Codex Equestria: Notable Events

by Red Qilin

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, Princess Celestia, Alternate Universe, Anthology, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 10223

A series of "Codex Equus" entries on Notable Events of the Fourth Age

Equestria and the world beyond is vast and ancient, with countless mysteries waiting to be uncovered, and a million stories waiting to be told...

A series of entries detailing notable events that happened around the timeframe of the setting's 'modern times' (the Fourth Age of Known History), or significant events in the distant past within said Age.

Preview image is by [img]https://a.deviantart.net/avatars/v/e/vectorshy.png?3[/img]. MLP FIM is property of Hasbro. All other references belong to their respective franchises. Please support their official releases.

Published 2020-04-23 11:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2020-04-24 07:40:38 UTC

Wrath of the Dragon

Wrath of the Dragon

"People's Empress, do you have any idea what the Cloven Empire have unleashed? That isn't a dragon...not anymore...it is a disaster. You could fight a dragon, you could appease a dragon… But you can't fight or appease a disaster."
--- Lestnamatya, the Mother Deer, pleading with the leaders of the People's Empire of the Cloven not to send their people to their deaths against something they could never hope to fight

With the Cloven Empire's relentless drive to match and surpass their rivals and enemies, it was believed by many that it was only a matter of time before they created something far beyond their control out of recklessness. Unfortunately for all, this assumption was eventually proven true, when said recklessness resulted in the birth of one of the most powerful monsters to had ever live, which proceed to cause one of the most disastrous kaiju attacks in recorded history.

The birth of the first Dracozilla, and its subsequent rampage, would became known as the ‘Dracozilla Incident’, or more poetically, the ‘The Wrath of the Dragon’.

Background

“'We are fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this distance in ten years. Either we do it, or we shall be crushed'. So spoke the fabled 'Tyrant of Steel' Zhelezo Phikta, and though we all loath tyrants, we ought to take note how similar our situation is to their own. Perhaps even tyrants of yore can still teach us a few things.”
--- People’s Secretary Vikont Byalagora, on the necessity to modernize the Cloven Empire.

In the aftermath of the upheavals and unification, the People's Empire of the Cloven initiated massive national programs to modernize the country as rapidly as possible, in order to bring the largely rural, backwards empire into the industrial Great Power that it has the potential to become, both to lay out the foundation for the prosperous and utopian realm that the leaders of the Empire wishes to built, and in the short term, to ensure the survival of the nascent 'Revolutionary Empire' against the threat posed by foreign powers fearful of what the Cloven Empire represents.

The Roedinians have a deeply-rooted fear and mistrust of outsiders, brought on by centuries of countless foreign invasions of their motherland throughout its history, and the Clovenists in particular bitterly remembered the considerable foreign support the old ruling regimes had received prior to their overthrow. Who is to say that the foreign powers would not attempt renewed attempts to destroy the Cloven Empire, to prevent the spread of their ideals?

Because of this, the Cloven military, freshly formed and bloodied in the revolutions that swept Roedinia, was one of the areas of priority in modernization, receiving not only extensive enhancement in its current arsenals, but also development in new, powerful weapons to defend themselves against their hostile neighbours – and to spread their revolution worldwide when the time is right.

In their quest to acquire any edge over other nations, one of the weapons their war machine tried to create was a 'Mana Bomb'. Once purely theoretical, this military technology is intended to trigger and use wild magic reactions for offensive purposes, causing destruction through generating a gigantic explosion. Unverified reports suggested that it is capable of ‘Exploding for days’ in a ‘blazing continual detonation’, potentially capable of wiping out entire cities and saturate the area in a ‘fallout of radiant matter and inconvenient arcane energies’.

It was, for all intents and purposes, a weapon of mass destruction, and although once revealed, the Empire's higher ups claim it was merely for defensive use against kaiju, hostile nations or any other threats, many have their doubts.

Whatever the case, a mana-detonation device was created and tested on an nameless island in the middle of the ocean, detonated from a safe distance. Despite precautions taken, the experiment went wrong, and yielded a blast much greater than expected, reducing most of the island to a scorched, destroyed wasteland. As horrifying as the damage was, to any who learned of it and to the bomb's creators, the Clovenists had no idea the sequence of events they had set into motion.

Rise of the Dragon

“A god incarnate is coming – a wrathful god of destruction.”
--- An Ahto Islander, on the kaiju that would become known as ‘Dracozilla’

In the coming weeks and months, ships began vanishing at sea without a trace. However, eventually, a group of islanders discovered a survivor of one of the ships, horribly burned and barely alive. Before he expired, he reported that there'd been a blinding flash of light and then the sea became fire.

The natives of the island, officially recorded as Ahto Island, believed this was the work of a creature from their myths, and told the researchers as such when an expedition to investigate the disappearances arrived. With a hurricane baring down on the island, the expedition had no choice but to spend the night... allowing them to witness the consequences of the Clovenists' actions.

During the hurricane, a portion of the village on the island was leveled...and the next morning the creature emerged over the side of a hill, roaring in fury for the world to see, before returning to the sea.

This was Dracozilla, later known as Dracozilla Sr., an alteration of the name the islanders gave it. He stood far taller than any dragon on record besides the Ryujins themselves, and upon closer examination was discovered to have been imbued with unholy amounts of wild magic to the point unicorns who tried scanning spells experienced intense headaches.

It soon became apparent that the Clovenists' mana bomb had mutated a dragon with its massive amounts of wild magic, turning him into a kaiju of incredible power. While the Clovenists denied it, no other logical explanation could be found, and an investigation was launched into the matter... Dracozilla, however, would not wait for it to be completed.

Destruction of Umiyako

“This is Umiyako. Once a city of six million, built near the fabled ruins of Old Tokneigho, it is now a smouldering memorial to the unknown, destroyed by a force that, a few days ago, was beyond the scope of our imagination...”
--- Tape Record, Mustangian reporter and correspondent of Modern Global News, who became famous for his survival and report of Dracozilla’s attack on Umiyako.

It was night in Umiyako when the surface of the sea gave way to a leviathan. Dracozilla waded ashore and unleashed his wrath on the unsuspecting city, destroying and burning everything in sight with wild magic infused azure flames.

Worse yet, Dracozilla was driven mad with rage and hatred at what had happened to the point reasoning with him was impossible, and he simply lashed out at anything that approached him. The Neighpon Self Defense Forces were powerless to halt his rampage. While other Kaijus tried to stop him, Dracozilla proved too powerful and forced them to retreat.

