"Good. The dragon has been delivered," Bella said, nodding before shifting her focus to a meteor hurtling toward them at escape velocity.
Safas looked up, his eyes narrowing.
"No doubt - that's Bahamut's still-unhatched egg. First thing, I'll try setting up a containment array. If we act fast, while it's still weak from just hatching, maybe we can bind it..."
"Enough, old man," Bella cut in firmly.
"Stop entertaining these reckless ideas. Right now, we need to head to a spot about 119,662 kilometers away."
Safas blinked in confusion.
'Why such a specific, distant spot?'
'Sure, handling the frontline was the big guy's job, but did that mean he just sat idle? Wouldn't even lending some support - healing, buffs - help? At least then he'd feel involved.'
Bella explained, "Based on my calculations, that's the furthest point from here where we can safely watch the battle without getting in the way. And if things get out of hand, we can always make a quick escape."
"This is from analyzing Belial's energy signature. Honestly, keeping some distance allows him to unleash his full power better than any help we could offer."
"Besides, if trouble comes, we can blink right back."
This wasn't just talk.
Compared to their fight with Ludwig - when they could occasionally land a few shots - now it was better to let Belial go all out.
Bella also wondered why, despite all the living beings breathing around the TMD, no energy seemed to be absorbed.
Their internal energy levels kept rising.
'What happened to the law of conservation of energy? Had it been thrown out the window?'
She wasn't the only one questioning it.
'How did the writers even come up with this setup?'
Meanwhile, the pitch-black dragon slowly stepped into the Ruins of Fate.
Belial immediately sensed something off.
It was unsettling, different.
He'd only felt this twice before: once fighting his brother Radon and once against Mechagodzilla.
Whatever gave him that feeling, it had to be a huge monster.
He nodded, scanning the area carefully.
Not too far away - several thousand miles off - Sylvia was crouched down as well.
Someone else was there, and he'd have to be cautious once the fight started.
Then, the main event finally began.
Belial lifted his massive head, eyes locked on the sky where a meteor continued its unstoppable fall.
A smile spread across his lips as he slowly opened his enormous jaws.
Picture the scene: above him, a meteorite - the egg of King Ghidorah - was hurtling toward a ruined city.
And he was Godzilla.
So, what came next was clear.
"Since I woke up, my strength and power have only grown. There's only one I've met who might match me-"
He hesitated, stumbling over his words.
"Well, actually, I've never faced anyone stronger!"
"Whatever. I'm about to blast you to pieces! And hey, since you all get your battlefield advantages, I'm taking mine too. Fair's fair, right?"
Belial thought back to the monsters he'd battled before - most used some kind of environmental power to gain an edge in battle.
He always just charged in headfirst, relying on his raw strength.
But don't forget, he had two dna dna templates, and both were experts at controlling terrain!
He wasn't about to be reckless.
Since he had the advantage, he'd use it.
So, he started moving forward.
Energy Field - high output, activated!
Crystalline Domain - initiated!
And finally... Ecological Corrosion!
With every step the black dragon took, the landscape around him changed dramatically.
First, an unseen force spread outwards.
Buildings cracked and crumbled under the intense pressure - an effect that was deeply unsettling.
It might seem simple, but it was terrifying at its core.
These structures were more than just buildings; they were alternate forms of fate itself.
What kind of power could shatter something like that?
No one knew.
Belial took another step, and from beneath his feet, clusters of crystals burst forth, spreading like tidal waves and leveling the ruins all around.
Endless, towering crystal pillars shot up from the ground, piercing the sky like massive quartz mountains.
Some of these spires pulsed like giant pumps, drawing in light, heat, and even kinetic energy from the environment.
These pillars connected, forming a massive network that fed directly into the steadily advancing dragon.
The crystalline spread kept expanding relentlessly, and from above, the land looked like it was coated in a shimmering crystal layer, spreading like a cancer.
This was Ecological Corrosion - the most iconic and dangerous ability of the Planet template.
Once you truly understand it, its threat becomes terrifyingly clear.
When activated, Ecological Corrosion ruthlessly transforms everything around it.
Using himself as the origin point, it launches a high-level invasion that reshapes the local ecosystem.
Every blade of grass, every creature within that ecological niche, falls under his control.
It spreads like a cancer, growing stronger over time, eventually devouring entire planets to fuel his evolution.
This was an enhanced version, and even now, it made him sweat.
If unleashed on Earth, it would slowly drain the sun's radiation and years of geothermal energy, breaking the planet down completely.
At that point, he could absorb the entire ecology into himself and then move on to the next world.
The Old Void? More like a young, star-eating sea cucumber!
Still, a brief deployment was manageable.
Besides, this wasn't enemy territory - covering it anew was more than justified.
As the final ability kicked in, the surroundings seemed to come alive.
The crystalline peaks sprouted hints of green - plants made entirely of rock and crystal textures, erupting like a jagged forest of blades.
The ruins, symbols of fate, were overrun by dense, sprawling crystalline vines and jungles, as if decades of desolation had passed in an instant.
At the same time, Belial absorbed the local ecological bonuses.
Honestly, he couldn't stop himself from wanting to consume the whole area, but he held back - for now.
First, he had to destroy King Ghidorah.
A long-missed roar, like the sound of a biological reactor powering up, echoed through the air.
A scorching white glow ignited along his dorsal spines, coursing like veins down into the crystalline ecosystem, which shimmered faintly in response.
His wings and jaws opened wide, rapidly forming multiple ring-shaped acceleration and binding spell structures.
Waves of circular energy rippled outward from his body.
An unimaginably vast power was drawn from within and around him, converging into visible spirals funneling toward his throat, which flared with a radiant destructive glow.
Finally, the rings contracted, merging into a single line before his mouth.
At the same moment, the intense recoil sucked the surrounding air away, creating a near-vacuum.
The crystals beneath his feet shattered under the pressure.
"Super Spiral... Fusion Reaction Beam!!"
With a furious roar, a spiraling beam shot forth, tearing through the sky like a bolt of lightning.
It slammed directly into the dark meteor.
This was probably the strongest beam Belial could unleash in his normal form, with temperatures soaring well beyond a million degrees.
The beam had incredible piercing power and devastating force, relentlessly melting the meteor's surface.
Cracks appeared, glowing red-hot from the bottom up.