As soon as Erik and Leena landed beneath the giant, both sprinted toward one of its towering legs. But before they could take more than a few steps, the giant roared.
The sound wasn't just loud—it was pressure. Pure force. A wave of sound so dense it numbed their limbs and made the air feel like stone. Erik staggered. His knees buckled. For a brief moment, the world blurred.
When the roar faded, they resumed their charge.
Then—something shifted.
A massive pulse of mana erupted from the giant's body, flooding the air with raw energy. The atmosphere grew heavy, crackling with power. The creature's entire form glowed faintly as threads of mana wove through its muscles and skin like armor.
"It's reinforcing itself," Erik muttered.
Before Leena could respond, the giant suddenly twisted its torso and swung one of its legs toward them—a kick.
It moved impossibly fast.
In the blink of an eye, Leena grabbed Erik's wrist and blinked them away with a flash of teleportation magic—appearing above the giant's shoulder mid-fall.
As they descended, the giant reacted. It pulled back a fist and punched the air.
"He's too far—there's no way that'll—"
The shockwave hit like a wall of stone.
Before Erik could brace, Leena kicked him sideways out of the wave's path, taking the brunt of it herself. She spun midair, stabilizing, while Erik slammed into the giant's forearm.
Before he could slide off, he grabbed hold of a thick, jagged nail. Using the momentum, he swung around and landed squarely on the giant's hand. Without hesitation, he broke into a sprint—racing along the enormous limb toward the creature's head.
But the giant wasn't finished.
It raised its other hand to crush him.
A blur dropped in from above.
The old man came flying, holding the axe in both hands. He slammed it into the descending palm with a roar. The blade pierced through flesh and bone—stopping the hand cold as blood erupted around the wound.
Erik didn't stop. He sprinted up the arm, boots slamming against skin and muscle as the giant reeled.
The monster pulled its head back, jaw opening wide.
Another roar incoming.
Before it could release the blast, Leena landed directly on the giant's face. With one clean motion, she drove her spear straight through its lips, pinning its mouth shut.
"Erik!" she shouted.
He jumped.
Soared through the air.
His sword gleamed in the sunlight as he lunged toward the monster's left eye.
With a single cry, Erik buried his blade deep into the giant's eye socket.
"INFERNO!"
The sword ignited instantly.
Flames erupted—not outward, but inward—engulfing the entire left side of the giant's face in searing fire. The beast's scream was muffled by Leena's spear still jammed through its mouth, but its pain was unmistakable. Its body convulsed, staggering sideways under the assault.
—
Some weeks prior, during his training with Archmage Kruzen…
One of the core principles Erik was taught to master was a rare state called Singularity—a condition where one could channel the effects of Core Activation techniques without actually entering the Core activation state. Although the power of the attack itself will be a bit weaker.
In Erik's case, this meant being able to wield techniques like Flame Blade, Inferno, and even aspects of Fire Domain purely through refined mana control. No amplification. No burnout.
Achieving Singularity was considered near impossible for most adventurers—a goal that would take a lifetime of study and battle to reach. But for elite guild warriors, secret training methods had been developed by guild leaders to accelerate the process.
Brutal methods. Dangerous ones. Only those with the resilience and discipline to survive the mental strain were ever permitted to attempt it.
Erik's training was unique.
Each session began by emptying his mana pool completely by sparring with Leena while using Core activation. Then, through a rigid cycle of meditation and breathing, he was forced to refill it—again and again—while tracking every inch of its flow throughout his body.
The secret to Singularity was mastery of self—not power, not will, but understanding. A precise knowledge of how one's mana moved, responded, reacted.
With the blessing Archmage Kruzen had bestowed upon him—Walker's Eyes, allowed Erik to see and feel the flow of his own mana—he achieved control faster than most warriors would in a lifetime.
Now, back on the battlefield…
—
The shore cracked beneath the giant's feet as it screamed, body reeling from the burning pain.
Erik, Leena, and the old man leapt from its shoulders just before it thrashed again. Midair, a pulse of magic shimmered near them—a burst of wind, timed perfectly.
They were caught.
And then dropped gently to the ground beside Yosul.
"What now, Captain?" Leena asked, catching her breath.
Yosul stared at the writhing creature in the distance. Its flames had started to dim, but its rage had not. The burned side of its face oozed blood and charred fur. But it was still alive. Still standing.
"We don't know what'll happen if we kill that thing," Yosul said grimly. "If the relic's inside it, we might lose it entirely."
His eyes narrowed.
"We retreat. Tail it from a distance and observe. No further engagement until we're certain."
No one argued. The decision made too much sense.
As the giant screamed and stumbled across the black shore, Erik and the rest of the team began to pull back—slipping away into the shadow of the cliffs, their silhouettes vanishing into the dusk.