Chapter 355

The citizens of Moscow, confined within their “fish tank,” finally faced catastrophe. The giant who had appeared out of nowhere had destroyed the barriers Yuri Orloff had so painstakingly crafted.

“Aaaah!”

Screams and shrieking filled the air. A Monarch had appeared, bringing with him a tidal wave of chaos and fear. Shards of the shattered barriers, glimmering like splinters of diamond, rained down over the heads of the citizens. Each fragment still pulsed with mana, glowing blue as they burned away in the air, a sight as beautiful as it was horrifying. Below, terrified civilians flooded out of buildings and into the streets.

“W-we have an emergency!”

“It’s a giant! A giant has appeared!”

“Where is the prime minister right now?”

The screams echoed across the city, now gripped by total bedlam. The giant, however, wasn’t interested in the citizens. In fact, he had taken care not to step into the city at all, sparing innocent bystanders from harm. His only goal in coming here was to destroy Yuri’s beloved barriers, after all. Now that his initial purpose was already complete, he had no reason to go further. All that remained was for his enemy to step outside and face him.

“Where is your prime minister? Bring him out immediately!” boomed the giant, his voice rolling like thunder across the Moscow sky.

To drive the message home, he stomped the ground in front of the city, driving the earth downward with crushing force. It was a single, casual stomp, yet the tremor it unleashed felt like a genuine earthquake. This only deepened the fear of Moscow’s citizens.

However, the quake didn’t harm them at all. One single barrier remained, an extremely thin protective shield, and it barely managed to defend Moscow from the shock. Of course, the citizens had no idea he had left it on purpose. All they could see was that one barrier remained, and the rest were gone.

“M-my god!”

“A magic beast that can talk!”

“The giant wants the prime minister!”

The sight was a massive shock. Yuri’s rule had denied the Russian people any meaningful access to outside information, effectively preventing them from knowing what went on in the world outside their borders. The censoring performed by leaders of Yuri’s choosing filtered out all but the simplest of information. As a result, nobody knew who this giant was, nor what business he had with the prime minister.

“W-where is he?”

“But didn’t he leave the city earlier?”

“Did he know the giant was coming? Did he run away on purpose?”

“Th-that can’t be...”

It could, in fact. They wouldn’t put it above him to do such a thing. The people of Moscow were all too familiar with the selfishness of the man who ruled them. They had lived under his rule for only a few years, but if it had been decades, the people in this fish tank might already have been brainwashed enough to worship him as a god. However, a few years wasn’t nearly long enough for that.

Nor did Yuri possess the charisma or brilliance to inspire the masses to obey him willingly. All he had at his disposal were simple threats and a rule of fear to hem in his people and raise them like crops. While the people were painfully aware of this, they had little choice but to accept their reality. At the very least, they were safe here. Thanks to the barriers that both protected and imprisoned them, the monsters outside couldn’t reach them.

Unfortunately, it now seemed that even that thin hope was about to vanish, as a single giant who had emerged out of nowhere was threatening to bring it all to ruin. Yuri’s seemingly indestructible barriers were nothing before the giant’s power. This was also a chance, however, for Yuri to become a true hero of his people. A god could be selfish, after all, but what did that matter if he was willing to protect his people?

“Sir...”

“Please!”

Perhaps their desperate prayers had finally reached the one they were meant for.

The giant’s mouth, hidden beneath his helmet, twitched upward into a smirk. Then, cocking his head, he turned to look behind him. In the distance, he spotted a man sprinting toward him like a bolt of lightning, his expression fierce.

“Heh. That’s more like it. I made all this noise, after all.”

Once he confirmed the man’s face, the giant brought down his hand and shattered the final barrier, clearly intending to provoke his opponent. The explosion echoed across the distance, and Yuri’s face twisted with rage. He had poured so much work into that cage. The shockwaves spread until even he could feel them underfoot. His face reddened, his teeth clenched hard. An emotion he couldn’t quite describe burned in his chest. Was it fear? Fury? He couldn’t tell.

“Who dares destroy my fish tank?!” he roared, his voice dripping with murderous intent.

The giant simply laughed.

“Hahaha! So you’re finally here!”

That voice!

The echoing laughter made Yuri’s eyes widen. The citizens may have been prevented from gaining any information, but Yuri had already heard about the giant who had appeared recently in New York.

“Thomas Andre! How dare you invade my land? Have you well and truly lost your mind?”

This was a clear violation of international laws. It was a veritable declaration of war! An S-rank hunter from the United States had launched an unprovoked attack on Russia. With this action, Russia had every right to retaliate with a nuclear strike if it so desired. Thomas, however, was not the kind of man to worry about such things.

