The battle was fierce. The Eater, Metafel, had set his sights on the core and rushed towards it. The elites couldn't back off, so long as Lee Shin-Woo was behind them.

[We have to avoid a direct confrontation. We have to be especially wary of those tongues. Each and every one of them has High Rank Paralysis. All his skills are meant to help him eat his prey...!]

[This asshole's really tough... Shino!]

[Huh!]

Shino stepped forward as the one least worried about self-preservation.

He was aware of his limitations as a level 6, and the only skill that would allow him to overcome those limits and damage Metafel was...funnily enough, a skill called Titan Punch; he focused everything he had into the punch.

Once he used the skill, he wouldn't be able to move for quite a long time, but because he was fighting the target of his revenge, Metafel, the damage dealt would be amplified, which allowed him to inflict quite a substantial injury!

[Kuhaaaaaahk!]

[Now! Open wide. Eat ice and dirt!]

Shino was responsible for the offense, while the Giants were entirely responsible for defense. They wouldn't let Metafel advance even a single step!

Ellata was especially helpful in this regard since she had the ability to control the earth as she pleased. While Metafel’s now giant mouth of a body opened wide, the Giant pelted him with ice and earth, preventing him from attacking or advancing. Hers was the best skill to counter Metafel.

[Kuwaaaah!]

[Damn it!]

However, Metafel soon familiarized himself with her attack pattern. He sucked in ice and dirt continuously before spitting it back out at Ellata!

Moreover, his saliva was mixed into the projectile, which contained a powerful acid and had a paralyzing quality. It was quite the attack. Ellata quickly formed an earth wall, but the attack was so strong that her wall broke almost instantaneously.

[Keuk!]

[This dirty bastard really...]

[Hoo, here I come!]

Right when Ellata was about to be hit by Metafel's vomit, intense flames rose up into the air and burned it. Chi Pual had joined in the fight.

[This is the power of the flames that Master gave me!]

The mana surging throughout his body turned into flames, and he shot them out at Metafel, halting his advance. Metafel pressed forward like he intended to eat those flames as well, but fortunately, he seemed to be incompatible with elemental power!

Perhaps the reason Kratia had been able to stop his evolution for so long was because of this weakness of his karma. Metafel hadn't been able to completely absorb the fire, and the fire burst within his stomach, causing internal damage.

[How troublesome! I'll roast and eat you all!]

[You'll be cooked before you get the chance!]

From a level 7 elite, the flames were hot enough that they left deep scorching marks on his body, but Metafel was ridiculously large.

Even after being burnt, Metafel continued to advance. Bisher Moon rushed over to join in the battle, using his sharp nails to sever Metafel's tongues without pause.

[Damn it. I cut and I cut, but there's no end to them. Moreover, it feels like my body is melting away just by getting close...! So this is what a level 8 is like!]

[Don't falter. There's nowhere left to retreat!]

[Tch... Kuhaaaaaaahk!]

Bisher wrapped his body in darkness. He had been preserving mana, but decided that now was the time to use it; the moment he released all that mana, Bisher became one with his clan's symbol, the very moon which didn't exist in the Empire.

The miraculous connection caused Bisher's arms to become hotter, and his nails to become longer.

[I didn't...come back to be devoured by this two-bit beast!]

With its substantial mana consumption, he couldn't maintain the skill for very long, but if he didn't use it now, he wouldn't have a chance to. All ten of his fingernails were as sharp as the finest blade, and he swung them forward. Even a level 8's body wouldn’t be impervious to such an attack!

[Kuooooooht!]

[I'll cut everything on you!]

Chi Paul and Bisher Moon fought hard, causing Metafel to accrue injuries nonstop. While they kept him busy, Shino Rendu launched another powerful attack, forcing Metafel to take a few steps back.

[You bastarrrrrrrds!]

He wanted to eat the Giants and the fragrant mana beyond them! As the elites thwarted his attempts again and again, his desire continued to swell until it reached its peak.

At that moment, his body cracked, and deep black tongues burst out from between those cracks. Anything that ‘Metafel’ used to comprise, be it his bones, blood vessels, muscles, or even skin, was now optimized for eating.

[Kuhaat!]

[Keuk!?]

A level 8 individual could force the surrounding mana to assimilate with them. Anyone within their 'turf' would be weakened, or even incapacitated.

Metafel instinctively pushed the ability to its very limit, corrupting the surrounding mana with his karma and injecting it with an Eater’s characteristics.

[I can't move...!]

[The magic!]

They felt like Metafel was sucking in the ambient mana. It was quite shudder-inducing, but contrary to what one might think, it was only a preparation that came before the actual eating.

[Kuhaa...]

Metafel took a step forward. The moment he assimilated the mana, his body broke down, but in its place, countless tongues took over; now his body was entirely composed of tongues. Bones of tongues, skin of tongues, blood of tongues, muscles of tongues... Metafel's body overflowed with tongues, as if ready to eat each and every one of them.

[Eat... I'll eat you all!]

[Kaha!]

[Kiik!?]

However, the moment he was about to begin eating, Arogan, who was able to resist the devouring mana, rushed forward and attacked Metafel by himself. Metafel stretched out his tongues to eat him and the others, but Arogan desperately grabbed all the tongues and yanked.

