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"Hmm."

The silver-haired girl barely covered herself with a blanket, but large swathes of her snowy skin were still visible, the thin fabric outlining her graceful figure, everything faintly discernible.

After several days of studying spells, Olivia was nearly exhausted. She had never imagined that researching magic could be this tiring—it felt as though she had been through a harrowing battle.

However, "Angel," who had been studying alongside her, seemed just as energetic as ever, as if he would never tire.

"Aren’t you ever tired?"

Olivia turned her head to gaze at the man’s profile, showing a playful look of complaint.

Despite the unexpected nature of this experience, she felt particularly at ease and satisfied. It meant they could experience more things together, fulfill all her dreams, perhaps even find a happiness far greater than the "Scales of Promise" story.

That "fellow researcher" also turned to look at her, and a flash of red light flickered in his golden eyes.

Olivia suddenly shivered.

She sensed something vaguely fierce in his gaze.

—Just like the abyssal demons she had once seen, or those rampaging pure-blooded Red Dragons. This was not the gaze of an upright and kind Golden Dragon.

"Is this an illusion?"

Olivia furrowed her delicate eyebrows, thinking to herself.

"Angel" smiled again, his gaze intent on Olivia: "We dragons are born magical creatures. Researching magic in human form always feels a bit constrained."

"Professor Olivia, why don’t we continue our research in our true forms?"

Olivia buried her previous doubts deep in her heart.

She laughed and threw a pillow at him from the bed, pretending to be annoyed: "This is a tavern, such a cramped place. Do you want to destroy it?"

But she didn’t expect "Angel" to answer with a cold expression, softly saying:

"This place isn’t cramped at all, Olivia. It’s spacious enough for anything we wish to do."

"Angel, what are you talking about?"

A chill suddenly rose from the bottom of Olivia’s heart.

The silver-haired girl looked around in bewilderment; at some point, she had reverted to her Silver Dragon form.

—The cozy room, the soft bed, the flickering candlelight had all vanished like a bubble. Instead, there was a towering dome, cold walls, and thick iron columns. She had never left the palace all along.

The young man before her, with his black hair and golden eyes, revealed his true form. As flashes of magical light flickered, the enormous Red Dragon—more than thirty meters long, as massive as a hill—stood before her, its spread wings enveloping her completely.

The Silver Dragon stiffly raised her head, seeing the filthy, foul-smelling black energy hovering above, greedily devouring the light and her fleeting thoughts.

She recognized that spell.

It was an extremely malicious eighth-circle spell—[Mind of the Labyrinth], capable of trapping the target’s mind and creating a maze of illusions to bewilder them.

"No."

"Impossible."

Olivia felt as though she had fallen into an icy abyss. She shook her head constantly, refusing to accept any of it.

All those warm dreams, the beautiful hopes were shattered, replaced by a more complete and desperate destruction.

Despairing tears welled up in the Silver Dragon’s eyes. She summoned the last of her courage, her voice hoarse as she asked:

"Where is Angel?"

"What did you do to him?"

Cassius walked slowly to the Silver Dragon, lowering his head and whispering in her ear:

"The silver coffin of Trifa Chapel, the corner of Fatri Hall, the waterfall south of Argul Forest, and the bookshelf in the Witch’s Veil Tavern."

Olivia was instantly thunderstruck, her face filled with disbelief.

These were all her most private memories, shared only in whispers with Angel. No one else could have known, yet this Ember King could recite every detail so precisely.

A terrible realization took root in Olivia’s mind, but she still refused to believe it.

The Red Dragon casually exhaled sulfurous white smoke: "Olivia, I told you long ago, once you knew the truth, you would only feel like a complete joke."

"There never was any Angel—the only one who has ever existed is Cassius."

He stared at the Silver Dragon, speaking each word slowly and clearly.

Olivia collapsed onto the ground, exhausted, her blue-gray eyes filled with bewilderment.

The last hope she had clung to now turned into the sharpest dagger thrust into her heart—what was she supposed to do now?

"Why..."

"Why are you doing this?"

After a long silence, Olivia spoke in a low voice.

Her voice sounded like a feeble inquiry, or perhaps a desperate wail.

But Cassius gave no response, merely speaking coldly: "Come, we still have plenty of time."

"We can enjoy it slowly..."

