Chapter 64

I gazed at the scroll fragments in my hand.

“Can this really resolve things…?”

Scrolls of Forced Contract and Spirit Binding, along with miscellaneous scrolls containing curses or lightning rods. It was evident that Torres Tower had put significant effort into capturing the Thunder Giant.

Had they not fled without properly utilizing those preparations.

During the escape, there didn’t seem to be enough time to gather scrolls, but quite a few were left behind in the final chamber of the depths.

Most were scorched by lightning and lost their original form.

Still, using the largest scroll to wrap the remaining pieces, I brought it along.

As I watched the silver silk moth and the Thunder Giant creating destruction akin to a monster movie scene, I imagined what the excavation process would have been like if I hadn’t been here – as described in the original story.

“The excavation was definitely successful.”

The protagonist of the original was the Wizard King, and companions increased episode by episode among the Ten Sages, so Astrape didn’t get much focus.

However, during the chapters involving Torres Tower, it was different. She played an obvious leading heroine role.

Torres Tower appeared as a mid-level magic tower with considerable power, presenting a threatening image as Astrape’s, and further the chapter’s main antagonist. If such a catastrophic failure had occurred during the excavation, they wouldn’t have had the resources to do so.

“It’s 2074 now. There are only three years until the Wizard King’s resurrection in 2077, too short to fix this mess even if we follow the original scenario.”

If it had been the original situation, the silver silk moth might not have existed, but even without it, it seemed unlikely that Torres Tower’s excavation team could stop the rampaging Thunder Giant.

Judging from the circumstances, the giant must have been successfully excavated intact.

“If I hadn’t been here, the development of this ruin would have slowed down by weeks, maybe even months. A stable excavation without awakening the giant deep inside…”

Did they use scrolls to forcibly contract the giant?

This alone feels insufficient. I turned my gaze toward the giant.

The wriggling silver silk moth was spreading across the giant’s entire body, transforming into shapes resembling human bones, becoming a kind of skeletal framework for the giant.

To put it simply, it was like an anatomical diagram with shimmering silver bones, storm clouds for flesh, and veins filled with lightning.

It was truly a monstrous lifeform akin to something out of mythology.

“From a purely combat perspective, the state separated from the silver silk moth would likely be stronger, but the current appearance is far more intimidating… hmm?”

The silver silk moth was continuously absorbing mana from the giant. Given that the giant was made of lightning-based mana, it should have gradually diminished.

However, the giant’s body remained unchanged, neither expanding nor contracting. While the silver silk moth was growing larger, the rate of increase was clearly slowing down.

“The giant is reabsorbing the mana within the silver silk moth.”

As the volume of the silver silk moth increases, the contact area with the giant grows, increasing the amount of mana being stolen. Consequently, the final amount absorbed decreases, slowing the growth rate. Eventually, when the absorption amounts reach equilibrium, the growth of the silver silk moth will cease.

It was somewhat understandable that the silver silk moth stores absorbed mana without loss, since trying to understand extraplanar entities through our world’s standards is foolish.

However, it was difficult to comprehend how the giant could absorb mana and store it as magical energy without any loss.

In the process of converting mana into magical energy, and reabsorbing that energy, there should have been some loss.

“Isn’t the ability to reduce the absorption loss to zero an effect of the Thunder Talisman?”

Certainly, no artifact presence was felt in the final room of the depths.

I looked at the giant. Once the silver silk reaches the ends of its limbs, the mutual absorption rates will completely equalize, momentarily halting all movement.

To put it metaphorically, it’s like both sides pushing each other with exactly the same force, preventing any movement.

The moment one side gains the upper hand, this delicate balance will collapse, and the victor will consume the loser.

Containing such a hyper-evolved monstrosity would be beyond Torres Tower alone; several Proper Towers or even one of the Ten Towers would need to intervene, right?

The option of letting it run loose and increasing the Ten Towers’ concerns was rejected. What if the Ten Towers judged that Argryeiron had the ability to intentionally create such a monstrous entity?

The unified power of the Ten Towers would annihilate Argryeiron. If Argryeiron’s perception shifts from ‘a group of eroders larger and more capable than expected’ to a serious threat, the tripartite division of the realm would collapse into chaos.

Preventing this chaos. The method to uncover the identity of the Thunder Giant and clean up this mess is only one…

“Life!”

I needed to open my eyes.

***

By now, the island of Crete was effectively at the center of a massive storm. The darkened sky poured down heavy rain while spewing continuous lightning.

As the silver silk moth burrowed beneath the storm cloud flesh, the giant stopped moving. However, the ongoing storm and ominous silence proved that neither party had been neutralized.

The mages feared what powerful form the winner of this battle would take upon re-emerging. Fortunately, during this brief silence, they could tend to their wounds and recast defensive spells.

Rugret, the mage from Argyreion, couldn’t consider this fortunate.

Beyond the silhouette-covered mountain ridge, a vague shadow approached but did not get closer to the mages.

It wasn’t Karuto who had departed.

Suddenly, two bright blue beams of light emanated from where the eyes would be on a person.

And at that very moment, the giant’s movements ceased.

Rugret recalled the laughing man who had controlled the silver silk moth and attacked them. Strangely, she couldn’t remember his detailed features except for his laughter.

But she was certain that the entity emitting the blue glow and preparing some strange magic was him.

“Is he trying to make the silver silk moth absorb the giant?”

