Ashen Dragon

The Red Dragon opened its massive maw, and from the depths of its throat surged a torrent of dragonflame, an inferno sweeping across the sky as if to incinerate all existence.

Even more terrifyingly, within the depths of the flame, there were streaks of silvery-white inner fire, exuding a sacred, majestic aura.

—That was the Order Fire, capable of eradicating demons entirely, beyond even the Abyss's ability to save!

Krum was filled with terror, collapsing to the ground, retreating frantically on all fours, exclaiming, "Lord Koschech, my Lord, please save me! I am your most loyal follower!"

"It seems he doesn't dare to show himself, the so-called Angry Lord, King of Frost Giants—just so-so!" Cassius sneered, with the dragon breath sweeping across the land, incinerating hundreds of demons to ashes in an instant.

The tongues of flame lashed out like a ferocious beast, reaching towards Krum not far away.

Krum struggled to lift his giant hammer, pouring all the bloodline power from his body, summoning a howling gale, and extreme cold light burst forth, raising one ice pillar after another from the ground, forming an indestructible barrier of ice.

But before the dragonflame of Cassius, which could burn all things, the ice and frost melted in an instant, first turning into white mist, then vanishing without a trace.

Just as the tongues of flame were about to engulf Krum, an angry roar echoed from across the vast distances of space.

"Cursed worm! Who gave you the courage to oppose me—"

The voice resounded across the hellish wasteland, striking fear into countless souls from the core, silencing even the otherwise chaotic demons.

Accompanied by the piercing gale and the violent tremor of the earth, several massive ice mountains slowly rose, blocking the dragonflame, as chaotic power-laden mottled frost and snow fell from the sky, gradually forming a colossal phantom.

It was a hunchbacked, towering Frost Giant with blue skin, an immense figure hundreds of meters high, clad in leather armor sewn from the skins of dozens of White Dragons, its muscular body wrapped in tight sinews.

Yet, unlike a typical Frost Giant, its hair was not the typical snowy blue but a filthy black-grey. Most terrifying were its pitch-black eyes, flickering with cruel, ferocious light, as if intent on shredding everything before it.

His identity was self-evident—the King of Frost Giants, the Angry Lord, Koschech!

"Worm, you picked the wrong opponent. The great Koschech will turn Aphernas into a paradise of the Abyss!"

Looking up at the magnificent phantom, Cassius squinted, his pupils narrowing, feeling a familiar sensation.

Immortality, it was the essence of immortality.

Having mingled often with the Gods, Cassius had long noted this characteristic and remembered it vividly.

Indeed, as Piere had said, this Abyssal Lord had traits of Pseudogod Power; no, more accurately, he was a Tanari Demi-god!

Even those ice mountains bore divine powers of strength and cold, sufficient to freeze all things, turning an entire human kingdom into a snow-covered wasteland.

Yet Cassius was no ordinary being; he laughed coldly.

"Is this what you rely on...even a demigod-level demon is no match for me in this Avernus!"

Before his words had fully fallen, the Red Dragon flapped its wings, stirring up a scorching gale, then soared high to confront the towering Frost Giant phantom.

"Die!"

Koschech raised his hand, and an extremely terrifying cold light surged from the void, aiming for the Red Dragon's heart, along with sharp ice cones piercing the earth, rising up.

Yet Cassius was unafraid, flapping his wings once more to ascend thousands of meters, looking down at the demon Frost Giant's phantom from on high, the Dragon Crystal on his chest shining like the sun, emitting radiant light.

At the same time, endless Hellfire swirled around his body, condensing into a Purgatory Longsword, a manifestation of the Authority of Avernus!

"Aphernas's power...could it be you are also a Hell Lord?" Koschech frowned slightly, pondering.

But Cassius showed no mercy; he roared to the heavens, unleashing a pillar of fire containing boundless energy that roared through the sky like Divine Punishment.

"Boom!"

The ground shook and mountains trembled, the sound resonating to the heavens, white mist engulfing all around.

Koschech's summoned ice mountain was pierced by the pillar of fire, creating a massive crater, from which boiling murky water gushed down, converging into a raging river.

This Frost Giant Lord shouted, as several beams of extreme cold shot from the void, countering the pillar of fire spewed by Cassius.

"Boom!"

For a time, extreme cold and extreme heat collided, two utterly different forces clashing to generate terrifying energy waves, forming chaotic storms that induced unpredictable weather changes—sometimes clear skies, sometimes violent storms, sometimes overcast.

But soon, Cassius gained the upper hand, the pillar of fire advancing towards the Frost Giant's direction. After all, Avernus was a scorching, dry purgatory, where cold and frost couldn't exert their full power, especially as the Red Dragon was bolstered by the Plane's Will.

Krum watched the advancing pillar of fire, filled with disbelief, mumbling to himself, "Impossible, this is impossible! Lord Koschech is invincible; how can a worm like you..."

The demons, terrified by the dreadful energy storm, trembled and fled desperately across the barren wasteland, fearing they would be engulfed by the aftermath.