With the three storm gods occupied by their mother Tahiri, I can turn my attention to the gathering army again. Among them, I can spot a few people who don't look like normal soldiers. They may be commanders or specialists, or even other members of the Six Arms, though I doubt they would come out now and leave the God King alone in his palace.
Tokomaha's clones are beginning to form a contingent, while Korenga pumps herself up with roars that should have the human army shaking in their boots. Awhina is raring to go as well, the wave of earth undulating under her feet as she perches on top of it like a panther ready to pounce. My children have opted to not take off into the skies again, now that lightning is flying all across it, as the God of Storm is facing her three children. Instead, they are most likely waiting to find the right opponents for themselves.
How should I start this battle? I know we could just cut our way through the army, into the city, and make our way straight to the palace. I doubt the Black God would lose to anyone here, considering she could survive being inside a living volcano, but I still want to be careful about ambushes and being surrounded, if we don't take care of these soldiers here.
For now, I'll scatter the weak.
Since plasma shots take time to load and have a cool-down period due to the barrel overheating - even in the dragon's original form - using a single big barrel is only useful against huge targets. The enemy is able to run out of the path and minimize their casualties when I keep slinging out big projectiles at a slow rate.
Thus, I transform my plasma cannon arm into the shape of a seven-barreled Gatling cannon. Each barrel is obviously much smaller, but I can rotate it using my ungodly body's capabilities so that I can achieve a fast fire rate. And there is a huge collection of targets in front of me to test this out on right now.
"[If you don't want to die, you should run!]" I announce in a loud voice that booms across the entire battlefield. Obviously, the enemies don't know what a Gatling gun is, even while they're staring into its deadly barrels, so not a single soldier takes this opportunity to come out alive.
I gave my warning; they didn't heed it. The others can't say that I'm evil for massacring them all now.
Winding up my Gatling cannon arm, I begin to shoot at them. The smaller projectiles are much faster than the big one and impact the faraway enemy lines within a second of being fired. Of course, this cannon doesn't have the satisfying sound effect that accompanies explosives-driven projectiles, but it's far more devastating.
The plasma bullets fly into the enemy ranks and tear through the soldiers who have no protection against this kind of high-tech weaponry - though it isn't actually high-tech and wholly biodegradable. While I walk forward and strafe across their lines, I see people melting away with their armor, others catching fire from being grazed, while more and more of them begin to try and run away.
Suddenly, the ground before the enemy rises up and forms into a wall, which my projectiles impact but don't penetrate.
"[Awhina?]" I'm taken aback and mutter, but find that when the dirt peels off the wall, it's made of pure gold. "... Aurelia?!"
No, she would be able to tell who I am straight away and wouldn't stand against me. But maybe she's actually the God King? I could see her pulling something like that. But that doesn't make sense either since they made clear that it was a he rather than a she. And I don't see that prideful woman ever serving under someone - other than the person she was willing to spend eternity with. Me that is.
So it must be someone with a similar ability as hers. Considering Tahiri is basically the same as Zenlith, it isn't surprising to find someone with the power of someone else I know in this nation filled with people that have godlike abilities.
Atop the wall of solid gold, a pool of liquid gold rises up and takes on the shape of a rotund human. Reminiscent of Aurelia, his everything is colored in shades of gold, ranging from yellow hair, copper red eyes, and whitish skin, clad in a white toga covered in trinkets and accessories of pure gold. Everything about him is so aggravatingly gold. Too much gold!
Also, I wonder why he isn't making his appearance more handsome, when he can just materialize himself out of gold? Why choose the looks of a fat man that is the clear stereotype of a rich bastard? He even wears a self-confident grin, accentuated by his pencil mustache made of gold, which is basically an invitation for his face to be punched in.
I think we just found the opponent for Awhina, then. He doesn't seem to have any especially destructive abilities like Roamukao or the storm siblings up in the sky, so she should be a good match.
"[Let me take him!]" Korenga shouts and runs forward without any consideration for my thoughts. You're throwing my plan to match the fitting combatants all out of whack!
"[Hey, stop it!]" I call out after her, and she actually listens.
"[Why?]" She asks me, not understanding that something formless is her natural enemy. How does she hope to fight something made of liquid gold with just her punches?
"[Let Awhina take him on.]" Turning to the half-goddess by my side, I look for her reaction.
"[I've been waiting for this!]" Unexpectedly, her blood seems to be boiling at the thought of fighting someone using her full power, and she immediately springs into action. Riding on her wave of earth, she shoots forward. When I think about it, it really is her first time being in a duel with someone since we started our journey. Against Roamukao, she only created a barrier and joined us for the cleanup of his aspects.
Noticing her approach, the golden man moves to meet her, pulling the entire wall he created with him.
Is he an idiot? Now I can shoot at the army again.
But that's when five soldiers in distinctly colored armors run forward. Red, blue, black, yellow and a pink one.
Oi, that's dangerous!
They each pull out a unique-looking weapon and stab themselves in the stomach. I stare at them in complete surprise, but then they explode and grow in size, turning into giants about ten times as tall as humans.
That's a whole different problem right there!
