Chapter 118: The Smiling Death and the Butcher's Gambit
The freezing winds of the Northern Frost-Spire continued to batter the ice-igloo, but inside, the air was thick with a different kind of chill—the chill of suspicion. While Ren and Mina were caught in an emotional moment near the fire, two Vaners stood guard near the entrance, their eyes fixed on the man they had been told to follow.
"Look at them," one of the guards whispered, his voice barely audible over the gale. He adjusted his thermal visor, his eyes narrowed at Ren's back. "That's Ren Vority. The 'Butcher' himself. Did you hear the rumors? He's the one who caused that massive plane crash in the Outer Sector. Hundreds of people died because of his 'calculation'."
The second guard nodded, his hand tightening around the hilt of his Vane-dagger. "I know. I didn't even want to be on this team. How can we trust a man who has more blood on his hands than a Titan? I have zero percent trust in him. The moment I see him even flinch against the Captain or this mission, I won't hesitate. I'll kill him myself."
"I don't get why he was crying," the first guard added, looking confused. "A killer like him shouldn't have tears."
"It's a play, you idiot," the second one spat. "He's a manipulator. He's getting close to Captain Mina so he can use her. He knows she's from a high-ranking family. He's probably planning to use us as shields while he makes his own move. Just watch... the Butcher never does anything without a reason."
The Massacre of Team B
Miles away, the silence of the night was shattered by a sound that resembled the earth itself cracking open.
Adam Lee didn't even have time to scream. One moment he was in a deep, meditative sleep, and the next, the entire ceiling of the ice-igloo collapsed under a weight so massive it felt like a falling star.
CRUNCH.
The Titan's foot, covered in thick white fur and ice, slammed down onto the center of the camp. The force was so immense that the packed snow turned into deadly shrapnel.
Adam felt a blinding, white-hot flash of pain. He looked down and saw that his left arm was gone—crushed instantly beneath the Titan's heel. Blood sprayed onto the white snow, turning it a deep, haunting crimson.
Beside him, only one other member of Team B had survived the initial stomp, but it was a fate worse than death. The man's legs had been severed at the thighs, trapped under the rubble of the igloo. He lay there, his eyes wide with shock, his mouth opening in a silent scream.
The Titan lifted its massive foot. It was the "White Titan"—the predator with the yellow eyes. But instead of roaring, the monster did something that made Adam's heart stop. It leaned down, its face—which looked eerily human but distorted—came inches away from the dying Vaner.
Then, it smiled.
It wasn't a mindless expression. It was a wide, toothy grin of pure, sadistic joy. The Titan reached out with its clawed fingers, gently picking up the legless survivor like a child picking up a doll. Adam watched in horror, clutching his bleeding stump, as the Titan dropped the man into its gaping maw. The sound of bones snapping echoed through the canyon.
"No... no!" Adam gasped. He knew he couldn't fight. With only one arm and his team slaughtered, he had to survive. He had to warn the others.
Adrenaline, cold and sharp, flooded Adam's system. He scrambled to his feet, ignoring the agony of his missing limb. He began to run, his boots slipping on the blood-slicked ice. Behind him, he heard the Titan let out a low, rumbling chuckle—a sound that shouldn't be possible for a monster—and began to follow him with terrifyingly slow, deliberate steps.
Adam scrambled up a nearby mountain ridge, his lungs burning. As he reached the peak, his eyes caught a flicker of orange light in the distance.
"Mina... Ren..." he wheezed. "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!"
The Siege of the Igloo
Back at Team A's camp, the situation had turned into a nightmare.
Ren, Mina, and the two guards had barely scrambled out of the igloo and behind a massive ice rock when the White Titan arrived. It hadn't even looked at them yet. With one casual swing of its hand, it swiped the igloo away.
Everything was gone. Their supplies, their spare Vane-crystals, and most importantly, their extra weapons—all crushed under the Titan's weight.
In the chaos, the Titan reached into the ruins and pulled out Marko, the injured man whose hand had been cut earlier. Marko was too weak to fight back. He dangled in the air, his eyes filled with the reflection of the Titan's yellow, hungry gaze.
The Titan began to lift Marko toward its mouth, that same horrific smile stretching across its face.
"I can't... I can't watch another one die," Mina whispered, her body trembling. The trauma of the previous four deaths was still fresh in her mind. She stood up, her face pale but her eyes filled with a desperate resolve.
"Mina, stay down!" Ren hissed, reaching for his sword, but realized it was buried under the snow.
Mina ignored him. She stepped out from behind the rock, her figure small and fragile against the backdrop of the towering monster. "HEY! OVER HERE!" she screamed.
The Titan stopped. It slowly turned its massive head, its smile widening as it saw the Captain. It dropped Marko carelessly—the man falling twenty feet and hitting the snow with a thud—and began to turn its full attention toward Mina.
"What is she doing? She's insane!" Adam shouted as he finally reached the rock, collapsing beside the two guards. He was pale from blood loss, his empty sleeve soaked in red. "Ren! My sword... take it!"
Ren didn't hesitate. He grabbed Adam's Vane-sword from its sheath. The weapon felt different—heavier, colder—but it was all he had.
As the Titan took a massive step toward the defenseless Mina, Ren sprinted. He moved like a shadow across the snow, his speed boosted by a sudden, violent surge of Vane energy from his core.
He didn't go for the head. He knew he couldn't reach it in time. Instead, he slid between the Titan's massive legs and delivered a devastating, two-handed slash directly into the back of the monster's heel.
The Vane-blade roared as it cut through the thick white fur and leathery skin. A fountain of black blood erupted, drenching Ren from head to toe.
The Titan let out a sharp, high-pitched hiss of pain. It stopped its advance toward Mina and looked down. It lowered its torso, its smiling face coming level with the ground, its yellow eyes locking onto the small, blood-covered human who had dared to wound it.
"REN! NO! GET BACK!" Mina screamed, her voice filled with a terror she had never felt before.
Ren stood his ground, the Titan's hot, stinking breath blowing his hair back. He looked directly into the monster's eyes, the red 'X' in his sapphire eye beginning to glow with a murderous, defiant light.
"Smile at this," Ren whispered, gripping the sword tighter.