"Now came the test of skill. I had to win, and win beautifully!"
After confirming the strength of his ability, Nameless pressed a hand lightly against the ground. The stretched-out basement shuddered, and the floor rose into towering waves that swept toward the Near-God Being.
The Near-God Being roared. The meteorites covering its body burst apart, and tentacles pushed through slits in its skin. They twined together to form four thick limbs.
No one could tell whether those limbs were fins or claws. They might have been both.
The four limbs plunged into the surging earth and pushed hard. The Near-God Being slammed into the Beast-Trapping Cage, but before it could attack again, a mass of earth wrapped around its lower body and hurled it into the air.
"The juniors are watching. How could I let you land a counterattack?"
Nameless flew up with a smile and looked at the Near-God Being. It stared right back at him.
The Dragon Exoshell swelled, transforming in the blink of an eye into a colossal red Giant Dragon.
Stellar Energy-Gathering Cannon!
The red Giant Dragon opened its jaws, and the many red gemstones lining its mouth flared with light.
Every gemstone had been crafted from a Great Sun Boundary-Sealing Divine Needle and contained countless stars that burned forever. Even if each gem drew out only a little energy, together they held enough power to destroy a planet with ease.
The Near-God Being sensed the red Giant Dragon's danger without even looking. It growled, and a vast quantity of black, obsidian-like matter appeared from nowhere, enclosing it in a sphere.
In an instant, a beam of red light shot from the Giant Dragon's mouth.
The world seemed to freeze. Space rippled wherever the red light passed. When it struck the Near-God Being, the obsidian-like