As soon as Tiga appeared, he drew everyone's attention.
Surveying the battlefield, Camilla had Beniko Oda's Stage 2 Gijera firmly suppressed. The real issue was that Darram and Hudra needed help over on their side.
Tiga approached the two of them, though he could sense their slight displeasure. Still, Daigo knew full well that after being sealed away by Tiga for thirty million years, the fact that they weren't immediately attacking him was already a massive blessing.
Assuming his combat stance, Darram charged forward first. His powerful fist drove straight toward the Stage 3 Gijera.
Gijera crossed its arms in front of its chest to block, but it hadn't expected Darram's fist to slide right past and instantly transition into a shoulder tackle. The impact sent Gijera staggering.
Immediately following, the blade on Hudra's arm came slashing across. In mere seconds, Hudra inflicted multiple cuts on Gijera's body, then executed a front flip. Grabbing Gijera's head and planting both feet squarely into its back, he used the leverage to launch it flying backward.
Gijera failed to regain its balance in time and tumbled forward. However, a beat of its wings arrested its momentum just short of a harsh impact with the ground, leaving it hovering steadily in mid-air.
Before Gijera could even breathe a sigh of relief, a dark red figure closed in instantly. Landing squarely on Gijera's back, it pinned the monster straight to the ground.
Meanwhile, standing off to the side, Tiga traced a semicircle above his head with both hands, then crossed them before his chest. A dozen light blade projectiles condensed into form.
Darram immediately stood up, and Gijera scrambled to roll upright as well. In an instant, every single light blade struck Gijera the moment it rose.
Scarcely a few seconds later, Tiga clenched his fist again and punched empty air. A circular beam shot from his hand, repeatedly slamming into Gijera. After taking that whole sequence of attacks, Gijera looked thoroughly battered.
On the other side, Camilla's battle had also entered its final phase. In a one-on-one fight, Beniko Oda could only desperately dodge her opponent's optical whip, unable to get close at all. From time to time, her arms or neck would be ensnared by Camilla.
Seeing the situation unfolding so favorably, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Then, the darkness fell.
Up in the sky, the once sacred and pristine Angel gradually shriveled into something resembling a cloud. The white cloud slowly tinted with gray. Within the cloud, a door exuding an aura of death and darkness flickered in and out of view. The cracks in the door glowed with an eerie purple light, brimming with ominous intent.
Two streaks of purple light shot out from the door, plunging directly into the bodies of Beniko Oda and Mitsuo Itabashi. Both of them, previously struggling to hold their ground, instantly had their stamina fully restored, and their strength enhanced.
A fierce, ruthless glint flashed in Beniko Oda's eyes. Without a moment's hesitation, she raised both hands and uttered an unintelligible chant.
The next moment, phantom projections of lesser Gijera rose from corners all across the city, merging entirely into Beniko Oda's body. This propelled her evolution straight from Stage 2 to Stage 3.
The Gate of Hell slowly swung open.
Tiga attempted to rush forward and hold it back, but how could Mitsuo Itabashi possibly give him that chance? A powerful ball of explosive fireball energy struck the physically exhausted Darram and Hudra dead-on. Sent flying backward, the two reverted to their human forms instantly.
Mitsuo Itabashi then charged directly at Tiga.
Over on Camilla's side, the optical whip was no longer effective against Beniko Oda. The Stage 3 Gijera possessed enough raw strength to practically snap the whip apart by force.
High above, purple-black mist continued to seep from the Gate of Hell. The situation reversed in an instant.
Up on the rooftop, Yin Xi frantically hammered away at the device in his hands, yet nothing about him changed.
"Damn it, why? Why won't the Dark Spark Lens work? Why?!"
As it turned out, before the battle began, Yin Xi had asked Camilla for the Dark Spark Lens. He figured that since he could use the regular Spark Lens, the dark version should logically work for him too. But the result was that the Dark Spark Lens offered him no response whatsoever.
"Boom!!!"
Camilla took a direct hit to the abdomen from Beniko Oda, sending her flying backward to crash into a nearby building.
"Sis!"
Watching Camilla struggle to her feet, Yin Xi felt his eyes split with rage, a roar tearing from his throat. Yet, nothing changed. The Dark Spark Lens in his hand remained lifeless.
