Chapter 1172: NO．76：At this very moment? You're not joking, are you?

NO．76：At this very moment? You're not joking, are you?

Godzilla, one of the most representative symbols of kaiju culture.

Having undergone different interpretations by generations of creators, its image has also changed several times; even now it has been crowned with the label 'King of Monsters,' and while the fully monstrous appearance is known to all, it has instead interfered with the original meaning of this symbol.

A metaphor for nuclear war.

Or, more accurately——

Nuclear war fear.

Its black silhouette stems from the necrosis of vitality, its skin like rotting flesh directly pointing to the agony that nuclear radiation brings to life.

It is born a victim, and also born a destroyer.

Its eyes show no trace of intelligence or pity, only destroying everything within its sight.

That is the most painful outpouring, and also a hatred deep to the marrow.

Its existence is humanity's indictment; when it appears not only as a nuclear war victim but also as the voice of the devastated nature accusing humanity, humanity can only, in its struggle to survive, pick up again the violence that once destroyed and trampled everything.

And thus return to those most mad and cruel ages.

Even though later it deviated toward child-oriented portrayals, at times becoming humanity's guardian, its essence remains unchanged—still the condensed essence of brutal malice.

It is the embodiment of suffering, a moving natural disaster, and the manifestation of humanity's inescapable guilt.

Each of its appearances is a direct mockery aimed at humanity, which claims to be civilized and peace‑loving: Do you really think you can wash your hands of guilt?

This is the nightmare humanity created for itself, and the most famous King of Monsters in kaiju history.

It stems from humanity's primal fear of that brutal era, is a living indictment of humanity, and forces humanity, in opposing it, to return to that brutality.

And as a symbol, it will live forever because of that symbol.

As long as humanity keeps making mistakes, as long as humanity remains fearful, Godzilla will not truly cease to exist.

It is an undying man‑made disaster, forever bearing pain, forever burning with rage—a walking corpse.

In that year‑after‑year evolution, shifts in humanity's definition of fear grant it ever more violent power and diverse forms.

This true intent flows through countless bodies derived from Godzilla's symbol, existing both in the bloodstream of a red‑haired little boy and within the orderly‑looking yet inseparably linked chaotic source.

Naturally, it will be precisely extracted by the card‑crafting device whose core is a dark ring.

Then once again, it is wielded by Aomo Lindun.

Indeed, the last time Aomo held it in hand, it was Mechagodzilla.

Since no other race understands Godzilla better than humanity, humanity's mechanical imitation accurately reproduces Godzilla's power, and the integration of the Belial card adds a brutality and fleshliness that machinery alone could not achieve.

That mechanical form, resembling some alien Godzilla, is still talked about with relish by the residents of Heaven's Gate City.

Now, when he holds the true Godzilla card and activates the 'Pure Mode' with no other cards inserted, that black‑silver figure undoubtedly opens a new path for Godzilla.

Dark Godzilla

A head like a wolf and a dragon, its cheeks filled with cracks and scorched ruggedness.

The dorsal fins extending from there to the tail tip are like black blades added to the back.

Like rotting skin, yet the strange lines form a patterned hide, overlapping into armor‑like layers, tracing silver fissures like scars, and gathering into a cruel spread resembling scattered moonlight.

"That pattern…" In the distant test field, Zhong Yue, upon first seeing that form, immediately thought of something.

Beside him, Doctor Luoxia added to his doubt: "Like Aomo Lindun's chest when he previously underwent demonization."

Yes, before.

By now, the demon's chest wound has healed and scabbed over, becoming a crystal‑like jade texture; this obvious change, whenever it appears before people, can be turned via the Internet's superiority into a report document on the doctor's desk.

Of course, the documents that can appear on his desktop are far more than just information from cooperating mercenaries.

"The concept of Godzilla has revived those wounds, even exacerbating them." The doctor gazing at the beast's raised head pondered.

And beside him.

Zhong Yue's gaze also fell on those dorsal fins, sharp as blades.

Watching those fins submerged in a silver‑to‑blue glow, he turned his head with some doubt: "Godzilla?"

Even after spending considerable time in this world, certain symbols remain subcultural, unnoticed by weight‑lifting, leisure‑oriented elders.

"That giant beast," Luoxia explained, voice tinged with helplessness, "You should also learn about the kaiju forms of this world, Zhong Yue; perhaps one day when you want to shoot a B‑movie, I'll drag you along—"

Before the words finished, a sudden expanding impact arose, visible to the eye as a tremor, continually shaking the training field's composite barrier.

