Chapter 626: Fallen Sun
"Whoosh—"
The radiant giant angel beat its wings, each hundreds of meters long, creating a violent gale. In just a few strokes, it soared nearly ten thousand meters into the sky.
Seeing this, the red dragon beat his own wings and followed, ascending at incredible speed, still taunting: "You think this will help you? The sky of the material plane is my domain!"
He turned into a crimson blur, blazing with fire, rushing toward the heavens in pursuit of Barachiel and the others.
Thus, the two sides faced off in the heights, neither giving ground.
By now, they were more than ten thousand meters above the ground, even the clouds beneath their feet.
From this height, the iron giants on the ground looked like ants, and even cities and mountains seemed tiny. Their armies were nothing but countless specks of dust.
Meanwhile, the air grew thinner, and the sunlight in the sky became dazzlingly bright.
Bathed in this intense sunlight, Walter's divine-blooded armor shone brilliantly.
The intricate patterns on the armor absorbed the sun's energy, forming a translucent spiritual shield over his body. The Amanata emblem on his chest shone with blinding golden light.
As an angelic divine-blood, every inch of Walter Graham's skin could absorb solar power to strengthen himself.
In truth, after the fall of Holy Fadlan, this duke had suffered as well—his appearance gradually aging, cracks spreading across his body.
Now, golden light seeped from those cracks and seams, making his body look like a fragile idol—this angelic scion had begun to ignite his own divine core and unleash the spark of life!
Walter beat his wings, raised the Sun God's longsword, and pointed at the distant red dragon. His voice echoed through the heights.
"Vile dragon, your days of arrogance end here. This place, this sky—will be your grave!"
"What a joke!"
Cassius sneered, spreading his wings wide, roaring in mockery: "You? If you didn't bring help from Heaven, you wouldn't even qualify to stand before me!
The so-called Fadlan divine-bloods, ever since your emperor betrayed the Sun God, have been nothing but pathetic stray dogs!"
"Shut up—shameless dragon, stop using such vile tricks!"
Walter's face twisted, shouting furiously as two beams of light shot from his eyes. "Listen up—so long as the sun exists, Holy Fadlan will never fall!"
He beat his wings in a frenzy, giving a heart-rending roar: "Now! Do it!"
"What?"
Cassius's mouth parted slightly, feigning shock as if he'd been caught off guard by their sudden move.
"This farce—should have ended long ago!"
Barachiel had already pressed the bright silver horn to his lips, mustering the full force of Heaven's power and consuming several halos, playing an incredibly clear and resonant hymn.
Instantly, Heaven's law of order descended, and countless dazzling beams of light rained down, as if all of Heavenly Mountain was crashing toward the red dragon.
Under this tidal might, even the Ember Emperor Cassius froze in place, his wings faltering, falling momentarily into a trance.
And that brief instant was enough for many things.
Barachiel turned and shouted sharply: "Your turn, Titus!"
"Time to pay the price, filthy Tiamat spawn!"
The ancient gold dragon roared, wielding his scepter and uttering ancient draconic, releasing a long-hoarded, earth-shaking power.
[Dragonbinding]
Hundreds upon hundreds of shimmering chains erupted from the void on all sides, writhing like giant serpents, quickly binding the red dragon's massive form—neck, arms, body, even his tail.
"It worked!"
Watching the bound red dragon, Titus shouted with excitement—he looked on the verge of tears.
With the teamwork of three of the material world's legendary titans, they'd finally managed to immobilize the terrifying red dragon, and the battle was nearing its end—though at the cost of Walter's life.
"Lord Barachiel, Lord Titus, thank you from the bottom of my heart. But please, leave here quickly and watch the coming fireworks."
Sword in hand, wings beating, Walter flew resolutely toward the red dragon.
Bound, Cassius struggled violently, the chains rattling under his strength, but even he could not break free from chains crafted especially for dragons.
Cassius roared and cursed: "You bastard, what are you trying to do?"
The angelic scion gave no reply. The light pouring from the cracks in his body grew ever brighter, his form nearly transparent, a solar outline glowing on his chest.
At last, fear flashed across the red dragon's face—like any villain in a tale, he raged anxiously: "You idiot! If you blow up your divine core, you'll die too! Not just your body—your soul will be incinerated!"
Walter gripped the Sun God's sword, eyes unshakable, gritting his teeth and speaking each word: "Shameless dragon, I will burn my life to save Fadlan—I'll take you with me to oblivion!"
"You're insane—"
As Cassius roared in shocked fury, Walter's body burst into blinding radiance, like a supernova, completely obscuring his form.
Flames on his body surged like tidal waves, energy erupting in waves, the very air twisting and shuddering.
At last, Walter became a blazing fireball, casting beams of light in every direction, smashing toward the red dragon in the sky!
This mighty angelic scion had detonated the solar divine core within, burning his very life to unleash a spell surpassing the limits of the material world—a tenth-tier legendary spell—
[Doomsday]
On the battlefield below, the fighting soldiers suddenly felt the sky grow brighter. Countless burning beams rained down, blinding them and scorching their skin.
Soldiers of the Ember Empire and the allied army alike looked up in shock, shielding their eyes from the glare.
"Amanata above."
"Th-this is..."
