“Wait a minute. Something’s off about that guy.”
Just as I was about to start the second round, Hwajeong’s voice stopped me.
“Off? What do you mean?”
“I thought earlier that guy was only targeting you. You’re the strongest here, and you’re carrying me, after all.”
“And now?”
“But… I’m not so sure anymore. At first, he was trying to take you out, but now it feels like you’re just a nuisance to him.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“No, it’s different. I mean, his real target isn’t you.”
Kushan Thor’s target isn’t me?
For a moment, Hwajeong’s words didn’t quite sink in, but there was no time to dwell on it.
“Dowari!”
Like an enraged rhino, Gong Chanho charged in, suddenly letting out a fierce shout as he rammed his body into Kushan Thor’s thigh.
Thud!
The heavy impact made the giant stagger slightly. A flash of Surama spear shot forward, aiming straight for the thigh, but the giant’s quick reflexes made it miss.
Kushan Thor let out a low growl, steadied himself, and glared at Gong Chanho. Seizing the moment, I dashed forward.
I slanted to the left, aiming a sword strike at his shin, but Kushan Thor twisted his body swiftly and dodged. I didn’t pause, moving my feet rapidly. Crossing my swords, I swung in a wide arc, trying to circle behind the giant to strike at his ankle.
“Watch out!”
Hwajeong’s warning came just in time. I immediately abandoned the combo and spun around. Something heavy and metallic grazed the top of my head. It barely touched me, but the pain was sharp enough to feel like my skull was splitting. Gritting my teeth, I threw myself forward.
Thud!
A shockwave hit my back. I felt my body lift slightly, but unlike before, I wasn’t panicking. Instead, I was calm—because I had expected this.
Even now, though I’d just rolled forward to dodge, Kushan Thor wasn’t the kind to wait for me to recover. He was probably already closing in, ready to strike again.
Then…!
“Activating Kaligo Abraxas’ latent ability: Broken Fragments.”
I rolled to the ground, sprang up, and at the same time as turning, hurled Kaligo Abraxas with all my might in my left hand.
Kiaaaaaaah!
Kaligo Abraxas let out a fierce roar as it shot straight up. Thick, black energy billowed out like ink spreading in the air.
Was Kushan Thor caught off guard? The giant, who had been right behind me, faltered and hesitated.
Then—
Crash!
Just before hitting Kushan Thor, Kaligo Abraxas exploded violently. Like a grenade going off, fist-sized shards scattered in all directions, raining down on the giant. As I retreated, a triumphant smile crept onto my face.
But then—
“Grrr!”
Kushan Thor swung Mjolnir forward in an instant, and what I saw next made me doubt my eyes.
Pitter-patter-pitter-patter-pitter-patter!
Dozens of black shards suddenly appeared, fluttering like paper in the wind. The shards that had been flung away exploded uselessly in midair.
At that moment, all I could think was how incredible it was. Did Mavolo feel this way when facing me?
Kushan Thor’s reaction speed was astonishing. He swung Mjolnir like lightning, deflecting the shards. Each swing whipped up a fierce storm. It was impressive enough that he reacted so quickly, but what was truly amazing was how he tracked and blocked every single shard scattered around him. His peripheral vision and skill were extraordinary.
Though my attack was blocked so easily, it wasn’t without effect. My goal was to at least slow Kushan Thor down, and Kaligo Abraxas did that job well.
But that wasn’t all.
While I retreated and Kushan Thor hesitated, the other users had already recovered and were seizing their chances.
“Let divine punishment fall!”
The Radiant Priest’s holy power, Divine Punishment.
“Extreme Brain!”
And my brother’s latent ability, Extreme Brain.
The two combined unleashed a terrifying synergy. A pure white lightning bolt fell from the sky like a sharp spear, piercing Kushan Thor’s crown!
Crackle, crackle!
“Arrrgh!”
Kushan Thor finally stiffened and let out a fierce roar.
My brother’s magic power was 97, Ansol’s was 99. Even the king of giants couldn’t shrug off such a blow without flinching. In fact, the very fact that he only twitched showed just how terrifying his magic resistance was.
But the assault wasn’t over.
Seonyu Yun, realizing his arrows couldn’t penetrate the giant’s defense, relentlessly targeted Kushan Thor’s eyes, forcing him to blink repeatedly. Goyeonju summoned every shadow she could, binding the giant’s limbs, then attacked his neck and groin from the darkness.
Panicked, the giant twisted his neck and pulled up his thigh. Taking advantage of the opening, Gong Chanho persistently stabbed his spear into the thigh.
Even if the other clan members were just doing their part, my brother and Gong Chanho were showing incredible teamwork. After the first round, everyone had come to their own conclusions on how to fight him.
Of course, Kushan Thor wasn’t the kind to fall easily.
“Kuuoooooooh!”
Maybe angry at how the second round was going, the giant suddenly radiated a blinding white light from his entire body. Sweeping his left hand down his body, he wildly swung Mjolnir with his right. He tore through the shadows wrapping him like a beast and furiously gouged the ground with his hammer as if digging for moles.
But by then, the aggro had already shifted, and the users had scattered in all directions. Just as Kushan Thor’s eyes flashed and he turned to chase after those retreating, I calmly caught my breath, gripped Victoria’s Glory in my left hand, and charged at the giant’s back at full speed.
I tried to plunge the blade into his back in one swift move, but Kushan Thor twisted his body halfway, nullifying the attack. I swung Victoria’s Glory horizontally, but his left arm blocked it.
The giant, who had been growling at the others, finally turned to me. With a look of annoyance, he swung Mjolnir as if to push me back.
