Chapter 537: The Body of Karrikex (Part 1)
Another towering peak, thousands of meters high, rose abruptly from the ground, piercing the sky as if to connect the heavens and the earth. The snow at its summit glistened with a cold silver light under the sun.
This was the highest peak of the Anstica Mountains—Thierry Peak, revered by the Scanians as the "King of Snowy Mountains."
"Whoosh—"
The cold wind whistled through the valleys, letting out a piercing screech.
Among the undulating, perpetually snow-covered mountains, the howling wind and flying snow seemed to bury the world in white and chill.
Suddenly, scalding steam surged out, black and red tongues of fire ravaging the air, tearing open a hideous spatial rift at the mountain's foot.
The snow on the mountain, melted by the sudden heat, turned first into flowing snowmelt, then into white mist.
Amidst the rolling mist, the massive, wounded demonic body of the Flame Demon emerged from the void—it was Leo Bosk.
"Huff, huff."
"Finally, finally escaped."
At this moment, the Balrog Flame Demon was panting heavily, his tone full of excitement and tension.
He looked fearfully toward the north—the direction from which he had fled.
"Cassius."
Leo couldn't help but utter the name that had long since become his nightmare. Fear once again crept across his crimson face.
But soon, he ground his teeth with a crackling sound.
The flesh wings on his back trembled violently, and the arm gripping the Storm Greatsword bulged with veins. The Balrog's expression grew more hideous and enraged.
"Cassius, that damn lizard, killed me eleven times in front of millions! Eleven times!"
"I'll chop off his head, peel off his scales, cut his wings, and rip his tail apart—"
The Balrog Flame Demon spread his wings and roared to the sky, flames of vengeance blazing in his eyes.
The demon's rage triggered terrifying anomalies—scorching magma and blazing earth fire surged through the mountains, and countless steam clouds rose.
"No, no, I just need to wait. That red dragon will come to me on his own.
Then, I only need to watch as my enemy is dragged into the abyss. Heh."
Leo's breathing grew heavier, a twisted smile creeping across his face, curling to his ears, smoke rising from the corners of his mouth.
Suddenly, the Balrog sensed something strange, a trace of surprise flashing on his face.
"Wait, this is— He's coming this fast?"
A massive heatwave swept in, and an invisible pressure covering a thousand miles descended, weighing down Leo's heart.
The mountains trembled slightly, as if worshipping the presence above.
"Ssshhh—"
The Balrog Flame Demon abruptly looked up, seeing tongues of fire sweeping the sky. Several colossal claws tore through space, clinging to the burning rift, then easily ripped the sky apart.
First came a massive, majestic head, then a thick neck, followed by wide dragon wings, strong limbs, and a mountain-like, undulating back.
"Roar—"
Finally, with a resounding dragon roar, a red dragon over forty meters long flapped its wings, stirring blazing hot winds, and appeared above the mountains.
Cassius looked down at the mountains with his pale golden slit pupils, his gaze coldly fixed on the Balrog below.
"Leo Bosk, is this the place you've chosen to die?"
Leo gazed up at the red dragon in the sky. His demonic body trembled violently from intense fear and excitement.
The Balrog Flame Demon forced himself to suppress his terror, speaking hoarsely, "Hahaha! Excellent, excellent! Arrogant red dragon, just as I expected, you came! As prideful as you are, you never imagined I'd defeat—or even kill—you, did you?"
Cassius stared at him coldly, silent, as if confirming the accusation.
Leo's tone grew more resentful, his murky eyes filled with hatred: "Cassius, I know, for years now, you've never considered me your equal.
"But that arrogance will be your downfall—it lured you into a doomed fate! You fell into the trap!"
The Balrog Flame Demon spread his grotesque wings wide, shouting madly to the sky, as if already tasting sweet revenge.
Complex, evil runes surfaced on his chest and back, glowing with a deep eerie light. Abyssal whispers circled him.
"In blood and flame, the voice of despair calls."
"They cut off their own heads and raised them high, blood tears flowing from hollow eyes."
"And He brings the fire of vengeance, the poem of the end, to consume all things—"
Behind the Balrog, the sky suddenly darkened. Black clouds obscured the sun, and violent gales swept the mountains.
"So, Cassius, allow me to introduce you to the Demon Lord of the 567th layer of the Bottomless Abyss, the Great Vengeance Demon—"
"Ah!"
Before Leo could finish, the massive red figure appeared before him. Sharp claws slashed down, cleanly piercing his chest.
In an instant, violet-black blood and flesh splattered. His burning, beating heart was clenched in the red dragon's claws, and Leo's face still bore an ecstatic expression.
Using his last strength, he smiled and said, "Ca—Cassius, it's useless, I won't die. I'll witness it all with my own eyes, see you die before me. This is my revenge."
But this time, abyssal energy did not come to revive him. Instead, it abandoned him, surging into the sky and forming a terrifying vortex.
Leo's face twisted with disbelief and deep fear: "No, no, how could this be—"
Cassius sneered, stepping on the dying Flame Demon, looking down with merciless ridicule: "Leo Bosk, it seems you've outlived your usefulness. Look, even your abyssal master has abandoned his loyal hound."
The Balrog suddenly exploded with power, struggling and roaring, face flushed red as he protested, "No! Lord Jezal Slak said I represent His will—I am immortal!"
The heart clutched in Cassius's claw pulsed violently, pumping out filthy purple-black blood laced with flickering flames.
The heart is the core of every Balrog Flame Demon, containing the endless Abyssal Fire, keeping their bodies ever-burning, never extinguished.
But now, the heart was clenched in the red dragon's claw, appearing so fragile.
