Episode 12 - Behemoth Rises 4

At first, I thought it was simply blood dispersing like mist.
Though the bones held firm, giving off a metallic feel, the flesh somehow bore fresh wounds.


Regrettably, it was clearly not some vapor of blood.
Gang members who carelessly inhaled that mist suddenly began coughing violently, clutching their chests in agony.


“Cough…! Holy shit, what the hell?!”
“Cough cough…! My, my chest… feels choked…?!”


Soon, dark red blood gushed from the mouth of one coughing member, sending the gang members into panic.


“Fuck! What the hell is this?!”
“Did that bastard's weird mist do something?!”
“You crazy monster! What did you do?! Spit it out!


The enraged Gang members beat him even harder, but the more they did, the more the suspicious mist billowed up like a cloud, eventually enveloping Kaftin's form.


Soon, one member who had risked danger to hammer at Kaftin staggered out from within the mist,


“Gwaaahhh...”
“Wh-what the hell?! Hey! What's wrong?!”


His eyes were completely bloodshot, and he kept spewing dark red blood from his mouth. He couldn't take more than a few steps before collapsing onto the floor.


“He... he's dead?!”
“That's impossible! You can't die from this shitty fog?!”
“Back off! Don't breathe in this damn fog!”


Their knowledge couldn't have known.
That this mist-like thing they now faced was actually a type of poison emanating from human corpses, the so-called ‘Corpse poison’ only seen on horrific battlefields.


From the VIP seats, Athunga, gripping his staff and preparing magic, instantly grasped the mist's true nature and broke out in a cold sweat.


Corpse poison was inherently a byproduct of decaying corpses. To emit such a dense and vast quantity of it, one would literally need to cover an entire vast plain with the corpses of soldiers.


And yet, it was being endlessly emitted from the body of a young man, at most of sturdy build.
And from the body of a living young man.


Deep down, the black mage's curiosity flared like fire, urging him to capture the youth alive for study.
It wouldn't be easy, but if he could seize him, it would be immensely beneficial for his magical research.


“I don't know who made it or where... but that kid's body is clearly constructed by artificial means...!”


While Athunga and the other Four Gang Lords were stirring up greed, the organization members who had retreated to avoid the poison gas were battling an unknown terror.


The thick, dark red fog had obscured Kaftin's location, and suddenly, sounds of tearing and snapping began echoing from within the mist.


“Wh-what... What the hell is happening...?!
”Cough cough! Fucking hell! Where are the mercenary mages!? Get them here now! We need to clear this damn fog!”


Most of the gang members were dying as their lungs rotted from inhaling the fog.
Fortunately, those who had inhaled less or none at all survived, but they were too terrified by the fog's horror to even consider approaching it.


Finally, the gang members who had summoned the mercenary mages pointed at the center of the fog and urged them to cast a spell immediately.


“Hurry! We don't know where that monster is! Use wind magic or whatever, just blast it away!”
“Alright, alright! Stop rushing me!”


He inwardly lamented how he'd gotten tangled up in this bizarre situation, but since he'd been paid, he had to do the job.
The mercenary mage finished casting and immediately used a 2nd-circle Wind Blow spell to push the fog aside.


“Wind Blow—!”
“Whoa! The fog's clearing! Perfect!”
“That damn monster punk, this time I'll beat the crap out of it!”


The surviving members gripped their weapons again, gritting their teeth.
But the mage soon sensed something amiss and began breaking out in a cold sweat.


“Wait, hold on a second...”
“What? What's wrong now? The fog is clearing, isn't it?”
“No! It's not being scattered by my magic...!”
“What the hell are you talking about? You're the one creating the wind!”
“No! My magic is just...!”


Finally, the confused members of the organization looked closely at the fog again, and sure enough,


Bwoooooo-


A low hum, like the sound when wind passes through a long pipe, was gradually becoming clearer.


The mist wasn't being scattered by the wind; it was being sucked into the source of that noise, shrinking as it went.


“Wh-what?! What the hell is happening?! Hey, wizard! What did you do?!”
"I-I don't know! I just used a spell to blow it away with wind like you told me to...! Ah…!"


The mage who had been channeling magic suddenly froze, his expression blank as he slowly raised his head to look upward.


An exasperated member of the organization grabbed him by the collar, but then suddenly realized the noise coming from the fog had subsided and turned his own head in that direction.


“Huh…?”


Three meters.


That youngling called Kaftin, who had been crouched over there just moments ago, was clearly no taller than the mid-170cm range.
True, his shoulders were broad and sturdy, like two average people placed side by side, but he wasn't an overwhelmingly huge figure.


But wherever Kaftin had gone, the monstrous creature now standing before them, clad in rust-brown shells, clearly stood at least three meters tall.


Its overall form was human-like, but its entire body was encased in thick, rust-brown shells, and its forearms bulged like corn cobs fit for giants.


Conical protrusions jutted out from various points on the shell, seemingly designed for close combat to match its massive frame.


“Wh-what the hell is that thing….”
“Wh-well… I'm gonna have to take my leave now!”
“Hey! You! Where do you think you're going! You haven't earned your pay yet!”
“But! I've never seen anything like that before in my life!”
“You cowardly little shit! Is that how a mercenary mage behaves?!”
“I'm a 4th Circle! I can't cast a spell powerful enough to blow away a monster that size in one hit!”


Terrified by the monster's appearance, the mercenary mage was begging to be allowed to run away.
And while that was a perfectly reasonable decision, the other members couldn't accept it.


