Scorching, frenzied, violent.
Countless primitive, chaotic thoughts echoed in Goki's mind.
In the instant of the explosion, he touched a vast and ancient thought.
Unlike the gentle, curious, and somewhat weak thought in Aegir, this thought was chaotic and disordered, like a flickering flame, but equally weak.
And as Goki perceived it, it also perceived Goki.
"Seaborn... delicious."
Vaguely, Goki heard such a whisper.
"Do you see it, Nona doll?"
"I see him, kind Hunter, I think you've found your prey."
Feeling the burning presence in southern Sargon, Goki ended his momentary daze and let his thoughts surface to reality.
He was currently driving a jeep, speeding across the wilderness, while Skadi was kneeling backward in the passenger seat, anxiously watching the scene behind the car, a rare hint of tension on her usually calm face.
"Goki, why don't I just carry you and run? This car is too slow—I've never seen anything like this! It's burning, just like an underwater volcano!"
No, more than tension, Skadi's expression was more like curiosity and excitement.
On land, there were indeed many novel things she had never seen!
Behind the two, a three-story-tall Flame Giant was lumbering with slow, heavy steps, constantly chasing the two in the jeep.
It was almost entirely composed of flames, like a torch made of countless campfires, barely resembling a human form, with some burning metal frameworks visible within, which once belonged to an old cargo truck.
With every step of its flowing flame-formed legs, the sandy ground would ignite in a flash, leaving behind molten magma, constantly repeating that name.
"Kal'tsit—"
The jeep was fast enough, and the Flame Giant's body seemed extremely unstable, its movements wobbly, unable to catch up with the two for a while, and even falling further behind.
"I told you, Terra is amazing, right—Alright, I admit, I haven't seen this thing either! Where did Ragnaros come from? How come every ordinary mob I encounter ends up turning into a giant BOSS battle!"
Goki sighed. When he fought Quintus earlier, he was mentally prepared for the giant Seaborn that appeared afterward. This time, heaven knows why, this snake head suddenly erupted and transformed into a Flame Lord.
He wanted to encounter Terra's casters, not this Incarnation of Originium Arts!
He didn't remember Terra having such elemental creatures. The only one with the title "Infernal Demon," Little Fire Dragon, was still a child in Columbia and it was debatable whether she had even entered a laboratory yet!
However, Goki also knew that his intervention had already affected the direction of Terra's story.
Kal'tsit herself had said that if she hadn't met Goki, she might have chosen to leave Iberia from another direction, and the snake head, having missed its target, might have continued to work diligently locally, and wouldn't have ended up in this monstrous state.
"Although I don't know what Alfonso did to himself, this guy is definitely deadly—he seems to be attracted to the two of us."
With the accelerator floored, Goki pondered how to deal with this monstrosity while still chatting and laughing with Skadi—thrilling and exciting!
"Indeed, I can feel it. My Bloodline also has this feeling. My Bloodline craves him, not just wanting to hunt, but... wanting to eat it, but it doesn't look tasty at all."
Feeling that strange, probably appetite-like sensation within her, Skadi carefully observed the burning humanoid with her red eyes. After watching for a long time, she still didn't think this thing was edible.
"Of course you can't eat it! You can't just eat anything, or you'll get a stomachache and have to guard the toilet again—If we drag it out a bit longer, this thing should collapse on its own."
Goki couldn't help but tease Skadi a bit. Although he didn't know why Alfonso had turned into this, he knew what this Flame Giant was.
It was a kinsman, a Great One, a kinsman of an ancient god.
Through a brief mental touch, Goki knew that this thing behind them, like the First Speaker, was an extension of a god's power.
The greedy snake head had died at the moment of the explosion. In its place, anchored by him, an ancient god's kinsman had been summoned into reality due to some unknown factor.
If the First Speaker represented the Seaborn God, then this giant should represent the ancient god hidden behind the Burning Wind Scorched Earth in southern Sargon.
Skadi and the Seaborn Bloodline within her were luring this giant, and the giant was also luring the two Hunters.
Clearly, the Sea God and this... for now, let's call it the God of Burning Wind, were in opposition.
"Hunting each other, devouring each other, and finally becoming one? I can only hope these two gods are of low quality. If all gods were like this, then this world would truly be a mess."
Unlike the First Speaker's stable physical form, this Flame Giant's form was incomplete. Although it looked immensely powerful, it was not solid.
Although he didn't know what the snake head had experienced, Goki judged that this was a failed summoning ritual.
In Yharnam, such things were exceptionally common. The scholars from Byrgenwerth had caused countless incidents, and summoning rituals were not limited to those in the game.
Let alone the Rebirth of an ancient god, even if they created a mechanical C'Thun, Goki wouldn't be surprised at all.
Having killed many mad scholars and learned much insane knowledge, Goki, the Old Hunter, had a lot of say in matters of the supernatural.
Moreover, looking at the Flame Giant, at the already somewhat unstable parts of its body, at the cooling spots appearing within the flames like sunspots, Goki knew that this thing was not far from collapse.
Just drag it out a bit longer, and this Flame Giant would collapse on its own.
"Ugh, don't mention that, my stomach hurts again—Wait, Goki, he's moving away from us! He's going the other way!"
Rubbing her little belly, whose pain she had just forgotten, Skadi suddenly noticed that as the distance between the jeep and the giant lengthened to a certain extent, the giant stopped, looked around, and then turned in another direction.
