No matter how quickly someone might feel regret, any regret would always be too late. The Heavenly Giant Lord was about to find that out himself. Even before he could express his willingness to surrender, he had to face a pair of glistening snake-like eyes.
âYou bastard! You had this in mind from the beginning, didnât you!?â
Only then did he realize that his opponent had had no intention to resolve the matter amicably in the first place. His initial reaction had had no effect on the opponentâs decision at all from the beginning.
âIâm not going to get pushed around like this!â
With a fierce roar, the Heavenly Giant Lordâs body swelled and grew.
Rip.
His already tight clothes were instantly torn to shreds, and his giant body grew several times in an instant.
Kim Jin-Wooâs gaze was cold as he watched the unusual scene unfold before his eyes. âAttack,â he whispered softly as he looked at ValhÇ«llâs towering spire.
[The One-Eyed Lord of the past ruled the Underworld with a mighty power that no one could surpass. But even that One-Eyed Lord was not free from any threats.]
[The Heavenly Giant Lord was his greatest threat and enemy. The warriors of the giant tribe he led also tormented the Einherjar for a long time with their naturally enhanced strength and valor.]
[Until the arrival of Twilight, there was no end to the battle between the One-Eyed Lord and the Heavenly Giant Lord. Only after the Wandering Lord intervened did the endless chaos finally stop.]
[Before the war was over, it was not the intrepid One-Eyed Lord, nor the Einherjar who had transcended Death itself, who had slaughtered the most number of giants.]
[âGiant Slayerâ.]
[It was Mjöllnir, the natural enemy of the fearless giants.]
[That very same Mjöllnir has once again revealed its majesty in the Underworld.]
A flash of light erupted from the spire before Kim Jin-Woo even had time to read the messages. Thunderbolts followed.
Crash! Crash!
The solid earth exploded with each lightning strike, and the whole Underworld itself seemed to light up with every bolt.
[Indeed, Mjölnlirâs power lives up to its title as the âGiant Slayerâ. Unfortunately, however, there are too few experienced Einherjar who can actually operate Mjölnir.]
[The Einherjar have been unable to draw out Mjölnirâs full power.]
[The accuracy of Mjölnirâs strikes is poor due to the Einherjarâs lack of experience.]
[More than half of the attacks have missed.]
The thunderbolt strikes, which should have fallen only on the Heavenly Giant Lord, started raining down in all directions.
âRun! Youâre going to get caught up in it!â Catherine exclaimed. In response, the Beastfolk King fled hurriedly, while Angela retreated into the shadows.
âNeedlessly dramatic.â As the thunderbolts swept across the area, Kim Jin-Woo, standing still in the midst of it all, cursed under his breath as he revealed his honest feelings about Mjöllnir.
âKaaaaargh!â
In front of him stood the Heavenly Giant Lord, who was suffering from a concussion due to all the direct lightning strikes he had received. Unable to draw out his powers at all due to the constant electrocution, the giant looked like a complete mess that was a far cry from his notorious past.
But his loud demeanor remained the same, as he continued to shout barbarically despite his body being engulfed in flames. âWhy, you son of a bitch!â
âYouâre a tough one,â Kim Jin-Woo said with an air of blatant ridicule.
In response, the Heavenly Giant Lord once again expanded his muscles, looking as if he were about to explode at any moment.
âHmm.â Kim Jin-Wooâs eyes narrowed as he stared at the giant.
Seeing as the giant was only focused on increasing his size instead of charging toward him, it wasnât difficult to guess the fact that the power of the Giant Lord couldnât easily be controlled by the body of a mortal human being. Otherwise, there would be no reason for the Heavenly Giant Lord to not rush at him right away in spite of his anger.
âDonât hide like a coward behind Mjöllnir; come and face me like a man!â the Heavenly Giant Lord roared hoarsely as if asking for a fight, his voice sounding as if it were emanating from a deep cave. âIf youâre truly the one who has inherited the name of the One-Eyed Lord, you wonât avoid battling me!â
Was his confidence growing as much as his body? The Heavenly Giant Lordâs presence was growing more rampant by the minute.
âIf I lose, Iâll gladly become your slave!â he cried. He didnât seem to have completely lost his senses, as he was still wary of Angela and the other Highlords. Contrary to his provocative actions, he was rather cunning.
âIf I could, I would love to entertain youâŠâ Clearly seeing the intention of his opponent who was trying to reverse the situation by bringing him down, Kim Jin-Woo responded coldly. âBut the opportunity to test the reputation of the âGiant Slayerâ doesnât come easily.â
As soon as he finished speaking, a message appeared, highlighting that Mjöllnir, which had been drained of energy from the constant lightning strikes, had finished recharging, and Kim Jin-Woo ordered another attack without delay.
âY⊠You! You cowaâ!â
The Heavenly Giant Lordâs final words were drowned out by the thunder that erupted once more.
âItâs terrifying. This is worse than I thought,â the Beastfolk King muttered.
âI knew of the existence of the Giant Slayer, but I didnât know it was this powerful,â Catherine responded, looking equally worn-out.
The Heavenly Giant Lord continued to suffer one-sided harassment by Mjölnir, and found himself unable to draw out his own powers.
âBut even so, isnât he too helpless?â the Beastfolk King remarked.
Instead of being relieved that his choice had been correct, he instead lamented his choice. Despite the fact that he had surrendered and was safe, the fact that such a huge power gap existed between them and Kim Jin-Woo wasnât a good sign at all.
