Chapter 665: The Abyss and the Great Dragon

The Bottomless Abyss, the Sulfur Lands.

On a black obsidian cliff of scales, looking down from here allowed one to take in the entire Wasteland.

The cracked earth stretched to the horizon, sulfur rivers running between the fissures.

Asalia, Lord of the Flame Prison, stood here.

His arms were folded across his chest, wings half spread behind him, dark red skin covered in dry cracks, the lava glow seeping from the fissures deeper and more dangerous than before.

He was not alone.

Beside the Lord of the Flame Prison stood a form both dragon and demon.

Barquilorn, a minion of the Lord of the Evil Dragons, its scales the char-black of cooled lava, pupils carrying both draconic and demonic traits, faintly gleaming in the poisonous smoke.

Since agreeing to cooperate,

this dragon-demon had taken up residence in the Sulfur Lands.

Asalia did not turn his head, his gaze fixed on the sulfurous ground at his feet.

“How are the rifts doing?”

His voice was low as he asked.

Barquilorn bowed its head slightly.

“In ten more years, it will be fully restored.”

The dragon-demon’s hoarse voice said, “By then the rift will split without warning or precursor, it will simply appear beneath the deep waters of Bernardo.”

Asalia nodded slowly.

“Good.”

“I have waited too long for that day.”

“When it comes, it will be a perfect breach.”

The Lord of the Flame Prison raised a hand, the talons slowly closing as a few tendrils of dark-red flame leaked between his fingers, then he snuffed them out.

“My legions have sharpened their claws on the scorched earth, my power has amassed on the throne to the brink.”

“Their sky, their sea, every inch of their realm and every living soul upon it will become offerings.”

“I will step upon that planet in my prime, offering the living flesh and souls of the Material Plane to the great Abyss, to its everlasting hunger.”

He had agreed to cooperate long ago.

Although the rift sleeping in the deep waters had not truly sealed yet, since it could deceive the Bronze Dragon King and show no apparent problem, some sealing measures had indeed been taken.

It would need a long time before it could be restarted.

Other impatient lords might fret over that.

But patience was not one of Asalia’s problems.

Besides, the waiting time was not wasted; he continuously accumulated strength, making himself stronger and more whole.

Hundreds of years ago, Asalia had been awakened from slumber by Halden’s pioneering legions, yet he had not been at his peak.

Strife never lacked within the Abyss.

Aside from the famed great lords, lesser-known abyssal lords often changed identity atop their thrones.

Asalia had repelled a demon who sought to challenge his lordship, but he suffered heavy wounds.

The challenger had been a Corroclaw fiend, whose attacks carried potent corrosion; wounds it inflicted were difficult to heal, so Asalia had slept in molten rock mainly to recover.

Now his injuries had largely healed.

At the same time,

Barquilorn dipped its head and bared sharp teeth.

“By the Dragon Lord’s command, I will spare no cost to help you achieve this, Lord of the Flame Prison. Ten years from now, at the moment the rift splits, I will stand by your side and witness your banner planted upon Bernardo’s throne lands.”

The dragon-demon paused slightly.

“But please do not forget, noble Lord of the Flame Prison, the Dragon Queen has her own desires.”

Asalia’s hand fell.

He turned and peered down at the dragon-demon beside him.

His form was far larger than Barquilorn’s, and when he lowered his head the dragon-demon’s figure reflected in his pupils.

“Barquilorn, you, a Great Demon, what right have you to interfere in immortal-tier battles?”

“The Dragon Queen sent you to assist me, but in the end, immortal duels are not something a Great Demon should meddle in. Are you prepared to merely stand aside and watch?”

“And besides, does the Dragon Queen truly believe I would be defeated?”

Barquilorn did not flinch.

Meeting the Lord of the Flame Prison’s gaze, it said:

“I am more than a mere demon.”

“The Dragon Queen’s radiance illuminates me. I am her apostle, her messenger. I am also her claws, her fangs, the extension of her will.”

It spread the wings behind it a fraction, its tone unchanged.

“And Scarlet Emperor Cangxing, that Red-Iron Dragon, has broken convention more than once and won the Dragon Queen’s games.”

“Each victory of his only deepens the Dragon Queen’s interest.”

“You cannot be too careful with such a great dragon.”

Asalia stared at the dragon-demon for several seconds.

Then he laughed loudly.

The air quivered with his laughter, loose rock falling into the boiling sulfur river below and splashing dark waves.

“My goal is the Material World; I have indeed not paid much attention to this Scarlet Emperor Cangxing.”

The Lord of the Flame Prison stopped laughing and spoke, measured and unhurried:

“However, if the Dragon Queen values him so, he must be significant. An opponent who has caused the Lord of the Evil Dragons repeated losses deserves serious consideration.”

He paused and looked up.

His gaze seemed to pierce the toxic miasma and planar barriers of the Sulfur Lands, fixing upon distant Bernardo.

“I look forward to meeting Scarlet Emperor Cangxing. It will make this war more interesting; it would be boring if our foes were merely weak humans.”

At that moment,

a flurry of hurried wingbeats reached them.

Asalia narrowed his eyes and turned toward the sound.

A Vulture Demon was approaching in haste.

It flew low, skimming the sulfur river’s surface, then suddenly lifted as it neared the cliff, almost crashing down before Asalia.

“Great Lord of the Flame Prison! Ruler of the Sulfur Lands! Devourer of all things!”

The Vulture Demon prostrated itself and spoke urgently.

“Speak plainly.”

Asalia cut it off.

The demon’s body trembled, then it blurted:

“Halden! They have dispatched massive legions, gathering at the Root of Unov! The vanguard has already wiped out the garrison at the Root of Unov; our defenders have been routed.”

“And their reinforcement forces pour through the transference channels endlessly. Their numbers far exceed any previous operation.”

“It seems they are not fortifying defenses so much as...”

The demon’s voice faltered, then it whispered.

“...they appear to be advancing further, pushing back against us.”

Asalia smirked deeply.

The connection between the Depths and Bernardo mainly relied on Halden’s constructed Source Roots, and among them the Root of Unov lay at the front line.

Halden’s legions massing at the Root of Unov?

This did not match their usual defensive strategy.

Asalia’s laugh grew low and dangerous as flames rippled across his body.

Roaring fire burst from his skin cracks, forming a ring of searing light; the cliff’s temperature rose in an instant, stone melting.

