Asura Conqueror

Both Emily and Erika had worried looks on their faces.

Not only was Erika worried, but she also felt guilty, as she was the one who sent Zoey here. They might not have been close, but she still felt bad and slightly blames herself for the events that happened.

Emily held Erika's hand as they watched the pool made of dragon's blood.

"She will be fine, I'm sure of it." Emily smiled.

"I'm sorry, this is all my fault." Erika turned to Emily. "If I didn't send her here, she wouldn't have been in this situation."

Emily shook her head. "It wasn't your fault. If you didn't send Zoey inside the stone, she might have been killed by the naga."

Erika slowly nodded, slight guilt still remained in her eyes.

The two ladies then proceeded to go towards Eva, who was standing in front of a cauldron near the blood pool. Nexus also stood near her.

Marcus sat by the blood pool, his eyes staring at the red liquid, but it seemed as if he's looking at something far away.

----

The past. 

In a realm, higher than the heavenly realm. 

Under a red-themed palace.

A man with vermilion-colored hair stood in front of a large being, a dragon.

The vermilion-haired man looked tiny compared to the being in front of him.

The man, Marcus, wore a vermilion plated armor, its edges designed with gold. He wasn't the least bit afraid of the dragon in front of him. Instead, his eyes were full of concern.

"How are you feeling?" The Lord of Destruction asked one of his closest friends.

The dragon lightly chuckled, a female voice then sounded. "I told you already, didn't I? It is only a matter of time before I will leave this world."

The dragon, Lazula, was one of the few beings that Marcus called a friend. 

She had two dark horns on her head, her whole body was blood red, but at the bottom part of her figure, there were silver-colored streaks. She was one large dragon, her height alone when standing up reached around 3000 meters. However, right now she shrunk herself. She could also turn into a human, but she wasn't in the mood to do so right now.

"There is a way to revive you." Marcus forcefully spoke.

Lazula shook her dragon head. "It is not that easy. I would also have to start as an egg, and would not retain my memories until I grow up, if I get to grow up."

Dragons like her have to be well taken care of at a young age. It is just as everyone says,

'An emperor or empress was once a defenseless child.'

"That sounds simple." Marcus scoffed. He felt confident that he could do the task as Lazula already told him how to accomplish it.

Lazula chuckled. Her large red eyes gazed at Marcus. "You are welcome to try after I die."

That doused Marcus' mood. He clenched his fists as he said. "I'm going to the nether realm, take down the nether emperor, and take revenge. I'll make sure to make him suffer!"

Lazula sighed, hot air came out of her nostrils. She didn't try to stop Marcus, as she knew that nothing could change Marcus' from storming the nether.

"You should be careful, he isn't an easy opponent." She was a bit stronger than Marcus, not to mention older, which means she knew more about the beings in the multiple realms here.

Marcus nodded. He walked closer and hugged the dragon's snout.

Lazula looked at him. The powerful Divine Conqueror who now looks vulnerable. 

She chuckled and said. "My time is near, you should go."

Marcus nodded. "I will be seeing you soon, I'll find the right candidate to take your legacy and revive you."

Lazula nodded. "I know you will."

---

Inside the Stone of Destruction.

Marcus stood up, did a long sigh, and walked towards the others.

One thing he didn't tell them was that he wasn't only worried about Zoey, but he was worried about the whole thing failing, as this can only be done one time. This is the only chance Lazula can be revived.

Marcus, who was now standing before Emily and Erika, hugged them.

"How was your training a while ago?" Marcus asked.

"I am still trying to get used to this body, but overall it was good." Emily spoke first. 

"I, on the other hand, didn't really get to do much." Erika dropped her head.

Marcus smiled. "That's fine, you were fighting against Commander Stage experts weren't you not?"

Erika nodded.

"You just need to raise your cultivation, and you'll be able to wipe out every enemy you're going to have here in the mortal realm." Marcus held their hands and looked back to the pool.

"I sent Zoey here." Erika softly spoke.

Marcus nodded. "I know, Nexus told me."

Erika turned her head. "You're not mad?"

Marcus chuckled. "Why would I be mad? Is there a reason for me to be mad?"

"She's now bathing in Lazula's blood because of me." Erika still felt guilty.

Marcus let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her waist. He pulled her closer and said. "You did the right thing, so don't beat yourself up, okay?"

Erika slowly nodded as she looked into Marcus' vermilion eyes.

----

Inside the chamber.

The naga, kappas, and siyokoy were all chattering. Their voices were loud and most were panicking.

"What do you think they are going to do to us?" Kogo asked as he sat in the corner of his cell.

Koga, who stood by the bars, spoke. "I don't know, but we should prepare for the worst."

Kogo sighed as he remembered the events that happened recently. "Are we really that weak? We were beaten to the ground and that human was hardly injured."

Koga didn't answer. He silently stood there watching the other creatures in their cells.

"Should we try to escape?" Kogo already started healing his body.

Koga shook his head. "I don't think there is any way out of this place."

Kogo dropped back down. He was exhausted from the fight, both physically and mentaly. 

In another cell, three male nagas sat together.

"Are we going to wait for our deaths like this?" Iko spoke, his wounds have yet to heal.

After being captured they were immediately thrown here, they didn't know where this place is but they could see hundreds of their brethren locked up.

"Do you think he was serious?" Ralma spoke lifelessly looking at the ground.

Ergetse turned his head. "About what?"

"About turning us into soup." Ralma softly said.

Iko shivered. 

Ergetse lightly chuckled. "There is no stopping him from doing such a thing."

Ralma punched the ground with his right hand. "Humans! We would have been happily living in this world if it weren't for them."

Ergetse sighed. "We are actually quite lucky. The scouts that we sent to other worlds reported that other races were enslaved by the humans, we on the other hand only have to live alongside them with a few skirmishes from time to time."

In another cell, two female nagas sat beside each other. One of the two was crying.

Diabel, who was in the arms of Arielina, cried. She wasn't ready to die yet. Her talents were superb and she knew that she had a bright future ahead of her.

"Shhh," Arielina tried to calm the crying naga in her arms. "If they wanted to kill us, they would have done so by now, but look, they are keeping us all alive. They must have a different purpose. We still have a chance to escape."

She herself knew that there was no escape, but for the sake of comforting Diabel, she lied.

----

Zoey sprawled on the ground, her body covered with cuts and bruises. Parts of her clothes were torn, freeing her left boob.

Zoey tried to stand up, blood flowed down from her nose and mouth. It has been hours since she left the lush green forest.

Her legs slowly moved after gaining a bit of balance. She looked in front of her and all she could see was a pathway made of dead trees and plants. Skeletal birds perched up the dead branches intently looking at her.

Zoey didn't even turn her head. Her legs just kept moving forward.

"Congratulations, I never expected you to pass the fourth trial, for a second there I thought you were going to die." The woman in red appeared. She now stood in front of Zoey. 

"Is it over?" Zoey was told that the pool was important to Marcus.

The woman in red, Lazula, told her that Marcus would be devastated if she wouldn't be able to finish all the trials.

Lazula was, of course, not lying about this. What she said was a fact. Marcus promised to bring her back, and she knew how Marcus hates breaking his promises, from all the years she has known him, he would always try his hardest to fulfill one.