It seemed as though the city would burn to the ground during several attacks on it and the surrounding area...when Dracozilla's eyes fell on an airship fleeing the country, namely the one containing the Clovenists ambassadors to Neighpon, eyes locked on the Clovenists' emblem emblazoned on its haul. With a furious roar, Dracozilla dove into the ocean and vanished.

Neighpon was left to mourn the attack on its capital, and the world to wait in fear of where the kaiju would strike next.

Attack on the Cloven Empire

“No sacrifice is in vain for the defense of the Clovenist Dream from the horrors of nature!”
--- People's Regent Kentavr Khan, in an address to Council of People’s Regents, on the day the Cloven Empire declared war upon the rampaging Dracozilla

Between the reports of Dracozilla chasing after the Cloven airship and the Clovenists' weapon test, the Clovenists immediately came under greater scrutiny for their role in Dracozilla’s creation. The Cloven Empire for their part had continued to deny any involvement with this disaster... until a row of dorsal spines broke the surface off the Empire's eastern coast, from the direction of the sea of Neighpon.

Emerging from the oceans, Dracozilla marched on the Empire, laying waste to all that lay before him without a moment's pause or regret, howling his undying hatred for those that had hurt him so much. Any delusion the Empire's mana bomb was not to blame was shattered as several cities were burned down before the mutant dragon's azure flames.

Desperate to prevent loss of life, the deer goddess Lestnamatya, the Mother Deer contacted People's Empress Zora and her fellow leaders with a desperate plea to take responsibility for their people's actions, hoping that maybe Dracozilla would listen if the country that caused him such pain and misery acknowledged it and tried to make recompense, rather than send their armed forces against a foe they had no chance of defeating. The goddess recognized what this was: Dracozilla was no mere dragon. Not anymore. He was now more comparable to a hurricane or volcano. A natural disaster destroying all in his path. And he had set his sights on the Cloven Empire.

The Clovenist leaders politely refused, and with the approval of Clovenist government, the Imperial Liberation Legions was deployed against Dracozilla in full force. Not only did the military assault merely increase the damage rather than halt it, Dracozilla merely plowed through everything aimed his away, leaving nothing but blazing ruin behind. By the time Dracozilla returned to the sea, the Clovenist attack force had been annihilated. Clovenist propaganda claim they drove the kaiju back into the sea, but those who witnessed it tell a different story: Dracozilla simply got tired and went back to sleep.

The end of Dracozilla

"Your stubborn pride blinds you to one thing: what good is a nation of ashes?"
--- Princess Celestia, in an audience with the Clovenist government.

Now that Dracozilla had set his sights on the Clovenists, there was great debate on whether or not to interfere. The Clovenists refused help, and with their hostility to the outside world, it was debated whether or not they actually deserved it. However, when Dracozilla surfaced again and continued his assault, Mother Deer gave an impassioned plea to the rest of the world that even if the Clovenist leaders deserved to face the consequences of their actions embodied by Dracozilla, the innocent civilians did not.

While this moved many to support a counterattack on the titan to end the bloodshed, there was still the matter of the Clovenist refusal to accept outside help with the behemoth. Making a move on Clovenist soil would likely give them excuses to further justify their hostility. Eventually, Princess Celestia, the Sunraiser of the Principalities of Equestria herself spelled it out as bluntly as possible to the entire Clovenist government that their stubbornness would only spell the doom of their entire Empire.

Finally, the Clovenists agreed, and a small army of kaiju assaulted Dracozilla, managing to slowly force him back towards the sea in a long, hard fought battle that left many of them with wounds that would take a long time to heal. However, they had only been told something was waiting in the water to deal with the beast and to NOT be in it when he was, not what it was.

They soon found out what it was, along with all its unique horror.

A brilliant Neighponese scientist, whose name is withheld out of respect for his wishes, had invented a magitech weapon of dreadful power. A spell capable of destroying all oxygen in sea water, creating a reaction that dissolves everything it touches. Fearing the potential usage as a WMD, he destroyed all record of it as he prepared to unleash it to stop Dracozilla...and remained in the water as it took effect.

Dracozilla was reduced to nothing more than atoms as the weapon took effect – although the state of Dracozilla’s remains was never truly confirmed – and the scientist took its secret with him to the grave.

Aftermath

“The menace is gone… and so was a great individual. But the whole world can wake up and live again.”
--- Attributed to Tape Record or Mother Deer

The aftermath of this event was a heavy blow to the Cloven Empire. Not only would rebuilding cause economic problems, they were forced to pay Neighpon a large sum of money in restorations for the destruction of Umiyako due to their actions, and had international sanctions placed on them to prevent more research into the mana bomb, as well as an ultimatum that the use of such weapons were now banned by international law... although development of the mana bomb's arcanic process for peaceful use was technically not prohibited, nor was the development and storage of the bomb itself.

Many suspect now that the genie is out of the bottle, some nations, such as the more militaristic Griffon kingdoms and the dreaded Changeling Summer Court Hives, are already developing their own version of the bomb, and that a nightmarish arms race had only just begun - one that would not doubt lead the appearance of more terrible kaijus like Dracozilla Sr..

Meanwhile, Dracozilla's attack did not stop Clovenists from covering up their responsibility of the disaster to their own people, and espouse propaganda claiming it was one of their scientists or mages that produced the weapon that finally killed the monster, but none outside the country buy a word of it.

Thousands perished in the rampage of the original Dracozilla, and it would take years for the damage to be repaired... but also eventually gave rise to the second, much more benevolent Dracozilla.

Return of the Dragon

Return of the Dragon

"If mana bomb tests continue, another Dracozilla may appear somewhere in the world again."
--- Dr. Kyohay Yamane, after the death of the first Dracozilla.

The devastation caused by the first Dracozilla did haunted the dreams of Neighpon and the Cloven Empire long after the beast met his end. But what scared everyone more was the thought that the Clovenist Mana Bomb test, and potentially ones by other parties, may one day create another one. After all, if one dragon exposed to the bomb could mutate into Dracozilla, who was to say another one could not come into being? And worse yet, if those fears did come to pass, the only means of killing the original was note lost.

Unfortunately, these fears did eventually come to pass. And, as fate would have it, it would coincide with another nightmare of Neighpon's past returning to wreak havoc once again.

What would follow would fill Neighpon's hearts with terror... that, however, would one day turn to hope.

Background

"This attack will not stand!"
--- People’s Secretary Vikont Byalagora, echoing the sentiments of many Clovenist leaders and citizens on the disappearance of a Cloven vessel.

While Neighpon has a primarily pony population, they rely heavily on fishing for exports to more carnivorous sapience or to feed pets and other animals. As such they often use Pegasi and Griffins to spot schools of fish for vessels. One of these pegasi, named Little Forest, found himself caught in lightning storm and was injured, landing on a small, tundra island. While waiting for rescue, he would discover something that would shock and horrify the world.

