I Can Devour Monsters' SSS Talents

”Whatever you see inside the Giants’ Graveyard, don’t trust it.” Averian said quietly.

”What do you mean? I also saw that mentioned in the documents, but there was no reason given.” Lian raised an eyebrow.

”I don’t know. The stories say sounds are heard there, and it’s not clear who they belong to.”

”And sometimes the path behind you disappears.”

Seris showed no reaction, but Lian remembered the sentence.

He sat on One’s back, and the silver-haired girl also jumped up lightly and sat behind him.

The space on One’s massive body was enough for both of them. The ant raised its antennae and waited for the command.

Nemi stood near the gate until the last moment. When One moved, she followed them a few steps.

Sera placed her hand on her younger sister’s shoulder and held her back gently.

Ravian raised his spear, and Averian placed his hand on his chest.

Lian turned back for the last time. The Lacerians were standing among the massive roots and green lights.

The blue band on his wrist moved with the airflow, then the path curved, and the root walls came between them.

And the tribe disappeared from view.

A few minutes passed in silence. He had finally left the place he had lived in for these few days.

”Did you get attached to them?” Seris, who was sitting behind Lian, finally asked.

”Maybe, but attachment is not the right word. Leaving them is neither hard nor a problem for me. It’s just that I won’t see them again, which feels strange.” Lian thought for a moment.

”It was fast.” Seris said.

”When you go to the brink of death with someone a few times, relationships naturally form quickly.”

Seris was silent for a few moments, then nodded.

She understood this logic better than most ordinary emotions, because her own relationship with Lian was also formed based on exactly this logic.

Those two had also gone to the brink of death several times and had even fought an Unholy together, which is why they now have such a close relationship.

In the first hours of the journey, the Forest of Giants was no different from previous days.

Roots as large as fortress walls stretched in all directions, green mist moved among them.

Luminous plants glowed on the trunks, and the sound of giant insects was heard from a distance.

Sometimes the shadow of a large bird passed through the mist.

Smaller monsters changed their path upon sensing the presence of One and Seris.

One moved at a steady speed, its six legs easily crossing the uneven ground, thick moss, and gaps between the roots.

Lian took out the map several times and checked the direction. The path was initially simple. They had to follow a white root, then pass by a dry waterway, and finally reach a section marked on the map with a broken pillar symbol.

But as hours passed, small changes began.

First, the sound of insects decreased. Not suddenly, but gradually, and the buzzing that was always in the background of the forest slowly faded.

Then the birds disappeared. No more shadows passed above the roots. The luminous plants became dimmer, some completely dark.

The moss lost its vibrant green color and turned into a dull gray. Scattered bones on the ground increased.

At first, normal bones, remains of small monsters, then a rib several meters long, a broken skull in whose eye socket a person could stand.

And a few hours later, a bone whose thickness was almost equal to a tree trunk.

It was clear they were slowly approaching dangerous areas that even monsters did not dare to go near.

One suddenly stopped.

Its movement was so sudden that Seris placed her hand on the ant’s armored body to keep her balance.

One’s antennae rose, and its jaws opened slightly.

Lian felt a wave of anxiety through Hive Link.

A raw and instinctive feeling.

One did not see an enemy, but its entire body told it not to go forward.

”It’s scared.” Seris looked at the ant. It was clear with just one look.

”I know.” Lian answered and jumped down from One. He had not expected this ant to also hesitate to approach the graveyard.

Seris also came to the ground.

Both checked the surroundings. There was no obvious movement.

No monster could be seen, no smell of fresh blood or living creature came, but the silence was too deep.

Even the wind did not make a sound among the roots. The space looked like a part of the world that had been separated from the rest of nature.

Lian placed his hand on One’s armor and tried to understand the source of its anxiety through Hive Link.

There was no clear answer, only fear.

”Can you force it to move forward?” Seris asked. The path was not smooth, and if they had to continue on foot, it would be troublesome.

”I can.” Lian looked at the gray path ahead, then back at One.

”But we’re not in a hurry.” He did not force One to move at its previous speed.

They mounted again. This time, the ant’s steps were slower. Before each step, it would check the ground with its antennae and senses.

The further they went, the more the Forest of Giants remained behind them.

By late afternoon, almost no living plants were around them. The ground had become rockier. The green mist had turned gray.

And finally, the sign that Averian had mentioned appeared from within the mist.

