Chapter 217: Dragon Madness Spell
Cassius narrowed his eyes, linking his consciousness to the Dragon Eye.
Suddenly, a vision appeared—Tinia's white dragon head emerged from the void, spewing an icy breath.
"It's on the left."
He preemptively unleashed his flames in that direction, followed by a claw swipe that created a shimmering claw-shaped field.
The white dragon head had just appeared when it was scorched by the fire and then raked by three deep claw marks, blood splattering everywhere.
The red dragon immediately folded his wings and swooped in, ghost-like, trying to grab the monster's true body, but the creature quickly vanished back into the void, leaving him grasping at air.
Wagner's wandering voice echoed throughout the tower.
"Red dragon, do you know why I call myself the Dragon Mad Black Mage?"
However, Cassius made no meaningless response.
He was focusing all his energy into his lungs, preparing to unleash a full-force breath attack and kill Wagner the next time he showed himself.
When there was no reply, Wagner didn't get upset; he simply continued talking to himself. His voice seemed to come from everywhere, making it impossible for Cassius to pinpoint his location.
"Once, I had already yielded to fate. I no longer wanted to resist, just to live safely under the shadow of dragons. Haha, what a... joke."
"But... the red dragon we served suddenly went mad! It spewed fire, killed everyone at the Dragon Cult's ceremony, and swallowed Katherine whole right in front of me. I barely escaped with magic."
"After escaping, I went mad, collecting ancient secrets, even exploring ruins thousands of years old. Eventually, I discovered the so-called Dragon Madness Spell in a tome from the previous era."
Cassius's expression twisted suddenly.
Dragon Madness Spell.
This was the tool said to have ended the reign of dragons.
Tens of thousands of years ago, before the reign of giants and their wars with the elves, dragons ruled over all lesser races as they pleased. The elves, particularly dissatisfied with being enslaved by dragons, sought a way to escape their oppression.
After years of secret research and debates over cost and risk in the cold north, the elves developed the Dragon Madness Spell, the most powerful permanent masterpiece of elven high magic.
The Dragon Madness Spell turned all dragons into reckless beasts on their lands, slaughtering their own offspring and servants, leaving only destruction in their wake, and thus played a key role in ending dragon rule.
This "Dragon Madness" recurred every few decades or even centuries and seemed linked to the influence of the "King-Slaying Star" in the night sky.
"How dare you use such forbidden power! Are you not afraid of the gods' wrath?"
The red dragon immediately gnashed his teeth.
The situation was spinning out of control. The Dragon Madness Spell was god-tier magic—being tainted by even a shred of it would spell doom for him.
He finally understood why Wagner had become so deranged. Just studying such a forbidden force meant that retaining some semblance of sanity was already fortunate.
Still, Wagner's voice continued.
"You're afraid, Cassius. Heh, to begin everything with a red dragon and to end it with a red dragon—it fits nicely."
"Dragons, greedy and lazy creatures, are born with immense strength. Their fangs and claws can shred mortals with ease, their fiery breath can destroy cities effortlessly, and they even wield mysterious spellcasting powers."
"And you, Tiamat's favored child, are no exception. Since you were a hatchling, I have watched you, seeing you grow into a giant in just ten short years. Some of your abilities, even I cannot fully comprehend."
"But... why?"
The voice suddenly jumped an octave, becoming passionate.
"Why can you change my fate on a whim?"
"Why should I be content to be your slave, just because I was captured by the Dragon Cult?"
"They all say I'm mad, but I know I'm not. I've spent a century's worth of effort, even throwing my own daughter into the mix, just to rival and surpass you all, to become greater than the Dragon Gods."
Eventually, Wagner's voice turned into a manic laugh, overlapping with dragon roars and countless agonized wails.
The intense magical surge caused the ground to tremble.
Within the thirty levels of the Polar Night Demon Tower, monsters roared in unison, their blood infused with dragon veins. Grotesque limbs were transported by an invisible force field and joined the monster's body in the void.
Amid the rumbling, the spire's peak suddenly opened like a blooming flower, revealing the endless black night sky.
This was Wagner's ninth-tier spell—
[King-Slaying Star Phantasm]
In the dark sky, a red comet appeared, resembling a malicious eye—the phantasm of the King-Slaying Star.
It seemed to respond to Wagner's call, growing more solid and faintly glowing red, as if gazing disdainfully at the dragon below.
Wagner had only tapped into a tiny fraction of the Dragon Madness Spell's power, yet it overwhelmed Cassius with its oppressive force.
At this moment, the spire's peak seemed like an altar.
Bathed in moonlight, the monster finally revealed its true form.
It no longer resembled its original self but had incorporated more draconic limbs. Five white dragon heads were arranged at its top, hundreds of limbs stretched out, and six pairs of wings adorned its sides, supporting its massive frame. Twelve slender, diverse tails extended like vines.
Wagner's human head was embedded in the chest, creating an eerie harmony overall.
The five-headed dragon abomination had been just a failed prototype; this was his ultimate experiment—himself.
A twisted monster crafted in Tiamat's image, forged over a century, at the cost of countless lives, including five genuine white dragons, and the combined power of the entire Polar Night Demon Tower.
"What a pity, if I had that white dragon, I could have had six heads, surpassing Tiamat."
"But that's alright. Now... there's also you."
The dragon heads and human head all spoke simultaneously, voices overlapping. Six pairs of eyes fixed directly on Cassius, filled with boundless fervor, shrouded faintly in a reddish mist.
"Join me in the madness of dragons!"
Sanity swiftly vanished, leaving only a desire to destroy everything else.
"Roar—"
All the dragon heads let out a furious roar.
Cassius tried to avoid looking at the increasingly solid red star in the sky.
But that ancient power, which had raged for millennia, inevitably influenced his mind, making him more reckless and anxious.
He struggled to fortify his mental barriers, striving to retain his sanity.
"The spell is not yet complete. Once the phantasm fully forms, even I will fall into madness. I must kill Wagner before the spell is complete."
"And during this time..."
"I cannot afford to take any damage."
According to his inherited memories, if a dragon was injured while under the influence of the Dragon Madness, it would descend into utter frenzy, biting and clawing without end until either it or its opponent was dead.
With that in mind, Cassius flapped his wings and quickly ascended high into the sky, looking down upon the massive monster occupying most of the spire's peak.