At the same time, a volcano in Neighpon suddenly ceased its dormancy and began erupting without any prior warning. While alarming in and of itself, what was more alarming was pictures of the eruption showing what seemed to be a large, dragon-like creature emerging from the caldera. While initially believed to be a dragon, the sighting of a strange, ape-like monster at a nearby lake hours later began to worry Neighponese officials that new Kaiju had emerged. Worries that scared them even more when Little Forest was rescued and reported what he had seen, which at the moment was kept a secret as not to cause panic.

This all worsened when the powder keg brewing with the Cloven Empire nearly blew upon the destruction of a Cloven vessel at sea without a trace. Already fearful of the outside world, the Cloven Empire accused Principalities of Equestria and other nations of the crime. A war seemed inevitable...and forced the Empress of Neighpon's hoof.

The Truth is Revealed

"Dracozilla...I was hoping I would never hear that name again..."
--- Empress Nadeshiko of Neighpon, upon being alerted to the existence of Dracozilla Junior.

With her hoof forced, Neighpon's government had no choice but to reveal the true cause of the Cloven vessel's disappearance:

Little Forest, during his stay on the island, witnessed a battle involving a third, sea monster-like kaiju. While disturbing in and of itself, it was the other combatant that was more worrying. A second Dracozilla. Locked in combat with the other kaiju, the two went falling into the sea and disappeared beneath the waves shortly before his rescue.

The knowledge that the vanished vessel had been carrying a mana bomb (according to the Clovenists, to be stored away and nothing more) that had been found drained of its wild magic in the wreckage only further confirmed that its destruction was the work of the second Dracozilla, and Neighpon's kaiju and the world mobilized a search for both Dracozilla and the other three kaiju.

More Shocking Revelations

“Listen to me, Dracozilla the second here isn’t the only problem we’ll be dealing with – an old darkness is returning, and those three ‘kaijus’ are one of its heads!”
--- AK Yearling, best-selling author and historian, on the other three kaijus.

While the search continued, AK Yearling of Equestria's studies uncovered a horrifying fact about the trio of kaiju that had been sighted. Long ago, when Yamata no Orochi, the Demon King was vanquished, he cursed Neighpon before his imprisonment: his seven severed heads would unleash seven demons to ravage the land. The description of the three creatures revealed they were actually a singular being called the Third Demon King for being born from Orochi's third head to be severed. This creature had the capability of transforming between three unique forms, healing as it did so.

A terrifying time for Neighpon had begun, as not only had the most deadly kaiju of modern times returned, the dying curse of the deadliest of ancient times was coming to pass.

The Dragon and the Demon

“No monster will be a match against Clovenist ingenuity and unfettered determination!”
--- People's Centurion Malinav, a Belomaneian pegasi Clovenist Imperial Aerocorp liaison to Neighpon, as the Red Sun takes off on its mission.

The Neighponese Special Defence Forces located the Demon King and began attacking him in his ape-like form, only for him to turn into his flying form and rain lightning down upon them before beginning to ravage the nearby area on a warpath.

At the same time, Dracozilla emerged from the ocean and began a warpath of his own along the Neighponese cost. With the good kaiju still scattered searching for four separate kaiju, Neighpon was at a loss to deal with the two currently rampaging across the country side.

Desperate to save face for requiring aid in dealing with the first Dracozilla, the Clovenist proudly asked to aid with a super weapon of their own to deal with the second one. They hoped that if they destroyed the second Dracozilla, then the tarnishing of their country's pride at the hooves of the first may be forgotten. Their military division had developed a heavily armoured airship in case of another such assault, known as the 'Red Sun'. With the go ahead of the desperate Neighponese government, the Red Sun was deployed to confront Dracozilla in the Neighponese city of Koneighto.

Armoured with magically enhanced metal and capable of unleashing a powerful arsenal of conventional weapons and special magical weaponry, the Red Sun let loose with an all-out attack on Dracozilla, at first seeming to be holding its own due to its armour withstanding his wild magic ray. However, as the battle wore on, the armour wore down while Dracozilla's durability and regenerative abilities held out. Losing structural integrity, the Red Sun was forced into a fighting retreat. Dracozilla, however, would not allow it and finally inflicted enough damage to down the craft, at which point he toppled a building over on top of it, reducing the Clovenist Empire's super weapon to nothing more than scrap metal.

Meanwhile, the Third Demon King continued his rampage across northern Neighpon's towns and villages, but thankfully evacuations succeeded in preventing the same loss of life as Dracozilla's original rampage, but the damage seemed impossible to stop.

Dragon vs Demon

"We have no other choice...let them fight."
--- A Captain of the Neighponese Special Defence Forces, informing his troops of the desperate plan.

With the Clovenist attempt to defeat Dracozilla ending in failure, the Third Demon King continuing his rampage, and unable to call for any of Neighpon's heroic kaiju in time, a radical plan was suggested: use one threat to defeat another. Dragons were highly territorial as it was, so luring Dracozilla to the Demon King may be the only valuable means of stopping them.

And thus Dracozilla and the Demon King were lured to the same location by Neighpon’s Special Defense Forces. Roaring in fury, Dracozilla charged Orochi's third son.

What ensued was a long, brutal battle between two titans that continued for what seemed like hours. While both were powerful, Dracozilla's ability to regenerate damage and the Demon King healing him when he changes form, neither could gain a decisive advantage over the other no matter what wound they inflicted on the other.

However, when Dracozilla managed to blow off the Demon King's wings in his dragon form and send him falling into the sea, the beast emerged in a new form altogether. A nightmarish mismatch of his other three forms far larger than even Dracozilla himself. According to AK Yearling's research, this is the Third Demon King's true and most powerful form.

However, while in its strongest form, it also loses its shape-shifting ability, and thus its ability to heal from damage. As a result, while this momentarily gave the beast the advantage and it began to gain the advantage on Dracozilla, it began to accumulate damage as the mutated dragon's regeneration kept him from sustaining any permanent injury.

Finally, Dracozilla sunk his teeth into the Demon King's throat, and choked it until he finished it off by firing his heat ray straight through, beheading the beast and sending its corpse falling into the sea. Moments later, an explosion of dark energy erupted into the sky, taking the form of one of Orochi's heads and necks before dispersing.

The Dragon Sleeps

“Little Forest… we have beaten Dracozilla, for you.”
--- Last transmission from First Lieutenant Great Forest, elder brother of Little Forest, moments before his heroic sacrifice.

