Lumian and Asael rode for almost an hour before they finally saw it. An enormous colossus, rising over two hundred meters tall, made of a corroded rocky material that somehow remained unnaturally intact.
Lumian forced a smile upon seeing the huge statue; this was the transport that would carry them to the place where the First Lord had been taken.
The colossus advanced at a steady pace, crushing everything in its path with overwhelming force. The world trembled under its immeasurable weight.
When they were near the enormous colossus, Lumian ordered his Echo to get as close as possible and then hurl him towards the headless statue.
The awakened demon used its pincer, grabbing its master and throwing him as high as it could. Lumian soared through tens of meters before landing on the side of the massive, moving rock colossus. The surface was hard and rough, with plenty of places to grip.
Lumian looked down and saw Asael far below, beginning to climb the leg of the stone colossus. It would take him at least a few minutes to cover the distance from the calf to the knee.
Lumian returned his beast to his sea of the soul and soon began to climb. The wind whipped his face, and the movement made him slightly dizzy, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.
It took him an hour to reach the headless neck. He could observe a great amount of crimson coral earth. The statue abruptly turned south; the sudden change made him dig his fingers into the rock to avoid being thrown from over 200 meters in the air.
Finally, when he reached the top, he fell onto his back. The sky was covered by the omnipresent gray mist of the Forgotten Shore, at least in this region.
Another two hours passed where Lumian enjoyed the view from above. The wind moved his hair and his fisherman's suit, which he had equipped after killing the great devil's egg.
The weather on the Forgotten Shore was variable—it was cold, humid, or extremely hot. His fisherman's suit provided a cool temperature at all times, which was quite useful.
Lumian gave a slight yawn. Since he didn't have the destined attribute, he doubted anything serious would happen. However, he didn't let his guard down; he remained alert with his Aspect ability activated at all times.
Due to the constant use of his Aspect, he had finally grown accustomed to the dizziness caused by deactivating his dormant ability.
Lumian heard a muffled growl. Looking back, he saw Asael, who had finally finished climbing.
The Sleeper collapsed onto the cold, hard stone of the colossus like a sack of potatoes. His breathing was ragged, with drops of sweat falling from his body.
Lumian forced a smile onto his face.
"Did you enjoy this little bit of physical activity?" he asked, to which Asael muttered something inaudible that sounded like a curse.
"And now what?" Asael asked, sitting on the rock.
"Not much. We rest until we reach our destination. It should take some time," Lumian explained, beginning to take out some pieces of wood to cook the scavenger meat.
Soon the meat was ready, and both ate in silence, slowly. The construct continued advancing, crushing the crimson corals under its feet, along with tens of hidden monsters crushed by its enormous weight.
Time passed, and Lumian noticed that Asael had fallen into a deep sleep.
'How can he fall asleep in a situation like this?' Lumian thought.
---
Having free time and detecting no danger, Lumian summoned his runes.
Name: Lumian
True Name:King of the Monster
Rank:Inactive
Monster Core:Inactive
Monster Fragments:[315/1000]
Memories: [Fisherman's Suit], [Assassin's Sword], [Fiery Rock], [Blood Lance], [Aquatic Pearl]
Echoes: [Shell Demon] [Cannibal Dolphin]
Attributes: [Hardened Skin] [Spark of Divinity] [Lightning] [Darkness] [Mark of the King]
Aspect: [Lord of the Monsters]
Aspect Rank:[Divine]
Aspect Ability:[Domain]
Innate Ability: [Enhancement]
Description of Innate Aspect Ability:[The entire body receives a tremendous boost in its physical and mental abilities.]
Flaw: [Non-Human]
Description of the Flaw:[You lack what makes humans human.]
---
Lumian noticed that his Mark of Divinity attribute had transformed into Spark of Divinity due to the drop of divine Ichor he had consumed after killing the great devil.
Lumian felt somewhat satisfied. In just one week of travel, he would manage to acquire two of the necessary memories to release the seals.
He knew another was with the Fallen Tyrant, and another was possessed by Seisan, leaving only three memories pending to gather all seven.
Although he didn't know exactly how he would obtain them, he had some clues.
Lumian heard something—the sound of whispers.
Looking ahead, he first observed a black dot approaching, then another, and another. With each passing second, more and more of these dots appeared.
Lumian stood up.
"Asael, wake up!" he shouted, shaking him, causing the teenager to open his eyes.
"What's wrong? Is there a fight?"
"A swarm of monsters is approaching. We have to fight," Lumian explained the situation. In his hand, the Assassin's Sword materialized—the awakened memory of the fourth level.
Asael stood up and immediately summoned his sword.
After a few seconds, Lumian swung his sword, cutting through a swift object. His sword cleanly pierced a nightmarish creature.
It had the appearance of a grasshopper; its exoskeleton was black as darkness, and overall, it was as large as a grown man.
[You have killed...]
Lumian ignored the spell's voice. Since there was enough space on the statue's neck, Lumian summoned the awakened demon. It stood proudly, its eyes fixed on the distance, detecting the swarm.
A black dot appeared among the gray clouds and quickly fell towards the colossus's neck. However, the demon's scythe was faster, splitting the monster in half.
[Your core grows stronger]
"Asael, I need your wind. Slow them down before they surround us," Lumian requested.
The swarm was seconds away from reaching them.
Asael, using his wind attribute, shot out a great gust of air that slowed the monsters for a few valuable seconds. Lumian looked down, where numerous figures began to climb the rock colossus.
"Demon," said Lumian.
Lumian saw the awakened demon look at him, awaiting orders.
"Deal with what's down there," he ordered.
The monster quickly ran along the neck; its powerful legs and its earth ability allowed it to move as if on solid ground.
For some reason, it reminded Lumian of a lizard, but unlike a normal lizard's appearance, it was a very mutated and ugly monster.
Soon, Lumian and Asael began killing the monsters one after another, while the awakened monsters climbing the colossus were eliminated by the awakened demon, which had become a killing machine.
Being enhanced by the Mark of the King and being a subordinate of the King of Monsters, the awakened demon was on its way to becoming a Devil.
Lumian kept moving and cutting down the winged beasts.
[You have killed an awakened beast. Flesh-Render.]
[Your core grows stronger]
Due to the strong wind that Asael constantly generated, the swarm's formation was clumsy and slow, taking more time to organize.
Thanks to the absence of a tyrant, they were only disorderly beasts. Lumian summoned the memory that allowed him to generate fire and activated its fire enchantment.
Combined with the wind, a huge and powerful stream of flames incinerated dozens of those winged monsters. However, their numbers were still high.
Lumian saw five winged beasts land on the platform. He immediately lunged at them, his sword moving in rapid succession, cutting them in half and pushing them off the platform.
Hearing the sound of thunder, Lumian glanced out of the corner of his eye as Asael struck a monster. His lightning attribute, being stronger than Lumian's own, was more effective.
The lightning jumped from one grasshopper to another, finishing off dozens.
However, as the battle continued, their essence was running out. They had to do something to change the current situation; otherwise, they would die.
Despite the desperate situation, Lumian remained serene. His flaw eliminated every emotion he felt. His face was serene, filled with a murderous coldness.