But when I look closer, I find that they seem to be covered in metallic armor plating. Are those supposed to be my opponents? Not a single one of them even measures up to my waist in my current form; I can just crush them with a single punch.
Betraying my expectations for the third time, they converge, jump into the air, and begin to transform further. The red one forms a torso, and a huge head, the blue and yellow ones turn into giant legs, the black one opens up and turns into a pair of fittingly sized arms, and finally, the pink one wraps around the torso and creates a breastplate. Assembling into one body, they form a giant that is a match for my size.
I can't even rebut, that's actually amazing. I wish Senka were here to comment on this, but I know what she'll say under these circumstances.
"[Stop it!]" Pointing at the armored giant, I mimic the doll girl's tone. "[That's a copyright lawsuit right there!!!]"
The giant obviously doesn't understand or care about what I'm saying, and runs up at me with his right arm pulled back in a very telegraphed punch. The army cheers at this heroic charge of what must be a champion of theirs, but I only see an untrained idiot trying to attack a bear with his bare hands.
"[Don't ignore me!]" With an ear-splitting roar, Korenga runs towards the combined mecha-like thing from the side. Once again, she can't read the mood.
"[Korengaaa!!!]" A deep bass voice causes the very earth to tremble, as it rolls across the plains. It came from atop the city walls, and I look over there to spot a lone figure standing on the battlements. Apparently, that's someone who knows the Black God, so that means her personal opponent has arrived. Good for her!
"[It's the general!]" Another cheer runs through the ranks of the king's army as they raise their weapons in newfound high spirits. "[General Pakangaroa has arrived!]"
I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before, but I can't really put my mind into trying to remember. It's just one thing after another over there...
Rather casually, I sidestep the awkward and slow punch from the combined giant and counter with a hook towards its solar plexus of my own. Because their form is the result of five individuals merging, and I'm in sole control of my entire body, I have the upper hand in reaction time and speed here. At least that's my theory in regards to why it's so sluggish. Maybe these five aren't experienced fighters because their size alone allows them to crush anyone without much of a battle.
My giant fist connects, and I find that this opponent is incredibly hard and heavy. Maybe I shouldn't underestimate it after all; if something that heavy and with that size hits me, my dragon armor will most likely get dented in. On the other hand, that weight just causes them to be so slow. My body completely ignores the law of conservation of mass. I can literally throw a punch with a hollow arm, and fill it up with mass from my depths in the last second, giving it massive weight.
It's what I do when I let my arm crash down on the head of the giant combined mecha, and fill it with most of my body's weight in the last moment. I used this against Korenga before, and at that time I overshot because she fell asleep. This time, the opponent is much too slow to dodge, and it won't pull something so unexpected.
The balled fist comes down on the enemy's head like a massive hammer and punches it into its torso, crushing its neck and spine in a single move. The impact causes its feet to sink into the ground before its knees buckle and give way under the immense weight of my attack.
The cheering from the enemy army stops abruptly as the giant falls flat on its stomach and stops moving.
"[Was that all?]" I announce across the battlefield and spread my arms. Maybe this form is just too powerful for them to handle, so I should give them a bit of a handicap. It's no fun to be winning with such overwhelming might.
Not.
I've been defeated too many times because I was overconfident in my powers. They are amazing, but there is always a bigger fish out there, and it's not always obvious at first sight.
"[In other words, let's check for pulse.]" I turn around to the lifeless body of the combined giant.
Forming the massive plasma cannon I started out with, I unload it on the fallen enemy repeatedly, until my barrel completely overheats. Then I reform my arm again and take a look at its remains. Smoldering pieces of what I assume to be muscle tissue and molten bones is all that remains, as it evaporates under the relentless residual heat of the dragon breath. Its shape can't even be called humanoid anymore.
"[No pulse.]" With these words, I turn back to face the remaining human army, that has been watching our short exchange. It has fallen completely silent from shock, and I'd say their morale is completely broken by now.
I undo my transformation and turn small again.
Right at that time, Awhina and the golden man clash in a wave of dirt, rocks, and gold. Forming blocks of earth around her feet, the demigoddess uses her very surroundings to throw a barrage of giant punches. She is met by shields of gold, which take the attacks with the malleability of the soft metal. Her opponent creates tendrils to try and move through the cracks of her defenses, but she cuts them off by throwing up walls.
There is an incredible beauty in seeing two people with the ability to control matter to such an extent duke it out. I'm sure seeing two Crawling Chaoses fight is similar to that - as long as they don't show their true appearances.
In either case, it looks like an evenly matched battle, so I shift my attention to the skies. I can't tell how it's going, but the fact that it's still going means that these three brats are putting up a valiant fight. I have no doubts that Tahiri will win though.
Turning to Korenga, I find that she has returned to her normal appearance and is staring up at the giant city walls. She must be making eye contact with that general of the enemy, who has his arms crossed and doesn't look like he's going to move. Since her back is turned to me, I can't tell what kind of face Korenga is making, though.
Then it hits me. Tahiri was the one who told me the Black God's past with Mataku, and in there she mentioned the name Pakangaroa - the God of War.
