In a sense, Durmado was merely one step below the true Evil Gods of the EXE world. What none of them realized was that Takeyo himself was far more terrifying than any interdimensional deity, a fact they'd yet to discover to their misfortune.
"Tch. So you actually pulled it off, kid."
Sun Wukong sighed deeply, smoke curling from his pipe as he observed the situation. The die was cast, there was no stopping what came next. His priority shifted immediately to rescuing Yu-Long before things escalated further.
The legendary Monkey King tapped his Ruyi Jingu Bang lightly against the ground. Instantly, senjutsu energy rippled outward in expanding waves, spreading through the dimension until the fluctuations reached the magical formation imprisoning the Jade Dragon.
"ROAR!"
Sensing the weakening of the barrier that bound him, Yu-Long channeled every ounce of his remaining power into breaking free. The moment the magical restraints shattered, he released a thunderous dragon's roar that echoed across the battlefield, a cry of liberation that shook the very air.
Of course, their opponents had already prepared their escape route.
Before anyone noticed, Cao Cao had maneuvered to his comrades' position. Crimson energy materialized around him and his team, the armor-like manifestation of True Longinus's power wrapping protectively around their bodies.
"Your Excellency, Sun Wukong, we meant no disrespect by making you our enemy. Using the Jade Dragon as a sacrificial catalyst was an unfortunate necessity. I hope you can forgive us."
A confident smile played across Cao Cao's lips.
He was thoroughly satisfied with the outcome, he'd successfully baited the First-Generation Monkey King into this confrontation. Despite the beating he'd endured, the strategic objective had been achieved. Now came the time to implement the next phase of their plan.
After hearing Cao Cao's words, Sun Wukong simply sighed and tapped the ash from his pipe, gray particles drifting to the ground.
"I'm getting too old for this nonsense."
The original Monkey King shook his head ruefully.
He'd seen through Cao Cao's strategy, naturally. The problem was that the human was frustratingly slippery, constantly using his Sub-Species Balance Breaker's teleportation abilities to evade capture. Even Sun Wukong's legendary Ruyi Jingu Bang had nearly been destroyed by True Longinus's weapon-breaking properties during their skirmish.
On top of that, Sun Wukong couldn't help but feel disappointed in Yu-Long. You're supposed to be a Dragon King, for Buddha's sake. Did you really need to struggle that pathetically? The youngling had been captured so easily it was almost embarrassing to watch.
"While I can't physically stop you from escaping," Sun Wukong said, his elderly features hardening with determination, "I certainly won't let you punks run wild without consequence."
The First-Generation Monkey King's eyes tracked the red mist of Dimension Lost rising beneath Cao Cao's feet, Georg's signature technique preparing for their retreat. Knowing full well how slippery these young warriors had proven, Sun Wukong decided to hit them with everything he had left.
"Boom!"
He slammed his Ruyi Jingu Bang against the ground with explosive force. A sphere of blazing white light shot forward, rocketing toward Cao Cao and his team as they stood wrapped in Georg's absolute mist.
Youjutsu and senjutsu merged together, a technique pushing both mystical arts to their absolute limits!
"Haaa!"
Georg immediately strengthened the intensity of his fog in response.
Despite his gentlemanly appearance, he had no intention of engaging in a direct clash with a legendary hero like the original Monkey King. Georg was smart enough to recognize when discretion trumped valor.
But he'd chosen poorly. Rather than prioritizing a swift escape, he'd opted to defend head-on.
The white energy sphere tore through the defensive fog like paper.
A figure within the Hero Faction's group stumbled and fell.
It was a young boy, in fact, the only actual child among Cao Cao's elite team.
Leonardo. The descendant of the legendary Renaissance master.
"I'll be sealing that dangerous artifact of yours, boy."
Sun Wukong waved his pipe casually, his tone carrying the weight of finality.
The Sacred Gear known as Annihilation Maker was, in many ways, more dangerous than even Cao Cao's True Longinus, at least in terms of long-term potential. While still young and inexperienced, Leonardo lacked the imagination and creative power to produce true Ultimate-Class monsters. However, his specialty lay in crafting specialized anti-unit creatures designed to exploit specific weaknesses with devastating efficiency.
In the original timeline, Balance Breaker-state monsters created by Leonardo had proven capable of overwhelming even Sirzechs Lucifer's entire peerage simultaneously.
Naturally, such power paled in comparison to Takeyo's abilities.
