The Villain's Story

Chapter 735: Dead giants tell many tales.

She was unaware of how much time had passed, hours? Days? Weeks? Alice only knew she had been incapacitated for what she thought to be a long time, her mind was filled with fear of fire... it was as if she was being burned alive but not at the same time.

It was horrifying, and she was unaware when she regained her reason, it took her hours to process everything, and finally stop shaking with fear, she ran away from the ball of lightning that signified Kizmalʼs fear. The fear of a fire she did not want to see ever again.

His home world, covered in the fire of a dragon as big as a country, a dragon covered in spikes, obsidian, and molten rock, a dragon meant for war. She puked as she recalled the fire it unleashed.

ʼWhat was that...?ʼ

She vividly remembered the dragonʼs name, his titles, his figure and most importantly his presence.

ʼTHAT is an adult dragon? Thatʼs what Azmakul is? Thatʼs what Alan and Kazikato are going to be? Or... is that a supreme?ʼ

Her mind was filled with questions, so, so many questions and apprehensions but only one answer.

ʼFire is the weakness, all giants are afraid of fire, and it is incredibly effective.ʼ

That dragon had summoned a fire so potent, so horrific itʼs experience, was engrained into giants born even after it had done it. Just what level of power did you need to even think of such a thing, let alone do it? She didnʼt want to know, she didnʼt want to know...

”Haaa... Haaa.”

She clutched her head, still reeling about her experience. She wanted to get as far away as possible from that ball of lightning, that ball of fiery fear, as she could, but she could not.

There were still two more balls of lightning that represented Kizmalʼs drive, his purpose. His need to kill, his murderous intent and the other, his greatest wish, the survival and prosperity of his race.

She was having second thoughts, already the experience of the fire was so great she dreaded whatever was held within those two. But she knew she couldnʼt shy away from it.

How many times had Alan been ripped apart? His head crushed between Kizmalʼs teeth as he desperately tried to avoid it?

How many times had Alexander literally melted in Kizmalʼs blood? How many times had Kazikato been pulled apart, been crushed between Kizmalʼs palms? How many times had Edward been flattened underneath Kizmalʼs foot? Sabrina bombarded with lightning that consumed her whole?

She had a feeling they had challenged the trial many times after she had begun her assimilation... She had no reason to believe time flowed differently in here, and she must have spent a great deal of time recovering after the fire. She must have.

So how many times had they challenged the trial and faced defeat? Ever since she came here, she knew they couldnʼt beat Kizmal until they knew more about him. She needed to do something at the very least.

With trembling steps, she moved towards the ball of lightning that signified his resolve to kill someone, hoping she wouldnʼt be overwhelmed, praying that Kizmal still disregarded her as anything important.

The lightning crackled, and dragged her in, much like before.

****

Isnʼt it cold? Kizmal?

Alice heard a voice, but instead of it being raspy, gruff, and an awful thing to hear. It was pleasant, a gift to the ears, but at the same time, it was menacing. Her vision was dull, she was unable to see who was speaking.

The voice asked Kizmal a question, but the giant did not respond, She only heard thunder, lightning strikes of unimaginable power. Her vision started to recover, but Alice could not hide the fact that she felt something was odd.

Do you not feel it? Kizmal?

There was a struggle, and both Kizmal and the other voice were in pain, both of them were injured to a significant degree... but it seemed Kizmal was losing. Then, she could feel it as well.

The cold, a chilling frost that inched closer and closer to her, terrified she expanded her vision, overloaded her skill to get as much as possible before a similar fate as the fire occurred.

Would she be frozen this time? In this cold?

ʼNo...ʼ

No, it was something else. This cold was something that disregarded her, much like how Kizmal did. She was simply far beneath it. Once again, she was thankful for how pathetic she was compared to these existences.

But now, since she was using up all of her mana, she could see. Kizmal lying on the ground, his chest caved in, and a massive pillar embedded within, his blue blood pulsed with lightning even outside his body and massacred the cold that tried to freeze him. Kizmal took deep breaths, as he glared at the skies, Alice wanted to turn around, but then she found herself unable to move.

She wanted to know what he was glaring at, but then she realized... Everything but Kizmal, or related to him and the voice from above, was still. Even the strands of her hair were stuck in place, in the air. They werenʼt frozen due to the cold... or rather they were.

She realized she wasnʼt breathing, her body was completely still, her vision locked in place as she arrived at the conclusion.

ʼTime... stopped?ʼ

Everything that wasnʼt related to Kizmal or the being above was stuck, frozen in time.

Isnʼt it cold? Kizmal?

A storm emerged once more, as Kizmal tried to rise, He used his sheer strength and propelled him upwards, even though impaled. He simply moved up the spear, even grabbing it for support. The giant, tired and defeated, still rose. His lightning was powerful.

The fragment they were facing? Not even a million of those could even overpower him. She would be shocked if the Original Kizmal even gave them an ounce of his attention.

I am the thunder bringer, your cold is nothing.

That was it, those were the last words he uttered, and even the voice from above. And then they simply clashed in a battle Alice could not see. And she was sure it was better that way. The cold had stirred up fear inside of her, and her body shivered even more whenever she heard lightning in the distance. The voice from above... she knew who it was now, she knew clearly.

Lanesha, Supreme of Frost, the ruler of Lanekia and Alanʼs mother. That was the identity of the voice battling Kizmal, Supreme of Lightning, Star Devourer. She was not able to glean any useful weakness from this battle... she simply remained still.

It was not the cold that made her freeze, not even the chance of the getting hit by a stray lightning bolt. It was fear, fear of even being close to these things. Every second was torture, a hell she could not bear.

ʼPapa, please... anyone.ʼ

She called out to her father, to any god she knew, she even prayed to the two battling it out in front of her, around her, as her mind began to fail, collapsing and emerging anew.

ʼPlease...ʼ

The lightning made it all futile, she could pray all she wanted, but even the voice in her mind was drowned amidst the thunderous roars. The collapse of mountains bigger than Everest with but a breath, the sky being torn apart.

The cold was even more merciless, slowly it took her apart, freezing her body and mind, oblivious to her prayers and hopes. This was not the instantaneous death that Agri had brought her, Even though she had felt the pain of being burned alive, it was faster than this.

Even though she had presumably spent a long time recuperating after it... at least it was instantaneous? This felt as if it was as long as the time to recover from the fire. The cold simply took over her slowly, helpless to resist.

Her mind broke apart so many times, and then came back as the cold travelled up her body, filled with glee at her suffering.

As if eternity was passing away, only one thought kept her sane.

ʼHelp them...ʼ

And a promise.

ʼNever enter the other ball...ʼ

She didnʼt think she would survive another, not at all.

And then, the cold finally took over her, her eyes drowned with horror as she realized she did not die, but remained alive. But then, a bolt of stray lightning landed around her, breaking her into pieces. Something she was so, so thankful for.

ʼFi-finally...ʼ

*****

Aliceʼs figure appeared outside the ball of lightning, but this time, it would take even longer for her shattered mind to recover. However, the space had changed. No longer was there an ocean of red above, a circle of calm where three orbs of lightning orbited a crystal.

Instead, there was a man with the face of an oni, wearing loose but luxurious clothes that did not try to hide the rings and drums that emerged from his back. The man bent down and looked at the human girl, and raised his hand.

His eyes were lost, rage and insanity had taken over. But then, for a fleeting moment, he smelled something sweet.

And stopped, his eyes lost his rage and were filled with curiosity.