I take a closer look at him by recreating binoculars inside my head. Even though I didn't pay much attention at school, I did learn some random useless trivia outside of it; in other words, I know how binoculars work, and how I can form them using the human eye's lens. As always, this body is so convenient, I can look normal on the outside, while my insides are filled with all kinds of strange growths that can aid me in every situation.
The guy the soldiers called their general is a powerfully built man with crimson skin. Since there is nobody around him, I can't really judge his height properly, but I would say that he is actually taller than even Korenga. He's completely hairless, accentuating the muscles of his exposed upper body, which is covered in a very intricate pattern of black tattoos, which reach all the way up his face and across his bald head. His eyes are actually on fire, with flames flickering outside his sockets. Around his waist, he's wearing something like a championship belt with a huge bull's head made of metal adorning its front. His crotch and thighs are covered by a loincloth cut from an animal's hide, and he wears a set of thick golden rings around his wrists and ankles.
So that's the God of War, huh? He does look quite warlike.
Well, I'll leave this to Korenga, as I had already somewhat decided to earlier. I turn to Tokomaha and Mereana who are standing a distance behind me. There's a whole bunch of clones now, easily numbering in the hundreds; and they are all standing in formation, ready to charge. I think this is the moment where we go for a clash of the armies, while their morale is still low from my completely one-sided beat down and destruction of their champion.
"[Let's go.]" I wave to my companions and begin to walk forward, creating a shield and a spear in my hands using dragon armor. I'll take this opportunity to experience how it feels to be in the thick of a huge melee since I've never really done that before. Every hero in every story goes through that, and they usually feel that it's unnecessary bloodshed. Let's see how I feel about that.
Mimicking the outfit of a certain Greek king leading just a contingent of three hundred soldiers against a much larger force, I begin to form armor. Then I remember that in popular culture, he apparently went topless. That can't be right. That's really stupid to do in a real battle, no matter how skilled you are. So I just create a breastplate that looks like my naked body, embellished with the six-pack I don't have - or rather, don't want to have plainly visible, since such muscles don't befit a delicate girl like me.
Finally, I put on a Corinthian helmet featuring a red-haired crest, before breaking out into a light jog, while the army of Tokomaha catches up to me. Mereana joins my side, and we begin to charge, as the human soldiers in front of the city walls take on a defensive formation under the orders of a lower-ranked commander. At one glance I can tell that they still easily outnumber us more than ten to one.
Good, a bit of a challenge.
We pass by my two children still in dragon form, who realize that the situation has changed. They undo their transformations and follow my example, covering themselves in dragon armor with a far less refined appearance; they lack the training and visualization ability I've been honing for all this time since I got this body. It's pretty good for their first attempt though.
"[The giant god from before has used up all its energy, this is our chance!]" I hear someone bellow among the enemy troops. They think I became small because I had no choice, huh? I won't correct their misconception about my abilities, though I'll be giving them a huge surprise later when I tear down the wall in my giant form again.
"[Shields up!]" I try to act commander-like when I see a volley of arrows fly up into the sky and come down on us. Unexpectedly, the Tokomaha clone army put their hands to the ground in unison and pull up dirt that turns into large oval shields which remind me of those carried by African tribes I saw on pictures in my previous life. Didn't know she had something like that up her figurative sleeves; I thought the only tool she had was that bone spear.
With perfect unity, the clones create a shield wall with no gaps and weather the hail of arrows. The instant the last impact is confirmed, I charge forward once again, and they follow me closely. To me, this is actually just like child's play right now, but it feels quite refreshing compared to battles where my world seems to be at stake.
I turn to look at Awhina, who is embroiled in battle with her opponent, wearing a grin on her lips. Despite the fact that she doesn't have the clear upper hand, she seems to be having a lot of fun, too. On the other side, Pakangaroa seems to have jumped down from the wall and is walking forward to face Korenga in a duel. I doubt anybody is going to disturb them over there.
Our contingent charges straight at the human army, and just before I reach my first opponent, I jump up and perform a lunging stab - a cool move I've seen in a movie before. My spear is blocked by the opponent's shield, but luckily I didn't make myself as weak as a normal human being; I have much more weight in my body than one would be able to tell from my appearance. Even though the enemy was able to block the spear instead of being penetrated by it, the impact sends him tumbling backward into his own troops.
With this, I break a hole into the formation, and the Tokomaha clones immediately follow. Along a wide line, the two sides clash with spears and shields, and a messy melee develops instantly.
I pull my spear back and stab a soldier in the exposed thigh. His scream is like music in my ears. Next to me, Mereana's sword cuts through her target's uncovered arm. She's doing pretty well despite being just a human. Her opponent's wailing is drowned out by the clashing of weapons all around me.
Then there are Uten and Saten, who are slashing their way through the enemy lines with their monstrous strength. The Tokomaha clones are also far more powerful than any human soldier could be, and easily break apart the entire battle line with their onslaught.
"[Do not falter! They are hopelessly outnumbered!]" The enemy commander tries to rally his troops, but that allows me to spot him out. He's among a contingent of cavalry, but I can tell who it is because of his differently colored armor; it has the same kind of silver sheen that Mereana's has, as opposed to the standard bronze everybody else around him wears. Incidentally, infantry is only wearing scale armor that only covers the torso.
