Meanwhile, at several layers of earth above the main mines...

While Captain Gallop was in the process of beating the tar out of Dante both literally and figuratively, he had Nepherage and Blazejudicator go and prepare for the next part of his somewhat inexplicable plan.

To be more precise, he had sent them to go and soften several key parts of the mountain in order to make it easier for him to slam Dante through it and out into the open air.

Why?

He...wasn't entirely sure either.

It just kind of felt right to him for some reason, and the kaijin didn't question it either...mostly.

[Wouldn't this be easier if we just... I don't know, just kick him through the exit?] Blazejudicator asked as he used his flames to actively soften the stone above and below him.

Once they were soft enough, Nepherage followed up by using her abilities to harden the molten rock in such a way that if anyone were to be smashed through them, they would end up becoming perforated by several tons of obsidian, gravel, and other types of small stones.

In other words, Dante's gooey body was about to become a massive liability.

[It would probably be easier, yes,] Nepherage admitted to Blazejudicator. [But it wouldn't be as satisfying.]

[Satisfying?] Blazejudicator repeated with obvious confusion in his voice.

[This entire mountainous mine of bullshit has been this false lord's entire purpose for years, possibly centuries, right?] Nepherage elaborated, [and he's been using it to be an absolute bastard to either justify his bullshit or to atone for some crime?]

[Sounds about right,] Blazejudicator agreed.

[Is it, or is it not, appropriate for him to be used as the instrument of destruction for bringing down their whole base of operations?] Nepherage asked, bringing the whole point together.

[Oh...the Executor can be surprisingly cruel at times.]

[I think it's more accurate to say that he's...an advocate for karma.]

...Speaking of karma...

[Grrrr...I have to...course correct...before it gets...worse...Delictum!]

Before things could get any worse than they already had, Dante had Delictim flap their shared wings in such a manner to kill their momentum.

At the exact same time, though, Obsidious contributed by producing jets of flame all over Dante's body.

This combination allowed him to forcibly stop himself before he could be sent flying any higher without any additional input.

Unfortunately for his tar-covered ass, this wasn't the end of it.

By the time he stopped his momentum, Dante could see that Captain Gallop was rapidly catching up with him. Not only that, but he could feel that the equine kaijin fusion was building up [Chaos] as he was getting closer and closer.

[Oh no, you fucking don't!] Dante roared as he decided to not float there like a target.

Instead of just tapping into Obsidious's power this time around, Dante began channeling the power of Slavina, Gumba, and the rest of the lesser kaijin that he had absorbed at this point in time.

By doing this, he manifested a massive collection of guns and fired off over a hundred different rounds that all did something different upon impact.

Some caused terrible burns, some caused freezing damage, while some just broke through armor like a wrecking ball smashing a brick wall.

Alas, none of these rounds had even a chance to touch Captain Gallop in the slightest.

[What a lovely little storm you have going on! A perfect test for my saber, no less! Come forth, Calvary Cutlass!]

As Captain Gallop charged fearlessly towards the incoming rain of fire, he manifested his [Astra].

Thousands of sheets of papers suddenly appeared around him before coalescing and combining into a blade that looked like a mix between a cutlass and a calvary saber, complete with a guard shaped like a horse's head.

[Calvary Cutter: Burning Hope!]

Blade in hand, Captain Gallop made a mighty swing and released a giant burst of burning red flames that scorched and slashed through every single projectile that came his way.

The blade of flames didn't even stop in the slightest after eliminating the obstacles in its path, flying forward with the intent of decapitating Dante in a single blow. And if that failed, hopefully burning the bastard into ashes.

[Shit!]

Unfortunately, Dante was still cognizant enough to recognize a dangerous situation and proceeded to dodge the attack.

[Hello there!]

[Are you fucking kidding me?!]

Only to find himself at the mercy of a follow-up attack on Captain Gallop's end.

While the blade of burning [Chaos] was flying forward, Captain Gallop had used the distraction to reposition himself at a better angle while changing the grip around his saber.

[Calvary Charge: Howling Freedom!]

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Captain Gallop began to surround himself with twisting winds that turned him into the eye of a tornado, before charging forward with the momentum of a giant arrow.

[Shit, shit, shit!]

Detecting the danger too late to evade, Dante opted instead to use his powers to create a shield made of twisted vines and reinforced with [Chaos] tar, all in the vain hope that it would mitigate the damage just enough to counter.

Howling winds impacting shield immediately tore apart the fragile plant matter but failed to break through the layers of thick tar.

This was technically a victory, but a pyrrhic one at best.

While the shield was able to prevent the damage,prevent penetration it had failed to stop the force behind the charge.

Pure kinetic force knocked Dante higher into the air, to the point where the false Kaijin Lord was close enough to almost kiss the ceiling.

...POV change...

[Hmmm, pity,] Captain Gallop mumbled to himself as he watched Dante continue ascending upwards. [I was hoping to run him through with that one and put an end to this by now. I know the Admiral isn't a fan of using swords, but it's a clear sign of commitment of us wanting to end Dante once and for all. Especially since I can feel that my time on the stage is coming to it's end.]

As a fusion between Zhen Liu and the Gallop Brothers, Captain Gallop had all of their memories, thoughts, feelings, and abilities alongside his own.

Fusion was weird like that, especially when one was aware that they were an ephemeral existence.

[I need something big and decisive if we're going to end this false lord and...wait a minute...what am I sensing?]

As Captain Gallop pondered on his next course of action, he suddenly felt two energetic presences appear from inside of his being.

[What ho?]

Concentrating on the presences he manifested two avatars into the palm of his hands.

[Oh? Now this a surprise!]

The first presence was the ship [Chaos] treasure that Zhen Liu received from the Storm Queen awhile back.

Zhen Liu hadn't thought about the object for quite some time since he was nowhere near the water since he got stranded in Dozing Salamander.

As for the second presence, it was the Voyager-1 probe.

When Zhen Liu had used its power to create the Gallop. Brothers, he didn't break it down in order to do so. Instead, he tapped into the knowledge locked within it's mainframe and used a thousand years of human history to refine their forms.

After he had done so, he had stored away the piece of anachronistic technology into [Alf Layla Wa Layla].

He had plans to send the probe back into space with the assistance of the library, but that was supposed to be done after the battle had ended.

Evidently, the addition of [Chaos] had stimulated a form of sentience in the machine, and it had wanted to participate in all of the fighting.

At least, that's the impression that Captain Gallop got.

[You two...have an idea.]

The two avatars acted oddly energetic as they conveyed a shared idea they had with the fused kaijin.

To be more precise, they presented an idea that if Zhen Liu could fuse with the kaijin using the power of [Chaos], could he do the same with objects and treasures?

[That...hmmm.]

Bringing together two entirely different tech bases normally required all sorts of knowledge and careful precision. With the power of [Chaos] though...a whole lot of grunt work could get tossed out the window.

[Well, I think that's exactly what we're going to need in order to bring down Dante once and for all,] Captain Gallop agreed as he imagined the possibilities.

[Let's go!]

...Now back to the bastard...

Before actually kissing rock though, Dante managed to stop himself once again by using Gumba's power to turn the stone into a muddy bulge that he used to disperse the force.

[This stupid fucking horse of a man!] Dante cursed as he tried his best to comprehend how he was getting his ass so thoroughly beaten. [I should be the superior force here, I should be having the homefield advantage! So why can't—WHAT THE FUCK AM I SENSING?!]