Bullet felt the immense power coiled inside that sphere of golden energy, and his scarlet slit pupils narrowed slightly.
This force was unlike anything he had ever encountered. Its nature was different, deeper. It felt more "high dimensional," closer to the level of rules themselves.
His devouring instinct surged with unprecedented hunger, but along with it came a warning.
The tier of this energy was too high. If he tried to swallow it directly, he might exceed the limits of his current vessel.
Still...
"We will not know unless we try."
Bullet fully beastified again. This time he chose a near-complete two hundred meter form.
Against an unknown, dangerous enemy, he needed to keep some cards hidden.
The jet black dragon and the golden Buddha faced each other across the sea. On one side was the darkness that devoured all things. On the other, the light condensed from faith.
Arohan moved first.
The massive wrathful Vajra behind him swung all six arms at once.
Six sacred tools – vajra staff, demon subduing club, holy wheel, dharma sword, treasure vase, lotus – all flared, firing six beams of golden light from different angles toward Bullet.
Each beam locked onto one of the dragon's vital points: eyes, throat, heart, spine, and the roots of both wings.
Bullet did not take them head on. His wings beat and his enormous body twisted, executing a series of maneuvers in midair that should have been impossible for his size.
Yet the golden beams seemed to live. They bent, sped up, even split apart in the air, clinging stubbornly to his trail.
He would not be able to dodge them all.
Realizing this, Bullet changed tactics instantly.
He opened his jaws and exhaled a torrent of black flame.
The dark fire met the golden faith energy head on.
There was no explosion, no shockwave. Instead... they erased each other.
Like water meeting fire, like light tangling with shadow.
The black flames gnawed at the golden beams. The golden beams purified the black flames.
The two opposing forces devoured each other along their contact surface, releasing a pulse of power that made even the air shudder.
The sea below began to boil.
Several enemy ships that were too close dissolved outright. The pirates on board did not even have time to scream before they were vaporized.
At last, Arohan's expression changed.
"So it really can contend with the power of faith..." he murmured, the fanatic light in his eyes burning even brighter. "As expected of a top tier Mythical Zoan."
He pressed his hands together. The giant Vajra phantom behind him began to shrink and condense, until it merged completely into his body.
Arohan's frame swelled rapidly. His skin turned gold. A third eye opened at the center of his brow.
"Adamantine Body, Divine Descent Form."
Moments later, Arohan stood two hundred meters tall.
He took a single step and appeared right in front of Bullet.
His golden fist hammered toward the dragon's head, so fast it punched a vacuum tunnel through the air.
Bullet had no time to dodge. He could only block.
Clang.
This time, he was the one who took the damage.
His dragon head snapped back. Several scales shattered and flew off, and blood seeped from the cracks that appeared.
Worse than the surface damage was the "divine force" inside that punch. It invaded his body and began wrecking his inner structures from within.
"Kh..."
Bullet coughed up a mouthful of black blood.
Then he smiled.
Because that punch had shown him the true nature of this so called divine force.
It was not something he could not devour. He simply needed a more advanced way to do it.
"So that is how it is," the Black Dragon murmured.
"Faith energy is condensed spiritual power."
"And to devour spiritual power... I must devour it with spirit."
He closed his eyes.
Deep in his chest, the black core of his heart began to spin in reverse.
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