"No, you can't kill me. I am a noble representa—"
"Bang!!"
Cassius decisively crushed the heart, and the Balrog's body instantly turned to drifting ash.
Normally, when a Balrog Flame Demon dies, its heart explodes in a brilliant flash, devouring everything within hundreds of meters.
"Rumble!"
With a muffled sound, Cassius suppressed the explosion in his claw, rays of blinding light escaping through his fingers.
Leo Bosk, once Grand Duke of the North, later Abyss Commander, died in the red dragon's claws—without stirring the slightest ripple.
"Tsk, pitiful northern noble, still so overconfident."
"Northern nobles always think the world revolves around them, when in truth—they're just pawns in someone else's game."
Cassius clicked his tongue at the ashes and dust seeping from his fingers.
"Next, it's your turn, Jezal Slak."
The red dragon beat his wings and looked up solemnly. Nervousness and anticipation flickered in his pale golden eyes.
The distant snowy mountains still stood tall, but abyssal energy swirled in turbulent currents, forming a massive vortex thousands of meters wide. The blackened sky almost engulfed the mountain range.
"Roar—"
Layered, chaotic roars echoed from the abyssal vortex, reverberating through the mountains, making all things tremble from the soul.
This was the power of the Abyss—the primordial force of the universe, the embodiment of utter destruction and disorder.
Cassius narrowed his eyes, his expression growing heavier, even tinged with doubt, for he sensed something unusual.
"This is... ancestral dragon might?"
Yes, it was dragon pressure.
Cassius was constantly releasing this aura—every drop of his scalding blood carried it.
But now, the dragon might he sensed seemed to share his origin and even surpassed his own, faintly suppressing him by bloodline.
Cassius had never felt this before. At his current level, few dragons could cause him to feel such pressure.
"Could it be—"
Cassius's pupils contracted—he seemed to recall something, and a terrible suspicion arose.
"Roar—"
The mountains shook, the earth trembled, another abyssal roar rang out. Avalanches rolled down the Anstica Mountains in massive waves.
This roar reached deeper into the soul, making the red dragon snort and spew a puff of sulfurous smoke.
Under Cassius's tense gaze, a massive claw covered in dark red scales emerged from the abyssal vortex, gripping the snowy mountain.
Then, a huge dragon head slowly emerged, bearing sweeping backward horns, fanged jaws, and deep black eyes—its form unmistakably that of a red dragon!
That single head alone was nearly twenty meters long—larger than most dragons' entire bodies!
"Shhh—"
Then came the wing, vast as the sky, tattered like worn cloth, with wind howling through its gaps.
Then a serpentine body like a mountain—emaciated flesh barely clinging to dark red scales, striped with black, red, and olive-green patterns.
This terrifying "red dragon" coiled atop the snowy peak, locking eyes with Cassius, eerie green light flickering in its black pupils, its expression twisted in a chilling grin.
It spread its torn, sky-covering wings, and abyssal gales swept the mountains. Overwhelming dragon might flooded the land.
This dark red dragon was over 150 meters long, far surpassing the natural limits of red dragons in the material plane!
Through history, only the powerful ancestral dragons created by the Nine-Faced Dragon Gods could reach such a size.
Cassius involuntarily drew a sharp breath, confirming his terrible suspicion.
This was the body of Karrikex!
In the accident ten years ago, he had ripped out Karrikex's heart but left the body to Jezal Slak.
And the Vengeance Demon must have used that corpse to forge this monstrosity!
The dark red dragon—Jezal Slak—stared at Cassius, opening its maw to speak in a low, raspy voice: "Long time no see, Cassius. You've grown stronger. But it means nothing to me."
Cassius sneered, unafraid, meeting the massive dragon's gaze: "As expected of an Abyss Lord, Jezal Slak. To occupy such a body."
Jezal Slak grinned mockingly: "All thanks to you, my dear 'ally,' Cassius.
Tens of thousands of years ago, the gods used Karrikex's body to seal me, throwing us to the edge of the Astral Realm, our powers locked in eternal struggle, never to be freed.
But it was you, red dragon—you and your endless greed that freed me."
Jezal Slak raised his claw, and snow and rocks fell from the peak. The towering mountain tilted, collapsing with a rumble.
The dark red dragon let out a joyous roar, spewing chaotic flame.
"See, Cassius? I claimed Karrikex's remains, absorbed his lingering power, and forged this body—a body that should never exist in the Third Era."
Cassius gazed at the colossal body over a hundred meters long, pale golden pupils flashing.
Indeed, under normal history, the gods would never allow such a massive dragon to appear on the material plane.
Likely in the previous timeline, after Cassius was defeated by the players, Jezal Slak claimed his body, waiting in the Astral Realm for the end.
Jezal Slak again lowered his head, staring hard at Cassius, as if trying to see through him.
The massive dark red dragon growled, and under its control, chaos in the sky surged like a flood, as if the mountains were falling into the Abyss.
"Cassius, this was meant to be your destiny. You could have had this power. But you rejected my offer, refused the Abyss.
So I will destroy you, absorb Karrikex's final power, and become the true World-Ending Dragon!"
The red dragon flapped its wings and took to the sky, breathing searing flame, facing the Abyss Dragon: "Roar! Jezal Slak, you talk too much!
You think—just because you stole a broken corpse—you can defeat me? I'll shatter your so-called destiny with my own claws!"
Jezal Slak raised his head, spread his hundreds-of-meters-wide wings, and roared again, making all beings tremble.
"Roar—"
As the two colossal beings clashed, their roars echoing across the land, the Anstica Mountains quivered like frightened children.
The mountains wailed, thunder rumbled, and avalanches poured down like floods, unstoppable and unending.