Cassius lay in the palace, observing his chest with the [All-Seeing Eye]. The "Heart of Carix" was emitting a rhythmic glow with the steady beating of his heart, as if it had completely merged into his body.

He looked at the panel. The number representing the fusion progress was still increasing, but the speed had slowed down a lot.

[Your progress in absorbing [Heart of Karix]: 1.57%]
Cassius's expression was solemn.

Gods do not have completely free will. Their priesthood will affect their personalities to a certain extent. Even the third Mystra was affected by the residual influence of the original goddess of magic, and her personality was completely different from before, not to mention mortals like red dragons.

Faced with a being like Calix, whose status and bloodline far surpass his own, it is almost inevitable that Cassius will be affected.

If he had not realized the changes in his character, it is very likely that he would have subtly become the incarnation of the Dragon God of Destruction.

"Jezalslak."

He pronounced the name again.

Carefully recalling his experience in the Astral Prism, Cassius realized that the methods of this "vengeful demon" were far beyond his imagination.

At the moment when the remains of Karix reappeared in the world, his desire for power almost reached its peak. He even tried to steal the heart with the mentality of risking his life - but he actually had no urgent need to do so, he was just greedy for power.

"This is the influence of the will of the abyss."

"Become chaotic, violent, dominated by desire, even at all costs."

Cassius couldn't help but feel a little scared.

The demon lord had easily influenced his mind without him noticing. It seemed that there was a reason why "Cassius" in his previous life was deceived.

After all, that was a genuine baby dragon that had just left the nest. How could it defeat this old fox that had existed in the abyss for tens of thousands of years?

Cassius looked at his panel and stared at the sub-class of [Blood Scale Berserker].

This "barbarian" of dragons is extremely compatible with the characteristics of red dragons, and is a perfect match with the destructive power of Karix.

Every time he entered the state of "Blood Scale Fury", he would feel his heart beating faster and warm currents flowing through his body, and the progress of the fusion of the Heart of Karix was increasing rapidly.

He used to be obsessed with the pleasure of growing strength, and even became addicted to the feeling of fistfights and bloody fights.

But now, his mood was particularly heavy.

"Sure enough, it's another bait."

Cassius gave a wry smile.

From the moment he killed Coman, he had fallen into the trap of the demon of revenge. All the power he gained from it could become the poison that led to his downfall.

He once looked down on Coman, who was obsessed with revenge, but now he is vaguely heading down the same path.

The red dragon could still feel the power of chaos and destruction flowing through every blood vessel in his body, lurking in his strong body, waiting for the opportunity to burst out and destroy everything.

This is the curse shared by Karix, who is trapped in the Howling Tunnel, and Jezaslak, who is imprisoned in the Astral Plane.

Ordinary creatures have almost no resistance to a curse of this level.

If he lets it go, the situation will only get worse. When Karix's blood flows through his torso, limbs and even brain, the power of destruction will eventually devour him completely, turning him into a puppet dominated by the desire for destruction and influenced by the will of the abyss.

He can still maintain his sanity now, but by then he won't be able to control it by his own will alone.

Cassius exhaled white smoke with a sulfur smell. He lowered his head and stared at his slightly rising and falling chest. He seemed to see the amber-like blood crystal and muttered to himself:
"This situation must be ended as soon as possible." "At any cost."

In a remote side hall of the palace, the silver dragon collapsed to the ground helplessly, breathing weakly.

The restraints of the Dragon Binding Array have been partially released. Although there are still outer restrictions that she cannot break through, at least she has space to move freely.

Thinking back on what happened in the past few days, she felt it was extremely absurd and even more so, she felt endlessly wronged.

"Why exactly?"

Olivia looked confused and smiled bitterly.

If the scam had not been revealed, she might not be so desperate. At least she would have had a little false hope, barely deceiving herself and indulging in the beautiful dream she had woven.

But when the cruel reality was laid out before her eyes, she could no longer deceive herself.

The figure of the powerful Burning King gradually overlapped with the figure of the mysterious golden dragon Angel, which made her feel even more absurd about this world. It was like a huge joke played by the God of Fate on her, and her sanity was about to collapse.

But strangely, she did not feel the deep-rooted hatred towards the red dragon as she expected. Instead, she felt more confusion and puzzlement, as well as an extremely complex emotional and psychological dependence - this situation seems to be called Stockholm syndrome in a certain world.

The attachment to "Angel", the grievance of being deceived, the confusion and despair about the future were intertwined and entangled together, eventually forming this complex mood in Silver Dragon's mind.

"He could have killed me."

"But his personality is like a completely different dragon."

The red dragon's violent eyes that wanted to destroy everything appeared in Olivia's mind again.

This was completely different from the rational and wise "King of Ashes" Cassius in her memory, not to mention the kind and upright golden dragon Angel.

"Demon of the Abyss."

Olivia thought of the words the other person had repeated.

Yes, the demon of the abyss.

This chaotic and violent emotion, a state completely dominated by desire, is very similar to those demons from the bottomless abyss. Olivia had been to Avernus under the protection of her elders, and had seen the cruel and magnificent "blood battle" and those violent demons.

"Maybe he really has something to hide."

"It was even cursed by a certain abyss demon."

Olivia couldn't help but mutter to herself, a gleam in her blue-grey eyes.

After sorting out her confused thoughts, Olivia suddenly felt that the red dragon was not so hopeless, and was even somewhat helpless.

"I might be able to save him."

Olivia suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of mission, thinking that she might be able to help the other party get out of this chaotic and violent state, or even turn over a new leaf and come under the guidance of His Majesty Bahamut.

This is not only the salvation of the red dragon, but also the protection of all living beings in the entire main material plane.

You have to know that letting such an extremely powerful red dragon become the incarnation of the abyss is not only a disaster for the Anzeta Desert, but also a nightmare for all living beings, and even a disaster for the entire material world. (End of this chapter)