The Silver Dragon, imprisoned for months and utterly exhausted from days of spell research, could do nothing against the absolute physical strength of the Red Dragon. She had no power to resist as he continued to impose his will upon her.

This time, the research was more intense, like a raging storm, with scorching energy surging through her body, thick smoke swirling around them.

Cassius stared at the slender neck of the Silver Dragon.

A sudden, overwhelming desire welled up inside him, something far beyond mere physical pleasure—an urge to vent it completely.

"Tear it apart! Destroy everything!"

It felt like a raging voice echoed within him.

Could it be his inner thoughts?

Cassius didn’t notice that his faint golden eyes were bloodshot, filled with an endless desire for destruction, saliva dripping from his mouth, his sharp claws extending.

Olivia suddenly felt an immense sense of danger—an instinctive fear of utter chaos and the unknown.

For the first time, she was terrified.

The Silver Dragon used her last bit of strength to struggle, kicking with her limbs, flapping her wings, but her claws only left faint white marks on his scales.

Cassius gripped her neck with his powerful arm, almost pinning her entirely beneath him, veins bulging on his arm, his strength growing.

In a life-threatening moment, the Silver Dragon bit towards his arm, but even her sharp fangs couldn’t pierce through the Red Dragon’s outermost defenses.

What was a desperate struggle for her was nothing more than an insignificant, futile resistance to Cassius—not even enough to itch.

The Silver Dragon was already on the brink of death.

Everything seemed to be coming to an end.

Olivia stubbornly looked at the Red Dragon, summoning her last ounce of courage, and said with all her might,

"No!"

"This is the essence of you chromatic dragons—Tiamat’s filthy offspring!"

"Right now, you’re just a beast driven by desire, a demon from the Abyss! All living beings will despise you! A creature like you will ultimately be destroyed by the gods!"

Perhaps sensing her life slipping away, she cursed him recklessly, no longer holding anything back.

"Abyssal demon."

Cassius murmured.

"Abyssal demon."

He repeated again, his massive body trembling slightly.

Flames burned in his eyes, then extinguished. He stood still, as if fighting an invisible enemy.

Endless roars echoed from the void, invisible heat spreading, causing the air to ripple, even the ground trembled violently.

Eventually, everything began to calm. Cassius opened his eyes once again, the bloodshot veins fading.

No one had dared speak out against the mighty Red Dragon before—not even his most trusted subordinate, Langpu. Yet now, the Silver Dragon’s insults had unintentionally provided him with a reminder.

It was an insignificant clue, but precious nonetheless.

Cassius had been wandering in a fog, but this reminder finally provided a hint of light, allowing him to escape before he was completely engulfed.

Cassius finally realized it all.

The clarity returned to his gaze. He understood now, his eyes filled with shock and anger, though not directed at Olivia.

"Damn it, it was Jezal Slak!"

"He must have tampered with the Heart of Karrikex! That destructive divine power and Abyssal consciousness must have affected my mind!"

Cassius thought, feeling a pang of fear.

The wild, destructive desire in his eyes gradually faded.

Reflecting on recent events, he had acted recklessly, driven by desire, even entertaining absurd thoughts of "destroying the world."

He had come dangerously close to becoming an avatar of destruction, even a replacement for Karrikex—an extension of Abyssal consciousness.

Had that happened, he would have certainly become an enemy of the gods, losing his sense of self—something he absolutely did not want to see.

He could still feel the dreadful influence lingering, waiting for an opportunity to seize control and turn him into a chaotic destroyer.

Those savage blood vessels still lay beneath his skin, that chaotic fire still hidden within, eroding his reason, waiting to resurface and bring the deepest chaos.

He might need to find a way.

To solve this issue—or rather, this... curse.

Yes, a curse. To Cassius, it seemed like a curse akin to draconic madness, something that could influence his mind without him even realizing it, and interrupting its progression was nearly impossible.

Now, this curse was far from lifted; it could invade Cassius’s consciousness at any time. But at least he could actively suppress it, seek a solution, rather than being reduced to a beast ruled by desire.

With that thought, he looked deeply at Olivia.

"Thank you."

"I will reduce the restrictions of the Dragon Binding Formation."

"You will be free to move about the palace."

Finally, under Olivia’s shocked gaze, Cassius spread his massive wings and turned, leaving the palace.