"Should you really be doing this?" one of the angels asked Elton.

But Elton only smiled.

"You're sending one of the sons of Jotna to deal with a human. The giants are meant to make the chase more interesting, not to directly intervene," the angel said.

Elton's smile hardened.

"If the human anomaly wants to be a tough nut to crack, then I'll pull as many strings as possible and push the boundaries of what's allowed within the trials," she replied calmly. "We may not be allowed much, but this much I can do."

"What could you have possibly promised the son of Jotna that made him decide to deal with a human?" the angel asked.

"Freedom," Elton answered.

"What?" The angel stared at her in shock. "You promised the son of Jotna freedom?"

"Indeed," Elton said. "If he wins, I'll vouch for his freedom and have him transferred to a different world, one where he can live freely, away from the maze and his prison."

"And what if the human wins?" the angel asked.

Elton's smile went cold.

"He won't," she said flatly.

[....]

Aren walked up to the giant, looking up at the massive figure looming over him. Just standing before it, he was already wondering how he was even supposed to fight something like this.

Then, suddenly, the giant began to shrink.

Its towering form compressed downward until it took on a humanoid shape. Even then, it still stood nearly seven feet tall, broad and imposing. At the very least, it now resembled something closer to a human.

But Aren could tell immediately, despite the change in size, its strength and abilities remained exactly the same.

He could feel it just by looking at him.

The giant stretched out his hand. His hammer trembled violently, then tore itself free from the ground and shot toward him, shrinking as it flew. By the time it landed in the giant's grasp, it had reduced to a size suitable for his humanoid form.

The giant glanced at the weapon, then back at Aren.

He waited.

Aren took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He had never faced such inevitability before, not even when he fought Riker moments ago. He knew instantly that there was no holding back.

Not even for a second.

He summoned everything.

Riker appeared first. Then Fang, his lightning wolf. The millipede. The snake. The lava hydra. They all manifested behind him like an army of calamity.

And he didn't stop there.

Every ant, every wolf, every goblin under his command was summoned in an instant.

Aren looked at the giant.

"You'll have to forgive me for going all out," he said calmly. "But I can tell that if I don't, I'll die in an instant."

The giant grunted.

He said nothing. He simply tightened his grip on the hammer.

The ants rushed forward first, surging toward the giant at full speed.

The giant watched them approach, then let out another deep grunt. He lifted his hammer high into the air.

Space itself seemed to distort around it.

He swung.

The hammer slammed into the ground, and the shockwave that erupted from the impact was catastrophic. Every single ant was blown away and obliterated instantly.

The ground trembled violently. Cracks spread like spiderwebs, racing across the battlefield for meters.

In a single move, all the ants were gone.

Aren paused, staring at the hammer still embedded in the earth.

It radiated inevitability.

Untouchable.

Undefiable.

That was all Aren could feel standing before it.

But there was no choice.

Rather than frown in fear, he smiled.

"I guess this won't be easy," he muttered.

The millipede launched forward, its massive body surging ahead. Aren leaped onto its head alongside Riker as the rest of his summons split off, rushing from different angles to flank the giant.

The lava hydra raised all seven heads into the air. At once, they unleashed a powerful jet of molten lava, arcing high into the sky before condensing into a massive fiery mass that crashed down toward the giant.

The giant stomped his foot into the ground.

Pillars of earth erupted upward, smashing into the falling lava and scattering it apart. What little splashed onto his body seared and smoked, but he didn't even flinch.

It was as if nothing had touched him.

By then, the millipede had already closed the distance.

The giant turned and brought his hammer down again.

It slammed straight into the millipede's head.

BOOM!

It was like a train hitting an immovable wall. The ground shook violently as all the millipede's momentum was forcibly canceled. Its tail lifted high into the air, but its head didn't move an inch.

Aren was thrown skyward by the impact.

The giant looked up, locked onto him, and lunged upward, swinging to finish him in a single blow.

Riker moved instantly.

With the Ancient Devourer in hand, he intercepted the strike.

The hammer crashed into the blade.

The sword didn't break, it was a soul weapon, but the force behind the blow was overwhelming. Riker was launched like a rocket, slamming into a wall so hard his body cracked into it, dust and debris raining down.

But he had done enough.

Aren landed and retreated several steps back, alive.

The giant didn't stop.

He swung his hammer sideways, crushing the horned snake that tried to attack from the flank. The shockwave continued outward, smashing into nearby wolves and obliterating them instantly.

His gaze locked onto Aren again.

Fang and the lightning wolf attacked from opposite sides, charging at full speed.

The lightning wolf unleashed a barrage of lightning that ripped through the ground and sky, spreading as wide as possible.

The giant simply angled his hammer toward it.

Every bolt struck.

Not a single one harmed him.

Instead, the lightning conducted through his hammer. The black bolts turned red and surged back, slamming into the lightning wolf and sending it flying. It skidded violently across the ground until it finally came to a stop.

The giant turned to Fang next.

Fang tried to unleash his hidden attack, but the hammer came down.

Fang dodged at the last moment, yet the shockwave alone was enough. It slammed into him and sent him flying backward as well.

Not a single summon could even get close.

Every approach was crushed.

Aren stood there, staring at the battlefield of broken summons, his chest rising and falling heavily.

This was a different level entirely.

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