The Divine Dragon was exceptionally powerful. He didn't give Jacques the chance to turn the battle around. Plus, the fact that Jacques couldn't use the God of Creation's powers, which included creating monsters, healing/reviving himself, and teleporting, was also an advantage in his favor.

Because Luhan had sealed him in an area without humans or monsters, Jacques couldn't collect the life force needed to use the God of Creation's powers. The countless insects that served at his beck and call couldn't be used to fuel the God of Creation's power either.

Despite that, Jacques remained confident. Though he couldn't use the God of Creation's power, the source granted him immortality.

Unlike him, Gainus wasn't immortal. He had been blessed with a long life, but he could still be killed.

'As always, I'll be the one who comes out of this alive.'

Even the God of Destruction, Ulam, couldn't kill him. The lizard's power was nowhere near the God of Destruction's power, so how could he even hope to kill him? It was impossible.

Jacques hadn't even been concerned about the humans or the Birdman that'd accompanied Gainus.

However, Kang Oh, in his Jet-Black Demon form, suddenly appeared behind him. Jacques hadn't expected it, so he couldn't respond in time. It was a perfect ambush!

Kang Oh swung downwards with both speed and precision.

Everlasting Darkness!

His jet-black blade unleashed a pillar of darkness, which ripped apart one of Jacques' white wings.

Split!

"Uheok!" Jacques cried out from the sudden pain. The Everlasting Darkness pushed him far, far away. Eventually, he rolled onto the floor.

Shards of light large enough to cover his face flew into the air!

"Ugh." Jacques raised his face from the floor, and his eyes glowed red. "How dare you!"

The Mayanes took great pride in their wings. Damaging them was the greatest insult one could give them.

What's worse, a mere human had hurt him! Moreover, he'd forced him to roll onto the floor and dirty his wings with dust!

"I'll kill you!" Jacques furiously charged at Kang Oh like an injured beast. His severed wing dangled as he approached.

"Uhaaahk!"

Jacques had forgotten all about Gainus. All he cared about was killing the black demon before his eyes. It was probably the biggest mistake of his life. How could you ignore the Divine Dragon!?

Great Eruption!

Right before he struck, the ground cracked open, and a ton of lava surged through the air.

Hiss!

Jacques was bathed in dark red lava! Immortality kept him safe from death, not pain. His skin and wings were both burned, so he cried out in pain.

Once the spell was cast, Kang Oh immediately backed off. He didn't want to get caught up in the lava too.

A short while later...

"I'll kill every last one of you!" Jacques said following the spell's completion, and cradled his burnt wings.

[Jacques is furious over his damaged wings.]

[He is transforming into the Insect Monarch.]

Jacques' body increased in size. And it wasn't just his size that changed. His skin transformed into a black shell, and the shape of his body changed too.

The Bug Monarch, Jacques, was huge!

'He's at least 30 meters tall.'

His head was shaped like a helmet, and four dragonfly-like eyes peeked out from within. He had countless legs like a centipede, and his stomach was perforated with holes. Various insects poured out from them.

The white wings the Mayanes were so proud of could no longer be seen. In exchange, Jacques had three pairs of transparent bug wings.

"Die! Die! Die!"

Several red, yellow, and green spheres appeared around Jacques.

Infinite Poison Balls!

These spheres contained six of Jacques' poisons, excluding his purple one.

Bam, bam, bam!

He shot the spheres everywhere. Their abilities obviously differed based on the color.

The red poison was a hallucinogenic, while the orange one was a powerful paralytic. The green poison burned the skin, while the navy blue poison caused extreme pain.

Anyhow, none of them were 'safe' to get hit by.

"Everyone, be careful!" Gainus yelled. At the same time, he surrounded himself with a water barrier.

"Please let me in!" Kang Oh quickly entered Gainus's barrier.

Ruinari, who'd been mercilessly killing insects, forcefully flapped his wings in an effort to get as far away from Jacques as possible.

"I will protect you, Ms. Cyndia." Muhawk stood in front of her and raised his shield.

"Oh goddess!" Cyndia immediately offered up a prayer.

Sacred Shield!

Rising Life!

Bright light spread from her body.

"Mr. Sephiro, come to me!" Eder dealt with Sephiro.

"Yes." Sephiro quickly rushed over to Eder's side with Waryong in tow.

"Arise!" Eder quickly constructed a bone fence. However, this wouldn't be enough to keep out all of the poison. Thus, Eder passed Sephiro one of his antidotes.

"Hurry, eat this."

Gyaa!

'Give me one too!' Waryong opened its mouth.

Eder pulled out two more, tossing one into Waryong's mouth, and taking the other himself.

Bam, bam, bam!

The poison spheres rained down from the sky like hail. Unfortunately, the poison managed to seep through the fence.

[You have been poisoned by the Red Poison. You have begun to hallucinate.]

[You have been poisoned by the Orange Poison. You are becoming paralyzed, starting from the tips of your hands and feet.]

[You have been poisoned by the Yellow Poison. HP falls quickly.]

...

[Warning: Get as far away from the poison as you can!]

"Eat this too!"

Eder was really busy. He gave Sephiro and Waryong antidotes, pulled out some medicinal herbs, materials, potions, etc. from his bag, and sat down. Then, he began formulating an antidote specifically tailored for Jacques' poison.

He wasn't the Legendary Healer for nothing! Creating an antidote tailor made for a specific poison was his specialty. In fact, Eder was skilled enough to create an antidote for most poisons in 1 minute flat.

However...

"This is impossible. I can't cure this poison!"

Eder had failed to create an antidote for Jacques' poison. It was only natural. Even the Divine Dragon feared Jacques' poison. In other words, an antidote for his poison didn't exist.

