Looking up at the white figure in the sky, who had ignored his injuries and forced himself to stop mid-motion to avoid that fatal white light bullet, leaving him unable to brace his wounds as he lost control and crashed miserably to the ground, Cid felt no sympathy at all.
Because...
"Boom!"
Vali's helmet had been smashed apart. One of his arms was gone. He was so badly injured he looked as if he was on the verge of death. Yet after hitting the ground, he only paused for a moment before unleashing all of his Magical Power and staring at Cid with excitement.
Just as Cid expected, he gave a cold sneer.
As he had said earlier, the man in front of him was someone who would do anything for the battle he craved, even if that battle hurt innocent people. And no, there was no need to ask why Cid understood him so well. He was that kind of person himself.
That did not mean the two of them were the same. On the contrary, Cid rejected him from the bottom of his heart. Seeking power for the sake of power and setting sail for the sake of a dream were not the same thing.
Combat was the language of the soul. From their brief exchange just now, Cid had already realized that the guy before him might truly love fighting, but his combat was unstable. His heart was lost, and all he had was willpower without direction.
Put simply, he enjoyed the process while ignoring the purpose. In most cases, that kind of thing came from childhood experiences. In most stories, characters like him would usually drag out a whole pile of side plots.
Under normal circumstances, Cid would not have minded spending a little time straightening him out and giving this world a brand-new terrorist. Unfortunately, he was in no mood to provide counseling to someone who had blown up his personal stash.
The last scumbag who blew up his personal stash had already been thrown into the Law of Life, left unable to live or die.
This one had not gone quite that far. He had only blown up something equivalent to a wallet Cid had picked up, so he could just take Cid's personality-correcting punch!
"That really is a terrifying understanding of the Divide ability. Even if it's a knockoff, I have to acknowledge you. Your use of the White Dragon Emperor's power surpasses mine. I never expected that. Is this really your first time using the White Dragon Emperor's Divine Dividing Wings?"
Vali stared at Cid with surging battle intent, wiping away the blood running from his head into his eyes. After briefly steadying his aura, he released all the Magical Power inside his body in one breath. An immense amount of Magical Power flowed into his armor, repairing the damaged parts as a faint white light appeared across its surface.
"No matter how long you march in place, you'll never move more than one step. Under those circumstances, does it matter whether this is my first time using it?"
"Hahahaha, you really dare to say it. If what you said is true, wouldn't that mean you alone have surpassed every White Dragon Emperor in history? You really dare to say it. I am the strongest White Dragon Emperor."
Vali laughed loudly, ignoring the wounds on his body as he glared fiercely at Cid. He no longer faced the battle with the same indulgent attitude as before. He had truly found a purpose for the fight.
The wounds on his body only increased his fighting spirit. Being surpassed in the application of the Divide ability was certainly a blow, but he did not care, because he firmly believed that if the person before him could do it, then he could do it too.
He could ignore everything else from earlier, but only because the one in front of him was just a counterfeit. He was the real White Dragon Emperor, and the strongest White Dragon Emperor in history.
"You can understand it that way..."
Cid shrugged and admitted it outright. Even through his green lenses, the sharpness of his gaze could be felt as he looked at Vali.
"Let me correct one thing. In my eyes, your so-called generations of White Dragon Emperors and Red Dragon Emperors have only ever been one generation. The dragon souls dwelling inside you. Like I said earlier, when has that power ever belonged to you? You call yourself the strongest White Dragon Emperor, but you're only the strongest. You aren't the White Dragon Emperor."
To be honest, because he had kept hearing about the White Dragon Emperor and the Red Dragon Emperor over the past few days, Cid had deliberately spent some time looking into the story behind them.
Hmm. Because of the relationship between the materials of the two great Sacred Gears, the Two Heavenly Dragons, when they were alive, every generation of White Dragon Emperor and Red Dragon Emperor would meet not long after awakening their Sacred Gears and kill each other until only one remained. It was as if it were fate, and not a single White Dragon Emperor or Red Dragon Emperor had escaped it. It sounded cool, but in reality, it was unbelievably stupid.
Was it you who awakened the Sacred Gear, or the Sacred Gear that awakened you? Could power you could not control really be called power?
