Kaijin Fighter: So I Have to Make Monsters, So What?

Meanwhile, back in the Library of Nowhere...

[We could do that?] Hurricroak called out to Logos and Pathos. [The maestro could've given us his abilities this whole time?!]

[I... don't...think... that's...the case,] Frosttusk answered in the stead of the curator spirits.

[Whatever the case may be, it's good that the young master is back to mostly operational capacity,] Arachnidame commented.

[Wish we could go be there and assist, though,] Lacerage added in an annoyed tone of voice.

A little after Zhen Liu had broken through to Aether Lord and forcefully restored his connection with the [Library of Nowhere], Logos and Pathos made sure to notify the Kaijin that were still in the area so that they could partake of the good news.

That, and so they could see what exactly their creator was currently going through.

Well, their creator and their fellow Kaijin of course.

[Hey, who had it on the betting pool that the maestro would create new Kaijin in order to fix himself?] Hurricroak asked her fellow kaijin. [I had my bets placed on him fixing the key beforehand.]

[Not...me...,] Frosttusk answered first. [I...had...long...way...back...home.]

[I think it was actually one of the kids?] Arachnidame suggested.

"It was actually both of us," Jasper answered for himself and his sister, Janice, as the two of them popped their heads into the room that the Kaijin were watching Zhen Liu's struggle. "We were promised enough snacks that it would counterbalance Frosttusk on a weight scale."

"Yeah, yeah!"

At this revelation, Hurricroak directed a judgemental gaze in Arachnidame and Lacerage's direction.

[Ain't you two supposed to be the kids tutor back at the clan's estate? Why are you allowing them to gamble and for snacks no less?] Hurricroak asked in an oddly maternal tone.

[Gambling games are excellent ways of teaching children the basics of arithmetic and the dangers of making foolish decisions,] Arachnidame defended herself.

[Only if the kid loses,] Lacerage pointed out. [Now you got to make them...what kind of snacks were you promised?]

"I like dried fruit," Jasper answered first.

"Honey snacks!" Janice followed up.

[Those...are...healthy... snacks,] Frosttusk nodded.

[Sounds like sugar shock,] Lacerage followed up.

[Yo! Hold up!] Hurricroak interjected. [Looks like this fight is about to get ugly!]

[Oh shit.]

...Hold up, before we get back to the main stage...

=Are you finished with the new schematics yet?=

<Just about,> Pathos answered as she finished adding the final touches of painted patterns. <If this works how we think it works, then that means our current master is about to defy reality a lot fucking harder than any of our previous masters.>

=Amen.=

...Now let's go...

'Holy shit, that worked way better than I anticipated! Nice punch, Nepherage,' Zhen Liu praised as he flew up to the victorious valkyrie's side.

[Twas nothing, milord,] Nepherage said with pride as she stood at the ready. [I have the Taboo to thank for that.]

'Well...'

As Zhen Liu stared at the giant gauntlets that were essentially the equivalent to what his Kaijin would consider their [Astras], he couldn't exactly deny Nepherage's words.

The moment she turned his [Alf Layla Wa Layla] into her [Comet Pounders](name pending), Zhen Liu could literally feel his connection with Nepherage practically double in strength as she pulled even more aether and [Chaos] from his reserves.

While he wasn't entirely sure if this drain was healthy in the slightest, he could at least have faith that the output was entirely worth it.

At least, judging by the massive impact crater in the side of the cavern wall and the smell of burnt flesh.

Although, with his luck, that probably wasn't the case.

'Okay, that had to have killed him, right?' Zhen Liu hoped.

[Uh...War Chief?]

'Don't say it.'

[I don't think he's...]

'Okay, I know you three are technically new, but there's this one thing where we don't tempt Murphy's—'

SOUND OF ROCK AND STONE BEING BROKEN BY A MASSIVE KAIJU-LIKE BASTARD!

"SON OF A BITCH!"

Before Zhen Liu could finish admonishing his kaijin for tempting fate, Dante proved that he had the vicious tenacity of a cockroach or some other creature that was nearly impossible to kill.

Extracting himself from the rubble with oozing tentacles, Dante looked injured but not mortally so.