Next, terror twisted their expressions, then awe took hold.
Weapons clattered to the ground. Allied soldiers fell to their knees praying, or stood dazed, or covered their eyes and wept.
In the sky above, a second sun had appeared!
This was far beyond a miracle—this was, in their eyes, the actual descent of the Sun God Amanata!
"It's Him! He's returned!"
"The Lord has not abandoned us! The great, eternal Lord of Light has not forsaken Fadlan!"
"Amanata is back! He'll save us and spread sunlight across the land!"
Allied soldiers waved weapons and cheered, swept up in a feverish frenzy as if witnessing the most beautiful thing of their lives.
Yes, only a god could work such a miracle. Surely their god had come down to save Fadlan!
But on the faces of the divine-bloods, there was no joy—only deep sorrow and grief.
Karen beat his wings, gazing up at the "sun" in the sky, a single clear tear slipping down his cheek.
As a divine-blood, no one knew better than him the steep price behind such a dazzling miracle—the life of a noble scion.
He bowed his head, voice trembling: "It's Doomsday! Lord Walter..."
On the walls of Collins, the archmage Zalan also looked up, his Eagle Sight allowing him to see the distant "sun" high above.
He'd thought nothing could shock him anymore—nothing beyond reason could shake him.
But at the sight of that "sun," Zalan's jaw dropped. His hand shook violently on his staff, his voice stuttering.
"By Mystra...
Am I seeing things? That—that's a legendary spell! By the gods, I've actually witnessed a tenth-tier spell!
I have to..."
At that moment, Zalan's heart finally gave out. He turned pale, collapsed straight to the ground, and fainted dead away.
High in the sky, within that blazing fireball, Walter felt every inch of his body burning with agony, power bleeding away, and memories of the past century flashed before his eyes.
He'd started as a mere human commander, loyal to Emperor Aragon, winning glory across Faenso, receiving the Sun God's blessing, then fighting across the planes, planting Fadlan's banner everywhere.
All his life, Walter Graham had fought for Holy Fadlan. His honor, faith, courage—they all belonged to this. It was the sole meaning of his life.
So to die for Fadlan, burning his last breath for a brighter future, seemed not so bad.
With that thought, Walter's resolve only grew. He burned the last of the Sun God's origin, diving headlong at the red dragon.
"You idiot!"
"Stop, are you trying to kill us all?!"
Watching the struggling red dragon, Walter found it almost funny—even this mighty red dragon emperor felt fear when death came.
So, he wasn't invincible after all.
With a brief thought, Walter—surging with solar fury—closed in, determined to end it all here.
Now he could already see the dragon's savage face, those molten-gold eyes, and sharp fangs.
But just then, Walter saw a mocking smile appear on the red dragon's face—the earlier anger, fear, and panic had vanished completely.
Cassius's mouth curled in a smirk: "Walter, did you really think—you could take me down with you?"
For a moment, Walter felt as if struck by a hammer, dread filling his heart, as if the very space around him froze.
"Click."
A pocket watch snapped shut. Everything except the red dragon—including the massive burning fireball—froze, as if time itself had stopped.
[Time Stop]
"Giving your life for an illusion. What a fool," Cassius muttered, casually breaking the chains and stepping before Walter.
Or rather, maybe that spell was cast by Cassius himself—he never needed to escape, and all his struggle was a show. He'd lured the angelic scion into releasing his divine core.
Normally, after a divine-blood died, the solar core would vanish and return to the divine realm. But now, that blazing sun was burning in Walter's chest, about to unleash its power.
Cassius reached out a claw, grinning: "Still, your death isn't useless. At least it gives me a nice sun core."
The next instant, time resumed. The flames still roared, the terrible power kept pouring out, and [Doomsday] was about to erupt.
But Walter looked up in terror—the massive red dragon was right before him, plunging into the "sun" he'd created.
"Rip—"
With a sickening sound, Cassius's sharp talon pierced the angelic scion's chest and ripped out the blazing core.
Golden-red blood sprayed out. Cassius lowered his head, gazing at the pulsing golden orb in his palm, a deeply satisfied smile on his face.
"Walter, as you wish, I'll give you a grand finale—but the people won't remember you as a hero. They'll call you a sinner!"
"No—"
The angelic scion shook his head feebly, reaching out in despair, but it was already too late.
Now, all Walter felt was regret—his death would not save Fadlan, but would bring ruin to all of Faenso.
At last, Walter realized he'd never had a chance. He'd simply walked into the red dragon's trap.
All the fear, panic, and dread had been nothing but an act—to force out his [Doomsday]!
Wait—how did Cassius know his plan?
Ruling out all impossibilities, Walter turned in confusion toward the distant gold dragon.
"Amanata above—it was him..."
The angelic scion gasped, coughing blood, overwhelmed by absurdity and despair, flashes of past glory filling his vision.
But now, those memories were all fractured, as if shattered by a hammer.
At last, Walter's eyes glazed over, life leaving him as he fell from the sky, his body still burning, trying to unleash [Doomsday]—but with no power left.
Thus did the "Wings of Fadlan" die, falling with the fireball, his death far grander than any other scion.
Far below on the battlefield, the allied soldiers could only look up and see:
High above, the new sun they'd pinned all their hopes on—had fallen!