The meteor blotted out the sky as it fell, trailing thick black smoke behind it.
And Aesselas, the green dragon directly in its path, had already fallen into the terrible space between life and death.
Although it was still far away, she could feel her heart tremble.
"I'll die!"
Time seemed to freeze around Aesselas. Her mind began frantically searching for a way out.
Her dragon scales and magical defenses clearly could not withstand this attack falling from the sky.
Nor could she use spatial magic or anything similar to leave this place. That sword-wielding woman had already used spatial slashes to completely disrupt the space within several hundred meters, creating a temporary dead zone for spatial magic.
The Level 9 spell she had mastered, Storm of Vengeance, was an offensive spell. It could only be used to attack, not defend.
Her Level 8 Antimagic Field could be used.
In theory, that spell could create a spherical antimagic zone around her body. Within that field, spells would fail, and the effects of summoned creatures and magical items would vanish.
But like most magic, the effect of this spell was closely tied to the caster. Antimagic Field was no exception. Most likely, it would still be unable to block Meteor Swarm.
The enemy she faced this time was the famous kingdom archmage, Eli Carlos, whose class level was as high as 19.
At that level, even as a true dragon, she had to admit she was inferior in technique.
And this spell cast by the King's Hand was not merely an ordinary Level 9 spell. Before casting it, he had received a special Wish from another Level 18 archbishop, and there was also a Level 17 sword professional assisting from the side.
There was every reason to believe this perfectly coordinated attack would not be inferior to a blow personally struck by a supreme Level 20 epic mage.
Every Level 20 professional, in an age where legends did not appear, could be called a superpower—practically a miracle walking the earth.
After judging in a flash that all her current strength could not stop this world-destroying Meteor Swarm, she began searching through her bloodline inheritance for a way to survive.
Bloodline curse?
There was no telling whether it would work. Even if it did, her corpse would probably already be cold by then.
Burning most of her vital blood to perform an unprecedented super-casting and forcefully resist this Meteor Swarm might be somewhat feasible. But even if it succeeded by some tiny chance, it would only delay things for a moment.
Afterward, her strength would rapidly fall, and she did not believe the human powerhouses before her would show mercy.
Incarnation spell? No. That would most likely be noticed too. Human mages would sense the abnormality at the soul level.
One scheme after another jumped through her mind, only to be erased by her just as quickly.
Before absolute power, many seemingly clever tricks lost all meaning.
Even if she could flee this place, the human powerhouses were all experienced and knowledgeable. Naturally, they would recognize that she had not truly died.
They would pursue her at extreme speed and then kill her in her weakened state.
What she wanted to find was a path to survival, not a way to die a little later in an even more miserable state.
If there really was no other way, then she could only…
Her thoughts drifted toward a great existence.
The Mother of Chromatic Dragons, Tiamat.
Although Tiamat could not directly intervene in this battle by force, as a deity who outwardly possessed only weak divine power but whose true strength was terrifyingly great, if She was willing to pay a sufficient price, She could probably save Aesselas.
But what price would Aesselas have to pay?
If she were reduced to a puppet vessel for Tiamat's descent, how would that be any different from death?
Even if it did not reach that point, she would probably lose control over a considerable portion of her own body. Though that, barely, was still acceptable.
No matter what, it was better than dying here.
Her heart fell into an agonizing struggle.
Some knowledge within her bloodline inheritance told her that becoming a puppet for Tiamat's descent was a fate more terrifying than death.
While she searched for a way to live, the burning meteor in the sky was closing in at terrifying speed.
That pitch-black falling star carried destructive force with it. Wherever it passed, the surrounding space froze instantly, on the verge of shattering.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The Green Dragon Queen Aesselas could hear her own heartbeat speeding up in pathetic panic.
Deep in her pupils, the meteor was rapidly growing larger.
Just as despair drove her to prepare to use her spiritual power to contact Tiamat, another thought suddenly leapt into her mind.
"Dilla! Are you still not going to act?"
"What benefit is there for you if I die here?!"
Her spiritual will erupted into a roar, spreading out in every direction.
On the distant battlefield, the first wave of monsters had already reached the walls and begun fighting humans at close range.
