Chapter 179: Slapped Into Oblivion
The descendant of Gluttony had never liked Voomie.
There were many reasons.
First, Voomie was a dog.
Second, she had defeated her in the Land of Sweets.
Third again, she was a dog.
Those reasons alone had been enough for the black cat to secretly swear revenge.
If another opportunity presented itself, she had every intention of defeating Voomie.
Or perhaps eating her first would also do.
Yet now, the black cat could only stare blankly at the colossal eldritch entity towering over the battlefield.
Its impossible body devoured missiles.
Its countless tentacles consumed lasers.
Its existence itself seemed capable of swallowing reality.
"…"
The cat slowly blinked.
"Amazing."
The hostility she had carefully nurtured vanished which was replaced entirely by admiration.
'So, this is true gluttony.'
Compared to that impossible monster, her own gluttony suddenly felt embarrassingly ordinary.
The construct she had painstakingly created was hardly weak.
Towering behind her stood a gigantic demonic entity crowned with three twisted horns.
Its body was engulfed in black-and-crimson flames capable of melting almost anything they touched.
It was an avatar born from destruction and insatiable hunger.
Normally, it would have terrified every spectator.
Today, hardly anyone even looked at it.
Not while an Outer God was fighting a galactic fleet.
The black cat looked toward Voomie with sparkling eyes.
'Senior, teach me your ways.'
A single desire filled her heart.
She wanted to fight alongside her.
Emotions.
What mysterious things they are!
***
High above the battlefield, inside the Universal Floating Omni-chine.
Caelum watched the battlefield through dozens of floating holographic displays.
He clicked his tongue.
"Tch."
The opening bombardment had failed.
More importantly, the race was still a race.
Destroying everyone wouldn't matter if someone quietly reached the finish line first.
Fortunately, he had planned for that possibility.
Long before firing the first missile, he had already deployed several miniature reconnaissance drones.
Each silently sped ahead, mapping the course beyond the visible horizon and transmitting every detail back to the UFO.
No one else even knew what lay beyond the first fifty kilometers.
Caelum already possessed a growing map of the route ahead.
Then, a warning indicator appeared.
[Unknown Aerial Unit Approaching.]
"Hm?" One of the displays zoomed in.
A tiny mosquito-like construct buzzed rapidly through the sky.
Its speed was astonishing despite its size.
Rather than attacking him, it was flying toward Voomie.
Apparently intending to assist the gigantic Outer God from above.
Caelum leaned back in his seat.
"Not happening."
He casually reached toward one of the controls.
To anyone watching from outside, it almost looked as though he were wearing an invisible pair of VR goggles, manipulating a virtual battlefield with effortless precision.
His finger tapped a single command.
Beneath the UFO, a hidden compartment silently opened.
A sleek mechanical arm unfolded.
It extended with frightening speed.
The mosquito pilot barely had time to realize something was wrong.
SLAP!!
The enormous metallic hand struck it out of the sky like an irritated person swatting an insect.
The construct exploded into countless fragments before disappearing over the horizon.
Seeing this scene, the announcer shouted in a hoarse voice.
"UNBELIEVABLE! One of this year's Dark Horses has fallen already! The descendant of Gluttony has been…"
He paused, almost unable to believe what he had witnessed.
"Slapped into oblivion!!"
The audience erupted into laughter.
"THE CAT REALLY GOT SWATTED LIKE A MOSQUITO!"
"I CAN'T BREATHE!"
"That wasn't even a battle!"
"That was pest control!"
***
Skyler gripped the controls inside his creation with all his might.
His racing machine was a gigantic golden coin.
Not merely coin-shaped.
It was an actual oversized coin, standing upright as it rolled across the grasslands at an unbelievable speed.
RUMBLE!!
The ground trembled beneath its passage.
Thanks to its perfect circular shape, every rotation accelerated it further.
"Hahaha!"
Skyler couldn't help laughing.
For all its ridiculous appearance, the design was surprisingly effective.
As long as the terrain remained relatively smooth, his rolling coin could build momentum faster than most conventional vehicles.
Unfortunately, he still wasn't in first place.
Looking behind, he saw a flying saucer and a galactic fleet fight some unknown creature in the sky.
"…"
Skyler's eye twitched.
"Damn it! Couldn't he have shown a little mercy?! At least let your own friends take the lead!"
He grumbled while glaring upward.
Caelum wasn't doing selective killing.
He was suppressing the entire battlefield from above.
'What kind of teammate does that? He's bombing everyone equally!'
Not even his own companions received special treatment.
Skyler could only sigh.
Still, complaining wouldn't win him the race.
He focused ahead.
The endless grassland was quickly coming to an end.
Beyond it, the next section of the course finally revealed itself.
A colossal mountain range rose into the sky.
Not ordinary mountains, their slopes were almost vertical.
The path twisted around razor-sharp cliffs before disappearing somewhere high above.
"Is this a serious race?" Skyler swallowed.
How is a rolling coin supposed to climb that?
But fortunately, his coin was not just an ordinary rolling coin.
But before he could think further.
BOOOOOOM!!
A massive explosion erupted nearby.
"What the heck?!"
Skyler instinctively looked sideways.
A gigantic Fire Dragon hurtled across the grasslands like a flaming meteor before crashing into the ground only a short distance away.
The impact blasted dirt into the air.
The dragon barely had time to recover before an enormous Yeti leaped after it.
"ICE POWER!!"
BOOOOM!!
The Yeti slammed both fists downward.
"ROOOOOAAARRRR!!"
The Fire Dragon answered with an earth-shaking roar as torrents of crimson flames erupted from its body.
The two colossal figures collided once again.
Ice met fire as steam exploded outward.
Shockwaves rippled across the battlefield.
"Not here!"
Skyler cried.
The collision occurred almost directly beside him.
The expanding shockwave struck his giant coin.
THUD!!
Instead of rolling straight, the coin tilted slightly.
"…Uh-oh no!"
That tiny change in angle, was all it took.
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
The massive coin veered sharply off course.
"No! NO! Turn! TURN!"
Skyler desperately struggled with the controls but nothing happened.
His vehicle had accumulated far too much momentum.
Instead of correcting itself, it continued accelerating in the wrong direction.
The golden coin bounced wildly across the grasslands like a runaway wheel.
Skyler's scream echoed across the battlefield.
"CAELUUUUUUUM! PLEASE BOMB THEM!"
He desperately needed his friend to help him.