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Many of these Giant Apes had indeed reached the Titan level.
But compared to the unique Titans on the surface, they were still a cut below. No special abilities. Just raw physicality that outclassed ordinary beasts. Even stacked against Rodan, they fell short , at least Rodan had flight going for it.
Trapped in the Hollow Earth's lava caves, they'd built up a decent tolerance to heat over time. But the Spacium Beam didn't operate at temperatures Earth could produce naturally. Even dialed down, even a weakened Spacium Beam was more than enough to ruin their day.
"ROOOAR!"
The beam tore straight through their formation like it wasn't there. One after another, the elite Giant Apes went airborne, bodies scorched and lacerated, crashing down across the chamber floor.
Natsuki knew most of them were only in this fight because they'd been threatened. He didn't press for kills.
"I know you're acting under duress." The giant's voice resonated directly in their minds. "Final warning. Step aside."
The dozen-odd Titan Apes at the front , the ones who'd actually been loyal to Skar King , had all been dropped by that single beam. The rest watched their comrades hit the ground, eyes rolled back, and felt their conviction quietly drain away.
The giant had handed them an exit. They took it.
They'd had enough of living under the whip.
The remaining Giant Apes cleared a path and stepped back. This wasn't their fight anymore.
Skar King's fury ignited like a torch hitting oil. Veins crawled across the whites of his eyes. These things , they actually dared betray him.
"ROOOAR—!!" He snarled at the apes, then wrenched control of Shimo with the crystal and redirected its charge straight at the giant.
That bought Kong some breathing room.
He scooped up his battle axe with his uninjured hand and started moving toward Skar King. Shimo was occupied. That was the window.
"UWOOAR—!!" Shimo moved with the weight of a glacier, each footfall shaking the hall, bearing down on the red-and-silver giant.
The giant's focus sharpened immediately.
Combat instinct never lied. This Titan was stronger than King Ghidorah.
On all fours, Shimo was already twice his height.
"Ha!" He dropped into a fighting stance and let out a battle cry, then fired two bursts of light from his hands.
The crimson orbs screamed in from both flanks and connected with Shimo's sides, leaving scorched black marks seared into its skin.
A flash from his bracelet. A red-rimmed shield materialized in his grip.
"UWOOAR, !!" Shimo opened its maw and unleashed a torrent of freezing breath. Frost and sound swept through the hall together, and the entire chamber shook with the force of it.
The energy packed into that breath could trigger an ice age across the whole planet. Given enough time, Shimo could freeze the entire world. This was an ancient Titan, and it was immensely powerful.
The freezing breath slammed into the shield.
Every joule of it was absorbed.
On Earth, Shimo's power meant it could walk unchallenged through the Hollow Earth and the surface both. But it wasn't fighting an Earth creature.
The Ultra Bracelet was the pinnacle of the Land of Light's accumulated wisdom. Shimo was nowhere near capable of destroying it. This was a device with a track record of destroying planets , Jack's bracelet had once taken out Planet Balduk.
While holding his ground against the torrent of ice, the giant reached out with his telekinesis and quietly moved the two humans trapped in the hall to safety outside.
"ROOOAR, !!" Across the chamber, Kong charged at Skar King, axe in hand, dragging his frostbitten arm. The pain was excruciating. He pushed through it. He had to put this thing down.
His kind would not be ruled by a creature like this.
"ROAR!" Skar King's eyes went cold and calculating. He had the reach advantage, and he used it , snatching a stone dagger from one of his fallen subordinates and driving it straight at Kong's eye.
Kong jerked his head aside, twisted his body, and swung the axe.
The right arm slowed him down. Severely frostbitten, barely responding , the strike came in weaker and slower than it should have. Skar King slipped the blade easily and dragged his dagger across Kong's chest on the way past, opening a gash.
"ROAR." Skar King bared his teeth in a slow, contemptuous grin, watching the injured Kong fail to match him.
Wanting to challenge him with this? Not enough.
He turned his head to call Shimo over for the finishing blow , and stopped.
Shimo was already disengaged. It stood motionless, visibly reluctant.
The giant had blocked its freezing breath with that inexplicable shield, then sent the energy right back at it. It hadn't done significant damage, but that wasn't the point. Shimo simply didn't want to be here. It never did. Without Skar King's control, it would have found a quiet corner and spent eternity there without complaint. Its temperament was almost absurdly passive , it didn't even harbor a particularly strong drive to resist Skar King in the first place.
"ROOOAR!" Skar King jabbed the blue needle crystal through the air, ordering Shimo to move.
"UWOOAR, !!" The symbiotic crystal's pressure ground down on Shimo, and it reluctantly dragged its feet forward, trembling with each step as it closed in on Kong.
The giant was already moving.
One leap , and he was standing in front of Kong. Shield raised in defense. His other hand pressed toward Kong's injured right arm, channeling energy directly into the tissue, pushing Kong's cells into rapid regeneration.
"Roooar?" Kong felt sensation flood back into his arm. He stared at the giant, genuine surprise in his eyes.
The giant's chest crystal pulsed red. Kong held that gaze for a beat, then turned back to face Skar King and Shimo. His grip tightened on the axe.
"ROOOAR—!!" The roar that came out of him carried everything , a declaration, a promise. He was ending this. Right here. That red-furred ape dies today.
Skar King had Shimo. Kong had something far better.
"ROOOAR, !!" Skar King had heard enough. He charged alongside Shimo, and the hall screamed with the impact of their combined weight, walls shaking, floor cracking beneath them.
Kong didn't flinch. He surged forward to meet them.
The giant glanced down at his chest. The timer crystal was flashing red.
He didn't hesitate.
He launched himself upward. A shockwave rolled through the hall as he cleared the ground, hovering in the middle of the chamber above the chaos. His eyes locked on Skar King and Shimo below. Blue-white energy gathered between his palms, dense and humming, two Ultra Slash discs forming fast , the air in the hall began to whine, and then a gale tore through the chamber as the energy churned.
The instant they were solid, he threw them , streaking down to cover Kong's charge.
His arms hadn't even pulled back yet when they were already crossing.
An even greater eruption of energy blasted forth.
➤ Next: Damn, It's Coming For Me
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