Feeling strange, Skadi suddenly slapped Goki's back twice.
"Cough... What's over there? Skadi, take a look! Stop hitting me, stop hitting me!"
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Coughing heavily twice, Goki suddenly swerved the steering wheel, looked at the almost empty fuel gauge, and suddenly thought of something.
"Over there, over there are those black trucks. They just moved away from us, but then they stopped again, it looks like—they were fighting! They're done fighting!"
As an Abyssal Hunter, one of Skadi's modifications was to ensure normal combat in environments unrelated to the deep sea. Her night vision was naturally incredibly good, and even with such a bright Flame Giant in her field of vision, she could still see the distant scene.
"Hiss, I knew it—there's another Abyssal Hunter here. This thing knows it can't catch us, so it specifically picks on the weak!"
Gavial and her mercenary group were preparing to rescue their young client—the not-yet-grown Angela, who was also a hunting target for this Flame Giant!
"Goki, shall we go?"
Skadi turned her small face towards Goki, her eyes full of expectation.
She already knew Goki's personality and that he would never ignore such a matter. Her question now was merely to confirm it for herself.
"Of course we're going. After all, it's our fault—we'd better get some gas, or you can just drag me over there."
Sighing, Goki nodded.
"Gaa—hiss!"
The next second, a familiar hiss reached the ears of the two Hunters.
A large, four-legged creature, scurrying like a terrifying robot, rapidly approached their jeep, leaped, and landed beside them.
Mon3tr came rushing, and even used its pincer to point to a simple communication device it held in its mouth.
"Mr. Goki, Nona Skadi, the situation is urgent—I would like to temporarily extend my employment contract. I ask you to help me repel this burning giant."
Kal'tsit's calm voice came through the radio, and behind them, the honking of Kal'tsit's truck could be heard.
"For all of us, I will also join this operation—get in the car."
— — — — — —
"Ha, it's quite lively over there too, too bad I can't go over—Damn it, how many times have I said it, don't use hemostatic powder, don't use hemostatic powder, you just don't learn! The doctor is right next to you, I'm right here, and you're still sprinkling hemostatic powder!"
About two kilometers from Goki's group, the fierce battle had just ended.
Gavial, carrying a brand new but equally blood-stained mace, used her healing staff to continuously tap the crocodile head of a mercenary companion, laboriously clearing the yellow powder mixed with blood from his wound.
"Big sis, big sis, ouch, ouch, ouch, stop hitting me! We just didn't want to disturb your fight, you looked so cool knocking those two casters flying!"
Hemostatic powder was a good thing for treating external injuries and temporarily stopping bleeding to save lives, but it was also a nightmare for doctors during debridement. Every time Gavial saw these bastards use it, she felt her blood pressure instantly spike.
"Cool my ass, I'm a doctor! Not a warrior! I'm here to treat the sick and save people!"
This battle had ended, and Gavial's mercenary group had achieved a small victory—thanks to the conflict that erupted among the mercenaries, the mission target had detached from the main force early, making Gavial's net incredibly smooth.
Several Columbia trucks with crossbow bolts stuck in them were parked on the gravel ground, surrounded by a dozen old jeeps. Many mercenaries were loading their scavenged spoils onto the vehicles.
Many mercenaries had lost their lives, dying nearby. Many Columbia mercenaries had also died, and a few survivors had surrendered and were now securely tied up.
Perhaps because Gavial's side had a numerical advantage, or perhaps because Gavial had endured the casters' fire suppression and knocked out their leader with one blow, these people surrendered quickly.
The dead would be buried, and the living would be left with food and water, not to be completely wiped out—they wouldn't dare report their failure to their employer anyway.
This was also why Gavial stayed with this mercenary group. Although it was still a life on the edge, it didn't turn them into complete madmen.
"As agreed, I've come to save you. I'll send someone to take you back to the border immediately. Your mom and dad are waiting for you there. It seems you don't need those two older brother and sister to save you, right?"
After treating the external injuries of this member of her own kind, Gavial walked into the truck and saw the purple-haired little girl.
Everyone tacitly agreed not to let the child see the scene full of dead people.
"Thank you, big sister! But I wonder how Hunter brother and Hunter sister are doing—"
Hearing that she could go home, Angela's eyes immediately widened, but then she felt regretful that she couldn't meet those two older brother and sister.
Although she didn't know why, ever since she met those two, the originally nervous and scared Angela had calmed down. Even now that she had been rescued, she only wanted to see those two again and feel that heartfelt joy.
But then, in Angela's calm heart, a trace of anxiety and fear suddenly arose. She abruptly looked up, somewhat fearfully, in one direction, her face full of terror.
"Hmm? Over there is... Quick, run!"
"Ha, what's wrong with you again, Nona?"
Before Gavial could wonder, the voices of other mercenaries, tinged with fear, came from outside the door.
"Big sis, big sis—look quickly!"
"What's wrong, what's wrong, so flustered, is the sky falling—Holy crap!"
Jumping out of the truck and looking in the direction the mercenary was pointing, Gavial's pupils constricted into a vertical slit when she saw the huge flaming humanoid.
Gavial suddenly remembered the stories her tribe's shaman grandmother used to tell her and her friends when she was little, as well as the somewhat terrifying and grotesque colorful paintings on the clay pots.
Then, an ancient jungle language term escaped her lips.
"Is that... an Infernal Demon?"
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