Gaining another bit of experience, the massive body used the rebound from that burst of power to beat its wings and rise back into the sky. Was he worried. That question did not even feel serious. His opponent was not some Tokusatsu-style cheating human, and even if they pulled out something nasty, it would not be much more than before, when they barely forced out his Spiral Heat Ray.
One shot later, they were erased in the most literal sense. If the next trick was more interesting, the only difference would be that he might need to fire a few more times. Heisei Era-era g beam firing speed was among the best, and many cheating monsters had fallen under repeated blasts, with only pure stat monsters or shameless mechanics able to endure it.
When it came to raw numbers, Belial had never feared anyone. If space g was judged on stats alone, aside from being cautious around Burning Mode and that demon, there was no one he truly feared. When those numbers translated into reality, they became crushing despair, a gap no one could cross.
There was risk, of course, since this was the Otherworld, which like Tokusatsu ignored physics, but it was also a perfect chance to harvest gains. As long as he could get God of Destruction, taking a beating would still be worth it. Even if he really died, one revival later he would crawl out of the grave and keep hitting back.
Since they dared to set this up, they had to believe they had something that could deal with him. The monsters that kept jumping out to feed him experience were each weaker than any one of those that had surrounded Belial before, and they carried far less experience. Every one of them was pitifully weak, never attacked him, and while their shapes differed, all were extremely fast and hard to kill.
It was obvious they were specialized for speed and survival, clearly aimed at him. The moment they saw him, they ran without hesitation, and though each fled in a different direction, using his precise spatial sense, Belial realized he was being guided toward a general area. With how often they were sent in waves like this, even he did not need to think much to see the plan laid bare.
"So what is this trap supposed to be this time. Another ambush with hundreds waiting, or something buried underground to send me flying."
There was no way to know yet. Ambushes were useless anyway, since as long as the enemy carried that special power, it would be clearly shown on the System Map. When the time came, who trapped whom would be the real question.
"Hm."
Belial widened his dragon eyes. It was a familiar presence. The faint sensation reached him, and here that kind of presence was not just smell, but included energy traits, behavior patterns, and even an unclear sixth sense.
He had a good memory, and this was something he cared about. He glanced at the map and saw a huge red dot, far larger than any before, one that might even let him unlock God of Destruction. Something of that scale matched someone he had encountered not long ago.
"So it is you. I knew you were not dead."
Joy lit up Belial's eyes, like seeing an old friend or a treasured gift. Mixed into it was a simple, direct delight born from pure killing intent. Who else could it be but the one he had punched into pulp before, who refused to drop rewards and die properly, the first target he truly wanted dead across both lives.
If he were some other web novel the Lord protagonist, he might already be collecting heads without hesitation. Realizing this would be his first real kill, Belial suddenly felt oddly kind. To show that kindness, he immediately sped up.
Light flared along his massive wings, formed from countless overlapping Magic Array sequences embedded into a larger cycle. The storm around his wings grew more violent than ever, lightning scattering faster than the wind itself, while air currents and clouds began to spin around him. His control over Magic had grown so strong that anywhere his body could release it, he could also cast Magic, and now his wings served that purpose.
His wings were not truly for flight, since with his exaggerated weight they could not lift him without gravity control. Instead, they were mutated casting organs shaped by dragon blood and the space g template, with wing membranes filled with fine vein-like channels that conducted Magic with extreme efficiency. The area was large, flat, and in direct contact with the outside, making it an ideal spell carrier with better efficiency than casting from nothing.
In theory, the wings were like a substitute for the two giant crystals on space g's shoulders, with lower raw efficiency but greater flexibility. They were one of Belial's few weak points, since destroying them would sharply reduce his casting and absorption ability. Even so, they would grow back quickly.
Pure reliance on crystal-cell gravity flight, even with Gravity Tornado, could not push his speed much higher in a short time. That left Magic as the natural focus, something he had never stopped studying. This was his latest composite result, built around wing usage.
A massive composite Magic Array mixing multiple elements, with wind as the core, created violent reactions. Using that force, he could launch himself like a rocket. Energy in both wings reached a peak, like holding compressed tornadoes under the control of Energy Field.
Then it was released at its brightest point.
A sharp and massive blast rang out as the Great Dragon swept its wings and unleashed an unprecedented storm, spreading backward in a wide fan under Belial's control. The sky looked cut open, his body turning into the sharpest blade, and with a streamlined barrier ahead, he shot forward like a bullet.
Half the sky behind him was stripped bare of clouds by the storm, and the remaining shockwaves rolled toward the ground. Before long, a long-missed Blizzard would likely form in his wake. His speed had already broken past three Mach and kept climbing to five, seven, and beyond.
Even at that speed, his senses remained sharp, missing nothing around him. The red dot on the map grew closer, and with his eyesight he could make out a vast basin canyon ahead.
"Right there."
"I am coming to kill you."
The Great Dragon showed a feral grin, fangs bared in excitement, then calmly adjusted his posture and continued forward. In that instant, a ring-shaped Magic Array appeared around him, and transparent chains reached out from the void to restrain him. They were crushed easily by his power and surrounding Energy Field.
If that was all they had, there was no chance of survival. "Let me see what else you have."
Ahead stood a black-robed figure, flames under his feet as he hovered in the air. Kwenfield's face was dark as he watched the dragon rush in faster than the sound of Rend tearing air, and his heart sank. He raised flames in his hand that spread across his body, his face looking older and heavier, while the fire around him continued to rise in force.
"Just a little longer."
"Wait a bit more. The cast is almost complete."
Salva rested a hand on the coffin bound in layers of chains, his inhuman eyes already catching sight of the white wolf approaching through wind and snow. The actors had arrived, and the doors were about to open. All that remained was to wait for them to take their seats.
"Are the surrounding Corrosion Ritual arrangements mostly finished? I have some good news and…"
"A piece of bad news? I am more eager and devout about this than anyone. I do not need you to remind me."
Salva smiled as he rubbed his hands together, while Kwenfield extinguished the flames and let the Magic Array surrounding the entire Great Valley slowly sink away. This Magic Array consumed a large amount of resources and even touched on layers of space. Because Blessed Power could be sensed with extreme sensitivity by that dragon, the effort was unavoidable.
"The good news is that the Ice Wraith has been adjusted almost completely, and the marks on it are finished," Salva said. "And the true descent of the Lord is also close. My remaining preparations can delay things for at most half an hour."
Salva clearly had no intention of stopping his chatter, while Kwenfield had no patience to listen. With a cold face, he turned away and started walking. "If that counts as good news, then tell me how bad the next part can be."
"I hope you can stay calm after hearing it," Salva said sincerely, though whether he was pretending was hard to tell.
"At a moment this urgent, aside from the Lord descending soon, nothing can stir my emotions anymore," Kwenfield replied.
"That is good," Salva said. "I underestimated that dragon's speed. You should go and stop it."
Kwenfield suddenly turned his head back. Me? The dragon?
"Do not look at me like that," Salva continued with a smile. "We never forced that dragon to reveal its full strength in our previous fights. This outcome is normal, right? The materials you gave me, and the things I managed to make with them, are almost all dead now because of that dragon. And this was within your expectations too, wasn't it?"