Red dragon: in charge of natural disasters

Kayshus and Zariel stood facing each other from a distance, the power of two incomparably strong laws colliding and contending equally. Golden light and blood-colored radiance intertwined in the sky.

The sky was obscured by thick sulfurous smoke, and the scorched earth was covered with spiderweb-like cracks, with magma surging between them like blood vessels.

At the power level of a demigod, even a ninth-circle spell—or even a forbidden spell—could hardly play a decisive role. Sometimes, the battle would revert to its most primitive state, evolving into a physical struggle.

But in reality, every contact they made concealed deadly intent. Even ordinary mortals who merely approached the battlefield would easily be reduced to ashes.

If the billions of souls in the entire material plane were sacrificed, wouldn't the eternal Blood War be completely over? Everyone would attain eternal peace."

"Madwoman," Kayshus gritted his teeth, breathing heavily. Beams of golden light shone down, continuously repairing the wounds on his shoulder.

At the same time, Kayshus was also carefully observing Zariel in the distance.

Whether it was angels, demons, or devils, these extraplanar beings could only unleash their full power in their own planes.

And under the illumination of the [Day of the Fall], Auguste was gradually falling into Hell. This place was now equivalent to half of Avernus, and Zariel, being within it, possessed authority like a deity.

"Trying to confront Zariel head-on in this state, it's almost impossible to achieve victory. Fortunately... I still have that plan," Kayshus thought to himself, flapping his dragon wings.

Thinking of this, Kayshus used the contract as a link to send a message to the Archdevil far away in Avernus.

"Baal, when will you be able to assassinate Zariel's true form?"

"It's not time yet, Your Majesty Kayshus..." Kayshus could hear that Baal's voice contained a variety of emotions such as suppressed excitement, anxiety, and tension.

"Not time yet?"

"Of course, Your Majesty Kayshus. I only have this one chance. In your words, we are grasshoppers on the same rope.

Zariel at this time has the blessing of Avernus's will, making her incredibly powerful. We must wait for an opportunity—when Auguste is between the material plane and the Nine Hells, and Avernus's will is unable to attend to her. That will be Zariel's weakest moment."

"What are the characteristics of that moment?"

"The sky will be torn apart, and an eye will open on that black sun. When that time comes, we can take the opportunity... to kill her."

"I understand."

Kayshus nodded in agreement, and then turned his attention back to the tense battle.

He saw the scarlet hellish power descending, and the sky-covering, sun-scorching wings were recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye, returning to their original state in just a few breaths.

"Since that's the case..." Zariel's expression became even more manic, her face filled with a frenzied, unrestrained smile. "Then let me complete all of this for you!"

Under the focus of countless eyes, Zariel's aura grew stronger and stronger, and the blood-colored light dyed the sky red. The sun-scorching wings continued to expand, obscuring everything, and gradually evolved into giant wings thousands of meters long.

Flames tore open scarlet cracks in the sky, and Zariel hovered beneath the boiling clouds, her fingers entwined with chains that surged from Hell.

"Whirr—"

Countless hellsteel chains broke through the earth from the cracks in the ground, soaring into the sky, piercing through heaven and earth, as if to firmly lock the entire world.

A melodious, eerie female voice echoed in the blood-colored sky, and all the hellish creatures present showed joy and madness on their faces.

Avernus's will slowly descended, pressing on Kayshus's shoulders like a heavy mountain, making him feel a little breathless.

"Tear—"

The howling bloody wind swept across the sky, rushing towards him, and even the flapping of his dragon wings became somewhat weak.

"Her power is still constantly rising, even forming a pressure of authority on me!" Kayshus's expression changed drastically, his muscles tightened, barely maintaining his body's balance. "This can't continue. I must take action as soon as possible, otherwise it will be too late when this place falls into Avernus!"

He struggled to flap his wings, stirring up a strong scorching wind. His huge body transformed into a scarlet afterimage, streaking across the sky.

"Come on, Red Dragon, I will cut off your head and embed your skull on my Iron Throne!" Zariel's tone trembled, but not because of fear, but because of extreme excitement.

"Whirr, whirr, whirr—"

The crisp sound resounded throughout the sky, and the hellish magic chains, like frenzied giant pythons, danced wildly in the air, coiling towards the Red Dragon.

But the Red Dragon repeatedly flapped his dragon wings, making various extremely difficult flight maneuvers—sudden stops, ascents, dives—skillfully dodging the hellish magic chains, and arriving at a place less than five hundred meters away from Zariel.

