CLANG.
Amid Morando's screams, the two iron plates clamped shut, welded permanently.
Finally, Huai Shi tossed the iron ball to the ground, stomped on it a couple of times, and it vanished from sight.
Looks like this coffin was a success. I really hope its user gives me a five-star review.
"Next—" Bahamut slowly raised His mountainous head, surveying the surrounding enemies with a broad grin. "—let us begin."
The words had barely left His mouth when His wings abruptly unfurled. They blotted out the sun, stirring up a wild hurricane that pulled His body into the sky.
Then, like a star plummeting to earth, He crashed down once more.
He dragged the blood-red manta ray, that thing like a sentient blanket, down into a deep pit. Then, He lifted a foot and stomped down—Yu Step!
His foot landed squarely on the base of its three fleshy, intertwined tails, crushing them flat. A piercing, mournful shriek echoed.
The carpet-like creature of twisted flesh spasmed violently, spewing torrents of blood. Suddenly, it arched its body, its ruptured belly splitting open to reveal several gigantic orifices from which thick tentacles emerged, coiling around Huai Shi's body. They immediately began to frantically drain Bahamut's blood—assuming the sharp suckers on their maws could penetrate Huai Shi's scales and the armor-like hardened skin beneath.
Naturally, they were useless!
Huai Shi simply raised a claw, seized a tentacle, and pulled with all His might.
He was curious to see just how long this unfortunate creature's 'tongues' could stretch. And they were indeed quite long.
Huai Shi had pulled out several kilometers of them and it seemed there was still more, but He had lost patience. Annoyed, He ripped the fleshy blanket from His body. Then, gripping the 'tongues' harshly, He bundled them up thickly.
It was almost impossible to tie them; they were too thick.
Huai Shi lifted His foot and stomped down hard twice. Finally, He compressed them enough to yank the fleshy tentacles through and swiftly tied a dead knot.
That looked much better. Now it was just a blanket dripping blood, like something from a crime scene.
Ignoring the locust-like swarm enveloping Him like dark clouds, Huai Shi drew The Hammer of Sorrow, aiming it at the 'blanket' pinned firmly under His foot.
He swung it up.
"Eighty!"
The Hammer of Sorrow roared with excitement, wildly drawing upon the ubiquitous suffering of this Hell. Flames shot out for hundreds of meters from its head, and as it crashed down, it unleashed a blinding, incandescent light.
BOOM!
The earth quaked mightily, and a hurricane swept across the land.
The blanket-fiend shrieked like a banshee.
When Huai Shi hammered down again, it let out another spectral wail, as if a giant rubber chicken was trapped inside it.
Soon, the screams ceased, and it was reduced to a pile of unkillable ooze.
Huai Shi took a deep breath. Molten metal vapor transformed into a tsunami, roaring as it flew out, carving a river of lava hundreds of miles long across the land.
Under the terrifying heat, the mangled Predator wailed as it burned.
Perfect.
Huai Shi lifted a claw, wiping non-existent sweat from His brow, feeling the surroundings had brightened considerably.
Then, He saw the other monsters standing frozen in the distance.
They stared at Him in shock. They looked from Him to the burning pile of flesh at His feet, then back at Him again.
They seemed unable to comprehend what had just happened. Why was this outsider fiend even more ferocious than they were?
Soon, the countless writhing Yin Souls shuddered violently. They deftly turned tail and dissipated, breaking down into scattered White Spots that burrowed into the ground and vanished.
They had fled.
But the three-legged Tentacle Monster was a step too slow. It didn't possess its companion's talent for swift escapes.
Its target was simply too large. It had barely shifted when it felt six icy stares from the three-faced demonic entity. It froze awkwardly, shivering.
It turned back to look at Huai Shi.
It steeled itself, ready to charge.
Then, it saw the Dragon of the End slowly stretching, as if finishing a warm-up. His body began to expand once more.
Fiercely drawing upon the Abyssal sediment and the very essence of suffering from the Rotting Dream, the Dragon of the End, proclaimer of universal destruction, let out a deafening roar.
Amidst the roar, thunderous sounds erupted from within Huai Shi's frame. It was the thunder of growing bones grinding against each other, accompanied by the booming of His heart. Burning blood surged like a tidal wave, coursing through and filling His rapidly expanding body...
In His palm, the remains of the burning blanket-fiend quietly disintegrated into ash, consumed by thunder and flame.
All the power accumulated over eons within the nightmare was devoured by Bahamut. It transformed into new blood and bone, flesh and scales, becoming an integral part of Him.
His size doubled, then doubled again, and then again!
Only when the very earth beneath Him groaned under His weight did this absurd growth spurt finally slow to a halt.
In the silence, He lowered His head, eyeing the two stunned Predators before Him.
He bared His teeth in a grin.
He realized He could enjoy growing again...