By the time Lee Shin Woo had returned from his trip to the secret shop, the Giants" domain was in chaos. It was because of the giant monster they could see from afar... Metafel.
Not only had he entered their territory, but he was also going straight for the innermost part of it. He was also quite close.
"s.h.i.t, he"s almost here!"
"Paul Zero, please hurry!"
Lee Shin Woo urgently rushed over to Kratia and Rem. They had already planned out what components they needed, knew what processes they needed to take for each area, and had even prepared the chemical reagents. Now, all they needed were the actual materials!
"How"s this?"
"Huh...?"
Lee Shin Woo placed the Hands That Cover the Sun, which had become about half the size of Lee Shin Woo"s body, in front of them. At that moment, the temperature went up by several degrees. They weren"t misunderstanding anything; their eyes were really melting away.
[Oh my... Master.]
"What exactly do you have to do to get it like this..."
The Hands That Cover the Sun. Lee Shin Woo had fused several karmas together and had sublimated it into a unique, unknown shape.
It currently looked like a normal rock, and could even pa.s.s off as a bone. At the same time, it looked metallic, as it shined, yet it endlessly spewed out intense heat from within, which caused Kratia to back off from it.
"It"s a lot higher quality than we expected."
"So it won"t work?"
[No, it"s even better! It"s perfect! I"ll adjust the plans right away!]
Rem and Kratia faced each other and began adjusting their plans. Lee Shin Woo looked over the remaining blueprints, and once he"d gotten some idea of what they were doing, he helped out with the adjustments.
The quality of the material was so much different than normal, so it wouldn"t be strange for the adjustments to take at least an hour, but they finished the adjustments in just three minutes.
[Kihat, I can smell it coming from over here! It"s over here!]
[Anymore is... We can"t let him get through the last barrier. I"m not strong enough, but I"ll take him on first!]
[I"ll help too.]
"I"m counting on you!"
Metafel had gotten close enough that everyone could feel his energy on their skin. There was only one layer left of the mana-made spatial barrier. If Metafel got any closer, it might impede their golem manufacturing, so Chi Paul and Bisher Moon simultaneously went to the frontlines.
[Hey pig, over here!]
[I"m a high level, something that you love so much. Why don"t you try taking my body, which my master bestowed upon me!]
[Kuhat! Sure!]
They were both level 7 elites and simultaneously, they were the most nimble as well. Metafel wouldn"t be able to catch them easily. Although his health and magic had increased exponentially, his other stats hadn"t caught up.
"You can"t die, alright!?"
[Understood!]
Lee Shin Woo"s two subordinates shot out like arrows and pa.s.sed through the barrier. Upon discovery, Metafel turned his head, and the two unleashed their attacks on him simultaneously.
[Die!]
[Kihehk... Hihik! I"m so happy!]
They had likely been preparing those strikes all this time, but they only managed to cut the outer layer of skin, looking as though they hadn"t actually inflicted much damage. Even though they were attacks from level 7 elites!
"What"s worse, he"s able to change a portion of their attacks into mana and absorb it... But that much is..."
While he was evolving, Metafel greedily consumed all energy that came at him and considered everything as his, but now that he"d actually finished evolving, it seemed like he couldn"t do that anymore. Learning that was big. They could win!
"They"re not enough. Ellata, Arogan! Help them!"
[We"ve been waiting for you to say that!]
[I trust that you"ll revive the t.i.tan with those very hands!]
"Don"t get too close to him. Protect them!"
Lee Shin Woo sent the Giants to help and looked over the sole remaining Shino Rendu, who was gazing at Metafel. Despite his killer being right before him, he seemed quite relaxed.
"You stay here for now. You"ll get your moment to hold him back."
[As you command, Paul Zero.]
"...You look a lot calmer than I expected you to be."
[That"s probably because the Metafel over there isn"t the one that killed me.]
Shino Rendu just absent-mindedly concentrated his mana into his right arm and said calmly.
[That"s not Metafel anymore. It"s just an Eater following its instincts. Of course, I still want to get my revenge on him, but rather than obsessing over my revenge, I"ll just take him down. Once I do that, I should be able to focus on something else. ...So, I"m just patiently waiting for my turn.]
Shino Rendu... this guy really didn"t get smarter once he"d become an undead. Lee Shin Woo event felt dizzy somewhere and could do nothing but nod his head at his words.
"Shin... Paul Zero, we can start now!"
[Master, please go ahead!]
"...Alright, let"s begin."
They had Kratia, who was knowledgeable in magic theory, Lee Shin Woo, who was innately talented in handling magic, and Rem, who had gained knowledge regarding golems, through a combination of chance and achievements. The three boldly broke the Hands That Cover the Sun into pieces and began making parts for the golem.
