Betelgeuse had to say… He felt a little useless.
Well, in the conventional sense, he'd done more than enough. Summoning all the Demons attacking the United Army, even after the major blow to his daily summons of summoning the Beast Bastard, which he barely managed to do alone due to being provided with a special item that allowed him to summon a creature not included in his available summons once, was, after all, more than enough.
And considering the target he could have attacked was two Titania Commanders, three if one counted Echidna as an individual rather than an extension of Miia, plus the Archon and the Lord of Greed, Betelgeuse certainly wasn't needed. However, he was in reserve. Just as expected of him in this situation. There was no other option, after all.
But in the sense of being in reserve, he was, gloriously, at Her Majesty's side. Waiting... For 'Him'.
And as they were already informed, to Her Majesty's strange silence, although she had clearly already anticipated everything~ The Dragon Lords were making their moves. First, the Dragon Lord of Brightness with the United Army, something that caught the Commanders and the Lord of Greed off guard, but Her Majesty was able to quickly counter it thanks to Betelgeuse.
The Argland Army was supported by the Dragon Lord of the Sword. And while it would be nice to be able to take him down using the power of, for example, Achernar and Alucard, perhaps supported by the Suryt army, including Siegfried of course, and the MUTOs. Or in the most exaggerated of cases, Hadeusdon.
All for the possibility of taking down the aforementioned Dragon Lord. But since they couldn't confirm that he was different from Platinum and his armor wasn't remotely controlled, they also couldn't expose the true nature of Deorum Regnum or anything else with it. On the other hand, all the remaining Evil Lords, namely Lust, Sloth, and Envy…
After that, there was only one point left to worry about… The Deorum Regnum Army, which might be visited by Catastrophe, or by 'Riku' himself…
And that's why Her Majesty and Achernar were on standby, waiting for one of the two to appear to 'support' Deorum Regnum led by Alucard. It was previously led by Bulldoger, but for some reason, Bulldoger was recalled and sent to the United Army.
That was the original idea, anyway.
Some might call it wisdom, clairvoyance, intelligence so immense as to eclipse all the geniuses in the world… And whoever made the decision to evacuate Sheol Castle in time to prevent everyone within it from being disintegrated only saw it as the greatest of all good fortunes…
"… I'M NOT SURE IF BACHELORY COULD HIMSELF AGAINST THAT THING WHILE LIMITED TO THE FORM OF GHOST…" The terrifying, majestic, raspy voice worthy of a monster echoed off the cold walls of the remote bunker just below the shore of the Re-Estize Sea, or rather, the Demon Empire.
Betelgeuse, in total silence, simply observed Her Majesty's divine form, examining the scene through a Remote Viewing Mirror.
"BETELGEUSE." She called.
"Tell me, Your Majesty." The Demiurge listened attentively.
"YOU WILL FIGHT SIDE BY SIDE WITH BACHELORY… ACHERNAR, YOU TOO." The Demon snarled from the side, speaking to the completely natural shadow in the dark room.
However, said shadow deformed, revealing the kneeling figure of Titania's Commander.
"Do you wish me to bring you back alive or dead?" Achernar asked on her knees.
"HM~ SINCE WHEN DID YOU LIKE THE IDEA OF BRINGING THEM BACK ALIVE~?" The Komodo Demon laughed with a terrifying lipless grin, sounding like a rusty, angry engine about to explode instead of laughter.
Achernar raised his gaze slightly, staring into those demonic eyes.
"It's not my style. But when I look into your supreme eyes, I see the hatred you wishes to unleash upon your enemies." Achernar exclaimed, lowering his head again.
"FU~ CERTAINLY~ HOWEVER, WITH AN OPPONENT LIKE THIS… I WILL NOT ALLOW SOMETHING SO RISKY. IF IT'S POSSIBLE AND EASY TO DO, BRING HIM BACK ALIVE. BUT THAT IS A TERTIARY PRIORITY ABOVE ALL. YOUR DUTY WILL BE TO KILL THE DRAGON LORD OF CATASTROPHE, ACHERNAR. SEE IT AS YOUR SMALL REVENGE AGAINST THAT BLACK LIZARD WHO HURT BLACK ABYSS." The monster hissed, truly looking like an abomination from the deepest, blackest abyss.