I pull my spear back into my body, pick up a fallen enemy's, and throw it with all my strength, aiming at the commander. One of his cavalry guards see it and brings up a shield to block it, ignorant of the fact that my arm strength is on a whole different level compared to anybody of human size - except maybe for Korenga.
The spear pierces not only through his shield, but his body armor, and pulls him off his saddle, before continuing straight into the commander behind him. He's also thrown from his horse, and the two figures fall to the ground lifelessly, joined together by the shaft of the spear that is sticking through the both of them. All who witnessed my feat go pale from fear, some even going as far as to drop their weapons.
However, it seems like there is a proper chain of command, as someone else takes over almost immediately, and orders the soldiers to dig in on their positions, while their wings circle to strike our flanks and rear. They want to grind us down from all sides.
This is actually incredibly fun. The stench of blood and spilled guts, screams of agony and terror, all flow into me and fill me with elation. It's a different kind of sensation than when I satisfy my hunger or libido; it fulfills a desire apart from those two, which a human doesn't have - doesn't even know of.
I think I could become addicted to this...
"[Let's show them what we're made of!]" I raise my voice to address my children as well as the Tokomaha army. With these words, I create a sword from dragon carapace in my palm. "[We're breaking through.]"
Swinging the sword in every which direction, it cuts through weapons, armor, flesh and bones alike. On either of my sides, Uten and Saten are doing the same, as we create a bloodbath in our wake, into which more and more clones follow. Our aim is the cavalry unit at the center of the enemy troops, which should consist of most of their chain of command. If I take these out, the entire army should lose cohesion.
A huge impact on the wall to our right causes the battle to cease for a moment. As the dust settles, I can see that Korenga seems to have been embedded into the rocks from being thrown through the air at a high velocity. She's in her Black God form, so I'm not worried at all. With a roar, she frees herself and jumps out to clash with her ex-husband again.
On the other side, a wave of dirt mixed with gold crashes into the God King's army, as Awhina and her opponent's battle takes them closer to the city walls. There still isn't any sign as to who has the upper hand among them, but I somehow don't doubt that the half-goddess will win this. Maybe I'm being complacent, but after we defeated Roamukao, I don't think anything from around here could win against our lineup.
I mean, take me as an example. I could easily just expand and swallow this entire army with my current size, but I don't do it because of several factors. One of those being that I don't want to trigger Korenga or betray Mereana's expectations of me being the savior spoken of in her prophecy. While I think believing in a prophecy is stupid in the first place, I do want to help her. And turning into a giant monster that kills all humans is not the way to go.
Slaughtering my way through the infantry, I reach the cavalry. A spear comes down on me, but I deflect it with my helmet. Another shatters on my shield before I'm in range to attack the riders.
"Horses!" I hear my children exclaim in unison. That's right, they wanted to eat them after we rode them to the capital, but we had to let them go during the battle at Manoa.
"Alright, have your fill." I cut a rider down and mount his horse, before calling out to them.
"Thank you, mama!" Their response causes my heart to warm. Then they explosively expand, turning into dragons once more. At the sight, the horses buck, and the riders lose control of them, while the infantry shy back. Even now, I can hear some lower ranked commanders among them trying their hardest to keep up morale, but at this point it's impossible.
The twin dragons tear into the cavalry unit, flinging humans through the air while ripping horses apart in their powerful jaws. While they aim to eat the mounts, the riders are becoming collateral, too. More and more soldiers begin to run away, some getting cut down for their cowardice, while others start to wrestle with their officers.
Humans are such unsightly creatures...
"[To the gate!]" I command the Tokomaha clones, of whom most likely not a single one has even sustained any injuries, let alone been destroyed and returned to the dirt. Really, I have to admit that her power is something else. Every one of those register as real lifeforms in my Chaos senses, and appearance-wise they are all the same. I couldn't tell which is the real one and which is just a clone.
Riding on my newly gained mount, I ride through the fleeing enemies and cut down those who try to stand in my way. The gate isn't far away, and I could have just walked over myself, but I really feel like a commander this way. Raising my sword, I signal for my troops to rally behind me.
Suddenly, something flies at me from the sky, and I have just enough time to raise my shield. With a heavy impact, that something connects and rips me straight off the horse, sending me flying through the air and tumbling to the ground. When I look at my shield, I find that it's cracked, even though it's made of dragon carapace.
Without losing a moment, I increase my body's density to its maximum before sitting back up. In front of me stands a naked child, barely in its teens, with no discernible genitals. It has onyx skin with white lines that take on intricate patterns similar to the tattoos sported by all gods. A black full helm, strangely anachronistic for this nation, with a single thick spike sitting on its apex, covers the head, and beyond an eye slit are two glowing white eyes.
"[Ah! That's Aorutihaua, Child of the Sun! Be careful, Chaos!]" Several Tokomaha warn me in unison, employing a very serious tone. The title alone rings all kinds of alarm bells in my head. The sun implies incredible heat, which can break down anything solid into liquids or straight up vapors.
I'm sorry I got ahead of myself again! I won't look down on my enemies anymore, so please stop sending my natural enemies after me all the time!
