Chapter 274: Revenge and Destruction
Cassius gazed up at the descending shadowy dome, his eyes filled with avid excitement, a faint, almost imperceptible desire for destruction flickering in their depths.
"Tsk, tsk, how nostalgic, it's this spell again."
"Then... let's tear it apart."
A smile appeared on that ferocious dragon face.
"Reckless fool, you will become nourishment for the Shadowfell!"
Mortifer's voice echoed across the shadowy domain's sky, like a venomous curse, yet there was an almost imperceptible hint of panic in that voice.
Cassius suddenly flapped his wings, ascending almost vertically. Chaotic light patterns swirled within the crystal in his chest.
Before the colossal black dome that shrouded the city, before the tidal wave of spectral souls, even the thirty-meter-long red dragon seemed small. Yet Cassius showed no fear; instead, his entire body radiated fervor, and he even let out a roar of exhilaration.
"Boom—"
Dark red flames burst from his maw, charging straight toward the shadowy dome.
The pitch-black sky was torn asunder!
The moment the Chaos Fire touched the shadows, the dome was pierced instantly, forming a massive crimson gash.
Flames still roared at the edges of the breach, relentlessly spreading, consuming the undead shadows before they could even scream.
And the red dragon, without hesitation, plunged into the inky darkness. The chaotic flames around him incinerated everything that dared approach, reducing it all to chaotic, disordered particles.
"Mortifer, your hiding is meaningless!"
"My Breath of Chaos will cleanse everything!"
Cassius roared, rampaging through the thick shadows, tearing one blazing hole after another in the dark dome, making it look like a tattered, black cloth.
The shadow dragon moved through his domain, looking for an opportunity.
This shadow dragon sorcerer had fought countless battles over the centuries and had developed a particularly sinister combat style.
When the black dome descended, [Shadow Walk] allowed Mortifer to move through the shadows unseen, appearing anywhere the shadows reached, while [Onyx Eye] let him perceive everything within the shadows. He also wielded advanced shadow spells such as [Shadow Hex], [Shadow Conjuration], and [Shadow Evocation]—allowing him to replicate all the spells he knew as shadow magic.
But the chaotic fire surrounding the red dragon threw him into disarray. These flames seemed almost alive, disrupting every spell he tried to construct, devouring his shadowy domain, and forcing him into an ever-shrinking refuge.
As time passed, his domain, built over centuries, would eventually be consumed entirely!
"Damn the god-blessed one, damn the fire!"
Mortifer muttered in a low, resentful tone.
Yet even that small sound was enough for Cassius to catch a clue.
"Rat in the shadows."
"I've got you."
Cassius grinned, a cruel smile stretching across his face. He flapped his powerful wings, suddenly flying hundreds of meters straight to the hidden shadow.
"I shall grant you complete destruction! Consider it an honor!"
"Let me show you my new power!"
"Roar—"
The red dragon let out a roar that shook the night, his eyes bloodshot, filled with a desire for destruction.
Thick drool and fire poured from his maw, boiling blood seeped from between his scales, and a blood-red sheen covered his body.
As he roared, the entire Underdark, even the surface world, trembled. Countless beings quaked under his terrifying presence, shivering in the wake of his rage.
Boiling fury—this was the Bloodscaled Fury!
"How is this possible?"
In the shadows, the shadow dragon felt an endless terror well up from deep within.
For centuries, he had been the nightmare of all living beings, the terror of countless souls.
Yet now, Mortifer tasted the long-forgotten flavor of fear. It unsettled him and filled him with an unbearable sense of failure.
The massive, terrifying red dragon, fueled by his fury, flapped his wings, conjuring a blood-scented supernatural gale that swept through the sky, blowing away the intangible shadows and exposing the hidden shadow dragon.
[Shadow Walk]
The shadow dragon hurriedly activated his spell, trying to flee into the shadows.
But Cassius moved with terrifying speed, the sharp crack of a sonic boom echoing through the air. In the next moment, the red dragon appeared before the shadow dragon without warning.
Seeing the red dragon closing in rapidly, Mortifer gritted his teeth and cast a spell.
[Shadow Evocation]
Endless shadows were summoned before him, forming a deep vortex, attempting to grind the red dragon to pieces.
In the sky, pitch-black meteors materialized, plummeting toward the red dragon—an imitation of the Meteor Swarm spell, but in shadow form.
Mortifer's eyes glinted with dark light as he unleashed several terrifying illusions in quick succession.
But Cassius's expression grew even more ferocious. He opened his maw wide, letting out a primal, beast-like roar of rage. More blood seeped from his scales, forming a crimson barrier that blocked all the spells around him.
"Roar—"
[Draconic Fury]
Under the wrath of the Bloodscaled Fury, all illusions shattered easily, the barriers of spells like fragile paper walls, torn apart by the red dragon's powerful frame.
"No, such power..."
"How could he be worthy of such power!"
Mortifer's voice was filled with panic and fear, mixed with endless jealousy and greed.
In his pursuit of power, he had abandoned the dignity of a dragon, sparing no cost to collect undead shadows, yet his magic was crushed by a young dragon merely a few decades old.
The shadow dragon was desperate; he coveted Cassius's power, yearning to replace him and become the Dragon Queen's favored one.
"All of this should have been mine!"
Mortifer let out a shrill, overlapping shriek.
[Shadow Hex]
Black mist surged around him, billowing shadows forming grotesque shadow dragons in midair, encircling the red dragon.
They all let out shrill screeches, spitting torrents of shadowy breath.
Despite being nearly devoid of reason, Cassius's enraged heart was resolute in its will to break through magic.
He saw through the shadow dragon's true form at a glance, fiercely flapping his wings, effortlessly breaking through layers of bizarre shadow spells, becoming a red blur as he rushed up to the shadow dragon. His muscular arm, bulging with iron-like muscles, grabbed Mortifer's slender neck.
The shadow dragon struggled desperately, trying to fade into shadow and escape, but the chaotic fire emanating from the red dragon made him despair.
"I caught you."
"I will tear apart and destroy everything."
In his Bloodscaled Fury state, Cassius's words were nearly mad.
Cassius stared into the shadow dragon's pale, gray eyes, his body shrouded in wild, white-hot vapor, his pupils brimming with a destructive urge—exactly like the vision of Karrikex.