He hadn't dealt with quite a ma.s.sive opponent before. Sungchul inwardly felt admiration toward the man that had created the colossus.

'Eckheart. I thought he wasn't normal, but to make something like this.'

This was the moment when Sungchul’s interest in the Creationist cla.s.s that Eckheart had mastered reached the highest it had ever been.

"Die, Enemy of the World!"

The colossus's hand slowly extended toward the sky. An enormous amount of water cascaded and rained down like waterfall as the colossus’s arm covered the sun, appearing as if it reached the very tip of the heavens. The survivors of Panchuria could not believe the sight that was unfolding before their eyes and reacted to it in varied manners.

Many muttered prayers of penitence toward their G.o.d while others stared at the figure of the colossus unblinkingly as though they were mesmerized. Outcries of screams and laments echoed throughout the crowd like a scattering of rice husks as the arm of the colossus fell toward the ground. The scene held an unprecedented force and terror that would force even the bravest of people to clench their eyes shut. There was only one that could keep his eyes on the giant's blow.

"…"

Sungchul watched the colossus's attack that looked as though it would collapse the world itself and moved to the side. He used the wreckage of Panchuria, from the sinking homes and the still intact boats as footholds to evade the trajectory of the giant's arm that was falling from the sky.

It was more of a great escape than an evasion. Only after he had ran across half the river did he enter the safezone where he stopped to watch the gigantic arm fall and destroy the city he had been staying at without so much as batting an eye. A third of the northern part of the city which had been relatively intact until now was destroyed in an instant by a single strike. Not only that, the aftershock that followed created a second impact sweeping up everything nearby in destructive debris. Sungchul welcomed this impact with his body.

"…"

A faint smile formed on his lips as he felt this exhilarating impact that he hadn't experienced in quite a long time.

"Are you ok?"

Bertelgia who sensed the impact from the safety of her pocket asked carefully. Sungchul replied calmly.

"The man you call father. He had the same thought that I did."

When others were advocating and pursuing a well-balanced growth, trying out and dabbling in a variety of things that no one could agree on, Sungchul carried on silently and steadily in only improving his Strength.

Against the so-called balanced growthers, having a moderate Strength meant that his weakness could be exploited. But if Strength was to surpa.s.s the limit of what is commonly believed to be possible then Sungchul believed that he could overcome any and all opposition no matter how powerful the adversary.

Eckheart’s colossus was very similar to Sungchul’s line of thinking. because if not, then there was no reason to make anything so ridiculously large.

'Should we go?'

Sungchul made a beeline toward the giant's arm that was now submerged in the river after landing a blow on the city. When he used the G.o.d-like power of his legs to initiate a dash, his figure vanished for a moment before reappearing on top of the colossus’s arm.

Sungchul lifted Fal Garaz and brought it down on the giant's arm hard.

Boom!

A colossal noise reminiscent of thunder burst out as the immense figure of the colossus trembled for a moment. It was as though an ant… no, a tiny human that could be considered a speck caused this towering figure comparable to a mountain to shake with a single blow. The rocks that wrapped around the colossus's arms crumbled away like crackers and fell into the muddy water as countless fragments, but that was it. A portion of the arm had broken off, but other than that, not much else was affected.

'As I expected, it ignores most forms of impact due to its incredible size and weight. It is an amazing idea.'

Sungchul looked toward the flas.h.i.+ng eyes of the colossus that was covered in thick fog where Daltanius would be sitting. There had to be a core that powered the colossus in some place. It could be possible to break it if he continued to pound the giant as he was doing now, but he wanted to end this battle as quickly as possible. He left the large crater-like hole in the ground to climb the colossus's arm and headed upwards. His objective was the colossus's head.

Unfortunately, he was met with a small problem. The arm had less traction than he expected. The surface had been worn down and covered with moss while it was submerged in the river for thousands of years making its surface quite slippery. To make things worse, Daltanius noticed Sungchul climbing up the arm and made him slip by raising the incline of the arm.

"Not a chance!"

"…"

Daltanius lightly shook the arm in the end to truly put an end to Sungchul's attempts. Sunchul hopped off in mid-climb.

"Serves you right!"

Daltanius burst into a haughty laughter as he made the colossus take a step back and raise its other arm high into the air.

"Careful!"

Bertelgia let out a sharp shout to which Sungchul nodded in acknowledgment before looking around his surroundings. His eyes caught sight of the metallic chains poking through whatever remained of the crumbled floating homes after the impact.

Sungchul dashed to those chains and pulled them hard. The dozens of meter long metal chains appeared above water, clinking. The metallic chains had stakes attached at regular intervals which had been used to anchor the boathouses. As soon as Sungchul noticed those, he unhesitatingly swung the chains towards the body of the colossus like a whip.

