Assimilation.
All Paths contain the concept of assimilation.
Among them, the assimilation of Nihility is the most pronounced.
Existences known as Self-Annihilators tread the starry sky. Wherever they linger, the Nihility they carry spreads indiscriminately, affecting everything around them. This change is irreversible. There is no power that can resist it.
Even Emanators, those standing beneath the Aeons, are unable to stop it.
Similarly, within Godzilla's domain, no one had ever dared to issue a challenge to him.
And now, an ignorant person in the Imaginary Tree was trying to invade his dream domain, to provoke him, the existence whose might pressed down upon the cosmos itself!
Rage needed no explanation. It surged from within, from heart to body, roaring into flame, spreading without end.
A low, rumbling roar turned into invisible waves, sweeping across the entirety of Jarilo-VI.
Everyone on Jarilo shuddered at the same time, as if they had been thrown into a jungle, surrounded by countless man-eating beasts lurking within the trees and underbrush.
The danger sense etched into their genes made them keenly aware that on Jarilo, right around them, a terrifying existence was awakening.
"What's going on?! Mother, did you feel that too?"
Bronya sprang to her feet in her office, pupils violently trembling, every muscle in her body taut.
Only after a long moment did she regain her senses, turning to look at Cocolia, who wore the same expression.
"…Mm. I felt it too!" Cocolia nodded heavily, her expression anxious.
What could possibly have happened to enrage Godzilla like this?
But Godzilla was not one to stir easily. If there was nothing to catch his interest, he would simply lie down and sleep.
Even if enemies attacked, they would be torn apart by the Insect Emperor and the Crimson Tide beyond Jarilo. And even if an enemy somehow broke through into Jarilo itself, the vast greenery covering the planet concealed who knew how many lifeforms born of Godzilla's influence.
Each of those Godzilla-like individuals, taken on their own, were already colossal beasts. Not a single malicious being could leave Jarilo alive.
Yet as countless people remained ignorant of what was happening, the ground began to tremble, the forests surging like roaring seas.
Boom!
Bang!
A shadow that blotted out the sky rose, like mountains standing upright. Twin golden eyes shone brilliantly, flames seeming to blaze within them, burning everything they gazed upon.
The sudden quake sent Serval tumbling straight off her chair in her workshop. She rolled along with the rhythmic tremors until she hit the door, bracing herself against the wooden planks.
Even those far away could feel the fury contained within the giant. For Serval, who was right near Godzilla, it hit her head-on. She could most clearly grasp the meaning hidden within that low roar.
"Where did this enemy come from?" Serval clutched the doorframe, poked her head out, and looked up at the sky. Godzilla's colossal form blocked out the skies. Waves of heat spread with the rise and fall of his chest, gradually suffusing the surrounding air.
Based on the experience Serval had personally compiled about Godzilla.
When he moved out of interest, Godzilla was clumsy and honest, like a giant plush toy, though this plush toy was just a little too destructive.
Other than that, most of the time Godzilla stayed here, sleeping soundly.
She had even asked Tingyun about this. According to Tingyun, long-lived races all had a hazy sense of time, and beings like colossal beasts, with their immense lifespans, would not leave their lairs without major cause. At most, they might wander around once every few centuries.
Clearly, Godzilla was not that latter type.
So there was only one possibility for his current actions.
An enemy, and one that had offended Godzilla.
"What kind of thing dares to provoke him?" The air grew hotter and hotter, the natural heat generated with every breath Godzilla took.
Serval just wanted to know which suicidal lunatic had dared to mess with Godzilla.
Did they really think the lives of those Emanators were worthless?
Within the bronze vessel sealing Phantylia, weakened to the point where she could only maintain her Heliobus form, Phantylia froze slightly. Her listless spirit, dulled by her inability to distinguish day from night, stirred faintly. She sensed the presence of one of her colleagues.
Irontomb?
That hunk of metal, instead of tinkering with his legions, had come to provoke this behemoth?
Whatever. It had nothing to do with her anyway. Phantylia paid it no further mind.
Among the Lords Ravagers, her relationship with Irontomb was merely ordinary, colleagues who had met a few times.
After all, one was a lump of metal, the other a being from beyond the stars, a Heliobi that fed on the the energy of living beings. Just a nodding acquaintance.
That said, Phantylia did have some understanding of Irontomb's strength. Under normal circumstances, that guy was practically unkillable.
But if he went head-on against the Godzilla…
Whether he lived or died had nothing to do with her.
Standing upon the land, gazing up at the stars, the brilliant vertical pupils slowly brimmed with danger. Godzilla's jaws parted slightly, wisps of white vapor tinged with heat boiling forth.
Normally, Godzilla was lazy, unless someone or something he cared about called for him.
Like that little Stelle If that well-matched little companion asked him for help, he did not mind blasting whoever opposed her with a breath.
But that did not mean Godzilla was indifferent to everything beyond himself.
He could ignore things outside his territory. But when external claws reached into his domain, disrupting his thoughts, trampling and invading his land…
Then Godzilla would let the intruder understand what it meant to be a colossal beast, and what it meant to face an atomic beam!
In a distant star system far from Jarilo, destruction power belonging solely to Irontomb spread alongside his mechanical legions.
One organic lifeform after another was corroded by the power of the Path, transformed into emotionless machines. Planets once brimming with vitality stiffened and synchronized, turning into lifeless blocks of iron within the already silent cosmos.
