Every time the two collided, the air burst and crackled with concussive force, kicking up multiple tornadoes. Across the wetlands, the reddish-brown earth was gouged open in countless places, leaving behind massive craters.
Amidst this cataclysmic spectacle—
("This has got to be a joke! No one told me this was going to be a real fight to the death!")
With that tearful woman's shriek as the final sound, the two combatants tore away into the distance, dragging twisters behind them and devastating the wetland terrain in their wake.
"M-Monsters..."
Having fallen hard on his backside, Crocodus barely managed to squeeze the words out.
"Get it now? You were literally one step away from dying, you idiot."
Chato grabbed Crocodus by his right wrist and hauled him to his feet, the crocodile-man's face still thoroughly frozen in fear.
"D-Don't tell me that human is like that too?"
Crocodus stared at me as he asked. His expression was a complete reversal from before, steeped in sheer terror. Well, I couldn't blame him. Even I had never imagined Mr. Lou was such an absurdly powerful existence. And I was sure the other monsters here felt the exact same way.
For that matter, who on earth was that person, really? I had absolutely no idea where he fit into the grand scheme of things. Honestly, it would make far more sense if someone told me he was one of the other Four Great Demon Kings, a Phantom Beast King, or even the Phantom Demon King who ruled over all monsterkind.
"Gil isn't quite that ridiculous, but he's certainly stronger than you. After all, he managed to beat me."
As Bū snorted with a touch of pride, a murmur rippled through the rest of the monsters.
"However, this means we must now subjugate the Great Blue Dragon without Lord Lou. And what is more..."
Cyclone spoke with a sour grimace, causing everyone's faces to cloud over. I understood what Cyclone was getting at. Cetus aside, if another entity on the level of that pitch-black mass appeared, we wouldn't stand a chance on our own. That was an undeniable fact.
Even so—
"We have to do it. Either way, our only path forward is to bring it down."
It was true that Mr. Lou was gone. But that didn't mean Cetus was going to stop. In just a few days, it would inevitably reach Ket Nya. If that happened, the settlement would be destroyed. We were already backed into a corner. Defeating Cetus was our only chance at survival.
"Indeed. That is likely what Lord Lou intended to convey as well. However, human, I do not trust you. If you pull any strange tricks, I will strike you down without hesitation. Do you understand?"
Cyclone asked, fixing me with a piercing glare.
"Yeah, that's fine with me."
I gave a firm nod.
"Commence the operation!"
At Kiji's shout, the operation was set into motion.