The sudden hatching of the dragon egg and its subsequent transformation into a suit of armor left everyone witnessing the scene in a state of involuntary shock.
However, before they could even begin to process what was happening, Beyond seized the opening. He lunged forward, roaring at the top of his lungs, "Ko!"
The next second...
BOOM!
Augmented by a terrifying volume of aura, he finally threw the punch he believed was sufficient to deal a fatal blow.
Incredibly, Allen simply stood his ground. He didn't even sway.
The red armor had absorbed the entirety of the impact, providing a perfect defense against the strike.
"This... how is this possible?!!" Beyond's eyes widened, utterly unable to believe the evidence before him.
"Sorry, it seems your luck has run out. You just happened to time your attack perfectly with her arrival. Reflect!" Allen extended a single finger and lightly tapped Beyond's chest.
In an instant!
The absorbed impact from the previous punch surged out from his fingertip in the form of pure aura.
Caught completely off-guard, Beyond was hit as if by his own full-force strike. He was launched dozens of meters away, plowing a deep furrow into the earth. For a long time, he couldn't stand back up.
But Allen's attention was no longer on his opponent. He whispered a tentative question: "Vaelastrasz?"
"I am here!" the Red Dragon responded immediately.
Hearing that familiar voice, Allen's tensed nerves finally relaxed. "Can you explain what's going on?" he asked, his tone filled with curiosity.
"Evolution. I have used the Essence of Life from the red dragon to complete my final reincarnation," Vaelastrasz answered without hesitation.
"And the abilities? How have your powers changed? And what's with this armor form?" Allen fired off his questions in a single breath.
Through their tight Spirit Bond, he could feel that while the Red Dragon had become a fully biological entity, she still relied on his Nen for sustenance. The primary difference was that the massive amount of aura previously stored had been mysteriously converted into a defensive layer adhering to the armor.
This was why Beyond's punch had failed to inflict even a shred of damage. Not only was the damage negated, but the widely dispersed aura had been absorbed into the gaps between the scales, concentrated into a single point, and reflected back.
"Two major changes," Vaelastrasz explained. "First, the original possession ability is gone, replaced by this armor state. Furthermore, the aura reserves previously controlled by you are now managed by me. The armor can shift into any form you desire—it can even allow you to fully manifest as a Great Dragon. Second, all the devoured Cocoons will slowly merge over time, eventually evolving into my heart."
Vaelastrasz laid out the changes to her abilities all at once. Undoubtedly, while these shifts had pros and cons, they represented a significant net gain in power.
Being able to wear the armor long-term for autonomous defense and reflection of attacks was incredible on its own. It essentially eliminated the threat of sneak attacks or being overwhelmed by numbers. Moreover, the armor's shape-shifting nature meant the original possession hadn't truly vanished; it had evolved into a new, more versatile state.
Realizing this, Allen stroked his chin and asked tentatively, "Does that mean the abilities I've stolen will gradually disappear?"
"No. Not disappear, but slowly fuse. You can intervene manually to merge two or more Cocoons with different abilities into one. This new Cocoon will retain certain characteristics of its predecessors. Simply put, it is a process of elimination and optimization," Vaelastrasz explained gently.
"Understood," Allen nodded thoughtfully. "And how many abilities can I keep in the end?"
"Around five to ten. The fewer abilities you retain, the stronger my heart will become," Vaelastrasz provided a rough estimate.
"Fusion, huh? Sounds interesting!" Allen curled his lips into a playful smile.
Just as he was about to experiment, Beyond finally dragged his heavily injured body back up from the ground. At this point, not a single patch of his skin remained intact. He was vomiting clotted blood, and several broken ribs had pierced deep into his lungs, one even protruding from his back. He looked as though he might draw his last breath at any moment.
Yet, even in this state, he erupted with an aura even more powerful than before. Like a fierce general fighting to the last man, he intended to wager his very life on a final stand.
"Is this the 'tenacity that surpasses all'? Unfortunately, it's meaningless to me now. As a reward for such spirit and will, let me send you on your way."
Allen willed the Red Dragon armor to shift rapidly, transforming the gauntlet on his arm into sharp, draconic claws.
"I... How could I lose! I am Beyond Netero! The legend destined to conquer the Dark Continent!"
Driven by a frenzied obsession for victory, Beyond burned through his remaining life force, launching himself forward like a cannonball in a final charge.
"A legend? Perhaps."
Allen shrugged dismissively, then vanished from his spot in a flash.
The next second...
He appeared directly beside Beyond. Using the claws formed by the armor, he seized Beyond's head and gave a violent, powerful wrench.
SPLAT!
A pillar of crimson blood erupted from the severed neck!
The headless body, propelled by its own momentum, stumbled forward for a dozen meters before finally collapsing with a dull thud.
A clean kill. With a single strike, Allen had fulfilled his promise: that the next time they met, he would tear Beyond's head off.
The entire process was so swift that even the victim didn't realize what had happened until it was over. It was only as Beyond's consciousness faded that a look of absolute horror dawned in his eyes.
Before he could even attempt a final word, Allen crushed the head with a sickening crack and commanded in a low voice: "Vaelastrasz. Devour him."
"Understood!"
The dragon-head pauldron on one side of the armor suddenly came to life. It elongated like a giant serpent, reaching out toward Beyond's headless corpse. It opened its maw and exhaled a blast of scorching Flames of Life, incinerating the body into a Cocoon before swallowing it whole.
Once the task was complete, Vaelastrasz did not vanish into nothingness as she once had. Instead, she shifted her form, changing from heavy plate armor into a thin, light layer of flexible mail that hugged Allen's body.
To a casual observer, it might look like red scales growing directly from his skin. Once he threw on a coat, an outsider would have no way of knowing she was even there.