There Is No World For ■■

* * *

[You maggot! I swear by this body! I won't even allow you to die!]

Right after the Necromancer roared, a massive wave of mana spread out.

The zombies that Dung Beetle had destroyed, the corpses of the Secretary’s bodyguards, and the still-standing zombies were all drawn towards the Necromancer.

Just like a magnet attracting iron; bones, flesh, and blood began to swirl and coalesce around the Necromancer.

By the time Dung Beetle managed to reload his shotgun, the mass had already become larger than a truck.

[O Death, defy your course! O Death, amass!]

The writhing mass soon began to transform into the shape of a massive giant.

The flesh and bones of the zombies formed arms as massive as containers, and its face made from the tangled corpses was hideous, like something out of a nightmare.

The monster, which was just starting to form its legs, toppled pathetically, but that was it.

Other corpses rushed towards the gaping hole in the lower body, quickly mending the wound.

[Do you think that a mere grenade can bring down my Titan? Bestowed by the King of the Undead, this is the great—Damn it! Block it!]

Switching his target, Dung Beetle threw a grenade towards the coffin that contained Necromancer's main body. The incomplete giant hastily reached out and grabbed the grenade, which then exploded within its fist.

The only visible damage caused by the grenade was the rotten blood seeping through the monster's fingers.

[Kill him! Kill that wretch!]

Roaaar!

Following the command, the corpse giant’s fist rushed towards Dung Beetle.

The massive fist, descending at an incredible speed unbefitting its size, struck both Dung Beetle and the container behind him, with a force matching its enormous size.

KABOOM!!

The falling container towers produced a noise far louder than the grenade explosion.

It's so fast.

Caught off guard by the unexpected blow, Dung Beetle gasped for breath amidst the fallen containers.

The arm that he had used to block the Titan's fist felt numb, and judging by the blood pooling in his throat, it seemed that he had broken a few ribs as well.

Spitting out the blood pooling in his mouth, he got back on his feet. The now-complete massive Titan and the floating coffin were looking down at him.

[Maggot, you're much tougher than I thought.]

Not bothering to reply, Dung Beetle deftly sprang from his spot just before the Titan's fist came crashing down.

Thump, thump, thump!

As Dung Beetle ran, the Titan's fists chased after him.

[Huahaha! Are you trying to play tag like a real maggot?]

Glancing behind, Dung Beetle gauged the distance to the Necromancer.

It's impossible to bring down the Titan with grenades and a shotgun. I have to target the main body.

He stopped running and gathered mana in his thighs. Taking advantage of the moment, the Titan swung its fist at him. Or rather, it almost did.

Dung Beetle jumped, narrowly dodging the fist, and ran up the Titan's arm towards its shoulder.

He reached the Titan's shoulder in an instant and aimed his shotgun at the Necromancer's main body when—

Flash!

An eerie green light burst out from between the Titan's flesh as the curse struck Dung Beetle's body.

[Be careful, O Virgin! While I can block the curse, I am unable to absorb the impact on your behalf!]

Having grabbed the unicorn’s horn at the very last minute, Dung Beetle thankfully avoided getting cursed. However, he was unable to stop himself from rolling off the Titan's shoulder.

Perhaps the Necromancer had also heard the unicorn's telepathic warning, because as soon as Dung Beetle hit the ground, the Titan swung its fist at him.

Whack! Hit squarely by the fist, Dung Beetle lost his balance and was sent flying as he rolled across the concrete floor of the pier.

[Oh my! O Virgin, are you alright?]

Gritting his teeth, Dung Beetle steadied himself. Even though he had only taken two hits, his bones and organs were screaming in agony.

[Your endurance is truly remarkable. Hehehe, thanks to you, I can have a good practice session before the main event!]

The Necromancer's taunts echoed loudly, but Dung Beetle focused all his attention on dodging the Titan's attacks.

...There is no chance of winning.

Neither the shotgun nor the grenades couldn’t reach it. The unicorn's horn could only serve as an amulet, and even his superhuman body was reaching its limits.

I was too complacent.

His original plan was simple: a surprise attack using grenades.

He thought it was a simple but effective plan. No matter how great the Necromancer was, he wouldn’t be able to block a grenade flying in the dark.

It was arrogance.

He should have planned this more meticulously. He should have prepared more than he did.

If only he had prepared anti-tank missiles or landmines... then he might have stood a chance against the Titan.

