"Then I'll just have to let you taste every flavor of hell before you leave the stage!"
Sora wasn't joking around. The memory of being hurled into a star was still vividly etched into him.
If not for Takeru Tenkuji, remnants of stellar radiation might still linger on Sora's soul even now.
Everything the Swarm King had done still filled Sora with deep, burning anger. He had merely hidden it very well, not letting a trace surface.
But now, fueled by those powerful emotional waves, Sora's power surged rapidly.
From barely leaving a shallow scratch on Skaracabaz's armor to now slicing off a third of its massive body in a single stroke—
His strength had soared multiple levels in mere moments.
This rapid growth wasn't merely due to Infinite's immense emotional amplification, but also to Sora's personal idealism and rising threat level.
With these three combined, Sora grew stronger with each breath he took.
Yet to the Starcrusher Swarm King, Sora's small figure was unbearably irritating!
Even though, physically, Sora's figure was so tiny as to be insignificant, the sensations he invoked surpassed any enemy it had ever faced before.
Not even the gluttonous cosmic beast that had stretched tens of light-years long had ever unsettled it like this.
Within Sora's radiant glow lay a mysterious power, constantly eroding its hostility, tempting it to surrender.
Yet at the same time, Sora himself radiated intense hostility. While persuading you to abandon resistance, he approached step by step with a weapon drawn.
From every angle, it looked like he wanted it to obediently offer its neck for execution. How could the Starcrusher Swarm King possibly endure such humiliation?
[Hell? You haven't even seen what true hell looks like!]
Unable to bear the contradictory pressure any longer, Skaracabaz launched its assault at Sora.
An unbelievable number of insects surged toward Sora like a flood, blotting out the pristine starry sky with their sheer density.
Among the swarm, faint blue halos gleamed—these were mostly bugs split off from Skaracabaz's own body!
Far stronger than the ordinary True Stings, these were infinitely more threatening!
Circling in space, they formed an enormous vortex that completely engulfed Sora's figure, obscuring even the slightest trace of his presence.
[Now you'll understand the meaning of being devoured by ten thousand insects!]
Even if Sora could partially evade physical harm, he couldn't possibly act freely within this endless swarm!
If Sora made any move that forced him into physical form, Skaracabaz would detonate them instantly.
At that moment, Sora would become the galaxy's most dazzling firework!
But soon, Skaracabaz realized it wouldn't need to watch any fireworks at all.
"Is this all you've got?"
Alongside that calm voice, a brilliance far brighter than any firework blazed forth from within the swarm!
'[CHOU DAIKAIGAN! MUGEN!]'
'[GOD ŌMEDAMA!]'
The radiance outshone even the distant sun, illuminating the entire star region instantly.
Within that brilliant glow, Sora's figure was clearly revealed, a symbol of infinite power—the Möbius loop encircling an eye-shaped pattern—appeared behind him.
Wave upon wave of energy radiated outward from Sora, spreading endlessly into space.
The swarming insects that rushed at him turned instantly into countless white feathers the moment before they touched him.
[WHAT?!]
Skaracabaz could hardly believe what it was seeing.
Those dominant insects, split from its own body, had been transformed into feathers—something it had never imagined possible.
Nor was this a mere illusion; Skaracabaz's control attempts received absolutely no response.
It was a total transformation, fundamentally overturning the very essence of these creatures!
"If this is your idea of hell, then let me show you the one I've created for you!"
The feathers began drifting through space, floating gently like snowflakes, yet containing an irresistible force.
With a wave of his hand, Sora sent these feathers hurtling toward the surrounding swarm as though commanded by his very will.
Fragile-looking, drifting softly through space like weightless snowflakes, the feathers contrasted sharply with the ferocious True Stings, creatures so feared throughout the cosmos, capable of spitting flesh-corroding acid.
The contrast was as stark as fragile angels facing fierce demons of hell.
Yet each feather contained an extraordinary power.
Whenever a feather touched a bug, that insect instantly lost all vitality without even uttering a shriek.
