The instant the final word left Leonardo's mouth, a violent surge of purple light erupted from his body, expanding outward like a powerful flashbang.
The ground shattered in concentric rings, the air screamed as pressure slammed into everything nearby, and Arthur was almost caught off guard.
"Whoa!"
The shockwave hit him head-on, but he instinctively opened his wings as he tumbled end over end, barely stabilizing himself before smashing feet-first into the ground and carving a long trench through the dirt.
He dug his boots in, skidding to a halt as the blinding light swallowed the battlefield.
From the sidelines, the spectators instinctively shielded their eyes.
"What the world is that light?!"
Valerie shouted, squinting as violet radiance washed over her.
Georg's eyes squinted behind his glasses.
"This output… Is this what I think it is?"
Heracles didn't even try to block the glare, his mouth hanging open in pure awe.
"No way… no fucking way…"
The light intensified, roaring like a living thing, until finally...
It faded.
Silence fell.
The dust settled.
And then everyone saw it.
Where dozens of Anti-Monsters once stood, there was now a single, colossal presence.
A titanic, bipedal reptilian monster towered over the battlefield, easily three hundred meters tall.
Its jagged dorsal plates glowed faintly with residual purple energy, its massive tail dragged across the wasteland, and its eyes burned with primal fury.
The creature threw its head back and released a thunderous, iconic roar that shook the pocket dimension to its core.
*ROOOAAAR!!!*
Heracles was the first to react.
"HOLY SHIT!"
He screamed, jumping up and down like an autistic child high on sugar.
"DO YOU SEE THAT?! DO YOU SEE THAT?!"
Valerie stared, frozen.
"…That's… that's..."
Lavinia's lips parted, eyes wide with disbelief.
"Leonardo…?"
Heracles shook his head as he excitedly yelled.
"That's not Leo anymore! That's..."
Arthur hovered in the air at a safe distance, staring at the kaiju in front of him.
"Godzilla?"
Arthur muttered.
Godzilla lowered its head, massive eyes locking onto Arthur.
For just a split second, through the burning glow, Arthur could see Leonardo inside, glaring at him.
Arthur felt a chill run down his spine, followed immediately by a spark of exhilaration.
"You seeing this, Ddraig?"
In his mind, the dragon let out a low, incredulous laugh.
"Hahahahaha! Oh, I am seeing it. You are witnessing the true Balance Breaker of Annihilation Maker… Annihilation Beast."
Arthur whistled softly.
"Sounds pretty badass, but what I need is a quick exposition right now."
As Ddraig explained, Georg stepped forward, explaining to the others as well.
"Annihilation Beast allows the user to transform into any monster they imagine. Unlike the standard summoned beasts, the Annihilation Beast does not need to understand its biology or mechanisms. The Balance Breaker compensates and handles that part themselves."
Lavinia leaned in.
"In other words?"
"In other words, the user gains that monster's supernatural physiology and its various abilities. Furthermore, the transformation functions as an extra life. If the user is 'killed' in this state, they revert into human form unharmed."
Georg continued.
Valerie frowned.
"That sounds broken."
"It is."
Georg replied, pushing his glasses up.
"But it has a severe drawback. The user would quickly exhaust themselves in this form if they have insufficient strength, and they would also inherit some of the instincts and behavioral impulses of the monster they become. Without strong willpower, they risk losing themselves."
Valerie clenched her fists.
"Should we stop this?"
Before Georg could answer, Lavinia gently placed a hand on Valerie's shoulder.
She smiled, calm and confident.
"Don't worry about them, Val. Arthur and Leo already told us before the fight that they'll make sure the fight doesn't escalate into something uncontrollable. Have faith in both of their strengths."
Valerie looked at her, searching her expression, then nodded slowly.
"…Okay. I trust them."
Meanwhile, Heracles was vibrating with excitement.
"HAHAHA! I KNEW FORCING LEO TO WATCH ALL THOSE MONSTERVERSE MOVIES WAS WORTH IT! KICK ARTHUR'S ASS, LEO! BECAUSE I'M KICKING YOUR ASS LATER!"
"..." x3
The other spectators looked at the excited Heracles with both disappointment and annoyance, while Regulus just covered his face with his paw due to second-hand embarrassment.
Back on the battlefield, Arthur listened to Ddraig's explanation, then slowly began to laugh.
