The gigantic Hirudegarn floated in the air, billowing flames erupting from its maw like a dragon's breath. Pillars of fire scorched the ground, melting rock and carving deep, blackened trenches across the landscape.
Terrifying energy poured forth with every roar, causing the void itself to rupture. The beast was unleashing its full destructive power, venting a millennium of suppressed rage. The planet's surface cracked and split, whirlwinds howling as the catastrophic scene unfolded.
Tapion had witnessed such devastation many times before. Hirudegarn brought him both fury and anguish. He couldn't help but grip his sword hilt tighter, throat tightening with the urge to charge forward.
Then came a rustling sound from behind. Someone draped clothing over his shoulders, and Jeice grabbed him around the waist.
"Hey, what are you standing there for? Put on your clothes and let's move! Leave this to Lord Raditz."
"Aren't you going to help? He's alone—"
"Enough!" Jeice cut him off, already pulling Tapion into the air. "How many times do I have to say it? Lord Raditz is the strongest. We'd only get in his way. Just watch from a safe distance."
Tapion lacked Hirudegarn's ambition, but his deeply ingrained beliefs made him think nothing in existence could defeat this monster. Yet Raditz's confidence and the unconditional trust of Jeice and the others were shaking that conviction. Could someone truly defeat Hirudegarn?
Amid the violent wind pressure, Raditz stood detached and unaffected, perfectly still.
Hirudegarn's eyes locked onto Raditz—in its vision, he was the only thing that remained undestroyed. Those chilling eyes gleamed with crimson light, and terrifying energy spread like a tidal wave. The demon roared and charged! Its massive body moved with shocking speed despite its size, its upper half sweeping across the sky like a hurricane. Its ferocious face appeared before Raditz in an instant, its towering form like a building, forcing Raditz to crane his neck to see past its enormous chest.
Raditz suddenly shouted, raising his right hand and releasing an invisible force. The powerful deterrent blast sent Hirudegarn hurtling backward for thousands of meters! A mouthful of thick ichor sprayed from the monster's mouth, pouring down like rain, filling the air with a nauseating stench.
"In...incredible..." Tapion stammered in awe.
He'd never seen anyone stand against Hirudegarn before. What kind of strength was required to accomplish that with a single palm strike! The sheer spectacle defied description—even the hurricane and smoke clouds the impact generated were horrifying in themselves.
"Do you believe now? This is Lord Raditz's Mystic State—infinite power at his command." Seeing the stars shining in Tapion's eyes, Jeice felt a surge of pride from the depths of his heart.
"But Hirudegarn's true danger isn't just its strength! You have to warn Lord Raditz to be careful!"
"Don't worry. No matter how strange Hirudegarn's tricks are, there's absolutely no escape!" Jeice spoke with absolute certainty, then basked once again in Tapion's astonished expression.
Hirudegarn, thrown so far away, had risen again. It wasn't complete yet—hadn't merged into one. Against Raditz in his Mystic State, it was vulnerable. But Hirudegarn possessed combat instincts, an evil life form imbued with the very essence of destruction from the moment of its creation.
It stretched its arms wide and roared at the heavens. The massive sound wave spread outward, shattering the flowing clouds.
The next second, it lunged at Raditz again, jaws opening to unleash a terrifying pillar of flame. The searing heat melted nearly everything in its path as it swept in a wide semicircle, cutting off any escape routes.
Raditz had no intention of fleeing. He aimed directly at Hirudegarn's flames, rapidly gathering energy, and fired a blazing shock wave!
The two energies collided, drawing a long line of intertwined red and ice-blue through the air. The forces ebbed and flowed, but Raditz's attack gained the upper hand in moments, overwhelming the flame column.
Hirudegarn's expression changed abruptly. Even monsters could feel fear, and at that moment, terror was written across its distorted face.
The man before it was too strong!
The monster made its judgment, but too late. The blazing shock wave's energy engulfed the flames, submerging Hirudegarn's massive upper body. The ocean of light-like energy opened a curtain of brilliant silver radiance across the sky.
"Ah..." Tapion, witnessing this scene, had lost the ability to speak coherently. He could only open his mouth, suppressing the sounds rising from his throat.
Too overwhelming. Raditz's strength was displaying a crushing superiority over Hirudegarn. Had that single blow already defeated the Phantom?
"No, it's not over yet." Jeice noticed the problem first. After Raditz's shock wave dispersed, the monster grew even more enraged.
Raditz himself was momentarily surprised, his brow furrowing.
That blow should have been enough to destroy Hirudegarn, yet the creature's rage was still expanding? It had absorbed Raditz's energy and evolved! Its body transformed like a cicada molting its shell. Its dull exterior began gleaming with brilliance, the horns on its head extended, and the muscles on its shoulders and legs turned a vibrant purple—it was growing stronger.
"ROOOAAARRR!" The instant it completed its transformation, the newly evolved Hirudegarn unleashed an even louder, more arrogant roar!
It was proclaiming its power to the universe, declaring its fury!
Raditz smiled faintly. "So you evolved by absorbing my energy. But do you really think that makes you capable of defeating me? How presumptuous." His figure blurred, moving like lightning as he delivered a devastating punch to Hirudegarn's face.
BOOM! The surging force broke through its defenses again, sending Hirudegarn plummeting from the sky to crash into the ground. Dust and debris erupted hundreds of meters high, the resulting shockwave traveling for thousands of miles.
Its massive face pressed against the ground, grinding through sand and stone. The side where Raditz had struck was red and swollen.
"Grrr..." Hirudegarn's rage was so intense its eyes seemed ready to burst into actual flames.
Raditz didn't waste time with taunts. He charged again, instantly appearing behind the beast, his palms forming blades ready to strike. But just as he attacked, Hirudegarn vanished. Raditz's palm slash cut through empty air.
This was Hirudegarn's ability to shift between corporeal and incorporeal forms—one of its most troublesome techniques.
Only at the moment Hirudegarn launched an attack would it become tangible again—that was the window for counterattack.
However, Raditz smiled slightly. A thunderous "BANG" shook the surroundings, and Hirudegarn, despite having shifted to its incorporeal state, was sent flying. It gouged a trench tens of meters wide across the ground, shoveling up a mountain's worth of dirt.
The planet cracked further, and everyone watching stood dumbfounded.
They couldn't help but wonder—if Hirudegarn had evolved, why was the battle going even worse than before?
Tapion had been about to shout a warning to Raditz, but his voice caught halfway. His mind filled with questions—how had Raditz accomplished that?
He wasn't the only one wondering. Hirudegarn wanted to know too! It growled in pain and resentment, filled with disbelief.
"Surprised, aren't you? I happen to know a secret technique that allows me to enter a spirit body state similar to yours. That trick won't work on me. Hirudegarn, this ends now."
"ROAAAAR!" Hirudegarn had no choice but to attack with everything it had.
"DRAGON FIST EXPLOSION!"
Raditz faced Hirudegarn head-on and threw his own punch. Two fists—one enormous, one comparatively small—collided. Golden flames erupted from Raditz's fist, long streams of golden light wrapping around Hirudegarn's massive body like a divine dragon soaring through the heavens!
The golden flame dragon coiled around Hirudegarn, then pierced straight through its body. The boundless energy riot crushed every part of it, even warping the surrounding space. Blood sprayed, ichor splashed horizontally. The massive, wailing scream made the world tremble, the miserable voice finally annihilating within the dragon's roar. Chest plate and muscle were penetrated in succession, everything turning to nothingness!
Tapion witnessed a miracle that day. He would later say it was the first time he'd ever seen such magnificent, overwhelming power.
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