[Continued from Match 21]

As Hedorah slunk into the waters, Mothra felt the salty sea around flooding her body like a vice grip. She had fought hard, but in the end she had fallen to that toxic foe. Burnt, beaten, and blind, Mothra lay at the ocean floor, waiting. The Cosmos would be safe even under the water. Her body would protect them from even that monster's toxic sludge.

Her heart twinged as she thought of Infant Island and all of the inhabitants who worshiped her. The Cosmos were no doubt upset at the result of the battle, but what more could she do? The ocean had thankfully washed a majority of the sickening sludge off of her, but her whole body still ached.

Amazingly, she heard the distant sound of singing. Not of mourning, but of encouragement. The tribe, the Cosmos, her people. They were singing to her, encouraging her even as she lay beaten at the bottom of the ocean. Mothra's mind drifted to what would become of her home and the people she lovingly protected. They would be subjected to such tortures!

Could she really let this be the end? The singing grew louder to her, the voices of her people as one calling out to her. Mothra lifted her head weakly. If she had even an ounce of strength, she couldn't let them die without a fight.

Slowly, she began pushing herself upward out of the ocean. Her wings winced from the pain, but she pushed herself through the water's harsh pull. Mothra surfaced slowly from the sea, water falling off her injured body as she slowly took into the sky. The singing was loud and clear to her now.

The last of her power surged through her body. Her people were calling for her. And though blinded she could sense Hedorah's pollution below her. An angry chirp echoed across Infant Island. If this monster of pollution wanted to wage war with her, then she'd give it war.

Hedorah was surprised. It was sure that Mothra was done for. Where did its foe get such strength? It watched as Mothra shot across the water like a rocket, spraying sea and sand as she soared over Infant Island. Hedorah chased after her, surfacing and morphing to his final form.

Mothra didn't need her sight to locate the awful stench Hedorah gave off. She wheeled slowly in the air, her antennae crackling as lightning splintered the ground and tore through Hedorah's flesh. The angry deity took note of the Smog Monster's anguished wails.

A red, jagged beam of energy shot out of Hedorah's eye, striking the scarred moth's underbelly as Mothra cried out in pain. Hedorah watched as the moth deity fell toward the ground, waiting for the crash.

Angling herself in midair, Mothra managed to right herself just before she smashed into the forest, gliding over it as the wind blew the trees violently. She flew around the rocky caverns she called home, and unleashed another volley of lightning from her antennae. The beams scattered sand everywhere as Hedorah gurgled when the searing electricity charred more of its skin and flaking it off.

The Smog Monster flung globs of its toxic sludge at Mothra, but the angry and beaten deity climbed higher into the air to avoid the sludge as it sailed harmlessly into the ocean. Hedorah bubbled in frustration, staying on the ground just wouldn't do any good at this point. Morphing its body once more, a smaller flying Hedorah shot into the skies after Mothra as the land Hedorah slunk away.

Hedorah shot after the injured Mothra like a jet fighter, uncaring as the animals and greenery died underneath it as it fired crimson energy bolts that raked across Mothra's back and clipped into her wings.

Mothra wheezed in pain as the beams struck her, struggling to remain airborne as the toxic smoke choked her. Shaking her head to clear it, Mothra pushed her battered body even harder, chirping loud enough so the entire island could hear her.

The inhabitants of Infant Island watched in awe as they saw their goddess continue her desperate fight against the demonic monster. The Chieftain called out, and soon every breathing tribe member was outside, dancing and chanting for their deity.

Mothra felt her spirit soar as the sound of her people cheering her on reached her ears. With Hedorah in hot pursuit, she began shedding her golden scales. Mothra flapped her wings furiously as she shed her pollen across the entire island, Hedorah firing its jagged energy bolts again at the moth. Once the crimson bolts hit the scales, though, a bright flash of light nearly blinded the flying Hedorah as his own energy beam lanced through its smaller body. Gurgling, Hedorah spiraled down and crashed into the caverns.

Mothra felt righteous fury coarse through her broken body, and she unloaded her holy fury down onto the Hedorah in the caverns. Lightning rained down from the sky as the holy bolts struck the Smog Monster over and over, chunks of rock and dirt exploding out as she poured her energy into the attack.

The stench of toxic smoke filled the air, but the job had been done. Hedorah was nothing more than a charred, burnt husk of what it formerly was. Mothra chirped in victory, but soon the sounds of screaming caught her attention, and she cried out in pain as more of that toxic sludge slapped onto her.

The land Hedorah had carved a path through the forest and had blitzed through the Infant Islanders. As the islanders were scattering, the toxic creature locked its gaze onto the blinded Mothra, who was soaring down to protect her subjects.

Leaping high into the air, the land form of Hedorah had actually managed to attach itself onto Mothra! The winged guardian shrieked in agony as she desperately struggled and thrashed to remove the poisonous creature from her body.

Hedorah's acidic body was thankfully lessened due its size, but if Mothra didn't remove this vile parasite soon, her desperate last stand would be for nothing. The stench of the dead Hedorah overwhelmed her senses, and she immediately dove down toward the jagged mountains.

Wailing in pain, Mothra slammed her bulk against the rocks, the caverns splintering and caving in from Mothra's weight. Her entire body felt like it was on fire, but she had managed to dislodge Hedorah, who sat amongst the rocks of the ruined caves, gurgling in pain.

Hedorah shifted as its body slowly ate the rocks around it, and with a few pushes it moved aside the remainders of the cavern and was back in the sunlight. Suddenly, the sun's rays were blocked out, and Hedorah looked up to see Mothra angrily hovering above it.

The furious, dirty, and tired deity chirped once before she unleashed a massive volley of lightning and antennae beams onto the downed Hedorah. Uncaring about the damage being done to the island, she continued her relentless assault.

The remaining tribes watched in awe as smoke and dust slowly poured into the air, followed by an awful, awful stench. With the last of her strength finally sapped, Mothra used what little control she had left to glide down to the soft sands of the island, touching down gently before she lay still. Hedorah would no longer be a threat toward Infant Island, but it would soon lose Mothra as well, content on dying knowing that the earth would be safer.