Chapter 67: The Underground Giant (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 67: The Underground Giant (1)
「Act 4, Chapter 3: The Underground Giant」 of ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱.
In the original game, once Ian and Kaya defeated the final boss of 「Act 4, Chapter 2: Food Chain」, a colossal demon would manifest from beneath the earth, its massive form displacing the very terrain. It looked like a titan buried alive.
The giant’s skin alone was Level 190.
Reflecting on my memories of the game, the demon was designed so that victory was impossible unless you engaged it from the inside. By delving deep into the giant’s internal structure, you could eventually confront Elphelt’s true body, which was Level 145.
Compared to the ordeals of the first semester, it wasn't exceptionally difficult. The attack patterns were monotonous at best; the fight felt more like a narrative bridge leading toward the encounter with Dark Kaya—which was truly excruciating.
Of course, that shouldn't be a problem for me now, considering I was much stronger than the game's intended level. Nevertheless, if Ian were to die today, this world would be guaranteed a Bad Ending.
Kuuuuuuuuu───!!
“Not again!”
The ground groaned and buckled once more. I nearly lost my footing, but I quickly steadied myself and sprinted through the eerie, dark passage.
‘The second earthquake already…!’
The second tremor signaled the true beginning of 「Act 4, Chapter 3」. By now, the giant’s gaping maw would have burst through the surface, devouring Kaya in a single gulp!
For the record, the Underground Giant was a deformed creature with a disproportionately small head and an obscenely bloated body. But a giant was still a giant; even its "small" head had a diameter of roughly five meters.
「Clairvoyance (Neutral Element, ★7)」
I activated [Clairvoyance] to check on Ian and Kaya. As expected, a massive sinkhole had opened in the earth.
Fortunately, Ian had managed to leap clear of the collapse, but Kaya had already vanished into the depths.
At this stage, Kaya’s body would begin resonating with Elphelt’s blood mana. The strain would be immense—her blood would boil, her circulation would accelerate to dangerous speeds, and her temperature would skyrocket until she lost consciousness. This was the agonizing process of being forcibly converted into a Blood Wizard.
Worse yet, Elphelt’s minions would soon capture the unconscious Kaya and deliver her to their master.
The mana radiating from the Underground Giant’s skin had the unique property of distorting the surrounding atmosphere. The "performance" of that bastard’s hide was so extraordinary that it had likely severed the entire communication network of Elt Island.
Left with no other choice, Ian wiped the cold sweat from his brow, his expression hardening with resolve.
‘No! Wait!’
My desperate internal plea couldn't reach him.
He fearlessly plunged into the sinkhole, acting like a damn protagonist!
“This is insane!”
I screamed, pushing my legs to their absolute limit.
Elphelt’s minions were crawling inside that giant. There was no way Ian could survive that gauntlet alone!
“Hey! Answer me! What the hell is going on?!!”
Will you just shut the hell up?
After ten minutes of frantic sprinting, Lisetta and I finally reached the edge of the enormous sinkhole.
The fleshy, red maw of the hole loomed below. This was the Underground Giant’s mouth. Soon, it would clamp shut.
‘Ugh!’
Ten minutes. I was ten minutes late. I had to catch up to Ian immediately! I didn't even have time to put on the camouflage gear I’d bought at the unmanned shop—a set that, when combined with my camouflage cloak, would have completely hidden my identity.
Lisetta was gasping for air beside me, her lungs burning from trying to keep up with my pace.
“Ha… you asshole… you’re way too fast…”
I ignored her and jumped straight into the giant’s mouth.
Ssshhh─
My body began to slide down what felt like a massive, slick tongue, hurtling into a passage that served as the creature's throat.
The slimy sensation was revolting. If I had to describe it, it felt like riding a waterslide designed to dissolve you into simple sugars.
Thanks to my poncho-like camouflage cloak, my back didn't make direct contact with the giant’s filthy saliva.
As I surrendered to gravity and descended deeper into the gullet, the slope gradually leveled out. The giant was currently positioned like a tortoise, with its head protruding upward and its body lying flat.
Finally, I shot out of the throat.
