Chapter 244: The Monster Defeated in Chaos
Spacetime rippled across the void like a tsunami, distorting distant stars as Etelgar unleashed its full power.
Purple light blazed from its form as it tore through space toward the Imperial Ambition, resembling a miniature sun hurtling through darkness.
As the demon closed in, a protective barrier materialized, azure light radiating through the void. The collision between demonic flesh and Imperial technology unleashed a shockwave that rippled outward, stark against the black canvas of space.
The barrier flickered but held firm.
"Lock onto the target. Unleash full firepower. Protect His Majesty at all costs!" the fleet commander ordered.
Warships flanking the Imperial Ambition swiveled their weapon arrays, targeting the transdimensional demon wreathed in purple radiance.
Lance batteries flashed, and brilliant beams pierced the void, striking Etelgar's form instantly. Each impact sent ripples across its surface.
Etelgar's demonic body stood fifty-five meters tall and weighed thirty-five thousand tons, a behemoth to mortal eyes. But before Imperial warships stretching tens or hundreds of kilometers in length, it was merely an insignificant speck.
Deadly energy beams and container-sized ordnance rained down in concentrated barrages, all targeting the creature.
Such overwhelming firepower could vaporize even the largest celestial bodies; stars themselves would crumble under such an onslaught.
Etelgar withstood the Imperial fleet's punishment through sheer durability alone, but its situation deteriorated rapidly. No matter how resilient a demonic body might be, it had limits. Once the damage exceeded its tolerance threshold, destruction was inevitable.
Etelgar attempted to flee but found spacetime itself transformed into an unyielding quagmire. It couldn't move an inch.
Several powerful monsters recognized Etelgar's desperation and rushed to its aid.
Realizing this decapitation strike represented their only chance to reverse the battle's outcome, Dark Lugiel, the super-combined monster King Faibou, and the Dark Giant Mephisto surged forward. Even apex-level threats like Zogu and Queen Monera committed to the assault.
"Dark Domain!" Mephisto called out, his physique and abilities mirroring those of a Giant of Light.
He swept his hands through space, gathering power. Waves of energy crackling with black lightning erupted outward, creating a dark domain around Etelgar, a pocket of reality independent from normal spacetime.
The domain temporarily nullified the Imperial warships' attacks.
Other dark monsters contributed their own abilities, shielding Etelgar and helping it break free from the Imperial siege, creating the opening it needed to continue its assault.
"Come forth, Time-Space City!" Etelgar raised both hands and roared.
The void tore open under invisible force. A rift shrouded in eerie light appeared, and through it descended a magnificent yet foreboding dark metropolis. The Time-Space City's arrival stirred terrible ripples through the calm void like waves across still water, forcing Imperial warships back. Some exploded outright, unable to withstand the spacetime distortions.
This colossal fortress possessed terrifying, reality-warping power, serving as Etelgar's ultimate stronghold and most potent weapon. The city could traverse dimensions at will, making it nearly impossible to corner.
"Come forth, my puppets!" Etelgar commanded.
Countless monsters poured from the Time-Space City's depths, flooding the battlefield.
Within a magnificent tower inside the fortress, a beautiful woman holding a mirror that radiated strange magic walked to the tower's edge.
"Seal all enemies, Arena," Etelgar commanded.
"Understood, Master."
Arena chanted an incantation. The mirror floated into the air, emanating unique wavelengths of power and radiance. Light condensed on its reflective surface, forming a pillar that shot into the vast void.
Imperial warships caught in the beam immediately sounded alarms.
[SPACETIME ANOMALY DETECTED. DIMENSIONAL DISPLACEMENT IMMINENT.]
"Activate protection protocols! Initialize spacetime anchors!" commanders shouted across fleet channels. "All ships, emergency warp, get clear of this area!"
Their efforts proved largely futile. One warship after another vanished from realspace, trapped in an unknown dimension.
Arena carried out Etelgar's orders from her tower perch, her expression blank.
