[FMMISM] Chapter 43: Gigantic Horror

In the familiar bedroom of an elderly British couple, which was more familiar to him than his own parents' faces, Waver Velvet woke from his slumber.

Outside, darkness still enveloped everything, with the clock's hour hand pointing to 5 o'clock.

Normally, even with the sun high outside, he would lazily linger in bed, but today he had woken unusually early for some reason.

He couldn't shake the feeling that he had experienced an intense chill in his dreams.

'Hahh... was I too excited after all?'

Nearly a week had passed since the battle at the port, yet he still felt as if he were trapped in that dream, unable to forget the desperate struggle of that night.

The fear, trembling, joy, and excitement of stepping onto the battlefield for the first time continued to surge within him these past few days.

Waver still vividly remembered Iskandar's large, powerful hand on his shoulder that night—it was the first time someone had acknowledged him.

"A coward who wouldn't even show up doesn't deserve to be my opponent!"

At that time, Iskandar insulted Kayneth.

"A man worthy of being my Master must be a hero who can ride into battle alongside me!"

As a result, these past few days, Waver had been overwhelmed with joy.

"Ugh... I'm a bit thirsty. I should get some water."

Running his hand through his hair, Waver left the bedroom.

Upon reaching the first floor, Waver noticed the living room was illuminated even though it was still five in the morning.

"Oh, you're up, kid."

Iskandar beckoned to Waver from the dining table, his massive body resembling a small mountain.

Since Iskandar refused to use spiritual form no matter what, Waver could only strengthen his hypnosis magecraft at the elderly couple with a sense of guilt.

"I told you to stay on the second floor and not wander around. Why are you up so early anyway? Is your biological clock still on Macedonian time?" Waver asked tiredly.

"Don't sweat the small stuff, kid. Come here, something interesting happened."

Excitedly, Iskandar gestured for Waver to come over, but Waver felt impatient.

'He will probably boast about his new war strategy game again, won't he? Hahh... Well, I owe him for speaking up for me in front of Professor that night.'

Waver clicked his tongue before fetching a glass of water from the kitchen before joining Iskandar's side.

"So why are you sneaking around so early in the morning?" Waver asked again.

Iskandar was watching TV, seemingly tuned into the morning news.

"Hey, look quick, kid! Something big's going down!"

Iskandar's face was lit up with excitement, Waver even feeling he was more emotionally charged now than on that night at the port.

"Hahaha! Can you believe there's something this interesting happening? Being in this era is just too good! Alright, show me what you've got! Clinton, do you really have what it takes to be my rival in this era?"

"What?"

Listening to Iskandar's inexplicable words, Waver glanced at the TV screen, utterly confused.

On the screen appeared a massive black creature covered in tentacles.

"Huh?" Waver rubbed his eyes.

First making sure it wasn't a movie channel, he looked again at the massive figure.

Enveloped in thick fog, standing tall in the darkness, it was a monstrous creature whose size rivaled mountains. Even a blue whale would probably be just a snack for it.

Countless tentacles, countless sharp teeth—it was a manifestation of voracious gluttony, a nightmare-like figure reigning over all the world's seas, truly deserving of the name of a sea demon.

"Mo-Mo-Mo-Mo-Monster?!" Waver stuttered in shock.

"Yeah, it seems in this era they call this kind of creature a monster." Iskandar nodded calmly. "In my previous life, I hunted quite a few beasts, but compared to this monster, those were just bugs."

In the early morning silence of the living room, the sound of a glass breaking on the floor echoed.

===

In the winter of 1994, on a certain morning.

Tokyo Bay, Yokosuka Port.

Today's weather was hazy, with high waves.

How to describe Ragna's current mood after transforming into a Horror—or more precisely, into a massive and stronger version of Horror known as 'Gigantic Horror'?

Simply put, it was a hundred times more exhilarating than hitting the jackpot in the pachinko parlor.

Whether it was the commanding view from over three hundred meters high or the omnipotent sensation gained after uniting with the Gigantic Horror, it was beyond what the human body could provide.

Last but not least, Ragna felt the ecstatic sensation of releasing all his Beast's suppressed desires accumulated over three years at this moment.

In short, Ragna was so pumped up that he wanted to scream 'Wryyyyyy!' to the sky.

However, the question was, why was Ragna able to transform into a Gigantic Horror using a seemingly mundane grimoire like Prelati's Spellbook?

Obviously, the answer was that he just could.

Unlike Gilles, who opened interdimensional tunnels in order to summon Horrors with Prelati's Spellbook, Ragna followed the instructions in it after a night of reckless tinkering and successfully summoned a Gigantic Horror in the truest sense.

In other words, instead of using an 'already existing Noble Phantasm', Ragna 'created an entirely new Noble Phantasm.'

Centuries ago, Francois Prelati, while high on drugs, practiced a magecraft and eventually connected to another world with astronomical probabilities, forging a contract with a Horror.

Moreover, this Horror shared similarities with the Beast of Revelation and Beelzebub, both embodiments of gluttony.

If Prelati could do it, there was no reason why Ragna couldn't.

Ultimately, yesterday evening, Ragna replicated Prelati's feat and successfully turned a piece of recycled toilet paper-like grimoire into a true EX-rank Noble Phantasm.

'Hmm...'

Ragna raised his head, peering through hundreds of eyeballs on the surface of the Gigantic Horror to glimpse the outside world.

Everything seemed so small, fragile, and yet delicious.

Because the location of the incident was Tokyo instead of Fuyuki, even the Holy Church couldn't conceal the existence of the Gigantic Horror anymore.

In the sky, four military helicopters nervously circled around the Gigantic Horror.

Spotlights illuminated the Gigantic Horror's body, revealing its horrifyingly enormous silhouette and terrifyingly ugly tentacles to the entire world.

Far away, the high-rise buildings along the Tokyo Bay waterfront area were brightly lit at five o'clock in the morning, while several kilometers away, three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers were speeding towards the Gigantic Horror.

Right now, the world news channels should be operating at maximum capacity.

Hundreds of millions of people simultaneously witnessed the Gigantic Horror's majestic appearance on television.

Some were surprised, some were fearful, and strangely, some were joyful.

'Rest assured, humans... Today, you are not my main course...'

Ragna swung a tentacle with a diameter exceeding twenty meters, fiercely slapping the sea.

SPLASH!

ROOOAAARRR—!!!

As the sea surface surged up, the Gigantic Horror roared into the world.