Chapter 547 - Chapter 547: Revenge

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Chapter 547: Revenge

Cassius stomped hard on the abyssal dragon's back, his sharp claws suddenly piercing through the scales, leaving gushing, bloody punctures.

"Aaargh—"

The abyssal dragon raised its head and howled again, struggling wildly, flailing its mutilated limbs and crashing toward a nearby hill.

But Cassius seized the chance again, lunging forward and biting into the still-healing wound on the dragon's neck, tearing it apart along with the flesh.

"Rip—"

A thick blood mist erupted from the abyssal dragon's neck as chunks of flesh were ripped away, causing it to cry out in agony.

Blood rained down from the sky. Bathed in gore, Cassius bit and tore with abandon, his draconic face twisted into a terrifyingly gleeful grin.

Soon, the abyssal dragon's neck and head became mutilated beyond recognition, scales torn away, chunks of flesh shredded.

A normal dragon would've been near death already.

But Jezal Slak was, after all, a scion of the Abyss—a demon lord occupying a divine body, known to the Celestial Legion as a "Godspawn."

Even under the suppression of [Imperial Domain: Seal], He survived by sheer tenacity.

The abyssal dragon thrashed harder beneath Cassius, resisting more violently.

At last, Jezal Slak flung the red dragon off His back and let out a string of crazed, whispering murmurs from deep in His rotten throat.

"As long as I eat you...

As long as I eat you, I can..."

But Cassius became a crimson blur, rushing to the dragon's side and slashing His massive arm with razor-sharp claws.

"Swish—"

More blood spurted. With a crisp crack, Jezal Slak's pillar-like left arm was flayed to the bone—then it broke clean off.

"Ca... Cassius—"

"I'll kill—"

The abyssal dragon's body suddenly sagged. Limping, He turned around, spewing foul winds in a desperate attempt to counterattack.

But the red dragon darted past His legs, tearing a massive chunk of scaly flesh from His rear left limb.

"Boom—"

The abyssal dragon's remaining limbs finally gave out, unable to bear his immense weight. His mountain-like body crashed down, rising and falling with labored breaths.

"Huff... Huff..."

Within Cassius's Imperial Domain, the abyssal-born Jezal Slak—wielder of abyssal might and ancestral dragon flesh—was now like a beast awaiting slaughter.

"Grr..."

But the abyssal dragon still raised His head defiantly, neck stretching toward the red dragon.

Jezal Slak's black-red eyes were crazed and twisted. He ignored His dangling head, ignored the blood gushing like waterfalls from His wounds—driven only by the primal instinct to devour the red dragon carrying Karrikex's heart.

All He had left was that final willpower.

—To devour the red dragon's body, inherit Karrikex's heart, and become the Doomsday Dragon.

"Bang!"

Cassius mercilessly stomped the gaping maw into the ground, kicking up clouds of dust, snapping the neck almost completely apart—only tattered muscle and throat tissue kept it attached.

The red dragon raised a claw. Invisible power fell from above, pinning the abyssal dragon's head to the ground.

Yet Jezal Slak's sunken eyes still locked onto the red dragon, pupils filled with endless greed and hatred.

Cassius stepped forward and smirked lightly, light-golden eyes gleaming with interest: "Tsk... look at you now, Jezal Slak. Once a lord of the Abyss—now you're just a beast about to be butchered."

"Huff... Huff..."

Jezal Slak panted heavily. In that final moment, He seemed to regain a shred of false "rationality."

His broken mouth, with bone exposed, stretched into a lich-like grin as He let out a bone-chilling chuckle.

"Heh... Cassius, do you truly think you've won?

It's useless, red dragon. The great Abyssal Will has marked you. I may have lost, but the world's destruction is inevitable.

And you... you will never escape. One day, your heart will be devoured, your wings broken, your head severed—"

Jezal Slak's voice turned hoarse, face twisted, hurling the vilest curse at the red dragon before him.

"Jezal Slak."

But Cassius simply stepped calmly to the abyssal dragon's chest and raised his claw—then brought it down with force.

"Rip—"

The sound of flesh being torn silenced the curse.

Foul blood burst out like a flood, and the wounded flesh split open, revealing glistening internal organs.

"Oh?"

Cassius looked mildly surprised.

What lay before him wasn't a beating heart—but a massive, winged demon—more precisely, a balor.

The demon was suspended at the center of the chest, bound by blood vessels and membranes that pumped abyssal, glowing, chaotic blood throughout the dragon's body.

This demon had fused with Karrikex's corpse, their flesh entangled, spewing black-red chaos flames until they were indistinguishable.

This... was Jezal Slak's true demonic form.

"A demonic heart like Ashardalon's... So he really went through with it."

Cassius sighed in wonder.

Suddenly, the demon fused with Karrikex's body snapped its eyes open, twin flames of vengeance blazing inside. He laughed maniacally.

"Cassius, no creature marked by the Abyssal Will ever finds peace. I'll be waiting for you in the bottomless Abyss! When that day comes, I'll make you understand—"

But Cassius had no intention of listening. The red dragon simply opened his massive jaws, firelight blazing in his throat.

"Boom!"

A thick pillar of fire burst forth. Empowered by the Imperial Domain's laws, the breath incinerated the demon-heart completely.

A shrieking wail followed, and a thin, shadowy demon soul shot skyward, screaming straight into the soul: "Hahaha! I'll be waiting for you in the Abyss!"

Abyssal demons, if they die outside the Abyss, have their wills reborn in the Blood Pool.

Even the gods find it hard to kill a demon completely—sealing them in the Astral Plane is usually the best option.

But Cassius willed it, and the Imperial Domain locked down the surrounding space—matter, spirit, and soul could not escape.

Jezal Slak's soul-scream stopped instantly.

"How... how could this be? The great Abyssal Will was supposed to return me to the Blood Pool for rebirth!"

The red dragon flapped his wings and rose into the air, cocking his head in mock confusion: "Haven't you heard an old Empire saying?"

Cassius extended a claw, easily seizing the demon soul, then unleashed scorching dragonfire from his palm.

"No—"

"Cassius, we can still work together! You want to become a true god, don't you—"

A despairing wail rang out. The specter writhed and begged in the flames, howling in torment.

"Red dragon revenge—exterminate to the root."

Cassius's expression remained indifferent. Flames and shadow reflected in his light-golden eyes, the corners of his mouth curling into a vicious smile.

He had waited far too long for this moment. An emperor never allows a demon who knows his secrets—and is beyond his control—to live.