"Roar—"

The Red Dragon's roar shattered the mountains and rock walls beneath him, and magma gushed out like blood.

"Zariel! Prepare to die—" Kayshus spread his wide dragon wings, and dark red dragonfire was brewing deep in his throat, distorting the surrounding air due to the high temperature.

The Red Dragon's molten gold pupils suddenly burst out with scorching light, and the chaotic flames in his mouth poured out like a waterfall, attacking Zariel not far away.

Under the burning of this flame, even the magma flowing on the ground boiled, making muffled sounds.

"Chaos Fire?" Zariel's expression changed slightly. As the mastermind of the Blood War, she recognized at a glance that this was power from her enemy, the Infinite Layers of the Abyss.

"Your flame is just the echo of Hell's embers!" Zariel's voice drowned out the boiling of the magma.

"Tear—"

The burning greatsword was swung in the air, and under the blessing of hellish power, it stretched to a hundred meters, as if to split the entire world apart.

At the moment when the blade cut through the sky and split the flames, the Red Dragon's pale golden vertical pupils suddenly contracted into thin lines. He swung his wings, tightened his limbs, and twisted his body in the air to dodge the fatal slash.

Dragon scales scraped against the sword body, splashing out a series of dazzling sparks.

Kayshus dived down, constantly closing the distance, his figure like a ghost, rushing towards Zariel rapidly.

At this moment, a simple and unadorned warhammer appeared in Zariel's hand. The moment it appeared, Kayshus suddenly felt a bone-chilling chill rushing towards him, as if to freeze his body and soul completely.

Such a familiar feeling...

Looking at the ice-blue runes lit up on the warhammer, Kayshus was suddenly shocked—that was actually the rune of Solam!

This was "Father of Frost" Martalok, an ancient hammer forged by the god of the frost giants, and also the favorite weapon of Kostchtchie, the abyss lord who was a frost giant.

Just decades ago, Zariel defeated Kostchtchie and obtained this hammer.

"Boom!"

Zariel grinned and swung the warhammer, and an extremely cold torrent poured out, attacking Kayshus, almost solidifying the surrounding air.

Under the power of this artifact, even an ancient red dragon with a volcano in its body would probably be instantly frozen into an ice cube.

As the cold spread, Kayshus's movements became increasingly sluggish, as if struggling in a viscous swamp, about to be completely engulfed, and even his scales were covered with a thick layer of frost.

"Heh. A Hell Lord's methods are beyond your mortal comprehension."

Zariel gripped the Hellfire Greatsword, advancing step by step, her eyes radiating madness and greed, as if she had already claimed these countless souls.

Just then, an unexpected change occurred.

"Crack, crack."

The runes on the Red Dragon's body lit up, releasing rays of cold light. The ice covering his body shattered abruptly, and the massive dragon lunged at Zariel with terrifying speed!

This was Khessus's disguise!

He had absorbed the power of the Everfrost Runes and plundered Solam's divine power, which allowed him to be immune to the artifact’s effects.

"Damn reptile!" Zariel said with a face of anger. Her Burning Sky Wings suddenly flapped, stirring up a hurricane of lava fragments that swirled around her. She swung the greatsword in her hand, slashing it down towards the Red Dragon's head.

"Boom—"

Khessus unleashed the ninth-circle spell [Dragon Drain], creating a powerful magical vortex in front of his head that absorbed the storm's energy.

Immediately afterward, he abruptly spread his dragon wings, dodged the greatsword's slash, and sped across the sky, his chest almost touching the jagged blade.

At this moment, the Red Dragon was like a sharp cone, piercing through all defenses and thrusting toward Zariel.

"Whirr, whirr—"

Hundreds of red-hot Hell chains emerged from Zariel's back, making crisp sounds, darting toward the Red Dragon like venomous snakes.

Khessus suddenly flapped his wings, soaring into the air, causing the Hell chains to miss.

Then, he swept over Zariel, swinging his mountain-like dragon tail with all his might, the siege-hammer-like tip sweeping over—this was a long-accumulated strike.

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The space was smashed with spiderweb-like cracks, creating oscillating ripples.

"Boom!"

Accompanied by a booming sonic boom, under this unimaginable force, Zariel was sent flying thousands of meters, deeply embedded in the rock wall, with falling rubble.

Khessus wouldn't waste any opportunity to press the attack.

