[Little child, who are you?]
Three of the countless arms that stretched out from the gods were holding me, Yoo Jonghyuk and Kim Namwoon. I hung in the air and stared at the giant with disbelieving eyes.
The door opened so easily? I couldn’t understand it. The door that sealed the place below the 77th floor originally couldn’t be opened from the inside. It was the same in the 47th round and the 211th round. That’s why I prepared the offering in advance…
[Um… the probability is difficult. It’s getting worse these days.]
There was a sound and sparks of probability appeared around the bodies of the giants. The giant pulled off one of its fingers and threw it at the door. The sparks rushed like they had been waiting and melted away the finger. Then the sparks slowly faded away. It was an unbelievable sight.
The probability was replaced with one finger? Such a thing wasn’t possible in any of Yoo Jonghyuk’s rounds. An aura rose faintly from the giant’s body. The depths were hidden by an enormous ‘status’ that was unfathomable was sleeping inside the giant.
One of the oldest existences in the world. Myths accumulated over the years. My heart trembled just counting the years on the surface. This was a titan. It was unmistakably a titan. The myths that stirred in the giant’s body were worn but still alive. It was much different from the original novel I knew.
「 The energies of the ancient giant that Yoo Jonghyuk met was on the verge of death. 」
It was strange. All the giants relied on the giant stories of Titanomachy and Gigantomachia. As the influence of the myth weakened or the distortion of the traditions grew, their power weakened as well. Due to the habitual event of Olympus, their giant stories should’ve been considerably weakened by now.
[Boy, aren’t you going to answer? I am confident in waiting because my patience is as deep as the sea. I have already been waiting a long time but there is no reason I can’t wait longer.]
However, there was an unbelievable vitality coming from the giant in front of me. Thoughts passed through my head.
「 Maybe it is because I came to the Underworld too early? 」
Gigantomachia hadn’t happened yet and perhaps the decline of the giants hadn’t exceeded the threshold.
The giant continued speaking. [However… I don’t know if my other friends will be the same. It has been a while since children as delicious as you entered.]
Kim Namwoon was shaking and didn’t even think of answering. The giant stroked Kim Namwoon’s cheek like he was cute.
[You are a child with deep sin. A child like you is delicious to eat. The body of a giant soldier itself… were you the one torn last time?]
The prisoners who crashed underground while trying to escape Tartarus were usually fed to the giants. Kim Namwoon struggled and would already be foaming at the mouth if he was human.
The giant’s gaze turned to me again. [You have many good smells. A constellation, angel, demon, human… there is even an outer god. What type of stories are these?]
I didn’t answer. Sometimes this was a clearer answer than words. The opponent might be an ancient god but I couldn’t be intimidated from the start.
[The status of a ‘demon king’ is released!]
I emerged from the grip of the giant and the giant’s appearance became clearer. The size of the giant was beyond my imagination. It was almost 100 metres in height… in the first place, I couldn’t fight this existence.
[I’m going to eat this child.]
[Let’s tear him in half.]
Voices came from all over the place. I opened my mouth and gave a cold warning. “We aren’t prey.”
“We have come to negotiate.” Yoo Jonghyuk also contributed.
Yoo Jonghyuk released his transcendence and also escaped the giant’s hand. However, the giant replied in an unconcerned manner. [It isn’t your decision.]
I knew it would be like this. The destruction of the giants ultimately derived from this arrogance.
I used my true voice without further delay. [It is nice to meet you. The great ‘Hundred-Handers, the three Hecatoncheires brothers.]
At my words, 300 eyes simultaneously opened in the darkness. These eyes belonged to only three giants.
The three giants spoke at the same time.
[Interesting. You came here knowing about us?]
50 heads and 100 arms, the Hundred-Handers. I knew the names of these titans.
The strongest storm, Briareus.
The rushing stone, Cottus.
The changing limbs, Gyges
They were living myths who had experienced both Titanomachy and Gigantomachia. All the stories of Olympus were accumulated in their bodies. If they were ‘books’, I felt like I could sit here for decades reading them.
[The Fourth Wall is greedy for the taste.]
Perhaps this was a myth. The oldest story in the world. Things that had been passed down to mortals and finally formed a worldview.
The appearance of the three gods was the same but their eyes were different colours. Briareus had blue eyes, Cottus had brown eyes and Gyges had green eyes. I gazed at the hundreds of eyes and opened my mouth again.
[I have come to liberate all the giants from Tartarus.]
My true voice echoed and spread. Perhaps it was enough to be heard by all of Tartarus, not just the Hecatoncheires. In the darkness, the sound of some giants moving their bodies was heard. However, nobody opened their mouths.
