The heavy footsteps shook the cavern floor once again.
Damp mist billowed into the air as the colossal figure drew nearer, and when it finally stepped into the light, Yue instinctively held her breath.
Dasamuka had arrived.
He was not merely tall.
He stretched upward like a living tower.
His body was broad and massive, resembling a mountain of weathered stone draped in moss. Yet what truly sent chills crawling down Yue's spine were his ten heads.
They sprouted chaotically across his body—from his chest, his back, his waist, even along the sides of his arms.
Some faced forward.
Some stared sideways.
Others protruded from his abdomen and the back of his shoulders, as though faces were struggling to emerge from a nightmare.
Every one of them was alive.
They blinked independently.
Their mouths moved of their own accord.
They spoke.
Sometimes answering one another.
Sometimes arguing.
Creating a chaotic chorus unlike anything any other creature could ever imitate.
He stood upon only two legs.
Immense.
Solid.
Each step struck the ground like a war hammer.
Their laughter erupted together.
"Hahaha... aaah..."
"Look..."
"The Obsidian Dragon..."
"With only one head..."
"All alone..."
"How pitiful..."
"Hahaha!"
Shen Long did not rise.
He merely opened one eye and glanced at them briefly, as though his annoyance had long since passed the point of deserving any further attention.
Meanwhile, Yue quietly slipped into the mist.
Illusory magic flowed from beneath her feet, wrapping around her body like a thin veil.
Yet despite being hidden, every hair on her body stood on end.
Those ten heads searched in different directions.
Each seemed to scan the cavern with terrifying vigilance.
The dwarf giant raised a hand, trying to calm the noisy procession.
"You again," he sighed.
"Can't you ever show up without making an entire cave go deaf, Dasamuka?"
One head along the left side of Dasamuka's ribs lowered itself toward him, grinning to reveal enormous cracked teeth.
"Ah... the dwarf giant," it sneered.
"The little runt who dares to speak to the King of Giants."
The dwarf giant tightened his fists.
His jaw stiffened.
Yet he made no effort to return the insult.
Though they both belonged to the race of giants, there was no denying that Dasamuka dwarfed him in sheer size.
Seeing the smaller giant standing there with such stubborn defiance only amused them further.
Their roaring laughter echoed violently throughout the cavern once more.
Heat rose to the dwarf giant's ears.
He almost answered back.
But standing only as high as Dasamuka's ribs made him think better of it.
Dasamuka opened one of his many mouths, preparing another insult.
Before he could—
"Having ten heads doesn't make you ten times wiser, Dasamuka."
Shen Long's voice cut through the laughter.
"It only makes you ten times louder."
Silence.
Every laugh vanished at once.
Twenty eyes narrowed simultaneously.
The air tightened like a bowstring drawn to its limit.
Yue held her breath.
The mist surrounding her illusion rippled ever so slightly as she noticed one of Dasamuka's heads paying little attention to the exchange.
The head near his waist slowly scanned every corner of the cave.
Unlike the others...
It almost seemed smarter.
"Did... it notice me?" Yue whispered anxiously.
She took one careful step backward, moving as silently as possible.
That head stared at a single spot upon the cave floor.
Then, as several other heads burst into laughter again, it briefly looked toward them—
Before joining in as well, laughing for reasons only it seemed to understand.
Dasamuka straightened himself.
The central head between his shoulders spoke with unmistakable authority, as though it truly commanded all the others.
"Watch carefully, Shen Long."
"Those insignificant humans won't stand the slightest chance against our intelligence."
"Hey! Hey! That's enough!" another head interrupted.
"Don't reveal all our plans to that old dragon!"
Several other heads nodded in agreement.
Twenty arms reached toward the air one last time before the giant finally turned away.
"Very well."
"It's time to ascend..."
"And let the world witness our magnificence!"
"Our greatness!"
Dasamuka's footsteps echoed through the cavern.
His colossal body slowly disappeared into the darkness, leaving behind only the scent of damp earth...
And chaos that had yet to fade.
Yue waited until even the echoes of those footsteps had vanished.
Only then did her veil of illusion slowly dissolve, slipping from her body like a blanket falling from weary shoulders.
Her breathing remained uneven.
The fur along the back of her neck still stood upright.
"That creature..."
Yue murmured.
"No human could possibly defeat something like him."
Shen Long did not turn around.
The Obsidian Dragon continued staring toward the dark tunnel where Dasamuka had disappeared.
"Perhaps that's not entirely true, Little Fox."
His voice remained deep and calm.
"Humans..."
"They are creatures forever capable of surprising others."
Shen Long slowly shifted his enormous body.
