Devouring the Titan

"Argh! Are all humans from Earth actual monsters?!"

Dwarf Maron let out a piercing shriek.

The steel colossus staggered violently from the impact. Because Maron was perfectly synchronized with the Titan, the full force of the shock slammed into him as well.

It was the repulsive force amplified to its limit by Eclipse.

Explosive demonic energy and internal qi. Conceptually similar, yet fundamentally different in how they operated. Under normal circumstances, they should have simply canceled each other out and drained away. Instead, Jinho had used Eclipse to maximize their mutual repulsion, raising the destructive power far beyond double the sum of their individual strengths.

The Aura Blade coating the Titan’s greatsword grew noticeably thinner.

Maron braced his thighs with all his strength. The Titan, linked to its pilot’s movements, expelled a surge of mana from its engines. Long gouges tore through the ground as the machine barely avoided toppling over.

Right in front of the stumbling Titan, a voice called out.

"What’s wrong? Having trouble?"

Jinho stood there, one arm mangled beyond recognition. The result of pushing the two opposing forces to their absolute limit. Bones jutted out, muscle fibers were shredded, and bright red blood dripped steadily. Yet he only smiled coldly.

The gruesome wound bubbled. The troll’s ultra-regeneration kicked in, restoring the limb in the blink of an eye.

Dangerous.

Maron instinctively raised his right arm. The Titan’s massive frame responded a fraction too late. The earlier impact had reduced the mana engine’s output.

The moment Jinho prepared to unleash the first form of Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts, a voice rang out.

The Titan, designed for hand-to-hand combat, slipped sideways and unleashed a barrage of strikes. In terms of raw power, its ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Aura Blade rivaled condensed qi. Jinho held the advantage in technique and enlightenment, but the sheer difference in output and physical strength overwhelmed him.

Jinho was slammed into the ground. Maron let out a sigh of relief.

"Good. It wouldn’t be any fun if it was too easy."

The earth trembled. The instant he hit the ground, Jinho triggered the Earth Dragon Out of Water he had prepared in advance, destabilizing the ground beneath the Titan that had just fired its Aura Fist.

The moment both Titans lost their balance—

Jinho rapidly rearranged his mana using his unique ability and skill effects. In just five seconds he completed both Avalanche and Solar Explosion. The instant the two orbs collided in midair, the world turned pure white.

The repulsive force had been maximized by Eclipse. The nearby Titans hurriedly raised their Aura Blades to block the destructive flash.

The Titan pilots’ opinions clashed violently.

These were the weapons of calamity spoken of on the Tower of Babel. The very Titans that had elevated the dwarves to an upper-tier race among the tower’s competing species. Yet before Jinho’s party, they could exert almost none of their supposed might.

"You shouldn’t let your attention wander."

Schunk!

While the pilots were distracted, Karla closed the distance and swung her scythe. The strike ignored both defense and anti-magic properties. It was a spatial interference ability that tore through even a Titan’s armor like paper.

Ping Lei’s Seon Magic disrupted the Titans’ center of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gravity, while Jiyoung’s barrier nullified nearly every incoming attack.

"Yahoo! It’s a Titan arm!"

The most excited of all was Enrique. He freely summoned and unsummoned the Titan body parts he had claimed earlier, using them to rain down blows.

Maron felt his head spin. The situation on the castle walls was just as dire.

The elf army added as NPCs. Though weaker than true high elves, they wielded respectable spirit magic and archery. They were a force that would have been difficult for the dwarves to handle without their Titans.

However—

The sheer number of elves worked against them. Fifty Hell Knights. Although the number of high-tier undead Ark could control had decreased due to level suppression, the squad of Hell Knights remained overwhelmingly threatening.

Elemental Burst. Entangling Roots. Thorn Vines. Grass Mixer…

The condensed spirit attacks poured down relentlessly, yet they lost all power before the explosive demonic energy and the freezing chill of Niflheim.

Elves collapsed, spraying blood. Ark used powerful necromancy to create more undead. While he could only control fifty Hell Knights at maximum, producing lesser undead posed no problem.

Dullahan, banshees, zombie knights, and more. The elves’ corpses were quite strong, so mid-tier undead rose one after another.

This can’t be real. Weren’t the human species supposed to be the weakest of all?!

Maron screamed silently.

Two hours had passed since entering the fifty-second floor.

Only three Titans still stood on two feet. They had easily destroyed one at the start of battle, but dealing with the rest proved far more difficult.

The Titans’ self-repair function was the problem. Unless a joint was completely severed or the mana core destroyed, they could recover indefinitely. In fact, the remaining machines had been hammered for nearly two hours yet still maintained their smooth surfaces.

