The object of slumber forced living beings into sleep, but its true terror lay in what happened if one resisted.
Forcing oneself to stay awake would accumulate fatigue equivalent to sleep deprivation, eventually leading to death.
Canis's mental state was akin to having gone without sleep for eight days.
Baalv: "Not bad for a human. But how long can you hold out? Without proper rest, you'll die."
Canis regained his senses.
He hadn't heard what Baalv had said moments ago. The scenery before his eyes wasn't registering in his brain.
Harvest (through mental channel): "Canis! Snap out of it!"
Harvest shouted through the mental channel. But it was no use. Canis's mind was beginning to get numb, and no response came.
Kariel: "Your master seems quite concerned. Well, it's natural, given you share a life force."
At Kariel's words, Harvest turned. The archangel had descended to observe the situation, clearly noticing Harvest's weakened state.
Kariel: "Maintaining darkness requires significant energy. Using a human's life force to replenish it? An interesting idea, but it only disperses your power."
Canis slowly rose to his feet.
He only realized he had been lying face down moments ago. He hadn't even noticed the drool dripping from his mouth.
Canis: "Arin, it seems not all of us will make it back alive."
Arin: "No! Canis! That's absolutely not an option!"
A terrifying thought crossed Arin's mind.
If Canis, who shared their master's temperament, was considering a solution in this situation, it could only be the card Arcane had played when on the brink of death.
Harvest reached the same conclusion.
Harvest (through mental channel): "Canis, surely you're not thinking of Abyss Memory? But you're not like Arcane. You might not survive."
Canis shook his head. With that level of resolve, he couldn't defeat a Mara.
Canis (through mental channel): "No. I'm going to try what we discussed before. I need your power, Harvest. Can you help me?"
Harvest (through mental channel): "No. That's only theoretically possible magic. We've never even tested it. At the very least, we'd need to decipher the Books of Light and Darkness first."
Canis (through mental channel): "Harvest, if only one of us can survive, it has to be Arin. You know that."
Harvest didn't respond. But his lack of denial was as good as agreement. It also meant his own annihilation.
Harvest (through mental channel): "Alright. I'll give you my power."
Harvest's body was absorbed into Canis's shadow.
Regaining a sliver of consciousness, Canis prepared for death.
He had never thought about the circumstances of his death. He was simply willing to step into the eternal void.
Canis: "Limit of the Abyss."
The magic, only theorized until now, activated.
Instantly, his mental fatigue vanished. But unlike Arcane, he hadn't erased his memories.
What he erased was his limit.
Canis knew what kind of person he was. He would never reach the pinnacle like Shirone.
So, he chose to surpass his limits in his own way.
Children who don't know fire willingly stick their hands into flames, and great monks immolate themselves to enter Nirvana.
The difference between ignorance and enlightenment is vast, but the mental fortitude to leap into the fire is the same.
Canis chose to be the ignorant child if he couldn't be the enlightened monk.
The result was a temporary state of Immortal Function.
Of course, he hadn't truly reached Nirvana. But in terms of combat, he had gained a similar level of mental fortitude.
Canis: "Here I go!"
As long as the Limit of the Abyss lasted, he wouldn't feel any fatigue. But to Arin, seeing Canis darting around like this was hell.
Arin: "Canis! No! Please don't do this!"
Arin cried out, tears streaming down her face. She couldn't imagine living in a world without Canis and Harvest.
But Canis couldn't hear anyone's voice. Feeling a slight thrill at successfully casting the magic for the first time, he unleashed his most powerful spell.
'Dark Vassal.'
A spell that converted a mage's mental energy into physical force. While Arcane had used Dark Golems, Canis's vassal took a completely different form.
A shadow spread across the ground like water, and a massive worm, known as a Dark Worm, erupted.
Canis (internally): "Master…"
If one could gain mental strength comparable to Immortal Function, the Dark Vassal was the most compatible spell.
Canis (internally): 'You'll praise me, won't you?'
The ten-meter-long worm arced through the air and plummeted vertically.
Baalv remained unfazed. He casually stepped back, arms still crossed.
Baalv: "Not bad. I'll give you that…"
Before Baalv could finish, another Dark Worm erupted from the ground.
A cascading waterfall of darkness swallowed Baalv, surging all the way to the ceiling.
The object shattered, and the sound of Baalv's bones breaking echoed. Moments later, his grotesquely twisted corpse fell to the ground.
Canis gasped for breath. His head was spinning, and it felt like his brain was melting.