It was because the titans in front of us didn’t say anything. The reactions of the Hecatoncheires to my words were different. Cottus was grumpy while Gyges looked tired. Only Briareus was different.
[What a funny joke. I want to eat you even more.]
I didn’t back down despite the intimidating threat and smiled. “As you can see, I’m too small for you to taste. You will have to eat more than me.”
I looked over at Yoo Jonghyuk. As if he had been waiting, Yoo Jonghyuk’s muscles started twitching. Soon after, Yoo Jonghyuk’s body started to grow. 2 meters, 3 metres, 4 metres… Yoo Jonghyuk’s height increased rapidly as he held the Black Demon Sword while gazing at Briareus. Half of the many eyes were filled with doubt.
[…Giant Body Transformation? How do you have that skill?]
“I learnt it from you, Briareus.”
The power of the Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship filled the Black Demon Sword. Like a little hero going against the myth, Yoo Jonghyuk growled out. “To be exact, it was the you of the last ’round.’”
***
Technically, Yoo Jonghyuk’s teacher was only the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. The source of the power he possessed was the Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship trained through countless regressions.
However, Yoo Jonghyuk didn’t learn only one skill. Through numerous regressions, Yoo Jonghyuk had learnt various techniques from various beings.
Giant Body Transformation was one of them. It was gained through the stigma Transmission. In particular, Briareus who taught the Giant Body Transformation had a small connection with Yoo Jonghyuk. The evidence was the blue eyes that resembled the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
[A little while ago, a young giant visited here. I heard a story in exchange for awakening that child’s ‘destiny’… I wanted something but it was about you.]
In the First Murim, I promised to send the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint to Tartarus in exchange for her help. Perhaps Breaking the Sky Sword Saint told him about us at that time. I didn’t know what the stubborn transcendent had said but I thought the story might be resolved well.
[…The singularity mentioned by the constellation.]
[The presence moving a giant wagon…]
[The scenario is really heading towards ■■…]
There was an unknown tiredness in the voice of the giants who wanted to eat us a while ago. No, it was a voice close to resignation rather than a sense of liberation.
[I am interested in you. Then how do you want to liberate us?]
“I want to create Gigantomachia.”
I cut to the chase. I had ended up meeting the titans and it wasn’t good if I couldn’t get the job done.
The three Hecatoncheires brothers were the protagonists of Gigantomachia and Titanomachy. With these three, it wouldn’t be impossible to overturn Gigantomachia. “This side is ready. If you try―”
[I refuse.]
I was a bit hesitant at the decisive answer. “Why?”
[Young child. You won’t understand.]
Funnily enough, his words were true. I couldn’t understand why they would refuse the offer.
The three Hecatoncheires brothers and the giants were detained for a long time here in Tartarus. They hated this prison more than anyone and had a deep grudge against the 12 gods. Why did they refuse to be liberated?
「 Kim Dok ja’s head is ba d. 」
I quickly recalled the contents of Ways of Survival but couldn’t come up with the correct insight.
The information f the giants wasn’t described in detail in Ways of Survival. As the contact with the giants increased in the second half of the novel, Yoo Jonghyuk would rather pull out his sword than talk. I mean… just like now.
-Stop. We were really screwed if he moved his sword here.
I saw Yoo Jonghyuk release the hilt and looked back at the giants. I had to remember. How could I convince these lumps that were tens of thousands of years old?
Unexpectedly, Briareus opened his mouth first. [Young child, how many Gigantomachias do you think there are in the world?]
At this moment, letters appeared on the faces of the giants. The stories of the giants were started to speak. The sentences contained very old feelings.
[The effect of the ‘Scenario Interpreter’ is activated!]
[Your understanding of the story has increased sharply!]
I was able to glimpse the memories of the giants through these sentences. The history of the long-ago Titanomachy and Gigantomachia.
[The result of all scenarios is fixed. We are just a part of that scenario. We have already fought in numerous Gigantomachias that you don’t know.]
The 60th scenario, Gigantomachia. In that scenario, the giants were trampled on. Olympus won the war and periodically reopened Gigantomachia. The giants were brought to war again and again. They were dressed in ragged clothing and equipment and were hunted by hundreds of armed constellations and incarnations. The bloody wounds were false and their bravery mocked.
[We were defeated.]
It happened 10 times.
[We lost.]
100 times.
[Another defeat.]
It repeated over 1,000 times.
[Now you are telling us to stand on the battlefield again.]
Just like the regressor Yoo Jonghyuk.
[How long will you call out the spectres of the past? How long will you turn over the dead shells of the myth and insult them?]
The giants were ‘regressors’ in a different sense than Yoo Jonghyuk. Finally, they were exhausted by the ‘regressions.’
[Child, we don’t want liberation. We are no longer curious about the story.]
TL: Rainbow Turtle