The Vulture Demon staggered back under the heat, pressed nearly flat to the ground.

“Halden, that arrogant human empire...hehe.”

Asalia’s voice rumbled like distant thunder.

Wings and arms expanded, embracing the Sulfur Lands.

“I have not gone looking for them; they come to me instead.”

“Excellent, excellent.”

“Want to dig your own graves? I will oblige.”

He was more joyful than angry.

Originally Asalia had a plan.

Once the rift healed, he would command his legions to launch a general offensive along the Abyss front, drawing the Material Plane’s attention while he led an elite force through the hidden deep-water rift to break into the Material Plane.

But plans could not predict every change.

Perhaps Halden sensed something, or perhaps it was coincidence, but they chose to preemptively attack the Abyss.

Asalia considered this fine.

Fighting within the Abyss let him achieve victory at lower cost. If he could first decimate Halden’s living forces, then when the rift reopened he could finish the job more easily.

Barquilorn watched in silence.

Then it took a step back; the surrounding air warped, the charred dragon scales blending into the distorted air, fading from the edges inward.

“Even in battles within the Abyss, I will support you, Lord of the Flame Prison.”

“The Dragon Queen’s radiance is with me.”

“When immortals clash on the battlefield, you will see me.”

Its voice grew faint as its form dissolved into the smoke.

When the last word fell, the dragon-demon had vanished into the poison haze, leaving only the Lord of the Flame Prison and the prostrating Vulture Demon on the cliff.

Asalia did not look in the direction Barquilorn had disappeared.

He stared into the distance, at the boundless scorched earth shrouded in dim yellow miasma, at countless demons crawling from the molten rivers.

Then he looked at the demon trembling at his feet.

A grim smile split his face, two rows of thick, sharp teeth visible.

“Send the orders.”

“Rally all legions — the Molten Legion, the Sulfur Legion, the Rift Legion...and every Great Demon. Have them all muster toward the Root of Unov; they must arrive in the shortest possible time.”

“And I will stand at their vanguard.”

The Lord of the Flame Prison spread his wings and arms, embracing the Sulfur Lands.

“I will crush every delusion of the human empire head-on. I will cover the Sulfur Lands with the bones of the Halden people, trap their souls burning in the lava forever, and make their names a demon’s jest.”

“I can already see the path of my glory.”

The Vulture Demon tumbled to its feet and cried hoarsely, “As you command! As you command! Great Lord of the Flame Prison!”

Then it dove off the cliff and vanished into the poisonous smoke at even greater speed.

Asalia turned back.

He looked over the endless sulfur plain below, his eyes a blaze.

Meanwhile,

the Root of Unov.

Circular planar transfer channels hung in the sky; war fortresses and darting battleships emerged from them, countless floating above the horizon.

The Dark Red-Iron Dragon had arrived as well.

His wings fully unfurled in the Abyssal miasma, the wing membranes slapped by hot updrafts, producing low, dull sounds.

So this was the Abyss?

The dragon hovered in midair, vertical pupils slowly scanning the surroundings.

The sky was not blue; it was nothing like the Material Plane.

In truth there was no sky here, only layers of heavy toxic cloud pressed down like a sky, each breath tasting of sulfur and rust.

Garoth’s gaze swept from one end to the other.

All he saw was boundless scorched earth, rivers of lava, sulfur crystals, and cliffs clattering with scales.

The air itself was aflame.

Combustible dust floated in the Sulfur Lands, igniting from heat to form pockets of flame inches to tens of meters above the ground.

They flared up, then vanished without cause.

Scorch King, sulfur.

Blaze, venomous smoke.

Ordinary Material Plane life would suffocate and die here quickly.

Yet the Dark Dragon’s lips curled in a line of teeth.

He slowed his breathing, filled his lungs with hot poisonous smoke, and exhaled slowly like savoring an aged vintage.

This feeling, this environment, this smell...

Arriving in this dangerous plane, Garoth felt no tension.

He had expected to be nervous,

but instead he felt comfort.

This sensation was hard to put in words.

If forced to describe it, it was like a snake frozen half the winter in snowy peaks finally brought into sunlight — every scale expands, every muscle relaxes.

It felt like coming home.

“This environment suits this ember-extinguishing state of mine,” Garoth thought inwardly.

The Dark Red-Iron Dragon leisurely circled, posture relaxed, like walking through his own backyard.

He even considered leaving a projection here after the war and coming to the Abyss for an occasional vacation.

At the same time,

not far off, Blazing Dawn and Dark Star stood side by side in midair.

Noxian radiated a warm golden aura, spine straight, posture as composed as in the Material Plane, but his muscles were tense and his lips a thin line.

This Blazing Dawn did not feel ‘comfortable.’

Ryan Steinbeck, Dark Star, stood some tens of meters away.

His face was expressionless as on the Material Plane, only shadows around him warped unnaturally at times.

Clearly,

neither of them were relaxed — both had been to the Abyss before and both remained highly alert.

Their auras simultaneously rested on the lounging Dark Dragon and both briefly nodded.

The state of the Red-Iron Dragon differed from their expectations.

They had assumed Garoth would be on guard like them in facing this scorched land.

Instead they saw a dragon lazy in posture, satisfied in expression, wing tips gently tilted, tail lazily drawing circles.

At ease, savoring the moment.

Noxian could not help but be surprised.

He streaked forward as a golden line and asked the Red-Iron Dragon, “This isn’t your first time in the Abyss, is it?”

Garoth replied, “What’s wrong with that? This is my first time here, and I like the environment.”

Noxian fell silent.

He swept his gaze over the scorched earth and boiling miasma, then said, “You seem very well adapted to this place. Don’t you feel oppressed?”

Life born on the Material Plane felt severe discomfort upon first stepping into the Abyss.

The air here seethed with chaos and malice, resisting order and life’s presence.

Even the steadiest minds could suffer headaches, nausea, or madness from prolonged exposure.

This dragon before them seemed on a vacation instead.

Garoth tilted his head slightly, vertical pupils slanted at the two standing nearby.

“Oppressed?”

He snorted, the corner of his mouth broadening to reveal heavy fangs.

“Noxian, you seem to have forgotten one thing: half of my blood is red dragon.”

“Flame and scorched earth, lava and destruction — they are the red dragon’s pursuit to the bone.”

He lowered his head, inhaled another lungful of burning miasma and exhaled slowly: “I may not like certain other Abyssal layers, but here I feel as comfortable as if I’d returned to my Dragon Nest.”