His appearance here must be to enhance the control magic by getting closer to the silver silk moth. Karuto, who likely intervened to stop him, probably perished.

Rugret predicted the situation if the silver silk moth succeeded in absorbing the giant according to his intentions. Could the silver silk moth, having absorbed the giant’s magical energy, still be controlled?

“Even if Blasphemia successfully mimicked the control magic, they haven’t fully caught up yet. Thus, they could only input simple destruction commands without giving detailed instructions to the silver silk moth.”

So there was still hope. He wouldn’t easily control the overly strengthened silver silk moth, and that could be an opportunity!

However, the silhouette took a completely different action from what Rugret anticipated. The blue flames soon extinguished. Then came a sudden acceleration. Rugret’s dynamic vision couldn’t keep up with the silhouette’s dash.

The place where the flames reappeared was in the middle of the clearing.

Inside the giant’s body. Amid the silver threads and lightning consuming each other within the storm clouds, two blue beams of light flared up.

***

“Life!”

With another sigh, I charged towards the composite of the Thunder Giant and the silver silk moth.

I repeated his information in my mind.

Thunder Giant Keranos. The last Tower Master of Manuvia Tower.

Manuvia Tower was a powerful school that overthrew the first Yellow Lightning Tower and ascended to become the second Yellow Lightning Tower.

However, it wasn’t strong enough to face the Ten Towers alone. To hold the succession battle, Manuvia Tower promised to share the wisdom of the Ten Sages among various towers and successfully dethroned the first Yellow Lightning Tower.

It succeeded.

Before fully aligning with the Ten Sages, the contemporary Tower Master of Manuvia died within ten days due to betrayal and murder.

After the post-eleven-heavens alliance disputes, the third Yellow Lightning Tower remained undecided for a long time, but eventually, the returned first Yellow Lightning Tower reclaimed its name after suppressing other competitors.

The source of that absurd mana absorption ability was the Ten Sages. One of the pieces of wisdom received by Manuvia Tower during the eleven heavens era from the Wizard King.

It was a strange coincidence that the wisdom of the Ten Sages, though differing in direction, shared similar effects with extraplanar products.

Manuvia Tower spent a long time plotting revenge against the traitors. The last Tower Master, Keranos, deemed it impossible for a human to use the forbidden art and decided to become a spirit to exact vengeance on the betrayers…

But he failed.

Completely.

The reason was unknown. Analyzing the Thunder Giant further was pushing my brain to the brink of overload. Blocking the influx of information about the silver silk moth and other magicians just to prevent brain overload was already challenging.

“The side effect of the failed spirit transformation caused the Thunder Giant’s self-awareness to slowly dilute. If I hadn’t arrived and expedited the excavation, given more time, only the function to absorb mana would remain while the self-awareness would have completely evaporated.”

The rest of the truth was easy to deduce. Originally, Torres Tower would have used a contract scroll to bind the remaining body of the Thunder Giant and used it as a magical energy conversion device.

That was the true identity of the Thunder Talisman. A talisman created by compressing the physical form of the great magician who became a spirit.

There’s a funeral service that turns remains into gemstones; it looked exactly like that. Although Torres Tower’s purpose was utilization rather than commemoration.

“Damn. The original work mentioned finding it in ancient Wizard King-era ruins, so I thought it was just an already-finished artifact unearthed.”

In other words, the current Thunder Giant is raw material. Just raw material that happens to eat people!

One shouldn’t trust the original work’s descriptions at face value unless every detail is perfectly documented. Like the residual thoughts of the high priest stored in the relic of Phobos, there are more parts minimized compared to reality than expected.

“If the original Torres Tower could compress a spirit’s body into a tool via contracts, then something similar should be possible now.”

I took another deep breath. I had to connect the fragmented spell patterns on these torn scrolls in order and link them to the Thunder Giant.

The silver silk moth was a bonus. Since it was a summoned creature series from an extraplanar dimension, the forced contract spell should work on it…

Fortunately, both lacked almost all intelligence. Let’s begin.

***

Opening his eyes, Ortes’s gaze could perceive intangible information and the essence inscribed on objects.

Inside the Thunder Giant, the swirling remnants of magical energy and mana were chaotically colliding due to dual absorption. A fragment of a scroll was placed amidst the tangled flows, resembling dozens of layers of spider webs.

Activated by the magical energy, the scroll fragment began to fade as it absorbed the energy. However, Ortes continued connecting the broken scroll fragments endlessly.

It was akin to a mosaic held together by adhesive made from the Thunder Giant’s magical energy and the silver silk moth’s mana. From the residual spell patterns on the scrolls, a new flow emerged.

A crude patchwork-like spell pattern began to take shape. The spell pattern bridging the Thunder Giant’s lightning-filled veins and the silver silk moth’s silvery bones started binding both simultaneously.

With a snap, the Thunder Giant’s right arm bent. The silver bone did the same.

Next, the left leg followed, then another limb. Like crumpled paper gathering together.

Through the forbidden art of spirit transformation, the Thunder Giant himself had become a sort of spell pattern.

Thus, overlaying the forced contract and binding spell patterns onto such a Thunder Giant amplified the contract spell to match the magnitude of his existence.

An overwhelming binding that neither the Thunder Giant nor the silver silk moth connected to it could possibly break free from.

Even the storm brewed by the Thunder Giant’s magical energy and the storm clouds covering the sky converged into one spot: above Ortes’s palm.

At the place where the storm disappeared, Ortes stood holding a golden bead adorned with silver threads.