Beniko Oda rapidly condensed a major attack at her chest—a fiery explosive blast—and launched it at Camilla without hesitation.
"Camilla!"
Yin Xi leapt off the rooftop without a second thought.
*I cannot let anything happen to Camilla, absolutely not! Tiga, answer me!*
Deep within his mind, a faint, imperceptible, emotionless mechanical voice sounded.
"Ding. Transformation into Dark Tiga has been authorized."
In an instant, black lightning surged outward from the Dark Spark Lens, and dark radiance enveloped Yin Xi's entire body.
"Boom!!!"
The spot where Camilla lay was engulfed by the fiery blast. The terrifying explosion virtually obliterated all surrounding architecture.
Darram and Hudra stared blankly at the mushroom cloud, their expressions filled with an inexpressible grief.
"Big Sis..."
Nearby, Tiga also turned his head in shock. Across the battlefield, everyone froze in place. Every member of GUTS stared fixedly in that direction, their eyes reflecting the unyielding glare of the lingering flames.
Suddenly, a glimmer of life returned to Rena's previously dimmed gaze.
Amidst the fire, an imposing dark figure stood with his back to everyone. He simply stood there, yet the aura he radiated made everyone shudder with dread.
"Is that... another Tiga? But why is he black?"
At that moment, Camilla had her arms wrapped around Dark Tiga's neck, held securely in his embrace without having suffered any harm. Looking up at the Dark Tiga before her, Camilla didn't know what to feel. Finally, she trembling reached out a hand to gently stroke his face.
Mitsuo Itabashi and Beniko Oda exchanged a glance and quickly made a decision, turning in unison to fly toward the Gate of Hell.
Tiga tried to intercept them, but could only drop powerlessly to one knee, clutching his chest.
Aided by the external assistance of Mitsuo Itabashi and Beniko Oda, the Gate of Hell drew closer and closer to opening completely.
Though reluctant and filled with lingering attachment, Camilla finally spoke.
"Go do what you must, Yin Xi."
Yin Xi didn't speak; he just gave a slight nod. Gently setting Camilla down, he turned to face Daigo's Tiga. He transferred a portion of energy from his chest color timer over to Daigo, and Daigo's color timer finally stopped flashing.
Yin Xi stepped forward to pull Daigo up. The two exchanged a glance and looked up at the sky together.
The Gate of Hell was already more than half open. Yin Xi took flight, flashing directly between the two Stage 3 Gijera. A ferocious assault sent both creatures flying back, and he followed up with a sweeping kick that drove them down toward the ground.
Meanwhile, Daigo headed straight for the Gate of Hell, attempting to seal it shut.
Even though the Dark Tiga transformed by Yin Xi didn't possess even a tenth—or perhaps even a hundredth—of the original's true power, he was still more than a match for two Stage 3 Gijera. In just a few exchanges, Yin Xi had beaten them to the brink of death.
However, high above, just as Daigo was about to shut the door, he suddenly felt a tremendous force erupt from within. A hand reached out from the opening, striking Daigo squarely in the abdomen and knocking him down from the sky.
This time, the Gate didn't open slowly; it burst open instantly, as if kicked outward from the inside.
A completely pitch-black figure whose features could not be discerned stepped out from within. Neither Yin Xi nor Daigo sensed any terrifying pressure emanating from it, leaving them somewhat baffled.
"Could this be the God of Gijeraelod?"
They soon had their answer.
Down on the ground, the battered and dying Beniko Oda and Mitsuo Itabashi were simultaneously engulfed in black mist. The dark fog extended outward, linking directly to the God of Gijeraelod.
With a whoosh, Beniko Oda and Mitsuo Itabashi were transformed into black mist by the entity and sucked straight into its body.
The dark mist instantly swelled, blanketing the entire sky. Gradually, Yin Xi began to make out a solid form within the black fog—a physique somewhat resembling that of the Gijera, complete with massive wings like a Western dragon's sprouting from its back. A hard-textured mask covered its face, and long bone blades extended from the sides of its arms.
It hovered there in mid-air, looking down with disdain at Yin Xi and Daigo below. Roughly estimated, it stood four times the height of Tiga.
The God of Gijeraelod had arrived.