“Thomas? Who is Thomas? I’m just a passing giant!”

His face was concealed by a helm, not that this really prevented recognition. His voice gave him away.

“You lunatic! Don’t think for a moment that thing you wear on your head hides who you are! This is a declaration of war, pure and simple! Do you not fear the consequences?”

Yuri charged toward Thomas at full speed, brilliant light radiating from his body. Thomas’ smile only widened at the sight. His pulse quickened with excitement now that a worthy opponent had arrived.

“Hehe. Not bad. Not bad at all!”

“You! This is

my

kingdom!” Yuri roared, throwing a punch at the giant.

Layer after layer of S-rank barriers overlapped over his fist. He was no combat hunter, but this level of force was not something any S-rank hunter could easily ignore. With a sound like the air being torn apart, his fist surged toward the giant. It was effortlessly blocked.

“Hm? Is that all you have?” Thomas said, sounding disappointed. He batted Yuri’s punch aside with a single massive finger, as though swatting away a gnat.

Yuri was flung backward in a straight line, crashing into the earth ten kilometers away. The impact shattered the ground in a web-like pattern, sending dust billowing into the air. Yuri coughed blood as he staggered to his feet, visibly dazed.

“Th-this power... Where does it come from?”

Only now was he beginning to grasp the extent of the incredible power Thomas possessed.

“They called you that ridiculous name. ‘National Level Hunter.’ But now... do you have the power of an Apostle? How on earth...?”

He was completely bewildered. It was almost as if Thomas had become a follower of the Outer Gods. Thomas simply scoffed at the words and strode toward him.

“An Apostle? I spit on your words. You dare call me that? I am the Monarch of Domination.”

“M-Monarch of what? I don’t...”

“Shut up. Heh. Come at me with everything you’ve got. You won’t get a chance like this often.”

“Damn you, Thomas Andre! This is clearly a declaration of war! Does your president know what you’re doing—”

“Shut your mouth. I don’t know who Thomas Andre is! I’m just a giant passing through.”

“Nonsense!”

Yuri cloaked himself in divine light once again and charged at Thomas. The result was exactly the same. Yuri was thrown back and crashed into the ground, blood spewing from his mouth. He looked humiliated, his teeth clenched in fury. Blood seeped through the cracks between them. It was a pitiful sight.

Yuri had gained such incredible power. Through Project Eternal Fountain, divine energy of unimaginable magnitude was still flowing into him, just like the followers of the Outer Gods he had once made deals with. Yet even that power was no more than a speck of dust before this enormous giant.

“You’re too weak. Is that really all you’ve got?”

Thomas yawned, seemingly bored. That blatant provocation shattered the last shred of Yuri’s pride. He had risen from nothing, living his life as a beggar, clawing his way up after awakening. Now, that same feeling of helplessness had returned all over again.

“H-how could you humiliate me like this?”

Yuri’s eyes turned blood-red. A voice whispered in his mind, as if it had been watching all along.

More power. More divine might!

In that moment, the endless energy flowing from Project Eternal Fountain seemed ready to obey him, all of it entirely within reach.

“O god! Bless me!”

He spread his arms wide and cried out to the heavens. It was the first time in his life that he had ever prayed to a god. That scream of a prayer was laced with both madness and insatiable greed.

“Eternal Fountain! Grant me infinite power and divine blessing!”

In that instant, a massive wave of energy tore Yuri’s shirt apart. The shredded fabric fluttered in the wind. As his bare torso was revealed, even Thomas’ eyes widened.

“What... is that?”

Yuri’s entire body was inscribed with intricate magic circles. They were no ordinary tattoos. Each one moved, tracing complex geometries as if alive. Some spun in spirals, others pulsed like a heartbeat. These were the same formations used to sustain the enormous barrier network across the city. They were usually powered by external mana crystals, a technique Yuri had mastered. No one had imagined that the same structures could be embedded directly onto his flesh.

The circles hummed and glowed, each in a different hue. Yuri’s body was an orchestra, and the magic circles were its instruments. Red light absorbed divine power, and blue light amplified it. Yellow light refined it, and purple light fused it with Yuri’s barrier abilities.

Suddenly, the space around Yuri began to distort. The air shimmered like a mirage over hot asphalt. From that warped space, an endless waterfall of divine energy poured out. Golden energy swirled around his body in a whirlwind.

“Come forth, my god! Grant me your power and strength!”

At the center of the vortex, Yuri laughed wildly, his eyes gleaming with blood-red madness.