After killing the Third Demon King, Dracozilla returned to the sea and instantly attacked another Clovenist vessel carrying another Mana Bomb, which he destroyed and consumed the wild magic from before vanishing again. He was discovered not long after to have returned to the icy island on which he'd first been found.

Knowing they had little choice, Neighpon's Special Defence Forces launched an assault on him there. With the realization that the snow and ice on the surrounding mountain ranges was sufficient to bury the kaiju, the Special Defence Forces focused all their efforts into collapsing the frozen bodies of waters right on top of Dracozilla.

With many losses, Dracozilla was ultimately buried in an avalanche, plunging the beast into hibernation. The final blow was delivered by First Lieutenant Great Forest, serving on board one of the military airships taking part in the assault. He is the elder brother of the Neighponese pegasi who discovered the second Dracozilla, and feared the worst for Little Forest after the hospital he was staying in was destroyed during Dracozilla’s fight with the Third Demon King, before it could be evacuated. With his vessel crippled by Dracozilla’s wild magic beam, most of the crew and his superior officer killed in action, he piloted and crashed the airship into the mountain side with enough force to trigger the avalanche, dying without knowing that Little Forest had escaped in time and was alive and well.

Aftermath

“In his tomb beneath the earth, dead Orochi lies waiting…”
--- A passage from the Orochi Documents, a collection of unholy scriptures written by Neighponese cultists who worshiped Yamata no Orochi.

While several towns and parts of city were destroyed, the loss of life was considerably less than from the original Dracozilla's rampage. Primarily due to the second Dracozilla being far less actively destructive than his predecessor and the Third Demon King being kept largely out of the main population centers. Still the damages, both in terms of loss of life and structural damages was serious. First Lieutenant Great Forest was posthumously awarded the Grand Cordon by the Empress of Neighpon, the highest award for exceptional merit, for his sacrifice in stopping Dracozilla, with his younger brother Little Forest attending the award ceremony.

The Cloven Empire largely avoided more fall-out from the appearance of the second monster, as there was no direct evidence linking their mana bomb to his existence and their attempt to defeat the beast with Red Sun...at least internationally. Protests began in multiple countries, demanding the mana bomb projects be completely scrapped for fear of other such monsters coming into being.

In the long run, however, the second Dracozilla would eventually turn out to be a boon, when years later he would begin to mellow out and the destroyer would become a saviour.

As for the Third Demon King, however, a most ominous black mark had been left from this incident: according to authorities, around Neighpon, malicious youkai and underground cultists who still revers the fallen ryujin, far from dismayed by Dracozilla’s destruction of the Third Demon King, were celebrating. For it is said, according to legend, that should all the Fallen-Spawn demons that grew from the heads of Orochi be destroyed, the Demon King shall rise from its grave, and bring forth a new age of darkness upon Neighpon. With the first of the heads destroyed, those who were interrogated claim, the Demon King’s dying curse would begin to take effect, and a countdown has begun, one that would see the other demons from Orochi’s severed heads be slain in turn, regardless of any efforts to prevent it so.

With that in mind, many in Neighpon hoped that when the time comes, the new Dracozilla could be found among the number of kaijus who would rise to save them from a nightmare of Neighpon’s mythical past…

The Phantom Dragon

The Phantom Dragon

"He's coming...the destroyer is coming..."
--- An Ahto Islander following the attack on the island by the Second Demon King, also known as Ghost Dracozilla.

With the appearance and defeats of the first three Demon Kings, Dracozilla had transitioned from a destroyer of Neighpon to its protector. However, there were still many who remembered the devastation his father had wrought on the country, and an event would soon happen to remind them of it. And also remind the world of the lingering threat of Orochi's spawns.

Background

“I thought he was on our side now!”
--- Neighponese Public's general response to the attacks seemingly by Dracozilla

=Intro Theme - Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack=

Following the defeat of Imperfect Orochi, there was a period of relative peace. Dracozilla was now a protector, and along with the rest of his fellow benevolent kaiju, Neighpon's more malicious kaiju denizens were largely kept in check. Sadly, this peace would not last long.

Out of nowhere, an Equestrian vessel was destroyed at sea in international waters. Sea ponies living in the Neighpon area joined in the search and discovered the wreckage, which appeared to have been torn apart by some form of monster, an alarming and tragic but not exactly uncommon occurrence. What caused a stir, however, was what was seen moving in the silt.

A set of familiar dorsal spines moving through the depths, glowing a menacing dark violet.

The reaction back in Neighpon to this sighting was one of shock. Dracozilla had become their greatest defenders and had not caused any unnecessary destruction recently, so the prospect that he had destroyed the vessel was an eyebrow-raising one. However, to those who refused to forgive the King of the Monsters for his and his father's rampages, it was ammunition to encourage the demise of the ancient creature.

Of these vocal group, the Cloven Empire was the quickest to suggest the dragon's death, as he and his bloodline had caused the Empire so much trouble and humiliation that seeing him destroyed was something they greatly desired. Particularly given their latest anti-kaiju weapon, a gigantic amphibious airship called the Antlergon that was also capable of burrowing through the earth.

To complicate matters, Dracozilla himself was not on the island he'd made his home.

To make matters worse, the guards responsible for guarding the prisons of Orochi's fallenspawn demons reported an earthquake at the location of the Fourth Demon King and a purple glow raising into the air, inciting fears that the demon may be awakening. As a result, the benevolent kaiju that could be contacted were requested to guard the remaining demons, both to intercept the Fourth if he did awake and to prevent the cultists from merging together multiple demons as they had before.

Little did anyone know, the truth was far stranger and more terrible than what any believed.

Stirring Forces

"Someday, I'd like to come to Neighpon without a giant monster attacking."
--- AK Yearling, upon her arrival in Neighpon

As she had been directly involved with the previous Orochi related incidents, AK Yearling returned to Neighpon to investigate the signs of the Fourth Demon King awakening. Her search lead her to Mount Maneoko, were a strange earthquake with a moving epicenter had begun. The author reported seeing a mysterious old stallion in the woods who vanished into thin air.

That very night, a tunnel collapsed in the area, crushing some surviving members of the Orochi Cult attempting some kind of terrorist attack to death. The survivor and intended victim of their attack reported a reptilian creature moving in the Earth he believed was Dracozilla.

The next night, at Lake Ikedeer, another group of Orochi cultists attempted a separate attack, and likewise were found slaughtered next morning, apparently killed by something in the lake, but saving a dog they were attempted to use for a blood sacrifice in some sort of ritual.

Yearling pointed out to the strangeness of the cultists launching seemingly random attacks with no clear goal, but no one could figure out a correlation...at least until Yearling received a book titled "The Guardian Monsters" from an anonymous source, and discovered the locations of two of them were a perfect match to the locations of the two disturbances.

