying shockwave radiated outward from the Abyssal dragon, sweeping more than a dozen li in a breath. Trees were torn out by their roots, peaks toppled outward, and endless stone debris showered through the air. Beneath the dragon's impact, the bedrock splintered and magma burst skyward. Countless boulders hurled into the upper atmosphere, raining back down in every direction like burning meteors. The entirety of the Anstica Mountains—even Anzeta itself—trembled beneath the terrible shockwave. Jerlazax's dive had inflicted irreversible devastation upon the mountain range. Even the metallic dragons and the celestial host who had retreated early shuddered in fright. Any living creature caught within the blast radius was pulverized. The players, soldiers, and demons who had failed to flee in time were thoroughly consumed, not even ashes left behind. A crater several li wide now scarred the ground, littered with fractured rock strata and surging rivers of molten rock. "Ye gods..." "By Bahamut..." "An abomination... That is the power of an abomination! No mortal could ever withstand it!" "Lord of the North Wind, am I truly still in the Third Age?" The metallic dragons, celestial beings, imperial vassals, and the surviving elite players all stared in unison at the apocalyptic sight. They trembled uncontrollably, awestruck and terrified. In the face of a monstrosity worthy of the name abomination, all mortal struggle appeared meaningless. In the imperial vassals' temporary staging area, Olivia stared into the billows of rising smoke and dust, her blue-gray pupils widening sharply, filled with deep dread. Even for that red dragon who had always been invincible, could anyone truly survive an attack that wiped out heaven and earth? Cassius... Despair and terror flooded Olivia's heart, leaving her at an utter loss. "Roar—!" Right then, a familiar, resounding draconic roar echoed from within the smoke and dust, instantly rolling across all of Anstica. "That's—" Olivia looked up in overwhelming joy, tears welling in her eyes. The metallic dragons, celestials, vassals, and even the players looked toward the sky in unison, erupting into a clamor of cheers. "Look!" "It's His Majesty Cassius!" "The red dragon is still alive!" A crimson dragon burst violently through the smoke, unfurling his wings to soar toward the heights. Cassius's entire frame rippled with delicate auras of spatial magic. His scales gleamed like polished gold, wrapped in an endless corona of flame. The instant Jerlazax had slammed into the ground, Cassius had drawn upon the divine power of order to resist the chaotic tide, deploying the Egg of Refuge to cast himself into an extradimensional space. Within that space, he had layered protective enchantments upon himself—Undying Inverted Scale, Fire Shield, and more—before returning to the Material Plane. Yet a colossal, grotesque shadow materialized through the smoke, and the hideous head of the Abyssal dragon suddenly thrust outward. "Roar—!" Jerlazax parted a maw dozens of meters wide, spewing billows of black smoke as he let loose an enraged bellow. "You scuttling rat! "I will snap your wings, crush your skull, and tear you apart with my own claws!" The Abyssal dragon's head alone was nearly thirty meters long, nearly rivaling the entire length of Cassius's body. Into that foul, rotting maw, endless plumes of chaotic black smoke surged, forming a whirlpool of terrifying suction. The red dragon beat his wings violently, surging into an explosive climb as brilliant plumes of fiery light blasted from his limbs and wings. Snap! The Abyssal dragon's jaws snapped shut on empty air. Immediately after, a massive claw swept through the air from the flank, tearing through dense smoke to swat at the red dragon. "Hum—!" The air cracked with a sonic boom. Cassius tilted his wings, carving a brilliant crimson arc across the high sky as he grazed past the sweeping talon. The red dragon snapped his head around. The dragon crystal embedded in his chest blazed with light, and with another roar, he opened his jaws to unleash a pillar of searing white flame. "Boom—!" A detonation of fiery light erupted against the Abyssal dragon's shoulder, blasting away dark-red scales and charring a wide swathe of purplish-black flesh to soot. The Abyssal dragon roared in fury. Once again, his sky-blotting wings swept forward, summoning a savage gale that whipped toward Cassius aloft. Yet the red dragon pinned his wings tight against his flanks, streamlined his body, and extended his tail, a silver-white brilliance shimmering before him. Like an armor-piercing wedge, he bored straight through the howling wind, warding off the corruption of chaotic power as he plunged toward the Abyssal dragon once more. "Boom!" Another crimson afterimage flashed past, opening a fresh wound across the Abyssal dragon's colossal frame. Yet as the clash wore on, the Abyssal energy saturating the surroundings grew ever thicker, even beginning to shake the fundamental laws of the Material Plane. Cassius felt an encroaching sense of