In the age before the Empire, Godbeasts were often the most terrifying beings that any settlement would fear, and hope to never cross the path of.
Although these beings had high intelligence, they liked to treat humans as either prey or playthings. Even though it was true that humans were some of the worst possible food they could find- full of bones and with a pitiful amount of flesh that wouldn't even count as a snack, they were still targeted by a few terrifying races of Godbeasts for multiple reasons.
Some said that it was because they did not like seeing them grow powerful, and wished to squash them before they reached enough of a level of power to challenge them.
Others stated that they liked to see the expressions of fear, as humans had some of the most expressive faces.
And still others…simply said that it was to have fun.
Either way, when the war came, it was weled and supported by almost all of humanity.
During this war…there were a small list of races who were targeted the most, both because of their absolute power, and their insistence to not let any human who crossed their sight live.
Even though they were few in number, each of them held extraordinary power, and it wasn't a rare occurrence for a few thousand humans to fall to bring down just one of these beasts.
As Daneel felt his body blur again before taking on the form he had practiced with extensively in Elysium, he remembered this history which he had been told by the system.
And this…was because after more than 25,000 years, those Godbeasts would be gracing the land of this great continent again.
Together.
From his feet, as his body began to be revealed to the world, he felt the two sovereigns behind him, who were still fighting, suddenly suck in sharp breaths as they witnessed the thing that had actually inspired the name 'Fighter Domination Protocol'.
Scaled, muscular, black colored legs that were bent, looking like they were bursting with power.
Gigantic, grey colored, bladed wings on a back and an upper body that was also scaled, but which shone brilliantly, as if swallowing all of the light in existence.
Hands that were giant-sized, with strange orifices near the spot where the forearm met the hand.
And finally…the neck and head of a crimson dragon with a single, majestic horn pointing straight forward.
As soon as the being came into existence, everyone present felt a faint trepidation in their hearts, as if their instincts were telling them that it would be in their best interests to flee the spot.
Even though they had seen it multiple times, even Elanev and Faxul felt this, but they braced themselves as the transformation was not done.
Indeed…after stretching its neck forward, opening its wings wide and spreading its hands, this breathtaking being that the King had transformed into roared, and due to this, everyone could see that its tongue…was actually made of lightning.
The roar of a dragon resounded on the battlefield, returned to its glory as the Monarch of Godbeasts, and as a dark glow began at the bottom of its long neck, it turned its gaze to the pearl, which now looked puny when pared to it.
That was because with its neck elongated, it stood 36 feet(11 m) tall, and its wings were even taller than it, stretching out to 60 feet(18.2 m), while looking as if they could blanket the whole world if they wished.
The varying colors of each part of its body actually added to its splendor instead of taking away from it, letting one know from which Godbeast each part had been taken.
The legs of a Nightwolf, known for its ability to leap across large distances.
The back, wings and upper body of a Griffin, the Godbeast that was known for its speed and maneuverability in the air, along with its unbreachable defense.
The hands of a Neolith, a Godbeast that was the most humanoid in appearance, but which hated humans the most for reasons that were never found out.
And finally…the head of a Dragon, the most destructive Godbeast in all of existence, with the tongue of the King of Lightning, the purpose behind which was exposed as Daneel opened his maw and prepared to attack.
The glow that had begun at the bottom of his neck reached his mouth, and this was where it met the lightning.
The end result…was an apocalyptic beam of hellfire interspersed with lightning bolts, that looked like it was the very personification of what it meant to 'destroy'.
Daneel was going all out from the beginning, with no intention of testing out his opponent and then revealing his power, as many characters were wont to do in many of the stories he had read back on Earth.
This was his most powerful attack, and its strength…had been rated at the Peak Amateur Hero level by the system.
And of course…this was only when he was using just his Fighter Path.
BOOOOMMMM!!!!
On impact, after a brief second of silence, the place where the pearl lay was smote with the unstoppable wrath of a Dragon that was incensed.
And when mixed with the element of lightning which had the capability of upping the explosiveness of any attack…it was a sight to behold.
A crater more than 80 feet wide appeared on the ground, and it was even half as deep as its width.
However…Daneel raised his hand just in time, as the entity that he had e for had managed to escape and appear on his side.
As this was a place that he had been able to access beforehand, he had also placed down an anti-teleportation formation that couldn't be broken easily. Only…it looked like his opponent seemed to have speed that rivaled teleportation.
Well, no one ever said that this was going to be easy.
It had been a blow by a blade that was like a large version of a butcher's knife, but Daneel had blocked it without even thinking with his bare hand.
As for the one wielding it…it was the same entity whose face had scared so many before, but it was enlarged by multiple times, which now allowed it to stand 25 feet tall, with armor covering its smooth body from neck to toe.
This armor was strange- it looked like a black sludge that was constantly swirling around the entity's body, but when Daneel made a surprise attack, it became clear what it was.
The Neolith had had a famous method of sending out bursts of Energy meant to threaten the enemies that it couldn't engage at a close range with the unmatched brute strength in its body. And this…was through the orifice at the base of its hand, which could point in any direction and let forth the fury of its race.
If it knew that its power was being used to defend those that it had hated with vehemence, it would definitely be pretty damn pissed off.
BANG!
With a sound like a gunshot, a projectile that looked like it was made of pure light began its journey to hopefully strike the large eyeball of the entity, in which the two pupils looked like they were dancing around each other.
