章 58: Final Embrace

A drone of sound as deep as the ocean filled the cavernous throne room.

The God of War and Unending Flame sighed as she stared at the flickering image before her, the familiar sight of Goleil within the Colosseo wavering.

She lazily waved her hand through the fading cloud, dispelling her view onto the mortal plain and her Will. The Guardsman had been victorious, but at what cost to her?

She was slumped against her empty stone throne, the high ceiling disappearing above her.

"Just what was that strange power?" She murmured as a bead of sweat ran down her face. A chill went down her spine as she remembered the dark red mana that poured from Goleil. "It was sickening to even look at, much less try to figure out."

Her brows furrowed, and her lips pressed together tightly. "I can sense an interference between us, but I can't tell if it's because of my weakness or something else. I thought the mask would be enough!"

Four Praetorian Guards stood around her, all staring down at the hundreds of hulking figures in front of her, filling her view.

Giants. Pure and untainted, their power rippled along their stone-like skin. Runes of power engraved onto their bodies, their strange voices becoming one. They were her most ancient and most powerful children.

The song they wove invigorated Vrea, but Giants could only prolong her life. Mana and power came from humans and humans alone.

Vrea gritted her teeth as she gripped the armrest of her stone throne.

"How did that damn old man do it? I tried for centuries to no avail; how did he manage to make a race innately capable of magic?!"

The kneeling Giants trembled as they sensed her anger rising.

An ominous cracking came from her throne. "I wouldn't have even lent my power if it weren't for his accursed thrall!"

The behemoths had left a corridor from her throne to the balcony, allowing the goddess to view the setting sun. Purples and blues filled the sky above her domain, the soft lights of bustling life within a sprawling city contrasting with the darkening sky.

The tip of the sun peeked above the horizon, hovering there.

She felt her spirit waver for but a moment. The Shackles of Asmodeus had never been closer than they were at this moment.

"My Will must begin my conquest soon, or I will not be able to hold on much longer."

...

It wielded no weapon nor donned any armor. Not even a loincloth covered it.

A bloated figure far taller than Goleil emerged from a portal, its sickly pale skin reflecting the purple-blue mana.

Unlike his past adversaries, he could see this one's face. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to see beyond rolls of uncharacteristically firm fat.

It was impossible even to see the man's eyes, much less facial expressions.

"By the Flame, what is this thing?" Goleil said as he took a step back, unprepared for the sight.

Ty'Bral scoffed. "This is what took down the great Sir Khalid bin Walid, strongest warrior of Redvale?".

Goleil narrowed his eyes. 'There must be more to this. I have to strike quickly and decisively!'

He plunged his spear toward the creature, expecting a flurry of motion and countless possibilities.

It did nothing.

Goleil's glaive tore through the creature's chest once, twice, three times.

The Sun Knight chuckled as he admired his handiwork, the creature looking down at its wounds.

Ty'Bral looked at the creature with a different light. He felt he recognized this thing; a name was on the tip of his tongue, yet gone like the wind. Perhaps a relic of his broken memories that hadn't quite returned.

"Perhaps I'm too fast for him? That would be a welcome change," Goleil whispered as he studied the creature's posture, and an unsettling feeling crept over him. His adversary was far too calm and composed.

He realized with a jolt that despite tearing three holes in the creature, it hadn't shed a single drop of blood.

Goleil watched in horror as the holes began to close as if being stitched together by an apprentice tailor.

A chill went down his spine, and his body reacted before he could think.

Mana exploded from his body, coalescing around the tip of his glaive as he drove it towards the abomination's head, trying to end the fight before it could start.

In one swift motion, the creature's skull smashed apart, leaving only a neck remaining.

Goleil breathed heavily as he prayed to Vrea.

Unfortunately, flesh began to roil, and skin undulated as fat seemed to shimmy along its body to the head, reforming it in a second.

The Sun Guard could feel the blood rushing through his veins as he watched in disgust at the mesmerizing scene in front of him.

His brows furrowed as he revisited that the monster had defeated Sir Khalid bin Walid. It seemed to him like a massive finishing move would be needed to completely defeat it, or perhaps he could carve off bits of it at a time until it no longer had fat on its body.

"Stay still, depraved creature," Goleil said as he began to chip away at the creature's arms and legs while maintaining his distance.

Unfortunately, his enemy had other plans.

As if the maw of an enormous beast, an unnatural seam opened from the creature's shoulder to hip, revealing rows of orange teeth within its bulbous body. Dozens of smaller mouths opened all along its body, from its hands, its arms, its legs.

The fat pulled away from its eyes, revealing two tongues wriggling where its eyes should have been, the eyelids lazily resting on the tongues.

Its mouth moved grotesquely as it grinned from ear to ear, massive fangs being revealed behind a curtain of fat. Within the cage of skinny fangs, a single massive eye rest in its mouth.

Even Ty'Bral couldn't help but recoil. Khalid's stomach churned as he remembered seeing this monster for the first time, how the teeth tore at his skin.

Thankfully, it hadn't taken long to end his misery.