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Guzzlord's pupils widened as it stared at the broad figure wrapped in that ornate armor.
Just moments ago, this had been a weak opponent. A piece of meat that could not fight back.
So why, in the span of a single heartbeat, had that same prey become something that radiated an aura it could not ignore?
Under the Nightmare Seed's corruption, Guzzlord's mind was hazy and fractured.
The craving for fresh blood still prowled through its thoughts, urging it to swallow the living body in front of it.
But unexpectedly, Guzzlord hesitated.
Something older than hunger rose up inside it.
A primal fear, carved into its instincts. The kind that makes a predator pause when it realizes it might not be the top of the food chain.
For a moment, it simply stood there, frozen, unable to decide whether to strike or retreat.
Kael, however, had no hesitation.
Once he adjusted to the new weight of power in his limbs, the urge to test it became impossible to suppress.
Zamazenta, in legend, was the bearer of a radiant shield said to turn aside any assault, a presence so steadfast it could crush an enemy's will before the fight even began.
No matter how brutal the battlefield, it did not flinch.
It advanced.
And its shield-like armor was not merely defense. It was a weapon.
With the [Shield King Form] now fused to him, Kael found knowledge surfacing in his mind as if it had always been there.
He understood, with sudden clarity, the simplest and most effective way to fight in this state.
No tricks.
No flashy techniques.
Zamazenta was courage and endurance made tangible.
Any enemy that stood before it would be ground down by armor harder than anything in the world, reduced to dust by relentless force.
Kael's eyes sharpened. His body leaned forward.
Thud!
His right foot, encased in heavy dark-gold plating, lifted and fell.
Then his left.
Thud! Thud!
Each step landed like a war drum.
The sound deepened, the cadence tightening. Slow became fast. Fast became relentless.
The dark-gold metal struck the floor, and the concrete gave way as if it were brittle stone.
Clear imprints formed with every step.
Small craters dimpled the ground in a line, spiderweb cracks spreading outward until it looked like the earth itself was about to split.
Thud! Thud!
As those footsteps hammered on, crimson spectral flame ignited.
From shin to knee, from waist to forearm.
A dark red blaze, like dried blood turned to fire, rippled across the gleaming armor, painting the dim ruins in streaks of scarlet.
Steel-born battle intent pulsed within it.
Thud. Thud.
The rhythm felt connected to a heartbeat.
And with each step Kael took, Guzzlord's heart sank deeper.
Pressure.
Suppression.
Kael's pace accelerated, and Guzzlord's heart rate climbed with it, rising beyond control.
Hot blood surged through its veins like a flood breaking loose, pounding so violently that microscopic fractures began to form inside its own vessels.
Thin streams of black smoke curled from its dark skin as capillaries ruptured and heated blood seeped outward.
In the pounding drumbeat of Kael's approach, Guzzlord's heartbeat hit a frantic peak.
Dizziness crashed through its skull. Its vision blurred.
Its bright blue eyes dulled, the world smearing at the edges.
And through that haze, it saw it.
A dark-gold figure wrapped in crimson fire, charging straight toward it with terrifying rhythm.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The air ahead of Kael compressed and detonated, releasing a strained, cracking howl.
His thick arms swung with the cadence of his breathing as heat spread from his chest, pouring into every limb.
It looked almost simple.
Like a runner sprinting with everything he had.
Then—
A silver-white metallic brilliance surged outward in front of him, scattering like clustered starlight, weaving through the crimson flame.
Battle spirit became structure.
Iron resolve became trajectory.
Pride became fuel.
And Kael became a force like a charging engine, smashing through anything that dared stand in his way.
BOOM!!!
A world-shaking impact erupted.
Crimson, dark gold, and brilliant white collided together and slammed into the black mass of gluttony.
Light exploded across the ruins as energy spilled outward.
Guzzlord's enormous body, under Kael's armored charge, was lifted off the ground.
For an instant, sheer impact overcame its immense weight and sent it flying.
Black-and-yellow teeth scattered into the air.
Claws twisted at unnatural angles.
Pain flooded its bright blue eyes.
A broken, struggling wail echoed through the shattered mall.
Kael, controlling his momentum by force of will, stopped his forward drive.
He tilted his head slightly, the crimson glow of his eyes flicking over Guzzlord's battered form.
There was a trace of regret in his gaze.
"I'm still not strong enough."
That strike had looked like nothing more than a straightforward tackle, with a burst of power layered into it.
But as one of Zamazenta's primary combat methods, it contained countless subtle mechanics. Timing, angle, weight transfer, pressure control.
Kael could only use it at all because [Shield King Form] had imprinted partial combat knowledge into his mind.
Even so, despite pushing it as hard as he could, he had not killed Guzzlord in a single hit.
If that charge had come from the true Zamazenta, against an Ultra Beast already in such a compromised state, Guzzlord would have been pulverized instantly.
Kael exhaled, then raised his right hand sharply, aiming at the massive body suspended above, starting to lose lift and fall.
"One hit wasn't enough."
"Then I'll use two."
The moment [Shield King Form] activated, Kael's level surged by thirty, and along with that leap in raw power, something else shifted.
A technique sealed within another system item responded to the same Fighting-type energy coursing through him and unlocked as well.
[Terrakion's Shatter-Shoulder Plate].
An artifact named after the Unova legendary.
Under the stimulation of Zamazenta's Fighting-type power, the equipment finally released everything stored inside it.
A signature Move once wielded by the Swords of Justice.
In this broken, lightless world, it would blaze again.
Kael's voice cut through the dust and silence.
"Sacred Sword."
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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