The birthplace of hushed whispers lies far from the slave transport ship, on the other side of the ocean, deep within the world, at the very bottom of the black abyss, where magma boils, within rows upon rows of stone cages as large as mountains.
Just a glance is enough to label them as evil creatures exuding a sinister aura. At this moment, they had reached a consensus. Each massive form detached a portion of its flesh to escape the cages, gathering atop a dim, lightless magic circle. The piles of flesh sank into the runes at a pace visible to the naked eye.
“Spilling everything in the end… Seems you all think I can’t hear your voices. That’s your miscalculation, isn’t it? Hey, you hidden boss whose origins are unknown.”
Suddenly, a confident and proud girl’s voice echoed out from the magic circle. In the next instant, the runes fractured and crumbled, and the flesh stopped sinking.
This land forbidden to the living, where curses of malice often echoed, was now greeted by a rare silence. The abrupt change left many of the evil beings present at a loss.
“She can hear our voices, why?!”
“Is it the effect of the divinity? But she’s still a mortal right now, she can’t possibly wield divine power!”
“And even if she became a goddess again, a sovereign of a world, it should be impossible for her to uncover the secrets of this dead zone!”
“From now on, use only psychic magic to communicate—she must never find out our true nature!”
In this moment, in the lost land forgotten by the gods, among the many evil gods imprisoned by the God-Binding Monument, two points of consensus were reached: spare no effort to kill Baiya, and never again communicate by speech.
Inside the arena, no more hoarse and grating voices echoed in Baiya’s mind. This was both a blessing and a curse.
“Goddess, huh? What on earth are those guys talking about… Well, that’s not something I need to worry about now.”
Baiya still kept her hands raised in surrender. Pressed to her back, there were even more muskets. At this distance, if they fired together, the force of the gunpowder would sever her waist in two, intestines and liver spilling out.
“At first glance, it looks like I’ve lost completely. But originally, I should have won without incident. Since I’ve been used, delaying the plot trigger, I might as well turn it to my advantage.”
Suddenly, everyone present turned their gaze in Baiya’s direction, but the protagonist in their sights was not the already-captured Baiya.
“This is… impossible…”
Like the booming of a drum, a resonant heartbeat echoed, one beat after another, growing louder and faster, reverberating throughout the arena and reaching the audience stands. People’s breathing involuntarily quickened with the strengthening rhythm.
Before the guards could carry out the execution, the ogre who had brought shame to the nobles—slain by a powerless slave—his figure swelled with the heartbeat’s increasing tempo. Though he still lay face-down and limp on the ground, no one believed he was truly dead.
At this moment, the humans closest to the ogre were Baiya and a crowd of musket guards. If the ogre was alive, they would be the first in danger. Among the musket guards, the officer with the tall hat frowned and ordered his men to aim their muskets at the ogre. If anything seemed wrong, shoot to kill.
When the heartbeat finally stopped, the ogre’s skin turned silvery white. Several guards placed their fingers on their triggers. Each one was an elite marksman; even moving targets posed no real challenge. They were confident they could put down the ogre the instant he acted up.
As if to answer their stares, the ogre, now two or three meters taller—a veritable small giant—twitched his fingers, signaling he was alive.
Once signs of life emerged, there was no point in hiding any further. The ogre began to display his presence to everyone.
He slapped his hand heavily on the ground, the terrifying force shattering the neatly laid bricks. Slowly, he began supporting his huge frame with his hands, trying to stand upright again, to resume the hunt.
Only now, aside from the ever-perceptive Baiya, did everyone else present have to accept a shocking fact—the ogre, thought dead, had revived.
“What’s going on?! Samsara Tenki!” The change in the ogre—coming back from the dead—was clear as day to Liu Miong, which was precisely why he lost his composure.
He saw the black-haired girl lose her usual calm, biting her lip, her face full of shock.
“Your Highness, it’s not just resurrection. He’s evolved.” Samsara Tenki took a deep breath, forcing a wry smile.
“Evolved? Physically or in strength? No, I can tell—are you saying… Gold Rank?!” Liu Miong pressed a hand to his forehead, his face ashen.
Samsara Tenki nodded. She was even stronger than the ogre—indeed, the strongest on the transport ship; no one could hide their strength from her.
The ogre, formerly of Silver Rank, had revived—now at Gold Rank!
Ridiculous! And yet, the guards nearest the ogre still had not fled. A Gold Rank magic beast possesses iron bones and steel flesh; nothing but a Named Weapon could harm even a hair. Firearms were useless against the ogre now!
They were courting death!
Samsara Tenki’s pupils contracted as she fixed her gaze on Baiya’s every move. The ogre’s transformation occurred right after this slave fired her gun—could there be a connection between the ogre’s resurrection and her?
Targeted attacks on the already-dead ogre—she’d assumed it was just a panicked act of desperation, but now it was clear, things were not so simple.
Baiya Ifiel Chlorome… Was the ogre her goal from the start? What exactly did she know? The secrets surrounding her seemed to multiply by the day.