Chapter 497: Kaboom!

Cassius looked out at the swarm of approaching cultists.

A ocean of robes, flickering runes, and murderous eyes.

For a heartbeat, he thought about staying, about testing himself against all of them at once. His blood was boiling for it.

But then a sharp, pained gasp behind him shattered the thought.

He turned to see that Carmela was still kneeling, trembling, clutching her chest as if her ribs were about to break from the inside. The crimson glow in her eyes had dulled to agony.

"Damn it." He muttered, exhaling through his teeth. "So much for a glorious last stand."

He dropped to one knee beside her, extending a hand.

"Carmela, come on, we’re leaving."

But the moment he reached for her, she pushed him back with surprising force, glaring at him through clenched teeth, her pride refusing to let him touch her, even now.

"I know you don’t want me touching you, Carmela, but this is not the time for your pride." He groaned, his voice rising in frustration. "There are about a hundred of these maniacs coming straight for us with more spells than sense. And unless you plan on walking out yourself, you’d better let me carry you—or we’ll be dust before the next breath!"

Her eyes widened slightly as she saw the cultists closing in, dozens of glowing orbs already forming in the air, the hum of mana charging to deadly brilliance.

She hesitated—but only for a second as her arms dropped to her sides, her guard lowering in silent consent.

"Good." Cassius said quickly, and without waiting another heartbeat, he slipped his arms under her and lifted her in a princess carry.

The first thing he noticed and immediately regretted noticing was how soft she felt.

Despite her cold, deadly aura, her body was warm, light, unmistakably human. He caught himself thinking, ’She’s softer than she looks,’ before shaking it off with a curse.

’Not the time, Cassius. Not the time.’

"Hold on tight." He said, and then bolted.

The moment he moved, a volley of spells slammed into the spot where they had stood—

Boom! Boom! Boom

—fire, lightning, and raw energy exploding in a wave that shattered the stone beneath.

The entire chamber trembled, the shockwave chasing after them like a beast’s roar.

But Cassius was already gone, his speed blurring him through the narrow corridor, dust and embers curling in his wake.

He sprinted through the twisting tunnels, the echoes of pursuit following close behind. Cultists shouted, feet pounded, spells crackled and burst against the stone walls.

"Hold on bastard!"

"Don’t even try to escape!"

"You traitor!"

"Leave the ancestor with us!"

But Cassius didn’t look back. His focus stayed ahead, the path winding upward in the tunnel that Aisha had dug toward the exit.

He looked down briefly at Carmela as he ran. Her breathing was ragged; sweat gleamed on her forehead.

"Carmela, talk to me—what’s happening? What’s going on with you?"

Her voice trembled when she answered, her hand pressed over her heart.

"I...I don’t know. There are visions...flashes I can’t understand. And my heart...it feels like it’s burning. Every drop of blood in me is on fire..."

Cassius frowned but didn’t slow down.

"Just hang on. We’ll get you out first, then I’ll figure it out."

He kept running until the stale air of the tunnels finally gave way to the cool night breeze.

And the moment they stepped out into the open, he heard familiar voices shouting his name.

"Cassius!"

He turned his head to see Julie and Aisha running toward him, with Skadi not far behind.

"Master! You’re back! Finally!"

Skadi’s voice rang out with relief—before her expression twisted as she spotted who was in his arms.

"Wait, what’s wrong with her? Did that scary vampire lady try to attack you? Did you beat her up? Oh no, don’t tell me you’re bringing her back so you can ravage her in bed for revenge!"

Carmela let out a weak hiss, glaring daggers at Skadi.

Cassius sighed, too tired to respond to the nonsense.

Julie, however, wasn’t amused.

"What the hell, Cassius?! We were supposed to deal with the cultists together!"

She snapped, striding forward, her sword still in hand.

"You just vanished without saying a word! Do you know how worried we were? Even the kids didn’t know where you went!"

Aisha crossed her arms beside her, equally frustrated.

"Yeah! We had to piece together your cryptic ’I’ll be right back’ message from the children. Next time, maybe don’t disappear into a death cult’s lair alone!"

But even though he heard them complain, Cassius didn’t even slow down.

"Run." He said quickly.

"What?" Julie blinked.

"I said run. Now." His tone carried such gravity that even Skadi stopped mid-joke. "Everyone. Get as far away from this mountain as you can. Full speed."

Without waiting for them to argue, he broke into a sprint again, still carrying Carmela.

The other three exchanged bewildered looks for only a second before following.

As they raced through the valley, Cassius called out.

"Aisha! The kids—did you move them like I told you to?"

"Yes!" Aisha shouted back. "They’re up ahead, maybe two hundred meters! We kept them near the ridge, just like you said!"