Should I retreat?

BANG!

Firing his shotgun at the incoming fist, Dung Beetle ruminated over it. The Titan was forced to halt briefly but it quickly recovered and continued its charge.

Two shells in the shotgun, five grenades, and twenty bullets.

It seems… hard to win.

Even if he were to use all his remaining ammunition, it would be nearly impossible to bring down the Necromancer.

Retreat.

Dung Beetle thought of that word once again.

If one was unable to see the path to victory, retreating was a viable option.

One step back, two steps forward— a perfectly rational and sensible decision.

However...

No, I can’t.

Dung Beetle gritted his teeth.

Beyond the thought of retreat, were the faces of his fallen colleagues.

His colleagues had died unjustly, and it had only been three days since he dug their graves.

Having buried their bodies in the ground and sworn not to return until he had exacted revenge, the blood he shed at that time had not even dried.

Retreat is definitely not an option.

He knew it was an irrational decision.

But just as there was no common sense in a raging fire, there was no common sense in revenge.

Once he chose revenge, he was left with only two options.

"To die, or to kill."

Dung Beetle began retracing his steps, heading back up the path he had fled. The Titan, which had been chasing him like a cat chasing a mouse, stopped, and the Necromancer mocked him.

[Maggot, have you given up on playing tag?]

Dung Beetle did not reply. Instead, he recalled Park Seti's Flying Kick technique, her movements, the muscles she used, and the mana flowing along those muscles.

Following the memory of Park Seti were the movements the Titan had shown so far. The strength and speed stemming from its overwhelming size... resulted in simple movements.

As the two memories mixed, they led to one question.

If it were Park Seti... how would she have fought against that monster?

But before he could find the answer to that question, the Titan resumed its attacks.

[That's enough amusement. Now, face eternal pain!]

The Titan's fist cut through the air and thrust toward the ground with full force. It was a simple yet powerful downward strike.

!!!!!!

The impact struck the ground before the sound. Clouds of dust erupted from the pier as the ground was hollowed out.

However, Dung Beetle remained standing.

One Step. He was just a step away from the fist, gazing up at the Necromancer.

[What the hell are you doing? Kill him!]

The Necromancer moved the Titan's fists again. The enormous hands made of corpses struck down over Dung Beetle's head, pounding the ground again and again, creating hollows all over the pier.

However, Dung Beetle still remained standing.

The Necromancer's skull rattled in shock. His senses, which felt mana instead of flesh and nerves, could perceive that Dung Beetle had done something.

He had evaded all the attacks like a feather swept by the wind.

Dung Beetle had managed to weave through the physical fists, finding the gaps between consecutive strikes and the flow of shockwaves, avoiding all attacks.

However, a human was not a feather. No, even a real feather would not be able to escape that unscathed.

[...What have you done?]

While the Necromancer was still baffled by the incomprehensible reality unfolding before his eyes, Dung Beetle leaped into the air.

* * *

"Wow, what's that?"

Seti, who was watching the fight through a telescope, muttered without realizing it.

Beyond her telescope, at Pier 13, the battle between David and Goliath¹ was being reenacted.

Although the Goliath here was a massive giant made of hundreds of corpses.

What was it called again? Undead Titan? It was a monster created by a rare magic that could only be seen in history books.

Originally, it was a spell that required thousands, even tens of thousands, of corpses to create a giant larger than a rampart, and there was even a record of the famous B-29 bomber taking down such a monster.

Although the one rampaging at the pier now didn't feel as overwhelming, perhaps due to a relatively insufficient number of the corpses it devoured…

It still didn't seem like something a superhuman could handle all by themselves.

Seti smacked her lips and turned her gaze from Goliath to its opponent, David, who was dodging its attacks.

It was a level of movement that was hard to believe that the superhuman was a novice she had seen just a few days ago.

No, could she even call him a novice?

Simply considering his Feather Step from the Flying Kick Technique, he was probably more superior than the instructor who taught her, wasn’t he?

“To think he only had to observe it once to reach that level of mastery...”

Watching Dung Beetle dodge the Titan's fist by a hair’s breadth, Seti let out a bitter laugh.

Of course, it wasn’t like the Feather Step was a particularly difficult technique to learn. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t impossible to learn simply by watching.

However, learning something and mastering it were completely different things. After all, it would not be called a secret art if it were a technique that could be mastered in just two days.

