Far from the palace of the King of the Demi-Humans, and in the Kingdom of the Giants, strange things were happening as well.
The King of the Giants, who stood over twelve meters tall, was standing atop a massive mountain near the borders of his kingdom. Beneath his feet, inside one of the deep caves carved into the mountain, a dense black fog was continuously rising.
The king turned to the farmer standing behind him and said in a deep voice:
"Since exactly when did this black fog begin to spread?"
The King of the Giants had only recently learned of what was happening. As soon as news reached him about what was occurring near his kingdom's borders, he decided to come personally, accompanied by the royal guard, to investigate the matter.
When the question was directed at the farmer who had reported the incident, he was unable to answer immediately. He froze in place from sheer awe, as he had never expected the King of the Giants himself to appear. After a few moments, he regained his composure, realizing that delaying his response to the king's question would be considered great disrespect, and said in a slightly trembling voice:
"My lord… this fog began spreading from inside this cave several weeks ago. At first, we tried to approach to see what was happening, but there was a strange aura that prevented us from getting close."
The King of the Giants listened to the farmer's words in silence, then sank into thought for a few brief seconds. After that, he made his decision and said, pointing to one of the guards:
"Return this farmer to his village. He has done his duty."
Then he turned to the rest of the guards and said in a firm voice:
"And you, come with me. We will see what lies inside this cave."
The guards immediately carried out his orders. One of them escorted the farmer back to his village at the foot of the mountain, while the king and the remaining guards prepared to head toward the cave from which the strange fog was rising.
After a few minutes, the king and his guards reached the entrance of the cave. As soon as they approached it, they all felt that strange aura the farmer had spoken of. Nevertheless, neither the king nor his guards showed any fear. Instead, they decided to move inside to discover the source of that ominous aura.
The king and the guards entered the cave. The fog was thick, but it did not prevent them from seeing their path. However, it caused the group to scatter slightly, so they began moving in a tight formation close to one another.
After a short while, the king and his guards heard a strange sound echoing from the depths of the cave.
The king raised his hand, signaling the guards to prepare, and said in a low voice:
"Be on your guard."
The guards immediately drew their weapons and advanced cautiously deeper into the cave. The giants did not understand the concept of true stealth; they were massive, and their bones shook the ground with every step. Therefore, they did not care much whether whatever was in the depths of the cave had sensed their presence or not.
All that mattered to them now…
was discovering what was hiding within the darkness.
They continued deeper into the cave, and after some time they reached its end, where they witnessed a horrifying sight:
A mutilated corpse, which strangely shaped wolves were devouring greedily.
The moment the King of the Giants saw that scene, he remembered what the High Priest had told him a few weeks earlier.
The High Priest had said to him at the time:
"My lord, our saint has seen a strange vision… a catastrophe that will befall the race of giants, and indeed all the races of the continent of Mira."
The king had been shocked and asked:
"And what is this catastrophe, High Priest?"
The High Priest did not answer directly, but instead relayed the saint's words verbatim:
"Our saint said that he saw a mutilated corpse, its blood spreading rapidly across the ground, and that anyone who touches its blood becomes poisoned and transforms into a dangerous monster.
He added that this body is located within our lands, my lord."
These memories rushed back into the King of the Giants' mind as he stared at the scene before him.
The king snapped out of his thoughts and shouted at the top of his voice:
"Kill these creatures now! For the giants!"
The moment the king shouted, all of his guards charged toward the strange wolves.
The wolves were engrossed in devouring the corpse and had not noticed the danger surrounding them. But as soon as they saw the King of the Giants and his guards, they realized they were under attack.
Those wolves had only just transformed under the influence of the mutilated corpse and had not yet grown accustomed to their new bodies filled with power. Therefore, they did not last long and quickly fell before the giants' overwhelming strength, massive bodies, and vast combat experience.
The wolves were killed swiftly, and the King of the Giants rejoiced at how easily they were defeated—but his joy did not last long…
Suddenly, the bodies of the strange wolves gathered together and fused, forming a single massive, grotesque body, nearly the size of a giant.
The king shouted at the top of his voice:
"Step back, guards! You are not on its level!"
As soon as the guards heard the king's orders, they obeyed immediately and retreated away from the path of the strange monster.
The King of the Giants looked at the creature and said to himself:
"It is a good thing that I came here early…
If I had been late and these creatures had multiplied, it would have been a true catastrophe."
The King of the Giants drew his sword and slowly advanced toward the hideous creature.
The moment he came close, strange tendrils attacked him from every direction.
But the king did not care.
He slightly raised his sword, then swung it in a single decisive strike.
In a single moment, all the tendrils were severed, and the grotesque body was split into two halves.
The strike did not stop there; it pierced through the monster and slammed into the walls of the cave, which cracked under its power.
When the guards saw this, they shouted in unison:
"Long live the king! Long live the king!"
The King of the Giants smiled slightly, then raised his hand to stop their cheering and said:
"Summon the giant priests. I want to know what this evil and vile thing is."
As soon as he said that, the guards turned and looked at the corpse the wolves had been devouring.
It was a strange corpse, from which terrifying black fog was rising.
The moment they looked at it, they recoiled in fear, as they heard strange whispers creeping into their ears.
The king noticed the guards' reaction and shouted at them:
"Do not look at the corpse! It is cursed!"
As soon as the king said that, the guards quickly averted their eyes, gasping as if merely looking at it had exhausted and drained them.