In an instant, half a star system became a forest of steel. A chilling aura spread along the endless, boundless metal, instilling terror in all who beheld it.
This was the power of the Lord Ravager, Irontomb.
Back when he had not yet fallen silent within the Balanza Furnace and still waged war across the cosmos, this steel-hued signature of his had appeared time and again throughout the universe, striking fear wherever it went. Even the Intelligentsia Guild would feel their thoughts tremble when recording his deeds.
And now, today, after a long period of dormancy, that color emerged once more, baring its fangs without restraint toward the living beings of the cosmos. Life wailed. Planets wept.
Godzilla was furious.
"Roar!!" Arrogant transgressor!
A being dared, within his domain, right under his gaze, to forcibly distort and plunder!
This was a provocation of his authority. He would never allow it!
The tail fins lit up, dorsal plates flashing. Energy accumulated far beyond any previous instance, endless and boundless. All living beings within its scope felt an overwhelming pressure crashing down on them, suffocating, freezing their faces stiff, locking their bodies in place, unable even to tremble.
The pressure generated by the gathering energy forced the vast forests to bow. All the Godzilla-like creatures hidden within bent themselves upon the ground, reverently welcoming their king, their creator!
"Atomic Breath!!" No frills, no embellishment, only the most primitive and pure violence!
A beam infused with the boundless fury blasted forth. The overwhelming energy pierced through space. Expanding rings of power spread rapidly outward, and all who remained on Jarilo witnessed this shocking spectacle firsthand.
Before anyone could react, within the moment when everyone was still stunned.
The atomic breath that broke through the atmosphere and reached a distant star system delivered its flawless answer.
Boom!!!
Magnificent and vast. Though it represented destruction, this star system already stood on the brink of ruin. The civilizations within had lost their former brilliance, quietly awaiting salvation from beyond the stars.
The ground split, the clouds dispersed, life force visibly faded. Immediately after came the incineration. Scorching heat swept through everything. Newly converted mechanical planets melted in an instant. The mighty legions had no time to respond before they were obliterated.
Power beyond calculation. Absolute rationality was utterly useless!
In an instant, the entire star system collapsed, contracted, then expanded. After one final blaze of light illuminated worlds countless light-years away, it returned to eternal silence.
The mechanical legion halted. A star system lost its radiance.
"Gulp." No one knew who swallowed audibly, but that sound shattered the silence. Everyone stared at one another, eyes filled with horror.
"That just now was…"
"That's right! It was Godzilla's Atomic Breath! That had to be Godzilla's Atomic Breath!"
"That light was an entire star system!"
A scholar well-versed in astronomy grabbed his glasses with trembling hands, his whole body flushed with excitement, unable to hide his exhilaration.
Detonating a star system. Destroying a star system.
In this cosmos, there was no shortage of beings capable of destroying planets.
So many. The cosmos was vast. Unless a planet was particularly special, the extinction of a planet or a civilization was little more than idle conversation after a meal.
But in the minds of those who understood power, the scale was clear. Only those capable of destroying star systems deserved to be ranked among the cosmos's first tier.
…
True existences standing at the apex of the cosmos!
Lords Ravagers, the Emanators, beings like Godzilla…
These names, familiar to any world that ventured into the stars, all belonged to that tier.
Did the IPC, who worshipped the Amber Lord, not want to wipe out the Antimatter Legion or the Disaster Swarm?
They did. All those aligned with order did. Even the Antimatter Legion wanted to exterminate the Swarm.
But they could not.
Even when a chaotic, evil-aligned Emanator stepped onto their territory, they had to accompany them cautiously, monitor them, and never dare to strike.
More than ninety-nine percent of beings in the cosmos would never see an Emanator in their lifetime, let alone witness an Emanator destroying a star system.
And now, on Jarilo-VI, just moments ago, they had personally witnessed the destruction of a star system. A scene destined for the history books had unfolded before their very eyes.
…
"Hmph! Arrogant!"
Godzilla snorted disdainfully, blasting two streams of hot air from his nostrils. His massive tail swayed back and forth, arrogance plain to see.
Dare to offend a He, then be prepared to pay a terrible price! But this was not enough. Far from enough.
Though Godzilla had not directly faced the one he destroyed, he could sense that the true mastermind was not there. There were still many similar targets rampaging throughout the cosmos.
…
After Godzilla unleashed that cosmos-shaking strike, the once-noisy cosmos suddenly fell silent.
"That!!!" March 7th's mouth twitched uncontrollably, her hands shaking as she clutched her camera.
The cosmos was vast, but distance mattered. Though they were very far from Jarilo-VI, the destruction of an entire star system was impossible to miss from their position.
Especially since they had just been watching the progress of the mechanical legions. How could they have missed that blinding strike?
But that raised a problem.
"Is it really that strong?!!!" March 7th's voice rose uncontrollably.
Stelle, "Heh heh, of course it is."
"Why are you acting proud?" March 7th looked speechlessly at Stelle, who stood there with hands on her hips, sharing in the glory. Somehow, her earlier shock faded.
After all, she was on pretty good terms with Godzilla too, right? Hehe. That strike just now had shaken the entire universe. All the major powers must have seen it.
Didn't that mean that if anyone dared mess with her in the future, she could just call in long-distance fire support and blast them into nothing?
"An attack far beyond expectations. Judging purely by destructive power, I could not reach this level."
Taravan sighed with emotion, as if recalling something from the past.