Their bodies slowly disintegrated, transforming into yet more feathers, fueling the spread of this unbelievable conversion.
The entire starfield, originally blackened by the swarm, now resembled black paper splashed with brilliant white ink.
Initially just tiny spots, this white ink spread through the swarm-infested zone at astonishing speeds, as if injected with a powerful stimulant.
[This… What is this power?!]
Starcrusher Swarm King's voice trembled, utterly incapable of comprehending what it was witnessing.
The True Sting insects gathered here were fierce creatures that could easily tear starships apart, yet now, facing those gentle, fluffy feathers, they offered no resistance at all.
More importantly, as it watched the scene unfold, Skaracabaz was instantly reminded of a strikingly similar memory—
The time of the universal locust plague, when the great TAZZYRONTH still existed.
During that era, the AEON of Propagation wielded the concept of "Propagation," distorting it to transform every idea of reproduction and replication into "creating insects."
Even cell division and mechanical manufacturing were forcibly reshaped into spawning insects. It took only a few Amber Eras to unleash a terrifying swarm that consumed two-thirds of the universe.
And now, the scene unfolding before its eyes was virtually identical!
Indeed, it was so identical that Skaracabaz briefly fell into stunned disbelief.
Though superficially, it seemed the insects had simply become feathers, at the core, this involved a fundamental rewriting at the conceptual level!
Just like TAZZYRONTH had done in the past, Sora had now executed the same impossible feat.
Conceptual power belonged solely to AEONs—could this mean the tiny figure before it was actually an AEON?!
Skaracabaz's heart leaped twice at this realization. Staring at Sora's minuscule figure, it found it impossible to reconcile him as an AEON.
But it quickly shook off that absurd notion. Sora absolutely couldn't be an AEON. No AEON's arrival was ever accompanied by this much obnoxious noise!
He was merely someone who possessed similar abilities on a certain level!
[I don't know which AEON's Emanator you are, but your power is indeed formidable.]
It reattached its severed body, and its clone from the distant star plunged through the feather-filled space, merging into its main body.
[But I haven't even used my full strength yet! Let me show you what it means to truly stand at the pinnacle of evolution!]
The clone's stellar energy surged into its body.
Golden light flared brilliantly from its form, the remnants of Sora's power on its wounds gradually dissipating. Skaracabaz's aura instantly climbed to a frightening peak.
The feathers swirling around were blasted away, creating a temporary vacuum around its body.
"Ha…aaahhhh!!"
It devoured stellar energy continuously, igniting dormant powers from other Propagation Emanators stored within itself.
Patterned stripes fused and catalyzed across its body, rapidly reverting to an ancestral state until finally, a deep pink, heart-like shape manifested upon its abdomen—
The unmistakable emblem of TAZZYRONTH!
The moment the pink emblem appeared, the body of Titania previously devoured within Skaracabaz resonated strongly.
Titania, sensing something strange, immediately cast her gaze toward the feather-covered region of deep space.
Even the Iron Cavalry felt a shiver in their hearts—a sensation they'd experienced just once before, at Titania's birth!
But Titania showed no visible change now, so where exactly was this feeling coming from?
At that moment, golden brilliance pierced through countless feathers, illuminating the entire surroundings.
Even the shattered planets seemed painted gold under this glow.
Once the light faded, Sora finally got a clear view of the creature before him.
Titania's golden markings intertwined seamlessly with TAZZYRONTH's emblem, golden radiance spreading across the insect's massive body.
When everything settled, the Starcrusher Swarm King had shed its original blue form, transforming entirely into a gleaming, radiant golden insect.
Its body looked cast from pure gold, with the deep pink heart-shaped emblem on its abdomen clearly signifying its allegiance to Propagation.
[With the combined power of the old and new gods of Propagation within me, I have finally touched upon the domain of gods!]
Skaracabaz—no…
It had now become the singular, unparalleled Emanator of Propagation.
With the power of two AEONs of Propagation combined, it briefly touched the boundary of an AEON's realm.
