Ashen Dragon

"Chaos Flame?" Zareel's expression slightly changed. As the Blood Battle Manipulator, she recognized it at a glance—this was the power from her nemesis, the Abyss.

"Your flame is nothing but an echo of Hell's embers!" Zareel's voice drowned out the boiling magma.

"Sizzle——"

The burning greatsword swung through the air, extending to a hundred meters under the power of Hell, as if it would cleave the entire world.

At the moment the blade slashed through the sky and split the flame, the vertical pupils of the red dragon contracted into thin lines. He swung his wings and tightened his limbs, twisting in midair to dodge the deadly strike.

Dragon scales scraped against the sword, sparking a series of dazzling sparks.

Cassius dove rapidly, closing the distance continuously, his figure like a ghost, speeding towards Zareel.

At that moment, a primitive warhammer appeared in Zareel's hand. The instant it appeared, Cassius suddenly felt a piercing chill rushing towards him, as if wanting to freeze his body and soul entirely.

Such familiar feeling...

Seeing the icy blue rune glowing on the warhammer, Cassius was shocked—that was Soleim's rune!

This was "Father of Frost" Matalotok, an ancient hammer forged by the Frost Giant god, and the favorite weapon of Koschech, the Abyssal Lord and Frost Giant.

In the Blood Battle decades ago, Zareel defeated Koschech and obtained this hammer.

"Boom!"

Zareel swung the warhammer with a ferocious smile, unleashing an extremely cold torrent towards Cassius, almost freezing the surrounding air.

Under the power of this divine artifact, even the ancient red dragon, harboring a volcano within, was likely to be instantly frozen into an ice block.

As the chill spread, Cassius's actions also became sluggish, as if struggling in a viscous swamp, about to be engulfed entirely, even his scales coated with a thick layer of frost.

"Heh heh... the means of the Hell Lord are beyond the understanding of a mortal like you."

Zareel gripped the Hell Greatsword, walking forward step by step, eyes filled with madness and greed, as if she already held countless souls in her grasp.

At that moment, an abrupt change occurred.

"Crunch, crunch..."

The runes on the red dragon lit up, releasing rays of cold light, and the ice layer covering his body abruptly shattered, his enormous dragon form pouncing towards Zareel at a terrifying speed!

It turns out this was Cassius's disguise!

He had absorbed the power of the Everfrost Rune and plundered Soleim's divine power, making himself immune to the artifact's harm.

"Damn reptile!" Zareel's face showed anger, her Burning Sky Wings suddenly flapped, whipping up a hurricane filled with magma shards, encircling her, as the greatsword swung down in the air, slashing towards the red dragon's head.

"Boom——"

Cassius released a Ninth Tier Spell [Dragon's Absorption], a powerful spell vortex appeared in front of his head, absorbing the energy of the storm.

Immediately, he sidestepped the dragon wings to avoid the slash of the greatsword, swiftly gliding through the sky, his chest almost brushing against the grim sword body.

At this moment, the red dragon was like a sharp spike, piercing through all defenses head-on, aiming straight for Zareel.

"Whoosh whoosh——"

Hundreds of burning Hell Chains appeared from Zareel's back, emitting crisp sounds, darting out like venomous snakes in the direction of the red dragon.

Cassius flapped his wings suddenly, rising into the air, allowing those Hell Demonic Chains to miss their target.

Immediately, he flew over Zareel, putting all his strength into swinging that mountainous tail, the mace-like tail tip sweeping down—this was a strike prepared long in advance.

Space itself was shattered into cobweb-like cracks, producing pulsating ripples.

"Boom!"

With a thunderous explosion, under this unimaginable giant force, Zareel was smashed away a thousand meters, deeply embedded into the rock face, fragments of stone raining down like a shower.

Cassius wouldn't waste a single chance to capitalize on his advantage.

The red dragon flapped his wings, transforming into a scarlet meteor, plunging towards Zareel's direction, his chest emitting a dazzling radiance, his throat spewing a terrifying blue-white pillar of fire.

Primordial Breath!

Yet under the increasingly intense will of Aphernas, Zareel's form frantically expanded, reaching a hundred meters in just a few seconds.

Zareel single-handedly held the Purgatory Greatsword, the broad sword body blocking the shooting Primordial Breath.

In an instant, the firelight was brilliantly dazzling and extreme in temperature, even transforming the surrounding sand and rock into glass.

But with Aphernas's will empowering her, Zareel was fearless, suddenly standing up, her Burning Sky Wings flapping, unleashing a cyclone of flames across the land, releasing a ring of fiery shockwaves.

Under her sky-blocking wings, mountains collapsed, rivers evaporated, magma flowed, resembling a hellish scene on earth.

"Hahaha, I hope you can entertain me, don't die too boringly!" Zareel laughed maniacally, her mouth nearly reaching her ears, wielding a massive Chain Hammer, rotating it a few times, then crashing it towards the sky with a howling sound.

Cassius was startled, hurriedly flapping his dragon wings, trying his best to dodge. He could feel it: that Chain Hammer contained incredibly formidable power of Hell, no, more precisely, the power of Laws.

Once struck by that hell-iron spiked ball, his soul would be knocked out of the body, and then the ensuing chains would wrap around his soul.

