Dragon King: Throne of Demons and Gods
Chapter 56: Ash and Frost

Chapter 56: Ash and Frost

Bel walked calmly with Cassandra and Lyraen across the frozen plain.

Their steps crunched softly against the snow, each breath leaving a small cloud behind.

Soon, they reached a wide, open area, quiet and vast.

Bel stopped, his eyes slowly rising to the air above them. A small smile touched his lips.

"I suggest you stop here."

The two women looked at him, confused for a second, then glanced around the snowy field. Cassandra narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah... don’t tell me twice, I can already feel it."

Lyraen nodded slowly, her tone uneasy.

"Guess you don’t need a healer here, huh...?"

Bel cracked his index with his thumb.

"You have no idea."

He stepped forward, calm and steady. His breath turned to cold mist as it escaped his lips, the frost hanging in the air.

The wide area was mostly hidden under the snow, but Bel didn’t need to see it. He knew, he felt it.

His red eyes glowed faintly.

Then, directly across from him, the mist parted just enough.

There it stood.

A massive white wolf, tall as a house, stood silent in the middle of the field. Its fur shimmered with frost, and its breath came out in thick, freezing clouds.

It stared directly at Bel, and Bel greeted it with a smile.

The beast let out a deep, thundering howl.

The sound shook the entire field. Snow blasted upward like an explosion, wind, and frost rushing like a storm. Lyraen and Cassandra stumbled back, throwing their arms over their faces.

"That’s a D rank Boss?!" Cassandra shouted.

"Stay low!" Lyraen warned.

The wolf didn’t wait. It launched forward with terrifying speed, crashing into the spot where Bel stood. The ice cracked and snow erupted like a wave.

But the beast didn’t land a hit.

It screamed.

Blood sprayed across the snow. Bel had already moved. In the blink of an eye, he crossed the beast’s body, a red trail marking his path. A deep slash ran across the wolf’s side.

The giant beast growled, eyes glowing with rage. It stomped, sending spikes of ice bursting from the ground. Bel dodged left, jumping into the air as another ice pillar shattered behind him.

The wolf roared again, its breath turning into a giant freezing blast. Bel spun through it, steam rising as cold hit his skin.

"Impressive..." he muttered.

The wolf leaped, trying to chomp down on him, but Bel slid under, leaving another slash on its leg. But even after several hits, the beast barely slowed down.

From above, icy meteors started falling. The wolf had summoned a storm. Stopping, Bel’s eyes focused on the spectacle above.

He exhaled a deep cold mist and gritted his teeth.

"Alright. Enough playing."

He clenched his fists, and his aura erupted.

Red and black flames exploded from his body, melting the snow around him in an instant. The sky above seemed to crack. The wind stopped.

His body shifted, growing taller, broader. His arms became covered in dark scales, claws forming at the tips. His eyes glowed like burning stars.

The transformation shook the battlefield.

The wolf stared, frozen for a second, as if recognizing the threat.

Bel’s voice echoed, deeper, sharper.

"Now... give me a real challenge."

Snow no longer touched him, cold meant nothing. He had become the apex predator of this land.

The flames swirled around him like a storm.

The white wolf snarled and charged again, snow and wind blasting behind it. It leapt with jaws wide open, frost trailing from its breath.

But Bel didn’t move back.

He raised one clawed hand and unleashed a massive beam of fire. The blast exploded in front of him, lighting up the whole field. The wolf was sent flying, its fur burning in streaks.

Ice and snow turned to steam in seconds.

Bel narrowed his eyes. His MP bar appeared before him:

[MP: 540 → 472 → 350 → 284] decreasing, but still enough.

"Good... let’s push more."

He took a breath, gathered his energy, and launched forward like a blazing meteor.

BOOM!

His punch landed straight on the wolf’s skull. The sound cracked the air. The giant beast stumbled back, howling in pain.

It roared, creating a massive wall of ice in panic.

The wall swallowed Bel whole.

Silence.

Then...

CRACK! BOOM!

The wall shattered into a thousand pieces as a wave of flame burst from within. Fire rushed straight onto the wolf, burning its fur, its skin, its hope.

Bel fell through the blaze with a wide smile.

Another explosion.

Flames swirled, spiraled, then swallowed them both.

[Burning Soul]

Bel’s aura erupted again, more intense than ever. The fire grew wilder, hungrier. It filled every inch of space. The snowy ground melted. The frost in the air turned into hot wind.

The white wolf howled and summoned its power in return. A massive blizzard exploded from its mouth, freezing the air, trying to push back the flames.

Fire and Ice.

They clashed in the center of the battlefield. The ground cracked. Steam burst into the sky. Fire melted the snow, ice hardened the flames.

Heat and cold danced together, molding the land into chaos. It was no longer just a fight, it was a war of nature between two masters of elements.

Bel grinned through the heat.

"This... is fun."

Through fire and ice, Bel and the white wolf clashed in a furious melee.

A slash from Bel. A stomp from the wolf. A beam of ice shot forward, Bel dodged, barely. He countered with a blast of fire that exploded on impact.

They collided again.

The wolf growled, biting at him, claws swinging. Bel twisted through, ducked, and struck.

Bel’s claw dug deep into the wolf’s nose. In that instant, he unleashed his pressure.

A powerful force burst from him like a shockwave, heavy, crushing.

The air twisted, and the beast’s body seemed to buckle under the weight. Like a blizzard of pure force tearing through its skin, the pressure rolled over it with a monstrous intensity.

[Abyssal Pressure Activated]

Target is affected by PRESSURE

-40% Attack

-40% Defense

-40% Speed

-40% Agility

The beast screamed, backing away, trying to shake him off. Bel landed on the ground, staring as the wolf staggered.

"What... was that?" he muttered.

He watched closely. The beast’s movements were sluggish now. Slower. Weaker. His attacks were actually working far better than before.

"Ah... the Pressure stat," he whispered. "It’s the Pressure... I can see the effects now?... So this is what happens when it works right. That’s... amazing!"

He wiped his mouth casually, eyes fixed on the wolf.

The beast raised its head, howling, and summoned another storm of ice.

Bel watched calmly.

"You’re not afraid, huh? Good on you, that’s fine. But game over."

He charged.

The wolf prepared its attack, but the instant Bel collided with it, everything stopped.

The energy gathering in its throat vanished. The breath, the storm, the howl, it was gone.

Bel’s claw pierced the wolf’s throat like paper.

The beast snapped its jaws to bite, but Bel moved.

Too fast.

He slashed again. And again. He vanished and reappeared across its body, claws tearing, fists slamming.

Each punch exploded, sending waves of flame and force through the beast’s massive frame.

[BURN]

Causes continuous damage over time, reducing HP by 3% per second for 10 seconds. Stacks up to three times. Weakens physical defenses of the affected target.

[POISON]

Reduces target’s HP by 5% per second for 5 seconds. Stacks up to 3 times. Each stack refreshes the duration.

The wolf staggered, then collapsed. Its limbs twitched. Its body trembled.

It couldn’t follow the fight anymore.

It was done.

Bel soared upward, then came crashing down.

His fist slammed into the wolf’s skull with a thunderous impact.

Then, with a twist, he used that same fist to push off the beast’s head, flipping lightly into the air.

He spun once, then landed with his palm on the wolf’s skull, and finally, the blast.

A massive torrent of fire erupted from his hand, covering the wolf, the battlefield, the sky above.

The flames danced wildly, wrapping the entire area in a furnace of destruction.

The battle was over.