Boom!

The metal stakes attached to the chain was hammered into the colossus's body.

'It's a bit lacking.'

Sungchul took off toward the other debris, but then the colossus’s arm came falling down upon him diagonally. He would be able to evade if he put all of his efforts into making his way forward, but there were not many places to step there and the flames were dancing wildly everywhere. By the thick stench of gasoline, the flames on the water didn't seem it would be extinguished any time soon.

Sungchul briefly contemplated his next actions. Countless previous experiences repeatedly flashed across his mind when some dark object visible just under the muddy surface of the river happened to catch his eye. Inspiration struck him.

'I can use this.'

Sungchul dredged up the dark object. It was the ma.s.sive chain that had once held Panchuria together before he had cut it into two. It would have normally sunk to the bottom under its own weight, but it had been kept afloat by all the debris of the city and remained within arm’s reach of the surface.

"Uwaa! I'm dying!"

At the moment Bertelgia's cry rang out, Sungchul gripped the chain with one hand and swung Fal Garaz toward the colossus's arm.

Boom!

Unbelievable force and shockwave struck the sinking city once again. Several sprouts of water formed as the smashed remains began to sink. People who fled toward the riverside watched with their mouths hanging open, the legendary battle that would be immortalized and retold for all of time.

"Was the Enemy of the World done in?"

"Even if he is the Enemy of the World, it can't be easy to survive a few hits from that thing."

"Just what is that gigantic monster? Is it a Calamity from G.o.d?"

Among the diverse speculations, a keen-eyed young man pointed toward the colossus.

"He's alive! The Enemy of the World is alive!"

At his words, the onlookers forgot even the misfortune which befell them and came crowding around the edge of the river to point with their fingers. At the end of their fingertips was the silhouette of a man. The onlookers exclaimed at the sight. A finger of the colossus had been destroyed and was sinking into the river. And close by on a roof of a boathouse stood a man who had chains wrapped around his body.

"…"

Sungchul let loose the chain wrapped around him and let the G.o.d-like strength flow throughout his body. He pulled the ma.s.sive chain taut.

*Sound of muscle clenching*

The boathouse that Sungchul had been standing on broke apart and sank underwater. Sungchul climbed onto the neighboring ma.s.sive home that was once used as the governor's mansion and yanked at the chain once again. When he did so, the iron pillars on the other side of the river which securely anch.o.r.ed the metal chains got pulled out in a sequence like turnips.

Daltanius couldn't help but shout from the c.o.c.kpit in disbelief at the scene unfolding before his eyes.

"Just how crazy is this b.a.s.t.a.r.d? What's his Strength value?"

The man had now twice done something that Daltanius, a man renowned for his strength, couldn’t dare even attempt, but this wasn't a situation where one could stay frozen in shock. Sungchul was continuing to attack relentlessly after all.

The ma.s.sive chain that once held the city began to lash out like a whip toward the giant.

Slam!

This chain that extended hundreds of meters long made a strong impact on the colossus's shoulder. The colossus did not get damaged, but the stake at the end of the chains remained lodged on its shoulder where it was. .h.i.t. Sungchul tugged the chain a single time to confirm the fixture before charging toward the colossus. The surface of the giant was still extremely slippery, but the chain that Sungchul managed to impale the second time around was enough to act as a ladder. Sungchul glided across the chain like a streak to climb onto the body until he reached its shoulder.

The colossus had no way to respond as it was created to display ma.s.sive destructive force through its size in exchange for more intricate functions. Sungchul climbed onto the defenseless shoulder and stared at the giant's head. Daltanius was inside.

"Fine. As it has come to this, let us fight fair and square!"

Daltanius jumped out of the c.o.c.kpit. Although he was just a human who didn’t look all that impressive compared to the colossus, his build which was visible as he stood atop the colossus’s head was a sight to behold. It was a confident and bold figure befitting the name of the Seven Heroes. He gripped his fist and rea.s.sumed his stance again.

"How about we settle this with our fists like men?"

Sungchul placed Fal Garaz into his Soul Storage. A smug smile formed on Daltanius' lips.

"It’s a challenge!"

Daltanius leaped forward like an arrow and swung his fist at Sungchul. It was a powerful blow carrying a gust of wind the strength of which was comparable to that of cannon fire, but Sungchul's hand grabbed his collar before he could land his punch. Daltanius had a realization at this point.

'This b.a.s.t.a.r.d's Dexterity is no joke either'

Sungchul spun Daltanius around a single time with his grip still firmly on Daltanius' collar and threw the man at the colossal golem's head. Daltanius let out a pitiful scream as he tore through a portion of the giant's head by the force of Sungchul's physical strength combined with the momentum of his own punch.