The Abyss comprised many chaotic layers

each with different environments.

Garoth simply matched the Sulfur Lands well; he even enjoyed it.

Noxian smiled ruefully.

“You’re right.”

“For years Sacred Aola has stood firm under your rule; your decisiveness is more mature than most human kings. I almost forgot the red dragon blood that flows in you.”

Garoth gave a low chuckle and continued to circle in the smoke.

Noxian’s smile faded and his expression grew stern again.

He raised his right arm and pointed in a direction.

“Move along this line forward.”

“Past the front mountain range and through the confluence of the lava rivers lies the Lord of the Flame Prison’s lair.”

He lowered his finger and turned to the Dark Dragon with gravity.

“After Halden developed the Abyss, we installed multiple Source Roots in the Sulfur Lands.”

“They were meant to draw Abyssal energy, but they were corrupted and became anchors that invade us. As long as any Source Root remains, our link to the Abyss cannot be severed.”

“But I can guarantee this.”

“If the Lord of the Flame Prison is killed, Halden will have sufficient time to remove every Source Root and sever our connection to the Abyss.”

“The core objective of this war is singular.”

“At all costs, slay the Lord of the Flame Prison. If he dies, we win.”

Garoth narrowed his vertical pupils slightly and looked toward Noxian’s finger.

The Lord of the Flame Prison: Asalia.

Halden had shared the intelligence it knew, and Garoth now knew which demon lord invaded Atlan and what species he was.

He was a Barlo Flame Demon — an ember-demon.

Ember-demons were the classical demonic image: cracked, scorched skin like arid earth, molten eyes like lava, vast batlike wings — all characteristic of the tribe.

Worth noting:

Any Barlo Flame Demon that matured normally could achieve legendary status, many becoming Great Demon generals under a lord commanding large armies.

Moreover, multiple Barlo Flame Demons could ascend to lordship within the Abyss.

In short, they were very powerful.

“You have fought the Lord of the Flame Prison before,” the Dark Dragon said, returning his gaze to Noxian. “How did it feel?”

Noxian considered for a moment, then said, “Strong — very strong. In our first clash, even with Dark Star fighting beside me, we barely held and were overwhelmed.”

“But honestly, he’s not as invincible as we thought.”

His tone gained confidence. “Now we have the Platinum Star, the empire’s ultimate weapon, bred for war.”

“With Platinum Star, you, Dark Star, and your avatar comparable to immortals, even four against one in the Abyss can kill the Lord of the Flame Prison.”

Noxian spoke earnestly.

The Dark Dragon stared at Noxian for several seconds, then said, “Is that so? I’m looking forward to the coming victory.”

His voice paused with curiosity.

“Where is your Platinum Star?”

“I have great curiosity about your empire’s great weapon.”

Noxian pointed to the flotilla of war fortresses hovering on the horizon.

“The Platinum Star is carried within a dimensional pocket inside one of those fortresses.”

“Its engine consumes massive energy with every second of operation, so it should remain hidden for now. It will reveal itself when we battle the demon lord.”

At that, the Dark Dragon asked, “You said it had problems earlier. Was it corrupted like your floating city?”

Noxian did not deny it: “Yes. It took us a long time to purge that corruption.”

The Dark Dragon cocked a head. “If it was corrupted in the Material Plane, how can you ensure it won’t be affected in the Abyss?”

The Abyss could corrupt more than flesh.

Noxian smiled.

“We considered that.”

“The earlier corruption happened because we did not foresee it. This time we pre-protected the Platinum Star. While we cannot guarantee absolute immunity, it will not be corrupted in the short term.”

The dragon inclined his massive head briefly. “Good.”

Noxian nodded and looked to Dark Star.

Dark Star had remained silent through the conversation.

Noxian addressed him solemnly: “I know you disagree with my plan to attack the Abyss; you consider it risking the empire’s future.”

“But things are beyond that now.”

“For Halden, I will spare no effort.”

Dark Star was silent.

After a few seconds he raised his chin slightly, face still expressionless.

“Noxian,” his voice hoarse, “I still oppose your decision, but given the situation, for Halden’s sake I will give everything.”

Time passed quietly amidst the Sulfur Lands’ toxic flames.

Soon, all legions were in position.

The great army rose.

Halden’s war machines completed final assembly at the Root of Unov and began advancing toward the Lord of the Flame Prison’s lair.

From above the force looked like a tide of forged steel spreading across the fissured sulfur ground.

Their method of advance differed from traditional armies.

On this blighted ground, the surface was death.

Wide fissures ran meters deep filled with searing lava; sulfur dust coated every surface, and a misstep could slide one into a boiling sulfur river; jagged scaly rocks thrust from below like countless inverted spears.

Any ground force would face innumerable obstacles.

Halden had not been in the Sulfur Lands for only a year or two; they knew this well, and being a skybound nation they excelled at building aerial weapons.

Thus, no troops were on the ground.

Halden’s formations unfolded entirely in the air.

War fortress-like aerial colossi advanced at constant speed, each casting huge shadows sweeping over scorched earth and lava rivers.

Around them, darting battleships flitted like schools of fish.

They were smaller than the fortresses but far more numerous, forming squadrons that maneuvered among the fortresses. The enchantment runes along their hulls strained against the Abyssal corrosion and glowed with silver-blue light.

These craft provided escort and suppression.

As time passed, the entire army advanced in disciplined order, the low rumble of engines and the hum of rune-charging the only sounds across the Sulfur Lands.

Noxian and Ryan stood on a fortress platform, faces solemn.

Garoth flew on the flank of the formation, slightly above most vessels, wings spread, vertical pupils half-lidded, occasionally glancing at the scorched ground below or the distant horizon, keeping the same pace as the fleet.

No resistance met them along the way.

In the poison smoke, occasional figures lurked.

They hid behind scaly pillars, crouched at the sulfur river’s edge, their multicolored pupils watching the steel tide overhead.

But when the army’s shadow passed over them they retreated swiftly.

Demons were bloodthirsty but not foolish.

Even the most frenzied berserker demons would instinctively withdraw before hundreds of war fortresses and the shadow-casting battle fleets.

This quiet lasted for a long time.

Until the army crossed a mountain chain formed by volcanoes.

When the final ridge cleared, the view ahead opened suddenly.

Halden’s legions slowed.

They adjusted midair from march formation into battle formation.