With just one strike, that Hell Chain Hammer could turn a dragon into Aphernas's slave, serving Zareel for eternity—just like those Prison Fire Ancient Dragons.

Startled, Cassius hastily flapped his dragon wings, soaring into the air, dodging the attack of the rushing demon chains.

Then, he swept over Zareel, using all his strength to whip his mountain-thick tail, swinging the battering ram-like tip at her—a strike long in the making.

The space was shattered into web-like cracks, producing rippling shockwaves.

"Boom!"

With a booming explosion, the shockwave shook the earth as it was struck into a spider's web of cracks, causing reverberating ripples.

"Whoosh, whoosh——"

Hundreds of burning Hell Chains emerged, emitting crisp sounds like snakes darting towards the red dragon from every direction.

Cassius suddenly flapped his wings, soaring into the air, making the hellish demonic chains miss their target.

Then, he swept above Zareel, using all his might to swing his tail, thick as a mountain range, like a battering ram aiming at Zareel——it was a long-prepared strike.

The space itself was shattered with spiderweb-like cracks, generating undulating ripples.

"Boom!"

With another thunderous blast, the ground was smashed into a wide crater, as the Hell Lord surged out from the boiling lake, her greatsword wrapped in swirling flames, slashing towards the red dragon's head.

Cassius was taken by surprise and quickly flapped his dragon wings to avoid the descending greatsword, swiftly skimming through the air, his chest almost brushing against the menacing blade.

In that instant, the red dragon, like a sharp spike, pierced through various defenses, heading straight for Zareel.

"Whoosh—whoosh——"

Over a hundred glowing Hell Chains emerged from behind Zareel, making a sharp sound, darting towards the red dragon like venomous snakes.

Cassius abruptly flapped his wings, rising into the air and letting the Hell Demonic Chains miss their target.

He then swooped down with all his might, swinging his mountain-sized tail, its battering ram head looming towards Zareel—a blow that had been building for a long time.

Fractures like a spider web appeared in the space, generating ripples of vibration.

"Boom!"

With a deafening sonic boom, the unimaginable force of impact sent shockwaves through the ground, as a crater was left in its wake.

Cassius seized every opportunity to press the advantage.

This red dragon swept over Zareel, putting all his strength into lashing his massive tail like a battering ram, the sharp tip whistling through the air—it was an attack long in the making.

A hundred burning Hell Chains appeared from behind Zareel, emitting crisp sounds, darting out towards the red dragon like serpents.

Cassius swiftly unfurled his wings, soaring into the air, leaving the Hell Demonic Chains to strike empty space.

He quickly swept overhead, mustering all his might to swing his mountain-like tail, the pointed end of the battering ram-like tail sweeping towards Zareel—one strike ready since long.

The air cracked into spiderweb-like fractures, creating rippling shockwaves.

"Boom!"

Accompanied by the rumbling explosion, the ground lurched with a series of tremors. The earth was struck, leaving a cobweb of cracks.

Zareel swung the Purgatory Greatsword with a cruel smile, causing a frosty torrent to spill out, attacking Cassius, nearly freezing the surrounding air.

Under the power of the Divine Artifact, even an ancient Red Dragon harboring volcanoes within its body might be instantly turned into ice.

As the chill spread, Cassius's actions also became increasingly sluggish, as if struggling in a viscous marsh, on the verge of being completely overwhelmed, even his scales were covered with a thick layer of Everfrost.

"Hehe... The methods of a Hell Lord are beyond the understanding of mortals like you."

Zareel gripped the Hell Greatsword, walking forward step by step, madness and greed apparent in her eyes, as if she had already pocketed countless souls.

At this moment, an unexpected change arose.

"Crack, crack..."

Runes on the red dragon's body lit up, releasing rays of cold light, and the ice covering his body suddenly shattered, the massive dragon body charging towards Zareel at a terrifying speed!

This was Cassius's disguise all along!

He had once absorbed the power of the Eternal Frost Rune, had also plundered Soleim's divine power, allowing himself to be immune to the artifact's damage.

"You damned reptile!" Zareel expressed anger, her burning sky wings suddenly flapping, raising a gust of wind laden with shards of lava, swirling around her, as the greatsword slashed down from the sky, aimed directly at the red dragon's head.

"Boom——"

Cassius unleashed a Ninth Tier Spell[Dragon's Absorption], creating a powerful spell vortex before his head, drawing in the energy of the storm.

Then, he suddenly spread his dragon wings, avoiding the slash of the greatsword, swiftly scraping past the sky, his chest nearly touching the fierce blade.

At that moment, the red dragon, like a sharp spike, pierced through the defenses, rushing toward Zareel.

"Whoosh——"

A hundred burning Hell Chains appeared from behind Zareel, making a crackling sound as they shot out like venomous snakes towards the red dragon.

Cassius suddenly flapped his wings, rising into the air, causing those Hell Demonic Chains to miss their target.

Next, he soared over Zareel, swinging his mountain-thick tail with all his might, akin to a battering ram sweeping down—a blow long in the making.

The space shattered into web-like cracks, creating ripples of shockwaves.

"Boom!"

Accompanied by a thunderous sonic boom, the impact shattered the ground, creating a crater of great diameter resembling a monument erected by Hell for this battle.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The Chain Hammer continued its relentless assault. Zareel furiously and relentlessly attacked, reducing the surroundings to ruins.

"""