Any single one of the dozen Transcendent-tier sacred beasts created by Takeyo's Savior of the Sacred Beast God could effortlessly annihilate Leonardo's creations. The gap in their respective powers was simply that vast.
Still, Leonardo remained a genuine threat to ordinary gods, a danger that couldn't be ignored.
That's precisely why Sun Wukong chose to use his senjutsu to seal Leonardo into a deep sleep. The young Longinus wielder would pose no further problems for the foreseeable future.
"Damn it!"
Cao Cao's eyes narrowed dangerously before he and his team vanished completely into the absolute mist.
The mission's objective had been accomplished, there was no reason to continue fighting and risk being defeated by the Victorious Fighting Buddha. Losing Leonardo was unfortunate, but acceptable given their gains.
"Hey, old man! Let me at 'em! Come on!"
Yu-Long, having finally broken free from his restraints, roared with aggressive enthusiasm.
Despite his current weakened state, the pride of dragonkind wouldn't allow him to simply retreat without a fight. How could any self-respecting dragon refuse combat just because they happened to be injured?
"Settle down, Yu-Long. In your current condition, chasing them would be suicide," Sun Wukong said, stopping the Jade Dragon with a firm gesture.
Whether Yu-Long could actually catch up to Georg's dimensional teleportation was questionable at best. More importantly, attempting pursuit in his battered state would only invite disaster.
"We should investigate what these terrorists were actually planning."
Sun Wukong tapped the ash from his pipe, his expression thoughtful.
The world's undercurrents were growing increasingly turbulent. While tensions remained hidden beneath the surface for now, Sun Wukong could sense the coming storm building toward an inevitable eruption.
"There's a new enforcer on the Biblical faction's side, isn't there? Pass this information along to them. Let god-killers handle god-killers. Why should this old monkey be forced into action at my age? Aren't they just making things difficult for me?"
The First-Generation Monkey King tapped his staff against Yu-Long's scales, his tone carrying mock complaint.
"Tch! I'll make them pay next time! This Dragon King will show them true power!"
Seeing the enemies escape and realizing even this dimensional space was beginning to collapse, Yu-Long had no choice but to swallow his frustration and plan for future vengeance.
What none of them noticed was that the Great Red Dragon God Emperor had already vanished from the dimensional rift at some point during the chaos.
Neither Cao Cao nor Sun Wukong particularly concerned themselves with Great Red's whereabouts.
Cao Cao lacked any means to truly threaten the Dream Dragon. The ritual to summon the Crimson Dragon had already succeeded, there was nothing more he could gain from Great Red's presence. With the old monkey breathing down his neck, maintaining focus on escaping took precedence over everything else.
Sun Wukong's reasoning was even simpler. He and Great Red had no connection whatsoever. As far as he was concerned, the Dream Dragon could do as she pleased, wandering through the dimensional crevices as was her nature.
However, the reality was quite different.
Great Red was, at this very moment...
Chomping down on Takeyo's fingers along with the takoyaki and the entire paper container in one massive bite!
"What the, ?!"
Takeyo yanked his hand back with an expression of utter disgust.
He'd said he'd take Great Red out to explore, sure, but did she really need to behave like this? The memory of Ophis eating his underwear flashed through his mind unbidden.
Is there some unwritten rule that powerful dragons are cold and aloof except when it comes to randomly eating things? Do they just stuff whatever's nearby directly into their mouths?
Facing Takeyo's slightly horrified reaction, Great Red simply raised her thumb and stuck out her tongue playfully.
"It's delicious!"
The Dragon God offered her enthusiastic review.
As for whether she'd actually eaten the food along with its plastic packaging and paper bowl... Well, she genuinely didn't know. It had tasted good, and that's what mattered, right?
"If you say it's delicious, then it's delicious, I suppose."
Takeyo tapped Great Red lightly on the head as a form of punishment.
He strongly suspected that the Dream Dragon had absolutely no concept of what actually tasted good versus bad. She probably couldn't even distinguish between eating with or without packaging.
"Mmm!"
Great Red nodded vigorously, then stretched her neck forward and bit down on Takeyo's other hand, the one still holding food and the accompanying snack container.
"..."
"Emmmm..."
"Bang!"
This time, Takeyo didn't simply withdraw his hand. Instead, he channeled power through his arm, both his own divine energy and the borrowed strength from the God.
