Chapter 40
Evolution.
Evolution.
Kirna, who had been rapidly reciting prayers, shouted in a frantic voice.
"Hey! Did you feel that too?"
Rutum and Pelrum quickly nodded.
Divine energy. The divine energy they had never summoned blossomed brilliantly before vanishing in an instant.
Someone was hiding here—likely the one who summoned the ominous giant.
The trio, including Kirna, didn’t know Marnak worshipped evil gods. To be precise, no one except Perli knew.
This was because Perli had kept utterly silent about what he’d witnessed in Eradico.
They knew Marnak—a priest famed for opposing evil gods—had joined Aurelius’s group, but believed him to serve the Goddess of Sustenance as rumors claimed. Naturally, such priests couldn’t summon giants. Thus, Kirna’s deductions never reached the truth.
She simply thought an uninvited intruder had crashed in.
[I’ll kill them!!!]
They also had to stop the enraged golden tribesman immediately. Kirna grimaced. Whatever. Let’s break them one by one.
"Kirna!"
"What? Can’t you see I’m busy? Huh?"
The giant, battered yet enduring the assault, made Rutum confident of victory. Controlling his beasts, he shouted:
"It’s working! I can handle this alone! Use that thing you prepared for the giant on the golden tribesman!"
Kirna grinned, baring her teeth.
"Finally some good news! Pelrum! Assist me! Coordinate!"
"On it."
As the shaggy-haired man stomped, shadowy hands erupted from Aurelius’s feet again.
[You think I’ll fall for the same trick?!]
Bang!
The metallic horse’s hind legs kicked off ground, launching the centaur-like knight skyward. The shadow hands missed his ankles as he ascended.
Aurelius measured the distance to the blue-haired woman. Close enough. He leaped without hesitation, body accelerating before plummeting downward.
He yanked his massive lance back, priming it to detonate on impact. At the dive’s end, he’d concentrate all force into one strike. The woman’s face rushed toward him. He waited—for the perfect moment.
It came.
Aurelius thrust his lance, the falling metal’s mass aiming to obliterate her skull.
Then he saw it—her smile. A slender finger pointed at his face like a blade tip. Kirna whispered:
"‘Frozen Ice,’ heed me."
Freeze.
Divine energy crystallized space around him.
Crash.
Ice shattered on impact, taking Aurelius’s body with it. Kirna stared at his frozen torso, eyes weary yet exhilarated.
"Still alive unless I crush their core? Ugh, should’ve been born a golden tribesman."
"Who knew we could choose our race?"
"It’s just a mood! Stop nitpicking—it’s pathetic!"
Pelrum ignored her scolding. "Rutum’s almost done there."
Kirna swept back her hair. "He’s petty and gossipy, but competent. That’s why we team up."
—Grraaaaah!
The giant neared death. Snowfield bats relentlessly tore at its wounds, while Kapel’s assaults prevented healing.
Finally, the giant’s left arm ripped free with a screech. Kapel roared triumphantly. Rutum calmly redirected him to finish the job.
Kirna tapped Rutum’s shoulder.
"Wrap this up fast. I’m exhausted. Thought causing an avalanche would end things, but—"
Then—
Dark green divine energy gushed from the giant’s wounds, flooding its pores.
Something began.
"Wha—? What’s happening?!"
Rutum’s face hardened. Attack now or retreat?
He chose swiftly:
"Tear it apart!"
Snowfield bats surged. Claws met flesh—
Clang!
Emerald divine energy encased the giant in corroded, rust-eaten armor. Its restored hands plunged into distorted space, emerging with two massive cleavers.
—GRAAAAAH!
Blades cleaved the air. Remaining bats fell as meat chunks. The Corrupted Giant didn’t stop—it bisected fleeing Kapel, spilling organs.
—Grrrrrl...
Its gaze turned to the cultists. Kirna screamed:
"Run! Pelrum! Shadows!"
"Got i—"
Squelch.
A cleaver crushed Pelrum. Kirna gaped. He threw it?!
The giant raised another blade. Kirna bolted, but tripped—a golden tribesman’s remaining arm gripped her ankle.
[Can’t... let you...]
"Let GO!"
His hand shattered. Rutum already fled.
"Rutum! HELP!"
He didn’t look back.
Crunch.
The second cleaver pulverized him.
Kirna sprinted across snow, the giant’s thunderous steps closing in.
—GRAAAAAH!
It seized her.
"NOOO—!"
Slam.
Her body shattered.
The giant’s victory roar echoed with inexplicable sorrow.
Aurelius, barely conscious, blacked out.
I enhanced the Corrupted Giant—our unspoken pact. It trusted me, and I knew ignoring that trust meant dealing with its tantrum.
The result surpassed expectations. Clad in corroded armor, it single-handedly slaughtered three cultists.
Afterward, it knelt and prayed. Divine energy from the corpses flowed into me.
[Divine Energy: 6379]
"Harvesting for me? I’d have been hurt if I hadn’t upgraded you."
‘Kill?!’
Startled, I hugged the girl-shaped manifestation of Mother.
"Wasn’t this your divine gift? Why act surprised?"
‘Kill!’
"I didn’t know! Why ask me?!"
"Mother."
She tilted her head. ‘Kill?’
"Your speech improved! Does unsealing boost intelligence?"
‘Kill (殺)!!!’
Her tiny fist thumped my chest. Stop treating me like a fool!
Clearly, her comprehension had grown. Though still childlike, she now appeared twelve instead of ten.
"I’d never disrespect you! You know how much I revere you."
Soothed, she hugged me. ‘Kill…?’
"Not hurt. Your punches are soft."
Dakia, watching, ventured:
"Are you… Marnak’s secret daughter?"
‘KILL!!!’
Mother flipped double middle fingers.
"What does that mean?"
"She’s annoyed. Mother—"
‘Kill?’ She tilted her head, fingers raised.
Did I teach her that?
But compared to tantrums, this was civil. Only I understood the gesture anyway.
"New words, Mother?"
After pondering, she grinned and nodded.
‘Kill!’
"What?"
She pointed at herself and shouted:
‘ME!!!’
