The Chase - 3
The anomaly began with a vibration that shook the earth's very axis. Kuuuung-. A tremor so profound it should rightly be said to have rattled the entire world. At that vibration, everyone in the forest—locked in fierce combat until moments before—froze in place.
It was only natural. No one present was foolish enough to dismiss the quake resounding here as mere shaking ground.
Again. Kuuuung-. The vibration echoed once more. The wind fell still. The forest held its breath.
Vera felt his entire body go numb, his senses freezing amid the sudden hush and the vibration overlaying it. An overwhelming pressure unlike anything he'd ever experienced in his present life or his past one. A sensation that could only be called awe began devouring him whole.
Kuuuung-. This time, the vibration rang out even louder. What followed seized the gaze of Vera and everyone else in the forest, etching the scene indelibly into their minds.
Kugugung-. At the edge of Vera's vision, far in the distance...
'The mountain...'
rose.
Not in a metaphorical sense—the massive mountain range at the rear of the forest, where the battle had raged, was literally rising to its feet.
Kugugung-. The range trembled as it stood, its form gradually shifting into a human shape. A giant so vast it seemed to scrape the heavens themselves.
Once the giant had fully risen, the moonlight that had bathed the earth was eclipsed by its colossal frame. Vera stared at the behemoth, which plunged his field of view into shadow and obliterated any sense of distance through sheer presence alone. His dazed mind finally latched onto a single question.
What is that thing? What is that giant? How do you even name it?
As his thoughts drifted in a haze, a being capable of explaining "it" flashed into Vera's mind.
...No, he was certain. Nothing else in this world could account for such an existence.
Terdan...!
The mountain-pushing giant Terdan. One of the nine Origin Species, the ancient beings the gods first sculpted when they shaped this land. A legend from hundreds of years past, now dismissed as myth.
Only it could explain this entity. Another question followed swiftly.
'Why...'
Why was it here, now? Why had it burst from beneath that mountain range?
As Vera pieced together the events leading up to the giant's awakening, his gaze naturally turned to Rene. She lay unconscious, having poured out her divine power in a desperate bid to unleash her Apostle power.
'...The Apostle power.'
The power of the God of Gods. The anomaly had begun the moment Rene started manifesting it.
Pieces clicked into place in his mind. His thoughts rapidly wove the fragments of events into a causal chain.
'The power of the God of Gods weaves fate.'
A force at the pinnacle of irrationality, one that could drag even a possibility converging endlessly toward zero into confirmed reality. A power that could elevate a mere beggar to emperor of the Empire.
'With that power...'
it all made sense.
Vera's vacant gaze shifted back to the giant Terdan, standing motionless.
'The reason it hasn't appeared for centuries...'
Was it slumbering beneath that mountain range all along?
It was a perfectly reasonable inference. Who could have imagined the range itself had formed from earth piled over Terdan's recumbent form?
And its awakening at this precise moment? Surely the power of the God of Gods had seized upon the vanishingly improbable chance of "Terdan awakens" and manifested it as reality.
Having reasoned that far, Vera shuddered at the next thought and glanced at Rene. Unleashing a power great enough to rouse that thing—her body surely couldn't have withstood it.
The instant he reached out to press a hand to her forehead...
[Grooooar-!]
Terdan bellowed. What followed was a bombardment worthy of the term cataclysm.
Kwaaaang-!
Terdan stooped to scoop up a massive chunk of earth, drew his arm back behind him, then hurled it forward.
An action that might have seemed comical at a glance. But its result was anything but.
Kwagwagwang-! The earth clump Vera had flung became a meteor shower, slamming into the ground with deafening roars.
Wyverns airborne in the sky exploded. Night's Followers lurking in shadows burst apart. The forest itself was swept clean.
Vera watched the devastation unfold, his eyes widening to the tearing point as he gasped, then clenched his jaw and hauled himself to his feet. He couldn't afford to stand there dumbfounded.
"Norn! Run!"
"Yes, sir!"
Clutching Rene tightly to his chest, Vera dodged the incoming earth chunks while his mind raced. This was the result of her Apostle power. Which meant Terdan was the key to buying them time to reach the border.
In this chaos, even the pursuers wouldn't be able to chase them. They had to flee now.
'I can't fight it.'
Beings forged by the gods at the dawn of creation. The first dragon, Lockrion. The Queen of the Black Season, Nertania. Living calamities capable of shaking continents with a mere gesture.
That was what the Origin Species truly were.
Vera emptied his mind of all else, filling it with a single imperative: Protect Rene. From the ancient one's rampage. From the frenzied pursuers. From the heart of this disaster.
Protect her and get her safely to the Holy Kingdom. Any shame from fleeing before the enemy? Kick it aside. Such petty pride meant nothing to him now.
'I need to check the Saint's condition.'
He had to escape this place quickly and examine her. A power of this magnitude would surely exact a backlash. Divine power and Apostle abilities weren't free gifts—they were loans repaid in exact measure, transactions veiled as miracles.
For someone who barely knew how to wield divine power, who could only crudely vent it, to work such a miracle? She couldn't possibly emerge unscathed.
Vera quickened his pace. His mounting anxiety unwittingly triggered his own power.
"I proclaim."
Ashen divine power flared to life. The radius: one meter centered on himself.
"From this moment, all combative actions within the Sanctuary are forbidden. Those who obey this decree gain speed equal to their combative capacity. Those who violate it lose the ability to walk."