“Kahahaha! Yes, this is it! This is the great power of...”

Beaming with joy, Yuri brought his hands together. Between his palms, the air twisted, and something began to form.

“O holy barrier, descend upon this earth!”

Before him, a transparent barrier condensed into the shape of a sharp spear. It was no ordinary barrier. Golden divine energy coiled around the spear’s translucent shaft like threads, and tiny sparks leapt from its tip. A sharp sound, as if slicing through the air, rang continuously around the spear.

“My barrier can sever and divide space itself! Block this if you can!”

The spear shot toward Thomas like a bolt of lightning. A long golden trail followed behind it as it flew, streaking through the air with enough force to cleave the King of Giants in two.

“Hahaha! That’s more like it!”

Thomas grinned with genuine joy and swung his right fist wide. From his giant hand, immense pressure erupted and collided with the golden trail. The result was a deafening shockwave that radiated outward from the point of impact, shattering asphalt and toppling streetlights.

A humming sound filled the air.

[Harmakan created an instance dungeon.]

The dimensional wall split apart, shielding the citizens from the blast. Thomas hadn’t come here to harm civilians, after all. When he noticed Harmakan’s magic, he grinned. Now he had even less reason to hold back.

“Ah! Quite impressive. Let’s fight for real this time!” he said with a shout.

“I will kill you and offer you as a sacrifice to my god!” Yuri shouted, unleashing his divine power in full, as well as his madness.

The usual scorn in his voice toward any kind of divine belief had vanished. He had become an Apostle of the Outer Gods himself, granted incredible power in exchange for a single offering: his own soul.

“Dimensional Prison!” he cried, and his other hand released transparent walls in every direction.

The space surrounding Thomas was soon enclosed in a hexagonal barrier. The barrier walls closed in, threatening to crush him.

“Amusing, for sure,” Thomas said, not fazed in the least.

He tensed every muscle in his massive frame, which swelled with power.

Spirit Transfer.

The primordial darkness cloaked his body. The barrier began to crack in fine lines, like glass under pressure.

“What?!” Yuri shouted, pouring more divine power into the walls, but it was already pushed beyond its limit.

The prison shattered, and transparent fragments scattered in all directions, glinting in the air.

“Reflective Wall!” Yuri shouted, summoning a barrier shaped like a colossal shield.

This was not a simple defense, but a high-level technique that absorbed an enemy’s attack, amplified it with divine power, and sent it back. The moment Thomas’ fist touched the shield, a ripple traveled through it. Those ripples began analyzing and absorbing the force of the blow. A moment later, the impact Thomas had dealt was reflected back at him, now even stronger.

“Haha! That is definitely something! Now we’re having fun!”

Thomas laughed and took the blow head-on. The giant’s body was pushed back, and his heels carved deep trenches in the Russian soil.

With every clash between the two, the nearby mountains and grasslands around Moscow collapsed one after another. Each shockwave that spread out brought with it natural disasters slamming into the vast continent. Yuri paid it no mind. In fact, he was more exhilarated than ever.

“Such power! The infinite divine energy I’ve longed for is finally mine!”

The magic circles engraved all over his body shone even more intensely. The Eternal Fountain in the Arctic filled him continuously with divine power. Every time the magic circles glowed, golden threads appeared in the air, linking Yuri to something unseen.

“Yes, this is how it should be!” Thomas said with delight.

Laughing, he met the battle in earnest as both the King of Giants and the Monarch of Domination. A colossal force erupted from him, and the sky trembled under the weight of it.

***

Meanwhile, a different kind of hell was unfolding in the secret Arctic base.

“Sir! The output is over 500 percent of the safe threshold!”

“Th-this isn’t what we designed the system to handle!”

“Please, this needs to stop!”

“We will all end up dead at this rate!”

Petrov’s face was slick with cold sweat. The measurement device in his hand beeped in alarm, the sound shrill and relentless. Flashing red lights signaled that the danger threshold had been crossed. Divine power was erupting from the massive Void Gate like a storm. What had started as a mere trickle was now a raging river, gushing forth with overwhelming force. Through various devices, magical arrays, and ominous fissures, that divine energy flowed like blood through veins—straight to the distant Yuri.

However, the problem was the backlash. The entire base shook as if hit by an earthquake. Control panels on the walls sparked and began breaking down one after another. Eventually, someone panicked and reached for the control panel.

In that moment, they realized it.

“Damn it! What the hell!”

It was no longer possible to control or restrain the situation.

“Sir! Something’s wrong! The magic circles are activating on their own!”