"The world is vast, and there are many gifted people."

Even though she had seen it with her own eyes, it was still hard to believe. However, if all that was truly the result of his talent... she could confidently say that his talent was overwhelming even among the top five people she had ever come across.

And in some ways, even more than those so-called hero candidates—

Flash!

While Seti was distracted momentarily, a green light flashed above the Titan's head.

A curse, released by the Titan and the Necromancer simultaneously, enveloped the superhuman.

However, the curse did not affect him. An ivory barrier enveloping his body deflected the green curse, and the Necromancer swore upon seeing that.

The Handle of Uragan. So, he does have it.

Seti recalled what he had said before they parted ways.

He said that he would 'hand over' the Handle of Uragan to her, not 'retrieve' it.

She had some suspicions, and indeed it was as she thought.

She felt a twinge for being deceived, but it didn't last for long.

Well, he was going to sell it to me anyway.

Seeing the handle of Uragan block all kinds of curses from the Necromancer, she was secretly looking forward to getting her hands on it.

"Oh, is he finally switching to the offensive?"

The battle between David and Goliath was reaching its climax. Dung Beetle, who had been focused on evading, started attacking the Titan and Necromancer.

"But that still won't be enough."

She thought as she fiddled with the weapon next to her.

A shotgun, grenades, and kicks.

Although they were all decent modes of attack, they lacked the decisive factor that David's slingshot had against Goliath.

Without a definitive strike, Dung Beetle would be the first to tire out.

Should I help?

She put down the telescope and picked up her weapon. The weapon she truly disliked was commonly called a War Hammer; a hammer used for battle. The heavy feeling of the metal lump traveled up her hand.

She didn’t know how much longer the fight would last, but what she did know was that if she didn’t intervene, Dung Beetle would die.

Park Seti arrived at that conclusion through logical and rational judgment.

However, then…

KABOOM!

A heavy sound that originated at Pier 13 reached her, blowing past and brushing her hair.

"…Huh?"

The Titan was falling. The gigantic body tried to grab a container tower to keep itself from losing balance, but both came crashing down together.

How?

Seti picked up the telescope again and scanned Pier 13.

She could see Dung Beetle standing atop the fallen Titan's head.

His appearance was far from normal. His mouth was blood-red as if he had coughed up blood, his entire body was trembling faintly, and it looked as if his muscles had reached their limits.

However, despite all that, he stood there.

What on earth did he do?

It was neither a grenade nor was it a shotgun. So, was it the Flying Kick technique? But the Flying Kick technique didn’t have a technique that was powerful enough to bring down a monster like that.

As if to answer her curiosity, Dung Beetle moved. He lifted his trembling foot.

With his foot raised above his knee, he took several short breaths, his eyes filled with determination.

Then, his foot came down on the Titan's head.

Thwack!

A short impact, a long scream from the Titan, and rotting flesh and filth flying up as if it had burst.

Seeing that, Seti stood up without realizing it.

"...Quake Stomp?"

By focusing the mana in the soles of his feet to amplify the Reflective Force², he reinforced his body and executed a simple yet powerful downward kick.

How much training and insight did it require to imbue such simplicity with meaning and power? How many candidates must have despaired, unable to overcome the high wall of the Quake Stomp?

And from what she could remember, her father and countless others who had failed were the same. Even she herself found the technique difficult to master.

Yet, Dung Beetle managed to execute Quake Stomp effortlessly, without anyone's guidance or help.

"Ah..."

Once the aftermath of Foot Stomp passed, the Titan’s head, hollowed out as if hit by a cannonball, was revealed.

Unlike with the grenades and shotgun, that wound did not regenerate.

The impact had surpassed its Regeneration ability and had broken the spell itself.

Seti stared at the scene blankly and then closed her mouth as she looked at Dung Beetle standing atop the Titan’s head.

He looked like a half-dead man. No, as if he was barely alive.

The recoil was too great.

His body and mana were unable to keep up with the technique's recoil. And at this moment, it was likely that he was unable to move a finger.

And Seti was not the only one who had noticed Dung Beetle's state.

The Necromancer hidden within the dark red coffin floating in the sky began to wave his hands, casting a spell.

I can't let him die like this.

After checking Dung Beetle and the Necromancer, Seti kicked off the ground and raised the War Hammer.

The War Hammer in her hands gleamed with a silvery white sheen as she soared through the darkness by the /genesisforsaken