At least, that's how he looked when glanced at.

'Wait a minute…'

Dante may have been an amorphous mess with unclear limbs and body parts, but Zhen Liu could still see that the main [Core] located smack dab in the middle of Dante's chest was looking rather…cracked.

To be more precise, it looks as if parts of the [Core] had suddenly puffed up, exploded, and turned the originally smooth golden orb into something looking like a demented golf ball.

Zhen Liu had a fairly good guess as to why this was the case.

'Nepherage. When you punched into Dante, are you sure that the blow was fatal?'

[More than sure, milord,] Nepherage nodded. [I felt his spine crack underneath my fists.]

'Then I have pretty good idea on who actually got their ticket punched when his should've been,' Zhen Liu noted as he took on a fighting stance.

To put it as bluntly as possible, Dante had partially sacrificed some of the kaijin he had absorbed into himself to act as substitutes for his own life.

At least, this is what Zhen Liu speculated given the circumstances and what he had just witnessed prior to now.

(Un)Fortunately, Dante was just about to prove Zhen Liu correct.

[Hmm. We need to recover,] Dante growled in that strange layered voice of his. [To me, my slaves. To me.]

Once more, Dante released a flurry of ozzing tentacles and grabbed several dozen of his defeated kaijin before absorbing then body and [Core].

However, not all of the absorbed [Cores] energy directly to the main one in the center.

Instead, some of the cores began to merge with the cores of the now defeated Demon Knights.

And just like how Dante's body became more and more ooze-like, more and more demented, so did the big parts of the Demon Knights.

Untill finally, Dante let out a nasty burp.

[Ah, much better. Now, it's time for some of exercise!]

Zhen Liu had been expecting Dante to keep firing rockets and missiles in the same way he had been doing for the past ten or so minutes of fighting.

As such, Dante and his kaijin were caught with their pants down as Dante launched himself out of the pit and got into close range with everyone. Once he was in swinging distance, Dante suddenly changed one of his arms into a giant tentacle that was covered in spikes that were shaped like the faces of the absorbed kaijin.

Thankfully, the bastard was slow enough that Dante and the others had time to block. There was no time to dodge, though.

[Milord, look out!]

'Gonna say the same thing!'

[Brothers, with me!]

Using her newly acquired [Taboo], Nepherage crossed her arms, channeled [Chaos] into them, and transform the gauntlets into a massive shield that was twice her size.

Zhen Liu did something similar with his [Astra], manipulating several squares until they had roughly formed into a multi-layered shield that was reinforced with [Chaos].

As for the Gallop Brothers, Depth Strider took the lead as he manipulated [Chaos] to form a water barrier around the three of them, while Rail Horn and Pegasoar channeled their power into him.

Surprisingly, this had some kind of resonance effect that actually strengthened the barrier behind what the brothers were anticipating.

'Brace for impact!'

With their defenses now established, Dante's tentacle arm came barreling towards them and impacted all three defending parties at practically the same time.

The results, however, were not uniform across the board.

Despite Nepherage's efforts, and the power bestowed upon her by the [Taboo], her shield was not enough and she was sent flying back the furthest.

[Shit!]

Zhen Liu's multi-layered shield didn't last long enough to fully block the attack, but it did give the man just enough time to get out of the way as the tentacle eventually broke through all of the shields and tore apart the paper squares.

The pieces were slowly reforming around Zhen Liu's neck as part of the scarf, but it was still annoying to deal with.

'Well, crap.'

Surprisingly, though, the barrier created by the Gallop Brothers managed to withstand the brutality of Dante's attack and even managed to push back the attack a bit.

[Ha!]

[Come on!]

[Break!]

In fact, the trio managed to empower the barrier with just enough energy that they were able to slice through the tentacle and force Dante to amputate part of it.

This wasn't fatal to the weird chimera of a Kaijin Lord, but it was humiliating.

[You fucking rebellious brothers! How dare you defy me even beyond the grave!]

In fact, this bothered him so much, that Dante began to actively ignore Zhen Liu and Nepherage in favor of attacking the Gallop Brothers directly.

[I'll kill you!]