"Good. Keep it that way." Cassius said.

His eyes then narrowed as they crested a small rise, where the group of frightened children were huddled together in the moonlight.

The moment they reached them, Cassius came to a halt and set Carmela down gently on the ground.

"Aisha..." He ordered sharply. "Raise a barrier—big enough to cover every child. Thick. Stone and soil. Make it a dome, nothing gets in or out."

Aisha’s hands were already moving before he finished.

"On it!" She said, her voice low as she muttered an incantation under her breath.

"Gaia Bastion: Aegis of the Earthmother!"

The earth beneath them rumbled, split, and rose—a great hemisphere of rock and dirt growing up around the children like a fortress.

"Good." Cassius said, then turned to Julie and Skadi. "You two—watch the skies. Once the barrier’s up, debris will start falling. Rocks, boulders, maybe even pieces of the damn mountain. Don’t let a single pebble touch the kids."

"Understood!" Julie drew her blade, its edge glowing faintly.

"Got it, Master!" Skadi yelled, planting her feet as her claws extended.

Cassius then exhaled slowly, turning his wrist. A faint metallic click echoed as he pressed on the strange device strapped around it, an intricate, rune-etched watch.

A sly smile crept across his lips.

"Five..." He murmured.

The ground beneath them began to tremble faintly.

"Four..."

A distant rumble echoed from deep within the mountain.

"Three..."

Pebbles began rolling down the slopes. The birds took flight, startled.

"Two..."

From the cave entrance in the distance, the first cultists emerged—shouting, desperate, still chasing after their fleeing prey.

They barely had time to register the sight of Cassius standing there before—

He grinned. "One."

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!

The world erupted.

A deafening roar split the night as the mountain convulsed, the ground shattering like glass.

A blinding flash of red-orange light burst from its core, followed by an explosion so vast it seemed to swallow the stars themselves.

The shockwave hit them seconds later, a wall of heat and sound that flattened the trees and sent dust flying for miles.

Cassius shielded his face, his coat whipping violently as the entire valley quaked.

And before them, the mountain—once a towering monolith of stone—was collapsing inward, folding on itself as if some unseen hand were crushing it from within.

Rocks the size of houses tore free and hurtled through the air, slamming into the earth with thunderous force.

Streams of molten fire burst from the fissures, lighting up the night sky like a second sun.

Carmela stared in stunned silence, the glow of the explosion reflected in her crimson eyes.

But it wasn’t just Carmela who were in disbelief by the sight before her—Julie, Skadi, and Aisha all stared wide-eyed at what was once a towering mountain now tearing itself apart.

The sheer magnitude of the implosion was almost beyond anything they could think off. Rocks the size of buildings shattered and tumbled down the slopes, sending shockwaves through the ground so powerful that the air itself seemed to split.

None of them had ever seen destruction on this scale—it felt like the world itself was ending.

But before they could even recover from the shock, the consequences of Cassius’s plan began to rain down on them.

Massive boulders and shards of stone came hurtling through the air like meteors, crashing toward them with terrifying speed.

Aisha immediately snapped out of her daze.

"The dome—! I need to reinforce it!" She shouted, slamming her palms to the ground.

The stone dome she had made around the children thickened and hardened, glowing faintly with magical veins of energy.

Julie was already in motion. With a single leap, she soared into the air, drawing her sword in a graceful arc.

A massive boulder the size of a wagon came crashing toward her—but she met it head-on, slicing clean through it.

Slice!

The rock split neatly into two halves, each slamming into the ground on either side of her.

Without pausing, she twisted midair, striking again and again, cutting apart the falling debris that threatened to crush the group.

Skadi, on the other hand, chose brute strength.

"Hah! Leave the rest to me!" She shouted, leaping forward.

Her kicks and punches met the incoming rocks with thunderous cracks—

Boom! Boom! Boom!

—each blow shattering the boulders into smaller fragments that rained harmlessly onto the ground.

Meanwhile, Cassius stood a few paces behind them, looking at the scene of carnage like he was seeing a show.

The entire mountain—the stronghold of the cult, the heart of their corruption—was being consumed by fire and stone. The explosion he’d orchestrated was annihilating every trace of it.

He chuckled softly, a sound barely audible over the chaos.

Carmela, still in his arms, finally tore her gaze from the collapsing mountain to look at him. Her lips parted, her eyes still wide with awe.

Cassius met her gaze, with a faint playful smile tugging at his lips.

"See?" He said lightly, as if he’d merely completed a simple errand. "I told you I’d eradicate them completely."

The wind howled around them, carrying the echoes of a mountain dying—and the weight of his words hung in the air, chilling and final.