Xavier's gaze lingered on the monstrous carcass, his eyes narrowing with a cold, unreadable intensity.
The clearing sank into silence once more.
Snow drifted lazily from the night sky, each flake catching the faint glow of moonlight, while the wind whispered through the towering pines, carrying with it the acrid scent of blood and decay.
Then—
A strange unease settled over Xylo. It was subtle, insidious—the unmistakable sensation of unseen eyes pressing against his frail frame.
His weak, clouded eyes swept across the tree line, searching.
Nothing. Only darkness pooled between the trunks.
...I'm just imagining things, he muttered, lips tightening as doubt flickered across his pale face.
Just as the thought crossed his mind—
Rustle.
A branch shifted somewhere deep within the forest.
Xylo's expression sharpened instantly. His jaw tightened, and the faint tremor in his gaze was replaced by wary focus.
His voice dropped to barely above a whisper, taut with tension.
"...Xavier."
Xavier turned his head slightly, his features calm but alert, the faint furrow of his brow.
"What is it?"
"Keep your guard up . Something is here." he whispered. Immediatly Xavier turned, facing the dark woods. Xylo's eyes remained fixed on the woods, his lips pressed into a thin line.
"I heard something."
Xavier's grip tightened around Raiden's feather blade, knuckles whitening as the weapon seemed to hum faintly in the cold air.
"Where?"
Xylo didn't blink, didn't look away.
"... I heard it Behind us, I believe."
The duo's gaze swept across the endless wall of snow-covered trees, dissecting every shadow, every branch, every patch of darkness that dared to conceal what lurked within. The forest became eerily still. Nothing. Not a single movement. Not a single sound. " Xylo, whatever it was, it think is g... Then—
CRACK!
A blinding bolt of lightning ripped through the darkness.
It crossed the clearing in a heartbeat, a jagged spear of white light.
Xavier's eyes widened—too late. The bolt slammed into him with brutal force.
The world detonated in white.
A violent current tore through his body, searing nerves, shredding muscle. He and Xylo were hurled across the snow like rag dolls, crashing hard, rolling until the ground finally stole their momentum.
Xavier gasped, his breath ragged and broken. Every muscle convulsed violently, his limbs twitching uncontrollably. His body refused to obey, electricity gnawing at his veins, leaving them numb and trembling.
"...X‑Xylo..."
His head turned with agonizing effort.
Xylo lay sprawled in the snow, motionless. Smoke curled faintly from his clothes, rising in thin, sinister wisps.
Unconscious.
A chill stabbed deep into Xavier's chest, colder than the winter air. Fear tightened his throat, his heart pounding against the cage of his ribs.
The forest loomed around them, silent, merciless.
And somewhere within that silence—something watched.
Then—
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Heavy footsteps reverberated through the clearing, each one sinking into the silence like a drumbeat of inevitability.
Not one. Several.
Between them came low chuckles… then laughter. Casual. Mocking.
Xavier clenched his teeth, forcing himself upright. His trembling hands pressed against the feather blade, using it as a crutch to steady his faltering body.
Figures emerged from the trees.
One. Then another. Then another.
Humans. And towering above them all—
A giant.
Well over thirteen feet tall, his massive frame dwarfed the others. Blue arcs of electricity crawled lazily across his forearms, snapping from fingertip to fingertip before vanishing into the frozen air.
The giant's eyes locked onto Xavier with the lazy confidence of a predator who had already cornered his prey.
The others fanned out behind him, grins splitting their faces as though they had stumbled upon unexpected entertainment.
Despite the pain wracking his body, Xavier raised the feather blade. His grip faltered, his arms trembling— The fear and lingering current still gnawed at his mind and muscles. The group laughed.
The giant stepped forward...One Step. Then Another.
And Another.
Until he loomed directly before Xavier.
He lowered himself into a squat, one forearm resting casually against his knee. Sparks crackled across his fingertips as his smile widened, predatory and amused.
"Hello there, young man." His grin stretched broader, eyes gleaming with cruel delight. "Well now…" he drawled, voice thick with amusement. "Aren't you a handsome little thing."
His gaze slid past Xavier and fixed upon the unconscious boy lying in the snow.
The grin widened.
"My, my…"
Rising to his full, towering height, the giant strode toward Xylo with deliberate ease.
"Where did you wandered off to, lad?"
Without hesitation, he seized Xylo by the ankle and hoisted him upside down. The frail body dangled limply in the air, swaying like a broken marionette.
The giant examined him with the detached curiosity of a butcher inspecting livestock. His eyes traced the tiny punctures riddling Xylo's skin, the gaunt frame, the pallid complexion.
A satisfied chuckle rumbled from his chest.
"So this is what became of you."
He clicked his tongue, shaking his head with mock pity.
"What pitiful stock."
His lips curled into a sneer. "Easiest prey I've laid eyes upon all week." Behind him, Xavier forced himself onto trembling legs, every muscle screaming in protest. His voice cracked with fury.
"Pu.....Put....Xylo down!"
The giant paused mid‑step.
"Oh?"
He glanced over his shoulder, eyes gleaming with cruel delight.
"So the little Man has a name."
His gaze returned to the Man in hand.
"…Xylo."
He rolled the name across his tongue, savoring it.
"A pleasant name."
Then—
A voice thundered across the Night, vast and resonant, drowning the clearing in its proclamation:
Attention, all players. Three hundred participants have successfully reached the portal. Four hundred positions remain.
The giant's gaze flicked toward the distant pillar of light.
"Hm."
A smile tugged at his scarred lips.