"As you wish, Supreme Komodo." Achernar blurted out, also sounding like a hiss. He seemed to be smiling beneath his black scarf.
"GO. I'LL DEAL WITH THE PLATINUM DRAGON LORD IF HE DARES APPEAR." She ordered. "[MESSAGE], EYESIGHT. OPEN [GATE] FOR THEM TWO TO BACHELORY." She called.
And a second later, another kaleidoscopic portal opened in front of the group, while the massive portal transporting the newly summoned Demons remained unchanged.
Certainly, Eyesight had a massive amount of mana.
"I WOULD WISH THEM LUCK. BUT I AM QUITE CONFIDENT OF THEIR VICTORY." Komodo smiled… No, Don't-Say-My-Name.
"I'll make sure they only get good news." Achernar exclaimed before disappearing from his presence, the portal showing a slight ripple, as if someone had passed to the other side.
"My Lady, with Your permission, I withdraw to destroy Your enemies." Betelgeuse said, bowing to Dont.
"I EXPECT NO LESS, BETELGEUSE~ LAST TIME YOU DIDN'T HAVE YOUR PROPER REVENGE AGAINST THAT EEL, BUT NOW YOU COULD BRING BACK THE DRAGON LORDS~" The Demon Queen hummed.
Betelgeuse remained silent, smiling broadly under his hood.
"I thank you for this opportunity, Your Majesty~ I will bring no disgrace to Your name~" The Devil swore, before advancing toward the portal, disappearing into it before it closed. Dont hummed, about to move on to continue examining the Deorum Regnum army in anticipation of Tsaindorcus Vaison's appearance…
But there was no need.
(S-Supreme…) A timid and somewhat… Frightened voice spoke to her mind after she accepted the [Message].
(Eyesight, what's wrong?) Her more normal voice answered through the connection.
(R-Riku… No, the Platinum Dragon Lord… He's with the Supreme Black Abyss…) The timid, frightened, and somewhat… Poisonous voice explained.
(...Take me there.) She ordered.
(Y-Yes!) The Gorgon said instantly.
[Gate] opened in front of Dont…
It was time for Komodo to pay the white rat a visit after a long time.
…
Hundreds of Demons charged with claws, teeth, and swords toward the non-human beings, tearing them apart in the initial charge due to their superior equipment, but were driven back to a more level playing field by the Demihumans' great strength.
Added to this, a silver flash snaked through the ranks of Demons, slicing through armor and tough hides like air, disintegrating hundreds more Demons into ash in a single instant.
And on the other hand, lightning bolts of intense power shot into the sky, wiping out dozens of Wyverns and other flying Demons, while the enchanted spear of the owner of such a breath easily slaughtered the Demons as if they were children instead of bloodthirsty warriors unafraid of death. A dragon knight supported his army, slaughtering the giant Demons, with great help from his companion, who used crossbows, explosives, and any weapon at hand to kill Demons, even if he had to use his bare hands.
The strongest of the surviving Children of Tomorrow fought in great synchronicity, with the Sword Dragon Lord massively lightening his load by destroying hundreds of Demons in seconds or with a single swing of his sword.
Meanwhile, the remaining Children of Tomorrow, no longer protected, charged the Demon army, both on the ground and in the air, simply mowing down dozens of Demons piecemeal. Some struggled more than others, and some less, but they still killed the legendary Demons capable of destroying cities on their own.
The Dragon Lords' army charged valiantly, their morale revitalized, against the evil monsters who had snatched their leader from them. At this rate, victory was nothing short of assured.
At least that was what they thought at the time.
For a moment later… From the horizon empty of Demons, as they all charged like beasts hungry for death against the entire Argland army, pentagrams burned on the ground, opening portals of flame that… Brought more Demons.
"What the hell!?" Maravalka snarled, watching the increase of at least 100 more Demons to slay, along with another giant Demon that roared violently.
"Something is summoning them here!?" Kaigalke clicked his tongue, brandishing his sword and slashing at the heel of one of the Giant Demons that had just ripped off the arm of a Mountain Giant.
"The summoner must be destroyed in that case." Lekotar declared confidently, throwing a throwing knife at the visor of an infantry Demon, before said knife exploded, transforming into a spear to pierce the knee of a Knight Demon that tried to flank him, using his armored fist to crush its head.