The Infinite Magic Circles within his body activated simultaneously!
He hammered Great Red's head straight into the ground with overwhelming force.
"Clang!"
Because Takeyo had reinforced the dimensional space around them, when the Crimson Dragon's skull collided with the earth, it produced a ringing metallic sound.
Good tone means good head, Takeyo thought absently.
"Ow!"
Great Red shook her head dizzily, then looked up at Takeyo with clear dissatisfaction.
"You only licked me once the first time, but now you were trying to swallow everything whole. Do you really think I should allow that?"
Takeyo rubbed her head vigorously with both hands, as if trying to scrub the foolishness out of her skull.
"This... This was just a momentary lapse in judgment!"
After realizing her sneaky attempt had been discovered long before she'd acted, Great Red quickly deflected and avoided the issue.
Right. Nothing happened just now. Nothing at all!
"Forget it. I know you're being honest about the flavor at least. Just remember to chew things gently when you eat, and swallow everything else in one gulp."
Takeyo sighed in resignation.
It felt like... Ophis had been so much easier to interact with. No, actually, had Ophis really been that simple? The memory of the Infinite Dragon God devouring his
underwear suggested otherwise.
Did Great Red actually become less manageable, or am I just struggling to handle dragons in general?
"What does 'swallow in one gulp' mean? I don't understand what you're trying to tell me."
Great Red raised her elegant neck, speaking with an air of complete righteousness.
Heh. I may have bit you just now, but I only tasted a tiny bit. It wasn't like I swallowed everything, including your fingers and the container!
"If you're really claiming that's true, then fine, I suppose."
Takeyo gave up trying to correct her behavior.
At least Great Red hadn't actually chomped down on everything wholesale. If nothing else, her teeth had only grazed his skin this time instead of trying to take his whole hand.
"By the way, where did the guy who fought with you last time go?"
Takeyo asked casually.
He was referring to Durmado, the Celestial King.
"Oh, him? He's not my opponent at all. In the end, he retreated to some weird dimensional plane. I didn't want to go in because I sensed something that might cut off my head, so I left it alone."
Great Red munched on her food as she spoke, her words slightly garbled.
"Really? Fair enough. As long as you didn't enter, that's good enough."
Takeyo nodded, acknowledging her wisdom.
On the other side of that dimensional gateway lay beings aligned with the forces of light opposing the Evil Gods. However, that didn't necessarily mean they were trustworthy allies. It wasn't in Takeyo's nature to place hope in others.
Moreover, he already possessed nearly complete countermeasures against the EXE world's threats.
"I know."
Great Red responded with obvious dissatisfaction.
In the past, she wouldn't have cared either way, she'd have done whatever she pleased regardless of consequences. But now...
Sigh. I suppose it's better to survive if I can.
"By the way, I need you to help me with something."
Takeyo spoke again.
This was precisely why he'd intercepted Great Red in the first place, he needed her assistance.
While she no longer represented the absolute peak of combat power in this world, she remained firmly among the top tier. That level of strength still held considerable value.
"What is it? Do you need my help?"
Great Red looked genuinely surprised. Didn't you just casually defeat me not long ago?
Why would someone of his caliber require her aid? It seemed impossible that she could provide meaningful assistance, unless he wanted her to bear his children.
Ahem. That's impossible. Absolutely impossible. Even if offspring could be produced, the long maturation cycle of dragonkind means any hatchlings would be useless before the Evil Gods arrive.
For reasons she couldn't quite explain, Great Red's mind immediately jumped to that particular possibility.
Perhaps it was because she'd witnessed so many of his procreative endeavors. Watching him create life had become almost routine, enough that her subconscious associated him primarily with reproduction.
Of course, Takeyo remained blissfully unaware that she'd been using her dream-observation abilities to peek at his intimate moments. If he had known, he wouldn't have minded particularly.
Look if you want. Maybe you'll get motivated in the process.
"Yes, though you'll be easily defeated when facing the Evil Gods, your strength remains essential."
Takeyo smiled as he spoke what sounded like both criticism and praise.
"Emmmm..."
Great Red's expression grew complicated.
She'd originally felt quite pleased when he acknowledged that her strength was necessary. Then the second half of his statement landed, and her happiness evaporated instantly.
Can you at least keep the compliment without immediately adding insults? Please?
"Well, this is business. Let's discuss it seriously."
Takeyo straightened his expression slightly.
☆☆☆
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