“It’s like someone... someone else is tampering with our circles!”

“Who could do that?” Petrov demanded.

“O-over there!” a technician cried out in a trembling voice, his finger pointed at the Void Gate.

Beyond the gate, a massive eye came into view. It was so enormous that at first, it couldn’t even be perceived as an eye. However, it unmistakably was. The massive, inorganic eye slowly moved, observing them. It wasn’t merely watching. Like a scientist studying cells through a microscope, it was analyzing and manipulating everything. At that level, just looking was enough.

“I-is that a... an... Itar...?”

“Stop! Shut your mouth!”

Alexei urgently clamped a hand over his colleague’s mouth. For reasons he couldn’t explain, he had the overwhelming feeling that saying that name would bring disaster. It was a kind of superstition, like one of the old tales told time and time again in Russia.

“If you speak the name...”

It could become a

prayer

. If the right conditions were met, simply saying the name of a higher being out loud could summon that entity to this world. The name hadn’t been finished, but it was already too late.

Someone let out a trembling gulp and collapsed to the floor.

The massive eye blinked slowly, as if it had heard their conversation.

Suddenly, the lights inside the base began flickering. The fluorescent lamps turned on and off erratically, like Morse code. Strange symbols started to etch themselves into the walls. It was as if an invisible finger was scratching drawings into the surface, and the more this happened, the more divine power surged toward Yuri.

“Aaaaagh!”

A technician suddenly screamed and began slamming his head against the wall, consumed by fear. With each blow against the wall in a steady rhythm, blood splattered. He repeated the action as if immune to pain.

Another technician began mumbling incomprehensible words into the air. Every formula and secret of Project Eternal Fountain’s design came through his lips, like he was responding to some invisible interrogator. He sounded utterly desperate.

“The project is 95 percent complete. The prime minister is very satisfied! The blessings of the Outer Gods are upon us!”

“The Prime Minister! He’s almost here! Our great lord...” Ivan mumbled with a bright smile. His eyes had turned white, and the corners of his mouth were split all the way to his ears. There was no emotion in the expression, as though a puppet was grinning up at the heavens.

Suddenly, the blue mist that Yuri’s barriers had kept at bay began to leak out through the gate. As it spread, the internal structure of the base subtly began to warp. Straight hallways started to bend, and square rooms twisted into strange shapes. The corridors felt endless, and even when standing still, one’s vision spun in circles.

“C-corrosion...” Petrov murmured.

Clinging to his final shred of sanity, he grabbed the communicator. His hands trembled so badly that even pressing a button was a struggle. Dimensional rifts branched out like tree roots, fracturing as they went, and the entire base began to be consumed. He had to get help. This place was quickly morphing into something no one could control, all because of that single eye.

“E-emergency! The base is undergoing a hostile takeover! Somebody... Somebody help...”

His voice grew fainter and fainter, until the light vanished from his eyes. In the end, he lost consciousness and was swallowed by the blue mist. Just like that, he became a mist burn. He gently set down the radio and aimlessly trudged away. His hands moved to disable the controls for Project Eternal Fountain, only causing the energy to amplify.

In the end, the divine power flowing into Yuri spun wildly out of control.

***

At that very moment, someone came into view, piercing the merciless darkness of the Arctic. Gray growled. He sniffed the air, and pointed directly to where the Arctic base was hidden. As the Monarch of the Hunt, tracking a target was now within the realm of his authority.

“That’s the place?” Suho asked.

Gray nodded and let out a low growl. Suho’s gaze turned cold as he stared in the direction where the Arctic base was concealed. Even with Gray’s confirmation, there was nothing visibly there. No energy could be sensed, living or dead. He sensed nothing, as if someone had intentionally concealed everything happening inside. Just like an instant dungeon, the interior was carefully veiled behind a dimensional breach.

Void Insects swarmed in front of Suho.

“Shall I open a hole?” Arsha asked, appearing beside him.

Suho gave a nod.

“Yes. Let’s get this over with while Thomas is stalling Yuri.”

Thomas’ battle was a distraction. Now was the chance, while Yuri’s attention was completely fixated on Moscow. Suho didn’t exactly fear Yuri, but the man’s barriers were undeniably a nuisance. If Yuri were to appear here, something unexpected could happen. A new barrier might form, or worse, he could take someone hostage.

Arsha’s Void Insects swarmed forward and began gnawing away at the dimensional wall in front of Suho. Finally, the truth hidden beyond the barrier was revealed.

The secret base Yuri had hidden even from the followers now lay fully exposed before him.