"I'll go." Silver suddenly muttered through the mental channel that opened between the four.
"Uncle?!" Keigalke shouted, not quite knowing what to say to that. He trusted the power of the Dragon Lord of the Sword. But...
"Don't worry. I'll be back," the knight reassured, causing a storm of slashes around him and slicing several Demons into dozens of pieces.
"Be careful." Lekotar said. "We don't know if they'll be Elite Demons."
"Don't worry. We already took out one of their strongest weapons, and it wasn't really a problem beyond its durability and speed." O'Lysandyx dismissed.
"Ha… We'll take care of keeping these things at bay." The lancer sighed before charging his breath and electrocuting a group of Demonic Wyverns that were about to pounce on the Eagle Men, wanting to reverse the order of prey and hunter.
"Really~? And you think it'll work~?" A familiar voice interrupted Maravalka's next action.
He, feeling a slight shudder at the memory of what the owner of that voice did to his brothers, quickly slashed back with his spear.
Instead, his weapon only severed the head of a Demon Knight, while the Evil Lord of Lust looked on, standing on the back of a massive Hellhound.
"It's been a while, little dragons~" The beautiful voice hummed.
"Y-You…" The Half-Dragon stuttered, gripping his spear.
(A Demon General is standing before me.)
As soon as she communicated this, Lust lost her smile, ducking, narrowly avoiding the blade of Silver's sword, which appeared in a flash.
Afterwards, the Evil Lord disappeared in a flash, before Silver swung his sword back, cleaving the demonic dog in two.
"Wow~ Looks like you have a more imposing shepherd than the last one~" The seductive voice joked from behind Lekotar this time, causing the red Lizardman-like Dragonoid to quickly turn around, throwing ninja stars made from the Obsidian Dragon Lord's scales.
But Lust only manifested a black whip covered in silver thorns, and masterfully blocked each projectile.
"And what are you~? A jack-of-all-trades~? Fufu~" The Lord of Lust hummed, before having to disappear again with [Teleportation] to avoid Silver's sword connecting with her neck.
"She's fast." the Dragon Lord growled.
"Tch, not again…" Kaigalke gasped.
"[Full Mind Darkness]." An unpleasant voice, more like the cawing of a crow with a venomous and jealous voice, echoed from the distance, causing Kaigalke to look towards it… And instead, see only black.
She took a step back, feeling absolute silence around him as he stopped seeing, feeling… Smelling…
He knew where he was… He believed… Did he move a few steps, or a few meters? W-What…?
"Uncle!? Maravalka!? Lekotar!?" He screamed, getting no response even through the mental connection… "What is this!?" He hissed, swinging his sword haphazardly.
He couldn't feel if he hit anything, couldn't feel anything. He only knew that he had moved his sword.
Suddenly, though, he was pushed down by something, something he couldn't feel or see.
"Agh! What's this?! I can't see anything!" He roared.
And a moment later, everything became clear, regaining his vision and hearing as Lekotar stood over him, two empty potion vials in his hands.
The red Dragonoid stood up, looking in one direction.
There... Another woman stood, behind dozens of Infernal Protectors, and even two Infernal Squires and an Infernal Hero.
Her skin was as pale as a corpse, dressed in a manner... Quite small, with a black jacket barely covering her chest and a cloth covering her navel, down to black mini-shorts with underwear visible by the two strings at her hips. Her body was, indeed, seductive. Black leather boots with belts reaching mid-thigh, with blue decorations on her thighs, black feathers on her ankles, and a mass of black feathers down her lower back, as if mimicking a raven's tail. Her back, on the other hand, displayed white bone-like spikes, while silver hooks dug into her shoulders and chest, disturbingly. Her arms were covered in single black sleeves with belts up to her wrists, feathers and all, revealing her long, slender fingers with black nails.
And finally… The evidence of her nature. Her neck had another belt, while black feathers began to sprout from below, leading to the eyeless raven's head, which only had a blue belt trying to keep its mouth shut.
[Evil Lord of Envy PNG]
"Ah, yes~ Envy is quite good at her job~" The seductive voice purred in amusement as she used her whip to deflect Silver's sword by a centimeter, avoiding the loss of an arm, then quickly retreated as the armor slashed toward an illusion of Lust.