AtomicBreath/Atomic Breath

The dual name transmitted from the Amé region also inherits the scorching heat of the legendary Godzilla's silver‑wreathed flame, firmly resisting the thunderous breath from heaven.

That instant's freeze resembles the showdown between Showa‑era Godzilla and King Ghidorah.

But that is ultimately only a momentary resemblance.

The violet‑flame‑wrapped thunder strike easily overwhelms that silver breath; just as it seems about to press down the Dark Godzilla, the dorsal fins that Zhong Yue had been eyeing quietly turned into crystal‑like jade, moreover resembling plugs pumping up one by one, pulling the surrounding skin into a strange structure.

Then, as the last fin at the nape pumped up, they all turned purple at once and thrust downward!

Boom!

In the screeching clash of the flame streams, such a crisp sound ought to be insignificant, yet it silenced all other noises.

It even made the lofty giant head shudder completely!

After that shudder, the retreating silver breath a moment later became much thinner, yet was replaced by the deep‑purple glare pushing back the flame column; in the eyes of countless onlookers it swiftly counter‑attacked, covering the chest of the Variant Bahamut within seconds.

HoushaNessen/Heat Ray!

Stripping away the dual name of the atomic breath, it returns to the original beam‑like heat ray, seamlessly replacing the former breath; this hidden‑big‑move within a normal attack also clearly put the opponent on guard.

"Roar!"

A dull, unconscious roar bellowed from the maw of the Variant Bahamut whose half‑chest was scorched.

Regardless of whether Terex's will exists, it indeed escaped the impending instant‑defeat opening wave, using the agility that a kaiju hardly attains to dodge the most scorching heat while flapping its wings.

At this moment, its chest is continuously crystallizing, healing at a speed visible to the eye.

The beam from its mouth had already died out; the entire massive maw of the dark Godzilla was smoking, and its murky silver eyes likewise showed no trace of reason.

Roar———!

With an even more painful, howling long cry, it boldly strode forward.

Each step caused the simulated wasteland of the training ground to tremble.

With each step, as it accelerated, it expelled from the numerous cracks along its neck, back fins, and chest a dense white vapor like clustered dry ice.

That was heat dissipation.

After a few seconds of that process, you could even see silver luminous plasma seeping out, only to instantly evaporate into even more white vapor.

And the dark Godzilla actually used this to directly draw up the smoke—after circling halfway, it withdrew completely into the swirling smoke, causing the aberrant Bahamut floating in midair, awaiting bodily repair, to hesitate for two seconds over the area where the lingering heat was unusually uniform and where magical energy could not be sensed.

After those two seconds of hesitation, its wings were covered in purplish‑red lightning, and its whole body sparkled like crystal.

The power called 'Transcendence of Reason,' surpassing law, was gathering.

But it was precisely those two seconds of hesitation that became a fatal flaw.

In those two seconds, Godzilla tore through the smoke.

By means of the four‑gash claw marks formed from that huge flame.

It allowed every eye to see the scorching red flames and lightning continuously spewing from the cracks, and constantly bursting out black fragments, as if its very body were disintegrating.

This is the Crimson Lotus, and also the fire of hell.

Not only did it fully activate its internal nuclear reaction, but it also added the power of the fire summon beast Ifrit, causing imbalance and resulting in a runaway explosion akin to a meltdown of a reactor core.

In Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, the third‑generation Crimson Lotus Godzilla died precisely for this reason.

But here it is merely the dark Godzilla whose power is used as a card, and it faces no true life‑or‑death danger.

It merely suffered double the pain.

All over its body, the heat‑dissipation plates were continuously burning and cracking, continually spewing blood; the surging energy within was not merely seeming but certain to burst its entire body apart.

Thus, the very next second after it broke the mist with a claw, a high‑temperature arc light swept across the wilderness, raising the temperature of the whole space; at the same time, the same secret crimson light, akin to the attribute of the neighboring monster‑hunting dragon, burst forth fiercely from behind its dorsal fins and gradually surged up its throat.

The scorched corners of its mouth and eyes were all dragged by that magic‑infused deep‑red flame flow, and as it converged at a point, it was about to fire——

Stop! Stop!

Heavy yet turbid, it was clearly a voice altered by the aberrant Bahamut's vocal organ, conveying the intention to halt in midair.

And its response was a slight contraction, then an immediate emission of the Crimson Lotus light!