"Hehehehehahahahaha!"
Then a full, delighted grin spread across his face.
"…So that's how it is."
Arthur said, rolling his shoulders.
"You really went all out, huh, Leonardo?"
The kaiju roared again, the sound carrying a challenge rather than mindless rage.
Arthur's grin sharpened.
"Good."
Golden light flared around him as one by one, the other Excalibur swords materialized in the air, orbiting around him and resonating with his excitement.
"Then I guess this is the part where the training wheels are officially off."
Arthur declared, pointing one blade forward at the towering beast.
"From here on out, this is a real fight!"
[BOOST!]
He raised all the swords skyward, the Boosted Gear's power surging violently through his body as a crimson aura began to spiral around him.
"Leonardo!"
Arthur shouted, voice echoing across the wasteland.
"Come at me with everything you've got! Because I got a surprise for you and the others!"
He inhaled once.
Then roared the words that made the world tremble.
"Balance Breaker, Welsh Inferno Dominator!"
Crimson fire swallowed the battlefield whole.
The flames were dense and began spiraling like a tornado.
The heat distorted the air so violently that even the spectators, protected by Georg's Dimension Create, could feel pressure bearing down on their bodies.
Valerie's breath hitched.
"Arthur…?"
Lavinia's eyes widened, her pupils shrinking as she instinctively grabbed Valerie's hand.
"This presence… Is he really gonna use that sword?"
From within the inferno, something vast moved.
A silhouette took shape, massive wings unfolding one by one, each motion sending ripples through the flames.
The ground trembled, cracked, and sank as a colossal form rose high and proud.
Heracles' jaw dropped so hard it looked like it might dislocate.
"…What the what?"
Regulus' voice echoed in his mind; he was in disbelief.
"That is not possible. How is this possible?"
Georg took off his glasses to double-check if he was seeing correctly.
"Is that... what I think it is?"
The flames parted.
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, a gigantic western red dragon emerged, its body stretching to nearly three hundred meters in length.
Its scales glowed crimson, golden spikes lined its spine and shoulders like a living crown, and the gem on its chest and its eyes burned with a dominating emerald light that seemed to look down on the world itself.
At the very top of the dragon's head stood Arthur, who also transformed into something less human.
Halo-like horns curved backward from his temples, his eyes had become green slits, obsidian claws replaced his fingers, from his back unfurled eight massive demonic dragon wings, and a spear-like tail swayed behind him.
Arthur spread his arms wide.
[HEAVENLY DRAGON MIMIC!]
The artificial dragon roared, a sound so deep and dominant that even the kaiju across the battlefield stiffened.
The dragon flexed its claws, talons digging into the earth, carving trenches effortlessly.
From the dragon's mouth, Ddraig exhaled slowly.
"This feels strange. This body lacks the majesty of my original form."
Arthur smirked.
"Quit being a baby, partner. This is the best we can do for now. Besides, even with a weaker vessel, at least you get to interact with the outside world now instead of being stuck sleeping in my brain. But it's a shame that this form only lasts for a couple of minutes, though."
Ddraig snorted, but then smirked.
"Hmph. Then I suppose I'll make do. And don't worry about the time limit, we will improve as time passes."
Across the battlefield, Godzilla shifted its weight, massive claws scraping against the ground.
Deep within its mind, Leonardo stared at the red dragon, eyes wide.
"I didn't know he could do that."
Leo muttered, awe bleeding into his voice.
Behind him, the restrained woman appeared once more, arms folded as she examined the scene with glowing red eyes.
"Oh my. This is… unexpected. The boy wasn't kidding when he said no holding back."
Leonardo clenched his fists.
Arthur's laughter rang out across the wasteland, loud and exhilarated.
"Surprised, Leo? You're looking at months of trial and error, hard work, blood, sweat, tears, and a LOT of piss bottles."
He called out, his voice carrying easily.
"An artificial dragon body created through Heavenly Dragon Mimic, then using Transfer to move Ddraig's spirit into his new vessel so he can actually interact with the world and fight on my behalf."
Ddraig flapped the massive wings experimentally, the wind alone flattening the terrain below.
"Inferior to my true body, but it is more than enough for me to defeat Arthur's foes."
Arthur pointed forward, directly at the kaiju.
"Leonardo! Get ready! Because this is going to be the most awesome Kaiju Battle ever!"