"[Reduce Perception] [Reduce Speed] [Reduce Precision]" The voice came from the Evil Lord of Envy through the small opening of his mouth, pointing at the Dragon Lord.
"Grrr." He growled, disappearing after leaping with massive power toward Envy, though he was noticeably slower than before.
Only to be blocked in his path by Infernal Protectors.
Silver sliced through the shield wall like nothing, however, his sword, while killing them, didn't pass through them, leaving the next wall of Hell Protectors ready to block the next attack.
And at the same time, the Dragon Lord clicked his tongue at the slight stinging sensation on his body, as if someone had struck him with a target, trying to cut him. It hurt a little... No, quite a bit, in fact, he almost felt his scales being marked by the nonexistent blow.
"[Rule of Three] [Triple Call] [Rule of Two] [Summon Low-Mid Demon: Infernal Protector]" A muffled voice, as if barely staying awake after weeks without a wink of sleep, was heard from Envy's side, with an Infernal Shielder moving to the side, revealing the… Thing.
It was, for lack of definition, simply unpleasant to look at.
It was human-like, in a way, at least from what could be superficially seen of its head, with two sunken, empty, sad eyes, a crooked nose, and a circular mouth filled with needle-like teeth, like the mouth of a leech, while parts of its head were split open like a red skull. But not all of its flesh seemed to be simply made of some different, yet organic, gray and white material, as if it came from some nasty insect.
Although its head wasn't the tallest part of the creature, that would be its hump, showing its nasty vertebrae like twisted rocks, while endless ribs visible through the gnawed, porous flesh, as if rotten or half-eaten by flies and maggots, descended crookedly to below its head, almost surrounding it like a necklace, the sharp ribs forming a series of crooked teeth instead of a stomach, barely giving way to the two large grandparents on its sides that elongated into thin bones, with spines sprouting from the flesh like metal parasites, on both its arms and back, with said arms divided into three sections, forming almost mantis-like claws, although more like sticks with nails trying to be. Finally, the rest of his torso was an elongated tube of flesh leading to a bony pelvis from which sprouted two thin chicken legs, so to speak, ending in root-like tendrils.
[Evil Lord of Gluttony PNG]
The disgusting, tired thing chanted, causing 18 pentagrams to appear in front of him, with Hell Protectors emerging almost at the same moment another group of five of those were shattered by Silver with a single slash.
"[Hold Species]." Envy hissed, causing the Dragon Lord to freeze. It was for a mere instant, not even a full second… The difference in level, coupled with Silver's resistance to being a higher level compared to Envy's magical power due to her lower level, was barely enough to render him immobile for a mere tenth of a second.
And in that mere instant, Lust's whip latched onto Silver's foot, pulling him up and whipping him swiftly against the Hell Hero's ready fist, causing the armor to slam hard into the ground, sinking it into a crater. Although the power of a mere Infernal Hero wouldn't be enough to truly incapacitate the Dragon Lord for long.
Even with his reduced speed, the Infernal Hero wasn't able to detect him easily, quickly receiving a punch to the face, followed by a deep cut in his demonic flesh.
"[Lustful Thoughts]~" chanted Lust.
In that moment, even if it was, again, for less than a second, Silver's thoughts delved into a completely different area of the situation, focused on Envy's torso instead of examining the point he was about to attack.
In response, the crow woman chanted again.
"[Greater Malediction: Schizophrenia], [Drowsy Senses], [Grand Malediction: Familiar Suffering]."
Faced with the unfamiliar spells, Silver blinked. The disadvantages of not acting like Platinum, and instead being in character in his armor.
He saw an incoming attack from Lust's right, a punch... From her?
Taking advantage of such a stupid action, Silver moved, swinging his sword at full speed. However, despite doing so, his sword only sliced through the air, for when he looked back, there was no one there... And anyway, by the time he reacted, his sword took a few milliseconds longer to move. Or rather, it took him longer to realize the attack, and longer to move his sword.
An unpleasant shriek filled his ears as he swung his sword toward the murky shadow that appeared in front of him, shattering it as if... it were an illusion.
The shriek grew louder, more familiar.