A Grim Warning

"You must wake the Eldest Beast, the Guardian of Fire before it’s too late! And maybe together they will be able to stop him!"
--- 'Isayamane', warning AK Yearlingthat if Neighpon is to survive, the final Guardian must be awoken.

Discovering the stallion she'd seen at Mt. Maneoko was currently in police custody, Yearling travelled to the jail and met with him, discovering his name was Isayamane (or so he claimed), he'd been arrested 'vandalizing' an ancient shrine.

The old stallion explained that Dracozilla was coming. When questioned, he clarified that while the Clovenist Mana Bomb had given Dracozilla his immense power, something far older and far more evil was what now resurrected and powered the leviathan. And worse still, claimed that the dark entity had resonated with and called the souls of the restless, vengeful dead, those who had died in the revolutions and wars the Clovenist had wrought and desired to forget or bury in the sands of time. Together, they intended to rise and destroy Neighpon for the sake of the dark one, and then the Cloven Empire to punish them for their evil. He plead with her to awaken the final and strongest Guardian Monster, the Fire Guardian Angileo.

Studying the book she'd received, Yearling discovered that the three Guardian Monsters, Bararyu, Varein, and Angileo, were created to defend Neighpon from great evils by an ancient, long-forgotten civilization. Traveling to the area where Angileo's shrine was located, she couldn't locate the sleeping guardians and had no choice but to continue her search.

Titans Awaken

“Whatever is causing these tremors, it isn’t natural!”
--- Geologists near Aoneighhara Forest.

Finally, Isayamane's prediction began to come to pass. Ahto Island was once again attacked during a hurricane and an airship sent to investigate was destroyed by something huge enough that their last report was of a 'moving hill'.

Soon after, the earthquakes around Mt. Maneoko intensified greatly, it becoming more and more apparent that the moving epicentre was in fact a living creature moving underground.

A stallion reported having fallen into an underground cavern with a gigantic creature frozen in crystal beneath Aoneighhara Forest, but before anything could be done, the moving epicentre finally revealed itself at the police station Isayamane was being kept at. Bararyu, the Guardian Monster of Earth, did not harm anypony, merely tore open the wall of the prison to release the old stallion before heading off into the wilderness.

=Godzilla's Rage - Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah=

Before any choice could be made regarding Bararyu, the ocean erupted. A sea side town soon found itself under attack by Dracozilla. But the monster had changed. Not only was he larger and now capable of a violet wild magic beam, his eyes had become blank, white, and evil. Unleashing his wraith, the behemoth left blazing ruin in his path as he continued towards Hakoneigh, seeming to actively target innocent ponies in the process. With their good monsters preoccupied, Mothryu and Roedan still wounded from the battle with Imperfect Orochi, and the Antlergon still hours away, there seemed to be nothing that could be done...

The Guardian of Earth

“I saw the two kaiju battling it out. Whatever that thing was did its best to hurt the crazed Dracozilla, but it wasn’t enough… Where are our guardian kaijus when we needed them?!”
--- A Witness to the first battle between the Earth Guardian and Ghost Dracozilla

AK Yearling, having no leads on Angileo, instead chose to pursue Bararyu, and followed him as he abruptly changed course towards Hakoneigh.

Confronting Dracozilla in a rock pit there, the two began to battle it out, with Bararyu actively holding Dracozilla back in an attempt to protect the innocent lives in harm’s way from the malevolent mutation.

While able to use his burrowing abilities to distract and topple the mad titan, it soon became apparent that Bararyu had no chance of defeating Dracozilla on his own. But the smaller monster kept trying with all he had, until finally the civilians were evacuated. Being slammed around and beaten nearly to death, Bararyu just barely managed to escape with his life under the cover of Dracozilla's wild magic beam.

Now unopposed, the mutated dragon continued his warpath.

Enter Antlergon

“Well, third time’s the charm… or is it lucky?”
--- People's Centurion Malinav, Belomaneian pegasi Clovenist Imperial Aeroforce liaison to Neighpon, upon the take-off of their upgraded Antlergon. Malinav’s reserved opinion was not commented upon by the Clovenists.

The Clovenist warship Antlergon was deployed to intercept Dracozilla, under the command of (ironically named) Admiral Cloven, a Clovenists who had been on the crew of the Red Sun II and received a facial scar from an exploding piece of machinery in the process. Few in the Cloven Empire had the same degree of wrath for the monster king as the Admiral, who would relish the chance to take revenge on the one who had destroyed his previous vessel.

Confronting Dracozilla as he marched towards Umiyako, the Antlergon unleashed everything in its arsenal upon the beast, from missiles to mana lasers, to even the drill on the front of it. The battle, however, ended rather abruptly when while attempting to impale the beast with the Antlergon's drill, Cloven discovered the drill lacked the power to do so, only allowing the mutant to grab the ship and leave it crippled with a point blank blast of his wild magic ray. Leaving the warship severely damaged, the kaiju marched forward unopposed.

When asked why the juggernaut spared him, Cloven replied that the monster's gaze made him believe it desired to allow the Clovenists to live to see its eventual attack on the Cloven Empire.

Call of the Guardians

"The Eldest Beast, the Guardian of Fire, Angileo..."
--- AK Yearling upon watching Angileo awaken.

While researching anything that may lead her to the location of Angileo, Yearling instead found something far more shocking. A description of the Fourth Demon King: a being with no form of its own. A formless, malevolent spirit that must find a corpse to make its vessel.

The Fourth Demon King wasn't awakening, it'd already awakened. But, as it could only possess the dead, it soon became apparent that the Dracozilla attacking Neighpon was not Junior, but Senior, reanimated and possessed by the Fourth Demon King and the vengeful spirits under his control. With this in mind, the creature was renamed Ghost Dracozilla to tell the two apart.

Noting the report from beneath Aoneighhara, and that Bararyu was already heading there, Yearling finally got her lead and followed them. There, she found Angileo sleeping in crystal. Along with a large number of Orochi Cultists, presently preventing Isayamane from awakening the final Guardian Monster, revealing their other attacks had likewise been attempts to prevent Bararyu and Varein from being awoken.

Aiding in battle with some defense force members, it seemed that it'd take too long for them to awaken Angileo...until Bararyu erupted through the wall, severely wounded and bleeding badly, but alive enough to crush the cultists to death.

Finally, the Guardian Monster of Fire was freed from his tomb, raising from the crystal...and promptly sacrificing some of his mana to heal Bararyu just enough to survive, allowing his brother in arms to enter a healing coma to recover as he headed towards Neighpon's present capital of Umiyako to face Ghost Dracozilla, with Yearling in tow.