"Uggh…"

In any case, Daltanius' toughness had to be admired.

His Vitality must be similar to mine or slightly higher.'

Daltanius bled from his mouth as he made a meaningful smile.

"Good! Very good! Here I go again!"

Daltanius ran toward Sunghul once again, but it was the same average attack that was no different than the one before which sparked Sungchul's suspicions.

'He should know himself that an attack of this level would never work. Are the Seven Heroes only of this caliber?'

"DIE!"

Daltanius let out a shout as he threw his fist, but at that moment, something flashed from inside his mouth. Sungchul's sharp eyes did not miss it.

Hidden weapon?!'

Sungchul's suspicions became reality as the transparent gla.s.s-like hidden weapon that was concealed underneath Daltanius' tongue flew toward him.

'This is a bit dangerous.'

Sungchul threw his body toward Daltanius whose fist was closer than expected, but the steel needle narrowly managed to only pierce Sungchul's clothes as it pa.s.sed by. It only grazed him, but Sungchul could guess its lethality. It must have been a legendary grade tool at the very least which were hard to come by. Daltanius' fist struck squarely onto Sungchul's face at the very next moment.

"…"

It was a heavy blow that he hadn't felt in a while, but Sungchul's neck did not budge. Instead, he took Daltanius' punch to the face and grabbed him with one hand.

's.h.i.+t!'

Daltanius's punch struck true, but his main strike was always the hidden weapon. In reality, he hadn't even put all of his strength into that punch, and because of the punch, Sungchul was able to retaliate after absorbing the impact leaving him with no way to escape.

Wham!

Sungchul grappled Daltanius and then smashed him into the golem’s shoulder, embedding him into the colossus.

"Mercy!"

Daltanius hurriedly shouted, but Sungchul did not have even a single reason to show such mercy. He spat out a spit mixed with blood and coldly spoke,

"The one that boldly challenged me to a fistfight turns to the cowardly use of hidden weapons. The t.i.tle of Seven Heroes is wasted on you."

"In truth, the weapon I wield best is the axe."

Daltanius brought out a mighty axe from his Soul Storage as if to prove his statement.

"Let us fight fairly…"

Unfortunately, Sungchul's fist made its way to Daltanius' face first.

Wham! Wham! Wham!

Sungchul thoroughly shattered Daltanius' face without so much as an iota of a mercy. Daltanius’ large frame shook a single time before bending over backwards like a shrimp. He wasn't dead. Although he had lost consciousness, his body was recovering far too quickly to believe he was human. He must have equipped himself with a recovery based Soul Contract unlike Sajators. Since that was the case, there was no need to give him any time. Sungchul pulled out Fal Garaz for the final blow.

Blam!

The terrifying natural regeneration was useless before Fal Garaz. Daltanius of the Seven Heroes was reduced to a pile of blood that resembled nothing of his original form. Sungchul confirmed his death before retrieving the axe and looking over his weathered coat. Daltanius' spike had made an ugly hole through it. Sungchul frowned.

'I guess it's time for some needlework. Anyways, is this the second one now?'

Sungchul looked over Daltanius' corpse. It was similar to Sajators' instance. It didn't have any response. When the Demon King died, he could see the flow of Calamity, but in the case of these Seven Heroes, there was nothing.

'Is it that I have to kill every member of the Seven Heroes to see the flow of Calamity?'

It was a shame, but killing two members this quickly was encouraging. In any case, the situation hadn't completely been resolved just yet.

Boom! Boom!

The colossus was moving upstream to destroy what remained of Panchuria. It was moving North. If left to its devices, it would sweep up Panchuria and the northern territories of the Human Empire as well.

Sungchul climbed aboard the head of the colossus where Daltanius had been seated earlier. There were stairs leading down from the top of the head. When he climbed down, he found a rectangular room that was enveloped in darkness. It was the control center of colossus Bertelgia Unit 3.

Sungchul, having entered the control room, began to seek out a method to stop the giant. Unfortunately, there seemed to be no way for a layperson to do anything about the golem. It was at this time that Bertelgia popped out of Sungchul's pocket to reveal herself.

"Hm? I feel as though I've been here before?"

Bertelgia flew up into the sky, to the center of the control room, and noticed the large book in a crevice that appeared to be radiating a soft light. It was when she noticed this that she called out to Sungchul.

"Mm. Doesn't that look really similar to me for some reason?"

Thank you all for partic.i.p.ating in the Book 2 synopsis contest. it was supposed to end today but we are stretching the deadline to today. Some of you wrote your synopsis in the same format as book 1 synopsis. Please don’t do that and I have replied to those entries asking them to rewrite theirs in another comment. So at the end of 22nd March today PST time the contest will end. Those who wish to partic.i.p.ate head over to the comments in the link right now!