Of course, Cid knew that was easy for him to say. For most people, awakening a Sacred Gear was like being forced to take the blue pill: A reasonable transaction that exchanged only a few remaining years of life for overwhelming power.
"Tch. No matter how much you say, it's useless. The fact remains that I am the strongest White Dragon Emperor. No amount of talk from you can change that."
Vali was not shaken by Cid's words. To him, as long as they did not strike a sore spot, combat came before everything else.
So what if Cid had a point? Could the White Dragon Emperors of the past jump out and kill him? They could not. Then why care so much? Things like that would only interfere with his fighting mindset.
[Vali, that's enough. But with your body in its current state, you can only manage one strike at most.]
Albion's voice came from the blue jewel on the chest of the white armor. Hearing it, Vali smiled as well, lifting his head with a feverish look in his eyes.
"Thanks, Albion. I should've entered this state from the start, but it doesn't matter now. I'll stake everything on this one strike."
[No need to thank me, Vali. Just use everything you've got and take down that damn guy in front of you.]
"Haha, gladly."
As he spoke with bold confidence, the armor already filled with immense Magical Power began to emit what seemed like an endless, powerful aura. The light wings behind him spread open, surrounding Vali's body in sacred radiance.
"Roy, Child of God, I admit what you said just now made sense. But there are things only I, the strongest White Dragon Emperor, can do. Watch closely. This is another form, different from the Juggernaut Drives of past White Dragon Emperors.
I, who is about to awaken, Am the White Dragon Emperor who will take the law down to the darkness...."
Cid did not react much to Vali's provocation. He was simply considering whether he should kick Vali and interrupt this so-called "alternative Juggernaut Drive." With such a long chant before activating the skill, letting Vali pull it off felt like it would make him look stupid.
"I walk the road of domination with infinite destruction and by piercing through the imaginary dream..."
Vali, still chanting in a low voice, had no idea that he was only one step away from being knocked out with a single kick.
Forget it. The atmosphere had already built up this far. If Cid did not take it head-on, it would feel like he had backed down. He could just say a few cool lines and play along.
With that thought, Cid withdrew the Magical Power maintaining the crimson armor through his Slime Suit. Without the Magical Power sustaining it, the slime seeped back into his body through the surface of his skin, revealing the lazy, white-haired pretty boy beneath the armor.
"I shall become a pure Emperor of White Dragon And I shall have you obey the silvery-white illusions and the perfect evil ways!"
Compared with his previous white armor, Vali now looked completely different. A powerful aura several times stronger than before surged out of him, and the mere release of his Magical Power swept the surrounding area clean.
"The ultimate evolution of the Longinus, Empireo Juggernaut Overdrive. Come and experience this form of mine.
This time, no matter what you say, it won't matter. Once I defeat you, every claim you've made will fall apart on its own."
"Divide, divide, divide..."
With those words, Vali soared high into the sky, then dove straight down toward Cid on the ground. As he flew, the blue jewel on the chest of his white armor kept activating the Divide ability. Cid stood motionless as his Magical Power was absorbed and strengthened, while the light wings behind Vali released great clouds of white mist.
"I take back what I said about you earlier. You may not have taken that first step from nothing to something, but you have carved out a path of your own.
So as compensation, I'll show you another way to use the power of Divide without using Divide itself."
Cid shouted, wearing a serious expression for the first time since the battle began. He spread both arms out to his sides, his gaze locked on Vali as he rushed toward him.
Pushing his body to its absolute limit, and with Cid's Divide ability no longer interfering, Vali kept compressing the energy stored inside him. He drew closer and closer to Cid, his aura growing more terrifying by the second.
Cid raised one palm in front of him, facing the scene above like a falling meteor. Yet the ground beneath his feet remained perfectly calm, as if the sky and earth had been split into two separate worlds.
The distance between them shrank.
For a moment, every sound vanished.
Ten meters. Five meters. One meter.
"Tap!"
Fist met palm. Cid's outstretched hand pierced through the Magical Power around Vali and touched the armor covering his body.
Then...
"Boost!"
"Boom!"
An explosion of unprecedented force erupted as another mechanical voice rang out. But the source of the blast was not Cid.
It came from inside Vali's body.