"What…?" He muttered, avoiding a blow too late, only for it to do nothing to him, for it didn't exist. A roar came from behind him, but there was nothing. A whiplash did hit him in the back, that was real, but looking back, he had to block a blow that didn't exist. "S-Selkara…?" He muttered, listening to the… Painful ancient scream, the likes of which he hadn't heard for hundreds of years.
"What's wrong with Uncle?" Lekotar muttered, slamming a heavy axe into a Demon's face and quickly withdrawing it to leap back and avoid a dozen fire arrows from archers in the distance, which were quickly destroyed by Maravalka in a flash.
"Hey! Old Man! React! We can't take on the Demon Generals alone!" The black-scaled dragon growled, starting to get scared by how Silver wasn't reacting, only lashing out at nothing, sometimes at random Demons, yelling someone's name while seeming to hear nothing, slowly getting slower as Lust attacked him from his blind spots with her whip and Infernal Protectors slowly approached him, with strange Demons placing their cavalry lances between their shields.
"Looks like his knight in shining armor is a little dizzy~" Lust mocked, before looking at the deformed thing next to Envy. "Dear Sloth~ Wouldn't you want to give the little dragonets more entertainment~?" The woman hummed.
Sloth just panted, releasing a mummy-like puff of dusty smoke, with an exhausted heaviness, as if he'd been exploited his entire life and hadn't slept a single minute.
Dozens upon dozens of Demons began to appear at Sloth's command, with Envy casting more nasty spells at Silver. Many didn't do much, and others had a lesser effect than they should have, but they were still piling up…
But O'Lysandyx began to get angry.
"Gahhhhh! [Wild Magic: World Knighthood]!" The Sword Dragon Lord roared violently, a brilliant aura covering him as an intense pressure surrounded him. Such was the pressure that Lust was pushed back, and the Demons near the armor were nearly sent flying, with Sword acting almost like a beacon of light in the reddish darkness of the demonic land.
His mind cleared, his body no longer so heavy and sluggish. All the curses and debuffs on him were cleansed.
"Hm… Perhaps we should call for reinforcements. Envy murmured softly to Sloth.
"... Who… Should… We… Call…?" The cloudy and deformed Demon asked tiredly.
The raven woman remained silent, watching as Sword took up his weapon, disintegrating the Infernal Hero in an instant after pushing his sword aside in a combination of attacks that easily overwhelmed the level 60 Demon, with Lust stepping back to have better range to dodge any attacks while the Dragon Lord quickly looked at her.
…
Soldiers ran in panic or in order, it didn't matter. They all retreated under the absolute orders of their Commanders.
They didn't even look back at the Demon army pursuing them with weapons raised, barely able to stop them with explosives and brave soldiers who stayed behind. Even with the collateral damage from the hero battle behind them, no one could stand up to the mad and wrathful Black Scripture with Demons supporting them.
The Archon Part 2 roared, firing his powerful breath of Demonic energy at Bulldoger. However, he was carried by Echidna like a fighter jet, avoiding the beam, which flew past him and almost hit Golden.
The Commander roared, being thrown by the flying armor at high speed, colliding with the Dragon's throat.
And instead of tearing the slender neck apart with claws and brute force, the Commander simply grabbed the throat firmly and slammed the Archon into the ground. The beast roared violently, feigning pain, even though the damage it received was minimal…
It was a true piece of theater. The Archon missed all of its attacks, and Bulldoger and Echidna caused no real damage.
The only losses were the B.A.F.W. and the temporal Demons that were destroyed as collateral.
And speaking of Demons…
Greed spat out another broken tooth, blocking Dorado's fist with his scythe. A loud metallic sound echoed from the impact, sending the Evil Lord stumbling back a few meters from the sheer power of the blow. But the armor didn't allow him an inch of distance, moving forward to follow up with another blow, which the Demon barely managed to block with his weapon.
"That's all~!? Haha~! Talk about bragging!" The Dragon Lord laughed, feinting, gripping the weapon firmly, and directing a missile-like punch over the Lord of Greed's guard.
Golden barely managed to block, releasing his scythe with one hand and putting his forearm in the middle of the blow.
The sound of bone breaking rang out, but Greed just grunted, slapping Golden with his broken arm as best he could.