Obsidian scales scraped against stone like thousands of blades.
"Especially the man standing beside the President."
"The one who possesses both authority... and plans."
"I still cannot comprehend how he conceived the idea of challenging the might of my flames by sending a vessel across the sea... together with warriors worthy of facing me."
Yue swallowed.
Dasamuka's laughter still lingered inside her ears.
She imagined the colossal giant once more.
Ten heads.
Twenty arms.
And wondered what kind of weapon...
Or invention...
Humanity could possibly create to confront such a monster.
The three of them fell silent.
Their eyes remained fixed upon the tunnel where Dasamuka had vanished.
Then they looked toward the holographic screen suspended high above the cavern.
As though waiting...
For a battle.
Between a creature that relied upon overwhelming strength and countless voices...
And beings whose greatest weapon was an intellect too sharp...
And forever full of surprises.
---
The ground beneath the Mythology grandstand trembled softly.
At first, it resembled nothing more than the earth exhaling.
Hairline cracks spread outward.
Gradually forming a perfect circle as wide as a royal ballroom.
From within the fissure, a massive stone platform slowly ascended.
The conversations throughout the Mythology stands fell silent.
The platform continued rising.
The first thing to appear was a single enormous head, its eyes as large as serving platters.
Then came the second.
The third.
The fourth.
Until all ten heads had emerged.
Together they formed the silhouette of a colossal layered giant so immense that the sky itself seemed lower above him.
Twenty eyes blinked at different moments.
Their uneven rhythm alone was enough to make one's skin crawl.
The Mythology faction erupted into thunderous cheers.
"DASAMUKA!"
"DASAMUKA!"
The chants climbed toward the vaulted heavens of the arena, echoing among the pillars of light surrounding the Sun Throne.
Across the arena...
The Human stands fell deathly silent.
The air itself seemed colder.
Some people instinctively hugged themselves.
One woman covered her mouth, unable to bear the sight of ten faces moving with completely different rhythms.
One head grinned.
Another shrieked.
One simply stared forward without expression, like a wooden mask brought to life.
"W-Who could possibly fight something like that?"
No one answered.
Even the wind refused to speak.
Dasamuka stood proudly at the center of the arena.
His immense body occupied enough space for three ordinary monsters.
Without warning, all ten heads roared together.
The sound struck the chest like a war cry.
"HUMANS!"
"WHERE IS YOUR CHAMPION?"
High above, where the judges sat...
Libra tightened her grip around the small golden scales in her left hand.
The scales trembled gently, as though responding to the overwhelming pressure filling the air.
For a brief moment...
Libra said nothing.
Her star-like eyes slowly examined every part of the giant's impossible anatomy.
She had witnessed creatures born from supernovas.
She had watched black mist entities devour miniature dimensions as though they were candy.
She had even weighed the soul of a being whose body had been forged from stellar mass itself.
And yet—
"...I have never seen a body structured like that before."
Her whisper was as quiet as the collapse of a dying nebula.
To the east...
Upon the Throne of Technology...
The President leaned forward.
His elbows rested upon his knees.
His fingers intertwined tightly.
He looked less like the leader of a nation...
And more like an aging father carrying the fate of humanity within a single breath.
"Even the Central Tower..."
"...isn't that tall."
His voice was heavy.
He calculated.
Strength.
Speed.
Attack angles.
How many arms could strike at once.
Which human—if any—still possessed even the slightest chance.
Yet the longer he thought...
The deeper the lines of worry became upon his brow.
Then he turned.
Standing beside the throne, Johan remained perfectly upright.
His hands rested behind his back as always.
His expression was calm.
Almost unnaturally calm for a man facing a ten-headed giant.
His gaze was far from empty.
His lips moved constantly, muttering beneath his breath.
Like someone reciting an incantation.
Or perhaps...
An equation.
The President quietly watched the movement of his assistant's eyes.
From the giant's shifting shoulders...
To the rhythm of each blink...
Even the movements of Dasamuka's massive supporting legs were being meticulously calculated inside Johan's mind.
Several times he released long, measured breaths.
As though every collision of ideas shattered apart...
Only to be reconstructed into something new.
The President frowned.
"Johan..."
"...you're far too calm."
Johan did not answer.
He merely narrowed his eyes.
For an instant, analytical brilliance flashed within them—
Like a mathematician who had finally discovered a hidden pattern buried inside chaos.
He exhaled one final time.
As though every formula...
Every possibility...
Every countermeasure...
Had finally fallen perfectly into place.
Only execution remained.
"My apologies for ignoring you, Mr. President."
"Please excuse me for a moment."
He bowed politely.
Then turned away...
Without another word.