Chapter 270: Bloodscaled Fury
With a rippling distortion in space, the Red Dragon vanished from sight, plunging into the temporary Alternate Dimension—Egg of Protection. Kai Xiusu stared tensely at the floating Heart of Karex and the Stellar Prism, his brow furrowed as the bony ridges across his forehead twitched faintly.
"An Alternate Dimension is only temporary, and it’s nearly impossible to contain these auras completely. Only the Kingdom Domain could truly shield them from the prying eyes of Divine Beings."
"I must return them to the Royal Palace."
With that thought, Kai Xiusu extended his claw and tore open the air once more. A sharp shriek echoed as a spatial rift ripped into existence—narrow, jagged, its edges blazing with crimson fire. The Red Dragon slipped through, emerging moments later within the grand Main Palace of the Steel Dragon Wing Kingdom.
"Everyone—"
"Leave immediately."
The commanding order rang out with absolute authority. Guards at the entrance, maids tending the gardens, even the wyvern coiled atop a stone pillar—every being fled in panic. This was the decree of the realm’s supreme and singular sovereign. There was no refusal, no hesitation.
Kai Xiusu unleashed the full might of the Kingdom Domain, reinforcing the surrounding magical lattice until it hardened like diamond. Only then did he extract the Heart of Karex and the Stellar Prism.
He sealed the Stellar Prism with a heavy, final gesture, locking it away in the deepest vault of the Royal Palace’s treasure chamber.
Only then did he turn his attention to the Heart of Karex—the artifact he’d risked everything to snatch from the clutches of the Stellar Realm.
Using a Force Field spell, he levitated the object into the air. It was unassuming: a small, pulsating red crystal, vaguely heart-shaped, faintly glowing with a deep crimson light. Within it, a slow, viscous stream of what looked like dragon blood seemed to flow, rippling with chaotic patterns—echoing the form of Karex’s Purifying Flame.
This unremarkable-looking heart contained a power so vast it defied comprehension.
Kai Xiusu didn’t even consider handing it over to the kingdom’s spellcasters. Not yet. This was a divine-level relic—something beyond mortal trust. In the face of such power, he could not believe in anyone but himself.
He attempted to test it, exhaling a torrent of scorching fire, hoping to provoke a reaction. But the flames vanished into the crystal like water sinking into sand—absorbed without a ripple.
"Not surprising. This is residual strength from a Dragon God."
"Essence-level suppression."
Only the Red Dragon’s Primordial Breath, unleashed in full, might have left even a whisper of impact.
Then it struck him—something he’d often read in old novels: blood binding.
"Then... dragon blood?"
Carefully, Kai Xiusu lifted a scale, then drew his claw across his skin. A single, searing drop of molten dragon blood welled up, suspended in midair by a delicate Force Field.
The moment it touched the Heart of Karex, the reaction was catastrophic.
The air shattered. Smoke erupted. Sparks exploded in all directions. A torrent of flame erupted violently from the crystal, roaring like a storm unleashed.
Boom!
In an instant, the blazing red core impaled itself through the open wound on Kai Xiusu’s body, piercing deep into his basal vessels. It surged through his veins, racing toward his heart—pulsing, burning, alive.
Roar—!
Kai Xiusu howled in agony, rolling across the floor. The earth trembled beneath him, cracks spiderwebbing outward like lightning. The Royal Palace guards outside froze in terror, convinced the King was summoning another cataclysm. They scattered in blind panic.
For the first time, Kai Xiusu understood what it felt like when followers received the Dragon Vein Blessing. The moment the Heart of Karex entered his body, it was as if a red-hot iron ball had been dropped into icy water. His blood began to boil. Blood seeped from every gap in his scales.
With a roar, the Red Dragon tore open his massive maw, unleashing a flood of flame so intense it turned the air into fire. Even his pale gold eyes blazed with inner fire.
In his mind, a vision unfolded—a colossal red dragon, stretching a thousand meters long, tearing open the fabric of space and descending upon the Prime Material Plane, blotting out the horizon. It opened its bloody maw, unleashing endless Purifying Flame. Cities of men, elven palaces, forests, mountains—all reduced to ash. Nothing remained but dust and ruin.
No! This is the end!
Fire! Everywhere!
We can’t run! This is Judgment!
Cries of despair. Wails of the dying. Cultists raising their arms in prayer, their faces twisted in final surrender.
When Karex’s purification was complete, the world fell silent—only the crackle of fire remained.
The Red Dragon looked down upon the burning earth, then lifted his head, letting out a long, ancient, wild roar.
Awooo!
At the same moment, Kai Xiusu screamed again.
Glowing light pulsed through his skin and scales. From the porous organs along his neck and tail, thick white steam erupted—then, at last, actual flames shot forth from his spine.
The heat was beyond mortal endurance. Even the Red Dragon’s magma-resistant constitution screamed in agony.
Driven to madness by pain, the beast lashed out uncontrollably—clawing deep gashes into the metal floor, whipping his thick tail through the opulent furnishings, reducing them to splinters. He bit down on pillars, walls, statues—leaving behind charred craters in his wake.
The once-majestic palace, now a ruin, trembled under his fury. It groaned, cracked, and swayed like a dying giant.
Eventually, Kai Xiusu collapsed, gasping for breath.
"Huff... huff..."
The Heart of Karex now pulsed within his chest, beating in time with his own. His eyes were bloodshot. Saliva, thick and red, dripped from his jaws. His scales shimmered with a deep crimson sheen. His horns were chipped, cracked with red-veined fissures. He looked like a creature from legend—a Dragon Rage Cataclysm made flesh.
Yet, through the haze of fury, a sliver of reason remained.
Even now, delirious and raging, he could still read the new information flashing across his Character Sheet.
> [You have absorbed the Heart of Karex. Due to your Ancestral Bloodline, your body, mind, and spiritual soul have undergone irreversible transformation.]
> [Your alignment: Lawful Evil → Chaotic Evil]
> [Due to Karex’s power, you have unlocked an additional subclass: Bloodscaled Fury]
[Bloodscaled Fury (Bloodscaled Fury)]
A furious dragon is terrifying.
A dragon consumed by rage—eyes bloodshot, drool dripping from jaws, crimson light flickering across scales—few can withstand such a beast.
They are solitary. Wild. More like a force of nature than a creature of reason.
Their chaotic nature means no one can predict when or where their blood-frenzy will strike—suddenly flattening a human settlement, a frontier outpost, leaving only a smoking crater behind.
(End of Chapter)
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