The moment Jerlazax's soul was burned to utter ash, billowing dark clouds suddenly surged across the heavens. Boundless lightning flashed with stark white radiance from on high, accompanied by a torrential downpour.
In an instant, it felt as though the entire world sensed the demise of the Abyssal demon, rejoicing and exulting in celebration.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Thunder continued to roar without pause as bolts of lightning as thick as bowls streaked across the sky and earth, sweeping away the dense fog of chaos.
The dark clouds gradually dispersed, and the sun, veiled in darkness for days, revealed itself once more before the world, casting shafts of brilliant light across the land.
At long last, day had broken.
Under the sunlight, the mangled remains of the Abyssal dragon lay riddled with holes, its matte crimson scales veiled in a hazy glow.
Across that mountain-sized carcass, blood welled from countless wounds, aggressively eroding the earth and gouging deep trenches that ultimately converged into scarlet rivers.
The shadow that had hung over Cassius since his arrival in this world—the heavy shackles binding him—finally vanished into nothingness.
"It is finally over...
The predetermined fate, Jerlazax's curse, Garyx's madness, and... all of this,"
Cassius murmured with deep emotion.
In a flash, memories surfaced in his mind: transmigrating as a wyrmling over ten years ago, the harrowing perils of scheming against demons, the madness of being infected by the Abyss years back...
"No, perhaps it isn't truly over yet."
The red dragon gazed at Garyx's spectacular, serpentine remains, then turned his gaze toward the distance, where the thousands-of-meters-high abyssal wall was on the verge of dissipating.
Blinding lightning and radiant starlight flickered in and out of view amidst the pitch-black fog of chaos, carrying the distinct omen of an impending tempest.
When that time arrived, the avatars of the so-called "Triad" would descend upon the Material Plane, and the ownership of Garyx's remains would become an issue.
The gods would never permit an entity capable of becoming a "World-Ending Dragon" to remain on the Material Plane. They would likely seek to eliminate all threats, and would even obliterate him if the opportunity arose.
Yet if Cassius were to devour Garyx's carcass entirely, Jerlazax's dying curse still echoed in his ears.
That was a forbidden relic left behind by an abyss-infected, maddened deity, one that almost certainly harbored Jerlazax's hidden ploys.
Rashly consuming it could easily trigger mind-possession issues akin to those of the Heart of Garyx.
"Regardless... come soldiers, send generals to block them; come floodwaters, build earthen dams to stem the flow."
Cassius softly uttered an old proverb from his past life. Then, he slowly raised his right claw, and the power to control the world surged forth.
—He had already devised a way to temporarily preserve this draconic corpse. He had no need to absorb the progenitor dragon's power immediately, but neither did he intend to relinquish control over it.
The red dragon's raised claw slowly tightened into a fist. A torrent of pure power cascaded outward, raging across this land and reforming everything around it.
*Imperial Domain: Control.*
*Rumble—*
A deep, heavy sound echoed from subterranean depths. The rocky earth slowly swelled upward, gradually enveloping the nearly three-hundred-meter dragon carcass.
The earth shook violently. Countless boulders tumbled down and dust billowed into the air as the geological strata hoisted the dragon corpse, slowly elevating it thousands of meters into the sky.
Gazing up at the dragon corpse bathed in sunlight as it was steadily lifted—staring at that miracle-like spectacle—the Imperial kin, the celestial reinforcements, and the invited metallic dragons were all struck dumb with awe.
"By the gods..."
"What manner of power is this! That red dragon, he... he is creating a mountain!"
"That is something only a deity could achieve!"
Celestial beings pointed at the rising rock in the distance, slack-jawed, their pristine, fair faces filled with shock.
In their minds, mortal beings of the Material Plane could never manifest such a magnificent divine miracle—elevating the ground, raising mountains. Only the gods enthroned upon Mount Celestia could perform such feats.
"Lord of the North Wind above, such might...
It seems my brother was right. This Red Dragon Emperor has already transcended the boundaries of what we can restrain. His rise has been far too swift, like a shooting star."
Pablicheko, currently in human form, pushed up the spectacles on the bridge of his nose, his expression solemn as he spoke softly to Imelda beside him.
"One can only hope this Emperor brings a turn for the better to the Feanso Continent. If not...
Regardless, Melvold will fight him to the bitter death for the sake of justice and righteousness."
Imelda also gazed into the distance. The ancient wyrm silver dragon folded her plate-like silver wings tight against her massive flank, letting out a low hum.
"Praise Cassius!"
"Long live the Great Red Dragon!"
"His Majesty succeeded! The Abyssal dragon has fallen!"
The Imperial kin erupted into a tide of fervent cheers. Even though many had already witnessed Cassius's miracle of creating mountain ranges, they were still enraptured and shaken by the sight before them.
The earth itself hoisted a dragon carcass hundreds of meters long, rising slowly in the sunlight—what a magnificent sight it was!
Standing stalwart among the crowd, the ogre Trump also raised his head. Tears welled in his small, murky eyes, and his throat trembled.
Trump kept his voice low, ceaselessly muttering to himself, "Master, Master, your plan has succeeded!
You truly killed... an abomination. This will be a momentous milestone in your grand blueprint."
*Crack, crack...*
Accompanied by crisp, resonant fractures, Garyx's remains gradually transformed into dull, solid rock.
The massive dragon head reared toward the sky petrified into a rugged, precipitous peak; the arched spine turned into a towering mountain ridge; and the broken wings drooping down became sweeping slopes.
The tail that stretched for hundreds of meters became a winding mountain spur; the blood pouring from wounds turned into flowing rivers; even the immense, razor talons transformed into chaotic, jagged crags at the mountain's base...
In the end, an overwhelmingly majestic peak, shaped like a colossal dragon roaring toward the heavens, stood tall amidst the ruins of the Anstica Mountains.
This magnificent, towering peak directly supplanted what had once been the "King of the Snow Mountains," Thierry Peak, becoming the highest point in all of Anstica, and indeed the entire Great Anzetta Waste.
Sulfurous white smoke drifted from Cassius's hundred-meter-long body, dragonflame venting from the seams of his scales and pores across his flesh. His elementalized body gradually dispersed and shrank, returning to his standard forty-meter form.
Beating his wings, he took flight, ascending to the summit of the newborn peak. His scarlet scales gleamed brilliantly under the sun's rays.
The red dragon spread his wings wide, his resonant, heavy voice echoing across Anstica:
"From this day forth, this place shall be a forbidden domain belonging solely to the Cinder Empire. All trespassers shall become sworn enemies of the Empire unto death.
I name it..."
Cassius paused, pondering for a moment before continuing:
"Dragonblood Mountain."
Chapter 544