Chapter 353: World-Burning Solaring, Cataclysmic Disaster

"It seems you have long been prepared for a second battle with them, Kaiser."

Mana turbulence coalesced into silver ribbons in Aerielian’s hands, and blade after blade of radiant light manifested behind her silver dragon wings, tracing luminous trajectories as they rose and fell.

"Indeed. I did not remain here merely to hide or nurse my wounds. The fire veins beneath us are, to me, both a comfortable sanctuary and an exquisite weapon."

Kaiser replied faintly, pressing his dragon claws firmly into the obsidian floor. The dragon blood within him surged, its energy boiling as it gathered at his heart, until a halo of magical light shimmered behind him.

The power of the Flame Dragon reached deep into the earth, fully igniting the remaining scorching essence of the dwindling fire veins.

"Ah... a feeling I have long missed."

Feeling the frantic rush of searing fire elements rising from below, Kaiser exhaled a plume of smoke and sparks from his throat. Sparks began to erupt from the gaps between his scales, and the temperature around him climbed rapidly.

…………

Outside the volcano, beneath a churning sky of thunder and lightning, a massive vortex appeared, space shifting violently within its depths.

A legion of Cult of the Dragon zealots, mounted on winged drakes, surged forth. The earth trembled, the vibrations reaching deep underground, caused by a gargantuan subspecies of dragon descending from the heavens.

This behemoth possessed many traits of a true dragon, yet it resembled a colossal lizard, its body bloated and grotesque, swollen with flesh that defied distinction between muscle and fat.

It raised its thick, heavy limbs and slammed them down with earth-shattering force. Each impact sent powerful shockwaves into the depths, fracturing the bedrock until the subterranean chamber housing the two dragons began to crack, shedding stone and threatening total collapse.

"This is the lair where the dragon known as Kaiser hides. The power the Bishop buried within that creature has been activated, which means another dragon has arrived to join him, triggering this portal capable of channeling the power of the Heavenly Kingdom. Seize this opportunity; it is our best chance to receive the blessing."

High above, a figure in black robes, riding a drake stronger and more draconic than the others, spoke to his companion.

The one he addressed was a half-dragon, manifesting draconic features and hovering on beating wings.

"Naturally. I have come to slay the Flame King, Kaiser, using the power bestowed by the Heavenly Kingdom, and in doing so, earn my ascension. I shall not treat you poorly for your assistance in this."

The half-dragon’s slit pupils stared at the ground being hammered by the giant beast as he replied.

A layer of strange energy swirled around him; had Zig been present, he would have recognized it as the power of "Him," though the true nature of the Heavenly Kingdom remained a mystery.

"Kaiser’s strength is plain for all to see. Only the power of the Heavenly Kingdom can hope to strike him down in one blow. If we fail, we shall all be annihilated here. Rest assured, I will use every resource at my disposal to pin him down. Your only task is to unleash the retribution of the Heavens."

The black-robed leader of the cultists arriving from the vortex stated their plan with icy calm.

After all, they were facing the Flame King, and the presence of an unknown dragon—while surely inferior to Kaiser—could still prove a troublesome variable.

"Understood. It is coming. Watch out!"

The half-dragon’s eyes narrowed sharply as he shouted a warning, the strange energy around him surging with renewed intensity.

"BOOM!"

A shockwave of flame erupted directly beneath the giant drake that had been pounding the earth. A red dragon, wreathed in crimson fire and trailing a blinding wake, burst from the ground, driving upward with peerless force to impale the massive beast.

"ROAR!"

The bloated creature, pierced through the belly by the radiant red dragon, let out a piercing shriek. Its entire body began to secrete a thick, yellow fluid—a substance with immense heat resistance, laced with fragments of anti-magic stone.

This fluid was a specialized creation, engineered for this very subspecies to neutralize dragons that relied heavily on magic. It poured down like a waterfall, drenching the fire-clad red dragon below.

But alas, they were not facing a mere beast, but one of the most powerful red dragons to ever exist: Kaiser.

"HUM!"

There was no light, no flame—only sound, vibration, and an explosion of terrifying heat centered around Kaiser’s body. An irresistible shockwave blasted outward, and the cascading yellow fluid was vaporized into fine, gaseous particles before it could even touch his scales, dissipating in the inferno.

The subspecies’ outer scales cracked and carbonized, its internal flesh tore layer by layer, and its deep bones shattered into dust. The massive creature could not withstand the horrific airburst; a single attack stripped it of all resistance.

Its internal organs were pulverized, the shockwave piercing through the bloated flesh to consume its very life force.

"Sizzle, sizzle!"

Spewing a mixture of gore and shattered tissue from its maw, the giant subspecies met its end. Yet, its mission was not over.

High above, the cultists’ hands glowed with deep purple light, firing beams not at Kaiser, but at the massive corpse of the fallen beast.

The purple light burrowed into the carcass like maggots into rot, devouring its flesh and energy, transmuting it into layers of shimmering, violet-gray chains that lashed out to bind Kaiser.

Kaiser had sensed it early. A fire that could burn the heavens erupted around him, spreading into the carcass and reducing it to ash before the strange energy could fully consume it.

His dragon eyes flickered. He felt something. The flames he released were an extension of his own body; whatever they touched, he could perceive.