Darting craft spread to the wings, gun muzzles all pointed forward. The engines’ steady hum dimmed into a more oppressive, dangerous silence.

Beyond the mountain range,

the confluence of lava rivers opened into an expansive plain.

The ground here was utterly shattered, fissures like a massive creature’s vascular network, each vein flowing with molten rock.

Several large lava rivers fed into a sea of magma with no visible boundary.

On the lake surface dark red magma churned, giant bubbles popping to release acrid sulfur smoke.

Before this molten ocean on the plain lay another ocean:

an ocean of demons.

Their numbers were suffocating.

From this side of the plain to the far horizon, demons covered every inch.

They were numerically overwhelming, far exceeding the total manpower of Halden’s legions.

They stood on scorched ground, by lava rivers, atop low rock hills, packed so densely their individual outlines blurred.

Countless eyes glowed in various hues — red, yellow, green — innumerable.

Common demons formed the bulk of the tide.

Dretches crouched in the fore ranks, stooped; Vulture Demons hovered low over the lines, wings beating in the hot winds; berserker demons stayed further back, hulking, forelimbs hanging to their knees, fists scraping the earth...

Amidst this dense blackness,

what truly shocked were the scattered supermassive demons.

Their forms were so huge that lesser demons at their feet looked like ants.

The nearest of them was a slow-moving mountain of flesh covered in crusted armour, its spine arched above the scorched earth, every breath shaking the ground as if boiling magma pulsed under the skin.

Dretches crawled upon its back like ants.

Above this ocean of demons floated warship-like entities.

They were colossal and plated in black carapace, embedded with demons half fused to the shell.

“These... are giant warbeast vermin?”

Garoth’s eyes narrowed as knowledge passed through his legacy.

These demon warships were formally called 'giant war-beast vermin' — titanic demons engineered for large-scale war.

They were not natural creatures of the Abyss.

In ancient ages, Abyssal lords launched wars against the Order-aligned Celestial Mountain plane, led by a demon lord known as the Worm King, who nearly unified the Abyss.

To win, the Worm King created many demons.

Giant war-beast vermin were among them.

The Worm King almost prevailed.

But his creations became more chaotic and malevolent and betrayed him at a critical moment, dealing him a crushing defeat.

Garoth gathered his thoughts and stared ahead.

Meanwhile, the demon army’s central line split apart to create a broad passage.

A towering figure strode from within.

Asalia, Lord of the Flame Prison.

He stood before the lava plain, arms folded, wings fully spread, hovering above the head of a giant war-beast vermin.

“Halden’s little bugs fly rather neatly.”

“Like a swarm of flies.”

Asalia spoke.

Not in the Continental tongue, but Garoth had learned comprehension spells and understood his words.

Asalia lowered his arms and extended his right hand to the side. Flames surged and a massive decapitating sword coalesced in his palm.

When the hilt settled in his taloned grip, the blade’s molten surge flashed bright, casting half his face in searing white.

He raised the greatsword and pointed it toward Noxian at the head of the fleet.

“Your empire ends here today.”

Noxian ignored the demon’s taunt.

Dark Star did likewise.

They stood on the fortress platform, expressions different but both silent.

A fortress rumbled then.

One fortress in the heart of Halden’s matrix was larger, more heavily armoured, its silver eagle emblem more prominent.

It had floated in the formation’s midst at low engine power like a sleeping beast.

Now it awakened.

Runes lit across its armour, projecting like tangible sigils.

They were minuscule and numerous.

They collided and interlocked in the void before the fortress.

Garoth’s vertical pupils contracted and he turned away from the demon tide toward the changing fortress.

A dimensional rift tore open amid the rune storm.

Its edges were jagged like a torn rent, similar to the spatial rifts Garoth himself could rend.

Then a pair of platinum arms reached out from the tear.

They gripped the rift’s edges with heavy claws.

In the next instant the rift widened and an entire arm emerged.

Platinum armour layered upon layer covered it, each plate precisely forged with countless fine runes etched across.

Shoulders, chest, the other arm, legs.

In the blink of an eye it fully stepped out.

A colossal humanoid alchemical colossus had come forth.

Taller than any fortress, it rose in Halden’s line like a lone peak amid mountains.

Its body was constructed of platinum alloy.

Its head was simple and majestic with no mouth or nose — only a vertical ridge from forehead down. Crystal orbs in the faceplate glowed like eyes.

The Platinum Star.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

A roaring engine pulsed from its chest like a giant beast’s heartbeat, and with each pulse runes along its body flared in turn from crown to soles and back up again.

Terrifying and inviolable.

“So this is Halden’s reliance, the Platinum Star.”

“It seems formidable.”

Garoth’s gaze swept the platinum giant as he assessed it.

Meanwhile Noxian stepped forward.

He hovered in midair as radiance erupted around him like dawn in the Abyss.

“Asalia.”

“Today is your death. Whatever the cost, Halden will kill you and crush your ambition, your legions, and all your delusions against the Material Plane on this scorched earth.”

“This fight: either you die, or I die.”

He spoke in the Abyssal tongue.

This language was harsh and burning to human throats, yet Noxian enunciated clearly so the demons could understand.

Asalia stood atop the giant war-beast vermin.

He heard each of Noxian’s words and then a grin split his face into roaring laughter.

“Then come.”

“The Abyss will bury anyone who disrespects her!”

He flapped his wings, rising off the war-beast’s head, the decapitating sword held horizontal like a demon-first charge toward Halden’s armies.

Behind him the demon sea surged.

The Platinum Star’s engine reached a crescendo as the metal colossus thundered toward the demon lord, with Blazing Dawn and Dark Star close behind.

War fortresses and darting craft all powered up at once.

At that moment the Dark Dragon spread his wings.

He did not advance; he fell back.

Keeping distance, veins of fiery light flared along his neck from throat to chest and across his scales, exuding a perilous aura.

The battle began.

Asalia and the Platinum Star clashed first.

The decapitating sword wrapped in molten rivers struck at the Platinum Star.

The alchemical colossus’s left arm braced, layered defensive fields forming along its vambrace.

Yet as the blade struck, the force tore through those fields. They shattered layer by layer like peeling skin, exploding outward in a shockwave that swept the toxic smoke aside.

The blade bit into the armour.

Although sharp, on impact the surrounding armour collapsed as if struck by a massive hammer.

Twisted metal shards flew.