But this is Eder we're talking about. Although he wasn't able to make a cure, he was able to make a drug that lessened its effects.

[You have taken a dose of an Emergency Drug.]

[Your symptoms have improved.]

The barrage of poison balls had ended by the time he finished manufacturing the drug. Eder dispelled the bone fence, and saw Cyndia and Muhawk. Their faces had turned completely black.

"Ms. Cyndia, Mr. Muhawk. Please take this!" He rushed over, and gave them the Emergency Drug and some healing medicine.

"T-Thank you!" Muhawk fed Cyndia the medicine first, and then took his own. Their complexions slightly improved.

However, they hadn't been healed completely; the Emergency Drug merely improved the symptoms, so they were still in danger.

Eder raised his head, and searched for Kang Oh and Gainus.

The water barrier was dispelled, revealing both Gainus and Kang Oh. Fortunately, both of them were completely unscathed.

"Mr. Kang Oh. We're all poisoned. We don't have much time! You have to kill him as fast as you can!" Eder yelled.

"Ok." Kang Oh rushed forward, and Gainus cast another spell.

Flap! Flap!

Ruinari, who'd flown far away, forcefully flapped his wings and turned back around.

Kuhaaahk!

Whoosh!

Insects popped out of the Bug Monarch' s stomach, quickly forming another giant army! They were like cockroaches. No matter how many they killed, they kept coming back!

* * *

There wasn't much point in killing the insects if the Bug Monarch remained unscathed. None of them said it, but they were all thinking it. Thus, they split up their tasks accordingly.

Eder, Sephiro, Waryong, and Muhawk dealt with the bugs, while Cyndia focused on support! Kang Oh, Gainus, and Ruinari, who possessed the greatest combat ability, would focus on Jacques!

"Let's go." Gainus took the lead.

"Yes!"

"Understood."

Kang Oh and Ruinari simultaneously replied.

Gainus pointed his staff at Jacques.

Giant's Fist!

The fist slammed into Jacques' body.

Whack!

However, Jacques didn't move a muscle.

"Take this!" Jacques shot yellow, green, and navy blue spears at Gainus.

Ruinari flew in front of Gainus, and softly swung his wing.

Wind God's Trick!

A giant, powerful whirlwind followed his wing.

Whoosh!

Not only did the whirlwind devour the poison spears, but it also redirected them at Jacques. Insects had been surrounding Jacques, most likely to protect him. However, the whirlwind either ripped them apart or sent them flying into the air.

However, Jacques didn't really move. He may have wings, but flying was difficult due to his giant, heavy body.

Then...

Purple light glowed within Jacques' mouth.

"Purple Breath!" Gainus moved quickly.

The breath would unleash a massive amount of purple poison at once. Unlike the others, purple poison annihilated anything it touched. It really was Jacques' most powerful and dangerous poison.

That's why he'd warned them prior. To be careful of the Purple Breath!

"Purple Breath?" Kang Oh heard him loud and clear. He remembered Gainus's warning too.

"Everyone, get ready for his attack!" Kang Oh yelled.

However, Gainus thought differently. All the preparation in the world wouldn't stop that.

'If that's the case, then...'

Whoosh!

Gainus transformed. To be more specific, he returned to his original form. The old man was replaced by a giant, white-scaled dragon that glowed with white light.

"Hueup!" Gainus drew in a ton of air.

Then...

Kuhwahk!

Jacques unleashed his Purple Breath, spewing poison all across the world.

"It's coming!" Kang Oh used Abyss Shield and Moon's Protection. The others did whatever they could too.

But before it hit them, another energy blast, rivaling the Purple Breath in strength, blocked it.

Boom!

Divine Dragon's Breath!

Gainus unleashed a glittering silver beam; it was as if the stars themselves were embedded within. He had used a dragon's most powerful ability: Dragon's Breath.

Bam!

The Purple Breath and Divine Dragon's Breath clashed, both sides struggling to overcome the other. The purple energy would get pushed back, and then push the silver energy back. Rinse and repeat.

This clash of strength resulted in a huge shockwave. The insects, aside from the Giant Insects and the Armored Scorpions, were pushed into the air. Kang Oh's party laid flat on the floor, and waited for it to be over.

How much time had passed?

The silver beam completely overpowered the Purple Breath.

Boom!

Gainus powered his Divine Dragon's Breath with every ounce of strength left in his body, which struck Jacques' body head-on.

"Kieeeek!" Jacques cried out.

However, Mayanes Jacques was immortal. Even Gainus's Divine Dragon's Breath couldn't kill him.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Gainus rushed forward and bit into his neck. He also used his sharp claws to rip through Jacques' tough exoskeleton. After all, a dragon's teeth and claws were weapons without peer.

Jacque screamed and struggled. He bit Gainus's long neck with his fangs.

At first, Gainus's scales protected him, but Jacques kept trying. Jacques' fangs released poison, which melted away the fangs, and eventually pierced through Gainus's hide and the flesh underneath.

Obviously, Jacques' seven fatal poisons were released into Gainus's body via his fangs.

"Ugh." Gainus trembled. However, he remained focused, and repeatedly tore into Jacque with his teeth and claws.

'It's my win!'

Jacques assumed he won. He was immortal, while Gainus was not. In a situation like this, where both sides inflict fatal wounds upon each other, he would be the last man standing.

However, that was a huge miscalculation. Why would Gainus go to such lengths to attack Jacques? He wasn't an idiot; he knew the risks. It's because he had a secret weapon.

"My turn." Kang Oh grinned. Ubist's darkness became even deeper and darker than before.