Chapter 151: The Earth Resists
Paris was dying in an apocalyptic inferno, an infernal symphony where each scarlet flame licked the millennial monuments with devouring obscenity. The air itself seemed putrefied by the acrid smoke rising from the still-smoldering rubble, mixing the smell of burnt limestone with the more terrible odor of charred flesh. The gargoyles of Notre-Dame, miraculously spared, contemplated with their stone eyes the apocalypse that devoured the City of Light, transforming centuries of human history into an incandescent charnel house where the echoes of the last death cries still resonated.
At the summit of the Montparnasse Tower, spared by a strategic calculation of refined cruelty to serve as an improvised command post, stood a silhouette that embodied death itself. Vaerath was not simply a dragon; he was an avatar of destruction forged in the primordial flames of interdimensional wars. His blood-red scales, as large as knight’s shields, were inlaid with black veins that pulsed faintly, living scars from a thousand battles. Each mark engraved in his chitinous carapace told the story of a civilization reduced to ashes, of an exterminated species, of a conquered world.
His imposing stature dominated the space, his four-meter height in humanoid form betraying only an infinitesimal part of his true nature. His arms, thick as century-old tree trunks, ended in hands with obsidian claws capable of lacerating steel. His face, a terrifying fusion between human and reptilian features, bore eyes that were two golden braziers in which infernal flames danced. These vertical pupils, split like those of a primordial serpent, knew neither pity nor remorse.
The dark steel armor that girded his massive torso was adorned with ancient draconic runes, symbols of power engraved in metal forged in the forges of his native world. At the center of this breastplate was embedded a communication stone, a purple crystal that pulsed with malevolent magical energy.
- "Immediate situation report, all units!" His voice was a telluric rumble that seemed to emanate from the depths of the earth itself, amplified by the magic stone until it became a sonic shock wave that made the still-intact windows of the tower tremble.
The first response crackled immediately in the crystal, clear and metallic despite the ambient tumult:
- "East Unit operational and victorious. We have secured all strategic zones of the capital. The human hunters are in complete rout. Their bodies litter the streets from Belleville to Ménilmontant. The civilian resistance pockets have been crushed without mercy."
A second voice followed, tinged with cruel satisfaction:
- "West Unit reporting complete. The Defense and Versailles sectors are under our absolute control. The Palace of Versailles is still burning. The resistance pockets were minor and have been annihilated. We have taken prisoner a few A-rank hunters for interrogation before execution."
Vaerath clenched his massive fist, his sharp claws dangerously grazing his scaly palm until drops of golden blood beaded. A cruel smile stretched his lips, revealing yellowed fangs as long as daggers.
- "Excellent work, my faithful warriors. The time has come to proceed to the next phase of our conquest: strategic dispersion across the entire French territory."