Chapter 537: Karex's Corpse (I)
Another colossal Giant Peak, stretching thousands of meters into the sky, erupted from the earth—spines piercing the heavens, as if seeking to bind the sky and the earth together. Atop the snow-capped summit, the glacial pack shimmered under the sunlight, glittering with cold, silver light.
This was the highest peak of the Anstica Mountains—the Mount Tiel, revered by the Scandians as the King of the Snowy Mountains.
“Huff… huff…”
A frigid wind howled through the valley, its scream echoing through the spines of the mountains like a banshee’s wail. Amid the endless, snow-laden ranges that never thawed, the wind roared, snowflakes swirled in a blinding storm, as if intent on burying the entire world beneath an endless, frozen shroud.
Suddenly, scorching steam erupted from the earth. A jagged, black-red flame tongue lashed through the air, tearing open a monstrous spatial rift at the mountain’s base. The snowpack covering the slopes melted instantly under the sudden infernal heat—first turning into rushing streams of meltwater, then vanishing into thick, white smoke.
And from the swirling haze, a massive, battle-scarred demon body emerged from thin air—the Balor Fire Demon, Leo Bosk.
“Huff… huff…”
“Finally… finally made it.”
The demon panted, his voice thick with exhaustion, yet laced with an unsettling mix of relief and grim excitement. His eyes darted northward—toward the direction he had fled from.
“Kai Xiusu…”
The name escaped his lips like a curse, and his crimson face twisted once more with terror. But then, with a violent clench, he bit down hard—teeth grinding together with a sharp crack.
His fleshy wings trembled violently behind him. His thick arms, gripping the Storm Greatsword, strained with bulging veins. His expression twisted into something even more grotesque—frenzied, enraged, consumed by vengeance.
“Kai Xiusu—the damned crawler! He killed me ten times in front of hundreds of millions!”
“Ten times!”
“I’ll cut off his head! Strip his scales! Sever his wings! Tear open his tail—”
With a thunderous roar, the Balor Fire Demon unfurled his wings, arching his body toward the sky. Flames of vengeful fury erupted from his eyes, searing the air.
His rage triggered a cataclysmic phenomenon. Rivers of molten magma surged through the mountains. Scorching earthfire erupted from fissures. Vast plumes of steam rose into the heavens.
“No… no. I don’t need to rush. That red dragon will come to me on his own. And when he does… I’ll watch with my own eyes as my enemy is dragged into the Abyss. Hahahaha…”
Leo’s breath came in ragged gasps. A grotesque, unnatural grin split his face—so wide it reached the roots of his ears. Thick, black gunsmoke poured from his mouth.
Then—his head snapped up. A flicker of surprise crossed his features.
“Wait… what’s this—? He’s here… already?”
A massive thermal surge crashed over him. An invisible, suffocating aura of intimidation descended across the land, pressing down on his soul. The mountains trembled. The sky itself seemed to bow in reverence.
“Spines—!”
Leo roared, lifting his head. Flame tongues lashed the sky. Dozens of massive claws tore through the fabric of space, gripping the edges of a burning rift. With effortless strength, the rift split wide open.
First came a colossal, dignified head. Then a thick, powerful neck. Next, broad, leathery dragon wings. Strong limbs. A spine as vast and winding as a mountain range.
“ROOOOOOAR!”
With a thunderous roar that split the heavens, a red dragon—over forty meters long—emerged from the rift, wings flaring. A furnace-like wind swept across the mountains, scorching the snow and rock beneath.
Kai Xiusu, the Red Dragon, descended from above. His pale golden vertical pupils surveyed the mountain below, his gaze fixed coldly on the trembling Balor Fire Demon.
“Leo Bosk. Is this the death you chose for yourself?”
Leo stared up at the dragon in the sky, his demon body trembling violently—not from fear alone, but from a feverish mix of terror and ecstatic anticipation.
He forced a laugh, his voice hoarse and broken. “Hahaha! Perfect! Perfect! Arrogant red dragon—just as I expected. You did come. And you never even thought I’d defeat you… let alone kill you, did you?”
Kai Xiusu said nothing. His silence was enough.
Leo’s voice grew even more venomous. His eyes, clouded with hatred, burned into the dragon’s. “Kai Xiusu… I know. For years, you never saw me as an equal. But that arrogance—that is what doomed you. You walked straight into your fate. You’re trapped.”
