The true target of their focus was the source of the lethal cold that had invaded their world.
The white dragon opened its maw, straining to let out a roar.
Its frenzied eyes pierced Kai with a chilling gaze for a moment...
And then, the Cursed Devil clashed with the harrowing dweller of the fiery depths, sending ripples spreading through the sea of lava.
Kai did not see it, though.
He was slowly sinking into the depths of the earth by then. His consciousness was fading.
He had endured enough...
And then, the hue of the incandescent radiance that surrounded him changed subtly.
In place of harrowing agony, a soothing warmth enveloped his body.
The terrible burns covering it began to heal in pure white light.
Kai moved slightly.
He moved, and then pushed his body up.
Sunny studied Asterion, thinking about the battle ahead.
The battle... was not going to be an easy one, even with the three of them fighting the Dreamspawn at the same time.
That was because they couldn't kill him. Even if Cassie had succeeded in attaining natural Supremacy and all but wiped out the Hunger Domain, she could not erase the idea of him from existence entirely.
After all, if she did, then the three of them would not remember who Asterion was, and would therefore have no reason to kill him. There were beings out there who carried the idea of the Dreamspawn within them that were beyond her reach, as well. Like Eurys, for example, who had learned the name of Asterion from Sunny.
That was the reason why they had left Ananke behind aboard the Night Garden. She had no idea who Asterion was, after all, and keeping it that way was more important than having her aid in this fight.
So, they were not going to be able to kill him... which meant that they had to subdue him.
And subduing someone — let alone an exceedingly fearsome Supreme — was far more difficult than simply killing them. Still...
Sunny believed that they were going to win. In fact, he believed that this battle, albeit difficult, was nothing but a formality.
In truth, Asterion had already lost.
He had lost when he failed to kill Cassie before she became a Supreme.
And he had failed to kill her, choosing to rip out her eyes instead, because he wanted to devour her with the rest of humanity. He did not want to lose the sustenance of a powerful Saint's soul as he attempted Apotheosis in the future.
So, in the end... it was Asterion's greed that became his ruin.
Ironically enough, it was his insatiable hunger that doomed him.
Sunny smiled coldly.
Asterion studied the three Supremes that faced him, his gaze lingering a bit longer on Mordret.
Then, he turned to face Sunny.
Something dark and guarded surfaced for a moment in his golden eyes.
"The Tomb of Ariel... so that was where you were hiding. I see."
He must have already read Sunny's thoughts by now and learned the general outline of things that had transpired in the Tomb of Ariel.
That was why Asterion's facade of amused nonchalance had cracked for a moment. The Dreamspawn did not seem wary of Nephis or Mordret.
In truth, he wasn't even wary of Sunny.
...But he seemed to be wary of fate.
And now that Sunny was [Fated] again, Asterion finally felt a hint of apprehension. He inhaled deeply, and then faced them with a smile.
“I must admit, I am impressed. I did not expect that there was a way to stop me... not any kind of way that any of you would be able to use, at least.”
Asterion shook his head.
“Let us not drag this out, then. I have quite a mess to clean up after destroying you three... ah, how frustrating...”
A moment later, the desolate silence of the Glass Hell exploded into a furious litany of deafening thunderclaps. Its peace was destroyed, and only carnage reigned in the vast wasteland.