Several-ton plates hurtled to the ground and into the demon sea — unlucky berserker demons caught beneath them were smashed to paste, while others were blasted away by the shockwave, leaving a ravaged clearing.

Some fragments flew toward Halden’s fleet and struck a dart ship’s shield.

The shield flickered and shattered.

At the same time,

the fractured fragments themselves began to disintegrate.

They broke down from solid metal into smaller granules, then into dust almost invisible, each particle drawn like iron filings along an arc back to the Platinum Star’s body, reattaching to the damaged armour surface.

Layer upon layer accumulated, fused and solidified.

In moments the gaping breach became a shallow scar, then a faint line across the armour distinguishable only by slightly altered colour.

This machine could self-repair.

As the Platinum Star blocked the decapitating sword, its left fist punched upward.

Its five fingers opened during the strike and a deep-blue halo shone in its palm.

The surrounding air warped violently, light bending at the edges of the gravity field as space itself twisted, forming a visible vortex.

Asalia beat back on wings and sword and evaded the Platinum Star’s heavy fist.

Although the punch had not hit, the gravitational shockwave penetrated the space between them and engulfed the ember-demon’s body.

His movement staggered.

The Platinum Star’s right fist rose and swept through the air.

Boom!

Space folded into layered repulsive distortions, pushing outward like a tidal wave and slamming into the Lord of the Flame Prison.

He was flung backward, slammed into the ground.

Like a meteor he struck the scorched earth, ploughing a trench kilometers deep across the demon sea; demons at the impact point were blasted into blood mist, slightly further out limbs shattered and blood sprayed from body orifices.

Lava welled up through the cracked bed and flooded the trench.

Blazing Dawn and Dark Star both exhaled in relief.

They had held back earlier to test whether the Platinum Star could still deliver enough power in the Abyss.

Now it proved its worth as the empire’s ultimate weapon.

The Lord of the Flame Prison rose from the lava, scorched earth and molten filth dripping from his cracked skin, hanging from wings and curved horns.

The ranged repulsive force had thrown him but not done much harm.

He felt irritated.

Asalia wiped magma from his face and glared at the Platinum Colossus, molten eyes in flames.

“Repel and attract?”

“This human empire toy is interesting.”

He muttered, then surged back into the air.

At the same time the demon sea collided with Halden’s legions.

The ground trembled under the throng of demons, fissures crumbling; sulfur dust rose like dense fog and blotted the sky.

Both air and land were filled with demonic forms.

Warships encircling fortresses opened fire first.

Beam after beam of high-energy light lanced out like spears thrust into darkness.

Where the beams struck, swarms of dretches vaporized with not even ash remaining, but more demons quickly filled the gaps and rushed over the still-hot ground.

War fortresses opened belly bays.

Huge metal doors slid aside to reveal deep internal chambers.

Countless silver-gray forms were launched out.

These were Halden’s golems.

Humanoid war constructs, tall and formidable, cast in magical metal.

They adjusted orientation midair as rune thrusters spat brief blue flames.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Golems fell like meteors into the demon tide, metal slamming into flesh.

On impact their rune eyes glowed crimson as they raised purifying greatswords or massive tower shields and charged into the maelstrom.

Dretch claws scraped across a golem’s armour leaving screeching scratches and white scars.

The golem’s blade then swept and cleaved dozens of dretches in half, blood spraying the scorched earth.

But the demons’ numbers were too many.

One golem was swarmed by hundreds of dretches which climbed its body, biting at rune conduits.

Its operation slowed.

Finally a berserker demon smashed the golem with a massive fist; it was crushed, its lights extinguished, its giant hull toppled and exploded, flames and shockwaves devouring nearby demons.

In the sky dart ships sliced like silver fish, firing rapid-runic cannons with dense hums.

Every exploding light sphere detonated in the demon tide as a plume of blood and light, vaporizing many demons into ash.

A scream demon flock rose from the demon ranks and dove at the dart ships trying to tear them apart with claws and acid.

The ships rolled and dodged; side batteries shredded incoming Vulture Demons into sieves, bodies raining down in pieces.

Yet some dart ships were caught and torn to shreds.

At the same time Halden’s true elite units began to act.

A company of silver-armoured holy guards strode out of a fortress gate, shrouded in protective holy auras, each wielding a long spear with blades wrapped in purifying runes.

They punched through the demon tide like blades, cutting down countless demons.

Empire knights swooped on winged mounts, spinning bladed wings carving bloody paths through the throng.

Blood, flame, steel, death.

The massive and brutal spectacle of war.

As the two forces clashed, even larger behemoths engaged.

The supermassive flesh-mountain demons took steps that shook the earth.

From them, many spear-headed demons were launched like missiles by muscular contractions, striking golems and dart ships and creating brief chaos.

Behind the demon lines the giant war-beast vermin began to move.

Embedded demons along their carapaces awakened and half-fused bodies let out synchronous screams.

Shell seams split open.

Countless flying demons poured out like a flood, blotting the sky.

Huge biological cannons extended from the bellies, condensing Abyssal energy and firing massive bone spears wrapped in flame. The shells split with countless holes, spewing demonic fire rays striking Halden’s fortresses.

Boom! Boom!

Fortress heavy guns thundered back.

With scorching flame and light both sides offered no quarter.

Yet visibly Halden’s legions were at a disadvantage; dart ships collapsed constantly, iron golems and elite soldiers were steadily submerged by the demonic tide, fortresses swayed, and legendary units were pressed by demon generals.

After all, this was the Abyss’s home turf.

Demons could exert their greatest power here; low-tier demons were almost limitless and mid-to-high tier demons matched Halden’s elite in quality — both numbers and strength favored the Abyss.

Still Halden’s legions did not retreat.

They had to hold the demon mass and not provide their immortals opportunities to be taken out.

On the immortal tier battlefield, the Lord of the Flame Prison held the upper hand.

This demon was ferocious; wings spread to the limit, a single sweep let his body loop with unbelievable speed to the Platinum Star’s left, the decapitating sword slashed upward.

The Platinum Star’s torso twisted as its left fist crashed down.

Its twin gravity-manipulating fists were its primary weapon.

Boom!

The strike bent space before the sword could connect, forming a collapsing inward gravity that even warped light into spirals.

The greatsword’s path skewed.

What should have cleaved at midsection slid across the colossus’ flank, sparks flying as blade met armor and leaving shocking collapse and rupture trails.

