Chapter 90

“In an unexpected place, an unexpected meeting occurs.”

“…You have come to kill me.”

As the Gal Dragon looked up at the giant, a figure immense to the point of being overwhelming, the giant chuckled heartily before speaking.

“That is not the case. My long-time adversary. It is true that I intended to kill you in accordance with our long-standing animosity, but now that I know, after hundreds of years of preparation, that you cannot restrain me, you no longer hold such significant value for me. My arrival here was by chance. I have other purposes. That insignificant creature you were about to deal with is one of those purposes.”

“What is your scheme?”

“A scheme? Ha. Ha. Ha. Such things are unnecessary for a noble ruler. What is there to hide? Everything in the world should be done if it is what I desire. I merely came to enact punishment on the creature that has presumptuously invaded my land.”

The Gal Dragon scoffed, his brow twitching.

“Are you thinking of imitating me, big monkey?”

“Tsk tsk. That’s your problem. Even after that recent disgrace, your pride still lives on. Do you still think you are a god?”

A sneer appeared in the giant’s enormous eyes.

“I can feel that your previous wounds have yet to heal.”

“…Do not be arrogant. This level of injury does not affect my ability to tear you apart.”

“Those claws were quite sharp indeed. But do you really think that way, Gal Dragon?”

With a casual demeanor, a glimmering light emerged from the mists at the feet of the giant.

More than a hundred pairs of piercing eyes shot towards the Gal Dragon and Algul.

Covered only by the enormity of the Terato, the giants at its feet were nonetheless giants six to eight times larger than humans.

The sight of over a hundred giant figures, armed and lined up like a massive city wall in the mist, was something to behold.

“You must have experienced it recently, right? Thanks to the reverse heavenly magic that I created solely for you over the centuries, my kin are unaffected by the logic you pride yourself on. Is it possible for you? To pierce through my kin and kill me with only teeth and claws?”

The Gal Dragon fell silent.

The swords of the giants that had pushed him to the brink of death.

Had Araya not helped, he may have quietly died in his own nest without ever recovering.

Despite appearances, his body had not fully healed yet.

More importantly, he did not know when it had begun, but due to the Terato’s magic, his draconic tongue and breath did not properly reach the giants.

Should he engage now, he would surely be defeated.

For hundreds of years, the Gal Dragon had never once bowed to anyone, and now he felt humiliation.

“…What do you want?”

“Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.”

Hearing the Gal Dragon’s voice, burdened with humiliation, the Terato laughed loudly with great delight.

“Indeed. So much has changed. I feel the passage of time from the past keenly. My adversary. You, once proud and aloof in the skies, have reduced yourself to the form of a mere beast walking on the ground, and even retreating at my provocation.”

“Stop with the lengthy chatter. Do not cross the line, big monkey.”

“Ha. While I do have matters to settle with you, now is not the time.”

The Terato looked down at the ground with a cold expression.

A massive hand pointed at Algul as it spoke.

“I came personally to deal with the nonsense caused by a pitiful creature that crossed the sea, having been born of lowly origins, and now causing chaos in the land I rule. I judged that the young ones above this land would struggle to handle it, hence I descended myself.”

The Terato’s enormous eyes narrowed.

The finger still pointed at Algul, but its direction of gaze was somewhere else entirely.

As the Gal Dragon turned to where the Terato was looking, a bitter smile spread across his face as he considered something beyond that gaze.

The Terato was indeed beyond reason.

Moreover, it was a being that, like him, had lived for hundreds of years and wielded transcendent logic.

“The young creatures seem to be acting without understanding their limits. Even this one, who I planned to handle myself, has ended up in such a state.”

“…I agree. They do not even recognize what they are creating.”

“Already aware, are you?”

“Of course. I’ve even seen it up close.”

“Remarkable.”

The Terato expressed genuine surprise.

“Did you allow that? You, who were trapped in the north for hundreds of years by one who said to understand their limits?”

“…”

“Ultimately, it is not a fitting remark for one who broke free from their captivity to say. Truly, how far you have fallen, Gal Dragon.”

“You have no reason to speak such words to me.”

“Hmm.”

The Terato stroked its enormous chin.

