Side Story 7

"Azhi Dahaka isn’t showing any movement. It's just sitting there."

[Be careful. We're also monitoring with the drones.]

Yi-An slung God Slayer over his shoulder and started walking forward.

Though he had returned to his human form, he was every bit of the confident orc warrior Crockta when he entered the battle.

"I'll make this quick."

[You sound like you’re in a good mood.]

"I had a good sleep."

He was feeling good.

His body felt light as soon as he opened his eyes in the morning.

"It's big."

[Are you referring to Azhi Dahaka or Uluru?]

"Both."

Uluru really was the biggest rock in the world. He eyed the size of that rock by gazing at its summit, where Azhi Dahaka was coiled up.

"Adding to that..."

Azhi Dahaka noticed Yi-An and lifted its head.

Their gazes met.

"It’s not as threatening as I expected it to be."

Contrary to the ominous premonition he had been feeling up to this point, Azhi Dahaka's aura was rather minimal.

It actually seemed weaker than the recently slain 'Parthenon,' let alone the 'Ramel' of Egypt he had cut in two in one slash.

It appeared as if, just as his secretary speculated, Azhi Dahaka was barely awake from a long dormant state.

"I'll start the operation soon."

Yi-An's voice grew a step louder.

He was off to a good start.

It felt like he could take care of this monster easily and return to Korea safely, just as he imagined last night.

His spirits soared along with his mood. The realm of Pinnacle and Hero mingled above God Slayer, creating mirages.

[What about Azhi Dahaka?]

"No response yet."

Azhi Dahaka looked down at Yi-An with an ambiguous gaze.

[Are you going to attack first?]

"Yes, I have to."

Yi-An advanced while Azhi Dahaka still showed no signs of moving.

He was going to strike first.

But it wasn’t that he was picking a fight with an innocent opponent.

No one had forgotten that this seemingly powerless monster coiled on top of Uluru was a demon who had completely destroyed Sydney and devoured countless lives just a few years ago.

"Here we go."

Between Azhi Dahaka and Yi-An, there was a vast distance.

The disparity in the elevation between the ground and the summit of Uluru.

The moment Yi-An leaped, that gap closed to zero in the blink of an eye.

He scaled the near-vertical cliff face. With every step, the air changed. Leaving his footprints on the face of Uluru, Yi-An flew right in front of Azhi Dahaka's nose.

Azhi Dahaka twitched its body, sensing the anomaly.

"Krrraaaahhhh!"

Azhi Dahaka let out a roar-like screech, flapping its wings violently. A sticky layer of tissue obscured Yi-An's vision.

Yi-An cut through it without care.

The layer split and the wings were bifurcated. Through the gap, Yi-An saw Azhi Dahaka's enraged eyes. Yi-An grinned.

"Is it venomous?"

[Negative.]

Azhi Dahaka's fluids were not acidic or toxic like Parthenon's. It was similar to a classic dragon, relying on brute force and spewing flames.

Yi-An, carried by momentum, passed the severed edge of the wing. He aimed God Slayer at Azhi Dahaka's giant eyeball.

The greatsword plunged down.

The monster shook its head to move its eye out of the way but was still struck on the cheek. Azhi Dahaka screeched.

Yi-An momentarily lost his hearing because of the monstrous bellow.

In the ringing silence, Yi-An steadily drove God Slayer in and twisted. Flames burst from the blade, distorting Azhi Dahaka's face. The monster thrashed, flailing its wings.

Its resistance was weak.

The enfeebled monster couldn't shake Yi-An off.

Once God Slayer clung to Azhi Dahaka's face, it wouldn’t let it go. Yi-An's task was simply to hold onto the hilt and plant his feet firmly. The blade did the rest, carving through flesh and advancing inward.

Azhi Dahaka's resistance began to wane.

"Krrraaaahhhh..."

Its life hung by a thread under Yi-An's sword.

Yi-An suddenly looked up at the sky.

It was high and blue.

He stood at its highest point in the middle of the vast red desert.

His view stretched to the farthest his eyes could see. The only thing that could contain this vast land was the blue sky.

As he glanced at the receding sky and clouds, Yi-An let out a sigh that was almost a gasp.

"Ah..."

It was a beautiful view. Strength returned to his shoulders. His voice grew louder.

"Ahhh...!"

The landscape of the desert brought him solace.

Hoyt’s words were never wrong. The enemy's weakness was his strength. Something boiled within him as he watched Azhi Dahaka crumble.

It became a vindictive pleasure against a foe that had once massacred humanity.

"Aaaaaaaaaaah!"

Yi-An roared, plunging God Slayer deep inside the monster.

His energy erupted.

Flames burst from the greatsword, devouring Azhi Dahaka's insides and incinerating its remains. The sword energy mercilessly descended to bisect the monster's body and shatter the silhouette of Uluru.

There was an explosion.

The cloud of dust settled.

Yi-An was standing on top of Uluru.

He nudged the body of the fallen Azhi Dahaka’s body with his foot. The monster no longer moved.

It was an easier fight than he had expected.

* * *

"The battle is over."

Yi-An radioed brightly. Soon, a helicopter would come to pick him up.

[.......]

But there was no response.

"Base?"

After calling the base for a while, Yi-An realized.

A translucent barrier was enclosing the area around Uluru, and it was gradually thickening.

The landscape beyond the barrier became blurred.