Moreover,

Asalia discovered the Platinum Star’s self-repair method and scorched the armour’s wounds with searing flame, melting metal fragments into liquid.

This greatly impeded the Platinum Star’s healing.

Yet the metal giant remained composed and punched silently, its repulsive tide again forcing the Lord of the Flame Prison back.

Noxian rose from behind the Platinum Star.

Radiance burst from his skin as he summoned the Daybreak Holy Sword in his right hand.

The blade formed fully of condensed light, shedding golden sparks.

Noxian adjusted his angle to form a pincer with the Platinum Star and dove.

The Daybreak Holy Sword tore the Abyssal sky.

Asalia faced the front assault of the Platinum Star and the side-down strike of Noxian simultaneously.

He chose to deal with the more dangerous threat first.

He rose with the Greatsword and slammed up, raising a curtain of molten fire to block the Platinum Star’s descending gravity fist; the space between sword and fist screamed like layered fabrics being ripped.

Rip!

The Daybreak sword cleaved the fire curtain but missed its target.

Asalia evaded that deadly blow; the spear-like tip of his tail flicked and thrust toward Noxian’s head.

At that instant shadow appeared behind Asalia.

It formed into inky tendrils that coiled around the demon lord’s waist.

Asalia sensed them,

but he was half a beat too slow.

Dark Star’s shadow tendrils wrapped silently around the Lord’s waist, deceiving even the ember-demon’s senses. The tendrils coalesced and spread, freezing his movement.

Noxian dodged the tail spear and slashed at Asalia.

Whoosh!

Flames roared and burned the shadows.

Asalia broke free from the shadow tendrils and staggered back, the Daybreak sword grazing his throat and drawing a spurt of demonic blood, but failing to sever his head.

“Burn!”

For the first time Asalia growled deeply. He turned and his pupils flared like blazing coals.

He raised a hand and grasped some void, using his potency.

A mass of flame condensed as if liquid and was born from nothing.

Sizzle, sizzle.

Within the flame a shadow distorted, a human form vaguely visible as the surrounding darkness dissipated.

“Cowardly worms hiding and showing their tails — die!”

He swung his wings and avoided the Platinum Star’s heavy fist, diving to strike the shadowed figure with the decapitating sword.

At that moment

Boom!

Three ultra-refined fire lines tore across the sky, piercing the poisonous blaze and striking toward Asalia.

Danger!

Alarm bells rang in Asalia’s mind. He evaded two of the fire lines and used his sword to block the third.

These lines carried extreme heat and penetration; even with a tungsten-fire crystal weapon glowing red-hot it was unwise to absorb them directly.

The other two lines skimmed past his sides.

One grazed left and one right, slashing through countless demons and carving a straight charred tunnel through the tide, the embers left on the tunnel walls suddenly detonated and consumed the demons into ash.

The right line brushed through a giant war-beast vermin.

Like a hot knife through anything, the immense body was cleaved in two; the heat was so intense embedded demons evaporated instantly without a scream.

Asalia’s vertical pupils narrowed.

He paid little mind to the other two lines’ destruction and instead looked past the Platinum Star and the adjusting dart ships to a massive figure wheeling above the miasma.

A dragon cloaked in black scales appeared in sight.

At some time unknown the dragon had shifted into a three-headed form. The earlier fire lines had come from its mouths.

Sensing Asalia’s attention, the three heads grinned simultaneously with an expression part-smile, part-tooth-bared grin.

Asalia squinted.

He had fought dragons.

There were few dragons in the Abyss but those present were very powerful.

In his memory, dragons’ breaths were usually vast infernos or towering fire pillars, but this dragon’s breath were fine fire lines refined to extreme precision, meant for taking down individual powerful foes.

“Scarlet Emperor Cangxing?”

“No — perhaps only a special avatar,” Asalia thought, then turned back to confront the Platinum Star charging ahead.

The Platinum Star’s left fist raised and space began to collapse inward; the gravity field formed.

Noxian chose a lower angle to approach from beneath the Platinum Star’s left flank and aimed his sword at Asalia. Unseen in the sky, the shadow burned earlier was recombining, and Dark Star’s silhouette emerged from the gloom.

He bore many burn marks but maintained expressionless calm and hid once more in the shadows.

Asalia twisted his body; wings snapped open and then shut to generate a ring of fiery shockwaves, forcing the stealthy shadow back.

He evaded the Platinum Star’s heavy punch and the decapitating sword rose to drive off Noxian’s following strike.

The fierce fight continued.

Three against one, the demon lord still managed.

Although pressured, he found openings between defenses to strike back.

And any mortal human — whether Blazing Dawn or Dark Star — if struck would suffer grievous wounds enough to reverse the tide.

But every counterstrike he attempted was disrupted.

Whenever he planned to retaliate, the Dark Dragon’s three heads would turn and spit breath to interrupt.

Three intersecting fire lines; he dodged, then three more came; dodge again, another three.

Each shot was an exquisitely precise penetrating blow aimed at his chest, head, wings, forcing him into constant dodge and block, his timing broken.

“Two helpless humans and a pile of scrap metal.”

“Dragon, will you only hide behind them and spit?”

Asalia taunted but received no reply.

Garoth ignored the provocation.

Taunts meant nothing to him.

He knew his role — keep distance and, at key moments, interrupt the Flame Lord with breath to break his attack rhythm.

“Hmph.”

Asalia frowned, realizing his taunts were useless, and focused wholly on the immortal foes and the Platinum Star.

He then found an opportunity.

The Platinum Star’s repulsive fist came again.

This time Asalia neither blocked nor dodged.

He was familiar with the metal giant’s move.

Though powerful it inflicted little fatal damage on him; its main function was control, and its armour self-healed and was not easily destroyed in short order.

He let the repulsive blast push his body back.

He used the impulse to curve his flight trajectory and suddenly swung around the Platinum Star with extreme speed, breaking free of its attack range and charging toward the Dark Dragon.

“It seems my form attracts enmity.”

Garoth bared his teeth without fear.

He inhaled deeply; the three heads breathed, and dragon-qi bombs condensed below the wings to barrage the Lord of the Flame Prison.

Breath no longer just streaked fire but combined with dragon-qi bombs in layers of energy fission, forming a wall of destruction pushing toward Asalia.

The devil’s expression remained steady.

A blazing mantle of magical flame poured from within him, forming a shield.

The dragon breath struck and the inferno was absorbed, strengthening the shield.