She had once been a princess of the peaceful planet Zandt, blessed with extraordinary talent. From birth, she could wield the ancient creation artifact known as the Magical Mirror. Because of this gift, her homeworld had been destroyed, or so she believed, by the evil Ultraman Ginga. If Etelgar hadn't saved her, she would have perished.
To repay that debt and to avenge herself against the Ultramen, she remained absolutely loyal to Etelgar, willing to do anything he commanded.
"This thing is quite interesting."
A voice suddenly echoed through the tower, which should have been empty save for Arena.
Panic flashed across her face. She spun toward the sound and saw a jet-black raven perched nearby, tilting his head as he examined the Magical Mirror in her hands.
"Who are you?" Arena leaped back, creating distance, and drew a dagger from her waist. Under Etelgar's tutelage, her combat skills were formidable enough to handle most threats.
"Why so Serious?"
The voice came from behind her. Arena's face went pale. The raven that had been in front of her had vanished. Turning, she found him hovering in midair, wings motionless, defying gravity entirely.
She distanced herself again, pointing her blade at the creature. "Who are you?"
"Raven," the bird said simply, shrugging in an oddly human manner. "That mirror you're holding, it seals things away, doesn't it?"
Arena's eyes widened as she remembered her weapon. Using the mirror against an enemy of unknown origin was her best option.
"If you know the mirror's power, why would you risk appearing before me?" She activated the artifact with a spell. Mirror light shone on Raven, and an invisible force pulled at the creature, dragging it toward a stagnant dimensional prison.
It was a world forgotten by time itself.
Everything stood frozen, no longer moving forward. Birds hovered mid-flight, their feathers perfectly defined. The air had solidified into transparent crystals, encasing everything in this timeless realm.
Raven could see the Imperial warships that had vanished from the battlefield.
Thanks to their activated spacetime anchors, they possessed independent temporal fields, allowing them to move freely despite the frozen dimension.
Flames erupted from their weapons. The assembled fleet fired in all directions, attempting to blast their way back to realspace. But the Magical Mirror was a creation artifact; breaking its seal wouldn't be simple.
Raven revealed his true form, expanding to a massive size. The warship crews spotted him immediately.
"It's Raven! Master Raven is here!"
Seeing their ally appear within the stasis dimension, the crew erupted with relief.
"Prepare to return to the battlefield," Raven said simply.
He opened a spacetime portal directly, sending the warships back to the real universe. Then he tore space open again, returning to the Time-Space City.
After using the Magical Mirror to deal with the strange raven, Arena allowed herself a small smile. No one had ever escaped the mirror's power. That bird had been unusual, but nothing more.
She walked to the tower's edge, preparing to continue supporting Etelgar with the mirror.
A spacetime rift suddenly tore open in the air. Raven hopped out.
"The interior of that mirror is quite interesting."
Arena froze, eyes wide with disbelief. "You were sealed away!"
"Yes, but it proved tedious, so I left." Raven's tone was casual, almost indifferent.
"Impossible." Arena tried to seal the creature again, but spacetime rippled around them. An invisible force snatched the Magical Mirror from her grasp. It arced through the air and floated beside Raven, motionless.
Raven examined the artifact with interest.
The mirror was ancient, its entire surface wrapped in dark silver vine patterns. Bronze patina meandered across the frame like veins, revealed upon closer inspection to be countless miniature snake-shaped reliefs, head to tail. Broken star symbols were inlaid between scale-like patterns.
The mirror's surface was jet-black and smooth, with dark-gold inscriptions moving within it like living things. Though the black glass didn't reflect reality, countless half-open amber pupils seemed to lurk in its depths.
"This is a well-crafted piece," Raven observed.
"Give me back the Magical Mirror!" Arena launched herself forward at blinding speed. Multiple afterimages trailed in her wake. In an instant, she reached Raven, grasping for the mirror.
Both raven and mirror shattered like phantoms in her hands. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't grasp the creature or retrieve the artifact.
After repeated failures, Arena's breathing grew ragged. Her eyes reddened, and her knuckles turned white from gripping her dagger too tightly.