Inside Godzilla's mind, Leonardo grinned fiercely.
"Bring it on, Arthur."
He glanced back.
"You ready, Mama?"
The woman smiled softly.
"Of course, my child. Show this halfbreed and that red lizard your will."
The kaiju roared again, radioactive energy pulsing faintly along its dorsal plates.
The red dragon answered in kind.
Two titans faced one another, circling slowly, each step shaking the artificial world.
Crimson fire and violet radiation clashed in the air, crackling like opposing storms.
Ddraig growled, excitement bleeding through his voice.
"It has been centuries since I tasted battle with my bare claws. You better entertain me, boy."
Godzilla's roar deepened, resonating with defiance.
Arthur's grin widened, fangs visible.
"Leo."
Leonardo's voice echoed back through the kaiju.
"Arthur."
Both spoke at the same time.
"LET'S GO!" x2
The dragon and the kaiju lunged forward, the earth screaming beneath them as they charged, power colliding, the moment before impact stretching into eternity as the battlefield braced itself for an epic clash.
*PAUSE!*
Arthur slowly turned his head and looked straight at the fourth wall.
He cleared his throat.
"Ahem... Before this epic Kaiju Battle begins, the Author would like to share a few words of clarity for you readers."
Arthur said calmly, gesturing at the lizard monster.
"Toho Company Ltd. owns Godzilla, and it is NOT the Author's. Due to international copyright laws and the Author himself fearing to face a possible lawsuit in the future, this is absolutely, legally, one hundred percent NOT Godzilla."
Arthur looks back at his opponent.
"But still, let us all pretend that this is Godzilla... Even though it is not."
*RESUME!*
The moment they collided, the battlefield shook in fear.
Ddraig's massive body slammed head-on into the kaiju's chest, the impact detonating with a concussive boom that flattened mountains of rock into dust.
Godzilla staggered back half a step, claws digging deep trenches into the wasteland to stop its momentum, while Ddraig snarled and drove forward, his wings beating once and generating a hurricane-force shockwave.
The two titans locked together.
Godzilla recovered first, releasing a thunderous roar straight into Ddraig's face before snapping its jaws shut around the dragon's neck.
The bite landed hard, fangs grinding against crimson scales, sparks and embers flying as pressure built.
"Rrraaaagh!"
Ddraig roared, claws digging into Godzilla's shoulders.
Arthur felt the force through the Heavenly Dragon Mimic and laughed breathlessly.
"Oh, that's a good bite! Fight back, Ddraig!"
Ddraig twisted his neck violently and slammed his horned head forward, smashing his skull into Godzilla's snout, the shockwave rippling outward.
Godzilla's jaws snapped open involuntarily as it reeled, but it retaliated instantly, swinging its massive tail in a brutal horizontal arc.
The tail slammed into Ddraig's side.
The dragon was sent skidding sideways for hundreds of meters, his talons carving glowing furrows through the earth before he caught himself with a powerful wingbeat.
From the sidelines, Heracles nearly vibrated out of existence.
"YES! THAT'S IT! BITE HIM! NO-HEADBUTT! OH SHIT! TAIL SWIPE!"
Georg pushed his glasses up, eyes sharp despite the chaos.
"Godzilla's tail strikes carry enough force to subdue an Ultimate-Class combatant. Ddraig's vessel absorbed that with minimal structural damage… remarkable."
Regulus rumbled in Heracles' head.
(Both titans are adapting mid-combat. This is quite the brawl.)
Back on the battlefield, Godzilla didn't wait.
Its dorsal plates flared brighter, energy surging upward like a rising tide.
Arthur's instincts screamed.
"Ddraig!"
Too late.
"ATOMIC BREATH!"
Leonardo yelled.
A beam of radioactive violet light erupted from Godzilla's jaws, slamming into Ddraig point-blank.
The blast carved straight through the battlefield, vaporizing everything in its path and gouging a canyon kilometers long.
Ddraig roared as the beam drove him backward, scales cracking, flames erupting from the impact point.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! YES! THIS STINGING PAIN! THE SMELL OF CHARRED FLESH! THE TASTE OF MY OWN BLOOD!"
Ddraig laughed through the pain.
"THIS FEELING! I MISSED THIS! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Arthur, feeling Ddraig's joy from their connection, also laughed alongside him.
"HeheheheheHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Arthur grinned ferally.
"Now is our turn."
Ddraig surged forward, wings snapping open as he leapt into the air and came down hard, tackling Godzilla to the ground.
The kaiju crashed onto its back, the impact shaking the entire pocket dimension.
Before Godzilla could rise, Ddraig slammed both foreclaws down onto its chest and unleashed a savage bite at its neck, teeth digging deep this time.
Godzilla roared in pain and fury, claws raking across Ddraig's abdomen, sparks flying as scale met claw.
Godzilla bucked violently, forcing Ddraig off, then surged to its feet and headbutted the dragon square in the chest.
The blow sent Ddraig staggering, but he retaliated immediately, swinging his massive tail downward like a warhammer.
The tail struck Godzilla's shoulder, driving the kaiju into the ground on one knee.
"YES! THIS SHIT IS WAY BETTER THAN WRESTLING!"
Heracles yelled.
Valerie stared, barely breathing.
"They're actually trading blows equally."
Lavinia smiled faintly, eyes never leaving Arthur.
"That's our Arthur for you."
Godzilla snarled and lunged again, jaws snapping shut around Ddraig's forearm.
Ddraig growled, muscles bulging, and instead of pulling away, he leaned in and smashed his forehead into Godzilla's skull again and again, each headbutt shaking the air.
"Come on! Take this!"
Arthur shouted.
Godzilla finally released the arm and answered with a savage claw swipe across Ddraig's face, ripping sparks and blood from his scales.
Ddraig reeled back a step, then laughed again, blood steaming as it hit the ground.
"Oh, how I am loving this!"
Ddraig said, exhilarated.
Georg exhaled slowly.
"It seems like Athur is letting Leonardo experience what a true high-tier clash feels like."
Regulus rumbled approvingly.
(A brutal lesson. But a necessary one.)
The two titans squared off once more, both breathing heavily, energy radiating from their bodies and warping the air around them.
Claws flexed, tails swayed, and eyes locked.
Arthur leaned forward atop Ddraig's head, eyes blazing.
"Are you done warming up, partner?"
Ddraig grinned as he flapped his wings back.
"Hahahaha! I guess this is enough. I'm starting to get used to this body now!"
Leonardo and the other spectators were bewildered by Arthur's statement.
"That was a warmup?!" x5
"Hmph. How arrogant."
Said the lady standing behind Leo while pouting angrily.
"Alright, Leo. Now we see how long you can keep this up."
Arthur answered, and Godzilla answered with a roar that shook the heavens.
And then they charged again, ready to tear into each other with even greater ferocity.
Ddraig lunged first.
"BOOST!"
Crimson energy exploded around Ddraig's claws as he slammed them into Godzilla's chest, the amplified force caving in scales that moments ago had shrugged off mountain-breaking blows.
Godzilla was hurled backward, its massive frame skidding across the wasteland and gouging trenches deep enough to swallow buildings.
Arthur laughed, exhilarated, his voice carrying through the roar of battle.
"There we go! How do you like that?!"
Ddraig didn't let up.
"BOOST!"
He followed with a brutal tail swipe, the enhanced strike cracking like a whip and smashing into Godzilla's side, snapping the kaiju's torso sideways and sending chunks of irradiated flesh and shattered scales flying.
From the sidelines, Heracles clenched his fists.
"YES! STACK THAT SHIT! STACK IT AGAIN!"
Georg's eyes were locked onto the battlefield, mind racing.
"Every Boost multiplies his power exponentially. If this continues unchecked, Arthur's titan will overpower Leonardo's titan completely."
Godzilla roared in response, pain and fury mixing into a deafening sound that shook the dimension.
It surged forward despite the damage, slamming its head into Ddraig's chest with a savage headbutt.
The impact staggered Ddraig back a step.
Arthur felt it this time.
"Oh? Even after receiving that, you're still swinging?"
Arthur muttered.
Godzilla didn't answer with words.
Its wounds began to knit together.
Cracked scales fused, torn flesh sealed itself with eerie speed, and the glow along its dorsal plates intensified, pulsing in irregular, unstable patterns.
Leonardo, deep within the monster's mind, grit his teeth as exhaustion clawed at him.
His breathing was ragged, his body screaming at him to stop.
(Not yet... I can't stop... Not until I beat him!)
