"Engine of Creation, crush them!"
Cocolia hovered in the air and coldly ordered the giant machine. The Engine of Creation clenched its left fist and swung it downward with all its might. A loud bang followed as the huge mechanical fist struck, causing the ground to tremble violently.
However, to everyone's surprise, the fist did not land on Takagi and the others. Instead, it fiercely slammed the arrogant Cocolia into the ground.
[Tartaglia: Huh! What happened? Why did this big guy suddenly attack Cocolia?]
[Grand Sage Azar: Engine of Creation... isn't it Cocolia's property?]
[Bennett: Well done! Although I don't know what's going on with the machine, anyway, well done!]
[Lyney: Could it be that Mr. Takagi took control of it?]
"How could this be? The Engine of Creation actually attacked me?!" Cocolia asked in shock after freeing herself.
"The Engine of Creation is on the side of Preservation. You wouldn't really think it would listen to your orders, would you?" Takagi said, shaking the ignited Flame Lance in front of her. Hearing this, Cocolia, Jean, and the others immediately understood why the machine had turned on its master.
"Well done, Takagi! Use this big guy to teach her a lesson!" Paimon said excitedly.
"Hmph, you think you can defeat me with that?" Cocolia angrily flew into the sky, waving her hand to summon ice and snow to engulf the Engine of Creation. In the blink of an eye, she completely frozen the massive robot.
"Frozen... frozen?!" Paimon's eyes widened.
"This is normal. The Engine of Creation was not originally a combat robot. To be precise, it's a machine used for construction. Also, I didn't plan to use it to stop her," Takagi shrugged.
"What? That big guy isn't used for combat? But for construction? Things in Belobog really can't be imagined by Teyvat's standards," Jean sighed.
"Even though I've traveled to many worlds, using such a large robot for construction is a first for me," Lumine said.
"You are very calm, Takagi. The Engine of Creation is useless now. How do you plan to stop me?" Cocolia snorted coldly.
Takagi smiled at Cocolia, then turned to look at Bronya. "Bronya, now... can I make my move?"
Bronya immediately pursed her lips tightly. In her opinion, the reason Takagi didn't attack Cocolia at first was entirely because he had promised to let her try persuasion. But now, Cocolia was willing to deliver a fatal blow to her own daughter. This showed that persuasion was no longer useful; Cocolia had completely fallen into the dream woven by the Stellaron.
"P-please... please, Takagi." Bronya looked up at him, two tear tracks streaming down her face.
Seeing this, Takagi shook his head and reached out to wipe away her tears. "I'll try to wake her up, if possible." Saying this, he stepped towards Cocolia.
"Thank you, Takagi!" Bronya said with surprise. Although she didn't know the likelihood of success, she could only place her hope in him.
[Dottore: Can we finally see Takagi make a move head-on?]
[Neuvillette: Cocolia can already be considered a powerful god. I wonder how Takagi will deal with her. So far, the power he has displayed seems to have no strong destructive capability.]
[La Signora: Even so, he should be able to handle her.]
[Scaramouche: Heh, let's wait until he beats her before we talk.]
"So, shall we continue, Cocolia? Should I continue to kick your right hip? Or should I switch sides? Oh, right—in your current state, do you even have a physical form to kick?" Takagi pointed the burning Flame Lance at her and chuckled.
"Are you trying to completely enrage me, man?!" Cocolia said coldly, intense wind and snow swirling around her.
"It's good that you still know how to be angry; at least you haven't completely lost consciousness. Maybe if I give you a good beating, you might actually wake up from your dream," Takagi said.
"I'm tired of talking nonsense with you. Be destroyed with Belobog, Takagi!" Cocolia snorted, and a large amount of Imaginary Energy condensed between her hands, forming a black-gold sphere. The fluctuations alone made the atmosphere incredibly heavy, and the space around her showed signs of tearing.
"Heh, do you want to pull down a meteor? Just right—I also wanted to get something down from the sky," Takagi smiled. With just a glance, he recognized the move. He looked up at the sky. A gap appeared in the Preservation energy shield enveloping Everwinter Hill. At the same time, the satellite Takagi had placed in orbit began to gather energy.
"Takagi, your energy shield?!" Natasha was the first to notice the gap. She thought he was losing strength and ran over in worry.
"Don't worry, I can handle it," Takagi waved his hand easily.
"Hmph! What arrogance," Cocolia flew higher and raised her hands. The condensed energy formed a huge meteor, larger than the entire square. Everyone felt the terror of the impending damage.
[Mountain Shaper: This... is this Rex Lapis's Skyfall?]
[Cloud Retainer: Could it be that this meteor can rival Rex Lapis's power?!]
[Tartaglia: Rival the Geo Archon?! Could Cocolia be a being of that level?]
[Venti: If that's the case, she is a top-tier god.]
[Neuvillette: If Takagi defeats her, then he is at least at that level as well.]
