Chapter 717: Duel and Assassination

Cassius and Zariel faced off from afar, their overwhelming law-bound powers clashing in the sky. Golden brilliance tangled with crimson light as they warred for dominance.

The sky was veiled in sulfurous smoke. The scorched earth split with vein-like cracks as magma surged like blood.

At a power level approaching demigods, even Ninth Circle spells—or forbidden magic—were no longer decisive. At times, battle reverted to its primal form: brute combat.

But every strike between them was still laced with lethal intent. Even approaching the battlefield could turn an ordinary mortal to dust.

Zariel wore a strange expression. Her lids lowered, but her lips curled in an eerie smile. On her still-delicate face, joy and sorrow coexisted.

She muttered, "Why? Why are you all so selfish? The heavens are like this, mortals too. And now you."

"If we sacrificed the billions of souls in the material plane, wouldn’t the eternal Blood War end at last? Wouldn’t peace come to all?"

"Madwoman," Cassius growled, panting, as golden beams shone down to mend the wound on his shoulder.

At the same time, he observed Zariel closely from a distance.

Be it angel, demon, or devil—outsiders could only exert their full power within their own plane.

And under the glow of [Fallen Day], August was gradually descending into hell. This place was now half of Avernus—Zariel reigned here with godlike authority.

"Facing her directly in this state—victory is nearly impossible. Luckily... I have that plan," Cassius thought, flaring his wings.

With that, he sent a message via contract to a devil far away in Avernus.

"Bael, when will you assassinate Zariel’s true body?"

"Not yet, Your Majesty Cassius." Cassius could hear Bael’s voice trembling with excitement, anxiety, and tension.

"Not yet?"

"Of course not. This is our only shot. As you said: we’re bound together on the same rope."

"Zariel, empowered by Avernus’ will, is unstoppable now. We must wait for the moment when August lies between the material plane and Baator. When Avernus’ attention is elsewhere—that’s when she’ll be weakest."

"What are the signs of that moment?"

"The sky will tear, and an eye will open upon the black sun. When that happens—we strike."

"Understood."

Cassius nodded and focused again on the brutal battle.

Hellish energy rained down. Zariel’s enormous blazing wings regenerated rapidly—fully healed in just a few breaths.

"Then let me fulfill it all!" Zariel howled, now truly unhinged. Her face twisted into a maniacal grin.

With countless eyes upon her, her power soared. Crimson light dyed the skies, and her wings expanded until they covered the heavens, growing to several kilometers in length.

Flames tore open the sky. Zariel hovered beneath boiling clouds, ten fingers tangled with chains rising from hell.

"Clang, clang—"

Countless hellsteel chains burst from the ground, linking sky and earth, seeking to bind the entire world.

A haunting female voice echoed through the blood-colored sky. Every devil present smiled in madness.

The will of Avernus descended like a mountain upon Cassius, nearly crushing the breath from him.

"Skkrrch—"

Fetid winds howled. Even his dragon wings felt heavy.

"Her power’s still rising. She’s suppressing even my divine rank!" Cassius strained to stay aloft. "I have to act now—before August fully falls into Avernus!"

He beat his wings hard, his massive frame streaking forward in a crimson blur.

"Come, red dragon. I’ll mount your skull on my Iron Throne!" Zariel trembled—not with fear, but manic delight.

"Clang-clang-clang—"

Chains lashed like serpents in the air, writhing toward him.

Cassius weaved, wingbeats sharp—dodging with agile loops, dives, and feints. He closed to within five hundred meters.

"Roar—"

His roar shattered mountains and cliffs. Magma surged like arterial blood.

"Zariel! Die!" Cassius spread his wings. Crimson fire brewed deep in his throat, warping the air around him.

His molten-gold eyes blazed. A torrent of chaotic flame burst forth like a waterfall toward Zariel.

Even the magma on the ground boiled violently.

"Chaos Flame?" Zariel’s expression changed. She recognized it instantly—power from her ancient enemy: the Abyss.

"Your fire is a mere echo of hell’s cinders!" she screamed, defiant.

"Shkkrrch—"

Her flaming greatsword extended to over a hundred meters, seeking to cleave the world.

At that instant, Cassius’s eyes narrowed. He twisted his body midair, narrowly dodging.

Sparks flew as her blade scraped past his scales.

Cassius dove, shortening the gap. His movement blurred like a phantom.

Suddenly, an ancient warhammer appeared in Zariel’s hand. The moment it did, Cassius felt a chilling dread—like his soul was freezing.

