Shaken back to its senses after being pummeled by one of Nergigante's furious combos, Chaotic Gore Magala let its intelligence reclaim control. It decided to change its approach.
It shot into the air with speed. Before Nergigante could give chase, its mouth and wings spewed out clouds of black scales. In mere moments, they spread across several hundred meters, engulfing the battlefield in a thick shroud that continued to expand outward.
These scales were the Frenzy Virus in a pure inorganic state—fine, dense, and violently invasive.
Every time a Gore Magala molted, the concentration of Frenzy Virus in its body increased, enhancing its combat ability and overall attributes.
By the time of its final molting stage, the viral concentration within would reach its peak. That was why it could, in a short span, generate a Frenzy Virus zone spanning hundreds of meters. On top of that, Chaotic Gore Magala possessed part of the power of Shagaru Magala—one of which allowed its Frenzy Virus to spread through direct skin contact.
Thus, within this black mist, any creature below Elder Dragon level would have its body functions rapidly overwhelmed by the Frenzy Virus, falling quickly into frenzy.
Of course, Chaotic Gore Magala had no illusions of infecting Nergigante with frenzy.
It had only one goal: to create an area that would severely disrupt vision and senses.
Its goal was simple—turn Nergigante into a blind beast!
Within this darkened zone, even though half of Chaotic Gore Magala had evolved eyes and its feelers had molted into dragon horns, the other half still retained the original Gore Magala's abilities. Through the sensory feedback carried by its scale-dust, every movement Nergigante made within the black mist was laid bare before it.
Deprived of sight, and with hearing dulled by the constant stirring of the scales, the advantage in battle shifted completely to Chaotic Gore Magala. As long as it exercised caution, Nergigante would be forced into a purely defensive position, taking blow after blow.
Thus, the moment this shroud of darkness fully took shape, Nergigante was left with only two choices.
Either retreat from the black mist—effectively letting Chaotic Gore Magala escape.
Or remain within, struggling to counterattack while trapped in a cycle of passive defense… only for Chaotic Gore Magala to slip away in the end regardless.
For a brute-force Elder Dragon like Nergigante, one that lacked ecological abilities, the instant this black fog zone formed, Chaotic Gore Magala had already secured an invincible position.
Nergigante was about to face the same helpless dilemma Logan once experienced when confronted by the Chameleos.
With a beat of its wings, Chaotic Gore Magala dodged Nergigante's pounce. Guided by heat-sensing perception, it watched as Nergigante thrashed blindly in the darkness, even trying to flap its wings to disperse the fog.
At this sight, Chaotic Gore Magala quietly retreated farther back, burying itself completely within the black mist.
As for Nergigante's attempt to blow the fog away—what a joke. This mist stretched for kilometers. It was no Kushala Daora, no master of storms capable of clearing the skies with a gale.
The only reason Chaotic Gore Magala kept its distance was that the platinum-colored half of its Shagaru Magala body would otherwise give away its position within the black haze.
For the moment, the threat from the Nergigante had subsided. Next, it was time to clear away certain factors that could influence the outcome of the battle.
For example, a certain Flying Wyvern hovering in the sky—its body neither truly silver nor red—still trying to stir up the airflow and break apart the black mist just so it could keep spectating!
Many Elder Dragons, and even large monsters, when locked in battle, if they had the spare strength, would instinctively eliminate surrounding creatures that might interfere—or even those that simply irritated them.
On this point, Velkhana was a prime example. In the last life's game, Velkhana would, in the middle of a fight, suddenly turn its head to strike the nearby wingdrakes. Only after freezing them into ice sculptures would it resume battling hunters.
Now, the Chaotic Gore Magala behaved the same way. Seeing Logan circling high in the sky, avoiding the Frenzy Virus while even daring to disperse the scales, it took this as outright provocation—an act that could very well affect the tide of battle.
Thus, as it exited its Frenzy state, reducing the internal conflict of its two powers and easing its injuries, it also decided to deal with this "fool who doesn't know his place."
Normally, the Chaotic Gore Magala—though violent—would never allow its bestial instincts to run so rampant.
But the prolonged clash with the Nergigante had forced it to use the Frenzy state and the power of the Shagaru Magala for too long, leaving its mind no longer clear.
Their fight had long since reached its boiling point. The Chaotic Gore Magala had already filled the area with a dense fog of scales, and every other monster that sensed danger had fled far away.
And yet Logan could still linger nearby, watching at his leisure, even daring to interfere. What did that say?
Sometimes, those who dare to spectate from the sidelines aren't blind—they simply have full confidence in their own strength.
