After receiving his orders from Nero, Argenti turned and went to fight the Giant True Sting Bug.
Nero stayed behind to deal with this inexplicable giant monster.
Just judging by its size, it was no longer merely a star-devouring beast. It was practically a galaxy-devouring beast.
Looking at the huge mouth before him, Nero frowned. In its current state, there was no way to tell how large this thing's actual body was. Still, that didn't matter. He would try communicating with it first.
Normal methods of communication probably wouldn't work. Leaving aside whether the Synesthesia Beacon even contained this thing's language, something this enormous would probably create a massive stellar storm just by producing a simple syllable. It would be highly disruptive and terribly inefficient.
After thinking for a moment, Nero decided to use the same method he had used when controlling the Luofu.
In that state, it felt like connecting one mind to another. It wouldn't affect the outside world, and communication was extremely efficient.
With that thought, Nero stretched out his hand.
Although the giant creature before him looked terrifying, it seemed fairly docile so far. It had stayed in place the whole time and hadn't launched any attacks. It was like a lazy orange cat basking in the sun.
Of course, with a body this large, simply existing was already a devastating disaster for the other lifeforms in this universe. It would be nice if it could shrink later. Otherwise, no matter how rare it was, he would probably have to kill it.
Cirrus floated beside Nero and looked suspiciously at the boy who had captured her. Even though his face showed no expression, she was certain he was thinking about something bad.
More importantly, instead of running away, what exactly was this brat planning to do to this completely unknown monster?
Cirrus was full of questions, but she still couldn't tell what was happening.
The area around Argenti was much livelier. The red-haired Pure Beauty Knight was fighting fiercely with the giant bug.
She had no idea where that guy got his strength from. He was actually overpowering a giant insect capable of swallowing planets in a direct contest of strength.
How exactly do you Pure Beauty Knights train your bodies?
Being able to do something like this made no sense at all.
Cirrus had endless complaints. Only after following Nero did she realize just how many things in this kid's daily life made people want to complain.
Even someone as sharp-tongued as her was starting to turn into a ruthless complaining machine.
While Cirrus was complaining nonstop, changes were taking place on Nero's side as well. Something invisible, carrying his senses, spread outward.
It flowed from his fingertips and slowly approached the giant creature before him. The moment it touched the massive being, it spread like paint, rapidly blooming outward and wrapping around it at an astonishing speed.
At the same time, a different sensation appeared in Nero's mind. Beneath the disguise that was almost indistinguishable from the starry sky, he gradually saw the creature's true form.
It really was an extremely terrifying giant.
Through the senses granted by the connection, Nero found that its body stretched across nearly two large galaxies. Its entire body was covered in scales.
The outer surface of those scales secreted a substance that worked like a mirror. By reflecting the surrounding starry sky, it concealed itself.
As for its outline...
It didn't seem to be an insect at all, but some kind of enormous beast. Its shape resembled a gigantic and frightening skeletal fish, though its head was more dragon-like.
The fins growing near the front on both sides looked like armored giant claws, and behind it trailed three tails spread open like those of a goldfish.
Although its appearance was somewhat strange, Nero actually accepted it quite easily.
After all, there had been a saying in the myths of his previous life about a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate.
Maybe this was a poor fellow that had only made it halfway over before accidentally falling and smashing into the Dragon Gate's frame.
Realizing what he was thinking, Nero froze slightly.
Looking at it that way, this thing seemed even more pitiful.
What kind of accident had happened for it to fall during its leap over the Dragon Gate?
Did another fish smack it in the face with its tail?
While Nero's thoughts wandered, a voice entered his mind. It sounded somewhat young, but it was impossible to tell whether it was male or female.
"Am I pitiful?"
After a brief moment of surprise, Nero realized the connection had been established successfully.
Still, it was a bit embarrassing that his random thoughts, especially his speculation about the creature's unfortunate background, had been discovered.
"Can you make yourself smaller? You're blocking the sky like this, and it's having a huge impact on the normal lives of the creatures in this starry sky."
Nero had no intention of discussing whether it was pitiful or not. He directly stated his request.
After a short silence, he received a reply.
"I can."
"But being big means I can eat my fill."
"If I eat enough once, I don't need to eat again for a very, very long time."
"If I'm small, I have to eat every day..."
"Troublesome."
"I'm growing."
"Eat more, sleep more."
Nero narrowed his eyes. He wasn't very interested in pointing out that something this huge still claimed to be growing.
"If you can shrink, then shrink."
"Exercise is also an important part of growing."
"And you can't only think about yourself. You're so big that you're causing trouble for other forms of life."
"...No.
"If I can't sleep all the time, it's troublesome."
"..."
'Why is this guy acting like a sulking little kid?'
Nero frowned and decided not to waste any more words.
"I'm not here to discuss this with you. I'm here to inform you."
"I'm giving you two choices."
"One, shrink and listen to me."
"Two, die here right now and forget about growing any bigger in the future."
"Y-You just said I can't only think about myself. Why are you suddenly forcing me to do things your way?"
"What I said was that you can't only think about yourself.
"So I can."
"..."
The giant beast fell silent.
It was the first time it had met someone like this.
But after struggling with the decision for a while, it still obeyed.
Because it had a feeling that if it didn't, it would die very quickly.
Even though the tiny little thing talking to it was unbelievably small, the danger signals coming from every one of its senses were very real.
As a pure beast, this giant creature was unexpectedly better than humans at judging situations. It surrendered decisively.
But as a living creature, its highest goal was survival. There was nothing wrong with its choice.
Then, amid intense shaking, the scenery before Nero began to change dramatically...