But he couldn't rest yet. He had to fight for Arin until the very end.
Kariel: "Baalv, you're a sorry sight."
At Kariel's voice, Baalv's body twitched.
Baalv: "I apologize, Lord Kariel."
Canis's face went blank. He had shattered every bone in Baalv's body—how could he still be alive?
No, it wasn't just that he was alive.
His organs were transforming into strange forms.
Insect-like legs covered in exoskeletons sprouted, and tentacles resembling mollusks stretched out.
Baalv: "Thank you for granting me demonic awakening."
As Baalv's size grew to that of a mountain, everyone looked up in awe.
He was a massive creature, a chaotic amalgamation of various lifeforms.
The word "hodgepodge" fit perfectly.
It was as if someone had thrown octopuses, cockroaches, flies, maggots, and snakes into a pot, boiled them, and then dried the mixture into this exact form.
Baalv: "Kikiki! It's been two thousand years since my last awakening."
Canis: "Is this… the end?"
The hope of Canis vanished like a bubble. The object was nothing more than... a plaything for Mara.
By the time he realized he had staked his life on an impossible task, it was already too late.
"Rian, Rian…."
Peope turned to Rian with tears in her eyes. Even as everything crumbled like a bubble, he was still fighting.
No, he was holding on.
After vomiting blood from the first clash, Rian embraced Ymir and activated a mental lock.
He would rather break than bend.
The price he paid for choosing this dangerous path was a physical ability comparable to a schema.
Ymir realized that unless he destroyed Rian's body, the lock would never release. He relentlessly threw punches.
With each blow that shook Rian's body, the great sword trembled.
"Kuh! Not yet…!"
At this point, even Ymir began to feel something strange.
The quality of Rian's strength was as hard as iron. It wasn't the kind of raw power a living being could muster. Moreover, his abdomen was a mess, so it was unnatural for him to still be standing.
'Among humans, only a rare few can use such power.'
Throughout countless battles, Ymir had encountered such individuals only a handful of times. But without exception, they were the strongest warriors representing their civilizations.
To place a human who couldn't even use the Giant's Art on the same level as them would be an insult to their honor.
"Keuk! Let's see how far you can go!"
Ymir threw an uppercut at close range.
The moment Rian's abdominal muscles tore, his eyes widened. His body lifted into the air, and as he landed, his knees buckled, but he clung to Ymir, enduring.
The next moment, Rian released the mental lock and pushed Ymir's shoulder away.
When the clinch, which seemed unbreakable even in death, ended, Ymir wore a puzzled expression.
But did it matter? He was still the strongest.
Any creature that faced the King of Giants would end up like this.
"Did you give up after all? You lasted longer than most humans. As a reward, I'll end this painlessly."
Ymir stepped forward with all his might and threw a punch. Even at close range, the destructive force capable of tearing muscles meant Rian's body wouldn't withstand the weight of the blow.
But Rian didn't care. He smiled at Ymir, his eyes looking past the giant's shoulder.
"You're here, Shirone."
Shirone covered a distance of one kilometer in just 30 seconds.
As the Great World War approached, he saw the giant swinging his fist and Rian, battered and broken.
"Riaaan!"
Ymir flinched. But the giant's fist, filled with immense power, continued its trajectory toward Rian's abdomen.
Shirone activated the Shining Chain. Chains dozens of meters long wrapped around Ymir's body.
"Huh?"
The moment Ymir realized what was happening, his body was yanked away at incredible speed.
"Kuuuh!"
Even while being dragged, Ymir tried to exert his strength to break the chains.
Shirone felt the giant's raw power pressing against his mind. But he had no intention of accepting such a brute challenge.
Shirone swung the chains, slamming Ymir repeatedly.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ymir's body, wrapped in chains, traced a parabolic trajectory as it was smashed into the ground. The final impact caused the ground to reverberate.
Ymir lay sprawled out, motionless.
It was humiliating.
His body burned with rage at the fact that a mere human mage had mocked his physical prowess.
"You think I'll break just because I'm slammed into the ground? I'll shatter these chains right now! Feel how strong my body is!"
As Ymir flexed his muscles, the chains tightened. Shirone's brow furrowed. But if the opponent came at him head-on, a mage's job was to counter.
"How about this?"
Shirone swung his arm, and the chains unraveled, sending Ymir flying out of the battlefield.
Ymir, floating in mid-air, stared blankly at Shirone.
"You…."
As he tried to speak, gravity took hold, and his body plummeted downward.