Chapter 629: Dragon's End Breath
"Boom!"
Thunder exploded, lightning crackled across the sky, countless blinding bolts interweaving through the clouds.
The sky grew dark again. Heaven's power stretched for hundreds of miles, the starlit night of Silver Heaven once again covering the earth, and enclosing the red dragon within.
In the world of Erezaghe, music and language were not just vibrations in the air, but a unique power.
Bards believed the multiverse was "spoken" into existence, the gods' words giving it form, and the primordial "Word of Creation" still echoed across the universe to this day, unending.
Music was a way to control this echo, weaving it into the needed spells and powers. As the master of Silver Heaven, Barachiel also commanded a portion of this "Word of Creation."
"Woooo—"
The silver horn sounded, a slow, majestic hymn rising, the holy melody becoming more and more impassioned, swelling, a soaring soprano like an opera singer joining in.
"Uphold justice, even if the world collapses—"
"In the name of truth and justice, judge all beings, the righteous gain eternal life, the wicked are cast into hell—"
As the mighty hymn rang out, Barachiel raised his silver sword, and a deep voice echoed as heaven's power gathered around him.
At last, the power condensed in the sky, forming a massive sword thousands of meters long, containing the order of heaven itself.
[Final Judgment]
Because Mount Celestia is the symbol of order and justice, Barachiel, lord of Silver Heaven, could wield this authority to judge any being of the material plane.
The more chaotic or evil the target, the greater the punishment—if the target was a demon of the Abyss, even its [Essence] could be erased.
In Barachiel's eyes, this Ember Emperor, as a red dragon, wielding chaotic fire and an invader to boot, was the textbook "chaotic evil."
He raised his sword, the six huge wings behind him fanning slowly, his voice ringing out majestically: "Cassius, you started a cruel war of aggression, seeking to enslave humanity—you have crossed the line!
In the name of Mount Celestia, in the name of Silver Heaven, I, Barachiel, Lord of Lucia, grant you—Final Judgment!"
Barachiel's face was solemn. He brought down the sword.
"Vmmm—"
The heavenly greatsword began to descend, shaking the air, tearing open cracks in the sky.
Cassius stared fearlessly at the sky, laughing wildly: "Hahaha! Good, this is what the Lord of Silver Heaven should look like!
But in this world—no one can judge me, not even the so-called will of heaven!"
"Roar—" The red dragon threw back his head and let out an earth-shaking roar. He braced himself upright on his forelimbs, unfurled his wings, and unleashed a pressure that spanned thousands of meters.
Now Cassius no longer held back his draconic might—ancestral dragon pressure burst forth instantly!
"God…"
"S-So strong!"
"What is that monster? I can't move—I can't breathe…"
Countless soldiers dropped to their knees, trembling, some fainting, some even dying of fright on the spot.
This was humanity's most primal fear of the mighty—a terror from the age when dragons ruled the world and humans were slaves.
Though Cassius had long left the Abyss and returned to law and order, Barachiel's full-powered [Final Judgment] was still a deadly threat to him.
The heavenly greatsword in the sky was surrounded by glowing runes, but it needed more time to fully gather its power before it could be released.
And this—was Cassius's golden opportunity.
Glaring up at Barachiel, the red dragon sneered: "You think I'll just stand here like a storybook villain and wait for your ultimate move?"
Before his words even faded, Cassius opened his jaws wide. Every blood vessel flashed with firelight, glowing through his skin in a rootlike pattern.
Pure ancestral dragon blood flooded with terrifying energy, surging to his dragon crystal. Dark red fire spewed from his neck and tail vents.
"Vmmm—"
Instantly, thick chaotic power swelled in the dragon crystal, sparks crackling at his chest, disturbing the magical web all around like a raging storm.
A storm of dark red chaos expanded out from Cassius, incinerating everything for hundreds of meters around him.
The remaining grass, soldiers, rocks—all were swept into the air by the wind, burned up, and reduced to ash in the chaos storm.
"Boom!"
With a deafening blast, the earth sank and the sky was ripped open by a pillar of dark red fire—like a wound that bled across the heavens.
That was [Breath of Chaos]
Barachiel's face darkened, anger flashing in those violet eyes. Suppressing his fury, he muttered, "A villain colluding with the Abyss—just as I thought!"
"But—did you really think you could escape Final Judgment with this?"
With sacred music ringing out, the chained silver horn expanded before Barachiel, blocking him from the attack.
Brilliant heavenly light erupted, order condensed into silver polyhedrons, building a glowing fortress over a hundred meters tall, walls decorated with holy frescoes and starlight.
[Immortal Bastion]
This was a projection of Barachiel's home, formed from purest order—a bastion that could easily withstand an Abyssal Lord.
In the Abyssal Invasion thousands of years ago, Barachiel rode this bastion to crush demons and drive them back to the Abyss.
