The dreamlike red mist that had covered the battlefield was torn apart by blue-violet Magical Power. The massive body of the Great Red was battered by wave after wave of that power, its tail swaying as if it were a ship caught in a storm.
"Roar!"
Surrounded by a sea of blue-violet Magical Power and faced with Cid's stance, the Great Red let out an angry roar.
Even after just going through a battle on the level of a god, the pride etched into the very nature of dragons pushed it to attack.
Crimson flames wrapped around its body as its wings spread wide, stirring violent winds through the Dimensional Gap as it dove down.
"Now that's the kind of dragon I want to fight!"
Facing a strike like a falling meteor, Cid showed a fierce grin. He made no attempt to dodge. Instead, overwhelming Magical Power burst from behind him as he shot upward, meeting the Great Red head-on.
A strange vibration echoed the instant they collided.
The next moment, the entire Dimensional Gap trembled. A mix of crimson and blue-violet Magical Power erupted outward from the point of impact like a tidal explosion.
A massive figure tore through the blast. The Great Red was sent flying back even faster than its dive, carving out a clear path where no Magical Power lingered.
Bright red dragon blood dripped from its mouth, and a pained roar echoed through the Dimensional Gap.
"My hand's a bit numb…"
At the center of the explosion, Cid held his punching stance, glancing at his slightly trembling fist as a grin of excitement spread across his face.
"As expected of a dragon. That kind of strength… let's keep going."
The blue-violet Magical Power surrounding the area suddenly collapsed inward, revealing the original darkness of the Dimensional Gap.
With a sharp sonic boom, Cid shot upward along the path the Great Red had cleared. Though he started later, he overtook it in an instant. Turning his body sideways, he drove his right leg down with force.
Seeing Cid suddenly appear in front of it, the Great Red ignored the pain and swung its tail to meet the attack. This time, however, it focused more of its Magical Power on stabilizing its body rather than pure offense.
The same scene repeated. The Great Red was sent flying back again at an even greater speed, but quickly braked midair, stabilizing itself and widening the distance between them.
Cid felt the impact had been lighter than before, but he had no time to dwell on it. His blue-violet Magical Power shifted into pitch-black flames as he charged forward again.
The Great Red roared once more, and the dreamlike red mist spread out again.
Blood continued to drip from its mouth. The wounds left by the rotten dragon still remained, and the areas where it had clashed with Cid faintly glowed purple beneath its translucent scales, leaving it in a battered state.
The red mist thickened around it, crimson flames surged upward, and faint ripples of Magical Power spread outward, signaling an immense buildup of power.
Seeing this, Cid stopped mid-charge.
"You want to settle this in one strike? A quick finish? Fine. That works for me."
He raised one hand toward the sky. Purple Magical Power poured out from his body, spreading endlessly through the darkness.
Within that domain, the density of Magical Power increased rapidly, and even space began to distort.
"I…"
A faint purple sphere of Magical Power appeared overhead, its outline gradually solidifying.
"am…"
The surge of gathered Magical Power crashed into the red mist, forcing the power within it to reveal itself.
"a… Hmm?"
The red mist was blown away, revealing nothing but a clump of lingering crimson Magical Power.
As for its owner, the Great Red, it was gone.
Cid's crimson eyes flared with purple light as his senses spread outward, locking onto a direction.
Within that intangible layer, the trace of the Great Red's movement appeared before him, like a path carved through someone's dream. At the far edge of his vision, its tail disappeared into the depths of the Dimensional Gap.
So it ran.
A low, rumbling dragon roar echoed from deep within. For some reason, in this state, Cid could understand its meaning.
Am I… getting played again?
Holding up a mass of Magical Power capable of destroying everything, Cid suddenly felt the urge to just throw it straight into the depths of the Dimensional Gap and blast the Great Red back out.
"Breathe in… breathe out…"
He took several deep breaths and forced down the impulse by replaying, over and over in his mind, the scene of the Magical Power shockwaves that had once erupted from the Dimensional Gap and struck all over the world.
Unlike his fight with the three Dragon Gods just now, where he had been able to limit the damage to the edge of the battlefield, if he threw this into the depths of the Dimensional Gap, he would have no way of controlling what happened when it went off.
After calming down, Cid began thinking about what to do with the nuclear bomb in his hand. Dispersing the Magical Power now somehow felt like losing.
Come on, think. How am I supposed to deal with this thing… What was I even here to do in the first place?
As he struggled to remember, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
If I remember right, I came here to take advantage of the chaos Cao Cao and the others caused and get rid of the Evil Pieces that might expose my identity as an Eminence in Shadow. So why did I end up fighting those three dragons?
Cid blinked a few times and retraced his thought process from the moment he saw them.
Cao Cao made his move, so I can start dealing with the Evil Pieces.
That presence is strong. My hands are itching.
I have a grudge against those three dragons, so forget the Evil Pieces for now. Beating them up comes first.
Then, after realizing that the fatal wound he had deliberately set up might turn into a real fatal wound if the fight dragged on too long, and that he might not make it in time after the battle, he had chosen to stab himself again. That forced his body into a final burst of strength beyond its limits, and he put on the Slime Suit before rushing to the top of the venue.
Sweeping his gaze around, he quickly found the Underworld venue floating in the Dimensional Gap, already battered and on the verge of falling apart.
The corner of his mouth lifted.
He knew exactly what to do with this nuclear bomb now.
He dispersed part of the Magical Power gathered inside it, estimated the remaining power in his head, then aimed at the Underworld venue and threw it.
The major incident Cao Cao had stirred up had already been resolved by him, so even if he went back now, he would not get another chance to deal with the Evil Pieces.
In the end, he still had to use the backup plan. He would personally launch an attack, wreck the venue, and find a chance to "die" again…
No, there was no need to find one. That fatal wound still had not healed. He just needed to put on a bit of background character acting later.
Feeling the wound beneath his black coat, Cid smiled in relief.
Oh, right. The line…
"Shadow, the wanted criminal, sends his regards to you all."
His teasing voice, tinged with laughter, carried into the floating Underworld venue.
Looking at the purple Magic Bullet flying toward them, the expressions of the gathered powerhouses twisted.
"Which idiot was it who claimed Shadow wouldn't care, and still put a bounty on him just to protect their reputation?"
No one answered, but judging from the flicker in the eyes of some of the powerhouses currently working together to block the attack, they had clearly remembered something.
Once we get back, let's beat Loki up first, then cancel the bounty.
Why the hell did we hand Shadow a reason to start a war with us?