Ddraig noticed it too.
"Hoh? You're regenerating faster now."
The dragon rumbled, claws flexing.
Arthur's eyes narrowed as he watched Godzilla shrug off damage that should have crippled it.
"No… It's not just healing."
Godzilla charged again, faster than before.
It slammed into Ddraig, driving him backward with brute force, claws tearing into crimson scales as its jaws snapped shut around Ddraig's shoulder.
Ddraig snarled and responded immediately.
"BOOST!"
His free claw glowed brighter than before as he drove it straight into Godzilla's jaw, forcing it open with a violent crunch.
Ddraig followed with a point-blank blast of crimson flame straight into the kaiju's mouth.
Godzilla reeled, smoke pouring from its maw as it stumbled back.
But then it straightened, its posture shifted, and its movements became sharper and more efficient.
Georg's expression darkened.
"It's adapting."
Valerie was surprised.
"Adapting… how?"
Georg didn't look away.
"Each exchange and injury is refining its structure to withstand Ddraig's attacks. It's like an old computer replacing its old hardware with advanced upgrades."
Heracles scratched his head.
"…Oh. That might be my fault."
Everyone turned to him.
Georg stared.
"Explain."
Heracles shrugged sheepishly.
"I mean, Leo and I watched a lot of monster movies. Like, a lot. His personal favorite was Shin Godzilla."
*Silence*
Lavinia slowly turned.
"You let an eight-year-old watch Shin Godzilla."
Heracles blinked.
"What? It was an educational movie about how the government doesn't take nuclear disasters seriously."
Georg facepalmed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Of course. An educational movie about an endlessly evolving organism capable of adapting to any and all phenomena."
Arthur exhaled through his nose, eyes locked on the kaiju.
"…So that's what you're doing, Leo."
Across the battlefield, Godzilla roared again.
Its dorsal plates flared violently as new vents split open along its tail.
Arthur's eyes widened.
"Wait-"
A beam of Atomic Breath erupted not just from Godzilla's mouth, but from the tip of its tail as well, scything through the battlefield in a wide arc.
"THE HELL?!"
Arthur shouted.
Ddraig barely managed to twist aside, the tail-beam grazing his flank and ripping a molten gash along his scales.
The mouth-beam followed immediately, forcing Ddraig to cross his wings and claws defensively as the energy blast drove him backward.
Ddraig laughed, even as his scales smoked.
"HAHAHAHAHA! NOW WE'RE TALKING! THIS IS GETTING BETTER BY THE SECOND!"
He surged forward again.
"BOOST!"
Crimson flames erupted around his mouth, hotter and denser than before, spiraling into a roaring inferno towards Godzilla.
Godzilla responds by firing another Atomic Breath from his mouth, clashing against Ddraig's flames.
The two titans locked together, Fire Breath against Atomic Breath, flames against radiation.
Godzilla answered with ferocity, focusing his breath on Ddraig's flames and unleashing another Atomic Breath from his tail.
"BOOST!"
Ddraig roared and responded in kind, his own flames amplified and pouring into Godzilla's breath as both monsters tried to overpower the other.
The battlefield shook violently, mountains collapsed, and the sky fractured.
Leonardo screamed inside Godzilla's mind, pain and determination tearing through him, but he refused to let go.
Arthur felt it and smiled proudly.
"Good. That's it, Leo. Don't you dare quit."
Ddraig's flames intensified again, layered with successive Boosts, his power climbing higher and higher.
Godzilla's body was burned, healed, hardened, and evolved all at once as he continued to fire his breath.
Two forces escalating without limit.
Georg whispered under his breath, a mix of awe and concern.
"…This isn't just a spar anymore."
Heracles grinned wildly.
"You're right, Georg... THIS IS PEAK!"
The two titans broke apart for a split second, stopping their respective breaths.
Both titans are battered, both glowing with overwhelming power, both staring each other down as the air screamed around them.
And then, without hesitation, they charged again, ready to continue their kaiju battle into catastrophic levels.
DxD
Hello readers.
Valentine's Day.
The one day of the year when the world reminds me that I am single.
But the good news of this is that I get to have a VERY MUCH NEEDED break to create this chapter and do some R&M.
If you don't know what R&M means, it means Rest and Masturba-
*BLEEP!*
...
Thank you, everyone, and see you later.