Its strength soared instantly, undergoing explosive evolution, until now it could rightfully be called:
GOLDEN RADIANT SWARM KING: SKARACABAZ!
At this moment, Skaracabaz felt unstoppable power surge within itself. It could crush ordinary Emanators effortlessly.
Fully unleashed, it could even briefly enter the domain of a god.
It now stood unquestionably at the apex beneath the AEONs!
The Golden Radiant Swarm King's voice was no longer a harsh insectoid screech, but words clearly understood by all life forms.
"A body created by TAZZYRONTH, the self-replication of Titanironia, hehehe, hahaha…even briefly setting foot in the realm of gods!"
Skaracabaz felt exhilarated beyond measure; with two merged powers, it could turn the tide of battle instantly!
"Aside from the AEONs themselves, no being surpasses me now—I've reached the pinnacle of evolution!"
With that declaration, its eyes flashed fiercely, locking onto Sora, still surrounded by countless pristine feathers.
"Now, behold with your own eyes the brilliance of the peak!"
Opening its mouth, a beam of light shot directly into the distant star.
Immediately, everyone witnessed the star's yellow radiance gradually turning into molten gold.
And with the shifting sunlight came a terrifying change—people's limbs began transforming into miniature versions of Skaracabaz under the star's rays!
"Aaaaaahh!!"
Panic erupted instantly among the crowd.
Their minds remained painfully clear, feeling their bodies slowly becoming insects—a horrifying sensation too vivid to bear calmly!
Titania watched anxiously as the crowd descended into chaos.
She could feel the origin of this transformative power clearly—this was a phenomenon created when Skaracabaz briefly stepped into the domain of an AEON.
She possessed the power to halt the transformation, but that would slowly turn these ordinary humans into copies of herself instead.
Even though these idiots annoyingly called her "Commander Titania" nonstop, things would be dreadfully boring without their voices…
No, wait! That idiot Sora had entrusted these people to her. She had to protect their bodily integrity, no matter what!
I have to find a way…
As Titania anxiously considered her options, feathers suddenly drifted down gently from above.
As the feathers touched their bodies, the transformation halted immediately.
"These feathers…are Sora's?!"
Titania stared in shock at the falling feathers.
Sora's feathers had successfully halted a transformation initiated by an Emanator who briefly reached an AEON's domain.
Could it mean that now, his power had already…
In space, the arrogant laughter abruptly froze, gradually fading into silence.
Because Skaracabaz also sensed the halt of the transformation.
This was a divine-level transformation it had unleashed—only beings equal or far superior could stop it.
Yet, while Skaracabaz needed to harness an entire star for its transformation, Sora achieved it effortlessly with mere feathers.
The shock of this realization was no less staggering than being told outright that the person before it was actually—
"Impossible! You can't possibly be an AEON! How could someone like you be such a being?!"
"You're right, I'm not," Sora replied calmly. "I'm just an ordinary human who believes in life's infinite possibilities."
He activated the [Driver's] lever once more.
'[CHOU DAIKAIGAN!]'
The Möbius loop appeared again behind Sora as countless lights gathered onto his right foot.
Skaracabaz immediately sensed danger. Still lingering at the edge of godhood, it quickly evaluated Sora's threat!
And Sora's response to that threat was exceedingly simple—
'[MUGEN!]'
"Skaracabaz, let me ask you one last question."
"Nani?!"
"Why aren't you smiling anymore?"
His silvery-white robes fluttered gently, making Sora appear as a deity about to descend upon this world.
'[GOD OMEGA DRIVE!]'
Seven-colored streams converged onto his right foot, their radiance reflecting brilliantly off Skaracabaz's golden body.
"Impossible! I am the Golden Radiant Swarm King, the unique Emanator of Propagation, I am—"
The combined might of two generations of Propagation AEONs gathered within it—normally enough to unleash galaxy-spanning insect swarms in seconds.
But now, it felt utter helplessness.
In the very next moment, a silver-white arrow, shimmering with prismatic radiance, pierced through the golden insect.