So familiar.

He saw the ice-blue runes. His eyes widened. That was Solem’s rune!

It was "Father of Frost" Matalotok’s hammer, forged by the god of frost giants—once favored by the abyssal frost lord Kostchtchie.

Zariel had defeated Kostchtchie decades ago and seized it.

"Boom!"

She swung it, unleashing a freezing maelstrom. The air itself solidified.

Even an ancient red dragon with volcanic might might freeze solid under this blow.

Frost slowed Cassius’s movements. Ice crept over his scales. He felt as if drowning in a frozen swamp.

"Heh. A helllord’s power—you mortals can’t begin to grasp it."

Zariel advanced, hellsword in hand, eyes wild and greedy.

But then—a twist.

"Crack, crack."

Runes on Cassius flared, shining coldly. The ice shattered, and his massive body surged forward!

It had been a ruse!

He had once absorbed Everfrost runes and stolen Solem’s power—granting him immunity to the artifact.

"Damn reptile!" Zariel snarled. Her wings blasted molten wind and swung her sword down.

"Boom!"

Cassius unleashed the Ninth Circle spell [Dragon Drain]. A magical vortex siphoned the storm’s energy.

He veered, dodging the sword by inches. His chest nearly scraped the blade.

Now a blazing spear, Cassius tore through the sky toward Zariel.

"Clang-clang—"

Hundreds of burning chains burst from Zariel’s back, whipping toward him.

Cassius surged upward, chains missing him by inches.

He swept above Zariel, then lashed down with his colossal tail—a blow he’d long prepared.

The air cracked, space itself rippling.

"Boom!"

A sonic blast. Zariel was flung a kilometer, smashed into a cliff. Stone rained down.

Cassius seized the moment. He dove like a meteor, chest glowing, throat blazing.

He exhaled a blue-white inferno.

Primeval Breath!

But Zariel, fueled by Avernus’ will, swelled in size—reaching a hundred meters in seconds.

She caught the inferno on her infernal greatsword.

Light exploded. The heat fused sand into glass.

Zariel rose unharmed. Her wings flared, unleashing a firestorm shockwave.

Mountains crumbled. Rivers boiled. Magma flowed like blood.

"Hahaha! Entertain me more! Don’t die too fast!" Zariel laughed, twirling a giant chain flail.

Cassius flared his wings, dodging. That flail pulsed with infernal law.

A single hit would rip out his soul, to be chained forever—like the Inferno Ancients.

"Clang—"

It missed—but grazed his tail. Blood and scales flew.

The flail slammed into the ground.

"Boom!"

The earth quaked. A crater a hundred meters wide formed. Lava surged. Even distant August trembled.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Repeated strikes brought mountains down.

Zariel chased Cassius wildly, destroying everything around her.

"Boom!"

The flail pierced one wing.

Cassius had no time to scream. He kept dodging.

"She keeps growing stronger. If this continues, I’ll have to retreat."

Power slipped from his grasp. Hellfire clung to him like a curse.

He knew this feeling well—like [Empire Domain: Seal], a sovereign’s field of power.

August was still falling into Avernus!

He looked up. The black sun hung high, unchanged.

Had Bael betrayed him?

Impossible. Bael and Zariel had warred for millennia. He’d once imprisoned her and flayed her alive. Their interests were fundamentally opposed.

As surely as no sky holds two suns, Avernus could have only one master.

"That moment Bael mentioned... it must be close." Cassius steeled himself and again dodged Zariel’s strike with prophetic foresight.

The ground shattered. Debris rained.

Suddenly, with his connection to the world’s core, Cassius felt the material plane scream and quake. Wind howled. The black sun blurred.

—Now!

The red dragon gritted his teeth, folded his wings, and dove at Zariel, roaring, magic and divine power surging around him.

He had waited long for this moment!

"Roar—"

Chains tangled around him—but he ignored them. He lunged and sank his fangs into Zariel’s left arm, piercing armor.

"Boom!"

They crashed into a lava river. A geyser of molten fire rose a hundred meters high.

"Red dragon! You’re courting death! You can never defeat a lord in her own hell!"

Zariel’s wings floundered in lava. Cassius bit her shoulder, blood spraying. Her infernal armor shattered.

But he was also badly wounded.

Her hellblade had pierced his gut, carving deep. Infernal runes flared. Dragonblood spilled like molten gold.

As the titans clashed, lava poured like rain, and the ruined land hissed with corrosive pits.