Both monsters and humans heard the voice of the Green Dragon Queen Aesselas. Since it was direct spiritual will, all creatures could instantly understand the meaning contained within it.
"Dilla? Who is that?"
The first thing that appeared in their minds was confusion.
They did not know where the voice came from, and even less did they understand what kind of being the voice was accusing.
Only Matthias Monroe, the guild president currently fighting the Rot-Wing Dragon Bat in the sky, felt a brief flicker of confusion in his heart. The name sounded faintly familiar.
The four human epic powerhouses in the sky naturally heard the voice as well.
Different expressions appeared on their faces.
Spellweaver Erich Zevier's face darkened.
The three powerhouses teleported from the royal capital remained relatively calm. Eli Carlos in particular had an indescribable composure, as though everything was still under control.
Archbishop Milo Dalton began quietly chanting something, a compassionate expression appearing on his face.
The red-haired sword-wielding woman, Mabel Burns, had already returned to Eli's side after unleashing her spatial slashes. Her expression remained cold and stern, but a hint of eagerness appeared in her bright eyes.
For ordinary people, someone in their sixties was already at an age to enjoy old age surrounded by children and grandchildren. But for an epic powerhouse, that was the prime of life.
And Mabel was a typical sword fanatic. Most of her life's energy had been poured into refining her sword skills and cultivation, so mentally, she was still very young.
The meteor in the sky continued falling rapidly, unaffected by the Green Dragon Queen Aesselas's will.
Although Aesselas had turned thoughts over and over in her mind, from the moment the meteor appeared, fell from above the atmosphere, and reached a point only dozens of kilometers above her head, only twenty-some seconds had passed.
Seeing that her roar had received no response, uncontrollable anger rose in Aesselas's heart.
She had just sensed traces of Dilla's will flickering. That proved her guess and intelligence were correct. This great demon had indeed quietly descended into the borderlands.
However, it seemed to have no intention of helping.
Seeing the meteor above grow closer and closer, soon to arrive directly overhead, she no longer had time to care about anything else.
"Dilla, I am willing to join the demon race!"
Her spiritual will spread outward once more.
If she did not receive a response this time, she would probably have no choice but to contact the Dragon Mother Tiamat.
Fortunately, perhaps this great demon named Dilla had indeed been waiting for Aesselas to fully hand over her bargaining chip.
Her spiritual will had only just spread out when a response came from above.
"The Demon King has approved Lady Aesselas the green dragon's application to join."
"Welcome as a member of the demon race."
After receiving the reply, Aesselas felt relief in her heart, but at the same time, she could not help feeling stifled with humiliation.
She knew this great demon had probably been watching everything from the beginning, using her life as leverage to force her into joining the demon race.
But she could not afford to gamble.
Whether dying here or becoming a puppet vessel for the Dragon Mother, either price was far worse than becoming a member of the demon race.
Of course, becoming a demon would also carry a price.
In fact, in the material world, the direct threat posed by the Demon King was far greater than that of Tiamat, who resided in a divine kingdom.
Once she agreed, she could not go back on it. Otherwise, the Demon King would make her pay a terrible price.
No, in truth, there was no need for the Demon King to act personally. This great demon named Dilla could easily take her life.
But no matter what, she should at least be able to survive.
"Hurry up and act! I'm about to die!"
The meteor above was far too scorching. Even someone as powerful as Aesselas no longer had the luxury of preserving her dignity.
On the battlefield below, a goblin lying among countless monster corpses suddenly began convulsing violently.
If Gauss, who had already fallen into slumber, were here, he would have been shocked to discover that the owner of this trembling body was none other than the elderly goblin he had met not long ago.
It seemed to realize it was about to die.
A bitter smile appeared on its face.
At the final moment of its life, it understood why it had existed at all—and why, despite its extremely low level of strength, its intelligence had far surpassed its kin.
Life had never held any miracles.
The unusual intelligence it had been proud of was merely because it had been a chess piece for another terrifying existence. A single trace of that being's power had given it a cleverness other goblins lacked.
And its miraculous escapes from death, as well as the sickness that had prevented it from advancing, had all come from that same source.
"I really am… pathetic."
Buzz!
An incomparably powerful force and will awakened deep within its body.