How irritating.

-That scrap metal almost resembles a dragon.

"You’re right. It was designed with dragons as the motif, after all."

Dragons didn’t possess troll-like regenerative powers. The Titan’s ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠self-repair was merely a byproduct of their research, but it had dramatically increased their combat endurance.

"Regeneration, you say?"

"How dare you speak of regeneration? Shameless!"

"Could that fellow perhaps be a troll hybrid?"

Who are you calling a troll?

Well, I had been using ultra-regeneration without restraint, so the misunderstanding was understandable.

"Young Master Yongsu."

"Yes!"

"I’ll leave one to you."

If I had been alone, it would have been quite difficult. Titans were that powerful. Bringing the guild members on this mission had been the right decision.

I manifested a primal species using Void Reflection.

"Pardon me for a moment."

I charged forward with the manifested Nyx riding atop my head.

"D-Dragon?!"

"Do not panic. It merely resembles the dragon race. It is a different species."

One Titan threw a punch. Aura Fist. Thick aura erupted from its mana core and hurtled straight forward.

I opened my mouth wide. When the opponent was larger than me, the tyrannosaurus’s physiology made its most powerful attack far easier to execute.

And now that I had explosive demonic energy as well—

I bit down on the incoming Aura Fist, every razor-sharp tooth wrapped in demonic energy.

Kwa-jijijik!

The Aura Blade and demonic energy canceled each other out. Transforming into a tyrannosaurus had given me a surface area comparable to the Titan itself. All that remained was the pure difference in stats.

The cooldown on Demon's Wrath had reset. I also activated God's Wrath, the skill I had saved on the fifty-first floor. The ultimate combat buff created through Fusion Qigong!

The Titan’s forearm could not withstand my bite force and shattered.

"Impossible…"

"It is possible!"

I spat out the mangled scrap and rammed the Titan with my full body. It rolled across the ground. I climbed on top and stomped down hard with my hind legs.

A technique that shook the earth itself with internal energy. This time, the target was a Titan.

The instant I pressed down on its torso with my foot, a tremendous vibration rattled the giant.

"All that noise, yet so little substance," Nyx remarked.

As she said, the Titan’s exterior still looked intact. A footprint had been stamped into the area I had struck, but it continued operating.

"The inside will be a different story."

Thud. The Titan’s arm went limp. The principle behind the stomp was to shake the interior. It was similar to emitting force from within.

This body made precise force emission difficult. Even after absorbing the orc essence, controlling the minute aspects of internal energy remained unsuitable. That was why I had used Baektae Sovereign Stomp only after suppressing it.

"Is there a particular reason ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you must do it in such a manner?"

"It needs to be in relatively good condition if it’s going to help Enrique."

There were two ways to neutralize a Titan: completely dismantle it so self-repair became impossible, or strike the core and shut it down. The latter was essentially inducing cardiac arrest.

Seven were already reduced to scrap long ago. The one destroyed at the beginning of battle was the most intact, yet its mana core had still been smashed beyond function.

"You dare covet our race’s Titan, you mere human?!"

"Yep. Thanks to you guys, I’ve obtained something nice."

"Insolence! We cannot forgive this!"

A Titan charged while swinging a massive hammer. I wrapped my elongated tail in explosive demonic energy and struck its defenseless lower body.

Boooom! With a deafening crash, the Titan’s torso tilted heavily.

"This is what happens when the pilot’s skill is lacking."

I had only intended to secure one, but luck was on my side.

I used Baektae Sovereign Stomp on the fallen Titan once more. Both machines no longer showed any signs of movement. The pilots had likely died from the internal shock.

"But why has this machine remained in place?"

"Titans are not treated as player-bound equipment."

Item theft was impossible within the Tower of Babel. Even if you took someone’s weapon or armor, it would return to its owner upon logout. The only exception was if the user willingly handed it over.

However, Titans were slightly different. Since they were not classified as items, once destroyed they could not be restored even in reality.

"Which means they can be stolen this way."

Truly, my luck had been exceptional.

I had obtained a Titan—something that would maximize the Machine Monarch’s abilities—far faster than originally planned.

"Hmmm. Surely that is not the only reason."

"What other reason could there be?"

"Saliva is already pooling at the corner of your mouth, partner."

That’s right.

Just as I had devoured the essence of the war golem, now it was time to devour the essence of a Titan. The decisive weapon whose essence I could not absorb before my regression. Thanks to becoming a Predator, I was about to enjoy another feast on the fifty-second floor after the fifty-first.

"Shall we eat, then?"