It was time for the final blow, the strike that would end this battle and smash the Blood God into oblivion.
“Hang on tight,” I said to Yumo-Rezu.
And then, we dived.
We hurtled earthward with such speed that flames started spontaneously burning around the dragon’s head, limbs, and wings. I had to call up a Death shield around us to avoid being burned to a crisp by our speed. We were like a falling star, plummeting from the heavens. We blasted through the clouds, and I saw the ground rushing toward us. Below us, my party were making their last stand, their backs pressed against the incoming ocean waves on the beach as Blood Demons surrounded them. When they spotted me and Yumo-Rezu atop the dragon, they all cheered.
We sped toward the Blood God with single-minded intent, rushing across the battlefield in a blur of speed and power. Black flame poured from the dragon’s mouth, and I charged my entire body with every ounce of Death magic I could muster as collision loomed.
Then, with fire blasting from the dragon’s mouth, we smashed into the town-sized monstrosity.
There was an immense explosion, an eruption of unimaginable force, like hundreds of volcanoes all blowing their tops at once. A shockwave rocketed across the battlefield, hurling everyone to the ground—even the huge Jotunn—with its force.
For a moment, the entire world was plunged into complete blackness, but when I angled the dragon up into the sky after smashing directly into the Blood God, light returned. I glanced over my shoulder, with the wind howling against me, and saw a huge cloud of blood drizzling down over the battlefield.
The sky was no longer red. Every Blood Demon had fallen to the ground and was writhing in agony, red steam rising from their bodies. In the ocean, my kraken hurled the Demogorgon’s severed head out of the waves, and it landed in the midst of the writhing Blood Demons with a heavy thud, crushing a few dozen of them.
There was only one thing left to do now.
I turned the dragon around and swooped down low over my party.
“Your crystalline tear!” I yelled to the Lord of Light as we approached.
He flung it up, and I caught it as we swooped over them. I looped the dragon gracefully in the air, then flew over the remains of the Blood Pyramid. In its core, a single tiny goblet of blood, forged of some magical scarlet metal, still glowed with power—the last remaining essence of the Blood God.
“Suck on this!” I yelled. As we flew over it, I dropped the tear into the goblet of blood.
Another shockwave blasted across the land, and then the goblet crumpled up. A vortex formed in the center of the ruins of the Blood Pyramid, sucking everything into it. I heard a thousand screams of horrific agony echoing from the swirling vortex, and Elandriel’s was loudest of all. All of the Blood Demons’ bodies were sucked off the battlefield, and they too disappeared screaming into the void.
Finally, the portal to whatever hell the Blood Demon and his followers had been sucked into closed.
Nothing remained of the Blood God, his pyramid, or his demons but empty, harmless ruins.
I had defeated Elandriel and the Blood God and destroyed their legacy forever.
It was all finally over.
And now I had a reward to claim. So, before I landed the dragon and celebrated our victory with my party and the surviving civilians of Luminescent Spires, I sent my spirit to the Black Plane. My body pulsed with anticipation as I stared up at the Gray Sentinel.
“My crown,” I whispered as I gazed at the object I would now claim.
My heart pounding in my chest, I climbed the Gray Sentinel and plucked the glowing bone crown from the very top of the tree.
I placed it on my head, Immediately, I was filled with unlimited power, knowledge, and wisdom.
This was it.
I, Vance Chauzec, was now ruler of all the gods.
Epilogue
A year had passed since the day I’d destroyed the Blood God, and Yumo-Rezu had come to visit me in my palace at Brakith, which was now the capital city of all of Prand, since nothing remained of Luminescent Spires but rubble. After the Battle of the Blood Pyramid, Yumo-Rezu had departed on a year-long solo trip, wishing to see the rest of the world, and now her travels were over.
“It’s wonderful to see you again, God of Gods,” she said, addressing me by my official title and bowing before me in my great hall.
I sat on my Bone Throne, which was constructed from the skull of one of the Demogorgons,and inlaid with intricate gold artwork.
“Stand, Yumo-Rezu,” I said. “I may be ruler of the gods now, but you don’t need to bow down before me.”
A lustful glint sparkled in her beautiful almond eyes. “There are other ways in which I’d like to worship you, Vance, ways I’m sure you won’t have any objection to.”
I chuckled. “You can do all the worshiping you want when we’re alone,” I said with a wink.
“I can’t wait. But first, why don’t you take me around your city? This is the only place in Prand I have not yet visited, and what better way to end my worldwide travels than here?”
“I’d love to show you around. Come on, let’s take a stroll.”
As I stood up from the throne, the huge wooden doors at the end of the hall swung open and Rollar walked in. He was dressed in his majestic battle armor. He strode down the long gray carpet that led to the throne and bowed before me and Yumo-Rezu.
“Dragon Goddess, and God of Gods, I salute you both,” he said.
“How did the army fare against the cultists in the south?” I asked him.
“We wiped them out with ease,” said Rollar, who was now commander of my army. “I came to report that our campaign against
