'Blazejudicator. I thought you said it was impossible for a kaijin to wield another kaijin in the same manner that a mortal can tap into a kaijin's power.'

[It is, Taurna. It is.]

'Then what the fuck am I looking at?!'

Despite sensing the incoming doom that was the Demon Knights going on the attack, Taurna had the good fortune of not being caught up in their initial blitz. Unfortunately, this just meant she had front row seats to newly evolved horrors of her past.

Years ago, during the first attempt, she had witnessed how the [Demon Knights] absolutely slaughtered the rebels with maniacal, sadistic glee.

That memory seared into her mind like a cattle brand, haunting her in the back of her mind.

That said, she had recently gotten over that worry thanks to the appearance Blazejudicator and his fellow outsider Kaijin.

But now that hope was starting to wane.

She had expected that the champion members of the rebellion, also known as the only guys in the world that she knew were able to leverage [Chaos] in more elaborate and dangerous ways, to be the ones to confront the [Demon Knights] and probably win.

However, she didn't expect these monsters to be able to use [Taboo].

As such, she was becoming increasingly worried that this second attempt at a rebellion was going to end a lot like the first go around.

'Wait...now that I'm paying attention, it looks like only the Demon Knights are the ones using [Taboo]. Why the hell is that the case?'

[I think it's because Dante intervened directly,] Blazejudicator observed. [At least, that's all I can tell right now...]

Thankfully for the burning embodiment of [Judgement], there were a pair of beings that had just made a breakthrough in discovering the reason why.

...Meanwhile, in the [Library Of Nowhere]...

=Alright, what the fuck?= Logos uncharacteristically cursed. =The readings suggest that Dante and his kaijin are definitely wielding [Taboo], but they feel weaker. Not a lot to make them different from a normal [Taboo], but enough for us to notice.=

I'm in the process of running the scans and analyzing the data, so give me a minute.

The moment Nepherage had fed back to them live footage of Dante forming a [Taboo] from one of his kaijin, they were shocked.

Not just because he was wielding multiple [Taboo] at once, but because all of these [Taboo] originated from a single kaijin.

Even the most powerful of their previous Lords could only accommodate two Kaijin in any particular "slot" at any given time, so seeing Dante rocking about six, maybe more, [Taboo] like he was bootleg cyborg superhero was concerning.

However, this was still within the expectations of their understanding of kaijin-based abilities.

Seeing the kaijin suddenly wield [Taboo] was a step too far for their sensibilities.

Something wasn't adding up, and they both felt it down to their non-corporeal bones that they needed to figure this out before—

Alright! I figured out how the hell these knock-off Kaijin are able to use [Taboo]! Pathos shouted with glee as they smashed their head against a holographic screen before showing Logos the results of their analysis.

It should be noted that Pathos's report mainly consisted of a questionably drawn crayon doodle being accompanied by incomprehensibly complex mathematical formulas.

=What the hell am I looking at?= Logos asked, his gaze more focused on the doodles than the math. The embodiment of [Logic] understood the math as if it was clear as day, but the doodle was weird as hell.

Right, I keep forgetting that you're ability to appreciate art is weak as wet paper, Pathos complained as they smacked her own face with a palm. Long and short of it is that the reason why Dante is able to manifest multiple Taboo and why his Kaijin appear to be able to manifest their own [Taboo] is because his kaijin all have those weird [Cores].

=Elaborate.=

No duh.

With a wave of his hand, Pathos replaced the doodled diagram with a short animation that showcased a kaijin with a [Core] made of gold.

You know how all of Dante's kaijin have the weird ability to absorb one another? Their cores not completely fusing so that they have the ability to replace one another in the event they get defeated?

To help demonstrate this idea, the animation of the kaijin showed them exploding before their [Core] underwent a change and an entirely different kaijin reformed around it.

=Yes.=

Welp, what Dante did is essentially fuck around with that process.