Yi-An swung his sword energy toward Azhi Dahaka. Its skin split open, spilling bodily fluids, but there was no reaction from the monster itself.

By the time the outside of Uluru was completely obscured, making the desert and the sky barely visible, the real opponent revealed itself.

"It's you."

Yi-An sighed.

It was a creature he had seen before.

The unidentified humanoid monster that had appeared from within Parthenon after its death.

Just like it did then, it landed slowly in front of Yi-An with a layer of tissue spread out wide, dripping with mucous.

Their eyes were at the same level.

Its insect-like, bizarre eyes stared at Yi-An. Its vertically split mouth rubbed against itself for a while, seemingly attempting to convey something.

Then, it managed to produce the language of humans.

"Hu...man."

It spoke.

"Yeah, monster."

Yi-An responded, resting God Slayer on his shoulder. Human language coming out of a monster’s wasn’t the most pleasant to the ear.

Still, it had the courtesy to speak in English.

"Very strong human."

"Save your compliments. Just take down that barrier."

Yi-An wasn't interested in dragging out the conversation.

He prepared to swing his sword immediately.

But the monster’s next words greatly deviated from Yi-An's expectations.

"We need to help each other."

Yi-An was momentarily speechless, dumbfounded at the monster's words.

A monster that relentlessly destroyed humanity and preyed upon them was saying what now...?

"You bastard..."

Yi-An swung his sword immediately.

Clang!

"...!"

A claw at the end of its arm blocked his sword.

The monster didn't lower its stance nor did it shift its feet, but it blocked Yi-An's attack standing firm.

It was strong.

"Calm down, human. We are not enemies."

"Bullshit."

Yi-An twisted his sword to shake off the claw and swung again.

The monster retreated. The greatsword cut through the air.

"Human, I understand your anger."

"You understand?"

"Many humans died. I empathize with your sorrow."

"...."

Yi-An caught his breath, trying to calm his heightened emotions.

Fatigue and stress had inevitably accumulated over time. Anger was boiling inside him. He took deep breaths, trying to settle it down.

"What is that barrier?"

"Without it, we'll get caught. 'He' will find out. It's for our protection."

Yi-An massaged his temples hard.

"Alright, speak. Let's hear it."

"Human. The one invading your world is 'Bagamadra.'"

"Bagamadra?"

"I, too, have lost everything to him. He is my enemy. He wasn't satisfied with our dimension and now seeks to claim yours as well."

"Who are you?"

"I am Garuda.'"

Garuda shook his claw once. It seemed almost like a gesture of respect toward something.

"The sole heir of the Basara Ayuta dynasty. I was once a prince. But now I am a warrior resisting Bagamadra."

Warrior.

It was a word he hadn't heard for a while. He felt a rather strange emotion when he heard it coming from the mouth of a monster.

"Warrior?"

"Yes. Human. A warrior. Just like you."

Garuda looked at Yi-An with its otherworldly eyes. Yi-An couldn’t get a grip on what Garuda was feeling.

"Our world was different once too. But Bagamadra destroyed everything. He produces only pain and hatred with his evil power. He wanted to have your world as well, but because of you, human, he hasn't been able to."

"..."

"Most of this world should have already been conquered, but there was you, a strong human. You are strong. You killed all his minions."

Yi-An nodded.

Without a doubt, without him, the majority of Earth would have fallen already not only to the Dragon-class monsters but also because of being overwhelmed by the sheer number of monsters pouring out from the lair-ified areas.

Or humans would have turned entire continents into lands of death with nuclear bombs.

"But if things stay this way, you will lose. This dimension will become like my world, taken by Bagamadra. Like it happened to me..."

Yi-An observed Garuda.

He had the skill to see through truths, the Divine Eye. His Divine Eye, gradually adapting to the presence of the otherworldly being in front of him, started to read Garuda's heart.

There was no falsehood in Garuda's heart.

It was filled with earnest sincerity.

A deep sorrow that couldn't be guessed from his insect-like face shone through. The grief of losing his world and kin, the powerlessness against the enemy, and a sliver of hope—all of them tangled together.

At the end of it all there was Yi-An. He was there.

"We must help."

"How?" Yi-An asked as he lowered God Slayer.

Instead of answering, Garuda bowed his head. The antennae on his head extended toward Yi-An.

Yi-An hesitated for a moment but then leaned forward. Garuda's antennae touched Yi-An's head.

Something started to flow in.

Visions became torrents flooding into Yi-An's mind.

And the vision.

"Ah..."

Hell.

An abyss writhing in endless pain and hatred, where the dying and those wishing for death forever intertwined.

A demonic landscape where ugly creatures were fused together to create even uglier ones, then split and grafted to rise again as horrendous entities.

And the giant monster causing it all, Bagamadra.

Just seeing it felt like the mind could be corrupted by the abyssal vision. Unwanted knowledge was injected into his head. Yi-An's breath quickened.

Yi-An couldn't bear it any longer and shook off Garuda's antennae. He bent over, heaving.

"Do you understand now, human?"

Yi-An clasped his head.

He started to laugh emptily with his head still bowed.

"Hahaha..."

It was almost strange how nice today felt.

"Shit."

The sky was especially blue, and each of the distant landscapes caught his eye.

It felt like something pleasant was about to happen, getting him all excited.

Yi-An gritted his teeth once more.

"Shit..."