Chapter 28: Lord of Ashes

A domain opening… it could happen. It did in the novel, though with Demons, not Giants.

But for the Moshi dungeon to skip Levels 2 and 3 and jump straight to Level 4?

This was an event absent from the novel.

Even if the novel was sloppily written, it wouldn’t skip describing Giants appearing in the Moshi dungeon.

The novel summed up the Moshi dungeon raid in a few lines.

Even after the raid, Earth’s inhabitants in the story remained unaware of the level system or Giants.

But now…

An event not in the novel.

Ion had a sinking feeling the plot was veering toward the worst possible direction.

“We… we can’t let that thing fully emerge! Everyone, attack! Attack!” Lee Jina’s order was reasonable.

Anyone could predict the horror if the Giant fully crawled out of that hole.

But—

“No!” Ion shouted, thrusting out his hand.

Vines sprouted instantly from the sand, forming a wall around the Giant’s fingers. Lee Jina’s ice arrows and other Hunters’ attacks struck the vines.

Boom!

A hole tore through, but the vines quickly regenerated.

Ion rushed to stand before the vine wall, as if protecting the Giant.

“Don’t attack the Giant! We can’t kill it outright with our current strength. Attacking will only enrage it.”

His shout stirred the Hunters.

“What? He sounds like he knows about Giants…”

“It killed two of our team, and we’re supposed to stand by?”

“If we do nothing, we’ll die too!”

Jin Seongha raised a hand, silencing them. He faced Ion.

“Ion Corps Leader, do you know about Giants?”

“More than you do. Trust me. Unless we can kill it outright, attacking is a mistake. It’s like pouring water into kimchi jjigae to fix the saltiness—only makes it worse.”

“…”

“Keep your distance and wait for the Giant to show itself. I have a plan.”

Even with his fondness for Ion, it was a tough request to trust blindly.

“I… I trust Ion,” Hong Insu said, trembling as he raised his hand.

“He’s reliable. He saved my brother… and actually…”

Glancing at Ion, Hong Insu blurted out, “Ion’s S-rank!”

“…”

“…”

No one was surprised. Bae Younghoe asked, “Anyone not figure that out?” No hands went up. Hong Insu, looking deflated, continued, “He knew the last test dungeon was a hallucination dungeon!”

“As expected,” Lee Jina said, unsurprised.

“Ion Hunter, if we shouldn’t attack the Giant because of its strength, we can use return stones before it attacks us,” she suggested.

“Try using one,” Ion replied.

“What?”

“Use a return stone. Now.”

Frowning, Lee Jina ordered a collection team member to try. The guild member pulled a return stone from inventory and smashed it on the sand. The gem shattered, but nothing happened. The guild member looked at Lee Jina, panicked.

“A system message… it says return stones are unusable here.”

Others hurriedly tried their stones, with the same result.

Return stones were for beginners.

This dungeon, now Level 4, rendered them useless.

Hunters groaned, their cries tinged with despair. Hong Insu covered his mouth, Lee Jina bit her lip, Bae Younghoe sighed heavily, and Shin Minji watched cautiously.

Jin Seongha was different.

“Then, Ion Corps Leader, what’s your plan?”

“…”

“If you don’t have one, here’s mine: instead of waiting to be crushed, I’ll cut that hand off, even if it only angers the Giant. It’ll attack us either way.”

“…”

“No answer? I’ll take that as agreement.”

Jin Seongha summoned his Black Cloud Sword.

Ion, mana drained from summoning vines and feeling pain creeping in, spoke.

“Giants aren’t mindless beasts driven by madness. They’re beings we can communicate with. They won’t attack us blindly.”

“Beasts? You mean monsters? …Wait, Giants have intelligence?”

“They’ve lived far longer than humans. Our intelligence can’t match theirs. I know about them and can exploit their weaknesses to negotiate.”

Boom…

Ion realized the conversation had dragged on too long.

“I’ll find a way to negotiate, so don’t attack!” he urged, releasing the vine spell and grabbing Jin Seongha’s arm to retreat with the group. Thankfully, Jin Seongha followed willingly.

“Ion Corps Leader.”

“Shh.”

Ion pointed at the hole, now massive. A “head” slowly emerged.