Even if he was only a 4th-circle mage, without even that magic, they themselves had no idea how they could possibly handle that monster with just their bare hands.


“Dammit... What's the strongest spell you can cast?”
“Um... Fireball.”
“Get that ready. Aim straight for that bastard's head.”
“After I cast it, can I... can I leave?”
“...Yeah.”


Even so, a direct hit to the face with a Fireball spell—a bold, destructive magic—wouldn't come without consequences.
It definitely, definitely would.


“You bastards! Hold on tight to your tools! I don't know what that monster is... but it looks like that little shit got hit earlier, so let's finish it!”
“Fuck! How the hell are we supposed to beat the shit out of that thing?!”
“I don't know! But we'll definitely make it pay for hurting Boss Gabelth!”


Meanwhile, the mage desperately chanted the spell for a Fireball, staring intently at the monster's head, his target.
Just as the chanting ended and he pointed his staff forward,


A gleam.


“Hiiik…!!”


The monster's eyes suddenly snapped open. It swiftly scanned its surroundings, then slowly raised its right arm, assuming a punching stance.
Its target wasn't the mage himself or the Gang members gathered in front.


If you absentmindedly followed the direction the Gang members were aiming...


“Fuck-! That monster bastard! What the hell is he trying to do, punch the VIP seats?!”
“Block it! Break that bastard's legs and take him down!”
“Waaaaah!?”
“Mage! Quick, fire a fireball! Shoot it!”


With no time to hesitate, the gang members charged forward.
And the mage watching from behind gritted his teeth and unleashed his most powerful Fireball spell, aiming it squarely at the monster's face.


“Fireball-!!”


Without even confirming the hit, the charging gang members immediately slammed their weapons into the monster's shin guards. Almost simultaneously, the fireball struck the monster squarely in the head.


Hearing the fireball explode, the gang members assumed the monster would stagger from the magical shockwave, or if they were lucky, fall over.
But...


“...GAAAAAAAH-!!”
“Aaargh! My ears-!”
“Damn bastard! That roar just got louder?!”


The gang members smiled, thinking it was surely a scream of pain, but reality was different.


Along with the roar, the monster's right arm, completely unscathed, thrust forward with tremendous force,


a deafening roar and shockwave powerful enough to shake the arena engulfing everyone.


The moment the fist struck out, a gas cannonball—compressed to its limit with crimson-black Corpse poison from the swollen forearm and fist—was ejected like a flash of light, striking the VIP section directly and exploding.


The VIP section was completely shattered, and the shockwave caused nearby spectator seats to collapse as well.
Organization gang members and influential figures watching the event were hacked to pieces by shrapnel, screaming in agony. But the more serious consequences came afterward.


What had been fired from his right arm was a high-pressure compressed version of the highly concentrated Corpse poison he released around himself as protection during his mutation.
The gas bomb detonated upon impact, causing a massive explosion that dyed the entire spectator area a sickly crimson.


“Cough cough...!”
“Th-this... it's... poison gas! Everyone, don't breathe it in. ...Yuck! Ugh!”


The underground arena instantly became a living hell.
And perhaps because it had fired the gas cannon, the monster... Kaftin's right arm had shrunk to a relatively normal thickness.


The wizard who witnessed all this instantly wet his pants and began to cry.
Because this time, the monster raised its still-swollen left arm toward the Gang members and himself.


"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit...! Hey, you wizard! Don't you know any defensive magic... Hey! Are you going to snap out of it?! You'll die if you keep that up!“
”Sniff...!“
”Is this the time to be crying!? Get your head straight! Quickly, cast any defensive spell, anything!
”I-it's impossible! My shield can't block an attack with that kind of destructive power! And even if I could block it...!“
“Dammit! You want to get blown to bits while soaking your pants and whining like this?! Hurry up—! Do something, anything! At least try to fight back!”


Grasping his collar and shaking him violently, the gang member's desperate plea finally made him start casting a shield spell while crying.
The gang member gritted his teeth, staring at the VIP section completely destroyed and covered in crimson poison gas.


The dark lords they had served for over a decade.
They couldn't have died so easily.
Therefore, they had to injure this monster somehow, giving their bosses an advantage when they counterattacked.


"You bastards! Squeeze your balls tight! Put your heart into it—!!“
”Got it! Yeeeeeeah!!“
”Shield! Double fold-!"


A double shield barely covered the eight remaining members and the mage.
The gang members were certain that poison gas cannon was surely its last shot.


Judging by how the fist that fired the shell had shriveled up, it must be a fatal attack designed to fire exactly two shots using the gas emitted when transforming into that monstrous form.


Meaning, if they could somehow endure that second explosion with this defensive magic, the creature would just become a tough, ogre-like lump of meat.


It was a shame the mercenary mage's spells didn't work, but it didn't matter. Soon, their most respected boss among bosses, the Black Mage Athunga himself – a whopping 6th Circle Master – would begin his counterattack.


They just had to hold out until then...


“Gaaaah-!!!”
“He's coming!! Mage! Get your wits about you and hold on!! If you're a mercenary who eats with a sword, show some grit!!”
“Ah, I know! Ugh!”


Another deafening boom echoed through the arena as Corpse poison scattered in all directions.


The shockwave that struck the ground at an angle felt like an earthquake was about to strike. Then, the entire floor of the great cavern housing the arena collapsed, swallowing up everyone who hadn't managed to evacuate in time.


Of course, Kaftin, the very source of that explosion, was among them.


-To be continued-