At first glance, it looked like a stone pillar. Something tall and white that had risen dozens of meters from the ground and was broken in the middle.

But when they got closer, Lian saw the curved lines on its surface.

Natural cracks, tiny holes, and a texture that had no resemblance to stone.

It was a bone.

A finger bone. Part of a creature’s finger that was once so massive that just one joint stuck out of the ground like a tower.

Lian got down from One. At the lower part of the bone, old marks were carved.

The symbol of return, the warning of death, and a symbol that in the lizard culture meant absolute prohibition of entry. Some of the signs were so old that their edges were worn away.

Lian ran his finger over one of them. The bone dust settled on his hand.

He had learned these signs by studying the reports and understood their approximate meaning.

”This finger is really huge. How does this forest have such massive monsters?” Seris looked at the broken top.

Lian raised his head. The tip of the bone disappeared in the mist.

”If just its finger is this big...” He didn’t finish the sentence. There was no need. And they continued on their way.

From that point on, the Forest of Giants slowly ended. The ground became sloped, the roots decreased, and gray and black rocks took their place.

The mist became colder.

On the horizon, something like a mountain appeared. At first, it had no clear shape, a massive white mass in the mist. But the closer they got, two dark holes could be seen on it.

Holes as large as buildings. Then the jawline, the marks of broken teeth, and they understood that it was not a mountain but part of a massive skull.

One slowed down again.

Lian felt its anxiety increasing every moment.

Their path passed by a rocky cliff. For a few moments, the wind pushed the mist aside, and finally, a small part of the Giants’ Graveyard was revealed before them.

”You see it? We’re getting closer...”

Ribs like towers had risen from the ground, a spine several kilometers long was stretched through the valley.

Massive skulls were submerged in the mist. Broken swords the size of buildings were placed among the bones.

Some blades were half-sunk into the ground. Massive chains were wrapped around several skeletons.

Each of their links was the size of a house. On one of the distant bones, black spots were moving.

From that distance, they looked like ants.

But considering the size of the bone, each of those spots had to be larger than One.

The mist rose again, and the valley’s view was hidden.

”Where did those blades come from? How are they so massive?” Seris showed clear interest.

Her hand went to her sword’s hilt, and her black eyes looked more carefully into the mist.

”I don’t know either, but whoever can make such massive swords really knows their craft.” Lian was also amazed.

”This place is very interesting.”

”I knew you would like it.”

Dusk was approaching, the gray light of the sky was getting weaker every moment. Lian decided to set up camp before entering deeper into the graveyard.

Between two curved ribs, they found a space that was closed from three sides. The ribs were like tall white walls around the spot.

Only a narrow entrance faced the mist, and One was stationed near that entrance.

Its body almost completely blocked the path. Lian placed a few light crystals on the ground, creating a soft white light.

They did not light any fire. They didn’t know what creatures the smell of smoke or heat might attract.

Seris sat next to one of the ribs, placed her sword on her knee, and looked at the mist ahead.

Lian opened the map. The lines had become much clearer after the map was completed.

The path showed that in the morning they had to pass through a section called Rib Passage, after that, a narrow path went down into the valley’s depth.

”Hmm? This isn’t right.” But when Lian compared the path behind them with the map, something was wrong.

The root they had passed by hours ago should have been visible from that same point, but behind the camp, there was nothing but a wall of bone and mist.

Lian stood up, walked back a few steps, and examined the mist. There was no trace of the previous path!

”It seems the path has changed.” Seris also looked back.

”Strange.” Lian narrowed his eyes. There really was no trace of the previous path, and it seemed to have disappeared.

He looked at the map and then back at the bone wall.

”Is this an illusion, or has the path really changed?”

Seris did not answer. She placed her hand on the bone and examined it for a few moments.

”It’s real.”

Lian came closer. The bone’s surface was cold and solid. There was no sign of an image or illusion. The path behind them had really been replaced by something else.

He remembered Averian’s warning, ”Sometimes the path behind you disappears.”

”We have to be careful.” And both went into a light sleep for rest, while the ant was supposed to keep watch.

That night, neither of them slept deeply.

One remained anxious throughout. Lian could feel its states through Hive Link.

The ant kept turning its antennae toward the mist, but nothing could be seen.

However, at midnight, a sudden wave of One’s anxiety woke Lian up.

His eyes immediately opened, and his hand went toward his weapon... he too finally felt the danger!