The smoke didn't just clear; it was violently blown away by the force of the entity solidifying. What stood before everyone now was not a hazy humanoid, but a towering mountain of raw muscle and opulent corruption.
This spirit was a true giant, standing even an inch taller than the legendary Kratos. He possessed the kind of physique that made normal warriors look like matchsticks. Yet, he wore no traditional armor. Instead, his entire massive torso and defined chest were completely exposed, showing skin that pulsed with faint, gold-colored mana veins.
He was draped in a vulgar amount of wealth. Thick, heavy gold chains were wrapped around his huge forearms, acting as both armor and cuffs. Hundreds of other gold necklaces and chains, studded with oversized, dark gems, were layered around his neck, clinking softly with every shift of his weight. His face was a mask of perpetual, angry arrogance.
Everyone stands frozen in pure shock, staring at the colossal figure that has just materialized. Even the air seems to have turned into lead. Amidst the gasping Goddesses and the wide-eyed Haruto, Aeterna remains the only one unmoved. She stands with her chin held high, radiating absolute pride as she watches her "creation" dominate the room.
The giant doesn't move immediately. He slowly turns his massive head, his glowing eyes scanning every face in the hall one by one, like a predator evaluating prey. His voice, deep and resonant, breaks the silence. He demands to know who summoned him to this plane.
Before anyone can answer, his gaze locks onto Toya. There is no need for introductions; the spirit instantly reads the mana connection binding them. He looks Toya up and down, evaluating his master's physical frame. His eyes see everything:
A body that is nothing more than an average human.
A physical vessel that looks fragile compared to the excessive, overflowing mana surging within it.
Toya stands there, feeling the crushing weight of the giant's shadow. He swallows hard, his throat dry, feeling the massive gap between his human capability and the spirit's overwhelming power. He manages to find his voice just long enough to offer a small "hello".
The tension in the room reaches a breaking point as the massive spirit takes a heavy step toward Toya. He looms over him, his gold chains clinking like a countdown.
"I will ask one more time to confirm," the spirit rumbles, his voice vibrating through the floorboards. "Was it truly you who called me from the depths?"
Toya, though his legs are shaking, looks up and nods. "Yes. It was me."
The giant lets out a short, mocking breath. "Impossible. A human this weak shouldn't be able to lift even a link of my chains. In this room, only a being with divine essence should have the caliber to summon me."
He slowly raises a massive, gold-cuffed finger and points it directly at Bellona. Because of her intense training and her high tolerance for the pain of combat, her aura is the sharpest among the Goddesses. "You," the spirit says to her. "You have the scars of a warrior. You are the only one here who looks capable... and yet, I feel the mark of another weapon spirit already bound to your soul."
The giant turns his head, his glowing eyes searching for the source of the anomaly. That's when he sees him.
He turns toward Haruto, who is standing calmly with Aeterna. At first glance, the spirit sees a boy who looks even magically weaker than Toya. But then, the giant activates his Mana Scan.
The spirit freezes.
The "Gold Authority" he radiates suddenly As he traces the mana threads in the room, he realizes a terrifying truth: Every single thread of energy in this hall—the Goddesses' power, the mansion's foundation, even the air itself—is being pulled toward Haruto. Haruto isn't just a participant in this room; he is the center of gravity. He is the "Owner" of the very space they stand in.
The giant spirit's face contorted with pure rage. His massive gold chains rattled with a deafening sound as he looked down at Toya with absolute disgust.
"You?!" the giant roared, the air around him scorching with golden heat. "An SSS+ Rank spirit like me, summoned by a human who looks like he can barely carry his own weight? This is an insult to the Abyss! And to make it worse, you are tethered to a leader who is even weaker!"
The Goddesses stood in stunned silence. Their eyes darted between Toya and Aeterna. It was official: Toya had actually pulled an SSS+ Rank entity from the Void. But they were more focused on the giant's mistake. He had called Haruto "weak" because Haruto was currently in "Rest Mode," his stats suppressed. They knew that the moment Haruto flicked his Aura Control or got even slightly excited, his levels would jump like a glitched speedrun—skipping numbers so fast it didn't even make sense.
Haruto, however, just looked at the giant with a blank, bored stare. He didn't understand why the muscle-bound spirit was throwing a tantrum.
"Why are you so angry?" Haruto asked, scratching his head. "You just got here."
The spirit turned his glowing eyes toward Haruto, his voice dripping with venom. "Why am I angry? I do not accept this pact! It is simple: this human is weak. I have no idea how a peasant like him generated the mana to call me, but I refuse to be bound to such pathetic stats!"
The training hall felt like a ticking time bomb. The Goddesses and Toya stood there, frozen, watching the SSS+ Spirit—completely disrespecting his contractor and Haruto.
"Is this guy serious?" Toya muttered, his face pale but his eyes sparking with annoyance. "He's calling us weak while he's literally tethered to my soul?"
But before the giant could let out another arrogant roar, the temperature in the room dropped to sub-zero. A heavy, suffocating pressure pushed everyone's shoulders down.
Aeterna stepped forward.
She wasn't the "cute daughter" anymore. Her red eyes were glowing with a terrifying, ancient light, and the shadows around her feet began to writhe like living snakes. She walked right up to the towering giant, looking like a tiny doll standing before a mountain, but the mountain was the one that started to tremble.
"Listen to me, you overgrown pile of scrap gold," Aeterna hissed, her voice echoing with the power of the Origin.
"You didn't come here because you were invited to a banquet. You wer
e produced by me Rutherford."