Silence.
No, not silence at all.
Shouts, heavy thuds, the sharp clang of metal striking metal, screams—there was nothing quiet about the scene around me.
And yet, somehow, it felt quiet. Just a feeling.
I calmly lifted my gaze and stared ahead.
A towering figure over four meters tall, muscles rippling across his entire body. Eyes blazing with fierce intensity, a massive hammer gripped tightly in his right hand. And from his whole being radiated a wild, almost sacred energy. Anyone facing him would know instantly.
This giant was no ordinary foe.
He possessed power beyond our imagination—something akin to a demigod.
Yes. The newly awakened Kushan Thor had revealed himself. The giant king stood about twenty meters away, locked in a tense standoff with us.
There are monsters who only know how to charge blindly, and monsters who observe and probe before striking. The latter is always the more dangerous one, because at least some shred of reason remains.
Instinctively, I raised my guard, but a strange feeling lingered.
Was it because of the death of his kin? Kushan Thor stared at us steadily, tears of blood streaming endlessly from his eyes. But his gaze wasn’t on me—it was fixed on someone else.
More than that, seeing him shed those bloody tears felt like looking at myself after losing my older brother in the first battle.
Then it happened.
“I think it’s coming soon.”
Gong Chan-ho swung his Surama spear in a wide arc, gripping it firmly with both hands.
“Don’t even think about probing. From the start, go all out.”
“I know that much.”
I spoke up just in case, and Gong Chan-ho raised his spear overhead, readying himself.
Kushan Thor slowly lifted Mjolnir, bending his knees. The energy boiling within him thickened, like a volcano on the verge of eruption. The very air around us tightened. I swallowed dryly.
“Kushan…”
Suddenly, I heard my brother muttering to himself.
Thud.
As if in response, Kushan Thor took a slow step forward.
And then—
“Kuaaang!”
Without warning, Kushan Thor surged forward, sliding across the ground like a force of nature. In an instant, the twenty-meter gap vanished in a terrifying burst of speed!
Gong Chan-ho’s eyes widened, and he hurriedly raised his spear to meet the blow.
Clang!
Surama spear and Mjolnir collided. The air, charged and ready to explode, finally burst.
“Ugh…!”
Gong Chan-ho’s feet dug deep into the grass, holding firm. He’d only blocked the strike, but the ground cracked beneath him, and he groaned in pain, struggling to maintain his stance.
In that first clash, Kushan Thor clearly had the upper hand. Then, as if sensing something, his eyes flashed sharply and Mjolnir shot straight up into the sky. Only then did Gong Chan-ho stagger, grimacing in pain.
But that moment of relief was fleeting. Without time to recover, Kushan Thor began hammering down with Mjolnir in a near frenzy.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
Mjolnir roared. Each strike sent shockwaves rippling outward, shaking the air violently and kicking up clouds of dust. They’d barely exchanged five blows, but the ground around us trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
Kushan Thor was like a raging storm, relentless and unyielding. Gong Chan-ho barely managed to parry each blow, but it was a desperate defense. The tide of battle was clearly turning against us.
I rubbed my trembling hands.
My instincts screamed to jump in, but reason told me to hold back. Kushan Thor’s left arm was proof—he kept shifting his stance, twisting his body and waving his left hand, repositioning himself every time he moved forward. He was aware of me and wary.
“Grahk!”
Suddenly, Gong Chan-ho was flung back, unable to hold his ground any longer. I gripped my sword tightly. There was no time to hesitate.
I pushed off the ground and launched myself forward. As expected, Kushan Thor turned to face me. But I’d anticipated this. Accelerating without a moment’s doubt, I closed the distance just as he fully swung Mjolnir toward me.
At the moment I entered striking range, Mjolnir arced sideways, crashing down like a hammer blow timed perfectly to meet me. The wind whipped my hair fiercely. It was a straightforward attack, no tricks—completely visible.
But that made it all the more dangerous. Simple, yes, but devastatingly powerful—far beyond anything I could handle.
No, I didn’t need to handle it.
Thinking that, I immediately used the Phantom Shift technique. While Kushan Thor’s eyes were caught on my afterimage, I planned to slip to the side and stab him in the ribs.
But as I turned right, I froze for a moment.
Because, as if waiting for me, a fist came crashing straight at me.
Whoosh!
Was it the surprise? The punch seemed to move in slow motion, like time itself had been warped. But my body refused to respond.
I don’t know if it was his reflexes or if he’d seen through my Phantom Shift, but one thing was clear: a massive hand the size of a pot lid was aiming straight for my head.
Just before the fist struck—
“No!”
I heard my brother and Hwajeong shout in unison.
Flash!
A burst of blinding light filled my vision. When my eyes adjusted, I saw Kushan Thor grimace, stepping back as the punch recoiled, blackened and scorched.