"The one who should be locking in the heat so it doesn"t escape is... Wait, it"s locking in the heat by itself! What material is this!?"
"If you have time to be surprised, then use that time to manufacture the golem! The sections already getting hard!"
[Master, at this rate, manufacturing the golem will take too long.]
"Tch, then how about this...?"
Lee Shin Woo felt the necessity in infusing his darkness mana from the start, while they were still building the components. To be exact, he would connect with the Bone Core, and then connect and a.s.similate the Hands that Cover the Sun, which would be used for the golem.
By doing so, he would attempt to "convince" the Hands That Cover the Sun that it was not perfect and would need to be processed, as it was still in an incomplete state. He knew it sounded strange to try to convince or awaken an inanimate object, but he was serious.
"It"s a bone, so I should be able to do it."
"Oh... It really has gotten a little easier to process."
[Restoration has been stopped. I will begin immediately!]
Lee Shin Woo would set the shapes of each component and divide the materials accordingly while Kratia and Rem would engrave magic circles into said components and process them. Because of Lee Shin Woo"s darkness magic, their work progressed better than expected. However...
"This is way too hot!"
[Once we are done manufacturing the golem, please repair me, Master.]
"Sure... I"ll fix you no matter what, so hold on for now."
Because the materials emitted so much heat, there was no getting around Kratia and Rem getting injured, even during the processing phase. Of course, Lee Shin Woo alone was fine, as he possessed High Rank Fire Resistance. Therefore, he moved twice as fast as the other two.
[Kuhaaaaaah! So you were here! I"ll eat you all!]
[Tch, this monster!]
[I feel bad for the t.i.tle of 12 generals. You"re just a monster!]
Whereas the battle on the frontlines had intensified. Actually, it was much too one-sided to be called a battle. Metafel was attempting to eat them while his troops desperately dodged the teeth and tongues that sprouted all over Metafel"s body!
[The t.i.tan"s Pride!]
[We"re almost there... We"re almost there, so we can"t let you interfere!]
[You guys smell delicious as well!]
Metafel rampaged about, as though he would gobble up the Giants, Chi Paul, and Bester Moon right this instant, and Lee Shin Woo"s troops hara.s.sed him and launched attacks which Metafel couldn"t ignore. But while they were doing that, Metafel"s arms suddenly swelled and dozens of tongues came out, wrapping around the Giant Arogan"s hand.
[Shall we get a taste!?]
[You"ve stopped being human, you trash!]
Arogan was shocked and pulled with all his might, but Metafel"s astonishing strength prevented him from pulling away; instead, he was pulled closer to Metafel himself! In an instant, dozens of tongues wrapped around not only his arm but his shoulder as well.
[Eeek...!]
[How dare you do that to my comrade!]
Before Arogan was eaten, Ellata threw a boulder at Metafel.
Did they transfer their mana into the rock? There was an incredible amount of force behind the boulder, and it rushed over and severed the tongues capturing Arogan. But by then, one of Arogan"s arms had already been absorbed by Metafel.
[Ku...haaahk...!]
That wasn"t all. It seemed as though Metafel"s attack possessed some sort of paralysis ability, as Arogan"s body shook and he remained in place, letting out agonized cries.
[Kihiiiii! What great strength. Giants are great! It"s the most delicious thing I"ve eaten thus far!]
Metafel, who"d absorbed Arogan"s arm, got a bit taller, and then, lunged for Arogan as if intending to finish his plate. Metafel"s stomach split in half and countless tongues came out!
[Did I leave some? We can"t let the food go to waste!]
[Keuk...!]
[Arogan!]
Although Metafel"s body had become fat, he could charge incredibly fast, and if Ellata hadn"t kicked Arogan away, then he would"ve been in Metafel"s stomach right now without being able to resist.
[Eat this!]
Then, Ellata struck the ground, creating a wall of dirt. By adding her force and her mana into it, she could change the ground; that was Ellata"s ability as a hero. Because of that, Metafel ended up eating dirt rather than Arogan.
[Kek, don"t get in the way! I"ll eat you all... and become a perfect warrior!]
[You disgusting b.a.s.t.a.r.d... how dare you call yourself a warrior!]
Although she had died once before, she hadn"t forgotten her pride as a warrior, nor the t.i.tan"s Pride. Thus, to her (Ellata is indeed a woman), Metafel was the very definition of trash, as he, Metafel, had lost all reason and had a.s.sumed such a disgusting form.
But while deliberating how she could follow up from her dirt wall and inflict more damage onto him, she suddenly felt a new power surging through her entire body.