âSo proud of the fact that he was the first awakened Highlord, and yet, look at him now. How pathetic.â Catherine, perhaps having the same opinion, shook her head as she looked at the Heavenly Giant Lord.
However, contrary to their thoughts, the Heavenly Giant Lord hadnât suffered much damage. Although his skin was reddened from the searing lightning and blackened by the successive strikes, the energy of the thunderbolts couldnât penetrate his thick skin. In addition, his burnt skin was completely restored within a short period of time, thanks to the giantâs powerful vitality.
âKaaaaargh!â
Nevertheless, his screams didnât end with each successive attack.
Damn the eyes of that monster.
At some point, the Heavenly Giant Lord found that he had lost his will. Following the Wailing Lord, the Beastfolk King had defected to the other side, and the True Blood Lord, whom he gadnât even known existed, had claimed to be his opponentâs slave. All things considered, he found himself losing his fighting spirit.
No, that was all an excuse.
To be honest, he wasnât confident that he could defeat the man who claimed to have inherited the power of the One-Eyed Lord. The others seemed not to have noticed, but the opponent was a completely different being from the rest of them.
It was only after facing that fact that he finally realized it. His opponentâs glistening gaze was like that of a predator stalking its prey, and the turbid sensation in the air felt deathly and ominous.
A Highlordâs unique presence was nothing new, and yet, the power contained within his opponent was incomparable to their own.
Just because one had inherited the powers of an Ancient Lord didnât mean that they were all the same, equal Highlords. Realizing the overwhelming gap in power, the Heavenly Giant Lord gritted his teeth.
What a fucking monster.
As for the reason why there was such a disparity in their powers, the Heavenly Giant Lord couldnât give a damn. The important thing now was to survive.
So, instead of fighting his dreaded opponent, he chose to be suppressed by the giantâs nemesis. At least he wouldnât have to deal with the terrifying monster while being pummeled by Mjöllnir.
The miserable scene the other Lords were witnessing was actually a desired outcome of his plan. Meanwhile, he started to devise a way to escape the situation while caught in the endless thunderstorm. It wasnât easy to keep his thoughts intact while thundershocks continued to rattle his brains, but he needed to find a way out somehow.
However, today was just not his day, as his opponent didnât give him any room to breathe.
âThis should be enough,â Kim Jin-Woo remarked.
Shamelessly, it wasnât enough for the Heavenly Giant Lordâs opponent to test Mjöllnirâs powers on him, as his enemy ordered the Einherjar to stop the attacks.
The screaming spire fell silent, and the thunderstorm ended
âUrghâŠâ the giant groaned.
The whole area was searing hot from the afterglow of the thunderstorm, but he felt a chill instead. A viscous energy, which had been spreading out in all directions, rushed toward him and pressed him down.
âWhat the fuck⊠are youâŠâ
Suppressing his doubts and fears, the Heavenly Giant Lord finally finished his enlargement, only to see a black dragon staring right at him when he raised his head upright.
No, it wasnât even a dragon. It was way too horrific and ugly to be called a dragon.
Sensing danger, he instinctively ignited his shimmering fighting spirit. He cursed, âIâm so fucking unlucky.â
One way or another, the only way for him to survive was to achieve victory with his own strength. Thus, the Heavenly Giant Lord gathered his energy belatedly.
The black dragonâs jaws tore open into a smirk.
âKaaaaargh!â
The Heavenly Giant Lord roared fiercely the moment he faced the Evil Dragonâs terrifying smirk. No longer could the appearance of a coward trying to sneak his way out of the situation be seen. In its place, there only remained the king of the valiant giantsâthe first Highlord to awaken.
âYou monstrous son of a bitch!â he yelled.
He clenched his two giant fists that had crushed countless Nobles in the past, fire and ice forming around each one. They both merged to form a huge mace that came slamming down on the dragon.
The Evil Dragon opened his jaws as if to swallow the fist of fire whole, and he spread his black wings wide, pushing the fist of ice away.
Kaaargh!
The Evil Dragon splattered everywhere, and his wings were frozen into pieces. The entire fist up to the wrist was sucked into the dragonâs snout, and bright red blood splattered in all directions.
With just one impact, the wings were torn and a wrist was swallowed whole, but the battle had only just begun.
Black smoke coalesced to form two pairs of wings, and the severed wrist of the giant formed again, holding more flames than before. The two monsters continued to slice away at each otherâs bodies, crushing them, devouring them, and colliding several times before repeating once more.
Looking at them, neither Catherine nor the Beastfolk King had any more words to say. They were drained of their will just from the evil presence of the Evil Dragon and the ferocity of the Giantâs attacks.
But it was the ominous radiating energy of the Evil Dragon that made them feel even more uneasy.
âIs that originally the Naga Kingâs power?â
Barely able to squeeze out a few words, the Beastfolk King was quiet and low.
âNo, itâs different. Thatâs not the power of a Naga.â
Catherine shook her head. Despite having seen almost all the evil of the Underworld with her own eyes, the appearance of the Evil Dragon was too shocking, even to her.
It was as if something that shouldnât even exist in this world had taken the form of this dragon and embedded itself into this place.
Its black body that seemed to be forged from darkness itself was a hotbed for all things unclean, and it looked like the perfect darkness that nothing could illuminate.
From the darkness came a terrifying howl of hunger that rattled her to the bones.
And she knew of an existence that looked exactly like this monster.
âItâs likeâŠâ
Night.
Catherine couldnât bear to speak the name of the terrifying monster, as her face turned pale white.