With the three storm gods occupied by their mother Tahiri, I can turn my attention to the gathering army again. Among them, I can spot a few people who don't look like normal soldiers. They may be commanders or specialists, or even other members of the Six Arms, though I doubt they would come out now and leave the God King alone in his palace.
Tokomaha's clones are beginning to form a contingent, while Korenga pumps herself up with roars that should have the human army shaking in their boots. Awhina is raring to go as well, the wave of earth undulating under her feet as she perches on top of it like a panther ready to pounce. My children have opted to not take off into the skies again, now that lightning is flying all across it, as the God of Storm is facing her three children. Instead, they are most likely waiting to find the right opponents for themselves.
How should I start this battle? I know we could just cut our way through the army, into the city, and make our way straight to the palace. I doubt the Black God would lose to anyone here, considering she could survive being inside a living volcano, but I still want to be careful about ambushes and being surrounded, if we don't take care of these soldiers here.
For now, I'll scatter the weak.
Since plasma shots take time to load and have a cool-down period due to the barrel overheating - even in the dragon's original form - using a single big barrel is only useful against huge targets. The enemy is able to run out of the path and minimize their casualties when I keep slinging out big projectiles at a slow rate.
Thus, I transform my plasma cannon arm into the shape of a seven-barreled Gatling cannon. Each barrel is obviously much smaller, but I can rotate it using my ungodly body's capabilities so that I can achieve a fast fire rate. And there is a huge collection of targets in front of me to test this out on right now.
"[If you don't want to die, you should run!]" I announce in a loud voice that booms across the entire battlefield. Obviously, the enemies don't know what a Gatling gun is, even while they're staring into its deadly barrels, so not a single soldier takes this opportunity to come out alive.
I gave my warning; they didn't heed it. The others can't say that I'm evil for massacring them all now.
Winding up my Gatling cannon arm, I begin to shoot at them. The smaller projectiles are much faster than the big one and impact the faraway enemy lines within a second of being fired. Of course, this cannon doesn't have the satisfying sound effect that accompanies explosives-driven projectiles, but it's far more devastating.
The plasma bullets fly into the enemy ranks and tear through the soldiers who have no protection against this kind of high-tech weaponry - though it isn't actually high-tech and wholly biodegradable. While I walk forward and strafe across their lines, I see people melting away with their armor, others catching fire from being grazed, while more and more of them begin to try and run away.
Suddenly, the ground before the enemy rises up and forms into a wall, which my projectiles impact but don't penetrate.
"[Awhina?]" I'm taken aback and mutter, but find that when the dirt peels off the wall, it's made of pure gold. "... Aurelia?!"
No, she would be able to tell who I am straight away and wouldn't stand against me. But maybe she's actually the God King? I could see her pulling something like that. But that doesn't make sense either since they made clear that it was a he rather than a she. And I don't see that prideful woman ever serving under someone - other than the person she was willing to spend eternity with. Me that is.
So it must be someone with a similar ability as hers. Considering Tahiri is basically the same as Zenlith, it isn't surprising to find someone with the power of someone else I know in this nation filled with people that have godlike abilities.
Atop the wall of solid gold, a pool of liquid gold rises up and takes on the shape of a rotund human. Reminiscent of Aurelia, his everything is colored in shades of gold, ranging from yellow hair, copper red eyes, and whitish skin, clad in a white toga covered in trinkets and accessories of pure gold. Everything about him is so aggravatingly gold. Too much gold!
Also, I wonder why he isn't making his appearance more handsome, when he can just materialize himself out of gold? Why choose the looks of a fat man that is the clear stereotype of a rich bastard? He even wears a self-confident grin, accentuated by his pencil mustache made of gold, which is basically an invitation for his face to be punched in.
I think we just found the opponent for Awhina, then. He doesn't seem to have any especially destructive abilities like Roamukao or the storm siblings up in the sky, so she should be a good match.
"[Let me take him!]" Korenga shouts and runs forward without any consideration for my thoughts. You're throwing my plan to match the fitting combatants all out of whack!
"[Hey, stop it!]" I call out after her, and she actually listens.
"[Why?]" She asks me, not understanding that something formless is her natural enemy. How does she hope to fight something made of liquid gold with just her punches?
"[Let Awhina take him on.]" Turning to the half-goddess by my side, I look for her reaction.
"[I've been waiting for this!]" Unexpectedly, her blood seems to be boiling at the thought of fighting someone using her full power, and she immediately springs into action. Riding on her wave of earth, she shoots forward. When I think about it, it really is her first time being in a duel with someone since we started our journey. Against Roamukao, she only created a barrier and joined us for the cleanup of his aspects.
Noticing her approach, the golden man moves to meet her, pulling the entire wall he created with him.
Is he an idiot? Now I can shoot at the army again.
But that's when five soldiers in distinctly colored armors run forward. Red, blue, black, yellow and a pink one.
Oi, that's dangerous!
They each pull out a unique-looking weapon and stab themselves in the stomach. I stare at them in complete surprise, but then they explode and grow in size, turning into giants about ten times as tall as humans.
That's a whole different problem right there!