“Ugh.”
I landed lightly, my boots hitting a flat, reddish surface. Even through my soles, the ground felt unpleasantly squishy, like standing on a wet organ.
The red walls of the giant’s interior shimmered, and motes of crimson mana floated through the air like bioluminescent fireflies.
The colors were hauntingly beautiful. Different shades of mana sparkled like jewels shot through with golden threads.
In ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, the interior of the Underground Giant was a perfect marriage of beauty and the grotesque. Seeing it in vivid realism only heightened that eerie aesthetic.
By the way, the Underground Giant wasn't a "disguise." So, what was it?
Think of the giant as a colossal bio-mechanical robot, and Elphelt as its pilot. The twist was that the giant was Elphelt’s expanded body, and the "pilot" was merely the core.
From my perspective, every square inch of this place triggered the conditions for [Hunter]. However, if I went on a mindless rampage inside, it would trigger a protective barrier over Elphelt—a natural defense mechanism.
With every layer of the barrier that went up, the giant’s defensive power would skyrocket.
In other words, using wide-range attacks like [Frostfire] or casting magic indiscriminately would do nothing but hasten a Bad Ending.
‘Anyway, I’m in…!’
Despite the delay, I successfully entered the giant’s body!
Now, I just had to find Ian!
But just as I prepared to move…
“Yuck!!! This is disgusting!!”
A grumbling voice echoed from the back of the throat, followed by the sound of something sliding down fast.
Kwoong!!
“Uwah!”
“Ugh!”
Lisetta’s body shot out of the passage like a bowling ball, slamming directly into me.
I instinctively grabbed her as the impact sent us both tumbling. We rolled across the squishy, red floor, groaning in pain.
“Ugh…”
“Ah!”
For a second, I genuinely thought my spine had snapped.
Argh, that hurts…
“Where are we?!”
Lisetta jerked her head up, staring at the red ceiling in terror before scrambling to a sitting position.
“Heh, unbelievable…”
In the end, she had actually followed me in.
I let out an irritated sigh, stood up, and began running deeper into the cavernous space.
“You asshole, where do you think you’re going?!!”
Lisetta chased after me, her voice thick with a mix of rage and confusion. I expected nothing less.
As I ran, the space opened up. Clouds of red mana grains drifted through the air. Thick strands of red flesh stretched like chewing gum between the floor and ceiling, and the path began to branch off in multiple directions.
Where are you, Ian?
I activated [Clairvoyance] and scanned the area.
‘Found you!’
Oh, thank God!
Surprisingly, Ian was holding his own! He was narrowly fending off Elphelt’s minions by exploiting their weakness with a light-elemental sword.
‘That’s it!’
You’re growing, Ian!
I breathed a heavy sigh of relief… but it was short-lived.
‘No, wait—!’
Ian, caught off guard for a split second, was struck by a minion's spell. He collapsed, blood pouring from a wound on his head.
Damn it…!
“Hey!!”
Lisetta was still hot on my heels. Fortunately, she hadn't tried to use magic to stop me yet.
Reading her thoughts with [Psychological Insight], I realized she had grasped the gravity of the situation and was acting accordingly. She wasn't stupid.
We quickly reached the chamber where Ian had fallen. He was slumped against a wall of pulsating flesh, unconscious.
‘It’s not too late!’
Phew, you idiot protagonist. I’m glad you’re still alive… I thought my heart was going to stop!
[Boooong, boong─────♪]
In front of the fallen Ian, a bizarre demon was humming and stomping its feet in a strange, rhythmic dance.
It was a slender, elongated pink elephant standing on two legs, roughly three meters tall. Its head, covered in pink skin, leaked red mana powder. Its mouth was torn wide, stretching from ear to ear in a permanent, clown-like grin.
[Fall]
Lv: 90
Race: Demon
Elements: Darkness, Fire, Blood
Danger: High
Psychology: [Wants to dance with your guts.]
This was Fall, one of Elphelt’s minions.
These elephant-like demons were scattered throughout the giant’s body.
The creature continued its grotesque dance, wriggling its slender frame. Its feet, which were oddly thick compared to its body, moved like burrowing worms.