Static crackled in the air. Even Jin Seongha was speechless.

The giant, oval head was white, featureless, but silver liquid shimmered beneath where a brain might be, like boiling mercury.

Wooosh…

The eerie sound wasn’t from the Giant but from air vibrations affecting humans.

“…”

The Giant “looked” at them.

No eyes, yet everyone felt its gaze.

Its head tilted, curious, then the silver liquid bubbled. White light pulsed along veins under thin skin.

A “mouth” formed on the lower face, opening to reveal its purpose.

Even without knowledge of Giants, its intent to attack was clear.

“Damn it!”

“Don’t attack the Giant!” Jin Seongha stopped a guild member preparing a skill, choosing to trust Ion.

“Lord of Ashes!” Ion shouted, dropping to his knees.

Grind…

The glowing didn’t stop but didn’t erupt either.

To halt the attack, Ion needed an enticing offer.

“I know where the key is!”

“…”

“You came here for the key. I know its location. You won’t regret hearing me out!”

Blink, blink.

The pulsing light ceased.

“Who… are you?” a genderless voice asked, translated by the system.

It’s not consumed by madness yet.

Initially, Giants appeared with superior intelligence, but later, they succumbed to madness, becoming like beasts.

The “key” was a temple key, vaguely mentioned in the novel as a means to prevent Giants’ madness.

Using the novel’s sparse details, Ion had to bluff.

“Who I am doesn’t matter. Even to Titans, the system is a mystery. Isn’t finding the key more urgent?”

“…”

Show confidence.

Ion stood and approached. Behind him, the group gasped, confused. Jin Seongha reached for him, but Ion strode to the Giant’s front.

“I know the key’s location… and who among you hides it.”

“One of us… hides the key?”

“Yes. There’s a traitor among you, colluding with Demons.”

There was a traitor, though whether they knew the key’s location was unclear.

“Jin Seongha recalled Giants, consumed by madness years ago, losing intellect and falling to Demons. The key’s betrayal by □□□□ was the decisive cause.”

In the novel’s later parts, humanity was already raiding Demon domains, so this was briefly mentioned.

“Lord of Ashes, we must clear this dungeon. If I reveal the traitor’s name, step back quietly. The key isn’t here anyway…”

“…”

The Giant tilted its head slightly.

“There are… other ways… to make you talk…”

As expected.

“Eek!”

“Gah!”

As the Giant’s liquid boiled again, terrified screams erupted. It was threatening to take hostages.

Ion thought, Should I kill it?

A Level 4 Giant was tough but manageable. Without a ring, it wasn’t an enforcer, likely a priest-class at best.

“Ion, you could beat Demons now. Not a Duke, but still,” Teacher had assured, planning to revive the Demon King and let weak protagonists deal the final blow.

But with his critically low mana, protecting everyone while fighting was impossible. Except for Jin Seongha, they were Level 1 awakened. The Giant’s AoE attacks would cause casualties.

Damn it. I’m already low on mana…

The thought of agonizing pain was daunting, but Ion had to protect them—for the novel’s smooth conclusion.

“Sorry, but if you unleash ‘Ult,’ we won’t be the only ones dying. Ignore my offer for peace, and I won’t sit still.”

Ion drew every ounce of mana, depleting it entirely. Now, he’d rely on vitality.

Whoosh… The air vibrated ominously, rustling his brown hair.

Blaze!

A massive flaming sword, larger than ever, burned blue-white, not red.

“Let’s end this peacefully. You get the traitor’s name, we clear the dungeon. Don’t you want the key?”

His head throbbed, limbs trembled with chills, but he endured.

“…”

The Giant seemed to assess Ion’s strength, then the group’s, likely noting Jin Seongha’s Five Elemental Resistance. It knew fighting them all would cost it dearly.

Finally—

“Name… the traitor…”

It agreed to cooperate.

Ion spoke a four-syllable name.

“…”

Without features, the Giant’s dismay was still evident.

Boom…

Silently, it withdrew into the hole. Ion maintained the blue flames until it vanished completely.

When the Giant and hole disappeared, Ion was drenched in sweat.

Cough…

Releasing all magic, Ion vomited red blood, doubling over.

“Ion…!”

Muscles tore, organs burned, his brain felt stabbed by needles.