That massive warehouse door wasn't merely shaking; it felt as if a cataclysm was held back behind it. The screeching sound of clashing metal was piercing our ears. We all rushed toward that door because we realized that whatever lay behind it was not ordinary.
Then, a shiver ran through the air. That door, which would have been impossible for an ordinary human to break, began to bend inward as if it were made merely of paper. Suddenly—Crack!—with a terrifying sound, a hole appeared right in the middle of the door, and a giant hand thrust out from it. My soul trembled at that sight. That hand was entirely deep green, marked with numerous wounds, and its nails were as long and sharp as the daggers of a predatory beast.
That hand ripped the sheet of the door right through the middle like an old cloth, tearing it into two parts. Consequently, the pitch-black space inside the warehouse was now before us, but whatever was hidden in that darkness was now slowly moving toward the light.
As that shadow emerged into the light, our breath hitched. For now, standing before us was a 10-foot-tall, ferocious green-colored Giant (Abomination). There was a strange yellow glow in his eyes, and the stench emanating from his body was so strong it caused nausea. But the real shock came when another similar, heavy shadow emerged from behind that giant. This meant he was not alone; there were two of them. Now, two mountain-like giants stood in our path, their growls creating vibrations in the air.
The sight of those monsters was more gruesome than any horrific nightmare. On their massive frames were deep wounds and burn marks in various places that would make the soul shudder—as if they had been thrown into a hellish furnace. The green color of their skin did not look like that of a living creature but instead appeared lifeless and foul like a rotting corpse. Their bodies did not have the toned muscles of a warrior; instead, their flesh was flabby. Their stomachs and other body parts were so bloated that they looked less like giants and more like 'Walking Corpses.'
But the most shocking thing was the blue crystal-like layers on their bodies, which were stuck to many parts of their green flesh. Looking at them, it seemed as if those blue crystals had removed their skin and taken its place. Those crystals scattered a mysterious and terrifying blue glow in the dim light. Seeing their bulging veins and those hard blue layers, it wasn't difficult to guess that these were not creations of nature but the result of some disgusting black magic or experiment.
"What on earth are these?" I asked in a voice stifled by disgust and fear.
"Where did these giant-like 'Abominations' come from?" To which Vyuk replied, answering my question, that they hadn't come from anywhere; rather, they had been 'Summoned.'
Surprised, I asked, "So are these some kind of Summoning creatures?" Vyuk replied, "Yes, absolutely."
Then I said, "Then perhaps that woman must have summoned them." At this, Vyuk gave me a slight smile and said something that was a bit difficult for me to understand:
"See, if an enemy stands right in front of you, they are nothing more than an obstacle. In that situation, you have only two choices: either surpass them with your skills or crush them entirely. It's a moment of pure equality, where only one rule applies: 'The strongest survives.' Only the most powerful will claim victory.
But, if the enemy stands behind you, they think they can stop you by driving a dagger into your back. They forget one crucial thing... when someone is standing behind you, the path ahead of you is completely empty! The path ahead is clear. You can sprint forward, and the moment the opportunity strikes, you can turn around and strike back."
At that moment, Vyuk's mysterious words were a bit difficult for me to grasp. Therefore, looking into Vyuk's eyes, I asked, "Vyuk, what exactly do you mean? Your words are going beyond my understanding."
Looking toward those ferocious giants in the warehouse, Vyuk replied, "Look Jona, what I actually meant was that we were behaving exactly like the enemy who thought we had chased that woman away by putting her in trouble once. We became carefree, thinking that perhaps the victory was ours, without knowing that she could strike back. And look, see how the situation has become now. We have a dual challenge. We must not only protect those people whom we rescued from that woman's clutches and who haven't fully regained consciousness, but we also have to catch that woman. But with these two giants here, doing all of this together is next to impossible."
Vyuk's words presented a terrifying picture before me. That woman hadn't run away; instead, she had entangled us with these giants so that she could take her next step. Those innocent people, who were still lying at the harbor in a semi-conscious state, were merely easy prey for these giants.
"That means," I said, "she summoned them here not to kill us, but to stop us?"
The roar emerging from the torn doors of the dark warehouse was like the herald of a cataclysm. Before we could form our strategy, both giants attacked us at once. With their heavy footsteps, the concrete ground of the harbor was cracking like glass.
