Belial had no interest in listening to boss dialogue. Deep within the black mist, dark flames ignited and spread, rolling like burning clouds. The entire Black Dragon was set ablaze, becoming a fire dragon made purely of flames that roared with soul-shaking power.
The flames burned hotter and hotter, and under the control of the expanding Energy Field, different elements were added as fuel and compressed into a single point of white light. This was the result of Belial burning most of his remaining Magic. With so little time left, he decided to make the final move look good.
"In short, it is time for you to go," he said. "Let me think of a name for this move."
This attack touched the edge of elemental fusion, combining six elements along with inherited power from Rodan. It allowed Belial to use it even with low configuration and added extra effects. "I have it. Since it fuses seven powers, I will call it…"
Before Parak could finish speaking, the blazing fire dragon dove down. The red explosion swept outward instantly, pushing its speed beyond ten Mach. The giant phantom's head was blown apart, and the raging fire tornado completely engulfed Parak, burning straight into the sky.
"Fire Extreme, Sevenfold Heaven!"
Vera watched everything from close range, protected only because someone had left power behind as a safeguard. Parak's final scream vanished along with his body, burned into ash. Under precise control, the flames spread out and wiped out every remaining Demonkind on the field.
What had once been mountains full of Demonkind was now nothing but ashes. The land itself had turned into a scorched hellscape under the rampage, and Ham slowly walked out of the flames. She stopped in front of Vera and looked at her with an unclear emotion that made Vera swallow hard.
"…Um, excuse me…"
"…Give… me…"
"Huh?"
Vera stared as the black-haired girl squeezed out a few words with a tight expression. Reaching out, she easily plucked the Elemental Crystal hanging from Vera's necklace. Then she staggered toward the wrecked metal frame beaten into scrap and took out another item.
It was a black scale. She rubbed the two items together, and a violent sound wave burst out, making Vera feel as if something had brushed past her, raising every hair on her body. A faint hum followed, and Vera stared in disbelief at the new object formed in Ham's hand, a white-glowing energy core with a strong sense of technology.
She lightly tapped the pile of scrap, and something unbelievable happened. The metal frame stood up as if alive, took the energy core, and pressed it into its chest. Armor plates and complex metal parts gathered and assembled at a dazzling speed, forming a brand-new body.
Pipes connected to the energy source, the armor adjusted and locked into place, and its eyes lit up as it truly came to life. After finishing all this, Ham collapsed completely, returning to herself. Vera rushed over, caught her, and saw that she was only asleep, breathing steadily.
Only then did she finally relax. She looked up in shock at the fully assembled new machine standing before her, its metal armor gleaming faintly in the sunlight. The sharp, black and gray design looked incredibly cool, if one ignored the overly obvious seams.
Vera did not know what to say for a moment and finally blurted out, "I was aiming for something like an Exia." She paused, then added in confusion, "Who even was that? What did they build for me? A Banshee, an Aerial, or something from Macross?"
"Ah… luckily, right before the connection dropped, I managed to finish it."
"But this round of control really wore me out. Fighting on such low specs like this is a first for me."
With the huge delay, tight time limit, and weak setup stacked together, he still pulled out a win, and Belial felt a small trace of pride. Still, he knew he had pushed too hard, since his own configuration was far above the opponent's, and he would need a long rest after this. Even though Belial had been careful midway and kept the output below what the body could endure, it was probably not comfortable at all.
After all, that level of calculation load and power use would have cooked a normal brain on the spot, skull opened and soup ready. It was only because Ham had such a tough body that things barely held together. That fact alone counted as good luck.
"But it's fine… even if I can't log in often, I at least left them some gear."
"That should make things easier for them next."
At the final moment, Belial casually wiped out all remaining Demonkind along with the boss, and before leaving, he naturally thought ahead. The first requirement was to leave behind something that could still provide solid protection while he was gone. Turning his thoughts, Belial noticed the metal body lying off to the side.
Well, wasn't that perfect timing.
He gathered all remaining Magic, including everything left behind by Parak, and compressed it together. Then he noticed the Elemental Crystal embedded in Vera's chest. Belial walked over and pried it out directly, and before leaving, he forced out a polite line with everything he had learned in life.
"Hello, I'll borrow this for a bit."
He had no idea whether the pronunciation was correct, but that hardly mattered. Using his own scale and this Crystal, Belial built a carrier for Magic, then used the last of his strength to pull surrounding matter together with magnetism. Piece by piece, he forced a complete Gundam into existence.
As for where the technical knowledge came from, it was obvious when one remembered what he had fought before. Even copying by feel taught him plenty, not to mention that there was already a working example to imitate. For the exterior, he stitched together designs from several mecha works he had seen before.
The overall performance of the machine and its link with the System were nothing special. Still, Belial felt it should barely be enough to keep the two of them alive. Since he had left some backup over there, on his own side there was only one thing left to do.
"That means I need to open up the map."
"Before this, so many enemies could still gather to attack. That just means I wasn't diligent enough and hadn't cleared enough areas."
He suddenly felt enlightened. Sure, his reach was short, but as long as he could hit the enemy, that was enough. If he killed everything that threatened his allies, that was another kind of protection.
"By the way, are these idiots really not afraid of dying?"
"Whatever… huh?"
Belial narrowed his eyes.
"There seem to be quite a lot of monsters ahead, looks like a few hundred thousand. Perfect timing."
He adjusted his flight path slightly and shot straight toward a land filled with smoke.
"…"
"Damn it!"
Greyfang clenched his wolf claw and crushed the intelligence officer's head in his grip, blood and pulp splattering across the tent. His roar shook the space as he glared at those present.
"Where is Parak? You Troll better give me an explanation!"
Under the raging howl of the werewolf, several towering Troll generals did not dare move, cold sweat pouring down their backs. It was a fair question, because they also had no idea where their commander had gone. The situation at the border was already tense beyond measure.
This was a standoff between two Demonkind territories along the frontier, with each side gathering several hundred thousand troops and many powerful fighters. For some unknown reason, vast numbers of forces and elites in the southern regions under the Lord had vanished without a trace, and even communication methods failed completely. It was as if they had been wiped out overnight, leaving defenses stretched thin.
Naturally, the friendly neighbor seized the chance and politely brought along a few hundred thousand soldiers of all kinds for a visit. Even if this wave was handled, more neighbors and internal traitors were nearby, knives in hand, waiting for a feast. This was not a situation that could be solved through negotiation or concessions.
Once any weakness was shown, the enemy would charge straight for the Gold Rank Dragon and wipe out everything. That was why Greyfang was furious, because while he struggled to pull forces back and stabilize the line, one of his key combatants, Parak, had vanished as well.
He clearly remembered sending that bastard to deal with a slightly troublesome young Black Dragon. There was no way someone could fail against trash like that, right?
"Report… there is new critical information."
Without a sound, another gray-furred werewolf slipped in like a shadow and knelt on one knee. Greyfang waved his hand, ordering everyone else in the tent to get out. This one was a confidant he had secretly cultivated, far more valuable than those annoying Troll.
"You may speak."
"My lord, that mysterious Heavenly King has delivered a message to us, and to everyone."
"All who show valor in this battle may enter my hall."
"We have arrived."
Greyfang's fur bristled. The meaning of those words was clear, and he ground his teeth hard.
"That Heavenly King… has personally arrived at the battlefield?"
"We have not detected any concrete signs yet."
"Get out."