Golden didn't even bother to block, but the impact was a little more than he expected, sending him flying a few meters before he recovered, planting his feet on the broken and ashen ground.
"Ugh... I'm going to have to clean this armor if you hit me with that broken and destroyed arm... How about I take it out for you?" Golden blurted out, before launching himself at Greed again. The Dragon Lord now understood something, this fight would never end if he kept attacking him in this way. He had to tear off all of his limbs, and then finish off that Demon by ripping out his heart and cutting off his head... "[Wild Magic: Huntdown]!" At his words, Golden disappeared from Greed's vision, who was suddenly thrown backward by an enormous force, losing all feeling in his still-functioning arm.
Falling about 30 meters away, he instantly got up and looked at Golden where he had been before. Only this time, the golden armor held Greed's severed arm in its clutches…
"Tch… [Aspect of the Demon: Midas Hand]," the Demon clicked his tongue, the stump of his severed arm twisting murkily. Suddenly, a thin arm made of black flesh with shining golden veins emerged, with enormous claws of pure gold while bright yellow symbols covered the palm. "[Payday] [Power of the Poor] [Serpent Greed]." He chanted the skills, covering himself in different auras, while firmly gripping his scythe with his normal hand. Golden just seemed to snort, throwing his arm to the side as he assumed a combat stance, ready to leap toward his target.
However…
(N-New orders from H-Her Majesty… With the united a-army withdrawn… Everyone will prioritize the Brightness Dragon Lord over any a-acts…) A certain Gorgon's voice echoed in unison in the minds of the important figures present, of course, minus the golden armor.
That…
"Hm… Ha~" Greed blurted out, causing Golden to look at him, tilting his head slightly.
"What~? Have you already resigned~? It would be wise for a Demon like you~" Dorado said with a mocking tone.
"No~ I am only honored to be able to see Her Majesty's direct servants finally being able to act~ Oh~ And seeing your fear and pain will be more than delightful~" The Lord of Evil hummed with a wide smile.
"Are you talking about Komodo?" Golden growled, clenching his fists. "Do you really think you stand a chance against all of us? The only ones who'll be reduced to rats are you—G-Guh!?" The Brightness Dragon Lord stumbled over his words, feeling a sharp pain suddenly in his chest, piercing through his armor, flesh, and skin like nothing.
He looked down, seeing the solid light construct like an arrow protruding from his chest.
"... What…?" He blinked, looking behind him…
"Target hit with 100% accuracy." Kuudere's monotonous voice murmured coldly, bow in hand as, despite the dirt and 'wounds', she began to draw the weapon again. "With this damage, it'll only withstand 7 direct hits." She muttered to the armor floating beside her, firing another arrow at Golden, who could barely move his head from the path of the shot, instead taking the attack on his shoulder, knocking him back with enormous force, at which point Greed stopped him with his spectral arm.
"Didn't I tell you~!? Now tremble~!" He shouted in pure delight, before throwing Golden into the sky, a target for the Commander, who fired again at Brightness.
And before the Dragon Lord could react...
"ROOOAAAHHHHHH!" The violent roar of war, like a tiger pouncing on its prey, was heard, with Golden being rammed by Bulldoger's full force, serving as protection against the impact as he crashed headlong into the ground.
The trail they left behind wasn't small. First, they caused another crater, and then they lengthened it until the thrust finally stopped.
But Bulldoger didn't stop with just one lunge. With his sharp claws, he began to violently slash and tear at Golden like a wild beast, before leaping back when the Dragon Lord finally attempted a counterattack, failing, dizzy from Miia's negative motion sickness arrow before the charge.
But the armor wasn't given a break either, with hundreds of B.A.F.W.s, having switched their target from the Demons to the Dragon Lord, pounced on Brightness, biting, scratching, and slashing, nonstop at dozens of attacks per second.
Bulldoger, along with the B.A.F.W.s, launched himself at the fallen Dragon Lord, his powerful claws striking and scratching at him with his much greater strength. At one point, the Commander delivered a powerful bite to the armor, causing it to leap forward with all its might, a deafening sound of metallic rupture echoing around the area. Bulldoger fell to the ground with a golden gauntlet in his mouth.
