Tyrin was still flying over the plains when, from a distance, he noticed that whatever had appeared was still following him — even after he had entered Bison territory. The creature advanced relentlessly across the ground, showing no intention of giving up.
"Damn… I think we pissed something off. Faster, Karma!"
Flying low over the herd of Bisons, Tyrin watched as the creature finally revealed itself. The presence of the intruder enraged the males of the group, who immediately charged the invader. That was when Tyrin saw it clearly: at least five of the massive Bisons collided head-on with a shapeless mass of earth… and what emerged was a colossal serpent, at least two or three times larger than the one he had defeated before.
In that instant, everything made sense.
"Holy shit… we can't kill a single creature without it summoning something even stronger."
Despair washed over Tyrin. He knew that the serpent was far too powerful to be contained by the Bisons. And although the animals had managed to drive it off and prevent an immediate pursuit, he knew his scent had already been marked.
"We're either going to have to face this thing or run from it for good… otherwise, we'll spend the rest of this trip looking over our shoulders."
Tyrin had brought enough water in his dimensional ring to survive the thirst, but he knew Karma, his partner, wouldn't last long without a proper supply of meat — especially after flying with him on her back. That was when an idea formed in his mind.
"Karma… we're heading into Vampire Spider territory."
The plan was simple: if he could lure the serpent into spider territory, he might provoke a clash between two titans. The spiders, unlike the Bisons, wouldn't be so passive as to merely drive the enemy away. It would be the perfect opportunity to pit two monsters that had marked him against each other — and maybe steal a bit of experience in the process. The problem was time: the Bisons moved slowly, and it would take days to reach the Spider area. Tyrin would have to leave the relative safety of the herd and continue the journey with the enemy lurking.
"We'll rest until it manages to get around the Bisons. That way, we gain time to prepare and recover our energy."
Tyrin and Karma took advantage of the Bisons' pause — they'd stopped after the attack — to rest as much as possible. Tyrin knew the truce would be short-lived, so he used the moment to restore his strength.
It was still daylight when they left the herd. Karma confirmed that the serpent was following their trail, and Tyrin made sure to make tracking them even easier, even while flying.
"I think with this blood, it won't lose our trail."
With a dagger, he made a cut in the palm of his hand and began leaving drops of blood every few kilometers. Urgently, it took only half a day to reach the outskirts of Vampire Spider territory.
"Let's take a break and wait for the enemy to get closer."
Karma could sense the inevitable: they had been detected by both creatures, each approaching from a different direction.
"The fury of these monsters will be our victory… As soon as we spot them, we'll head for the edge of the safe zone."
Tyrin knew it was unlikely both monsters would arrive at the same time — and he definitely didn't want to get caught in a direct fight with either one before the third arrived. In the world of Gargantua, creatures were fiercely territorial, and he was betting this meeting would force them to fight each other to the death.
"Karma… do you feel anything?"
Karma grew restless. Something in spider territory was making her nervous. And when Tyrin realized why, his face twisted in pure terror.
"Holy shit… how many eggs did she lay?"
What they saw on the horizon was a swarm — at least fifty spiders, each the size of, or larger than, the one he had killed before, charging in fury to avenge their sister.
"Let's go now, Karma! We have to get out of here! Straight to the safe zone!"
Tyrin mounted Karma and they took off, gliding close to the treetops now covered in white webs. It was twenty tense minutes of flight before they reached the safety of the neutral zone again. They arrived just seconds before the spiders. Tyrin realized that the webs likely allowed them to move at abnormal speed — even flying, Karma had struggled to stay ahead of them.
From within the safe zone, Tyrin could hear the screams of the spiders — a blend of pain and fury. Moments later, the Queen emerged, imposing, her gaze fixed on the enemy with eyes overflowing with rage. The tension in the air was palpable… until suddenly, she turned her attention to the forest. In the distance, trees were falling, clearing a path for something even greater that was approaching.
The sound of the trees crashing down announced the arrival of something gigantic and enraged. It didn't take long before even Tyrin could see it: the colossal serpent rose among the trunks, its eyes locked onto him, filled with hatred. It still stared at him with fury, but quickly realized there was a bigger threat to face.
The serpent was immense. Its body, made of stone and muscle, moved with the arrogance of a predator that had never needed to run. A hundred meters of raw power, with long fangs dripping venom so corrosive it carved deep trenches into the ground wherever it touched.
On the other side, the Spider Queen emerged. Eight legs sharp as battle blades, and a body as vast as a country house. Her eyes — dozens of them — gleamed like rubies in the dark, and behind her came true terror: dozens of offspring. They poured down trees, slid across the ground, silent as assassin shadows.
The serpent struck first.