[Where do you think... Kuaaaaaaaah!]

[Keuk, you troublesome bastard!]

Arogan's ability as a hero was 'taunt', which would monopolize his opponent's attention, forcing all their actions and even magic to target him.

The skill allowed him to be a shield for his party, and that was how he had lived his life. By taunting one last time, he had decided to sacrifice his undead life to save the rest of his party!

[Arogan!]

[I've already lost an arm. It's better that I sacrifice myself, Ellata! Survive until the very end and stay by the Titan's side!]

Although Arogan had bought enough time for her to retreat, she not only didn't take the chance, but attempted to save him. Therefore, Arogan yelled firmly to dissuade her. He pushed his skill to its limit, drawing all of Metafel's tongues towards him until his body was no longer visible.

[Keuk. Urgh...!]

[Arogaaaaan!]

Arogan was gone. Through his sacrifice, Bisher, Chi Paul, and Shino Rendu managed to retreat with great difficulty. They gasped even though they could no longer breathe and kept their eyes on Metafel, while Ellata, unable to contain her fury, struck the ground to encase both her hands with dirt and ice before charging at Metafel.

[Give me back my comrade, you monster!]

It felt like her body was overflowing with power. She was sure that it was because of her anger and believed it to be so. However...

[Kuhaaaaaaaahk!]

Metafel screamed before she could land a hit. Ellata’s fists faltered in her surprise. Did her intent land a strike before she could reach him physically? At that moment, a portion of Metafel's body, which had become a mass of tongues, burst.

[Huaaaaaaaaaah!]

A Giant's roar resounded throughout the area. It wasn't Ellata, but Arogan!

[Lv7 Bone Titan Knight - Arogan]

Ellata's eyes widened when she saw Arogan tear through a portion of Metafel's body and re-emerge. Arogan had been reborn; his once rotten body had been replaced head to toe by tough, jet-black bones.

[Titan! Oh Titan!]

[Oh, ooooh...]

He'd lost all his flesh, but that didn't mean he was weaker. On the contrary, the essence of his karma had enriched his bones and made him even stronger... Plus, his lost arm had been restored in bone form.

His power was incomparably stronger than before Metafel swallowed him!

[The same is happening to you, Ellata!]

[Is that so...!?]

[Kuaaaaaaaaaah!]

Metafel screamed in acute pain and shot his tongues at Arogan! However, Arogan stretched out his jet black arm and blocked them.

[Kuuuuuu! Ellata!]

[Kihiaaaah!]

Of course, there was still a clear level disparity. He was still weaker than Metafel in terms of pure strength, and his reinforced bones would still melt.

However, he could endure it. He could fight him head-on. Seeing that, Ellata felt something inside of her, some core part of her was sublimating into something greater. Realization hit her then.

The Titan has returned.

They'd already heard that the Titan's power would not last forever. They'd also heard that the Titan's appearance might not be as they imagined. However, the Titan Tribe had prayed and wished for the Titan's return for hundreds of years, and those prayers themselves had become a mass of karma, accumulating within the Giants' minds and bodies.

And when the Titan walked upon the land of Heita once more, the karma was now theirs to pick! It was exclusive to them, and would bestow upon them the Titan's Pride!

[Huooooooooh!]

Just like Arogan, Ellata roared as her body began to change. Because she hadn't lost her flesh, there was a different kind of evolution available to her. Rather than becoming a Bone Titan, her body shrunk down to about 2 meters; in exchange, not only did her muscles and bones become tougher, but her once dead blood had been replaced by pure mana, running through her blood vessels.

Her rotten equipment broke apart just like her once rotten body, and she was now cladded in red bone armor. All of the karma, or Perium, she had amassed in her life sublimated into a greater form.

[Lv7 Titan Armored Knight - Ellata]

She was repaid for the karma she'd amassed for so many years, but it wouldn’t make sense for her to be the only one, would it? The Giants, hidden deep within their territory, roared and came out of hiding due to their surging power. They were all being reborn as new elites!

[Lv6 Elite Titan Knight]

[Lv6 Elite Titan Rider]

[Lv5 Elite Titan Soldier]

Hundreds of Giants overflowed with new strength and new mana. The ice that hadn’t been melted for decades now melted under the heat and became streams of water, and even that water soon evaporated.

The ground was exposed. The earth that had been hidden for so many years along with the Titan's Heart was so pure and clean. It was like a blessing to the Giants.

"Oh..."

Freed from lugging Lee Shin-Woo around for a change, Jin saw the Giants as they roared from all directions. There was only one thing he could think of at this moment.

"I feel like it'd be a cinch if we fight Ethan Cruz now..."

"Don't be careless. But against Metafel, yeah, we’d win by a landslide."

Kratia wiped her forehead proudly. The intense manufacturing was done, and the fruits of her labor obtained. Creating this Golem had significantly increased her skill level in artifact manufacturing, so she couldn't help but be happy. However, what made her even happier was...

"Go get him, Titan."

…The fact that she'd brought back a legend with her very own hands.

[Yeah.]

The Titan, Lee Shin-Woo, replied.

Returning in the form of a red skeleton, the Titan took a step forward.