The Tiger Man retreated with a nimble leap to his feet, allowing Echidna's roll-spear to replace him. The violent hurricane surrounding said weapon focused on the armor amidst the biological weapons. Two cannons appeared from each shoulder of the Mecha, firing their two selected spells, Plasma Ray and Psycho Ray, striking the Dragon Lord squarely through the pile of B.A.F.W.s.
Afterwards, Echidna had to retreat, an intense golden light shining among all the monstrous black beings, exploding violently and sending each one flying. Not long after, they rained down like dead birds, though they weren't dead. Most of them, at least. "GRAAAAAAAAAAH! DAMN SONS OF YOUR GRANNY!" The stormy roar was heard alongside the overwhelming brilliance, while a slight tremor was present in the area.
The Archon roared violently, preparing his demonic breath toward Golden as the Demons began to organize differently, positioning themselves between the Commanders and the Dragon Lord.
Miia looked closely, drawing her bow, as an arrow appeared, nocking it upward and firing the enchanted projectile.
The pitch-black arrow flew out, seemingly taking with it the light and brilliance that had covered Golden in its path, giving more clarity to his form…
He lost half an arm, and his armor clearly bore scratches and gouges, as well as two light arrows embedded in it.
"YOU! DO YOU DARE BETRAY US?!" Golden shouted with unbridled fury at Miia, who showed no emotion whatsoever.
"Correction, you betrayed us!" Miia exclaimed, drawing her bow again.
"To be more precise, Her Majesty took it upon herself to replace the Deorum Regnum Commanders with Her subordinates a long time ago~" Greed laughed with a wide grin, as the Archon roared violently, firing his breath like a beam of red plasma at the Dragon Lord.
Why the lie? In case Golden somehow managed to survive, flee, or be revived in the future.
Still, it didn't look good for the Dragon, who could only defend himself against the attack with one hand, causing a burst of Demonic energy that scattered the clouds in the sky due to its overwhelming power.
From the red cloud of explosion, the armor leaped out, only to encounter Bulldoger, who with a swipe of both hands sent it tumbling back to the ground, destroying it and raising a cloud of dust, rocks, and shrapnel dozens of meters high. Only for a shower of yellow and green arrows to fall from the sky, evading Bulldoger and directly impacting the area where Golden fell, suddenly causing dozens of explosions to create a gigantic crater from elemental damage…
And the source of said damage was the mecha armor holding a bow.
"87 arrows out of 100 were successfully hit, though a 67.6% miss rate for the explosive damage." Miia's voice could be heard from Echidna, drawing the bow again.
If it were the Mecha doing this, then the damage potential would be much lower, but with Miia directly maneuvering Echidna… It was simply as if it was the Fairy who was doing it.
Golden suddenly appeared behind the Archon, roaring furiously as he caught the creature by the wings.
But instead, Echidna spun 180 degrees on her hip, aiming her bow at the golden armor, and firing the arrow of light at ultrasonic speed, slamming into the Dragon Lord and sending him flying like a comet.
"[Demonic Chains]!" Greed exclaimed, black chains with a red aura bursting out of the ground and suddenly trapping Dorado in midair.
Miia drew her bow…
"[Increase Critical Damage] [Full Critic] [Increased Critical Rate] [Double Hit] [Increase Base Damage] [High Shoot] [Greater Arrow] [Increase Armor Penetration] [Armor Destroyed] [World Arrow Piercer] [Increase Magical Projectiles Damage] [Hybrid Damage] [True Arrow]" Miia chanted as many buffs as she could, the arrow on her bow shining like a concentrated star from the raw power she accumulated. This was a definitive blow, with a projectile of the highest level. It could even match the full damage of [Falldown] to an Undead without the dependence on the target having weaknesses to fire and light.
But to top it all off…
"[Active Offensive: Cape York]." She chanted, the light from her arrow suddenly disappearing…
Elsewhere, far above the unfolding battle, something began to move, preparing to impact its target.
Golden stood still, trembling slightly as he looked at the chains, then at Miia, and then at the sky.
"… I see. That's how it is." He muttered neutrally. "In that case, you'll see the consequences of your betrayal, big-assed kuudere."
A small vein appeared on Echidna's temple.
