Chapter 342: Crimson Edge (Part 5)
Finally, Cassius turned his gaze to Klein.
He had felt an uncomfortable sensation, as though being observed, and now he had found its source.
A mage allegedly associated with the Tower of Time.
The red dragon regarded the mage clad in blue-black robes, lowering his massive head slightly, his golden eyes glinting with fiery light.
"What are you doing?"
Klein's expression was one of abject terror. Never before had he encountered an enemy who rendered his proud abilities completely ineffective.
"No, I can't wait any longer. I must leave this place!"
His usual calm and assured demeanor collapsed entirely upon hearing that voice.
Klein raised his staff, chanting an incantation to activate a meticulously prepared spell model.
As the Weave rippled intensely, a complex magical circuit appeared in mid-air, causing the surrounding space to warp rhythmically before finally forming a circular portal.
[Festantilus' Portal]
"Roar—"
But in the next instant, the red dragon tore through the air, appearing before Klein. The flames coiled around his wings obliterated the still-forming portal.
"Did I permit you to leave?"
Cassius swiped his claws, aiming to seize the mage as he had done before.
Just as the dragon's claw neared Klein, intense spatial fluctuations surged around the mage.
The spell triggered almost instantly, transporting Klein dozens of meters away while generating waves of spatial disturbances, attempting to break free of the Material Plane's constraints.
This was the renowned Ninth Circle spell—
[Ilminster's Evasion]
A refined contingency spell designed to teleport the mage to a predetermined safe location upon specific triggers.
However, the overwhelming dragon's aura emanating from Cassius disrupted the teleportation magic's activation.
This forced Klein to expend additional focus to stabilize the spell model.
"Roar!"
With a low growl, Cassius flapped his wings and instantly closed the gap, preparing to unleash an anti-magic ray.
In desperation, Klein retrieved a golden pocket watch from his robes and pressed it with gritted teeth.
"Ding."
Suddenly, the winds ceased, sand and stones froze mid-air, and flowing rivers halted.
Everything around him seemed to stop, except for the red dragon, which moved at an almost imperceptible speed.
[Time Stop]
This spell didn't halt time across the world but accelerated the caster's actions to near-instantaneous speed.
"What a terrifying dragon."
Klein wiped sweat from his brow, pocketing the golden watch.
Faced with such a formidable foe, he dared not relax for even a moment, utilizing this precious time to raise his staff and begin chanting.
The surrounding space distorted, and his figure became increasingly ethereal.
Klein planned to use the Astral Conduit to escape to a place he deemed the safest—a neutral negotiation ground adjacent to all Outer Planes, the Outlands.
Meanwhile, in the Material Plane, Cassius watched Klein vanish and sensed lingering magical fluctuations in the area.
"Time Stop?"
"Damn mages."
The red dragon muttered, his expression tinged with annoyance. He disliked the feeling he had just experienced.
Closing his eyes, he tapped into the power of his Cataclysmic Dragon Eyes, glimpsing fragments of the past and a sliver of what was yet to come.
Cassius couldn't decipher the spell's spatial coordinates, but that didn't stop him from using his Cataclysmic Dragon Eyes to track his prey.
"I'll catch you."
"A duck delivered to my doorstep won't escape."
Using sheer willpower to distort reality, Cassius crudely tore through space and pursued his target.
Such is the sorcerer's philosophy: straightforward and effective, unlike the intricate precision of mages.
The Astral Plane.
"Hah—what a terrifying dragon."
Klein sighed in relief near an Astral Pool, thankful to have escaped the red dragon's clutches.
Yet in the next moment, the surrounding space twisted violently. A dimensional rift ablaze with fierce flames appeared, and the red dragon's massive form emerged from within.
Cassius looked down at him, spreading his expansive wings, casting a vast shadow over Klein.
"Annoying mage, do you not understand the most basic etiquette?"
"Who gave you permission to leave without notice?"
Klein's face turned deathly pale, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.
"No, no—"
He collapsed to the ground, scrambling backward in abject fear.
The legendary artifact [Timepiece] had exhausted its charges, and none of his means could affect the dragon.
Klein's life seemed poised to end.
This mage from the Tower of Time never imagined his journey to slay a dragon in the remote North would culminate in such a tragic demise. Despite his foresight into countless futures, he had never foreseen this outcome.
Cassius advanced deliberately, unhurried—waiting for a particular presence to arrive.
As Klein closed his eyes in despair, a youthful voice echoed.
"Your Majesty Cassius, I implore you to show mercy."
The red dragon knew that the awaited arrival had come.
A strange dragon stepped out of the void, appearing behind Klein.
Shimmering gray scales clung tightly to its elegant frame, smooth and devoid of ridges, and its horns were but budding stubs.
What was most striking was its immense size for a wyrmling, spanning over twenty meters—an extraordinary trait for any dragon.
"As expected, a Time Dragon."
Cassius uttered the name.
Time Dragons, the most powerful of legendary dragon species, were the hidden rulers behind the enigmatic Tower of Time.
These majestic dragons wielded temporal power, commanding the past, present, and future, and were the only truly immortal non-deity dragons.
In his past life's narrative, the Tower of Time had always been a mysterious entity, subtly guiding history's flow from the Temporal River.
Even the most knowledgeable players had only scratched the surface, serving as low-level Time Mages, unable to uncover the Tower's deepest secrets.
"You, you've come! Save me, please, get me out of here!"
"I knew it, the Tower of Time wouldn't abandon me!"
Seeing the Time Dragon, Klein clutched at this final lifeline, desperately pleading.
However, the wyrmling ignored the human mage's cries, instead bowing its head respectfully toward the red dragon. Its demeanor was courteous yet neither servile nor arrogant.
"We meet again, or perhaps I should say—"
"For the first time, Your Majesty Cassius."
"Talin Archimonde greets you and extends the Tower of Time's goodwill."