With a movement as swift as a black lightning bolt, it coiled around the Spider Queen, crushing trees and stones in a brutal embrace. The forest cried out from the impact. The spider retaliated, driving her sharp legs into the serpent's scales. A dark, viscous liquid sprayed out, but the snake only tightened its grip.
Tyrin watched, fascinated and horrified. The serpent was a constrictor, despite its venom. Its body was living armor, but even its stone-like hide began to yield under the Queen's bites and the blades of her legs.
And then the Queen's plan revealed itself.
While she fought alone against the serpent, her hatchlings climbed the enemy's body. Hundreds of small, ferocious creatures, biting, stabbing, injecting venom. The serpent's scales began to fall off, ripped away like dry leaves. The snake writhed, releasing muffled roars that chilled the blood.
It crushed dozens of the hatchlings, but for every one it killed, three more took its place. In a final move, the Queen drove her fangs into the serpent's left eye. Paralyzing venom oozed from her fangs.
The serpent began to harden. Its muscles lost strength. It tried to break free, to flee… but it was too late. The hatchlings devoured it alive in a grotesque spectacle of legs, fangs, and flesh. The Queen stepped back, regal, allowing her brood to finish the massacre.
Even as it was being devoured, the serpent never took its eyes off Tyrin. Until the very end, it seemed more interested in revenge than in survival.
That was when Tyrin saw his chance.
"Karma, let's use fire. Now. This is our chance."
Though nearly dead, the serpent was still alive. The spiders, distracted in their feast, didn't notice as Tyrin and Karma began gathering power. The Queen, farther away, took too long to sense the danger.
Too late.
"Incendium."
The forest exploded in flames.
Tyrin hadn't wanted to use that power. He knew the cost. But faced with the size of the serpent and the number of enemies, he couldn't afford to hesitate. He gathered all his energy and unleashed it in a single devastating attack.
"We did it…"
The world before him was now a sea of fire. The screams echoing through it sounded like pleas. The serpent was the first to die, reduced to ashes. The accumulated experience began to rise like sparks in a storm.
The hatchlings ran to their mother, only to be killed by her own hand. The Queen slaughtered them, knowing she couldn't stop them or protect them from the fire that wouldn't die. The fury was visible in her eyes — and Tyrin knew, even without understanding much about Vampire Spiders, that he had crossed a point of no return.
She waited for the silence. Waited for the screams to fade, for everything around her to turn to charcoal. And then, she took the first step.
Tyrin still felt safe within the protected zone. But that feeling vanished the moment the Queen took another step. And another. Soon, her entire body was within what should have been a safe area.
She looked surprised too, as if she hadn't believed she could cross. But now… she had nothing left to lose.
The Queen charged.
Unrestrained. Savage. A whirlwind of bladed legs and absolute hatred coming straight for them.
Tyrin and Karma were spent. They had used everything in the attack.
"I think this is it, girl… I'm sorry. I… I didn't know."
Tyrin turned to Karma and placed his hand on her head, anguished. Death no longer scared him as much as the thought of losing her. Even if he died… what if the Spider chose to torture Karma? What if she was taken, destroyed, imprisoned? He had heard stories of summoners who had lost their partners for months — even years. In some cases… forever.
He wouldn't allow that.
He drew his dagger with resolve and pointed it at the Spider Queen, who charged with blazing eyes, dragging her monstrous mass for the final strike. Tyrin let out a scream — the loudest he could. A roar of desperation, courage, and promise. Karma howled too, a guttural, primal sound. They were bound. And together… they would fight to the end.
That's when the world collapsed.
A titanic sound erupted behind Tyrin, shaking the forest as if Gargantua itself had been torn in two. The ground trembled. Trees bent. The sky seemed to darken. Tyrin, terrified, instinctively closed his eyes. For a moment, everything became chaos, dust, and echo.
Then, silence.
"Who dared to wake me from my slumber?"
The voice didn't sound like it came from anything living. It was the roar of a planet. Each syllable reverberated through the entire forest, shaking bones, blood, and soul. Karma trembled, crouching like never before, her eyes wide with pure terror.
Tyrin felt the weight of that voice press down on his shoulders, forcing him to his knees. Above him, he finally saw it.
A face.
A colossal face, larger than any creature he had ever encountered. The entity's head emerged from the clouds and neared the canopy, warping the air around it. Its mere presence seemed to bend gravity. It was as if even reality yielded to its existence.
The Spider Queen, once pure rage, now shrank in panic. She curled into herself grotesquely, trying to appear dead — a futile attempt in front of the consciousness now watching them.
Tyrin, trembling, activated his identification skill. He had to know… what was this?
🌀 JÖRMUNGANDR 🌀
Level: ∞
Classification: SSA-
Strength: ∞
Endurance: ∞
Speed: ∞
Skill: ∞
Mind: ∞