Meanwhile, at Lake Ikedeer, Varein completed his own awakening and emerged from the depths. With a fierce roar, the Guardian of Water took flight and headed towards Umiyako.

Guardians vs Destroyer

“Not enough… we need more guardian creatures to stop him!”
--- A despondent 'Isayamane' upon seeing the battle between Varein and Angileo with Ghost Dracozilla

As Ghost Dracozilla arrived near the venerable ruins of Old Tokneigho, Varein made his presence known, landing a top a building and roaring his challenge to the Fourth Demon King.

In the resulting battle, Varein used fierce hit and run attacks to keep his much larger and stronger opponent off balance, but couldn't do any lasting damage. As the Guardian Monster latched onto Ghost Dracozilla's back and slashed away at him, Angileo finally arrived and slammed into the demonic revenant's front by curling into a ball and launching himself like a wrecking ball.

However, even with both Guardian Monsters fighting at once, Angileo providing the power and Varein providing the speed and quick attacks, Ghost Dracozilla still managed to obtain the upperhoof, slamming Varein through a building and blasting Angileo to the ground with his wild magic ray.

The True King vs the Fallen King

“BAKARO! Know who your REAL enemy is!”
--- Shogun, a Neighponese Self-Defence Airforce officer, to Admiral Cloven.

However, before the undead horror could finish either Guardian off, a piercing roar cut through the air and a familiar form intercepted what would have been the killing blow to Angileo. Dracozilla Junior roared his challenge to the heavens, not caring if the kaiju before him was the reanimated corpse of his father.

Joining forces with the Guardian Monsters, the three heroes battled the revenant kaiju, the King of the Monster's assistance making it even.

However, before victory could happen, the Antlergon arrived, its crew managing to get it back on line. But instead of targeting the undead titan, Admiral Cloven targeted Junior, recognizing him as the beast that had defeated the Red Sun II. Now fighting both the Fourth Demon King and the insane admiral, the heroes slowly began to lose ground, with Angileo and Varein both suffering severe injuries.

Despite demands from both Neighpon's Empress and the Clovenist high command (though reluctantly and only to save face) to cease his attacks on Dracozilla Junior and focus on Ghost Dracozilla, Cloven merely cut all communication and continued his assault.

However, during this, a Neighponese officer by the name of Shogun piloted his airship into the Antlergon and forced his way to the bridge. Trying to reason with the now Admiral, he was ultimately forced to knock the stag unconscious (as by perception of both the Neighponese Empress and the Clovenist high command, Cloven had gone rogue), and take command himself.

Rest in Peace

“The dead… should be left well alone.”
--- Empress Nadeshiko of Neighpon, on Ghost Dracozilla’s defeat

Now on the heroic kaiju's side, the Anterlgon's drill was driven into a wound opened on Ghost Dracozilla's shoulder, tearing open a massive gash. Attempting to counter attack, Ghost Dracozilla roared in agony as his wild magic ray instead tore its way out of his open wound. Seeing the opportunity, Dracozilla and the Guardian Monsters targetted the wound, ripping it wider and wider, causing the revenant to lose control of his power and begin to tear himself apart. With Angileo ripping the wound further open, Dracozilla and Varein fired their beams into the open wound, blowing a gaping hole in the demonic beast.

Charging forwards, Dracozilla grasped his possessed father's heart and crushing it in his claw and killing Ghost Dracozilla. The Fourth Demon King finally made himself visible, rising into the sky in the form of a demonic specter along with the legion of vengeful spirits that it had bonded with. However, Angileo and Varein combined their holy power and blasted the demon, destroying it completely and ending his reign of terror with another of Orochi's spectral heads dissipating into the sky.

With their duty complete, Varein and Angileo departed to heal while Dracozilla would head back home to rest after the fierce battle.

Aftermath

“I don’t know which is the bigger problem – Orochi, or those honourless mortals who call themselves the Clovenists!”
--- Kazekami, wind elemental deity of the Neighpon’s Shinseina Pantheon, during a Cosmic Council meeting discussing the impending threat of Orochi’s inevitable resurrection

Once again, Neighpon owed its existence to its guardian kaiju. However, another of Orochi's spawn had been slain, meaning the countdown to the Demon King's awakening ticked down a little more.

Admiral Cloven claimed that his communications had been cut off by the fight and not by himself, a story the Clovenist backed up and permitted Cloven to retain control of the Antlergon. However, as Dracozilla Senior was their direct creation and his animated form was partially animated by the vengeful souls of the Clovenist's victims, they once again came under fire by many and demands for them to accept responsibility for their actions grew.

However, despite all of that, Neighpon know possessed three more powerful and loyal guardians. And with the clock ticking down, they would likely need it.

The Three-Headed Dragon

The Three Headed Dragon

"The demon king is stirring..."
--- Orochi Cultist, on the eve of Imperfect Orochi coming into being.

Dracozilla Jr. is currently one of Neighpon's guardians, this is the story of just how that came to be.

Following the destruction of the Third Demon King, Orochi's cultists would step up their attempts to resurrect their dark god. This would lead to a series of events that would awaken an ancient darkness... but turn Neighpon's most feared kaiju into one of its greatest protectors and mark a big change in the nation's history.

Background

"We deny any involvement in this tragedy."
--- People's Empress Zora Kalakov, in response to accusations of her country's involvement in the assassination of King Salneigho and disappearance of his daughter. Given their character, it is not known for certain whether the leadership is directly involved in the assassination or is unaware of actions of 'bad actors' within their nation.

As the Cloven Empire's attempts at modernization and expansion persisted, there were naturally areas nearby that they desired to annex into their empire that were both unwilling to 'accept' their rule, but too peaceful and well-liked to take by force. The small, mountainous country of Selgineigha is one such nation. The resources of the nation and its high deer population made it very desirable to the Empire, but its peaceful stance mean taking it by force was off the table.

However, this did not stop a Pro-Clovenist faction from appearing in the country, which the Empire itself denied any involvement in. While at first peaceful, the peaceful King Salneigho was found assassinated in his bed room with no sign of the assassin. What was found was a common variety of Clovenist crossbow.

Eyes turned further towards the Cloven Empire's involvement when the Crown Princess of Selgneigha's airship exploded in on the way to Neighpon for a diplomatic mission that would have seen her meet with Mothryu's Priestesses on neutral soil to request Mothryu's protection against potential Clovenist aggression. While the Clovenist claimed it was simply an accident, many believed it and the assassination of King Salneigho were both an attempt to help the Pro-Clovenist faction come to power to permit their annexation of Selgineigha. Something the combined incidents showed likely to happen.