"Once again, correction, you betrayed us." Miia blurted out, sweating a drop, noticing the state of her Mecha.
And then, she released the bowstring.
The sound barrier didn't even register as it was broken. The light even doubted whether it could match the projectile's speed, while something from far above traveled at an even greater speed, following the arrow's target…
But Golden only said one thing.
"[Wild Magic: Golden Time Out]" He murmured… And his already golden armor literally turned into pure, solid gold at that very instant.
The arrow impacted the statue, while a mountain-sized projectile fell at a brutal speed onto said statue at the same time as the arrow.
An explosion worthy of a collision between planets ensued, with the shockwave capable of pushing the Archon like a stone against a hurricane, and the B.A.F.W., Demons, and even soldiers already miles away were sent flying like mere grains of sand.
Only Bulldoger and Miia remained motionless, and the only reason the Evil Lord of Greed didn't accompany the Archon was because he clung with all his might to the beastly Commander's foot. In fact, the explosion was only a tiny fraction of the attack's total energy, it was literally collateral damage. The projectile, given its speed and the properties Miia had provided, had already pierced the planet's crust within 0.1 seconds of impact, and within 0.5 seconds, according to Miia's logic, it should have already exited the other side of the planet…
"Survival rate, 0%!" Miia exclaimed once the winds had stopped, leaving only a gigantic mushroom cloud of dust and smoke, as well as a crater the size of an island, one that directly overlooked the other side of the world.
However… Something remained intact amidst all the destruction… A shining, gleaming golden statue, which lost its luster as it returned to normal.
"IMPOSSIBLE!" Bulldoger roared.
"Ha… That certainly was costly." Golden growled, cracking his neck as he shook himself out of the dust. "What do you think, Players? Our magic is pretty impressive, isn't it?" He muttered.
"Not quite." Miia blurted out, drawing her bow. "I can easily make another attack like that. The question is, are you ready for it? Besides, what are you talking about? We're Commanders, not 'Players'."
"Sure, as long as what lands on me is that expressionless ass." The golden armor joked, despite its neutral tone. "But anyway, enough chit-chat. It seems I've really gotten complacent. I underestimated you, and you took me by surprise." He muttered. "But I won't do that anymore. I'll destroy you. And yes, even your ass, Player. But not in the way I'd like." He snarled, rising higher as, with a single swipe, it swept away all the dust and smoke caused by the explosion, as if it were just a silk curtain.
"Observation. You underestimated us, and now you're overestimating yourself." Miia snapped, taking a few steps back, with Bulldoger doing the opposite, standing in front of her.
"Hmp~ It seems that despite being so boring, you still have a sense of humor~" Golden hummed before clenching his fists. "Appreciate the true power of the Dragon Lords, you filthy Players. And die in our world that you ruined." He hissed in a voice filled with fury and venom.
"Correction! It's the world of the Two Goddesses!" Miia said, this time sounding more annoyed.
"[Wild Magic: Real Dragon Blood - Origin]" The Dragon Lord chanted, ignoring the Fairy's retorts.
And his body began to glow golden, turning into light… And it began to warp and expand.
If before it was roughly the size of Bulldoger, now it was even larger than the Archon, who was struggling to remove its head from a mountain. That figure… Without a doubt, its Draconic form.
Enormous, sharp golden horns appeared on his head, two horns emerging from above his eyebrows and circling forward, joining with two more horns that emerged from his temples and rose upward.
His golden eyes shone brighter than his own body, which in itself was almost blinding.
His entire body was bright and shiny, as if pure gold under direct sunlight. His wings had what appeared to be gems of different colors, as did his chest and lower neck.
His body was over 30 meters long, and 24 meters tall when his head was fully raised. His neck was as long as his body, and he had a tail as long as his neck, with a shining blade at the tip.
His neck was very thin, but with an extremely hard, almost metallic build…
[Brightness Dragon Lord PNG]
So that was Brilliance's true form.
"BEAR WITNESS TO MY MIGHT! AND TREMBLE BEFORE ME, THE BRIGHTNESS DRAGON LORD!" the Dragon roared, spreading his enormous wings as he clearly looked ready for a fight... For the fight of his life. And perhaps his last.
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Name: Malaltarus Oriculus
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Name: Sword Dragon Lord(?)
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