"This Place truly is Hell… for the price of gold."
He turned to his companions, voice carrying with casual authority.
"Come along, lads. Home awaits."
They began to move, boots crunching against the snow.
"Stop!"
Xavier's voice rang out, raw and defiant.
The giant halted mid‑stride, though he did not turn.
" where," he asked, his tone heavy, "do you think you're taking him? I'm still here. You're not going anywhere."
A long sigh escaped the giant, weary yet deliberate.
"You seem a decent boy," he murmured. "So permit an old man to offer you a kindness."
He finally looked back, his expression softened into something almost fatherly, though the cruelty beneath it was unmistakable.
" Walk away. Forget you ever laid eyes upon us."
One of the men frowned, his voice sharp.
"Captain… shouldn't we kill the boy as well? For points?"
The giant's eyes swept over Xavier, lingering. He studied the trembling youth with a predator's patience—the ragged breath, the pallor of his face, the way his hands shook as they clutched the blade, veins still twitching from the lightning's kiss. His gaze lingered on the defiance burning in Xavier's eyes, a fragile flame against the storm.
"Tell me, lad…" His tone shifted, curious, probing.
"What Gate have you crossed?"
Xavier's brow furrowed, confusion flashing across his features.
"…Gate?"
The giant blinked once. Then laughter erupted from his chest, booming and merciless. "So that's it."
He turned to his men, grin splitting his face.
"Would you look at this Men? A fledgling. Our young friend has only just entered the Spell World."
He smiled again, mock sympathy dripping from every word.
"My deepest condolences."
His grip tightened around Xylo's ankle, the unconscious Man swaying helplessly as the giant resumed his stride.
"You've wandered into a dreadful place."
Xavier's eyes hardened, fury igniting beneath the pain.
He stooped, seized Raiden's feather blade—
—and hurled it like a spear.
Whoosh.
The weapon sliced through the air, a streak of silver. But unfortunately the giant tilted his head ever so slightly. The blade whistled past and getting stuck in the trunk of a tree.
He turned back slowly, sparks crawling across his fingertips.
"…Well."
His smile did not falter.
"That was discourteous."
Xavier's chest heaved violently, breath ragged. His hands still trembled, not only from exhaustion but from the weight of helpless rage.
Xavier's grip tightened around the feather blade.
"…Why?" His voice was low, strained.
The giant arched a brow.
"Why what?"
"Why are you hunting Xylo?" Xavier pressed. "From the way you speak… it sounds like you've been chasing him for a long time."
The giant's grin spread, as if the answer were too obvious to need words.
"For points, of course."
The clearing fell silent. Snow drifted lazily, settling on shoulders and hair. One of the men shifted uneasily, boots crunching against the frost.
Xavier's eyes locked onto the giant.
"…Points? You're hunting a dying man… just for points?"
"Indeed." The reply came without hesitation, casual, almost bored.
The simplicity of it made Xavier's blood boil.
"…You're all cowards!" His voice rang out, sharp and furious.
The laughter behind the giant cut off at once. A cough broke the silence, harsh in the cold air.
Xavier's words poured out, each one edged with anger.
"You prey on the weak. On those who can barely defend themselves. You throw away innocent lives just to grow stronger."
His chest heaved, breath misting in the frozen night.
"You call that strength? When creatures, those..... those things, those monsters, stalk these woods, hungering for blood?"
For a moment, the giant only stared at him. Snowflakes clung to his beard, sparks flickering faintly across his skin.
Then he exhaled, slow and deliberate.
"Oh, child…"
"You mistake cruelty for cowardice."
He clasped his hands behind his back and began pacing, each step crunching softly in the snow.
"The strong do not squander themselves fighting equals when weaker prey is plentiful."
His voice carried through the clearing, calm and deliberate, each word punctuated by the crunch of snow beneath his boots.
"Look around you, boy. This Spellworld and the real world are not built on fairness, nor on mercy. It is built on power. Wolves do not waste their strength tearing at one another when lambs graze nearby. Eagles do not clash in the skies when rabbits scurry beneath them. Nature itself teaches us this law: strength is not measured by honor, but by survival."
He paused, sparks snapping faintly between his fingers, his gaze sweeping over Xavier with the weight of inevitability.
"You call it cowardice. I call it wisdom. Why should the strong bleed themselves dry against rivals, when the weak lie scattered and defenseless? To strike the vulnerable is not shame—it is efficiency. It is the way the world has always turned."
The giant's eyes gleamed, cold and certain.
"Civilizations rise and fall on this principle. Kings do not war against kings without reason—they conquer villages, strip lands, enslave the helpless. The powerful feed upon the powerless, and in doing so, they endure. That is the truth of strength. That is the truth of this place."
Snow drifted silently, settling on shoulders and hair. One of the men shifted uneasily, coughing into his fist, but the giant's words held them all in place.
He leaned closer, voice dropping to a near whisper.
"You mistake cruelty for cowardice. But cruelty is the spine of survival. Without it, the strong would wither, and the weak would inherit nothing but graves."
"Tell me. When a wolf hungers… does it hunt another wolf?"
He didn't wait for an answer.
"No. It hunts the lamb."
He turned slightly, sparks snapping between his fingers.
"When an eagle descends from the heavens… does it challenge another eagle?"
Again, his voice answered itself.
"No. It reaches for the rabbit."
He stopped before Xavier, towering, eyes gleaming with cold certainty.
"The strong do not squander themselves fighting equals when weaker prey is plentiful."
Snow continued to fall. The men behind the giant watched, grins gone, their breath steaming in the frozen air.