Now, he summoned it to withstand Cassius's [Breath of Chaos].
"Boom!"
The sky thundered, the air split, and the dark red fire pillar struck the Immortal Bastion.
Evil and good, chaos and order—two utterly opposed powers clashed and compressed, unleashing a blast that covered half the sky.
Dark red flames and holy light mingled, chaotic shockwaves sweeping the earth, shattering magical gear, sending mages wailing in pain.
Cassius kept breathing, wings whipping up burning winds as he soared higher, getting ever closer to the shining bastion.
The chaos in his chest roared stronger, the fire from his mouth grew broader—a vortex that nearly swallowed the sky.
"Roar—"
The earth-shaking roar made people tremble, a terror that chilled the soul.
The pale gold in Cassius's eyes flashed murder and destruction. Even his scales shone faintly red—[Bloodscale Berserker] triggered.
The Ember Emperor's might was overwhelming, like the coming of Karrikex, ready to burn everything and create a new age for dragons.
The people of the Ember Empire cheered and waved their weapons below, crazed with excitement, seeing victory at hand.
For years, the Ember Emperor had never lost—a symbol of triumph.
"Long live Emperor Cassius!"
"Invincible!"
"That's our supreme Emperor! That's the Emperor of the Ember Empire!"
In the same camp, a silver-haired girl looked skyward, wringing her hands at her chest, face full of worry.
"Cassius, I hope you're not seduced by that power again."
The red dragon now made her recall that world-shaking "Duel of the Dragons."
Back then, to defeat her grandfather, Oszedro, Cassius used the same chaotic breath, lost control, and Olivia had nearly died to bring him back.
Now Cassius stood at the summit of the material plane, dueling the lord of heaven, and Olivia couldn't even get close—the aftershocks would kill her.
She could only close her eyes and pray in silence—may Cassius win without losing himself, may this land and its people know peace, may the new order come as he promised.
"Boom—"
The clash in the sky raged on. The chaos fire blazed, but never broke the shining bastion.
Pure order and utter chaos fought endlessly, sparks and motes filling the sky. Even the aftershocks could slay a dragon.
Over Barachiel's head, the "Sword of Damocles" grew ever bigger, its runes glowing—it was ready to fall and deliver judgment to the red dragon.
Barachiel's halos shone ever brighter as he hovered above, glaring down at Cassius: "Cassius, stop this pointless struggle. Accept your judgment!
Red dragons are always slaves to power. Those who embrace the Abyss must be erased!"
"Boom—"
But the answer was an even more furious breath, more surging chaos flame.
Cassius flapped higher, drawing within hundreds of meters of the bastion: "You think I'm a slave of the Abyss? Pathetic! I'm the master of power!"
"Everyone seduced by the Abyss thinks they're in control—until they become its puppets. You're no different!" Barachiel sneered, pouring more heavenly power into his shield.
Chaos and order collided more fiercely, dark red fire devouring the sky, battering the bastion.
Barachiel stared at the red dragon, killing intent in his eyes: "It's useless! Chaos can never defeat order—just as darkness cannot suppress the light!"
"Oh, really?"
Then, Cassius's wings flared, and he suddenly smirked: "If that's true—then what if I have order too?"
"What?"
Barachiel frowned, not even reacting at first—he thought the red dragon had gone mad under Abyssal influence.
Order and chaos—how could those opposites exist in one being?
But a starlike light flashed from Cassius's dragon crystal, mingling with his chaos fire, and his gaze grew clear, his scales glowing faintly.
The red dragon opened his jaws, silver-white flame flickering in his pupils, and spat fire from deep in his throat.
[Order Restoring Breath]
The outer layer was chaotic fire, the inner layer pure order, fused into a breath containing complex laws.
"Boom—"
The Immortal Bastion, like an eighth-circle [Shield of Order], could block any attack of chaos—but not another force of order.
In an instant, before Barachiel could react, the silver fire pierced the walls, and the outer chaos flame followed, pouring into the bastion.
Barachiel's face twisted in shock and rage: "Impossible! How can you have this power?"
He raised his sword, face contorted, "Justice and evil, order and chaos—those are eternal, unbreakable truths, not even gods can change that!"
Cassius laughed wildly: "I told you, even the heavens can't judge me. Fool—I am the founder and maintainer of true order!"
Countless barriers, magic circles, shields blocked the way, but none could stop this breath that embodied both natures.
"Boom—"
Dark red chaos fire annihilated all, while the silver fire of order rebuilt it, turning it into Cassius's own power.
Now, this breath could no longer be called [Breath of Chaos] or [Breath of Order]—Cassius named it [Breath of Plunder].
As the name implies, it destroys the old and makes it new within Cassius, shattering old order to create a new one under his rule—this is the true nature of [Breath of Plunder].