“Uwoooooo―!!”

A column of fire shot up from the Titan’s snout. The monster clawed at its face and neck, writhing in agony.

It tried to shove its own hand into its mouth to put out the fire, but the combination of oil and spirit-wrought flames was too powerful.

«Hah… They actually pulled it off. Are their hearts forged from steel?»

Kunta couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“I’ll pour oil into its mouth. Then light a fire that won’t go out.”

That’s what Go Byeonggap had said to him earlier. Honestly, Kunta thought it was insane. Just watching that thing made his knees weak, and now this man planned to climb on top of it and pour oil?

But they’d actually done it.

At the signal, the ifrits poured everything into it—sacrificing their very lifespans to hurl fireballs of maximum force. Each one streaked through the air like a falling meteor.

«The fire’s spreading! Concentrate the flame!»

«Follow the blaze!»

«We can take it! We can bring down the Titan!»

The fire spirits drove their power with desperate fury. Once the ignition point took hold, focusing their strength grew easier.

“Uooogh! Uoooooogh—!”

The Titan stomped wildly. The flames had already traveled past its mouth and throat, burrowing deep into its core.

«Ah—ahh! It’s—it’s tipping over!»

«Shit!»

In an instant, the Titan staggered, then pitched forward. There was plenty of distance between it and the wall, but the sight still made every head instinctively flinch.

Krrrrrumble.

The earth let out a monstrous groan. A scream, if the ground could scream. The world shook as if struck by an earthquake, and spirit soldiers grabbed at anything they could to keep from falling.

Kunta squinted through the thick cloud of dust, straining to spot the Titan. It wasn’t dead yet. If it were, that ear-splitting roar would have stopped.

Soon he made out the giant, sprawled on its belly, thrashing.

«All units, target the Titan! If we don’t finish it here, there’s no future!»

Kunta shouted the command as he drew up his own power. A wind spirit, he summoned a fierce gale aimed straight at the Titan’s skull.

The great fire met the wind and swelled twice its size.

The other spirit soldiers poured out everything they had. Overexerting their power would weaken their bodies, but in this moment, no one gave that a second thought.

As Castle Lord Kunta had said: if they didn’t take down the Titan here, they were dead anyway.

The attack wasn’t just coming from the wall. On the opposite side, Go Byeonggap and his group kept up their assault without pause.

Kunta would bet that at this moment, everyone on the battlefield had fallen into a trance. Only two ideas existed in their minds.

Kill, or be killed. Nothing else.

The all-out barrage lasted for tens of minutes. By then, the Titan couldn’t move so much as a finger.

The visible wounds were bad, but the internal damage was fatal. Its insides had burned black—literally, down to the core.

A crack split open across the Titan’s chest, and flames erupted from within. Soon, its body began to crumble like ash. By then, everyone was certain of victory.

«A-aand! Cease fire!»

Kunta’s voice came out hoarse. The spirits heard his command and stopped firing.

They watched the Titan crumble with eyes like dead fish. Nothing was audible save the rasp of breath.

Into the hot stillness, Kunta shouted.

«We’ve caught it! We’ve caught the Titan!»

«…….»

«Rest now!»

Thud!

The moment the order to rest fell, every spirit soldier on the wall collapsed as if on cue. Kunta swept his gaze over them once, then lost consciousness too.

Thus the spirits’ victory celebration proceeded in silence.

* * *

Half a day had passed since the battle with the Titan. The dim sky had turned a vivid blue.

The spirit soldiers, who had forced their abilities beyond their limits, were half-dead. Some seemed on the verge of breathing their last.

Go Byeonggap paid a steep price and bought a large quantity of Gold Dragon Meat for them. That meat was excellent for restoring vitality, so it would help the spirits recover.

The effect was certain. In truth, the medicinal efficacy was one thing, but a bigger factor was that the spirits, upon seeing the meat, clung to life just to eat it.

Still, casualties were not zero. As many as fourteen spirit soldiers had exhausted their life force completely and died. Neither potions nor rice balls could save them.

In fact, losing only fourteen against a Titan was little short of a miracle.

The ordinary residents were mobilized to repair the walls and clean up. Some gathered the scattered Grugle carcasses. When Byeonggap looked to see what they were doing, they were spreading them out wide in a sunny basin.

«What’s that for? Are you going to dry them and eat them?»

«…….»

Kunta looked up at Go Byeonggap with bleary eyes.

«Even if we’re starving, would we eat a Grugle? No one in their right mind would….»

«I know a spirit who did.»

«You know a spirit?»

«Yes, there’s one in our garrison.»

«Could you tell me what kind of spirit it is?»

«You mean its species? She said she’s a Niphi.»

«A Niphi? Huh, a spirit that deals with concepts. That’s quite a rare being you have there.»

‘Rare, is it?’

Thinking about it, she really was a precious being. Without her, Baltadren’s restaurant wouldn’t run properly.

«She would have been thrilled to see you all. She’s been longing for her kin. …Anyway, so why are you drying the Grugle?»

«It’s not for drying. We’re trying to grow trees. Did you know that trees sprout from Grugle carcasses?»

«Of course I do. Sometimes small animals even come out of them.»

«Exactly. We sustain our livelihood from the byproducts that come from Grugle carcasses. It’s far more beneficial than eating them raw.»

Kunta then added in a bitter voice.

«Still, even so, our food situation isn’t great. Not long ago, we survived on nothing but bark for half a month.»

«A pity.»

«You’re a lucky man, aren’t you? Earlier I saw you pulling meat straight out of thin air… I thought a god had descended for a moment.»

«Haha, even this isn’t free. It demands a considerable amount of wealth. The meat I just bought alone would be worth a few castle walls.»

