"…If I were like Edward or Elfido, I might think that way," he said quietly. "But unfortunately, I am not."
"I am not a crawling thief who steals low and inhuman power, nor will I walk with the rotten filth of Abyss. I have never stolen strength on my path."
From an ignored prince to the immortal emperor of the Empire for over a thousand years, Augustus had only taken by conquest, never theft. Even while dealing with the Abyssal Gods, he believed his iron hooves would one day trample Abyss. He was nothing like those two.
Even if he deserved death, so be it. He had never denied his sins. Thinking back on the werewolf he used as a pawn and the chaos in Demonkind lands, he accepted one truth.
"There is no sacrifice too great to accept."
"Even so, evil dragon, come and fight!"
Blazing golden light rose again, brighter than before. The cost was that Augustus was burning everything within the Empire, including glory, honor, history, followers, innocents, armies, wonders, and even his own soul. All of it was turned into pure power.
"Roar!"
The lion's roar echoed through the sky. Belial glanced over and saw the palace the Lord body rise upright like a massive spine.
"Mm… I'm already used to this."
Belial looked down a few times as blinding golden light surged like a tide toward the Imperial Palace that served as the body of the Lord. Limbs and legs were assembling in the glow, and a massive roar echoed upward. He watched calmly, as if this were nothing new.
"So the boss is opening Second Phase. Nothing special. I'll just take a look and see what kind of trick you're pulling."
He could have interrupted the transformation, but Belial wanted to fool around. He felt strong enough already, and if he did not enjoy himself now, then when would he?
As for being careful, he saw no reason. Why be cautious with a small boss that he could knock into Second Phase with a single normal hit? At worst, he could just hit it a few more times.
Only one stat monster was needed anyway.
"Hmm… before it's done, let me guess who this is."
Based on past experience, scenes like this usually involved someone he knew or had seen before. Belial started thinking it over, but since most of the previous disguises had looked human, it was hard to guess right away.
He paused, then wondered if his thinking had gotten strange. Why did his first thought at a big scene like this always involve an old acquaintance showing up?
While Belial was guessing, there was movement below again.
Augustus could clearly feel all of his past being burned and poured into his body, then disappearing in a brief flash. Past glory, countless achievements, roads and wonders he had built were all burning, turning into flesh and bone to fill an unprecedentedly huge body.
This was overwhelming power. For thousands of years, Augustus had gathered rare treasures and items that directly held power, even burying high-grade mineral veins beneath the Royal Capital after moving them there himself.
Now all of it was being burned and fed into the furnace. The heroic souls bound by his domain were forcibly stitched onto his already ignited and broken crimson soul, merging into a single whole.
This level of power had long surpassed what ordinary mortals could handle. His own nation was shaking, everything he possessed was being offered up to complete himself, and it was ironic that this was the method others had once called the path to godhood.
In truth, that was not wrong. He had not done this before not because he was kind, but because Augustus's ambition had been far greater than that.
A mere sacrifice was far from enough to reach the level of a true Crimson God. The Authority gained this way would not be strong, nor would it meet the requirements to forge a Divine Kingdom or tear the world apart with Rend.
That was why Augustus had endured and planned for so long, but now there was no need. There was nothing more to say.
Sacrifice could not be completed in an instant, and the power exchanged this way was crude and shallow. That was fine, because what Augustus needed was only this, and subtlety was useless against that Black Dragon.
He bound the massive sacrificial power tightly to his body so it could be contained. His appearance swelled wildly, growing to a hundred-meter giant form to hold it all.
His body and muscles no longer resembled a human frame. Golden mane-like hair and sharp scales grew across his surface, and his face became beastlike, with prominent fangs.
"Roar… ROAR!!!"
Augustus began to roar as his bent, beastlike hind legs supported the enormous body. Brilliant golden light flowed across him, and bulging muscles rose like mountains.
He no longer looked human. Every strand of hair shone gold, fine gold and silver ornaments hung from him, and he threw his head back to howl, revealing a beast's skull and bloody fangs.
A Crown rested upon his head, woven into his mane. The pupils that once gleamed with pure Gold Rank gold were now stained with ominous blood red, flames seemed to burn across his body, and a thick tail swayed behind him.
He cast aside all the past, and the former Authority was gone. The sword that symbolized iron and fire was broken, leaving only claws and fangs as he revealed this form.
At the same time, everyone within the Empire felt a strange change in their minds. Everything related to Augustus was being burned away, and even parts of their souls were offered up.
Power surged through his veins like rivers. It felt as though a swipe of his claws could tear the sky with Rend, and a light step could shatter the earth into a Shard state, but the cost of such power was complete degeneration from human to beast.
He fully abandoned past civilization and fell into savagery. At this moment, he was half a step from godhood, but still not a complete god.
"This is all your doing, evil dragon."
"Tell me now, whose claws are sharper?"
Golden light turned into roaring shockwaves that spread in all directions. The former Royal Capital was reduced to ruins, then barely held together into a broken divine domain by Augustus's support.
Several thousand kilometers around were drawn under his control. Though the area shrank as it burned away, Augustus's presence kept rising.
"ROAR!!!!!"
A massive golden shockwave surged into the sky, scattering the dark clouds. A Gold beast over a hundred meters tall, radiant with gold and born from devoured kingship, roared at the Black Dragon above.
"…Ah. Well."
"I should be used to this by now. After all that noise, it's still just a small nobody."
Belial commented lightly. The moment he saw the appearance, he began searching his memory for familiar figures.
Golden fur, scales, a tail, standing upright. He got it.
So it was that nobody, the so-called Caesar King.
He simply treated it as an upright golden dog. This monster first appeared in a Showa Era era battle where Godzilla fought Mechagodzilla, showing up late as support in a two-on-one.
Since those old Showa Era films were abstract due to age and technology, he switched to a more familiar reference. The so-called final emperor had appeared in the last battle to block Godzilla as part of a shameless one-versus-three, alongside Rodan and Anguirus, turning it into a strange soccer match.
All that mattered was that this guy was just a nobody. The look was slightly different, like a stitched golden lion with rapid strikes, but that did not stop Belial from mapping it over.
While he was thinking about how to kill it in a way that pleased him, Augustus looked up at the sky. His sanity was fading from the massive sacrifice across the Empire, while his power kept rising.
The massive Gold beast bent its hind legs, golden patterns flowing, then stomped down hard.
"Boom!"
The ground collapsed outward from beneath Augustus's feet, spreading over a hundred kilometers and turning into shattered Shard. The soldiers stationed on the outskirts were wiped out before they could react, and the force sank into the earth, dragging the already ruined Royal Capital underground with a single step.
"ROAR!!!"
Carried by the recoil, Augustus shot into the sky, targeting the black Great Dragon high above. He roared and charged forward as a golden shockwave, swinging a massive fist.
Belial's earlier feeling was correct. It was not just the appearance, the real power could truly unleash instant thousand-strike attacks.
The Gold beast ran through the sky, trampling a golden path. Countless afterimages rushed past Belial, along with a storm of claws and fists.
Each strike could shatter mountains into Shard and tear the ground with Rend, causing small earthquakes. The sheer power and speed turned a kilometer-wide area into complete vacuum.
Belial's response was simple.
The long-unused Photon Reflection Shield expanded, now evolved with strong physical defense. Countless prisms formed a sphere that wrapped around him.
Hundreds and thousands of attacks rained down each moment, but Belial stayed calm inside the shield, unmoving like a turtle shell. Augustus's claws could not cause real damage, and even shallow marks repaired themselves quickly.
So he decided the power was still not enough.
Then sacrifice more. There were still plenty of citizens left.