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The Dragon That Controls Catastrophes Chernobog / 9:30 AM / Weather: Cloudy / Catastrophe Status: None → Active Image: Catastrophe “Commander, we are picking up a signal matching a Catastrophe dead ahead.” “What do you mean, ‘matching’?” The district of Chernobog that Reunion had attacked first was now operating as a temporary military encampment.
The Ursus Third Army was currently stationed here.
Under normal circumstances, the Third Army would absolutely never have set foot inside Chernobog, but they had no other choice.
When The Black Snake transmitted Kai’s combat data to the Third Army via a proxy, the military brass panicked.
To ensure their conspiracy went off without a hitch, they had disguised themselves in Reunion garb, meticulously filed off every Ursus insignia on their weapons, and garrisoned themselves inside the city.
It was a pathetic disguise—the equivalent of burying their heads in the sand.
But as long as the war started and Ursus claimed victory, the Third Army would be hailed as heroes, and Yan wouldn’t dare interrogate the war criminals.
If they lost, the Third Army would be wiped out on the front lines as the vanguard anyway.
Whatever reparations Ursus had to pay after that had nothing to do with dead men.
Therefore, the Third Army only cared about one thing: they had to ensure the Black Snake’s plan succeeded.
If the war didn’t start and the Third Army was found sitting inside a hijacked city, they would face the Emperor’s direct wrath.
The fate awaiting them would be far worse than death.
“Commander, we have genuinely detected the fierce winds and fire storms of a Catastrophe dead ahead,” the soldier reported.
“You can see it directly from the city walls with binoculars.
But the strange thing is…
there isn’t a single trace of an Originium reaction within the Catastrophe.” “Take me there.” “Yes, sir.” The Commander quickly ascended to the roof of the tallest office building in the sector and raised a pair of specialized binoculars.
Just as the soldier had reported, Catastrophe clouds had already blanketed the horizon ahead.
It was the signature meteorological phenomenon of a Terran Catastrophe.
The moment those clouds formed, disaster was guaranteed.
Violent winds had already whipped into towering tornadoes, and torrential rain of fire was melting the earth into glowing red magma.
It was a Catastrophe, without a doubt.
And it was a super-massive one, fully capable of wiping a mobile city off the map.
“Can Chernobog steer around that zone?” the Commander demanded.
“Highly unlikely, sir.
With the engines running at maximum overdrive, we can’t make sharp turns.
Furthermore, we cannot stop.
If we halt the city now, the core engines will permanently seize up.
We won’t be able to restart them.” “…Deploy the Catastrophe Messengers immediately to assess the scale and project structural damage.
Order the engineering corps to build defensive fortifications.
We are going to punch straight through that Catastrophe!” “Yes, Commander!” Chernobog couldn’t stop.
For the Third Army, stopping meant facing the Emperor and his elite Emperor’s Blades, which was guaranteed death.
Charging through the Catastrophe was a gamble with a 10% survival rate.
In truth, the moment they set foot in Chernobog, the Third Army lost the right to choose.
Or rather, the moment they embraced the Black Snake’s conspiracy and betrayed their Emperor, they had already walked themselves onto a tightrope with no safety net.
….
“Closure, could you please get off me…?
Your camera is still recording.” Imagre: Closure “No!
No!
I’ll die!
Just looking at that monster makes me feel like my blood is freezing in my veins!” Closure wailed.
“Has it occurred to you that you are currently hugging that very same monster?” Kai sighed, shaking his head.
Behind him, the massive dragon that Closure kept calling a monster mirrored Kai’s exasperated expression.
Well, as much as a draconic face could.
It wasn’t quite as expressive due to biological limitations, but its eyes conveyed the exact same tired resignation as Kai’s.
“Alright, get down.
I’m going to draw the line now.” Although a terrifying Catastrophe was raging across the area, the hundred-meter radius around them remained completely untouched, deliberately suppressed by Kai’s will.
The violent gales reduced to a gentle breeze here, and the rain of fire dissolved into harmless, faintly warm sparks.
This was the divine domain of the Alatreon.
If he wished it, this apocalyptic storm could transform into a gentle, life-giving spring shower, turning a barren wasteland into a paradise.
“If you’re really that scared, go hide inside your Little Rhodes Island.” “O-okay.
Just be careful!
Don’t hit the Little Rhodes Island!
It’s really expensive!” “Got it.” Closure shakily climbed down from Kai.
It should have just been a matter of letting go and stepping back, but she somehow managed to make it look like she was cautiously descending a towering tree.
The second her feet hit the dirt, she exploded into the fastest sprint of her life and dove into her vehicle.
Perhaps the heavy, specialized armor plating of the car gave her a sense of security, because once the doors locked, she finally felt like she could breathe again.
Even in her terror, Closure didn’t forget her mission.
She rolled down the driver’s side window, extended a telescopic mounting pole, and aimed the high-definition camera directly at Kai and the colossal beast towering behind him.
Through the pristine lens, Closure finally took in the creature’s full glory.
“…It’s beautiful.” Yes, that was the first genuine reaction Closure had upon truly looking at the Alatreon she had just called a monster.
Even she didn’t quite understand why ‘beautiful’ was the word that came to mind.
She saw its vicious claws and wicked wings.
It was the culmination of thousands of terrors packed into a single form.
Yet, it was undeniably beautiful.
Kai didn’t care what Closure was thinking.
A draconic hum resonated across the wasteland.
It wasn’t a roar; it was simply the sound of the wind rushing through the dragon’s overlapping reverse scales as it took a deep, unrestrained breath.
Without any excess movement, every scale on the Alatreon shifted to a burning crimson the moment it prepared to strike.
It looked as though liquid magma was flowing directly beneath its skin.
The colossal beast behind Kai tilted its head upward slightly.
And then, Closure witnessed true destruction.
A beam of crimson light, intertwined with violently arcing lightning, carved across the earth.
No, ‘carved’ was an understatement.
It instantly birthed a magma trench two hundred kilometers long and five hundred meters wide.
Crimson electricity danced wildly across the boiling lava.
Kai didn’t know how long it took for natural surface magma to cool into volcanic rock, but he was fairly certain this trench—supercharged with dense Dragon-element energy—wouldn’t cool down for at least a century.
Looking at the devastation caused by a single breath attack, Kai immediately abandoned his plan to turn around and fire a second shot in the other direction.
The damage to the local topography was already extreme enough; there was no need to double it.
If Chernobog was suicidal enough to try and cross this blazing chasm, his next breath attack wouldn’t be aimed at the ground—it would core straight through the city itself.
“Alright, all done.
Let’s pack it up and head home.” Hearing Kai’s voice, Closure finally snapped out of her awestruck daze.
She followed the sound and saw Kai already lying perfectly flat in the passenger seat, exactly the same way he had been on the ride here.
“Ahahaha.” Seeing this, Closure couldn’t help but burst into genuine laughter.
Perhaps the sheer whiplash between the world-ending deity she had just witnessed and the guy quietly lying in her passenger seat caused her tightly strung nerves to snap.
Or perhaps she had finally realized that no matter how terrifyingly powerful the boy riding shotgun was, he would never hurt her.
“Take a look around,” Kai pointed out.
“How are we getting back?” “Oh.
Sorry.
Didn’t think about that…” “Hehe, just kidding!” Closure beamed.
“The Little Rhodes Island is my masterpiece!
As long as we don’t drive straight into the magma pool, we’ll be totally fine!
Little Rhodes Island, start your engines!”