«A few—castle walls?! Don’t tell me you plan to bill us for the meat?»

Kunta went pale as he asked. Go Byeonggap chuckled and waved a dismissive hand.

«Forget it. I’d rather squeeze blood from a stone.»

«…Truly, I thank you.»

The day passed in a blur. Go Byeonggap’s party had originally planned to depart today, but the unexpected battle forced them to stay one more day.

That evening, as promised the night before, Byeonggap told Kunta his story.

When he revealed that a goblin colony of fifteen hundred existed in Baltadren and that he was its leader, Kunta broke into wide-eyed admiration.

Byeonggap rattled off Baltadren’s merits without pause: the ample food supply, the sturdy and safe walls, the large population.

He wasn’t bragging. It was bait to win over the spirits.

«What do you say? Would you come to Baltadren with me? If you wish, I could even set aside a separate district just for the spirits.»

«Hmm…»

«It’ll be better than here, I guarantee it. I promise there’ll be no exploitation of spirits or exorbitant taxes. I aim for the sensible and reasonable, after all.»

Kunta mulled it over for a long while.

«I… am inclined to agree. And I imagine my castle’s residents would feel the same. But no matter how I think about it, we lack the means to migrate all that way—two thousand five hundred li.»

«Don’t worry about that. I’ll handle that problem on my end.»

«How?»

«I’ll have to think on it a bit. But there’s sure to be a way.»

Go Byeonggap valued the spirits’ potential highly. Having them in his fold would certainly prove useful.

Well… it wasn’t entirely mercenary. After all, what intelligent beings remained on the continent besides spirits?

For better or worse, if coexistence was the only path, maintaining good relations was wiser than the alternative.

«Then I’ll assume you’re leaning toward a positive answer. Once preparations are complete on our side, I’ll either send an envoy or come myself.»

«Understood.»

And so the first discussion on absorbing Chitosan came to a close. Of course, it was still only at the conceptual stage, so several rounds of correspondence would be needed to hammer out future plans.

Go Byeonggap pictured goblins and spirits living side by side. It was a pretty good picture.

The next day dawned. After settling lunch at Chitosan, Go Byeonggap’s party set out on the road they’d delayed.

Castle Lord Kunta urged them to stay longer, but they declined, citing the urgency of their journey.

By around six in the evening, they reached the last stopover, Hermonia. The ruined castle looked no different from the places they’d passed through earlier.

What he really wanted was to push straight to Verbonia in one go. Problem was, he was completely out of gas. To make matters worse, he’d used up all the spare fuel fighting Titan, so now he had no choice but to swing by Earth.

«Let’s crash at my place tonight, then hit Verbonia tomorrow. Stay put right here. I’ll come get you in a bit.»

«Understood.»

«Yes, Lord.»

«Should take about thirty or forty minutes.»

Go Byeonggap stepped through the gate and crossed over to Earth.

He landed in a quiet vacant lot. It was the same spot he’d used before, when he sent his car over to Asvillam before the trip.

He hurriedly hailed a taxi and headed home. The officetel in Yongsan-gu wasn’t far.

Once home, he immediately crossed back into Asvillam. Dorma and Merilin were standing beside the car with blank expressions, but their faces lit up when they spotted Byeonggap.

«Ah! You’ve returned.»

«Yeah, both of you, come on over.»

Dorma and Merilin carefully stepped through the gate. They became the first goblins to ever set foot in Go Byeonggap’s home.

«How is it? Any trouble breathing or anything?»

«Breathing, sir? I feel fine.»

«I’m fine as well.»

«Good to hear.»

«That said, this is a truly magnificent home.»

Dorma’s head swiveled nonstop as he marveled. Merilin didn’t show it outright, but surprise was written plainly on her face.

«So this is where you lived. Clean and luxurious—it suits you, Lord, remarkably well.»

«You think so?»

«Yes, it’s every bit worthy of a Lord’s residence!»

«Strictly speaking, it’s a leasehold, so it’s not really mine…»

While Go Byeonggap and Dorma traded trivial chatter, Merilin approached the large window.

She yanked open the blackout curtains. The Seoul nightscape spread out wide before her, and her mouth fell open on its own.

«Whoa…»

«Incredible, isn’t it?»

«Yes! In all my life, I’ve never seen anything sparkle like this. But are we floating in the sky right now? Everything is beneath us!»

«We’re on the top floor.»

Merilin gazed down at the Seoul nightscape for a long time. In that moment, her expression was as innocent and carefree as a child’s.

‘So she can make a face like that too.’

That day, Go Byeonggap gave them a vivid lesson in the greatness of modern civilization and the excellence of Korea’s delivery culture.

The short night passed in no time. After a quick breakfast, they crossed straight back into Asvillam.

Merilin seemed genuinely reluctant to part with the modern bathroom, dragging her feet and lingering before finally stepping away.

Go Byeonggap filled the car with the oil he’d bought from the gas station the night before. The charged engine hummed, and the wheels rolled smooth.

The road was straight, the ground even, and nothing blocked their path.

Had they been racing like that for three hours? On the fourth day after leaving Baltadren, they reached their destination — Verbonia.

…No, they stood at its doorstep.

Merilin looked utterly bewildered.

Dorma scanned the vast expanse with a sour face.

«My Lord, could this be the same thing as from Somnium?»

«Hmph. Looks that way to me.»

Go Byeonggap reached out with a dull expression. His hand stopped at a transparent barrier — not a single inch could push through.

Beyond that invisible wall, thick fog churned.

«This fog — no matter how long it’s been, I never welcome seeing it again.»

«You said it, my Lord.»

Yes. Verbonia was swathed in mist, just like early Somnium.