But when I look closer, I find that they seem to be covered in metallic armor plating. Are those supposed to be my opponents? Not a single one of them even measures up to my waist in my current form; I can just crush them with a single punch.
Betraying my expectations for the third time, they converge, jump into the air, and begin to transform further. The red one forms a torso, and a huge head, the blue and yellow ones turn into giant legs, the black one opens up and turns into a pair of fittingly sized arms, and finally, the pink one wraps around the torso and creates a breastplate. Assembling into one body, they form a giant that is a match for my size.
I can't even rebut, that's actually amazing. I wish Senka were here to comment on this, but I know what she'll say under these circumstances.
"[Stop it!]" Pointing at the armored giant, I mimic the doll girl's tone. "[That's a copyright lawsuit right there!!!]"
The giant obviously doesn't understand or care about what I'm saying, and runs up at me with his right arm pulled back in a very telegraphed punch. The army cheers at this heroic charge of what must be a champion of theirs, but I only see an untrained idiot trying to attack a bear with his bare hands.
"[Don't ignore me!]" With an ear-splitting roar, Korenga runs towards the combined mecha-like thing from the side. Once again, she can't read the mood.
"[Korengaaa!!!]" A deep bass voice causes the very earth to tremble, as it rolls across the plains. It came from atop the city walls, and I look over there to spot a lone figure standing on the battlements. Apparently, that's someone who knows the Black God, so that means her personal opponent has arrived. Good for her!
"[It's the general!]" Another cheer runs through the ranks of the king's army as they raise their weapons in newfound high spirits. "[General Pakangaroa has arrived!]"
I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before, but I can't really put my mind into trying to remember. It's just one thing after another over there...
Rather casually, I sidestep the awkward and slow punch from the combined giant and counter with a hook towards its solar plexus of my own. Because their form is the result of five individuals merging, and I'm in sole control of my entire body, I have the upper hand in reaction time and speed here. At least that's my theory in regards to why it's so sluggish. Maybe these five aren't experienced fighters because their size alone allows them to crush anyone without much of a battle.
My giant fist connects, and I find that this opponent is incredibly hard and heavy. Maybe I shouldn't underestimate it after all; if something that heavy and with that size hits me, my dragon armor will most likely get dented in. On the other hand, that weight just causes them to be so slow. My body completely ignores the law of conservation of mass. I can literally throw a punch with a hollow arm, and fill it up with mass from my depths in the last second, giving it massive weight.
It's what I do when I let my arm crash down on the head of the giant combined mecha, and fill it with most of my body's weight in the last moment. I used this against Korenga before, and at that time I overshot because she fell asleep. This time, the opponent is much too slow to dodge, and it won't pull something so unexpected.
The balled fist comes down on the enemy's head like a massive hammer and punches it into its torso, crushing its neck and spine in a single move. The impact causes its feet to sink into the ground before its knees buckle and give way under the immense weight of my attack.
The cheering from the enemy army stops abruptly as the giant falls flat on its stomach and stops moving.
"[Was that all?]" I announce across the battlefield and spread my arms. Maybe this form is just too powerful for them to handle, so I should give them a bit of a handicap. It's no fun to be winning with such overwhelming might.
Not.
I've been defeated too many times because I was overconfident in my powers. They are amazing, but there is always a bigger fish out there, and it's not always obvious at first sight.
"[In other words, let's check for pulse.]" I turn around to the lifeless body of the combined giant.
Forming the massive plasma cannon I started out with, I unload it on the fallen enemy repeatedly, until my barrel completely overheats. Then I reform my arm again and take a look at its remains. Smoldering pieces of what I assume to be muscle tissue and molten bones is all that remains, as it evaporates under the relentless residual heat of the dragon breath. Its shape can't even be called humanoid anymore.
"[No pulse.]" With these words, I turn back to face the remaining human army, that has been watching our short exchange. It has fallen completely silent from shock, and I'd say their morale is completely broken by now.
I undo my transformation and turn small again.
Right at that time, Awhina and the golden man clash in a wave of dirt, rocks, and gold. Forming blocks of earth around her feet, the demigoddess uses her very surroundings to throw a barrage of giant punches. She is met by shields of gold, which take the attacks with the malleability of the soft metal. Her opponent creates tendrils to try and move through the cracks of her defenses, but she cuts them off by throwing up walls.
There is an incredible beauty in seeing two people with the ability to control matter to such an extent duke it out. I'm sure seeing two Crawling Chaoses fight is similar to that - as long as they don't show their true appearances.
In either case, it looks like an evenly matched battle, so I shift my attention to the skies. I can't tell how it's going, but the fact that it's still going means that these three brats are putting up a valiant fight. I have no doubts that Tahiri will win though.
Turning to Korenga, I find that she has returned to her normal appearance and is staring up at the giant city walls. She must be making eye contact with that general of the enemy, who has his arms crossed and doesn't look like he's going to move. Since her back is turned to me, I can't tell what kind of face Korenga is making, though.
Then it hits me. Tahiri was the one who told me the Black God's past with Mataku, and in there she mentioned the name Pakangaroa - the God of War.
