Achtida. The only woman among the Seven Generals of Krios. The heroine placed a hand on Nue’s shoulder and encouraged her to leave the room. She seemed to be indicating that she would overlook Nue’s intrusion.
“What are you all hoping to achieve?” Nue did not comply with the heroine’s suggestion, instead remaining rooted to the ground. She stared straight back at Achtida. The heroine was flustered, and her eyes darted around the room. This was understandable. Even if she wanted to answer Nue, she couldn’t. “...Prodotis said he would destroy the people of Terea. I may be a Titan, but my papa and my friends are Tereans, so...I can’t let you get away with that.”
“λος⸗ὀτρῡ́νω𐌙λοςαἰπύςφάκε’߷φάκελύωσιαγών⛞∪λύωλοιγόςθ΄▽λύωθ΄▲λύωλύωὀτρῡ́νᔔω∪λύωo.” Achtida’s voice finally emerged, as if she had forced it out. Nue couldn’t make out a single word.
“Let me go. I have to protect those I care about,” said Nue firmly.
Thud. The sound of footsteps. “Just as I thought. You managed to sneak in here, didn’t you, Titan girl? I thought it was only a matter of time.”
Thud. Another set of footsteps rang out. “Watch your mouth, son. The princess is my guest. Do not bring shame on your father.”
One of the men speaking was the hero, Prodotis the Silver. The other was his son, Kranos, slayer of champions, one of the Seven Generals of Krios. “You must have come to observe our engine room, Princess. I do not mind, of course. I, Prodotis, even invite you to gaze upon the remains of the god of Krios.” Prodotis stepped past Nue and proceeded toward the back of the room. As the hero walked by, torches ignited themselves around him. Looking at the scale of the room and its decorations, it might have been more appropriate to call it a temple. The ceiling sloped down as Prodotis moved farther into the room.
At the very back of the room, there was a brain. Not an entire brain—it was only a small part, exposed by the removal of skin and cranial bone from the back of the head. This was the brain of the five-armed giant holding up this very castle, and it was connected to the base of Krios.
“Watch closely, O Princess. This will be our final leap through space...so let us display the scenery outside as well,” said Prodotis as he descended to the lower level of the room and placed his hand on the exposed brain. His hand shone with the light of his Skill, and an image very like the holograms that the Reincarnators had used during the battle of Vulcan appeared on the wall. Although it was similar to a hologram, it possessed a different texture. This, too, was most likely the work of Prodotis’s Skill.
The image seemed to show the point of view of the giant holding up the castle. As its head was turned down and the view above its head was dark, obscured by the castle, nothing could be seen clearly besides the streets of what had once been Terea at its feet. The sky above was blanketed by rain clouds, so the giant could not see very far.
“I bid thee open, Styx, river of the underworld.” A small black vortex swirled in front of the giant. As the vortex revolved, it expanded in size, and its rotation twisted the space around it, pulling it in until its diameter exceeded the giant’s height. As Prodotis poured his Skill into its brain from within the engine room, the giant did as he commanded and stepped into the colossal teleportation gate. Their surroundings were enveloped in darkness, and several hundred stars rushed past them.
Finally, the darkness cleared. As the giant passed through the destination gate, a tower of stone fell beneath its feet with a mighty crash.
Here, rain poured incessantly. This was the very heart of the Tower Capital, and now a nightmare from the past trampled upon this city of advanced science. The roads caved in, and torn power cables sprayed sparks everywhere. The sides of rain-polished buildings reflected the image of the five-armed giant and the ruin atop its head. It was as if two worlds had collided.
The chaos at the giant’s feet was not displayed inside the engine room of Krios, and no heed was paid to it.
“Grrrrah! Gah...” Nue pounced at Prodotis, who was engrossed by the images of the Tower Capital, but Prince Kranos caught up with her in an instant and knocked her down with the shaft of his spear.
“I won’t allow you to stand in my father’s way... Do you even understand why we revere you, girl?”
“Ow...! Oww, that hurts!” The hero Kranos seized the sobbing Nue by her hair, then forced her to look up at the ceiling.
The lights that had been ignited by Prodotis’s appearance finally rendered the top of the room, which had previously been shrouded in darkness, clearly visible. From the ceiling there hung the half-mummified remains of a colossal woman. In place of hair, there were countless pipes buried in her head. Her arms transitioned into birdlike wings halfway along their length.
Nue screamed.
“Long ago, with the blood he wrested from Ex Machina Coward as his model, father created Ichor within her body, allowing Krios to produce many heroes. Although you belong to a different tribe, you, too, are a Titan. You should be able to serve the same purpose that the princess of the Erinyes, the goddesses of revenge, once served for us.” A twisted hatred burned in Kranos’s eyes as he looked down at Nue.
King Prodotis did not turn around, but simply continued gazing at the image of the Tower Capital projected on the wall. Achtida, who waited at the entrance to the room, did nothing besides look distressed, timid, and bewildered. She would not help Nue.
“Another newcomer...wait, no.” Prodotis singled out the shadow of an aircraft flying across the giant’s field of view. A snowflake was painted on the side of the helicopter—and a face with rust-colored eyes leaned out of the helicopter, and glared into the giant’s dark eyes. “It looks like there are familiar faces here too.”