“Did you really think that the young creatures could stand against me with that power?”

Even as it spoke, Teato seemed incredulous and chuckled softly.

“It feels incomplete, but even if it were complete, those young creatures could not wield such power. Even if there were a possibility in the infinite chaos of potential.”

The heavens rumbled.

“Do you think that in their hands, a clumsy ‘god’ recently born could truly stand against me, the great Terato?”

“…Perhaps.”

“You might face an unexpected setback against an existence you never considered.”

At the Terato’s words, the Gal Dragon recalled the small Elf who had challenged his powers and logic.

Moreover, the child who, while fighting against him, not only recovered from his wounds but also created an entirely fabricated world.

The Terato furrowed their brow, troubled by the Gal Dragon’s ambiguous demeanor, but then said, “I do not know what your aim is, but very well. Grandidi, Benito, Poodlet, Eremai. Clean this up.”

With that, four figures sprang forth from the wall of giants by the Terato’s feet.

Observing the nimble giants brandishing enormous swords, the Gal Dragon did not move.

Because they were not aiming for him.

“Ugh—!”

As the giants leapt towards him, Algul quietly activated the magic he had prepared.

‘…This is truly a terrible place.’

Algul thought, triggering a spell that extended 360 shadows radiating outward from his center, used to escape from Araya.

Born an Einherjar, Araya had reached a state akin to an Elder Roa.

And the two Elder Roa.

Both the being of sun and sky, and the mountain-sized giant, each not at all inferior to his father, Bruwon Krishaka, at his prime.

Moreover, the giants approaching him.

They might not be as splendid as himself in tip-top shape, but each and every one felt like an Einherjar.

Most importantly, this was not all there was.

Even if the giants and their kin immediately crossed into the continent, it seemed there was no force to stop them.

‘They entered the danger zone out of greed.’

Algul decided not to think about what he had lost, diving into the shadow.

Now was the time to focus solely on survival.

The tendrils of shadows stretched out in all directions.

Kwoaaah—!

Even as Algul disappeared into the shadows before them, the four giants, throwing their enormous swords towards the ground, began cleaving the earth apart with a resounding crash as they swung.

‘…!’

Though they wielded their swords, shadows wouldn’t normally be cut.

Yet the shadows sliced by the giants’ swords lost their strength and melted away.

‘These fools!’

It might not be enough to strike down all 360 shadows with one blow, but over half of them were severed by the swings of the four giants.

However, even if just one tendril remained, the spell allowed him to shift his body and escape.

Moreover, if he failed to block it properly at the beginning, the distance between the shadows would widen the further he strayed from the active center. Algul felt relief upon seeing that more than half were still intact.

“Remarkably agile for such size. You possess a rare talent.”

Lightning poured from the Terato’s finger.

As the lightning struck, the shadows began to burst.

In an instant, the shadows diminished until only one remained.

From that shadow, Algul emerged.

‘…To think I’d have to pull this off twice!’

One single bolt of lightning pierced Algul’s body.

“…!”

Barely stifling a scream, he once again spread shadows from his center.

“What a persistent little one.”

Once more, bolts of lightning began to rain down upon the newly extended shadows.

As the lightning coursed through the earth, a thick cloud of dust was kicked up, and electricity crackled.

“…Truly a quick one.”

The Terato frowned.

It was true that several bolts had struck his body, but that young creature from the east seemed to have managed to escape, though battered and broken.

“Kuk kuk…”

“Yet having been struck by my lightning so many times, you won’t get far.”

To the Gal Dragon’s scorn, the Terato spoke as though offended.

“Indeed, it is impressive for an escape.”

The Gal Dragon, who had been mockingly laughing at the Terato, looked up with sharp eyes and said.

“Now, are you headed to where it is?”

“No.”

Despite the lack of a subject, the Terato understood the Gal Dragon’s words, shaking its enormous head in denial.

“Unlike the young creatures from the east, they are children who have lived on this land for a long time. True, they may have acted foolishly due to youthful folly, but if I were to erase everything they did wrong, there would be few children left for me to rule over this land.”

The Terato smiled as it gazed westward.

“If a child does wrong, I should start with a warning. That preparation has already been made.”