She remembered her planet's destruction, her parents' deaths. Lord Etelgar was surrounded and needed her help, but she was powerless, toyed with by a bird.
The thought made her feel utterly worthless.
"So eager to aid that creature?" Raven asked. Arena's emotions ran so intensely that even without mind-reading, it could sense her thoughts.
"Etelgar isn't a monster, he's my savior!" Arena shouted. "You people who pursue Ultraman's power are the true evil in this universe!"
"Yet he killed your parents," Raven said, dodging another attack.
"No. Ultraman Ginga killed my parents. Lord Etelgar saved me!"
"It appears he deceived you."
"Etelgar would never deceive me. You're the ones lying."
"Then see the truth for yourself."
Raven flapped its wings. A beam of light shot forth, piercing Arena's forehead and releasing the true memories Etelgar had sealed away.
Arena, who moments ago had been certain of Etelgar's virtue, froze.
"No!" she cried. "It can't be true!"
The violent conflict between her false and true memories brought her to the edge of mental collapse. But truth was truth, and lies were lies. No matter how thoroughly Etelgar had fabricated false memories, they crumbled when compared against reality.
Arena quickly realized the full scope of the deception.
"Now you know," Raven said, landing beside the distraught woman. "Now you know who deceived you."
"Etelgar killed my parents. Destroyed my homeland. And deceived me into serving him." Arena's voice trembled with hatred, tears streaming down her face.
She looked at Raven. "Please, give me back the Magical Mirror. I want vengeance for my parents."
"I can return it," Raven said, "but will you help me take control of the Time-Space City?"
"Control of the city rests in Etelgar's hands. Once he is destroyed, it will become ownerless," Arena said. "At that point, you may attempt to claim it, and I will assist you."
"Then we have an agreement." Raven returned the Magical Mirror to Arena. "You help me control the city."
Arena took the mirror, wiped away her tears, and walked to the tower's edge.
Seeing her reappear, Etelgar's voice crackled with excitement. "Quickly, Arena! Help me—seal those warships!"
"I will help you," Arena replied through gritted teeth.
She raised the Magical Mirror and chanted the spell. Hazy light appeared on the mirror's surface, then a powerful beam shot forth. All monsters touched by the divine light were absorbed and sealed in that frozen dimension.
"Arena, what are you doing?" Etelgar roared.
"Helping you, of course, you murderer who killed my parents and destroyed my homeland."
Arena controlled the mirror with precision, sealing away the monsters that had aided Etelgar one by one. Dark Lugiel, King Faibou, Mephisto, and others, all imprisoned, none spared.
Deprived of support, Etelgar found itself under relentless bombardment from Imperial warships. Even with the Time-Space City's protection, it couldn't withstand the onslaught.
Realizing its decapitation strategy had failed entirely, Etelgar turned to flee.
At that moment, a lightning-wreathed spear flew from the Imperial Ambition, piercing straight through Etelgar's body. The Space-Time Demon God exploded in the void, shattering into pieces, utterly destroyed.
Valdor emerged from a time-space jump, appearing beside Etelgar's wreckage.
His armor gleamed with righteous fury, each plate etched with oaths of protection and duty, the regalia of the Emperor's Custodian Guard.
"This creature dared threaten His Majesty's life?" Valdor's voice resonated with cold finality.
He retrieved his weapon, then his entire form blazed with golden light as he charged the nearest monster.
His spear swept in wide, devastating arcs, each strike carrying the full weight of his transhuman strength and Imperial wrath. No monster could withstand his assault; flesh and bone simply came apart under his blade.
Etelgar's defeat signified that the Dark Faction had completely lost any chance of reversing the battle's outcome. The remaining apex-level monsters began losing ground rapidly.
"If we cannot prevail, then let us all perish together!"
Realizing victory was impossible and escape unlikely, the Dark Planet Gransphia unleashed all its remaining power, transforming itself into a black hole, ready to devour everything.
[End Of Chapter]