"What the…?"
Yu Zhou froze in midair, staring at the Zoiger that had suddenly begun to glow with a purple light.
Through the haze of radiance, he could still make out its body. As the purple energy flared, the small Zoiger's form swelled larger and larger—until it had become a massive birdlike monster.
A mature Zoiger!
"It actually evolved into its mature form?!"
Yu Zhou was astonished. He hadn't expected that a small Zoiger, after devouring one of the white Yugg parasites, would undergo such an evolution.
Still… this method of evolving felt rather strange.
Once that first Zoiger had transformed, more of the flock began to follow suit. They swooped down on the Yugg, gulped them whole, and one by one, their bodies lit with violet light as they too began to evolve.
"So, the Yugg really are like miracle nourishment for the Zoiger…" Yu Zhou guessed. It was probably because Yugg had the ability to alter the genes of other organisms. After swallowing them, the young Zoiger were forced through a genetic breakthrough, shattering their physical limits and transforming into their mature form.
On the shores of R'lyeh, Kirino and Charija sat quietly on a large rock by the beach.
Before them floated a translucent screen, a construct of Kirino's psychic powers, broadcasting the battlefield in real time.
On it, they could see the Zoiger flock feasting on Yugg, glowing purple, and evolving.
Charija, munching on popcorn, froze at the sight.
Then, without hesitation, he shoved the popcorn bucket into Kirino's arms, pulled out two capsules, and released the monsters inside—two small Zoiger of his own.
"I'll head out first!"
Shouting over his shoulder, Charija leapt onto one of his Zoiger's backs and sped away toward the battlefield.
Kirino blinked, staring at the popcorn in his hands and at Charija's retreating figure.
But once he noticed that Charija's Zoiger were the same type as those on the screen, he understood at once.
Charija wanted his own Zoiger to evolve too.
Above the ocean, two tides of beasts clashed.
The black tide dove from the skies. The white tide surged up from beneath the waves.
Monstrous corpses rained into the sea until its surface was littered with bodies.
But within the black tide, more and more purple lights began to shine. Each time one flared, the white tide was driven back a little further.
And Ythogtha, the Evil God itself, was hardly idle.
Its remaining tentacles fused together into one colossal limb, which whipped straight at Yu Zhou.
The tip of the tentacle oozed a thick black fog, and just as it neared, it spat the miasma directly into Yu Zhou's face.
Yu Zhou hadn't expected Ythogtha to launch a sneak attack at that moment. He barely turned his head before being blasted full-on.
But instead of agony, what he felt was… delight?
"That's… amazing!"
The dark energy seeped over his entire body, surging into his Colour Timer.
The power he had lost earlier when he'd fired the Dark Zeperion Beam was already being replenished.
"A free power bank?"
Yu Zhou was overjoyed.
"Well, since you're being so generous, let me return the favour!"
With so much dark energy to spare, why hold back?
He raised his hands into an L-shape and fired another torrent of dark-violet energy straight at Ythogtha.
The beam lanced forward like a high-pressure cannon, striking the enormous monster dead on.
The ray was narrow compared to its massive body, but against such a target, it was impossible to miss.
The damage was small—but it was damage nonetheless, and against Ythogtha, every strike mattered.
This time, Yu Zhou didn't stop after a single blast.
He held the L-formation steady, the dark ray streaming continuously, sweeping across Ythogtha's body like a power washer, from head to tail, left to right.
Each sweep made sparks erupt from its flesh. The wounds were shallow, but real.
And yet, even as Yu Zhou bathed it in darkness, Ythogtha erupted in black mist once more, sending fresh clouds of miasma rolling toward him.
"…???"
Yu Zhou wanted to widen his eyes, but couldn't while focusing his attack.
Is this thing actually feeding me while I'm attacking it?
"So that's it. It doesn't realize that the black mist doesn't harm me—in fact, it restores me."
Yu Zhou almost laughed aloud.
This so-called Evil God was… an idiot.
Like a man punching you, then worrying you're hungry, stopping to make you a meal so you'll have the strength to keep fighting.
"Strong as it is, it's got no brains."
Shaking his head, Yu Zhou finally dropped the beam, preparing instead to unleash another charged Dark Zeperion Ray.
But just then, a familiar voice rang out across the battlefield:
"Zoiger, use Fireball!"
Yu Zhou turned and saw Charija, astride one of his Zoiger.
At his command, both of his monsters opened their beaks and spat fireballs at nearby Yugg.
Boom!Boom!
The two pale parasites exploded instantly.
Charija blinked, dumbfounded. "…Huh? That's it? That weak?"
He had meant to beat the Yugg down so his Zoiger could devour them. But the creatures couldn't even withstand a single fireball.
"Fine then—Zoiger, use Lightning Flash!"
If fireballs wouldn't do, he'd go with close-range combat, hoping to down a few Yugg for feeding.
Watching him, Yu Zhou couldn't help but nod. "Charija really does know how to raise monsters…"
Ordinary young Zoiger didn't even know the Fireball technique—Yu Zhou remembered that only mature Zoiger used it.
Yet the two Charija had raised from hatchlings had already mastered the move.
As Yu Zhou reflected on this, both of Charija's Zoiger suddenly glowed purple, their bodies blazing with light.
"Evolve—now!"
Charija shouted, his voice full of excitement.
(Chapter End)