Almost instantly, its relatively firm will was crushed without mercy.
The great will known as "Dilla" used this seemingly weak body to complete its descent ritual.
Around the old goblin, countless corpses and the tissues of living beings began to melt. Together with vast amounts of natural mana, they rapidly poured into its body.
Within a radius of more than a dozen kilometers, every spellcaster discovered at that moment that their magic had failed.
Ongoing spells abruptly ended, and spells being prepared could no longer unfold.
"Dilla, Ninth Seat of the Demon Supreme Council."
In the sky, Eli Carlos murmured.
He looked at the flesh monster gathering below and showed no intention of interfering.
Dilla in the midst of its ritual could not be stopped.
Although the scene at the place of its descent was already terrifying to the naked eye, in environments beyond ordinary sight, its brutality far exceeded the understanding of common creatures.
The surrounding region had become a mana-dead zone. Any mana wandering outside had been drained dry in an instant.
Even if Eli Carlos interfered now, it would only accelerate Dilla's descent.
Or perhaps, even if they spent great effort interrupting it, the benefit would not be as great as one might imagine.
Who knew how many descent vessels these great demons possessed, allowing them to rapidly reach the battlefield?
Eli Carlos's thoughts could not help drifting back to the previous night.
Long before this plan had been finalized, they had already received information from a special channel.
The tendrils of a great demon with an official council seat had descended into the borderlands.
Every great demon of this level possessed power equivalent to a human legend.
However, there was a high chance the other party would not personally descend onto the main battlefield.
Sure enough, today Dilla had appeared before them in a descended body.
Descent magic was a special high-level magic created by the demon race based on the principles of divine incarnation. Only a small number of great demons could cast it.
Its greatest advantage was flexibility. And although a descended body was far weaker than the main body, it could still reach the level of a top-tier epic.
Even if it died, the risk and cost paid were relatively limited—at least insignificant compared to the danger of the main body appearing personally and being ambushed.
In an instant, the descended body of the great demon Dilla completed its arrival.
A pale, mucus-covered hand emerged from the abdomen of the original vessel. Then a humanoid monster about one meter ninety tall slowly stood up from within.
It quietly floated above the ground.
Judging only by appearance, it even looked ordinary.
A humanoid shape, with skin an unhealthy shade of pale.
But the strange scene that had just taken place caused the bodies of nearby humans and monsters alike to stiffen instinctively.
This was clearly a powerful being that could kill them with ease.
However, the descended body named "Dilla" clearly had little interest in these lower lifeforms, humans included.
It merely looked up at the meteor rapidly descending from the sky.
Then it reached upward with one hand and made a grasping motion.
The next instant, around the flaming meteor, a black energy cube formed in an instant, covering the meteor like a portable prison.
Countless pitch-black chains extended from the surface of the cube and stabbed into the meteor.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
The meteor's rapid descent visibly slowed.
Finally, it came to a complete stop three thousand meters above the green dragon's head.
That distance left Aesselas drenched in cold sweat.
For a meteor falling at full speed, three thousand meters was truly only the blink of an eye.
She knew that distance was most likely the result of the great demon Dilla's precise control. It had intentionally used this to intimidate her.
Even as a descended body, its strength far surpassed Aesselas's.
After completely imprisoning the meteor, Dilla, having finished its work, flickered and appeared beside the green dragon. Its gaze turned toward the human epic powerhouses.
However, its eyes did not settle on the strongest among them, the archmage Eli Carlos. Instead, they passed over him and landed on Mabel Burns, the lowest-level member of the teleported trio.
"I hear you received instruction from Lord Roland the Sword Saint in his later years?"
"You are a sword professional too? Will you become the next Hero?"
"You look so terrifying."
Its tone carried a trace of curiosity and teasing.
Clearly, Dilla's descent was not solely to save Aesselas. It had other purposes as well—for example, testing Mabel Burns, who had possibly received part of Sword Saint Roland's teachings.
Hero Roland had been a powerful human capable of standing against the Demon King. Every great demon regarded anything connected to him as a matter of the highest importance.
No one knew when the next Hero would appear.
Unfortunately, an invisible world rule of the highest order prevented the great demons from searching for the Hero's successor.