The shock nevertheless slowed his advance.

Asalia charged through the devastation and out of the immediate destruction.

But the Dark Dragon had already pulled back and was not alone. He did not need to face Asalia by himself.

The Platinum Star came.

Its gravity field fully charged, space around the metal fist dramatically compressed, light bent into crescent arcs.

Blazing Dawn and Dark Star took their positions.

Noxian lifted the Daybreak Holy Sword higher; the blade lengthened nearly double, and aided by the Platinum Star’s control he slashed down upon Asalia.

Shadows churned and coalesced into tendrils, locks and claws seeking the demon lord.

Asalia’s eyelids twitched.

Being surrounded was unpleasant.

He surpassed any single opponent, but combined and supported, their coordinated pulls and restraints made it impossible not to be suppressed.

The balance of battle slowly and irreversibly tipped.

Each swing of his sword met the Platinum Star’s fists; each counter was cut by the Dark Dragon’s fire lines; every attempt to counterattack was driven back by the dual pincer blow of Blazing Dawn and Dark Star.

Time passed.

Asalia’s breath grew heavier.

He scanned the battlefield and his gaze flicked quickly among four targets.

Then flames blazed in his eyes.

A shadow materialized in otherwise empty air.

Asalia locked onto Dark Star.

He accelerated without hesitation, body surging like a fire-meteor as wings folded to a stream and the decapitating blade hugged a flank arc to strike the shadowed figure.

Dark Star immediately fell back.

Shields of shadow surged before him and the shadow clung like a swamp to Asalia’s limbs and wings, countless hands clawing at his horns and torso.

Blazing Dawn rushed in from the right and the Platinum Star’s fists turned toward the threat.

In a split-second,

Asalia’s wings abruptly unfurled, flames surging so his wingspan stretched many times, and he swung fiercely.

His body swung with barely any loss of speed and twisted sharply. The decapitating sword looped through the air with all its gathered force and sliced toward Noxian approaching from the right.

Noxian’s pupils constricted in shock.

Asalia’s burst came so fast, how could it be intercepted?

In fact, Garoth could not fully react either.

But he anticipated.

Feints and misdirection were his common tactics.

To dragons or Barlo demons, humans looked much the same structurally.

Thus when facing a joint attack, one might lock onto the apparently frail target, then suddenly change aim to strike another — a perfect chance to kill in a single, unexpected instant.

As Asalia lunged for Dark Star, Garoth sensed his plan.

At the same time,

Asalia, having dodged a fire line and briefly lost balance,

Opportunity!

Shadows surged.

Countless black tendrils erupted from the ground, from beneath and around Asalia, lashing at his legs, waist, wrist guards, and wing roots like tightening serpents.

Dark Star emerged from the shadows, hands shaping phantom grips as all shadow chains tightened at once.

Asalia’s movements froze.

He prepared to unleash his old trick; molten lava would have flowed from his skin cracks to burn the shadows.

At the same time,

the Platinum Star raised both fists.

Like a mountain-sized colossus it performed an unprecedented action.

Its arms lifted together, the twin gravity-manipulating fists coming face to face at chest level. Then the fists collided.

Buzz!

From the point where the two fists met, a ring of transparent ripples radiated outward.

Where the ripples passed, flame became fixed in frozen amber-orange, toxic smoke hung suspended like impurities trapped in resin, and flying metal shards were held motionless mid-arc. The demon tide’s roaring cries choked in their throats.

Time and space warped.

The Platinum Star’s gravity surged to an extreme as its fists collided, creating a near-time-stasis field.

This was its ultimate device.

By producing an extreme gravity, it created a time-stasis field.

Immortal beings had strong resistance to many anomalies; if a legendary who commanded time froze time, even immortals would not be so immobilized.

But the Platinum Star was an immortal-grade strategic weapon.

Its stasis field even affected itself, and it could lock the Lord of the Flame Prison in place, leaving cognition barely operational.

Within that frozen field only one figure could move.

Halden’s Blazing Dawn, Noxian.

Around his neck a pocketwatch-like device had appeared; its hands turned and allowed him limited action though slowed greatly.

Noxian stepped through the stasis.

He passed through frozen flame and smoke and steadily drew closer to the Lord of the Flame Prison.

“Day for blade, I for tinder — where this light passes, all chaos turns to ash!”

He murmured as he activated his potency.

In an instant, roaring radiance burst upon him and funneled into the Daybreak Holy Sword, the blade’s light swelling to a brilliance like the first dawn piercing night.

Even if this strike could not immediately kill the Lord of the Flame Prison,

it could at least grievously wound him.

“It’s over; victory belongs to Halden!”

Noxian’s eyes shone as he closed the gap.

Suddenly a low chuckle sounded.

Noxian’s movement froze.

He turned his head, catching out of the corner of his eye a silhouette that should not have been there.

Atop a giant war-beast vermin’s head, among the embedded demon array, a figure had emerged.

Its body covered in charred rough scales, combining demonic and draconic traits.

Most strikingly, five scale plates lined its forehead, each a different colour, radiating multi-hued light that allowed it to move freely even within the stasis field.

Abyssal Dragon-Demon, Barquilorn.

He flexed his legs slightly, wings spread, then leapt up.

The war-beast’s head exploded outward as Barquilorn rose.

His movements were unhindered, charging toward Dark Star.

Dark Star remained locked in the stasis in a posture of shadow chains.

As an immortal he had some time resistance, his mind still running, able to see threats approaching at high speed.

But he was affected by the Platinum Star’s ultimate skill and could not move.

Barquilorn arrived.

Arms crossed like scissors, claws wrapped in colored light, he struck with a simple tearing motion.

His claws sliced into the shadow, like a blade through silk, shredding it to pieces.

Barquilorn did not pause.

He passed Dark Star and without looking back lunged at Noxian.

Noxian’s pupils contracted wildly.

He had not expected another immortal-capable legendary dragon-demon here, and under the protection of the five-colour aura it was completely unaffected.

Noxian raised the Daybreak sword.

Though slowed, he infused power into the strike and grazed the dragon-demon’s extended left arm.

But its right arm also struck.

Muscles bulged; the talon was shield-wide, tips glowing with pentachrome energy, and it drove through Noxian’s front light and crashed into his chest.

Noxian’s armor caved and shattered.

His chest collapsed, bones breaking, his body struck as if by lightning and plunged toward the ground.