As his fire burned deep into the beast, he discovered a highly concentrated mass of energy.

It seemed this giant subspecies had been prepared specifically to be burned, waiting for the moment he would use his flames to destroy it.

He darted backward, flames erupting from his wings to provide unimaginable thrust. The crimson fire streaked across the sky, leaving a trail of warped, superheated air in his wake.

From the ashes of the corpse, a chaotic singularity appeared and expanded. An illusory arm, filled with strange, unknown runes, emerged from the cinders and reached out to grab the retreating red dragon without hesitation.

The arm was imbued with the power of confinement and locking—a mixture of void energy, mana, and the power of "Him." It caught up to the accelerating red dragon, its five fingers splayed wide as it lunged.

"Clang! Whoosh!"

Dragon teeth clashed, sparking a burst of fire. Kaiser unleashed the power he had been hoarding in his throat. The crimson flames, after a brief rise in heat, turned blue, then quickly climbed further until they became transparent and invisible to the naked eye.

This was a specialized form of dragon breath—not a focused beam, but a sustained, wide-area melting destruction. The invisible, searing fire engulfed the giant hand, forcing it to slow as it was relentlessly eroded.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

A swarm of winged drakes descended. Influenced by the cultists on their backs, their eyes glowed red, and they charged with suicidal fervor at the pure-blooded dragon they should have feared above all else.

The black-robed cultists were equally devoid of fear, their purple barriers shielding both man and beast.

These barriers were not for protection, but to ensure that the moment they were smashed to pieces, they would release the "sin" born of their burning lives and deaths.

Kaiser’s high-speed, armored body tore through the cultists and their mounts, turning them into charred debris. In their final moments, they transformed into clusters of anomalous energy.

These energies seemed to possess a rudimentary consciousness, clinging to the red dragon like parasitic worms. Neither heat nor speed could shake them off.

The cultists threw themselves into the fray, wave after wave, using their lives to increase the concentration of this energy clinging to Kaiser.

By the time Kaiser’s scorching breath finally incinerated the pursuing arm, the concentration of energy on his body had reached a threshold—the threshold required for the Heavenly Kingdom to strike.

"To the dragon wreathed in countless sins, by the might of the Heavenly Kingdom, I call down the divine punishment of world-cleansing!"

The half-dragon standing with the cult leader raised his arms, chanting in the dragon tongue. The power of "Him" surged within him. From the vortex in the clouds, a massive, radiant spear forged of that same power slowly descended, locking its killing intent onto Kaiser.

"BOOM!"

Kaiser beat his wings, hurling a dense barrage of fireballs, like falling stars, at the half-dragon who was channeling the power of "Him." He sought to interrupt the process before the strike could land.

But the cultists pouring from the vortex threw themselves into the path of the fireballs, turning to ash just to buy time and coat Kaiser in more "sin" born of their deaths, accelerating the descent of the light spear.

"Kaiser’s power is severely weakened. I expected to sacrifice at least seventy percent of my servants to bring down the Heavenly punishment, but it seems he no longer has the strength to stop it. Die, then, and become the nourishment for our ascension."

The cult leader watched the massive spear fully manifest in the sky and Kaiser, who could no longer reach the half-dragon, and clicked his tongue.

Cultists continued to pour from the vortex, riding all manner of drakes, and even enslaved dragons began to emerge—though they did not charge at Kaiser, choosing instead to stand as a wall before the half-dragon.

Had it been the Caesar of old, he would surely have been ablaze with fury, unleashing the full measure of his inner power to incinerate this legion of foes with a single wave of flame.

Yet, in this moment, Caesar appeared hauntingly frail; it seemed the previous divine retribution had left him shattered, his strength perhaps reduced to a mere shadow of its former self.

"Spear of Retribution, annihilate..."

"Shing!"

The world seemed to shudder into a momentary stillness; the half-dragon, mid-incantation to summon the final descent of "His" power, fell abruptly silent, and the colossal spear above the firmament froze in place.

With silver hair dancing in the gale, Aerilian appeared without warning behind the half-dragon and the cult leader; in the next heartbeat, a silver blade swept through, erasing both from existence, leaving not a trace behind.

Her silver dragon form manifested, pillars of radiance blooming around her, turning every enemy within their reach into drifting ash.

"Truly worthy of the Chosen, such formidable might..."

Caesar, with his one remaining eye, watched Aerilian, who had appeared out of the void to strike down the two commanders, and whispered softly.

Then, the power he had held in check was released in its entirety; the earth began to convulse, magma pierced the crust and surged toward the heavens, and the Dying Peaks, dormant for decades, erupted once more as Caesar forcibly dragged the subterranean veins of fire to the surface, gathering a tidal wave of molten rock before his outstretched arms.

The converging lava coalesced into a sphere so vast it eclipsed the sun, and under the impetus of Caesar’s will, it hurtled toward the vortex of clouds—where the light-spear had retreated, yet from which cultists, drakes, and dragons continued to pour.

The torrents of molten fire boiled as if possessed of a sentient malice, dragging every foe into the inferno before detonating upon impact with the swirling clouds.

O, searing flames, consume the firmament.

That day, the inhabitants of the region witnessed the rebirth of the Dying Peaks, and through the rain of molten fire that descended from the heavens, they met their ultimate doom...