suffocation. His power was being suppressed! Cassius gave a low growl and beat his wings with all his might, throwing himself back dozens of meters in an instant. He managed to evade another sweeping tail strike, but the razor-sharp Spear of Vengeance at the tip of the tail still slashed across his body. Slash—! Golden-red scales and scalding dragon blood sprayed into the air. A gouge several meters long was torn across the red dragon's chest. Dragon's Respite! Cassius threw back his head and roared. Beams of golden light descended, knitting the wound shut and purging the Abyssal smoke. Yet the dark-red talon swept back around, dragging a chaotic current in its wake. Several blade-like waves of black energy lanced toward him. The red dragon vaulted upward once more, barely dodging the blow by a hair's breadth. The mountain peak behind him was sheared clean off. Boulders collapsed with a thunderous crash, leaving behind a razor-straight slice. Cassius was noticeably falling behind. He was reduced to desperate dodges, wholly incapable of launching a counterattack and brushing against death time and again. Jerlazax bared his fangs in a hideous grin. "Hahaha! Red dragon! Stop this pointless struggle! "You cannot escape destiny!" Cassius dodged another slamming claw and sneered, "Is that so, Jerlazax?" A terrifying divine pressure suddenly radiated from the distant horizon. Ripples spread across space, starlight illuminated the sky, and several towering phantoms began to coalesce. Jerlazax and Cassius turned in unison to look toward the heavens. Cassius murmured to himself, "They're here after all. These gods truly cannot sit by and watch the Abyss invade, not to mention that I gave them warning in advance. "And... there are more of them than I anticipated." Accompanied by the resounding chime of a gong and an unspoken, joyous hymn, the phantom of a human male took shape along the horizon. He wore chainmail and lacked a right hand, his sole remaining arm bearing a bright silver warhammer. Around his brow shone a crown of supreme, pure white light. It was the avatar of the God of Justice, the Even-Handed—Tyr! Next came the faint sound of weeping. Another gaunt man, clad only in a breechcloth, appeared upon the devastated earth. His face was filled with infinite compassion, his flesh crisscrossed with scars, weeping sores, burns, and other marks of torture. It was the avatar of the Crying God, the Broken God, the One on the Rack—Ilmater! Finally, a frigid north wind swept across the sky, scattering the churning clouds. A slender, serpentine platinum dragon took form along the heavens, beating broad wings, his eyes glowing with an azure light like a midsummer sky. It was the avatar of the Platinum Dragon God—Bahamut! Tyr, Ilmater, and Bahamut—deities who frequently appeared during world-threatening disasters to rescue mortals from suffering—were revered by common folk as the "Triad of Justice." Now, the avatars of all three deities had descended together to confront this terrifying draconic abomination. "It's our Lord!" "His Majesty Bahamut!" "It's the Triad of Justice! The world is saved!" The metallic dragons and celestial warriors burst into joyous cries. In the eyes of these faithful, with the descent of the gods, the battle was as good as won. Endless hatred surged in Jerlazax's fathomless eyes, spewing black-red flames of vengeance. The ground beneath him fractured violently and burst into roaring flames. "The Triad of Justice..." He ground his fangs until they nearly shattered. Billows of black smoke rolled from his nostrils and the corners of his mouth as a rasping voice tore from deep within his throat. Jerlazax threw back his head and howled in rage, spitting forth a violent gale of chaos. Stifling black mist rolled over the earth, coalescing into the silhouette of a dragon thousands of meters tall. He looked upon Cassius as prey about to be caught in a snare, but when he looked upon the gods, he saw enemies unto death! "You again! Ten thousand years ago, it was you meddling bastards! "High-and-mighty gods, when the great will of the Abyss annihilates all things, none of you will escape either! You will serve only as nourishment for a new world!" The Abyssal dragon panted heavily, turning his head toward the red dragon nearby. Jerlazax pointed a claw toward the solidifying divine phantoms, his expression twisting into a cruel, venomous grin. "Cassius, is this what you were relying on? You thought... summoning avatars of the gods would be enough to stop me? "It seems you do not know. Gods are not omnipotent—that is merely the delusion of ignorant mortals! "Only the Abyss is truly omnipotent! It is the inevitable end!" The Abyssal dragon raised his head and snapped his wings, unleashing a world-shattering roar. His three-hundred-meter draconic form vaulted into the sky, kicking up raging gales. "Vengeance—!" "Destruction—!" "The End!" Hysterical shrieks ripped from the Abyssal dragon's throat, layered upon one another like a shrieking gale sweeping through the depths of the Abyss.