The dragon-demon prepared to finish him.

At that moment the stasis ended.

A repulsive tide swept outward, hurling the dragon-demon uncontrollably; it slammed into the scorched lava and tumbled.

Time returned to flow.

Except for engine thuds nothing moved.

However the prior eruption had clearly impacted the Platinum Star; its runes dimmed and a faint purple vein like a discoloration spread across its armour.

Its ultimate move had not ended the fight.

The Platinum Star’s resistance to corruption weakened and it had been further eroded.

At the same time the shredded shadows recombined revealing Dark Star’s pale, bloodless face.

On another patch of less-dense demon ground, radiance surged and evaporated surrounding demons; Noxian staggered to his knees, face equally drained of colour.

Only the Dark Dragon still hung poised, unwearied.

“Honoured Lord of the Flame Prison,”

“I told you I would assist at the crucial moment.”

Barquilorn rose from the lava and spoke to Asalia.

Asalia shot the dragon-demon a glance. “You need not act; I can handle this crisis. This battle is mine. Do not meddle and spoil my pleasure.”

His voice revealed no anger or joy.

Whether it came from confidence or refusal to admit weakness was unclear.

Barquilorn grinned and replied, “My apologies for presumptuousness. Continue.”

Asalia ignored him and refocused on his enemies.

“From the moment you stepped into the Abyss your fate was sealed.”

“This land has buried countless presumptuous lives. Before you, stronger existences sought to conquer the Abyss and became part of it.”

“You will not be exceptions.”

Before his words finished, Asalia spread his wings and the decapitating sword carved a scorching trail as it pointed at Noxian.

Noxian bit down and confronted him.

Dark Star’s shadows surged from the side to bind Asalia in place, buying Noxian a breath.

Asalia sidestepped and the sword’s tail swept through the shadow, cleaving most tendrils, the remainder burning to smoke in the heat.

The Platinum Star advanced but its motions were slower; more purple veins marred its skin, and the engine’s thrum carried an odd rasp.

It swung a repulsive fist that missed.

Then the Dark Dragon’s fire lines cut the sky.

They intercepted the path between Asalia and Noxian, slowing the demon lord a little.

But that was all.

Halden’s war machines and the two immortals were now in a critical state of exhaustion.

The Dark Dragon, though unscathed, could do little to alter the overall course.

At most he could delay the inevitable.

Garoth understood this.

His three heads turned in unison like dragons and then scanned the Platinum Star.

A few more purple seams graced its armour — subtle, but visible to him.

“This battle, Asalia wins,” he thought.

“But I have not lost.”

Garoth’s eyes were cold. Light seeped between his scale seams and spread rapidly over his body, the dark scales coated with a gleaming gold film as if molten gold had been poured over them.

In his chest a blinding light coalesced.

It shone through scales and flesh, through bone and sinew as if a miniature sun were trapped within.

He drew a deep breath.

The Abyssal smoke, battlefield fires, the sulfur smell — all devoured by his three great mouths.

In the next instant,

the dragon that had kept distance suddenly surged into the immortal battlefield.

“Heh, even if only an avatar, at least I can first taste the joy of ripping your body apart.”

Asalia murmured, readying to meet him.

But the dragon did not aim at him.

“Welcome the coming destruction!”

Passing by the Platinum Star, Garoth adjusted and slammed into the already purple-veined metal colossus.

Time seemed to freeze again.

Then — boom!

Infinite flame and light detonated from the collision, cutting through smoke and dark cloud and vaporizing countless demons into nothing, not even ash remained.

It was as if the Abyss had torn open a seam to an even hotter plane.

The incandescent shockwave expanded in rings.

Beyond the demons, countless dart ships were hurled, tumbled and disintegrated; fortress shields flickered violently...

Everything dimmed.

The Dark Dragon had vanished into a blaze that illuminated the Sulfur Lands.

When the light faded,

the Platinum Star...

it had been twisted into a wreck. No sign of its former majesty remained.

Asalia stood where he was, his surrounding shield ebbing away.

His expression soured when he saw the Platinum Star’s remains. Brows furrowed, face twisted, he let out a furious roar.

“Scarlet Emperor Cangxing!”

“Wait — we will meet again soon!”

He swore at the dragon for decisively destroying the Platinum Star.

Asalia had noticed the Abyss corrupting the alchemical colossus. Had the colossus not been destroyed now, its corruption would have made it his.

The dragon’s obstruction made him even angrier.

Damned!

He suppressed his rage and turned his gaze from the smashed Platinum Star to the two human immortals.

“You will die here first.”

“Then I will come for that damned dragon.”

He spoke calmly.

Noxian stood, the Daybreak sword’s light almost gone, breath barely a whisper.

He looked at the ruined Platinum Star, a little dazed, then shook his head and murmured, “As expected of Scarlet Emperor Cangxing — to make the best call at a chaotic moment.”

“Well, at least the Platinum Star will not serve the demons.”

He glanced at Dark Star.

Ryan’s face was paler still, the shadow along his feet weakly churning like a dying serpent.

Both men had suffered greatly from the dragon-demon’s assault and the Ember-Annihilating Red-Iron Dragon’s self-destructive blast. Now they were on the verge of collapse, breath like candles in wind.

“Sorry, we’ll probably die in the Abyss.”

“It’s my fault... all my fault.”

Noxian sighed to Dark Star.

Dark Star was silent, then slowly said, “Right or wrong, it was for Halden. Given the situation there’s no use blaming.”

“Besides... I anticipated this failure.”

“Halden will not be entirely destroyed. There’s still hope for resurgence.”

Noxian’s gaze hardened.

He lifted the almost-vanished Holy Sword; the last glimmers of light were slowly gathering on the blade. “Then, Ryan, let us stand shoulder to shoulder one last time.”

Dark Star’s shadow rose again.

“All right.”

He said simply.

Then the two figures surged up together, one wrapped in failing light, the other in shadow, charging side by side toward the demon lord standing on the scorched plain.

New Calendar 748, Autumn.

The Halden Empire staked everything and launched a counterattack against the Sulfur Lands; Garoth’s avatar went in person.

In the end humanity suffered catastrophic defeat.

The Platinum Star became wreckage; Blazing Dawn and Dark Star fell in the Abyss.

With that Halden plummeted; the Abyssal demons could strike at any moment. In Atlan, the Sacred Aola Empire and its leader became the last hope in everyone’s heart.