The Red Dragon flapped his wings and turned into a scarlet meteor, plummeting towards Zariel. A dazzling light bloomed in his chest, and a terrifying column of blue-white fire erupted from his throat.

Primal Breath!

But empowered by the increasingly intense will of Avernus, Zariel's body swelled wildly, reaching a hundred meters in just a few seconds.

Zariel held the Hellfire Greatsword in one hand, the wide blade blocking the incoming Primal Breath.

In an instant, the fire was dazzling and brilliant, the temperature was terrifying, and even the surrounding sand and stones turned into glass.

But Zariel, empowered by the will of Avernus, was not afraid. She stood up abruptly, her Burning Sky Wings flapping, stirring up a storm that swept across the earth, releasing a ring-shaped shockwave of flames.

Under the cover of her sun-obscuring wings, mountains collapsed, rivers dried up, and lava flowed, like a living hell.

"Hahahaha, I hope you can entertain me, don't die too boringly!" Zariel laughed madly, the corners of her mouth almost reaching her ears. She swung a huge chain hammer in her hand, rotated it a few times, and then roared toward the sky.

Khessus was shocked and quickly flapped his dragon wings, trying to dodge. He could feel that the chain hammer contained extremely terrifying Hell power, or, more precisely, the power of law.

Once hit by the iron-cast spiked ball, his soul would be knocked out of his body, and then the chain would wrap around his soul.

With just one blow, the Hell chain hammer could turn a dragon into a slave of Avernus, serving Zariel for eternity—just like those Hellfire Ancient Dragons.

"Clang—"

The chain hammer brushed past his tail, still injuring the tip, causing broken dragon scales and hot dragon blood to splash in the air.

Then, the chain hammer slammed heavily on the ground.

"Boom!"

Another earth-shattering sound, the ground was smashed into a huge pit with a diameter of one hundred meters, and hot lava gurgled out of it. Even August, thousands of meters away, could feel the violent tremors.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The chain hammer fell again and again, causing mountains to collapse and rock walls to topple.

Zariel waved her wings, chasing Khessus almost madly, launching attacks indiscriminately, smashing the surrounding environment to pieces.

"Boom!"

The chain hammer broke through the air, smashing through a section of the Red Dragon's wing membrane.

Khessus didn't even have time to roar, still dodging constantly, thinking to himself, "Her power is still getting stronger, if this continues, I might have to run away."

He could feel that he could mobilize less and less power. The whole world seemed to be rejecting and targeting him, and there were Hell flames like maggots on bones, tightly wrapped around him.

Khessus was particularly familiar with this feeling—it was similar to [Imperial Domain: Seclusion], the authority unique to the lord of the domain!

Sure enough, August was still falling towards Avernus!

He looked up, the black sun was still high in the sky, and there was no sign of any change.

Could it be that Baal betrayed me?

That was almost impossible. Baal and Zariel were enemies of thousands of years. Baal once imprisoned Zariel in the fortress, cutting her flesh piece by piece, and more importantly—they had fundamental conflicts of interest.

Just as there cannot be two suns in the sky, Avernus can only have one master.

"The moment Baal spoke of should not be far away." Khessus calmed down and once again dodged Zariel's full blow with his powerful precognition.

The earth cracked and rubble splashed.

Suddenly, with the root caster's perception of the world, Khessus felt the entire material plane was trembling, roaring, and roaring, the wind and clouds were surging, and the black sun in the sky became blurred.

—Now!

The Red Dragon gritted his teeth, folded his wings, turned his direction, and plunged headlong towards Zariel, roaring aggressively, with many spells and powers blessed on his body.

He had accumulated this counterattack for a long time!

"Roar—"

Countless chains wrapped around Khessus's body, but he ignored them, launching a violent counterattack, struggling to bite Zariel's left arm, sharp teeth piercing through the armor, but he was also dragged to the ground by Zariel.

"Boom!"

The two fell into the lava river, stirring up a hundred-meter-high lava wave.

"Red Dragon, you're courting death! You can never defeat a lord in Hell!"

Zariel's wings became heavy in the sticky lava. Khessus frantically bit Zariel's shoulder, dark red blood splattering everywhere, and the black Hell armor shattered completely.

However, Khessus himself was not in a good state.

In the fight, Zariel's greatsword had pierced his abdomen, cutting open a large area of flesh—the runes of Hellfire Slash exploded on the blade, and dragon blood splashed like molten gold.

Under the fight of these two behemoths, lava fell like raindrops, and the ravaged scorched earth was corroded with hissing deep pits. (End of this chapter)