[Mm, could this be...?]
[Kyaha!]
But one problem with that was that Metafel had likewise sensed that energy. Metafel had forgotten all about eating Arogan and Ellata and raised his head; he abandoned all those he had been fighting thus far and began to run towards the source of the energy.
[Yeah, that"s probably the tastiest! I should eat that first!]
[No!]
[Stop him!]
Aside from Arogan, who still hadn"t recovered from his paralysis, all the other troops panicked and followed behind Metafel. However, Metafel ran with such speed that it seemed as though he"d activated a new skill, as he soon lost them and began running towards his destination. Ultimately, he broke through the final barrier in one go.
An Eater possessed a skill that weakened spatial or magical restraints once they had picked their target!
[There you are!]
"d.a.m.n it. I can"t move right now...!"
Lee Shin Woo, Kratia, and Rem were working hard on manufacturing the golem, but once Lee Shin Woo saw Metafel break through the last spatial barrier and could see him with the naked eye, he furrowed his brow.
The three were applying the mana extremely delicately and were finishing up by engraving a magic circle onto the core itself. Once they were finished with this, they would be able to synchronize the main body and the core, which would finally allow Lee Shin Woo to operate the golem.
"So why now!? He came at the worst time!"
This was such a cliche situation; they were almost finished with their task, but the enemy comes rushing in to interfere! Lee Shin Woo grit his teeth, as he couldn"t look away from the core, but there was someone already blocking Metafel"s way.
[I"ll buy you some time.]
Shino Rendu said calmly and stepped forward. Lee Shin Woo actually felt uneasy from how calm Shino was, but he didn"t have the time to say that. After all, Metafel was already quite close.
Shino"s right arm was wrapped in a red light and swelled. He took a step forward, face absent of any fear. While sensing an overpowering ma.s.s rushing towards him.
[Give it to me!]
[Heup!]
Right after Metafel"s greed-filled scream resounded through the grounds... Kw.a.n.g! Which was accompanied by the sound of an explosion. Was that the sound of Kratia"s barrier exploding?
[Guooooooooooh!]
That wasn"t it. Shino Rendu had desperately mustered his strength and forcefully uppercut Metafel"s groin with his red fist... or what used to be his groin. The sound had been a result of Shino Rendu"s fist making contact with Metafel"s groin.
The lower body armor, which had protected him, broke apart, and rotten flesh, tongues, and rotten flesh spewed everywhere, so something had definitely burst. Something that was quite precious to a man!
[Kuhaaaaaaaahk!]
Was that really the power of a level 6? The power behind Shino Rendu"s fist had temporarily overcome its limits and the level 8 Eater hadn"t been able to endure his blow, as Metafel flew through the air. He only flew into the air for a short while, but to those witnessing the event, it seemed like it lasted an eternity.
[I"ve only taken a single step, but I feel like I"ve caught up to you a little bit, Paul Zero.]
Shino Rendu said proudly. His own right arm hadn"t been able to endure the shock, as his muscles and even bones had been ripped apart. However, he soon activated his other cheat skill, Super Regeneration, and healed his injuries.
Normally, when one gets a hit in like this, they would turn the tables on their enemy, but that wasn"t the case here.
[How dare you lay your hands on the body of one of the 12 generals!]
[Haht!]
Metafel"s rage had peaked and he attempted to wrap Shino Rendu with hundreds of tongues, but before they could reach him, Chi Paul shot out dozens of bone blades, severing them. Immediately after, Bisher Moon arrived, grabbed onto Shino, and retreated.
[Can you keep fighting?]
[I can, as long as my wound heals. My mana"s overflowing now after I absorbed the surrounding heat.]
[As expected...! There was a reason you were waiting here!]
It wasn"t just them. Ellata, who had arrived a bit late, drew a giant spear from the earth and looked at Metafel. The one-armed Arogan concentrated his energy into his remaining arm, letting out quite a bit of energy.
[Eek, Eeeeeeeek...!]
Metafel was severely wounded, so it would take him a lot of time to get through them.
[We might not even need the golem, Paul Zero. Your subordinates are just that strong.]
There were four level 7 elites facing Metafel, as well as Shino Rendu, who was becoming stronger at an exponential rate.
[But it"s the general responsibility to take down the enemy general, so we"ll leave it to you. After the golem is finished, that is.]
Of course, they were bluffing. If they were capable of taking Metafel down by themselves, then Lee Shin Woo wouldn"t have gone through so much trouble. However, he decided to believe in their bluff. Lee Shin Woo used his mana to sublimate the core even further and grinned.
"Alright, I"ll be there in a minute."