I take a closer look at him by recreating binoculars inside my head. Even though I didn't pay much attention at school, I did learn some random useless trivia outside of it; in other words, I know how binoculars work, and how I can form them using the human eye's lens. As always, this body is so convenient, I can look normal on the outside, while my insides are filled with all kinds of strange growths that can aid me in every situation.
The guy the soldiers called their general is a powerfully built man with crimson skin. Since there is nobody around him, I can't really judge his height properly, but I would say that he is actually taller than even Korenga. He's completely hairless, accentuating the muscles of his exposed upper body, which is covered in a very intricate pattern of black tattoos, which reach all the way up his face and across his bald head. His eyes are actually on fire, with flames flickering outside his sockets. Around his waist, he's wearing something like a championship belt with a huge bull's head made of metal adorning its front. His crotch and thighs are covered by a loincloth cut from an animal's hide, and he wears a set of thick golden rings around his wrists and ankles.
So that's the God of War, huh? He does look quite warlike.
Well, I'll leave this to Korenga, as I had already somewhat decided to earlier. I turn to Tokomaha and Mereana who are standing a distance behind me. There's a whole bunch of clones now, easily numbering in the hundreds; and they are all standing in formation, ready to charge. I think this is the moment where we go for a clash of the armies, while their morale is still low from my completely one-sided beat down and destruction of their champion.
"[Let's go.]" I wave to my companions and begin to walk forward, creating a shield and a spear in my hands using dragon armor. I'll take this opportunity to experience how it feels to be in the thick of a huge melee since I've never really done that before. Every hero in every story goes through that, and they usually feel that it's unnecessary bloodshed. Let's see how I feel about that.
Mimicking the outfit of a certain Greek king leading just a contingent of three hundred soldiers against a much larger force, I begin to form armor. Then I remember that in popular culture, he apparently went topless. That can't be right. That's really stupid to do in a real battle, no matter how skilled you are. So I just create a breastplate that looks like my naked body, embellished with the six-pack I don't have - or rather, don't want to have plainly visible, since such muscles don't befit a delicate girl like me.
Finally, I put on a Corinthian helmet featuring a red-haired crest, before breaking out into a light jog, while the army of Tokomaha catches up to me. Mereana joins my side, and we begin to charge, as the human soldiers in front of the city walls take on a defensive formation under the orders of a lower-ranked commander. At one glance I can tell that they still easily outnumber us more than ten to one.
Good, a bit of a challenge.
We pass by my two children still in dragon form, who realize that the situation has changed. They undo their transformations and follow my example, covering themselves in dragon armor with a far less refined appearance; they lack the training and visualization ability I've been honing for all this time since I got this body. It's pretty good for their first attempt though.
"[The giant god from before has used up all its energy, this is our chance!]" I hear someone bellow among the enemy troops. They think I became small because I had no choice, huh? I won't correct their misconception about my abilities, though I'll be giving them a huge surprise later when I tear down the wall in my giant form again.
"[Shields up!]" I try to act commander-like when I see a volley of arrows fly up into the sky and come down on us. Unexpectedly, the Tokomaha clone army put their hands to the ground in unison and pull up dirt that turns into large oval shields which remind me of those carried by African tribes I saw on pictures in my previous life. Didn't know she had something like that up her figurative sleeves; I thought the only tool she had was that bone spear.
With perfect unity, the clones create a shield wall with no gaps and weather the hail of arrows. The instant the last impact is confirmed, I charge forward once again, and they follow me closely. To me, this is actually just like child's play right now, but it feels quite refreshing compared to battles where my world seems to be at stake.
I turn to look at Awhina, who is embroiled in battle with her opponent, wearing a grin on her lips. Despite the fact that she doesn't have the clear upper hand, she seems to be having a lot of fun, too. On the other side, Pakangaroa seems to have jumped down from the wall and is walking forward to face Korenga in a duel. I doubt anybody is going to disturb them over there.
Our contingent charges straight at the human army, and just before I reach my first opponent, I jump up and perform a lunging stab - a cool move I've seen in a movie before. My spear is blocked by the opponent's shield, but luckily I didn't make myself as weak as a normal human being; I have much more weight in my body than one would be able to tell from my appearance. Even though the enemy was able to block the spear instead of being penetrated by it, the impact sends him tumbling backward into his own troops.
With this, I break a hole into the formation, and the Tokomaha clones immediately follow. Along a wide line, the two sides clash with spears and shields, and a messy melee develops instantly.
I pull my spear back and stab a soldier in the exposed thigh. His scream is like music in my ears. Next to me, Mereana's sword cuts through her target's uncovered arm. She's doing pretty well despite being just a human. Her opponent's wailing is drowned out by the clashing of weapons all around me.
Then there are Uten and Saten, who are slashing their way through the enemy lines with their monstrous strength. The Tokomaha clones are also far more powerful than any human soldier could be, and easily break apart the entire battle line with their onslaught.
"[Do not falter! They are hopelessly outnumbered!]" The enemy commander tries to rally his troops, but that allows me to spot him out. He's among a contingent of cavalry, but I can tell who it is because of his differently colored armor; it has the same kind of silver sheen that Mereana's has, as opposed to the standard bronze everybody else around him wears. Incidentally, infantry is only wearing scale armor that only covers the torso.