With a wild, grotesque gesture, the Balor spread his fleshy wings wide. His body convulsed with manic energy as he howled into the sky, already savoring the sweet taste of revenge.
On his chest, his back—complex, evil rune arrays pulsed with dark light. Deep, glowing eyes flickered within them. Whispers of the Abyss slithered around him like smoke.
“Voices of despair cry in blood and flame.”
“They cut off their own heads, raise them high—tears of blood flow from hollow eyes.”
“And He brings the fire of revenge, the epilogue of annihilation, and consumes all.”
Above him, the sky darkened. A regiment of black clouds swallowed the sun. The mountains trembled under a wild, howling hurricane.
“So, Kai Xiusu… allow me to introduce myself. I am the Demon Lord of the 567th Layer of the Abyss—the great Revenant Demon—”
“AHH!”
Before he could finish, the red dragon was upon him.
A massive claw descended like a hammer. It pierced Leo’s chest with brutal precision.
Purple-black blood and shredded flesh erupted in a spray. The demon’s pulsing, hot heart was plucked from his chest—crushed in Kai Xiusu’s claw.
And even in death, Leo’s face remained frozen in ecstatic ecstasy.
With his last breath, he laughed.
“Kai… Kai Xiusu… you’re useless. I won’t die. I’ll witness it with my own eyes—watch you die before me. That’s my revenge.”
But this time… no Abyssal energy surged to him. No resurrection. Instead, the power of the Abyss abandoned him—spiraling upward, forming a terrifying vortex in the sky.
Leo’s face twisted in horror. His eyes widened in disbelief.
“No… no… how? How is this possible?”
Kai Xiusu let out a cold, mocking laugh. He pressed his claw down on the dying demon’s body, towering over him with overwhelming dominance.
“Leo Bosk. It seems you’ve lost your utility. Look—your Abyss master has abandoned you. Even your loyal hound is no longer worth saving.”
The Balor Fire Demon roared in defiance, struggling to rise. His voice cracked with fury.
“No! Jelrazaks-sama said I represent His will! I am immortal!”
The heart in Kai Xiusu’s claw pulsed violently—spewing thick, purple-black blood. Within it, flickering flames danced—ever-present Abyssal fire, the source of the Balor’s eternal burning.
But now, it was crushed in the grip of a red dragon.
“Don’t… you dare… kill me… I’m noble…”
“PANG!”
Kai Xiusu crushed the heart.
The demon’s body exploded into ash.
Normally, when a Balor Fire Demon died, its heart would detonate in a blinding flash—consuming everything within hundreds of meters.
But this time, the explosion was contained.
Kai Xiusu held it in his claw, absorbing the blast. Jagged, spiky beams of light shot from between his fingers.
Leo Bosk—former Duke of the Northlands, later Abyss Commander—was dead. No fanfare. No ripple.
“Tch. Pitiful Northern noble. Still so delusional. You always thought the world revolved around you. But really—you were just cannon fodder in someone else’s game.”
Kai Xiusu stared at the ash and dust slipping through his claws, shaking his head in disdain.
“Now… it’s your turn, Jelrazaks.”
The Red Dragon spread his wings, his expression turning solemn. His pale golden eyes burned with tension and anticipation.
Far away, the snow-covered mountains still stood tall—but now, the Abyssal energy swirled into massive, churning vortexes, each spanning kilometers. The sky darkened, nearly swallowing the mountains whole.
“ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!”
From the vortex came a cacophony of layered, chaotic roars—echoing through the mountains, shaking the very soul of all living things.
This was the power of the Abyss—the primordial chaos, the universe’s original void, the endless, devouring disorder.
Kai Xiusu narrowed his eyes. His expression grew heavier. A flicker of unease passed through him.
That… presence… Ancestral Dragon?
Yes. The aura.
He himself constantly emitted this aura of intimidation—every drop of his molten blood radiated it.
But now, this aura… it felt familiar. Older. Stronger. His aura, but amplified. It even carried a faint sensation of bloodline suppression.
This had never happened before. At his current rank, few dragons could provoke such a reaction.
Could it be—
Kai Xiusu’s pupils contracted sharply. A chilling suspicion surged through him.
“ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!”
The mountains shook. The heavens trembled. Another deafening roar echoed from the Abyss. Snow avalanches cascaded down the slopes, flooding the valleys in roaring torrents.
