--Crash!
The crimson wings on his back nearly blotted out the moon behind him. Beneath the dim sapphire compound eyes was a pair of crimson beast pupils. The armor's patterns had grown deeper, and the muscles that had once been indistinct now looked far more explosive than before. His clawed limbs were covered in crimson armor, and around his wrists and ankles were golden metal rings engraved with runes, with a short length of golden chain hanging from the outer side of each ring.
His current form was practically a fusion of Divine Garuda's normal state and awakened form—Divine—Amazed Garuda.
[Garuda!!]
Hodenig roared, spread the pitch-black wings on his back, and charged straight up, slamming head-on into Divine.
Feeling a tremendous impact in his abdomen, Divine steadied himself in midair, then clasped his hands together and hammered them down hard at Hodenig.
In this state, Divine's strength was clearly beyond what it had been before. Hodenig, who could feel the pain even through his armor, immediately let go, then used the momentum to raise his leg and kick at Divine.
Seeing this, Divine flapped the wings on his back and twisted aside to dodge Hodenig's attack. Then he turned and threw a straight punch at Hodenig, while Hodenig, on the other side, was no pushover either and likewise swung a straight punch.
--Bang.
The two fists, carrying faint currents of air, collided. A not-too-loud burst of displaced air rang out, and because their strength seemed evenly matched, the two of them briefly locked in a stalemate.
"Hey, kid, you okay? I've got a feeling there's something off about your current state."
At the same time, Momotaros's voice rang out in Senba Gari's mind.
"Bare... ly." Enduring the pain coming from his arm, which had begun to let out fragile screams