Meanwhile, AK Yearling ventured to Neighpon to follow up on the awakening of the Third Demon King, looking into a Orochi-worshiping cult in the Neighponese wilderness.

The Prophetess

"In the caverns beneath that island is the monster Roedan."
--- Tamaneyura, Priestess of Light, prophesizing the destruction of a ship leaving for what would become 'Roedan's Island'.

During all these incidents, an expedition to an island where Clovenist wild magic waste from the creation of their Mana Bombs was being prepared to head off to sea, but before they could depart, a mysterious mare appeared before them, claiming to be a Priestess named Tamaneyura from ancient Neighpon.

Her prophecy was a simple warning: if they departed to that island, then they were putting themselves at great risk, for in the caverns beneath the island another member of the species of kaiju called Roedan lay slumbering and about to awaken. Unfortunately, she was not believed, due to appearing like a homeless mare and sounding crazy.

She soon appeared once again at a port to warn those about to get aboard a ship that if the ship set sail, it would be destroyed. Among those on this ship were Mothryu's priestesses, who unlike the rest of the passengers believed the Priestess's warnings and snuck off the ship before its departure.

During all of this, a number of those in the government came to a startling realization: Tamaneyura was the missing and believed dead Princess Salneigho.

The Prophecies Hold True

“What did the Clovenists awakened THIS time?!”
--- Leader of the expedition, upon Roedan’s appearance.

Upon their arrival on the island, the group expedition found the island unusually quiet...until the Earth began to quake and split open. With a screech, Roedan emerged from the caverns beneath the island and took to the skies, the winds from his passing nearly killing several of the group and leaving them injured. Thankfully, while they didn't listen, their leader was still worried about the prophecy and made precautions that ultimately saved their lives.

To make matters worse, it became clear that the Clovenist wild magic waste had mutated Roedan, making him far, far stronger and larger than the two that had attacked Neighpon years ago.

Upon hearing of Roedan's resurrection, the captain of the ship that had been warned by the Priestess chose to have the lifeboats prepared just in case and the coast guard to be on alert. This was fortunate, as shortly after departing, Dracozilla, who had not been seen since fighting Mothryu and being defeated by her newborn larva, rose from the depths and attacked the ship. While the ship was destroyed and many went down with it, many others managed to escape thanks to the prophecy.

The Second Demon King Awakens

"This is Yearling...we've got another one..."
--- AK Yearling, upon discovering the Second Demon King had awoken.

During her studies, AK Yearling was met with the Priestess, who informed her that a darkness was stirring and directed her on her path. Coming upon a forest, Yearling was met with a deep crater in the land where something had dug its way out of the ground. After managing to escape several Orochi Cultists, she overheard a terrifying truth: the Second Demon King had awoken, and it was only the beginning of the cult's plans.

Reporting this to Neighpon, she also took Priestess Tamaneyura to a hotel to try and figure out what was going on. Despite appearing identical to the missing Princess Salneigho, the Priestess had no memory of the lost Princess, instead asserting she was truly from ancient Neighpon, something Mothryu's priestess soon arrived to collaborate on.

While they could not confirm or deny her claims of being ancient, they could confirm her gift of foresight was legitimate, and was the reason they escaped from Dracozilla's rampage.

In the midst of this, the assassin who had claimed King Salneigho's life returned to attempt to finish the job of killing the heir to the throne. Thankfully, with some aid from the Priestesses of Mothryu, Yearling was able to drive them off and protect her ward.

Red Sun II Takes Flight

“Now, witness the power of our new and fully operational aerial dreadnought!”
--- Pegasi People's Centurion Malinav, Belomaneian Clovenist Imperial Aeroforce liaison to Neighpon, upon the take-off of their upgraded Red Sun II. Malinav belatedly dismissed any concerns that it would prove inadequate like the first Red Sun.

With three powerful monsters now on the loose in Neighpon, including what had ultimately become a minor nemesis of theirs, the Clovenists decided to once again attempt to restore their lost honour by killing Dracozilla, this time offering the aid of the upgraded Red Sun II. While similar to the first vessel, this one not only possessed greater firepower, but a hidden surprise in the form of a reflective, diamond mirror that had cost a sizable amount of the military's budget to procure and enchant properly. It was hoped this mirror would be able to reflect Dracozilla's wild magic beam back at him and destroy the creature.

With Neighpon's blessings, the Red Sun II was deployed to confront Dracozilla as he rampaged across the Neighponese country side while Neighpon's benevolent kaiju searched for the more actively malevolent Second Demon King, but before the warship could confront its intended target, it was instead confronted by a monstrous red dragon, which was soon confirmed to be the Second Demon King. Being forced to change targets, the Red Sun II and the Second Demon King battled, with the warship sustaining damage but managing to do some in return.

What happened in the end depends on who you ask. The Clovenists claim the Red Sun II destroyed the Second Demon King, but eyewitness reports imply the truth may be far from it. The Second Demon King had intentionally fired its heat ray into the Red Sun II's mirror and made no effort to evade the reflected beam, dying and once more resulting in a burst of dark magic in the shape of Orochi's head and neck.

To many, it appeared the Second Demon King DESIRED to perish in the battle.

Clash of the Titans

“When gods cry war, the world trembles…”
--- Fair Land, renowned artisan, writer and chronicler from the Grittish Isles. These words became widely quoted around Neighpon in the light of the increasing kaiju attacks.

The Red Sun II, its crew doing repairs in transit, moved on to intercept Dracozilla next, the mutated dragon seeming to recall the first model.

While its enhanced arsenal and reflective mirror did give the kaiju quite the fight, in the end something inconceivable happened: the mirror began to melt and lose its integrity. With its main weapon out of commission, the Red Sun II was ordered to return for repairs. It would not make it.

Arriving on the scene, Roedan severely damaged the Red Sun II with his spiked chest plates before flying around and unleashing his own wild magic ray into the still damaged mirror, sending the airship falling from the sky and and exploding in a huge fireball, its crew managing to barely reach the escape pods and eject while the two monsters turned their attention to one another.

Charging each other, Roedan and Dracozilla began a long, evenly matched battle across Neighpon's country side, the two mutants proving evenly matched.

A Incomplete Darkness

"Darkness falls! Orochi-Daimao lives!"
--- Yomi, High Priest of Orochi Cult, upon the ritual to create Imperfect Orochi is completed.

With the aid of Tamaneyura's prophecies and warned if nothing was done Orochi's darkness would return, Yearling the Neighponese Special Defense Forces would find the location of Orochi's firstborn and confront Orochi's cultists as they prepared some dark magic ritual. Chanting dark spells, the dark energy of the Second and Third Demon Kings congregated into a pair of torches before an alter to the demon.