A decree solely for flight. One obsessed with delivering Rene to the Holy Kingdom as swiftly as possible.
Vera bit his lip and imbued the Sanctuary with compulsion.
"All these decrees are enforced in the name of Lushan."
Ashen divine power swirled around him, overlaid by golden runes of enforcement.
Feeling his body lighten under the decree's effect, Vera drew a deep breath and pressed onward.
Behind him trailed a scene worthy of the name cataclysm.
[Grooooar-!]
His breath came ragged. Muscles screamed throughout his body. For hours now—impossible to say precisely—Vera had run without pause, evading the earth barrages raining down.
Kwagwagwang-! Another massive boulder slammed into the ground behind him. Vera felt his balance waver amid the quaking earth, gritted his teeth, and righted himself.
His gaze flicked back to Terdan, lumbering after him at a leisurely pace.
[Grooooar-!]
The roar felt like it would shred his eardrums. The giant's sheer size made even its cries vibrate the world around them.
'That damn freak...!'
Terdan ignored the pursuers scattering in all directions, fixating solely on Vera's position. The reason was obvious.
'The Saint.'
Fury toward the one who had awakened it.
Kaduk-. Vera's teeth ground together with a screech. He drew a deep breath, gathered every ounce of strength into his legs, and kicked off the ground.
Kwaaaang-! The earthquake—and the curses it drew from his lips—raged on unabated.
At Elia's border, Vargo stood leaning on his staff, eyes fixed on the approaching giant in the distance.
A body piercing the heavens. Footsteps that shook the earth. A roar grating on the eardrums.
The mountain-pushing giant Terdan.
Recognizing it, Vargo scowled deeply and clicked his tongue.
"Tch, tsk."
What the hell was it up to? Vargo's mind conjured Vera's face. The odd vibes before departure, the recent plea for aid—it all pointed to the Saint.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Stroke. Stroke.
"Hmm..."
How to handle this? How to send it packing?
As Vargo pondered...
"Your Holiness! It's coming!"
His aide's voice pierced his ear. Vargo's gaze shifted from Terdan to the underbrush far below.
Bursting through: Vera, cradling a young girl, and Norn panting desperately behind, on the verge of collapse.
They closed in rapidly. Even as Vargo clicked his tongue at Vera, the distance shrank.
Moments later, Vera vaulted clear of the brush, landed with a thud, and halted, covered head to toe in wounds. He looked up, spotted Vargo, and blinked in surprise.
"Your Holiness? How are you...?"
His voice dripped with questions. Vargo harrumphed in response.
"You throw a fit begging for help, and you thought I'd just sit on my hands? What the hell have you been up to, boy, to stir up this mess?"
"...My apologies."
"Always with the apologies..."
Vargo eyed Vera pityingly, then froze upon noticing Rene, still unconscious in his arms.
Snow-white, utterly unblemished. And...
'...So young.'
Far too young to wield the God of Gods' power, to bring miracles to this land.
"That's the Saint?"
"...Yes."
"Heh..."
What were those gods thinking, entrusting such power to a child like this?
As the thought crossed his mind, Vargo lifted his head at the relentless quakes and glared at Terdan.
[Grooooar-!]
Its rampage—hurling earth clumps wildly—was grating on his nerves.
'Before I think...'
Deal with this scatterbrain first.
"...Well done, anyway. Step back."
"Your Holiness?"
"I said step back."
Thud. Thud. Vargo advanced, tossing aside his staff. Vera gaped, questions flooding his face. What was he planning? They should be fleeing, yet he approached the giant?
As confusion filled Vera's mind—
Hwaaaak-! Divine power erupted from Vargo's body.
Oosak-. Vera's body reacted instinctively. Crimson divine power, blood-like in hue, pressed down on the entire space.
Only then did Vera realize Vargo's intent.
He meant to fight. The Holy Emperor was about to confront the giant head-on.
"Never a damn one of you who does anything right."
Vargo's mutter carried divine power, its pressure crushing the air.
"All of you such blockheads... retirement's a pipe dream now."
Vargo extended a hand. Blood-red divine power coalesced as he gripped it, the energy swirling into the form of an iron mace.
An ominous aura clung to it, ceaselessly goading his survival instincts with fathomless dread.
Vargo grasped the mace with both hands. Flexed his muscles. Stomped the ground. Twisted his waist.
His stance screamed a single, unmistakable purpose: swing.
Another question arose in Vera's mind.
'From this distance?'
What could one blunt weapon do?
As Vera stared blankly, Vargo unleashed his full divine power in preparation. His target: Terdan, far off. Distance was irrelevant. All that mattered was the will to strike.
Activating his power, Vargo's eyes pierced Terdan's karma. The depth accumulated since creation dwarfed anything human.
Creak-. A smile tugged at Vargo's lips.
"Plenty of good spots to hit on that bastard."
His words ended, followed by a draw too swift for the eye to track. A single swing. A roar like thunder itself rent the air.
[-----]
Everything between Vargo and Terdan vanished along the path of the hurtling divine power. Earth, trees, fleeing pursuers, even the clouds veiling the moon overhead.
As if they'd never existed, the trajectory erased all in its wake.
The divine power struck Terdan. It collided with the giant's body, sending it staggering backward.
Vera watched, eyes bulging as he sucked in a sharp breath.
'Insane...!'
As curses filled his thoughts at the spectacle, the delayed shockwave boomed.
Kwaaaang-!