The sound struck deeper than ever—so intense it made even the Red Dragon snort, exhaling a plume of sulfur-scented smoke.
And under Kai Xiusu’s tense gaze, a massive, dark-red claw emerged from the Abyssal vortex, gripping the snowy peak.
Then, slowly, a colossal dragon’s head emerged—its back-tilted horns massive, its maw dripping with blood, its fangs sharp as blades. Its eyes—deep, black, and ancient—locked onto Kai Xiusu.
The form was unmistakable.
A Red Dragon.
The head alone was nearly twenty meters long—larger than most dragons’ entire bodies.
“SWISH—”
Then, the sky was torn apart. Wings—tattered, ragged, like torn cloth—unfurled into view. Cracks in them screamed with howling winds.
Behind them came a body like a mountain range—withered, skeletal flesh stretched over dark red scales. Black, red, and olive-green patterns formed jagged stripes across its hide.
There it stood—this monstrous Red Dragon, coiled atop the snow mountain, facing Kai Xiusu. Its eyes glowed with a sickly green light, its expression a twisted, mocking grin.
It spread its broken, sky-obstructing wings. A hurricane of Abyssal gales tore through the mountains. The dragon’s aura—overwhelming, suffocating—filled the earth.
This dragon was over 150 meters long.
Far beyond the physical limits of any Prime Material Plane Red Dragon.
Only the ancient Ancestral Dragons—created by the Nine-Faced Dragon God—had ever reached such a size.
Kai Xiusu inhaled sharply. His suspicion was confirmed.
This was Karex’s corpse.
Ten years ago, he had torn out Karex’s heart—but left the rest of the body behind. And now… Jelrazaks had used the remains as raw material to forge this colossal entity.
The dark-red dragon stared down at Kai Xiusu, its bloody maw parting in a low, rasping chuckle.
“Long time no see, Kai Xiusu. You’ve grown stronger. But it means nothing.”
Kai Xiusu sneered. He met the beast’s gaze without fear.
“Not bad, Abyss Lord. Jelrazaks. You’ve taken over a body like this.”
Jelrazaks grinned, showing teeth in mockery.
“You should thank me, my dear ‘ally,’ Kai Xiusu. Thousands of years ago, the gods sealed me using Karex’s true form—casting both of us into the edge of the Stellar Realm. Our powers balanced each other, consuming one another—trapped in eternal entanglement. And you, Red Dragon—your endless greed fed me.”
With a flick of his claw, Jelrazaks sent a tidal wave of snow and debris cascading down the mountain. The peak itself leaned sideways, collapsing with a thunderous boom.
The dark-red dragon let out a triumphant, guttural roar, breathing out intense heat and chaotic flames.
“Look, Kai Xiusu. I’ve taken Karex’s remnant body. I’ve absorbed every last bit of his strength. I’ve created this form—a body that should not exist in the Third Era.”
Kai Xiusu stared at the beast—over 150 meters long—his pale golden eyes flickering with restrained power.
Indeed, in any normal timeline, the gods would never allow such a dragon to exist in the Prime Material Plane.
In the original past life’s story, the real Kai Xiusu—after being defeated by the player—was likely absorbed by Jelrazaks, hiding in the Stellar Realm, waiting for the end.
Jelrazaks lowered his head, fixing Kai Xiusu with a piercing stare—as if trying to see through his body, into something hidden.
With a wave of his claw, he summoned a flood of chaotic energy from the sky. The mountains seemed to plunge into an endless abyss.
“Kai Xiusu… this was your fate. You could have had this power. But you refused my alliance. You rejected the Abyss’s call. So now… I’ll destroy you completely. Absorb Karex’s final strength. Become the true World-Destroying Dragon.”
The Red Dragon flared his wings, rising into the air. He unleashed a torrent of intense dragonfire, meeting the Abyss Dragon in midair.
“Aaargh! Jelrazaks! Your words are endless! Do you really think—seizing a broken corpse—can defeat me? I’ll shatter your fate with my own hands!”
Jelrazaks roared, unfurling wings that spanned hundreds of meters. His voice shook the world.
“ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!”
In the face of these two titans, the Anstica Mountains shivered like children. The sky screamed. The mountains groaned. Snow avalanches poured down in endless, roaring waves.
The world itself trembled beneath the clash of gods.
(End of Chapter)
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