All eyes were drawn to the flicker of blue amidst the shifting yellow sands.
The Whale Shark King's voice carried a hint of weariness, yet remained utterly composed. Even his stance was one of profound elegance.
"Oh? And who are you supposed to be?" Kino gestured toward the distant figure of the Whale Shark King, then quietly tapped his comms to reach Thales, who had just scrambled back into the Black Tortoise. "Hey, Fatty, check this guy's Hetero-Energy level for me."
Almost instantly, Lisa's voice echoed in the ears of the three warriors and throughout the ship: "Analysis in progress... Analysis complete. The hegemon of the Third Parallel Universe: Whale Shark King. Hetero-Energy level: one Black Hole. Unstoppable by conventional force."
"A Black Hole?!" Devin gasped.
"Hey, Lisa! Can you calculate their win rate?" Thales blurted out anxiously.
"Simulation initiated. Calculation complete. The win rate for Kino and his team against the Whale Shark King is zero percent."
"No way! Are you kidding me? Zero percent?!"
"The result is derived from one hundred thousand combat simulations conducted by the system," Lisa stated, her tone devoid of emotion. "It is infallible."
"Kino! Everyone! Fall back! You're no match for the Whale Shark King!" Thales urgently signaled the group outside.
But the moment he shifted his gaze to the monitor, he saw a flash of red recklessly charging headlong into the desert sands. Before he could stop him, Kino had already initiated the assault.
Kino led the charge, his fist tearing through the swirling sand.
"We're going too!" Devin and Phoebe shouted in unison, bolting after him.
"Excellent." Watching the three charge toward him, the Whale Shark King remained calm, one hand tucked behind his back. "I admire your gall and courage, but..."
He extended a hand with effortless grace, catching the incoming Kino. Sparks erupted as he coolly remarked, "The weak should have the self-awareness to accept their place."
With a sudden burst of strength, he sent Kino flying. He pivoted instantly, unleashing a powerful kick that sent Devin soaring through the air. Without a second's hesitation, he spun again; Phoebe was caught off guard, and with three distinct cries of pain, the trio collapsed onto the dunes one after another.
Only then did he slowly lower his leg and return to his poised, hands-behind-the-back stance. Every movement was fluid, precise, and oozed the authority of a supreme ruler.
He tilted his head slightly, a heavy pressure radiating from him. "If this is all you have, you had best go back and train some more."
The win rate Lisa had simulated was far from baseless.
"Damn it!" Kino pushed himself up, sharing a determined look with Devin.
The two stood side-by-side, raised their hands, and roared in unison: "Ultra Beast, Armor!"
If they couldn't win in their base form, they would summon their Ultra Beast armors! They were no cowards, and with only three days left before Hades's revival, there was no time to waste.
Two colossal mechs materialized in response to their call, looming over the Whale Shark King.
"How's this for an answer!" Kino challenged.
The Whale Shark King's lips curled into a smirk. Facing the two towering Ultra Beast gods, he remained unbothered, merely replying, "This... is good."
He stood with one hand behind his back, calm and collected. From the cockpit of the mechs, one could only see his confident profile. The desert began to shudder as a massive, circular summoning array silently manifested beneath his feet.
Deep underground, a bone-chilling roar echoed. The atmosphere turned oppressive, and as the tremors ceased, the air grew thick with pure terror.
A massive Whale Shark Ultra Beast erupted from the earth behind the king, leaping high into the sky. Its form dissolved into particles of golden sand, merging into the Whale Shark War God.
"Warning! Danger level: Level 3. The Whale Shark War God's Hetero-Energy has reached one Black Hole. It is capable of destroying the Earth we are currently on!" Lisa's final alert rang out inside the Black Tortoise.
As if to prove her point, the Whale Shark War God flickered into position between the two Ultra Beast gods. Even in their armored state, Kino and Devin couldn't withstand a single blow.
The opponent was terrifying.
"Ultra Beast God, Dual Merge!" Kino and Devin shouted as they hit the ground.
Their Hetero-Energy surged and converged, splitting the load between the two entities. The Kirin God and the Battle Dragon merged, a higher level of power they had mastered in the Second Parallel Universe while facing the Scorpion King.
"Well done!" the Whale Shark King whispered. The Whale Shark War God vanished like a phantom, reappearing right before the merged beast. His energy spiked, and the world itself seemed to plunge into darkness.
The sound of a brutal collision shattered the silence. The Dual-Merged beast was sent flying, crashing down and instantly forced into de-armoring.
"No way! How is this possible? Even the Dual-Merge couldn't take more than two hits? That's just cheating!" Thales exclaimed from the Black Tortoise.
"It is perfectly fair," the Whale Shark War God shook his head, looking somewhat disappointed. "Without merging, you lasted one hit; with merging, two. It is a pity, I truly thought you would be more interesting opponents."
He fixed his glowing eyes on the two figures lying in the sand. "It seems I have no choice but to kill you. Uninteresting opponents have no right to exist..."
"In the eyes of the strong, there is no seat for the weak!"
Every word the Whale Shark King spoke swept across the desert, echoing in all directions. He was a firm believer in the law of the strong, and he was nothing if not ruthless. Because he lacked a worthy rival, his voice held a genuine, biting frustration.
Just then, a deep, resonant voice boomed from the sky above, as if answering his regret.
"Well said!"
Simultaneously, a streak of golden light descended from the heavens.
"Oh?"
The Whale Shark King looked up, puzzled. High above, a golden portal had materialized out of thin air. A hideous, clawed hand reached out from within, gripping the edge of the threshold. The voice had come from that very gate.
The Whale Shark King narrowed his eyes, musing, "I smell it... the scent of a strong one."
A Whale Shark soldier on a Flash Rider sped up to him, advising, "It must be someone from another universe! They appear hostile. We should strike before he can fully emerge!"
The Whale Shark King's brow smoothed, and he raised a hand. "No. Let him descend."
He kept his gaze locked on the monstrous figure slowly emerging from the gate, his confidence unshaken. He shouted, his voice vibrating through the very earth, "On this planet, no one is my match!"
A massive, humanoid dragon-like creature pulled its tail through the portal, cracked its knuckles, and let out a wild, cackling laugh. Its ecstatic eyes cast down, locking onto the Whale Shark King.
Shendu had arrived.
"Hahahaha! Perfect, absolutely perfect! A worthy opponent the moment I arrive! Brother, you really should have brought me here sooner..."
————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my p-atre-on: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]