Chapter Six: Saving Oneself

This opponent was formidable. Tetsuya kept his gaze fixed intently on him; at this moment, Gilokas was already showing signs of exhaustion. After all, his transformation was powered by the Light Remnant Stone, whose energy was limited—a mere vestige of the ancient god’s dying radiance. Even disregarding the fact that he no longer knew how to unleash the beam abilities he could so easily wield in his previous world—even if he could, this scant energy would not suffice to sustain them.

But in close combat, he could overpower his adversary.

Gilokas dodged a burst of fiery energy, then gathered strength in his legs and leapt with unnatural force, delivering a flying kick squarely to the chest of the Kirielordian. The opponent staggered back several steps before barely managing to steady himself.

“We must sever his right arm!”

On the Kirielordian’s right forearm was a flame-emitting organ, making the limb bulge asymmetrically compared to the left. The powerful Infernal Flame Blast was fired from this organ.

At a distance, Gilokas had no particular advantage, but once he closed in…

Gilokas stepped forward and landed a punch to the Kirielordian’s chest. As the enemy doubled over in pain, Gilokas swiftly shifted to the side, grabbing his arm with his right hand and pressing his left hand firmly on the opponent’s shoulder. Before the Kirielordian could react, Gilokas drove his knee into the right leg, numbing it, then twisted the right arm upward with a sudden burst of force. The sound of bones snapping elicited shrill, agonized cries from the Kirielordian.

His body was now locked, hunched over as he tried to muster strength to resist. But Tetsuya wrenched his right arm downwards, the pain twisting muscles and rendering the Kirielordian utterly helpless, his posture sinking lower.

Gilokas then used the enemy’s arm as leverage to move behind him. As the Kirielordian struggled, Gilokas leaned forward, hooked his elbow around his opponent’s neck, and braced his foot against the enemy’s back for support.

A sharp “crack!” echoed in the air. With immense force, the Kirielordian fell backwards, face up, his right arm limp at his side—completely broken at the shoulder.

Suddenly, Hitra leapt up, like a thin lion pouncing on a massive elephant—though spent, he still possessed a measure of ferocity.

“You’re courting death!”

Hitra clung to the man in the black robe, hands gripping his throat, biting his ear like a madman. The black-robed figure staggered back, nearly knocked to the ground, but with the wall behind him, he could only stand. The whip he held was useless against Hitra, so he tossed it aside and grabbed Hitra’s hair, trying to pull him off.

Daram rose abruptly. Though his once-tall frame now appeared gaunt, his bones gave him a semblance of presence as he charged at the black-robed man, shouting loudly: “What are you all waiting for? Defeat him and we can escape!”

The black-robed man was about to pull Hitra away, but Daram’s sudden rush crashed into his abdomen, doubling him over and making him feel as if bile would spill forth. His body slammed against the wall again.

Camilla picked up the discarded whip and, like a queen, shouted, “What are you hesitating for? The ancient god is fighting for us! Have none of you thought to save yourselves?”

She was accustomed to wielding a whip in R’lyeh, often using it to strike others. Now, her movements were deft and practiced. The black-robed man finally pried Hitra off and slammed him to the ground, but Hitra managed to bite off one of his ears. Blood streaming from his wound, he kicked Daram to the floor and was about to speak.

A loud smack—Camilla’s whip lashed across his face, leaving a long bloody gash from the crown of his head, over his nose, down to his chin. The pain enraged him, and he lunged at Camilla.

“Let’s fight him together!”

A youth, disregarding everything else, grabbed the black-robed man’s pant leg and bit down hard.

The black-robed man felt searing pain in his leg and tried to kick the youth away, but more and more boys and girls piled onto him, biting and clawing with vengeful zeal. Their combined efforts brought him crashing to the ground, and soon, everyone piled on.

“Damn you, evil god!”

The Kirielordian roared with fury, the agony in his right arm driving him nearly mad.

“Let me show you—flames of wrath!”

He suddenly raised his left hand, and Tetsuya sensed danger. At that moment, the ground beneath Gilokas’s feet became intensely hot—a surge of flames erupted upward, engulfing Gilokas’s body.

“Ding-dong… ding-dong…”

In an instant, the multicolored timer flashed red, and Gilokas collapsed, barely propping himself up with his arm. The rapid energy drain left him nearly powerless.

“Damn… not enough energy…”

The Kirielordian laughed triumphantly, stepping toward Gilokas. “Rebellious evil god! Let me…”

A thunderous blast—just as the Kirielordian approached, a brilliant beam surged from afar, obliterating his body in a violent torrent of energy.

A giant of light walked slowly from the distance, radiating warmth. This was one of the so-called Ancient Gods, giants who protected humanity with kindness and benevolence, symbols of virtue. His eyes glowed pale yellow, like embedded oval crystals. His massive body, over fifty meters tall, was awash with luminous brilliance.