[Furina: !!!]
Cocolia prepared her attack and looked down sternly. "The power of the Stellaron is with me. You are just the death throes before the old world collapses! A great new world, forged by my own hands—Genesis Requiem!"
Cocolia swung her right hand down, and the huge meteor plummeted toward the group.
"Just right for me to test my spear. This is the Flame Lance of Unstoppable Charge!" Takagi aimed his long spear, burning with flames, at the descending meteor. "The spear tip is already ignited! Flame Lance, Charge!"
Takagi charged directly toward the meteor with unstoppable momentum. In the blink of an eye, the two collided.
Boom!
An earth-shattering roar followed, as if the entire world was trembling. The turbulent energy flow blew away those on the ground. When they finally stood firm, they saw the meteor shattering into pieces. The area where Takagi and Cocolia were was covered by violent energy that pulverized everything nearby.
[Ei: Cocolia's attack has actually reached this level!]
[Yae Miko: This destructive power seems even more powerful than the Musou no Hitotachi.]
[Ei: ...]
[Kujou Sara: No way! Although the blow is strong, the Raiden Shogun's power is definitely greater!]
[Yae Miko: That's hard to say.]
[Venti: That blow reminds me of an old friend.]
[Madame Ping: Anemo Archon, are you perhaps referring to the Geo Archon?]
[Venti: Exactly. Cocolia's meteor reminds me of Rex Lapis's Skyfall.]
[Alhaitham: Can I understand that Cocolia's power can rival that of the ancient Geo Archon?]
[Yae Miko: If that's the case, then she is a top-tier god.]
[Zhongli: At least, the attack she unleashed earlier was no different from my strongest blow.]
[Tartaglia: Even the Geo Archon gave such an evaluation?]
[Yae Miko: And Takagi, who shattered such a blow, is also at least at that level. Isn't that right, Kunikuzushi?]
[Furina: !!!]
[Scaramouche: ...]
Scaramouche looked at Takagi's figure emerging from the energy flow. For a moment, he was speechless. He could roughly deduce what level the contest was.
This level of collision, if it were in Teyvat, any country would be instantly destroyed. This man Takagi indeed has the level of a top-tier god. If I can obtain this power, I will definitely be able to get rid of Baalzebul! Perhaps stepping onto a Path is even better than what the Doctor calls modifications.
Scaramouche muttered to himself. Even as arrogant as he was, he had to be impressed by the Path. Takagi truly displayed power at the level of a top-tier god.
However, compared to stepping onto a Path, obtaining power through a Stellaron seems more direct. If I can obtain one... Scaramouche revealed a sinister smile. I must get a ticket from Takagi and then go get a Stellaron.
Belobog.
"How is that possible? Why are you fine? Why are you still alive?! Isn't your power exhausted?" Cocolia roared in shock and anger.
"Who told you my energy was low? If you think that just because there's a hole in the shield, it means I'm out of power, then you are greatly mistaken, Cocolia." Takagi shook his head and looked at the sky. "The hole was just so it wouldn't obstruct the upcoming strike against you."
Cocolia: "A strike against me?!"
Imaginary Energy gathered in her hands.
"That won't do, Cocolia. You've already launched your attack, and I've received it. Now it's your turn. Experience the Skyfall Flame."
As Takagi spoke, a dazzling light appeared on the horizon. Cocolia sensed danger, but it was too late. In an instant, she was hit by a laser from the sky and slammed into the ground. A huge roar followed, and her figure was completely covered by a massive pillar of fire.
[Lyney: I see. Takagi opened a hole in the shield to make way for this attack.]
[Tartaglia: I was wrong. I shouldn't have assumed he was low on energy.]
[Venti: Takagi really doesn't disappoint. The energy in this attack seems even stronger than Cocolia's meteor.]
[Yae Miko: Takagi has proven his power is at least that of a top-tier god. I wonder if the Shogun would agree if he planned to visit Inazuma.]
[Ei: You talk too much, Miko.]
[Yae Miko: Alright, then I'll talk about something else. With that attack landing, this battle shouldn't continue, right?]
Natasha, Jean, and the others watched with surprise. They had no idea when Takagi had prepared this. Bronya and Serval watched the pillar of fire with conflicted feelings. Takagi proactively withdrew the remaining energy of the Skyfall Flame after seeing Cocolia had lost the ability to fight.
Cocolia appeared in the center of the massive crater, unable to properly control the Stellaron's power. An Imaginary storm swirled around her, threatening to swallow her.
"Mother!" Bronya ran to the edge of the crater, wanting to jump down. Serval did the same. Just then, Takagi appeared behind them and held their shoulders.
"Don't go over; the power of the Stellaron will swallow you." He shook his head and stepped towards Cocolia.
"Takagi... are you planning to kill her?" Serval asked with a conflicted expression.
"I promised Bronya that I would give Cocolia one chance," Takagi said, waving his hand as he walked into the crater.