The only path left—was confrontation.

Ethan clenched his teeth, thrusting his Legion Arm toward the giant’s face.

The arm trembled as two metallic plates extended outward—left and right—like a bow drawn to release its arrow. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

With everything he had, Ethan drove his strike forward ...

Unleashing the explosive stake point-blank.

BOOOOOOOM!!

A deafening explosion erupted.

Flames burst outward. Sparks scattered violently. Thick smoke engulfed the point of impact.

Rotten flesh and shattered bone were blown apart in every direction—

Revealing the giant’s body... now headless.

It collapsed instantly.

Dead in a single strike.

But Ethan did not escape unscathed.

The force of the explosion hurled him backward ...

Slamming him violently against the wall of a nearby building before he crashed down to the ground.

A pained groan escaped him as his mind struggled to keep consciousness intact.

He tried to stand—

Only to feel his entire body scream in agony from the impact.

But the worst pain... came from his abdomen.

Sitting up with great difficulty, his face smeared with ash and blood—his own mixed with the monster’s ..

Ethan’s eyes widened in shock.

A white, metallic shard... had pierced straight through his stomach.

Blood seeped around it relentlessly.

The pain was unbearable—twisting his body as he writhed against the ground.

"Damn it...!!"

He cursed loudly, forcing himself upright against the wall.

Staring at the pale shard lodged in his body, Ethan realized what it was—

A fragment of bone.

Blasted free from the giant during the explosion.

The creature’s corpse lay before him.

Headless.

Ethan trembled from the pain—yet he couldn’t afford to give in.

The sound of approaching footsteps echoed again.

The feral inhabitants were coming.

And the danger... was far from over.

Understanding just how dire his situation was, Ethan reached down—gripping the shard.

Slowly...

He pulled it out.

The pain was so intense that he bit down on his lower lip unconsciously ...until blood burst from it trying to suppress his scream.

"Haaah... haaah..."

He struggled to breathe, pressing his hand against the wound, trying desperately to hold it closed.

To keep his blood and his insides from spilling out and ending him right there.

With bloodshot eyes, Ethan turned his head...

And saw them.

In the distance ... The glow of torches.

The feral inhabitants... were already closing in.

They were about to reach him.

Ethan tried to move ... to flee ,But the moment he took a single step, a violent shock of pain surged through his body like electricity.

"...You’ve got to be kidding me. Am I really going to die like this...? To worthless monsters like these?!"

Forcing himself upright against the wall, he pushed his body forward.

"He tricked me... that damned thing. He made me come closer on purpose... I fell for something so stupid...!"

He wanted to scream—loud enough to shatter the silence—

But he couldn’t.

Not with them closing in behind him.

His mind burned, racing for a way out.

Yet no matter how desperately he thought...

The end felt inevitable.

The explosion had drawn even more monsters.

And at this rate, even that black-furred creature might return.

Above, the many-eyed abomination still watched ... its vision partially obscured by the buildings, yet present all the same.

Ethan’s breathing grew heavier.

More blood spilled from his wound.

The end drew closer.

Before him—

Nothing but towering, lifeless buildings...

An open street with nowhere to hide...

And the corpse of a headless giant, drowning in blood.

And as he struggled to survive—

They arrived.

One.

Then two.

Then three...

Then more.

Within moments, the area was flooded with them.

The inhabitants—those who had long since lost their humanity—spread out, searching.

But Ethan... Had vanished.

As if the earth itself had swallowed him whole.

His blood still stained the ground ...

Mixed with the blood of the decapitated giant.

But beyond that...

There was nothing.

No trace of him whatsoever.

The monsters circled the corpse, waving their torches and weapons.

Meanwhile, the many-eyed creature crawled along the Clock Tower like an insect, trying to gain a better vantage point.

When its countless eyes finally settled upon the scene—

There was no sign of Ethan.

As if he had been erased by the explosion.

But the creature did not believe it.

Without warning—

Its eyes flared once more.

And in that same instant ...

The eyes of the roaming monsters below ignited in response.

Gripping their weapons, they turned violent.

Some stormed into the surrounding buildings—

Destroying everything inside, searching for him.

Others combed through the streets—

Inspecting every inch.

And a third group...

Gathered around the giant’s corpse.

They stared at it for a few seconds—

Then suddenly began stabbing it.

Again.

And again.

Over and over.

Before finally dragging it aside ...

As if expecting him to be hiding beneath it.

But no matter how hard they searched...

They found nothing.

The hunt continued for some time—

Until, gradually...

They began to withdraw.

Returning to the depths of the city’s darkness.

One by one, the feral inhabitants disappeared ...

Their torches fading into the distance...

Until the streets returned to their usual emptiness and silence.

The many-eyed creature lingered a little longer—

Before it too retreated, having found nothing.

And so...

Silence fell.

Minutes passed.

Then an entire hour.

An hour in which nothing changed—

Only an empty street...

And the corpse of a single, headless giant.

Until—

The silence finally broke.

After more than an hour...

From within the giant’s severed neck—

A human hand emerged.

Soaked in thick, clinging blood.

And from within the corpse...

A man crawled out.

Ethan.

Drenched in blood.

Covered in filth... and the rotting entrails of the creature.

He crawled forward, clutching his wounds from the earlier impact—

Before collapsing onto the ground, retching violently.

Acidic bile mixed with blood spilled from his mouth,

While his mind felt as though it might shatter.

Every cell in his body recoiled in disgust.

The pain was unbearable.

His initial wound still bled relentlessly—

And new injuries had been added...

From when the feral inhabitants had stabbed their weapons into the giant’s corpse earlier.

Ethan was drenched in red.

Barely conscious.

Yet still—

He forced himself forward.

Crawling toward one of the old buildings.

"I have to... hide..."

He whispered weakly, dragging himself inside the nearest structure ...

Only to collapse just beyond its entrance.

He wanted to go further.

But he couldn’t.

His consciousness slipped away.

Slowly...

His eyes closed.

As darkness claimed him—

And death drew closer than ever before.