Chapter 59 Murals

A massive figure approached the forest.

The spring-sprouting trees began to bend and wither, and vast expanses of the forest decayed and collapsed.

The giant wearing silver-gray armor halted. Its skin was ash-blue, and where a solitary eye should have been in the center of its face, there was a ball of light resembling a setting sun.

He was none other than the "Giant King" Aurmir.

Not far from him, a colossal black shadow resembling a demonic wolf crouched. The light around it seemed to be absorbed, surrounded by a ring of darkness within which slimy, transparent tentacles bearing complex patterns constantly writhed.

Aurmir saw a faint trace of grayish-white mist lingering in the darkness surrounding the demonic wolf in front of him, and he asked uncertainly, "Kroigell, did you succeed?"

Yet the only response he received was the darkness attempting to erase his very existence.

Clearly possessing the ability of speech, this demonic wolf was completely unwilling to communicate!

Aurmir could no longer suppress the tyrannical emotions deep within his heart, and the aura of decay gradually permeated the air as dusk descended.

However, the dusk that shattered the darkness was transferred onto his own body by a bizarre power.

Though this method did not inflict severe damage upon Aurmir, he suddenly realized at this moment that the "King of Demonic Wolves" Kroigell had grown even stronger.

Yet, this demonic wolf had also become even crazier!

Could this mad wolf have truly devoured that source which they coveted so much? But the unknown aura carrying the "Theft" authority could still be captured!

Aurmir sensed the pale flames of the Phoenix approaching from the Spirit World, with a "Door" forming beside him. His expression turned cold, and the power of dusk covered the yet-unformed door, delaying its creation.

Meanwhile, his body rapidly aged into rotting liquid, only to evaporate and vanish in the blink of an eye.

Temporarily withdrawing from the battlefield, Aurmir felt from afar the aftershocks of the clash between the mad wolf and the Ancestor of the Phoenix.

Such battles had erupted far too many times recently, yet not once had they succeeded in killing or seriously wounding an opponent.

This time, however, the mad wolf gave him a different feeling.

It was as if it had been contaminated with the aura of that entity they had been pursuing, and the mad wolf's power and authority had also subtly changed.

Aurmir noticed that the aura which had lured them there had vanished once more, making him even more perplexed about the origin of the grayish mist aura surrounding the mad wolf.

He grew increasingly irritated. Leaving aside the disparity in strength between him and the mad wolf, more importantly, whenever the three-way melee broke out, the "Ancestor of the Phoenix" Gregrace would always prioritize attacking him.

Seeing that this entanglement would yield no results for the time being, Aurmir hesitated slightly before his figure dissolved in place once more.

In a remote corner of the Giant King's Court.

Outside Hermione's residence, a group of giant guards clad in black armor stood at attention.

Yet Hermione could not perceive any feedback of consciousness from these black-armored guards—they were not truly living beings, yet each possessed terrifying, latent power.

"A creation of mine from my idle moments. If you are interested, I can gift you one," said Omebella, dressed in luxurious attire, with a beaming smile.

Hermione politely declined with a smile, saying, "I lack the strength to manipulate Your Majesty's creations."

Omebella did not press the matter further. Coming to visit Hermione today, she had also brought the corpse of a giant dragon, which was the spoils of war harvested by the giant race on the battlefield.

Hermione had long since perceived that this dragon corpse was intertwined with "Dream Weaver" characteristics.

However, she truly had no need for it.

Advancing across pathways meant one could not devour Beyonder characteristics of the same Sequence. As a "Three-Focussed Sanctuary," if she were to devour this Sequence 3 "Visionary" characteristic, it would accumulate massive madness.

Though it could be "grazed"...

If it were the characteristic of a Sequence 2 "Observer," that would be even better... Hermione thought with a hint of regret.

Of course, that was merely a wishful thought. To acquire a Sequence 2 characteristic, one would have to hunt down a subordinate deity of the dragon race. Even if Omebella and the other giants successfully slew a dragon subordinate deity, they would never be willing to part with such subordinate deity characteristics to gift to her.

Owing to the disguise provided by flesh-and-blood magic, when Hermione "grazed" the soul of the dragon right in front of Omebella, it failed to arouse the other party's suspicion.

During this process, Hermione deliberately dawdled for a long time, displaying a depraved nature and causing her body to mutate, simulating the appearance of being on the verge of losing control.

Yet even so, when she finally demonstrated the various abilities of the "Dream Weaver," it drew an expression of amazement from Omebella: "You actually succeeded, and your rationality remains quite well-preserved... Perhaps, in the near future, you truly will become a subordinate deity of our giant race."

"Thank you for your bestowal, Your Majesty." After revealing an expression of joy, Hermione expressed her gratitude to Omebella. Following some idle chatter and pleasantries, Hermione asked again, "Your Majesty, might we be allowed to go out freely?"

Omebella raised no objection to such a trivial matter, smiling as she said, "Granted. Restricting your movements previously was out of fear that your weak selves might encounter accidents. However, now that you have grown much stronger, as long as you do not wander blindly into guarded areas, there should be no problem."

Finally, before leaving, Omebella said with a smile on her face, "When the King returns and sees that you have grown so powerful, he will surely be both gratified and pleasantly surprised."

So she really is grooming me to be a breeding tool...

After seeing Omebella off, Selena, who had overheard the final exchange from the neighboring room, asked with puzzlement, "Councilor Hermione, you were invited here—was it actually by that King?"

The young girl acutely sensed that there was more to the story.

Unflustered, Hermione smiled and said, "It is entirely normal for that King to invite me, given that a demigod has emerged among the vassal races... Besides, you heard it yourself; the giants truly intend to groom me into a new subordinate deity. Perhaps this is the opportunity for humanity's rise."

These words shook the doubts lingering in the depths of Selena's mind. Though she always felt things were not quite that simple, she could not pinpoint any specific issues for the moment.

Hermione continued, "Since our restrictions have been lifted, I will take you out for a stroll. Come, when it is time to relax, one must relax. At such a young age, you shouldn't overthink things."

Though the stroll did not completely dispel Selena's lingering doubts, the relaxed environment allowed the young girl to temporarily set the matter aside.

Upon stepping outdoors, the closer it got to the day of the Spring Festival, the more lively the Giant Kingdom became. Giants gathered everywhere, making Hermione and Selena—two humans—appear strikingly out of place.

Yet Hermione paid no heed to those looks of doubt, greed, and curiosity.

Treating it just like browsing a human tribal gathering, she took Selena to eat and play as she pleased.
Whenever they encountered giants with poor attitudes trying to pick a fight, she would directly apply subconscious tampering, "correcting" their malicious hostility.

Influenced by this, Selena also began to relax and experience the hustle and bustle of the Giant Kingdom.

During this leisurely walk, Hermione spotted the twelve stone pillar mural reliefs constructed for the celebration in various locations.

Only, their specifications varied in size.

Because of this, more than once, she caught sight of the female giant named Howesya intensely focused on her carving work.

In a corner where Hermione was not looking,

that female giant would invariably pull out a small lens-like object, holding it before her eyes to observe the details of the murals and reliefs she had created.