I pull my spear back into my body, pick up a fallen enemy's, and throw it with all my strength, aiming at the commander. One of his cavalry guards see it and brings up a shield to block it, ignorant of the fact that my arm strength is on a whole different level compared to anybody of human size - except maybe for Korenga.
The spear pierces not only through his shield, but his body armor, and pulls him off his saddle, before continuing straight into the commander behind him. He's also thrown from his horse, and the two figures fall to the ground lifelessly, joined together by the shaft of the spear that is sticking through the both of them. All who witnessed my feat go pale from fear, some even going as far as to drop their weapons.
However, it seems like there is a proper chain of command, as someone else takes over almost immediately, and orders the soldiers to dig in on their positions, while their wings circle to strike our flanks and rear. They want to grind us down from all sides.
This is actually incredibly fun. The stench of blood and spilled guts, screams of agony and terror, all flow into me and fill me with elation. It's a different kind of sensation than when I satisfy my hunger or libido; it fulfills a desire apart from those two, which a human doesn't have - doesn't even know of.
I think I could become addicted to this...
"[Let's show them what we're made of!]" I raise my voice to address my children as well as the Tokomaha army. With these words, I create a sword from dragon carapace in my palm. "[We're breaking through.]"
Swinging the sword in every which direction, it cuts through weapons, armor, flesh and bones alike. On either of my sides, Uten and Saten are doing the same, as we create a bloodbath in our wake, into which more and more clones follow. Our aim is the cavalry unit at the center of the enemy troops, which should consist of most of their chain of command. If I take these out, the entire army should lose cohesion.
A huge impact on the wall to our right causes the battle to cease for a moment. As the dust settles, I can see that Korenga seems to have been embedded into the rocks from being thrown through the air at a high velocity. She's in her Black God form, so I'm not worried at all. With a roar, she frees herself and jumps out to clash with her ex-husband again.
On the other side, a wave of dirt mixed with gold crashes into the God King's army, as Awhina and her opponent's battle takes them closer to the city walls. There still isn't any sign as to who has the upper hand among them, but I somehow don't doubt that the half-goddess will win this. Maybe I'm being complacent, but after we defeated Roamukao, I don't think anything from around here could win against our lineup.
I mean, take me as an example. I could easily just expand and swallow this entire army with my current size, but I don't do it because of several factors. One of those being that I don't want to trigger Korenga or betray Mereana's expectations of me being the savior spoken of in her prophecy. While I think believing in a prophecy is stupid in the first place, I do want to help her. And turning into a giant monster that kills all humans is not the way to go.
Slaughtering my way through the infantry, I reach the cavalry. A spear comes down on me, but I deflect it with my helmet. Another shatters on my shield before I'm in range to attack the riders.
"Horses!" I hear my children exclaim in unison. That's right, they wanted to eat them after we rode them to the capital, but we had to let them go during the battle at Manoa.
"Alright, have your fill." I cut a rider down and mount his horse, before calling out to them.
"Thank you, mama!" Their response causes my heart to warm. Then they explosively expand, turning into dragons once more. At the sight, the horses buck, and the riders lose control of them, while the infantry shy back. Even now, I can hear some lower ranked commanders among them trying their hardest to keep up morale, but at this point it's impossible.
The twin dragons tear into the cavalry unit, flinging humans through the air while ripping horses apart in their powerful jaws. While they aim to eat the mounts, the riders are becoming collateral, too. More and more soldiers begin to run away, some getting cut down for their cowardice, while others start to wrestle with their officers.
Humans are such unsightly creatures...
"[To the gate!]" I command the Tokomaha clones, of whom most likely not a single one has even sustained any injuries, let alone been destroyed and returned to the dirt. Really, I have to admit that her power is something else. Every one of those register as real lifeforms in my Chaos senses, and appearance-wise they are all the same. I couldn't tell which is the real one and which is just a clone.
Riding on my newly gained mount, I ride through the fleeing enemies and cut down those who try to stand in my way. The gate isn't far away, and I could have just walked over myself, but I really feel like a commander this way. Raising my sword, I signal for my troops to rally behind me.
Suddenly, something flies at me from the sky, and I have just enough time to raise my shield. With a heavy impact, that something connects and rips me straight off the horse, sending me flying through the air and tumbling to the ground. When I look at my shield, I find that it's cracked, even though it's made of dragon carapace.
Without losing a moment, I increase my body's density to its maximum before sitting back up. In front of me stands a naked child, barely in its teens, with no discernible genitals. It has onyx skin with white lines that take on intricate patterns similar to the tattoos sported by all gods. A black full helm, strangely anachronistic for this nation, with a single thick spike sitting on its apex, covers the head, and beyond an eye slit are two glowing white eyes.
"[Ah! That's Aorutihaua, Child of the Sun! Be careful, Chaos!]" Several Tokomaha warn me in unison, employing a very serious tone. The title alone rings all kinds of alarm bells in my head. The sun implies incredible heat, which can break down anything solid into liquids or straight up vapors.
I'm sorry I got ahead of myself again! I won't look down on my enemies anymore, so please stop sending my natural enemies after me all the time!
