System: Daily login!!, jackpot on the first day!!!-Chapter 336 - A Whisper

In the middle of the Earth's Core Area, that's where Gaia is, sitting kneeling in silence.

Behind Gaia, towered the Aegis, Zeus' legendary shield. The shield no longer shone with the glory of Olympus but was covered in cracks and dark streaks, mixed with the primordial energy trapped within.

The Aegis that Zeus had actually implemented as a way for Taufik to not be able to save Gaia, indirectly saved Gaia from something more dangerous, but looking at the current condition of the Aegis, with red light shining out of its cracks, as if holding back the unstoppable force that was trying to touch Gaia, Aegis' time was running out, and so was Gaia's.

Gaia exhaled softly. Her hands resting upon her lap trembled slightly. Not from fear, not from weakness, but from the weight of the inevitable.

She knew.

Aegis was failing.

She knew.

The force beyond the Aegis was not merely trying to reach her, it was waiting for the moment the shield would finally shatter.

Yet in her concealed gaze, beneath the cascade of her unkempt hair, there was neither sorrow nor resignation. Only hope.

Hope that somewhere, beyond this Earth's Core Area, which has become a prison of molten rock and suffocating divinity, he was coming.

Hope that the one who defied fate itself would arrive before it was too late.

As another fracture spread across the Aegis, spilling a crimson glow into the darkness, Gaia closed her unseen eyes and whispered softly.

"…Hurry~"

--------

In the midst of battle, with shadows twisting and crimson flames crackling around him, Taufik moved with calculated precision. His every strike and counter was perfectly measured.

Until it wasn't.

"... Hurry~"

A whisper, soft, barely more than a breath against the noise of the battlefield.

But he recognized it.

Taufik movements faltered.

Just for a fraction of a second. But in battle, that was all it took.

*BOOM!*

Giges' massive fist, wreathed in burning crimson energy, crashed into Taufik's side.

The force sent him hurtling backward, his body carving a deep trench into the battlefield before colliding with the jagged walls of Tartarus.

*CRACK!*

A deafening *CRACK* echoed as rock shattered around him, dust and debris filling the air.

Pain flared through his ribs, not unbearable, but enough to snap his mind back to the present.

He coughed, a thin line of blood trailing from the corner of his mouth as he wiped it away with the back of his hand.

His Abbysish eyes flickered, still haunted by the whisper.

"…Gaia?"

Taufik murmured.

For the first time in a long while, a deep unease settled in his chest. It's already there and it's only getting worse.

The whisper had not been desperate. It had not been pleading. It had been… waiting.

And that terrified him far more than any battle ever could.

"FATHER!!"

With that shout from Aksara, Taufik came back to his senses, looking back at the battlefield, and found Giges was now running at him with his punch ready to hit him.

"Shi- STOP!!"

*Fwoosh!!*

An invisible gust of energy came out along with Taufik's words that echoed in Tartarus, at the same time, Giges' movements stopped.

Taufik has used his "Word Magic" to stop the Giges' movement immediately.

Giges' towering form trembled violently, every muscle in his massive frame straining against the invisible force locking him in place.

Taufik's "Word Magic" Was nothing simple; it is not bound by any law; it is the law itself.

*RAHH!*

The crimson flames flickered erratically as if the unnatural power within him was struggling against the absolute command that had bound Giges.

Taufik slowly exhaled, his eyes narrowing.

The whisper still echoed in his mind.

Gaia was waiting.

He didn't have time to waste here.

"... Playtime is up to here... It's time to get serious"

As Those words come out of Taufik's mouth, the form of the shadow ruler is immediately replaced by his human form.

The katana reappeared in his hand, Taufik's eyes showing an unusual seriousness.

In the Darkness of Tartarus, his red eyes flashed with an unusual light, staring intently at Giges, who was still motionless.

"... SwordMagic: Light Form... "

*Swoosh!*

Instantly, Taufik's Katana emitted a dazzling light, enveloping his Katana in a brilliant light.

"... Let's see, are you really immortal..."

At those words, Giges' frozen form trembled, the crimson flames in his eyes flaring wildly as if sensing impending doom.

His body, bathed in Crimson energy, Should be unstoppable but now is a prisoner of Taufik's Word Magic, an undeniable command that even a creature of his magnitude could not resist.

It's not just any Magic; Taufik's Word Magic is like a lesser version of the Law of the Universe itself, yet the Crimson energy within Giges seems to refuse to be tamed.

*CRACK!*

Cracks spread across his monstrous body, but they did not signify weakness. They pulsed with violent, raw energy, like a dam that is about to break.

But Taufik didn't care. His grip on the glowing Katana tightened.

*Fwoosh!*

The light surrounding the blade condensed, sharpening into a single, razor-thin edge of pure brilliance.