"Scatter!" Vyuk's voice echoed, and we all jumped in different directions. A massive green hand, as thick as the trunk of an old banyan tree, landed exactly where I had been standing a moment ago. Consequently, a cloud of rubble and dust rose into the air. As the dust cleared, the battlefield had been split into two parts.
Vyuk lunged toward the first giant with lightning speed. As the giant slammed his heavy hand down, Vyuk leapt into the air like a gymnast and, stepping on the giant's hand, reached directly near his shoulder. Then Vyuk landed a powerful punch on the joint of the giant's neck. The giant's head snapped back, but he immediately turned to try and grab Vyuk. Vyuk was in the air again. He was avoiding the strikes of the giant's legs and punches while doing acrobatics, and at every open opportunity, he was striking at his knees and joints with full force. Vyuk's fighting was like that of a martial artist—precise, lethal, and extremely fast.
On the other side, the second giant was advancing toward the three of us. One of his eyes was like a blue crystal, because of which that eye was scattering a strange frenzy and its color had deepened.
Seeing the giant approaching, Historia nimbly took a sword from one of those military soldiers. This was because those ordinary military soldiers were not Paragons, due to which their speed and strikes would not work on those giants, nor did they have the strength to face them. But Historia surprised me again with her capability. Holding the sword, she slid past the giant's feet and delivered a deep cut to his ankle with the blade.
And now I also pulled out my gun and fired, aiming directly at the giant's eyes. The bullet deflected after hitting the blue crystal near his face, but that attack distracted him for a moment.
"Now it's my turn!" Helena's roar was heard.
She gripped the handle of her axe with both hands. Suddenly, an aura like flames began to emerge from that weapon. After that, Helena took a long leap. The blade of her axe cut through the air and sliced through the giant's chest. Because of that attack, the giant retreated, but he did not die from Helena's strike. Instead, he swung his massive hand in the air and tried to throw Helena far away.
Then I pulled out my tarot cards. I transformed the cards into a weapon using my 'Paper Hardening' ability. Then I threw those tarot cards to wound the giant. The cards cut through the air and embedded themselves in the giant's body, causing green blood to flow from the parts where the cards hit. Although my strike wasn't powerful enough to defeat the giant, it slowed his movement for a few seconds.
Historia swung her sword with full force and struck the part behind the giant's elbow. Due to Historia's attack, green blood gushed out like a fountain and the giant groaned in pain.
Meanwhile, Helena swung her axe once again. This time the power emerging from her axe was so intense that the surrounding air began to heat up. Seeing this, it felt as if she had unified her 'Aurum' power with the energy of that 'Hallowed' weapon. Helena's next strike landed directly on the giant's neck, and the blade of the axe sliced right through that tough flesh.
The first giant, who was slightly wider in stature than the second, lunged toward Vyuk with all his strength. He picked up a heavy iron chain standing near the warehouse and swung it in the air like a whip. The chain hit the concrete ground and created a deep crater. Vyuk saved himself by an inch from that strike and climbed directly onto the giant's chest. He was as agile as a monkey. He concentrated his internal energy (Essence) into his punches. This caused that same greyish blue energy to gather around his fists, which I was perhaps fully familiar with.
Every punch hit the giant's chest like a hammer and created unbearable pain. The giant groaned and tried to shake Vyuk off his body, but Vyuk gripped his neck with his legs and unleashed a barrage of kicks on his face. The giant's green blood was splattering on Vyuk's face, but he showed no signs of stopping.
On the other side, the second giant was attacking us by slicing through the air with his heavy palm. Historia, who held the sword, was now acting like a seasoned warrior. She dragged the sword on the ground and again slid between the giant's heavy legs, delivering a deep cut behind his knee. This strike threw the giant off balance.
"My turn!" I shouted and threw my tarot cards at the giant again. The tarot cards sank straight into his skin. Then I used my 'Thunder Nature' specialty, because of which my speed increased manifold. In the blink of an eye, I was behind the giant's back. Then I pulled out a 'Paper Knife' from my waist and stabbed it into the giant's back. From there, the same green blood began to flow out again.
"Get out of the way!" Helena's thundering voice came. Her axe was now in full attack mode. Deep red fire-like flames were emerging from the weapon's blade. Helena gathered all her strength and took a 5-foot-high leap into the air. She swung her axe in a circle—"The Great Slash!"
The axe sliced through the giant's body and sank straight into his ribs. But in the next moment, that giant was still not dead; the blue crystals present on his body had saved him once again.