¨The outside of the building was bright. While they were still in the cave, there was a large light in place of the sun, so it was actually brighter than inside the building. Theia and the others continued running while lit up by that strong light, but they stopped half ways to the exit.
“Maki, how does it look?”
“He should be coming out soon. His magical power is still increasing”
”The problem is how big he'll be when he gets out...”
Theia and the others had stopped because they were going to intercept Tayuma here. If they continued escaping, Tayuma would follow suit and reach the surface. If that happened it was clear that there would be a lot of casualties. So Theia and the others had to defeat Tayuma here.
“I've got a reaction on the sonic sensor! Your highness, he's coming!”
The next moment, the front half of the base collapsed together with a roaring sound. With that, Theia and the others could see Earth Dragon from where they were standing. And from the rubble of the collapsed building, something was slowly standing up.
“How could this be...”
“What is that!? He's over 50 meters no matter how you look at it!!”
Theia was at a loss for words and Shizuka screamed. That was only natural as what stood up was just too large. Since he was able to cover Earth Dragon which was right behind him, it was clear that he was over 50 meters tall just like Shizuka had said.
“According to the observation results he is 55 meters tall. His weight seems to be around 3,000 tons but because of gravitational interference I can't get an accurate figure”
What had once been Tayuma had now transformed into a black hound. His sharp fangs and claws, and muscular body gave him the silhouette of a hunting dog. That alone was a surprise, but his size was abnormal. The black hound far exceeded the size of living creatures. Alunaya who resided within Shizuka was also quite large, but this was twice his size.
“...What a monstrous dog... it at least seems his loyalty towards Maguz was real...”
According to Maki, Tayuma had transformed into the appearance he himself desired. In that case, Tayuma might have chosen the appearance of a dog as a display of his loyalty. Theia believed that while Tayuma's soul was stained by elitism and dictatorship, his loyalty towards Maguz was the real deal.
“However, we can't let him prove his loyalty! Blue Knight, bombard the surface 15 meters south of the previous coordinates!”
Theia ordered her spaceship to bombard the black hound. Just one glance at his gigantic stature was enough to tell that the black hound's strength was beyond common sense. So Theia wanted to defeat him before he started moving.
“Please wait, your highness! If you bombard the surface so many times then the people of this planet will―”
“Now isn't the time for that Ruth! Believe in me!”
However, that was a big gamble. Repeated bombardments would attract the attention of the people on Earth. Theia was of course well aware of that. However, she believed the bombardment was needed, regardless of the risk.
“Fire! Blue Knight!”
”As you wish, my princess”
Theia pushed away Ruth's objections and forced the bombardment. Ruth didn't try stopping Theia any further. She understood that Theia had put some proper thought behind her actions.
The air trembled as the second bombardment arrived. The beam opened up another hole near the first one and poured down on the black hound.
“Gaaaaaaaaa!!”
However, the black hound wouldn't go down without a fight. After roaring, a disc made from black energy appeared above it. It was a shield created using the black magical power. The shield stood in the way of the oncoming beam.
That was when something unexpected happened. The black shield reflected the beam like a mirror reflects light.
“It was reflected!?”
“Your highness, the beam is headed towards the Blue Knight!”
“Impossible!”
The beam travelled back the same route it came and hit the Blue Knight.
“The Blue Knight automatically deployed its distortion field, there is no damage”
“Theiamillis-san, it seems like that dog twisted space to change the direction of the beam”
”...Geez... what outrageous things he can do...”
Theia smiled wryly at Clan's explanation. While there hadn't been any direct damage, if the Blue Knight's main weaponry wouldn't work, it was hard to imagine normal attacks would. That meant that Theia's power wouldn't be able to defeat the black hound.
“Fuhahaha, that won't work! I'm the strongest! I've obtained an invincible body and I have become one of the chosen ones!!”
Tayuma's body endured an attack that could destroy Earth Dragon in a single hit. Unable to hide his excitement for his new power that surpassed his own expectations, Tayuma instinctively let out cheers of joy.