Despite their best efforts, the spell was completed and the First Demon King, a monstrous golden dragon, emerged from his prison...and absorbed the essence of his two fallen brothers. Growing immensely in size, the monster sprouted two additional heads and became an incomplete, three headed Yamata no Orochi.

Rising from his tomb, the Demon King began a rampage across Neighpon, shrouding the sky in darkness and proclaiming death to all who oppose him.

During the resulting confrontation, the leader of the Orochi Cult, High Priest Yomi, perished by falling to his death. Exacts are not clear, but Yearling's fictionalized account, 'Daring Do and the Cult of the Demon King', sees Daring Do sending the cultist falling to his doom during their confrontation.

The Goddess Arrives

"Mothryu is just a little caterpillar now, we don't think she could beat Orochi."
--- Mothryu's Priestesses upon being asked to summon Mothryu to defeat Imperfect Orochi.

The incomplete Orochi, dubbed Imperfect Orochi, continued his rampage, forcing Empress Nadeshiko of Neighpon to prepare to initiate the Orochi Contingency, a plan to unite all of Neighpon's good kaiju in the event that Orochi ever return.

Unfortunately, that would soon prove impossible, at it soon became apparent that if left unguarded, Orochi's cultists would awaken the other Demon Kings and merge them with Imperfect Orochi to recreate their god. Her hoof forced, the Empress instead gave the order for the kaiju to protect the known locations of Orochi's spawn to prevent the situation from worsening.

Yearling quickly turned to Mothryu's priestess to summon Mothryu to battle the Demon King, but the two asserted that in her infant state Mothryu alone would not be enough, and the necessary time for her to metamorphosis into her imago form was simply unavailable. Instead, they suggested a very radical plan: summon Mothryu to talk to Dracozilla and Roedan, as all three together may be able to defeat the incomplete Demon King.

With no other options, this plan was approved and the Goddess of Foal Island soon arrived in Neighpon and confronted the two warring kaiju, using her silk to get their attention.

Unfortunately, while willing to cease fighting, the two hated the civilizations of the world for their painful creation and while not as actively aggressive as the original Dracozilla, both of them had little desire to face Orochi for their sake.

Mothryu's response was apparently to call them cowards who would let the innocent suffer along with the guilty, before crawling off to face Orochi on her own.

Destroyer turned Savior

"Dracozilla? Hmm, let's see what you're made of..."
--- Imperfect Orochi upon being confronted by Dracozilla.

Mothryu confronted the fallen Ryujin, but despite her best efforts and considerable power, had next to no hope of falling the incomplete tyrant on her own and was thrown around like a ragdoll before him.

But before he could kill the infant goddess, Dracozilla roared his fury to the heavens and joined the battle with the ancient terror, Roedan following soon after. While Dracozilla wasn't found of ponies, deer, or most sapient species, he was not so blind with hate as his father to ignore Mothryu's plea when the young monster was clearly so devoted to it. The moment he saw the Demon King, even he knew the incomplete fallen deity must be stopped, no matter the costs.

However, even Dracozilla's great strength was not enough to defeat Orochi alone, and the mutated dragon was soon hurled through a bridge, at which point Roedan joined the struggle, and distracted the beast long enough for Dracozilla to recover.

Uniting, the trio assaulted Imperfect Orochi from all sides in what would be one of the longest, most brutal kaiju fights in Neighpon's history as the trio battled the Demon King.

End of the Assassin

"Here's an idea, don't go trying to kill a girl while the battle of the century is happening a few kaiju footsteps away..."
--- A.K. Yearling, after witnessing the death of the assassin.

While this battle raged on between the trio and Imperfect Orochi, Yearling and her crew were in the middle of their own fight as Tamaneyura was again attacked by the assassin. In the midst of the resulting battle, the prophetic mare was shaken from her state when grazed by a crossbow bolt, returning to Princess Salneigho, causing her attacker to redouble her efforts.

However, in the midst of the brawl, a stray blast struck the mountains above them and sent an avalanche of rock plummeting down, crushing the assassin to death.

With Yearlings help, the Princess escaped the battle zone, and watched as the showdown reached its climax.

The Battle Ends

"This isn't over! My five children still remain! One day, I shall rise again!"
--- Last words of the Imperfect Orochi.

Climbing atop Roedan's back to get a better vantage point, Mothryu showered Imperfect Orochi in silk, binding him enough for Dracozilla to grab him by his tails and send him flying into a rocky valley, his wings too restrained by the silk to fly.

With Mothryu using her magic to create a magnifying spell seal, Dracozilla and Roedan unleashed their wild magic rays at full charge, the enhanced and combined beam was sufficient to finally slay the weakened, incomplete Ryujin, blowing him to bits.

However, in an ominous reminder, three bursts of dark magic in the shape of Orochi's heads and necks erupted from the corpse, roaring a dying vow that the Demon King was not yet finished.

All three wounded and exhausted, the trio parted ways, Dracozilla to the sea, Roedan to the island of his birth, and Mothryu back to Foal Island with her priestesses, with a brighter future seeming certain.

Aftermath

“We cannot afford to take any more chances. When Orochi rises, we must be ready.”
--- Empress Nadeshiko of Neighpon, on the current situation. What manner of plan she had in mind was not specified when asked.

While the kaiju trio managed to slay Imperfect Orochi, Neighpon's other kaiju devastated the Orochi Cult that attempted to resurrect the other Demon Kings and merge them with their master, leaving the cult near destroyed. However, in light of these events, increased security was placed in the areas around all five remaining Fallenspawn demon's prisons.

While managing to gain a small boost of honor and prestige from killing the Second Demon King, the Clovenists ultimately lost any chance of annexing Selneigha, and not simply due to Princess Salneigho returning to the throne, but because the assassin's corpse was recovered, along with the Clovenist passport and weapons he'd been carrying. While not decisive proof of their involvement, it was enough to get the Empire in hot enough water to cause them to remove all forces and support of the Pro-Clovenist faction in Selneigha to save face, and many still believe that the Clovenists were directly responsible for the insurrection.

However, things would take a brighter turn as a result: Dracozilla was soon found to have made a permanent home on an island at sea, and would cease his attacks on Neighpon, gradually coming to be a protector rather than the destroyer he had been. Roedan would soon come to join him, the two becoming best friends and among the top protectors of Neighpon in the future.

Despite all this, a shadow still hung over the nation. Three of Orochi's sons had fallen, five more remained. Even with his cult's presence heavily lessened, the countdown to the demon's true resurrection was still ticking down. But at least now, Neighpon knew it had two more protectors to face him should that day come.