Originally, Logan only intended to stir some wind, thin the density of the black mist, and get a clearer view of the battle inside. But then he suddenly noticed several clusters of black-purple energy shooting rapidly toward him from within the haze.
He beat his wings, nimbly weaving through the air to dodge the incoming blasts. But before he could stabilize himself, the energy spheres exploded nearby.
A massive surge of Frenzy Virus erupted with the blasts, forming a dense cloud that enveloped him.
It was clear—the energy spheres were nothing but a distraction. The Chaotic Gore Magala's true goal was to infect him with a high concentration of Frenzy Virus, stripping him of combat ability in mere moments.
At this altitude, if the Frenzy Virus broke through his nervous system and immune defenses, weakening his body to the point of losing control, a fall without any protection would leave even a powerful monster gravely injured—if not dead.
Yet in the very next second, the "cloud" of Frenzy Virus abruptly detonated. Through the inferno of searing flames, Logan emerged, his entire body wreathed in fire.
As he caught sight of the brief flash of pale white within the black mist below, the flames around him flared violently.
Climbing higher into the sky, he looked down upon the roiling, endless waves of dark fog. With a thunderous roar, Logan beat his wings in rapid succession, gathering the airflow with all his might.
His chest and neck glowed a bright golden-red under the searing heat of the flames.
The next instant, a torrent of fire erupted.
Fire fed the wind, and the wind gave the fire greater force!
Five meters ahead of Logan, the blazing breath roared outward, its range of combustion expanding in the gale, surging downward with sky-scorching, earth-searing fury.
As it met the scale-dust within the black mist, the flames ignited it, further widening the area of burning.
In the perception of the Chaotic Gore Magala, it was as if the entire sky had turned into a sea of fire, cascading downward in torrents.
And within that sea, there was no place to escape.
When the roaring inferno struck the ground, it spread far and wide, engulfing vast sections of the Coral Highlands. The flames rose to the heavens, their glow even illuminating the Rotten Vale below.
The firestorm, stretching across hundreds of meters, consumed not only the scale-dust but also the floating coral eggs. Some small platforms, once supported by the coral trees, collapsed with a thunderous crash in the blaze.
The extreme heat delivered the final blow to this already fragile ecosystem—an ecosystem on the verge of collapse from the battle between the Chaotic Gore Magala and the Nergigante.
Swarms of Wigglers, coral structures, barnacles, terrestrial aquatic plants, and countless other environmental lifeforms perished, vanishing into ash.
Even with the Coral Highlands' ability to coexist and recover in symbiosis with the Rotten Vale, this area would likely take years to heal.
Sometimes, when gods wage war, the ones who suffer most are the surrounding lands.
Fortunately, the main culprit in this devastation was the Chaotic Gore Magala itself, folding its wings as shields and bracing with the pale parts of its body to resist the fire.
Logan's breath attack, while wide-ranging, had not been maximized for raw power. Yet because the scale-dust within the black mist acted as fuel, the fire regained much of its lost strength—leaving the Chaotic Gore Magala, unable to immediately adjust its senses, writhing in agony.
As for the Nergigante—this was a monster capable of withstanding Teostra's flames, Kushala Daora's raging winds, and Namielle's thunderous tides. Compared to those, this level of fiery blast and wind pressure was nothing.
Logan's breath had lasted a full five minutes. When the flames finally died down, the area had become far more barren. Many small platforms, along with the vines and kelp networks that once served as footholds, had all been consumed by fire.
Everywhere, scattered embers still smoldered, flames continuing to lick at what remained.
The Nergigante slowly lowered its forelimbs from its eyes, shook its head, and spread its wings, dispersing the steaming heat rising from its body.
It glanced at Logan with a trace of doubt, a hint of wariness.
Something about Logan felt familiar—like that Silver Fire Wyvern who had once ignored its furious roars, devoured that pure cluster of life energy all for itself, and even clashed briefly with it.
But after a single look, the Nergigante turned its focus away from Logan.
With "delicacy" right before it, naturally, the first priority was to finish off this black-and-white beast!
Logan's life energy, while not insignificant, was only remarkable compared to ordinary monsters. Against Elder Dragons—or the foe before its eyes—it paled in comparison.
On the Nergigante's hideous face, an unnervingly human-like grin of savagery appeared.
At last!
At long last, after so many years of adulthood, it was about to hunt down its first prey brimming with such abundant life energy!
The Nergigante could hardly wait to savor the taste of this "luxurious feast."
Now—nothing could stop it!
Anything standing in its way would be torn apart by its ferocious assault!!
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