Utgarda-Loki

As the dark vortex Above the Supreme Heaven gradually expanded and grew larger, the sky became increasingly gloomy.

Heavenly Eye gradually darkened, it felt like night, even though it was noon.

A howling storm swept in, making the ships moored on the shore rock violently. Waves crashed back and forth—not the tide flowing from east to west, but ripples spreading outwards from the island of Avalon.

"Captain! Think of something!"

Albert, clutching his chestnut-shaped round hat, called out to the tall elf beside him, "Is Lord Hellerchein in danger?!"

"...I don't know either."

The gray-haired elf, known as the captain, frowned deeply. "This is too fast..."

"I think this is a trap! Let's get off the ship!"

The old dwarf spoke in a rough yet loud voice.

"In any case, let's send the armor and spear to Lord Hellerchein first."

The human girl beside him looked over. "Otherwise, what if he gets attacked..."

"I'm going there; you guys guard the ship."

The tall Lizardman warrior spoke in a low voice, interrupting the others.

The others immediately fell silent and looked at him with conviction.

"It's up to you, Origen!"

The others were making noise, as if everything would be fine as long as this warrior stepped in.

At this moment, the Lizardman warrior with reddish-brown skin easily put on heavy armor, picked up his silver lance, and frowned.

He felt a strong sense of unease.

That feeling...

"...demon?"

The Giant Priest, clad in a red robe, suddenly raised his head, looked out the window, and frowned. "Where did this demon come from?"

"What demon?"

Another female giant, much shorter than him, asked with some confusion, "What are you talking about, Surtur?"

"A night demon is venting her 'jealousy'... perhaps it's a conspiracy by the Fallen Angel."

"—Also, remember to call me Utgarda-Loki, Signe. I am no longer the guardian of the kingdom."

The giant Utgarda-Loki looked down at the long-handled metal axe he was holding and said calmly, "I am no longer entitled to possess the [Wounding Branch]."

"So, are you still going to get involved in this?"

Signe asked with concern, "Or should we report it to the Supreme Heaven?"

Unlike the coarse and terrifying appearance of the giants, the Giantess Signe has a beautiful face and fair, marble-like skin.

Both she and Utgarda-Loki had red hair, but hers was a darker, or rather, more muted, color.

"Certainly."

Utgarda-Loki replied briefly, "Perfect timing, I'd like to fight too."

He picked up his weapon, and his arm, gripping it tightly, gradually became engorged with blood, and dark red muscles bulged.

"O mighty Supreme Heaven!"

He roared, his deep red, scarred skin gradually igniting with flames like red wine. "Protect your people!"

"I will fight! I will win! I will—"

"—I'm going insane!!"

Utgarda-Loki was engulfed in flames, and his red robe seemed to be soaked in blood and turned into flames.

First it was a slow walk, then a brisk pace. Then it turned into a sprint, transforming into a comet.

The giant, over ten meters tall, rushed out of the palace of the Supreme Heaven barefoot. The flames burning on his body easily evaporated the blood rain, leaving a trail of scorching smoke in the rain.

On the other side...

The blood rain summoned by the Night Demon transformed into deadly weapons.

Clear water turned into blood, plants began to wither, and animals fled in panic.

An ominous, rusty aura filled the air. And the curse clung to every raindrop that fell like a scarlet needle.

If you zoom in, you can see that inside each drop of blood, there are thin, jet-black lines bouncing back and forth. At the tip of each line is a skull-shaped snake head.

The giants who were drenched in blood began to feel their bodies weaken.

The body's power began to leak out uncontrollably, the mind began to become abnormal, and the body convulsed involuntarily, as if it had been poisoned by snake venom from afar and thus developed a fever.

This is the "Snake Head Curse".

Unlike ordinary "Fever Curse," this curse is targeted precisely—the Night Demon has set it to "all creatures taller than three meters." To the uncursed, it is merely viscous rain of blood; but to the cursed race, it is a deadly poison that infects upon contact with the skin.

Every drop of rain is a curse.

Even with their strong resistance to curses, giants could not withstand the pressure of such a density of curses and were all entangled by them.

Immediately afterwards, they let out a series of screams—

Once they were cursed, the blood rain seemed to truly transform into poisonous needles! Each drop of rain that fell sliced away a small piece of flesh. As if pierced by countless steel needles raining down from the sky, the giants let out miserable screams.

That was even more vicious than a rain of steel needles!

Because once the blood rain penetrates the skin and muscles, it transforms into an acidic poison, causing even greater corrosive damage to the body. And the next drop of rain might even land precisely on the same spot, further abrading the body!

In less than a minute, the giants who were unable to return to the building were reduced to bones under the onslaught of the blood rain.

Their flesh and blood were corroded by the rain of blood, spreading across the ground as crimson rivers.

Meanwhile, Iver rode his Pegasus, which was affected by the Bewitching Aura, and flew the East.

Unlike the later Knight's Country of Avalon, the "island Avalon" of this era did not have a port. But this did not prevent Iver from knowing that their current location should be on the western side of Isle of Avalon.

The location of Glass Island should be the East of Avalon!

Pegasus flew at high speed through the air, surrounded by a golden, sacred glow.

Night Demon followed closely behind.

Her wings, rugged like the trunk of a withered tree, spread wide behind her. Illusory shadowy feathers adorned them like leaves. Her body almost completely vanished into nothingness, disappearing into the sky that had turned into "night."

—That Night Demon didn't look like Iver's follower at all; he looked more like someone chasing him! At that moment, Iver finally arrived at the first large gathering point.

Iver knew that Titans were not normal social animals. They typically lived in family units, each occupying a small area, and did not interact with other Titans or have much of a social need. Some Titan families living relatively close together could be called "gathering places" or "meeting points".

The giants would build castles and raise humans in their territory—they called the humans who established villages "free-range," and the ownership of these free-range humans remained with them.

With the endless supply of vegetables provided by the Magic Cauldron, the giants, despite their enormous appetites, would never starve. However, meat was undoubtedly a luxury for them. Therefore, the giants often named their settlements after specific cuts of meat... which naturally resulted in some areas sharing the same name.

After all, although the Giant Kingdom is called a kingdom, it does not have any grassroots administrators.

The Giant Kingdom employs a classic flat organizational structure—the entire nation consists of only three thin layers. At the top lies the royal family, whose blood flows with the divine blood of the Supreme Heaven, serving as the Supreme Heaven's representatives in the Material Realm. Below them are the priests, who govern literature, and the generals, who govern military affairs, followed by the common people throughout the land. All the common people are soldiers; no giant is incapable of fighting.

The reason the giants established gathering points was because, as devout believers of the Supreme Heaven, they had a pressing need for rituals. Traveling to the Royal City was too far, so they needed a closer area for their rituals.

From this perspective, the gathering point of the giants was a the Great Collective of scattered giants surrounding the territory designated by the temple.

"Attack, Night Demon!"

Iver commanded, "Destroy the temple first to prevent any apostles from teleporting over through it!"

"Yes, Master."

Night Demon answered succinctly and then, like a black comet, swooped down toward the temple!