Whoosh!
The massive hammer came hurtling toward me. In that split second, a flood of thoughts raced through my mind.
If Kushan Thor had struck with full force like before, I would have dodged without hesitation. But this blow was meant only to push me back—a relatively weak strike.
I didn’t know what he was thinking, but Hwajeong’s earlier words stuck with me. I wasn’t about to play into that guy’s plans. I crossed my swords and summoned every ounce of magic I had.
This should be enough to block it…!
Klang!
At the point where the blades crossed, a fierce spark flew. A jolt shot through both my hands, but I saw Mjolnir bounce back.
“Success…!”
Klang, klang!
Just as I thought I’d held firm, two more strikes slammed into the same spot. Each block sent a shock so strong I bit my tongue, but I managed to deflect both.
Amid it all, I couldn’t help but laugh. It was kind of funny that the self-proclaimed strongest user was this worked up after blocking only three attacks.
Kaaang!
When I blocked the fourth strike, I felt my grip weaken, and the flurry stopped. Glancing up, I saw Mjolnir poised right at the center point, frozen in place. Then, as if to crush me, it began descending.
Just as my arm was about to buckle—
“Latent ability, Unyielding (Rank: A Plus Plus Plus) activated.”
I felt a surge of strength in my eyes.
This was the moment I’d been waiting for—the chance I’d dreamed of—the instant I grabbed hold of Kushan Thor’s Mjolnir.
“Ughhh!”
Groaning under the pressure, I didn’t hesitate. I pushed my magic to the limit, using every resource—user info, equipment, the Flowering Fusion technique, the Four Heavenly Tendons—everything I had to focus on the point where I held Mjolnir.
Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Dudududududududududu!
My magic circuits screamed in agony as the ground around me trembled and cracked, scattering debris everywhere.
Even though I was the one doing it, I was shocked. The magic that had never run dry was suddenly draining exponentially, drying up before my eyes.
Despite everything, all I managed to do was prevent him from coming any further down. Still, at least the primary objective was achieved.
My circuits felt like they were melting from the intense heat, sending out strange, indecipherable signals. I probably won’t ever have to use this much magic power all at once again anytime soon.
Pachut! Patststchut!
An immense surge of magic erupted from Mugum and Victoria’s Glory, while Mjolnir sparked fiercely with every clash. It seemed this couldn’t go on much longer. Kusán Thor took a step back, about to withdraw Mjolnir.
But Kusán Thor’s attempt was in vain. It had to be—my ability, pushed to its absolute limit, was holding Mjolnir firmly in place.
“Grrk?!”
Startled, Kusán Thor gripped Mjolnir with both hands.
And at that moment—
“Fire Formation!”
Without thinking, I shouted, squeezing out the last of my strength and stomping my foot. The remaining magic drained away like a receding tide, leaving an empty hollow inside me.
—Good!
Hwaruk, hwarreuk!
The result manifested as dozens of blazing flame swords rising up around me, burning fiercely.
—Here I go!
Hwarrrrrrrrruk!
As those dozens of flame swords shot toward Kusán Thor, the magic that had been pulling Mjolnir abruptly snapped.
Even in that split second, Kusán Thor retreated swiftly, taking a defensive stance. Though he couldn’t feel the magic directly, as a demigod he surely sensed the power behind the flame swords fueled by the Fire Formation.
Of course, I knew this attack alone wouldn’t be enough. If I thought otherwise, I would have just unleashed the flame swords from the start. No, the flame swords were only the first wave, meant to break through Kusán Thor’s defenses.
That’s why, instead of gathering the magic concentrated at the center, I made a different choice.
I charged at the hastily retreating Kusán Thor.
“Hup!”
Rolling my crossed swords downward, I unleashed all the focused magic at once.
Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!
The spinning magic transformed instantly into a massive shockwave, crashing straight into Kusán Thor’s chest.
Some time had passed since the war reignited.
Following Kim Yuhyun’s orders, the users moved in squads, while the giants spread out in all directions accordingly.
Screams and the sounds of magic echoed across the plains, and from the center came ominous tremors that hinted at something serious unfolding.
Yet, amid all this, one woman had yet to properly join the battle.
“Ugh… what do I do?”
Vivian clutched her head, having fallen back slightly from the center.
Her worry was simple: she lacked confidence in carrying out Kim Suhyun’s mission. Though she had agreed in a moment of frustration, no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t come up with a sharp strategy to counter the monstrous flying legion.
Sure, summoning any legion would provide some help, but the real problem was the flying ability of those beasts.
She needed to summon a legion that could fly or one capable of countering aerial foes—but there were no suitable beasts available. The few flying beasts were assigned to lower-tier legions, so summoning them wouldn’t be effective. And the higher-tier legions that could respond properly simply didn’t exist.
The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd legions were out of the question for now.
The 4th and 5th legions were powerful but lacked the ability to deal with airborne monsters.
And the 6th legion…
“Uh…”
Vivian, who had been pacing anxiously, suddenly lifted her head sharply.
The 6th legion. And the 66th legion.
For the beasts, the number ‘6’ carried an extraordinary significance.
The 6th legion was stronger than the 4th and 5th, and the 66th legion was even stronger than the 6th. However, they couldn’t be summoned just like that; certain conditions had to be met.
“…Alright.”
Having made up her mind, Vivian’s eyes shone with determination. In her right hand, she now held the Order of Order. Rarely did she wear such a serious expression.
And moments later—
— — — —.
Amid the booming sounds across the plains, Vivian’s quiet incantation echoed softly.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Midnight update! Woohoo!