[Buoh?]
The elephant demon turned its head toward Lisetta and me. Its eyes—pitch-black and large enough to resemble an alien's—sent a chill down my spine.
[Fall]
The creature spoke in a dull, hollow voice. It was an invitation to dance.
However, the invitation wasn't for me. It was for my intestines.
It wanted to rip out my internal organs, drape them over its body, and dance in the gore.
“What the…”
At the sight of the monstrosity, Lisetta’s confidence wavered. Her mind was struggling to process the sheer grotesqueness of the scene.
Zzingg—
A crimson magic circle manifested in the air, locking onto us. Fall was preparing to strike.
In an instant, the killing intent radiating from the demon brushed against my skin.
“…Hey, get back. That’s not an elephant you can handle.”
Lisetta had clearly sensed the danger. She gripped her studded magic weapon, Rock Bat, with both hands.
As she tried to step in front of me, I extended my arm, blocking her path.
“What are you…?”
I have to kill Elphelt quickly, save Kaya, and get the hell out of here.
Lisetta would only be a distraction.
[The demon has been recognized as an enemy.]
[The unique trait [Hunter] is activated!]
[Level and stats are temporarily and greatly enhanced!]
[The skill tree temporarily becomes +10!]
My body suddenly felt as light as a feather. I could feel a surge of mana so potent that I could have cast a high-tier spell at a moment's notice.
First, I had to save Ian and stabilize the situation. I could deal with the fallout of revealing my strength to Lisetta later.
I thrust my right arm toward Fall, and a pale blue magic circle snapped into existence.
「Ice Spear (Ice Element, ★4)」
I manifested an [Ice Spear] of moderate size, but I packed it with an incredibly dense, volatile concentration of mana. The pale blue energy swirled violently around the center of the spear.
My aim was true.
Just as Fall raised its trunk to finish its spell…
I fired.
Pshhhhh───!!
Hwaaaaaaaaa────!!
[Buooooooh───!!!]
It was over in a heartbeat.
The [Ice Spear] tore through the air like a railgun slug, piercing Fall before it could even blink.
The spear left a trail of frost so cold it looked like blue flames flickering in the air. A massive shockwave followed, rippling through the chamber.
Fall’s entire upper body was gone—hollowed out as if hit by a cannonball rather than a spear.
The demon collapsed, a heavy thud echoing through the fleshy room.
[On the shell… dancing…?]
Fall let out one final, faint whisper before crumbling into ash and vanishing.
The [Hunter] trait deactivated. My body immediately felt heavy again, and the overwhelming pressure of my mana receded.
It was a strange sensation; no matter how many times it happened, I could never get used to that sudden loss of power.
“You… that mana just now… what happened…?”
Lisetta’s voice was trembling.
I turned to look at her. She was staring at me with a look of pure disbelief, her mind clearly reeling.
[Lisetta Lionheart]
Psychology: [Can feel your mana and is utterly confused by it.]
It was the reaction I expected. Honestly, I was getting tired of it.
Once you entered the giant’s body, there was no escape until Elphelt was dead. This place was a death trap, with enemies ranging from Level 85 to 100 lurking around every corner.
Even at Level 98, Lisetta was in mortal danger if she tried to fight these things alone.
In other words, her only chance of survival was staying by my side.
“Lisetta.”
“Huh, what…?!”
“Stay close to me. Unless you want to die.”
The curiosity in her eyes vanished, replaced by a tense, guarded expression.
She isn't replying. People can be so indecisive.
“Eden.”
I summoned my small golem familiar.
“Pick him up. We’re moving.”
Eden raised his right arm with a mechanical rumble and began to grow. Boulders manifested from thin air, snapping onto his frame until he stood two meters tall. His voice shifted into a deep, masculine tone.
[Kyu, kyu─!]
Eden scooped up the unconscious Ian in a princess carry.
I began to walk.
“Hey… Wait! Explain yourself!! Who the hell are you?!”
Lisetta scrambled to follow me.
She peppered me with questions for a while, but I remained silent. After all, I didn't have a single answer that she would actually believe.