Alas, at that moment…that black sludge sprung up as if it had a life of its own, and it managed to stop the attack easily.
[Power assessment pleted. Power level of opponent: Eminent Hero. If no new power is introduced, the probability of host's victory is 67%.]
Daneel actually felt relief as he heard this.
So far, although he had made many plans, things hadn't exactly gone the way he wished.
When dealing with an enemy of such means, though, he should have expected it, but it definitely hadn't been very pleasant to go through.
Using his powerful legs for a burst of strength and lunging forward with his powerful neck to hopefully bite the opponent's head off, as per the system's suggestions, Daneel hoped that there would be no more surprises.
True, he really had hoped to turn the continent against this being, which was why he had made that plan of creating a situation where the entity had to give back its executive powers, and bee the Overseer again.
Anyone who had been slumbering for so long would definitely not want to go back to the dark hole they had been hiding in all this while. It was said that a prisoner's worst fear would be to go back to prison after they were given a taste of freedom, and Daneel had been depending on this to throw the entity's plan into disarray.
He had had the assumption, or at least the hope that it must not have found a way to do anything all these years due to the strict rules, and that its plan might be to use the time it had now to bring the rest of the continent under its control.
Alas, he had been mistaken, and even now, he didn't know how the entity had acplished it.
After seeing all of his would-be allies fall unconscious, Daneel had fallen back on his second plan.
As he saw the entity launch another attack with its fist while forming a dazzling array of lights above them, which was definitely the precursor to a magic attack that might kill him if he wasn't careful, Daneel swung his wings forward, which had blades at the spots where they folded.
These blades sang as they whistled through the air, exposing the aspect of 'slicing' that they had inherited, and sensing this, the entity sprung back.
Seeing him do so, Daneel cursed that moment when victory had seemed within his grasp- when he had made the entity kneel, and had been about to cut him to bits.
Again, it had found a way to bring back the oaths into effect, even though the way it was supposed to be was that monstrosities should be free of the bindings placed on them when they had been humans. This was the reason why Daneel had subjected them to that transformation, but even that had failed.
Still, he had been able to salvage the situation, and reach this juncture.
"ROOOAAARRRR!!!!"
As the entity fell back, Daneel let out another resounding roar and used his most powerful attack again.
As the beam of thunder fire raced in its direction, the entity actually…didn't move to dodge.
Puzzled and dreading another surprise, Daneel watched as the sludge somehow…swallowed up his attack.
What the f*ck?
The entity was spotless, while Daneel had depleted a sizeable part of the reserves of his Energy.
[Attack has been displaced. WARNING: Attack approaching from the east!]
Hearing the message, Daneel had just enough time to use his legs to jump back, and allow his own beam of thunder fire to race past him.
He actually began to sweat as he saw it impact the ground and cause another massive crater, knowing that it would have injured him quite severely if he hadn't been fast enough.
The low rumble of the Overseer echoed in the air, making him look up.
"A trick from the Mainland. Your power is mendable. Normally, I would have loved to dissect you to find out all of your secrets. But now…I just want to destroy you, your legacy, your family, and all those who revere you. By the time I am done, no one will remember the name 'King Daneel'. You can only fight as a Fighter, and that is not enough. e. Let's end this."
Narrowing his eyes, Daneel let out another roar of defiance.
The battle between the Heroes was still raging on above them, and as he leaped forward, the thought in his mind was that the entity was right.
They had to end this quickly.
However…not even a moment later, he had to quickly retreat, as the magic spell that the entity had begun to cast was finished.
It had resulted in the creation of a dark, pulsing orb, and as soon as Daneel had entered within its area of effect…he had felt the Energy being sucked out of him.
He looked at it with shock, as this was something that he hadn't seen, or even heard of in all these years that he had spent on this continent.
Folding its hands behind its back, the entity began to speak.
"Let me introduce myself. I…am 'Greed'. My desire is to live forever and consume everything that I can find, and right now…I desire the Energy within you."
Widening his eyes, Daneel realized that he was in a predicament.
Long-range attacks would be displaced back towards him, and short-range attacks would need him to go nearer.
What the f*ck was he supposed to do?
Already, Daneel could feel himself losing grip on the battle, and that wasn't a good sign.
The being in front of him had already displayed that it was capable of things that he couldn't even imagine, and if there were no other factors at play, if he could utilize everything he had gained in Elysium, Daneel was confident that he could win.
But handicapped in this way…was it even possible?
Removing the amplification on the Hero-level monstrosities above him for even a fraction of a second would result in a change in the flow that would definitely end with him facing up against two hundred Heroes, along with this thing that had inexplicable abilities.
That was definitely something that he was sure he could not get past, so he had to kill the entity with what he had.
But how?
At the moment, the entity was still gloating due to the perfect trap it had made, knowing that each second that passed would only act in its favor. It knew that it had the means to absorb unlimited amounts of Energy, whereas Daneel's reserves were limited, and quickly being diminished.
Using it, he took a deep breath and thought back to everything that had happened until now.
All of his plans, all of his preparations, all of the pain…had led to this moment.
He had carefully manipulated everything to ensure that he would have this chance, and although it might not be as ideal as he wished, he had obtained it at the cost of much blood and tears.
Only he knew the excruciating pain he had had to go through to achieve subsequent breakthroughs as a Fighter and a Mage. Only he knew how close he had been to that thin veil, and how much the other side had called to him, tempting him to end it, to give up, to accept that he had lost.
"NO!
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