"Warning! Aircraft ahead, please land immediately and undergo safety inspection, otherwise we will open fire..."
The pilot tried to follow protocol by issuing a warning, but Fujino interrupted him, shouting, "Fire! Just fire directly!"
The aircraft's vibrations grew increasingly intense, and everyone in the cabin felt as if surrounded by ominous dark clouds. Fujino guessed the continuous jolts were from the storm.
He knew in such a place, there was a high probability that they weren't facing an aircraft or any product of human technology.
It was a demon reigning the skies!
Missiles screeched sharply as they flew from their racks, dragging burning trails. The beyond-visual-range bombardment seemed to hit a target beyond everyone's sight. Fiery flames spread, illuminating the gray sky.
With the fireball from the missile hit, they finally saw the tip of the enemy's iceberg.
The fiery glow illuminated a silver-white gleaming scale, akin to a layer of steel armor. The thing was so massive that the explosive flames could only briefly light up a small part of its body.
Through the cockpit glass, the pilot glimpsed a heart-stopping scene—a colossal figure charging through the black clouds at a terrifying speed defying physics, surrounded by tornadoes and golden lightning, like an army following a general's charge!
Three huge heads emerged from the dark clouds, mouths seemingly filled with roaring lightning!
"Warning! Too close!"
The sharp alarm sounded in the aircraft's cockpit.
The pilot desperately pulled the control stick. The aircraft equipped by the D Department was already top-notch tech with unrivaled maneuverability.
But even so, it was too slow... or the enemy was too fast. You couldn't imagine that such a massive, cumbersome body could move so rapidly.
Collision was inevitable, and the outcome seemed obvious.
No one would optimistically think the steel-reinforced aircraft could have any good outcome when colliding with the opponent's body—even the direct missile bombardment only seemed like scratching an itch, so this aircraft was probably just a thicker-skinned fly to that thing.
But that didn't happen.
At the moment before the aircraft and three-headed dragon collided, something even faster flew out from the side!
A crimson body divided the sky in two, slamming into the three-headed dragon and pushing the big beast out from the chaos storm's center, avoiding the aircraft's path!
The aircraft rapidly ascended, then struggled to regain balance. Fujino felt the seatbelt digging into his flesh, his whole body felt like being thrown roughly out and yanked back hard, and stomach acid seemed to surge into his throat.
"What... is happening?"
He looked out the cabin window, gazing at the three-headed dragon left behind, and the silhouette that saved them.
It was a crimson body, indescribably majestic. Most of its body was obscured by clouds, its long length coiled and appearing intermittently between the clouds.
Azure and golden lightning criss-crossed, occasionally illuminating its fiery body, the long, thick tail flipping and stirring the black clouds.
Egyptian God—Slifer the Sky Dragon!
Fujino gasped in shock, quickly realizing whose handiwork it was.
They had intruded into the territory of "Zero Monster" and faced its attack. If not for Slifer showing up in time, they might have been blown to smithereens.
He looked at Youyu, noticing the latter had already unbuckled his seatbelt at some point and walked to the cabin door.
"What... are you doing?" Fujino asked in shock.
"That guy is not simple." Youyu replied without turning his head, "Slifer might need me. Just find a place to land, I'll come find you after it's done."
Fujino opened his mouth to say more, but Youyu had already opened the cabin door without hesitation. The suffocating air current instantly silenced him, and Youyu's silhouette soon vanished into the gray clouds outside the cabin.
The surviving officer gasped intensely. He looked at that small silhouette outside the window, the coat hem flying and swaying, momentarily dazed.
He had never realized so clearly how lucky it was to have this Duel King accompanying them—just like he was sharply aware that in that moment they could have been utterly wiped out.
Fujino's attitude toward Youyu subtly changed.
Maybe this guy...
...wasn't as bad as he thought before?
...
Masked Hero Divine Wind's abilities helped Youyu stabilize in mid-air, meanwhile, the Dark Magician Girl also appeared, using defensive spells to shield against impacts including air currents and lightning.
In such harsh environments, ordinary creatures couldn't survive.
At this moment, two dragons were entangled in an aerial battle. The red and silver dragons were tightly knotted in the sky, blue and golden lightning piercing through the clouds. The clash between these two great beings left vast holes in the clouds.
Slifer was exhilarated.
It hadn't encountered a strong opponent like this in a long time.
The last time it fought such a level opponent was during the awakening of the Phantasm... No, this enemy even felt stronger than the incomplete Phantasm back then!
After all, the rampaging Phantasm wasn't fully awakened, and the tablet sealing part of its power hadn't been unearthed. Plus at that time, the Phantasm didn't have a duelist as a Master in this world, so its strength was somewhat compromised.
But summoning gods was also a significant burden for Youyu.
Though the Egyptian God followed him, he wasn't a Priest Pharaoh nor did he have a Millennium Item, thus maintaining the Egyptian God's physical form was burdensome.
That's also why, under normal circumstances, he wouldn't easily utilize the Egyptian God unless necessary.
But this time was different.
When King Ghidorah—or in this world, it's called "Raigeki Kaiju Thunder Dragon King"—appeared, Youyu was certain.
This wasn't an opponent regular spirits could confront!
So in that split-second before the plane collision, he didn't hesitate to directly summon the Egyptian God Slifer who dominates the skies!
The fierce battle between the two dragons pierced the clouds, soared into the sky, and then dived down at high speed, slamming onto the ground. Flashes of lightning accompanied the fall, shattering the thick layer of ice.
The Raigeki Kaiju steadied itself not far away, its three heads glaring menacingly.
The aerial combat had left it slightly injured, silver-white scales torn open in multiple places, but the injuries weren't deep, not affecting its mobility.
The Sky Dragon also gradually descended, battle spirit high, almost eager to fight.
A faint tremor reverberated through the space.
Like a reactor operating, an atomic cannon charging.
A third party had intruded into the battlefield.
The Thunder Dragon King sensed the threat and turned its head, roaring. But simultaneously, a crimson beam had hit its body, pinning the massive silver three-headed form onto the ice!
—Atomic Breath!