“Now’s the chance.”
I lunged forward instantly.
“Just fall back!”
Hwajeong’s belated warning came too late. My foot slammed hard into the giant’s chest. But Kushan Thor barely flinched, still glaring at me with blazing eyes.
“I told you to dodge, you idiot!”
Screeeech!
At that moment, Hwajeong’s shout was cut off by the sound of tearing wind. Reflexively, I jerked my head back just as something sliced across my nose.
It was Mjolnir.
The instant I realized, a cold, sickening sensation shot through me.
“Dodge, dodge, dodge, please dodge! Do you even know who this guy is? No, he’s been targeting you from the start!”
“What?”
I questioned, stepping back quickly. But Kushan Thor didn’t relent. Even as I retreated, he swung Mjolnir again without giving me an inch.
“Hup!”
I barely tumbled backward, narrowly avoiding the blow. But then came a kick aimed at me while I was still in midair.
“Phantom Shift!”
Hwajeong shouted, and I used the technique to land safely.
As soon as my feet touched the ground, Kushan Thor’s foot followed through—no, he stopped mid-kick?
Then, without giving me a chance to react, he slammed down hard. I rolled across the dirt.
Crash!
I narrowly avoided a direct hit, but couldn’t escape the shockwave. The ground cracked open where his foot struck, sending a massive tremor that slammed into me. Pure brute force.
My body shook violently, my vision blurred, and a ringing noise pounded in my ears. It felt like standing in the epicenter of an earthquake. I tried to get up but collapsed, unable to find my balance.
When I finally regained some clarity—
“……”
Mjolnir loomed above me, raised high to strike. Instinct told me there was no way to dodge this.
Just then—
Thud, thud, thud!
Several arrows flew like streaks of light, striking Kushan Thor’s face dead-on. Caught off guard, he grimaced and took a half-step back.
Though none of the arrows penetrated, the force was enough to push the giant king back slightly. As I scrambled to retreat, I caught sight of Seon Yu-woon kneeling with a crossbow aimed at Kushan Thor.
Taking advantage of the moment, I pulled back quickly. But Kushan Thor’s glare followed me, as if daring me to run.
And then—
Whirrr! Whirrr!
Suddenly, dozens of shadows shot up around Kushan Thor, swirling smoothly around him like a circle. As they tightened from all directions, a fierce pair of eyes belonging to Goyeonju suddenly appeared behind his neck. She locked her legs firmly around his throat and swiftly plunged the dagger in her right hand.
But Kushan Thor tilted his head back lightly to dodge the attack, then twisted his body with all his might, snapping every shadow binding him apart. Incredible reflexes.
Goyeonju clicked her tongue once, winked at me, and then melted back into the darkness.
Kushan Thor, clearly furious at being interrupted, immediately scanned his surroundings as soon as the restraints fell away. But by then, both Goyeonju and I had already put some distance between us.
A moment later, a slightly dazed expression flickered across the giant’s face.
I wiped the blood trickling down my nose and stared back at Kushan Thor, who was still glaring at me. Catching my ragged breath, I calmly gathered my thoughts.
The first round had ended in an instant. Yet I’d already faced danger three times. Sure, I’d managed to get through each one with timely counterattacks, but…
“This is no joke.”
I’d thought a demigod would be on par with Mavolo, but that was a complete miscalculation. Fake demigods and true demigods wield power on entirely different levels. Since he relied almost entirely on raw physical strength, my usually reliable magic resistance was useless this time.
Not only his strength, durability, stamina, and agility, but even his pure combat instincts—his reflexes and situational awareness—surpassed mine. This was the first time, even across two rounds, that I’d faced a melee opponent who outclassed me in every way.
No, in fact, I could hardly recall ever facing an enemy this formidable. If I had to compare, only a Hell Duke would come close… Though honestly, if it were someone like her, that guy would probably be a snack.
…Anyway.
I’d been overwhelmed in the first round, but that didn’t matter. I was still alive, and at least now I had a clear sense of how to handle him.
After receiving enough healing, I spotted Gong Chanho charging toward me like an enraged bull from across the field.
Kushan Thor was still watching me.
I took a deep breath and gripped another sword in my left hand. Then, I poured every ounce of my magical power into it.
“A bird breaks free from its egg. The egg is the world. To be born, one must destroy a world.”
“The seal on the magic sword Caligo Abraxas has been broken. Transformation begins.”
Kiaaaaaaaah!
The roar of the magic sword marked the start of the second round.
Feeling the terrifying darkness radiating from my right hand, I began to move forward slowly.
The counterattack begins.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Vivian, I’m sorry. ㅜ.ㅠ I couldn’t summon your demon legion this time. ㅜ.ㅠ