The weight of his technique distorted the very air around him, his power bending reality in preparation for the strike.

Aksara, who was also in his own battle with Erelythe against Kottus, watched from the side, gripping his Ninjato tightly.

He had seen his father fight countless times. He had seen him use his technique with absolute mastery.

But now, in this moment… This was different.

His Father, Taufik was serious.

"…Haaaa"

A long exhale comes out from Taufik. Then-

*SWOOSH!*

Taufik vanished.

A single step.

A single breath.

And then-

*SLASH!*

No sound. No explosion. Just silence.

For a fleeting second, nothing seemed to change.

Giges still stood, his form unbroken. His crimson flames still burned. His monstrous presence still loomed.

Then-

*SHINK!*

A thin, precise line appeared across Giges' massive torso.

A perfect cut.

A cut that ignored flesh, ignored power, ignored even the very concept of resilience.

A cut that declared, You do not exist in this space anymore.

"…AHGRR…"

Giges growled, his voice shaking. He can make any sound other than that because the real Giges actually already died, What made his body move was actually the Crimson Energy that enveloped him, which was done by whoever was behind the Gate.

But Taufik didn't stop there; he didn't want to stop there; if the crimson energy could make the dead Giges move, then he would make sure that there was nothing left of Giges that could be moved.

Series after series, attacks hit Giges; in one second, thousands of slashes were visible, and in two seconds, Giges' body was no longer visible.

Giges is not dead; he already died; Taufik made sure it was like that.

And then-

*BOOOOOM!!!*

A silent explosion.

Giges' entire "body" collapsed into fragmented light, his essence dispersing into nothingness. Leaving nothing but a trail of light.

Taufik slowly sheathed his Katana, his expression unreadable.

It was over.

No revival. No regeneration. No second chances.

"…Immortal?"

Taufik muttered, his voice carrying the faintest trace of disappointment.

"I Guess not so Immortal"

Taufik said, then turned away from the fading remnants of Giges, his mind already shifting toward the real battle ahead.

Gaia was waiting.

And whatever was beyond the Gate…

Was waiting, too.

--------

Aksara gritted his teeth, his breathing ragged as he stepped back, his Ninjato coated in a faint glow from his SwordMagic: Light Form technique.

He could only use that, using Cosmos Form further would only burden his body.

Beside him, Erelythe remained composed, her presence exuding the quiet inevitability of death itself. Yet even she narrowed her eyes as Kottus, the monstrous Hekatonkheire, once again rose from the rubble.

It didn't matter how many times they struck.

It didn't matter how much damage they inflicted.

Kottus would always stand back up.

Aksara wiped the sweat from his brow, frustration creeping into his voice.

"How many times do we have to do this!?"

Erelythe remained silent, watching as the hundred-armed Kottus regenerated again, its towering form surging with raw, ancient power.

But Then-

*SWOOSH!*

A shift in the air. A pulse of absolute power.

Aksara and Erelythe instinctively turned.

Taufik was there.

His Unsheated Katana, still humming with the remnants of his previous technique, glowed with the same razor-thin brilliance.

His expression was unreadable, his red eyes reflecting neither exhaustion nor hesitation, only certainty.

Without a word, he stepped forward.

Kottus, as if sensing something beyond mere danger, released a roar, its hundred fists tightening.

It charged, the ground trembling beneath its monstrous weight.

But Taufik was already moving.

One step.

One breath.

A single, fluid slash.

*SHINK!*

Again, there was no explosion.

No clash.

No resistance.

Just a whisper of a blade through space itself.

Then-

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Silence.

Aksara's eyes widened. Erelythe watched in quiet understanding.

Kottus, the seemingly immortal Hekatonkheire, stood still.

A thin, imperceptible line ran across its massive form.

Then-

*CRACK!*

It shattered.

Like a frail illusion breaking apart, Kottus disintegrated into fragmented light, fading into absolute nothingness.

No remains. No regeneration. No existence.

Taufik exhaled, sheathing his Katana again with a quiet click.

It was over.

The battlefield, once filled with the relentless presence of two of the dreaded Three Hekatonkheires, now stood eerily silent.

There was no trace of Giges. No trace of Kottus.

Only Briareus remained, somewhere within the Shadow Realm, his fate unknown.

Taufik turned to his companions.

Aksara, still processing what he had witnessed, let out a shaky breath.

"Father... You…"

Erelythe, however, simply nodded, her voice calm. Said

"That was not mere destruction... That was finality..."

Taufik said nothing.

Because deep in his mind, beyond the fading remnants of battle.

That whisper still lingered.

Gaia was waiting.

'... Just wait a little bit longer... Gaia'

....

...

..

.