Compared to him, Gilokas was but a shadow…

Tetsuya felt a pang of sorrow—this was the power he sought: light and warmth.

Yet he could only wield the power of darkness… Ah, the paradoxes of fate are beyond words.

“Evil god? Why are you fighting the Kirielordian?”

Tetsuya panicked. He didn’t want to be branded an evil god and hurried to speak.

“This power…” The Ancient God scrutinized Gilokas, his tone cold and severe. “This is the power of the Light Remnant Stone… It is what remains from our fallen warriors—energy meant for returning home!”

Though his expression and gaze showed no change, Tetsuya sensed murderous intent.

“Evil beings… must be eradicated…”

The Ancient God spoke softly, assuming a stance as light energy surged around him. Tetsuya felt a chill—he recognized this posture. It was the prelude to every giant’s ultimate attack: the body slightly hunched, hands shaped into palms, arms crossing in an X or L formation…

A deafening explosion.

Tetsuya stared in shock…

He watched as the Ancient God was obliterated by a powerful purple beam descending from the heavens. The giant's body disintegrated instantly into particles of light, which themselves were destroyed before dispersing.

Gilokas abruptly looked up. Tetsuya saw, floating in midair beneath the starry sky and the full moon, a black figure standing calmly, lowering his hands.

“Tiga…”

The black giant descended. His appearance matched Tiga exactly, but his body was shrouded in black. Black energy radiated around him, cloaking him in a mist that even Gilokas, observing, felt as though he were peering through a veil of darkness.

The black giant approached Gilokas and gathered a ball of black energy, injecting it into the chest timer on Gilokas. The urgent red light ceased its blinking. Then, he extended his hand.

…

When the two black giants shook hands, a mist of black energy swept over them. Their forms shrank steadily until they appeared as ordinary humans, hands clasped together. The black giant became a young man, his face perpetually cold, his gaze sharp, yet he carried no hostility toward Tetsuya.

“From the moment you began fighting the Kirielordian, I’ve been watching you,” the man said, sizing up Tetsuya.

Tetsuya was momentarily startled. “Why?”

“Because evil gods do not possess normal consciousness. They are mad and bloodthirsty, their minds chaotic. But you are different—you seem fully self-aware, fighting the Kirielordian to save the captives.”

Meanwhile, Camilla and her companions, having escaped the base, stared in astonishment. They had never imagined that their rescuers would be two black giants—evil gods.

“But you…”

“I am not the same.” The man attempted an awkward smile; perhaps he had never tried before, for his facial muscles were stiff, and the result was rather grim.

“I was created directly by the ‘god’ as a ‘Ranger’. So don’t judge me by the standards of those inferior weaponized evil gods.”

…

Tetsuya felt a surge of sarcasm. This man had clearly never interacted with people before and had no idea how to converse. Surely, he regarded Tetsuya as an ‘inferior weapon’ as well.

“It’s… it’s two evil gods…” Hitra reverted to his timid demeanor, the group that had just fled the base now trembling as they watched Tetsuya and his companion converse. Most of the youths’ legs shook with fear.

Daram timidly approached Camilla. “Big sis… will they destroy us?”

Camilla was frightened too, but having come from R’lyeh, she’d seen many Ancient Gods and even quite a few evil gods. Though afraid, she was not utterly panicked.

“Honored evil gods…” Camilla suppressed her terror and approached within ten meters of Tetsuya and his companion, asking timidly, “May we leave?”

One should never make provocative moves, such as attempting to flee; an evil god could annihilate them all with a single skill. The safest course was to negotiate—perhaps they might survive.

The man glanced at them, and black energy began to surge in his hand. Tetsuya hastily interrupted, addressing Camilla: “You should leave quickly…”

“Yes, yes…” Camilla nodded frantically, signaling to the others, and the youths scattered in a rush.

“Well… I’ll take my leave…”

“Wait…” Tetsuya asked, “Why aren’t you afraid of us?”

Camilla thought, Of course I’m afraid… but such words could not be spoken. She managed, “It was you, honored evil gods, who saved us…”

“Hmph. Humans who say one thing but mean another…”

Hearing the man's melodramatic words, Tetsuya felt a new wave of exasperation and waved Camilla away: “Go…”

He had no idea who this girl was, nor that he had just rescued three illustrious figures, but none of that mattered—everything was already destined by fate.

“How should I address you?” Tetsuya asked the man.

“I have no name. You may use my codename, ‘Ranger’…”

“Uh… maybe something else…” Tetsuya found the name odd.

“In that case… call me Tiga.”

“Tiga…” Tetsuya suddenly felt as though he were witnessing history unfold.