With a gesture of his hands, Pathos made it so that the Kaijin on the display had their core changed. It not kind of resembled a demonic pizza.

Since Dante's kaijin all technically have multiple cores, that means they have multiple powers and formulas on hand anyways, Pathos elaborated as he began to manipulate the display.

An animation played out, zooming on two pieces of the circle and showing how there were different formulas on each piece.

Dante made it so that these bastards can detach part of their core, and instead of forming back into another kaijin, made it so that the main personality can turn the subordinate ones into a [Taboo].

Demonstrating this ability, the animated kaijin physically removed a part of its core and transformed it into a weapon.

However, because the [Taboo] is technically sources from an incomplete Kaijin, the resulting [Taboo] is actually touch weaker than a normal one.

Pathos proceeded to summon another screen with a diagram showing a normal warrior armed with their own [Taboo].

For added clarity, Pathos included gauges that showed the amount of [Chaos] concentrated in the weapon. Technically speaking, the one wielded by a mortal was stronger.

Plus, there's a really nasty side effect. Every time these Kaijin do this version of a [Taboo], they actually slowly destroy themselves.

Accompanying this warning, the animation of Dante's Kaijin proceeded to rapidly dismiss and summon a [Taboo] before violently exploding.

The sight of this explosion caused Logos to raise a brow.

=Does that mean we can just have everyone wait out these assholes until they kill themselves through their hubris?=

That depends. Do you think this battle will last three years?

=No.=

Then no.

=Fuck.=

Now that Pathos had explained himself, he dismissed the diagrams.

=Okay, now that you've explained the problem, how do we solve it?= Logos asked. =Because the only thing my brain can suggest is to just hit them really, really hard. That, or we have them focus on the [Taboo] of our enemies.=

Well, yes, that could work, Pathos confirmed. But if we really want to end this fast, then the guys have to focus on the competitor. Unfortunately, that would mean...

=Collateral damage,= Logos finished. =And our lord hates collateral.=

Exactly.

...Back to the fray...

'So do we keep fighting off the other kaijin, or do we try and assist the others in fighting the Demon Knights?' Taurna asked Blazejudicator, as she kept flicking her attention towards her blood sister and the other champion fighters dealing with the aforementioned elite kaijin.

So far they appeared to be in a stalemate, but that could easily change at a moment's notice.

[Attempting to help when you're unfamiliar with someone's fighting style can be more detrimental than beneficial,] Blazejudicator reminded Taurna. [So I suggest you get ready to assist Lyona and Nepherage.]

'Agreed.'

After confirming their plan of action, the bovine Bloodliner and judgeman of flames began to charge towards the palanquin where Lyona and Dante were fighting.

Evidently, this turned out to be a prudent choice on Taurna's part, because Lyona definitely needed the help.

...

After Dante had taught his elites on how to form their own [Taboo], the false kaijin lord went back to attacking Lyona.

Through virtue of the fact that Dante's trick had somehow weakened the man, Lyona was able to work with Nepherage to fend off the barrage of rockets and other bullshit projectiles.

They even managed to prevent Dante from absorbing more of his own kaijin a dozen or so times.

That sounded counterproductive since this was a war, but it also prevented Dante from gaining new weapons to throw at the duo.

Either way, both Lyona and Nepherage knew that they couldn't stay on the defensive forever.

'We need to break through this barrage from hell,' Lyona concluded. 'How the hell do we even do that, though?!'

[If this place wasn't so weird, I'd suggest burrowing through the dirt and popping up from an angle that this asshole can't fire,] Nepherage advised. [That or bank on someone drawing their fire long enough for us to close the gap.]

'I don't think there's anyone among us that could even tank these attacks except for me,' Lyona retorted.

[Then you probably should've told your sister Taurna that, because she's charging over as we speak.]

'Wait, what?!'

From her position on the palanquin, Lyona could see Taurna charge towards her while wreathed in lighting and hell fire.

Needless to say, Lyona was shocked.