In the instant the two of them made contact, the Magical Power inside Vali surged severalfold. His body, already pushed to its breaking point, could no longer withstand it and began to rupture, releasing that power all at once. The resulting explosion was as terrifying as an SS-class self-destruction. Even after more than ninety percent of its force was dispersed, it still triggered tremors across the entire island.
"That takes me back... Gah!"
His body was devastated. Blood poured from all seven orifices, and his organs felt as if they had been mashed together and roasted. Vali collapsed into a pile of rubble. Before he could even process what had happened, he managed to mutter a complaint. Then his vision went black, and just as he was about to lose consciousness...
"Divide! Divide..."
A familiar voice reached his ears. The darkness in Vali's mind vanished at once. His body still could not move, but his consciousness was clear. His eyes snapped open and fixed on Cid.
"How... did you do that?"
A faint glow flickered across the shattered white armor as Albion's hesitant voice sounded.
As the original wielder of the power of Divide and one of the ancient Two Heavenly Dragons, Albion had always believed no one understood Divide better than he did. Until ten seconds ago, at least. Could someone please explain why a person could use Divide to produce the Boost effect of his archenemy, the Red Dragon Emperor?
"Oh, that? It's simple. You just use it in reverse."
"?"
Cid said it so casually, as if he were saying one plus one equaled two, but the faint light flickering across the white armor made Albion's confusion painfully obvious.
"That's what I'm saying. If all you know is how to use it without ever understanding the underlying principles, how much do you really know about your true power, ancient dragon soul?
Where there is no light, there is darkness. Where there is no life, there is death. The power of two extremes has always been able to transform into one another. Divide and Boost may not be quite that extreme, but it only takes a few extra steps."
Cid shook his head. After saying that, he turned his gaze toward Vali, who was staring at him with his eyes wide open but could not speak because of his injuries.
"Divide!"
"What... did you do to me?"
Cid activated Divide again, and Vali was able to speak.
"I divided the extent of your unconsciousness, that's all. I told you I'd make you realize your mistake."
The real reason was that Cid still had more White Dragon Emperor abilities to show off. If the actual White Dragon Emperor passed out now, he would miss out on the pleasure of flexing right in front of him.
"Heh. You really are righteous and kind, aren't you? But don't get your hopes up. I'm the kind of person who doesn't care about other people's lives."
"Maybe. But I think a knife still hurts when it's stuck in your own body."
Cid caught the staff that came at him from behind, then flung it aside. Turning to look at the monkey who had landed on the ground with the staff in hand, he spoke in an easygoing tone.
"Looks like your teammate's getting impatient. Why don't you introduce them to me?"
Vali did not answer, but the monkey in ancient Donghuang battle armor spoke up on his own.
"Bikou, descendant of the Victorious Fighting Buddha, Sun Wukong."
"Arthur Pendragon, descendant of King Arthur."
At that moment, a pair of blond siblings and a timid-looking giant wolfhound walked over to the monkey-like man. The handsome blond man introduced himself first.
"Ahem..."
Aside from the dog, the only one present who had not introduced herself was the blond girl wearing a mage's hat. When she noticed Cid looking at her, she gave him a shy smile.
"Hello. I'm Le Fay Pendragon. Child of God-sama, please just call me Le Fay."
"Interesting. A descendant of Sun Wukong, a descendant of King Arthur, and a beast with God-slaying fangs. Vali, whose descendant are you? Or what's your background?"
Cid kicked Vali lightly and asked with clear interest. Perhaps worried that his teammates might expose something troublesome, Vali only stayed silent for a moment before answering on his own.
"The adopted son of Azazel, Governor General of the Fallen Angels."
Oh. So they were all children of big shots.
"Let go of Vali!"
While Cid was thinking that, Bikou pointed his staff at him, and thin streams of Qi began to swirl around his body.
"Clang!"
Arthur said nothing more. He simply drew the two swords on his back and aimed them at Cid, clearly agreeing with Bikou's move.
"Brother, calm down..."
The beautiful blond girl, Le Fay, did not blindly follow them. She glanced nervously at Cid, then anxiously tried to calm her brother down.
"Awroo!"
The wolf, probably the strongest member of Vali's team, let out a howl. Although it had been timid earlier, now that the two sides looked ready to fight, it mustered its courage and faced Cid.