IBHJ Chapter 825

Taking a deep breath, he shook his head. "The strength that others see in me is actually a recognition of my own weaknesses. It was through relentless training, time and time again, humbly seeking advice and learning from others, and constantly analyzing my shortcomings that I gradually improved, step by step."

Shirou's lips curled into a sneer, "Even after lasting this long, you still can't escape your fate. Every time you're on the brink of success, every time your plans are about to come to fruition, and just when you think everything will fall into place, you've always failed." He paused, letting his words hang in the air like a suffocating fog. "And now, you'll fail again."

"You're wrong, Eternal King. Do you think I need to defeat you? Not at all!" Surtr clenched his fists, "I don't seek personal victory or glory. What I want, what I've always sought, is the survival of my race! As long as they can persevere, as long as they can continue on, that is the greatest victory for me."

"My people!" Surtr's voice rang out, victorious and filled with joy. "Our path has been opened, and we no longer need to fight to the death with Eternal King!" His eyes shone with a fanaticism that bordered on madness, his arms outstretched as if to embrace his entire race. "Come! Step on the corpse of our ancestor and ascend this heavenly path, this road to paradise. We will no longer starve; we will no longer need to feast on the flesh and blood of our loved ones. We can finally live normally..."

His words echoed across the battlefield, a rallying cry meant to inspire hope and courage in the hearts of his fellow giants. But as the moments ticked by, an unsettling realization began to dawn on Surtr. Despite his impassioned speech, there was no response. No worshipful shouts from the giants, no sounds of them climbing up to join him. Only an eerie, suffocating silence.

A cold, creeping unease began to take root in Surtr's heart, a feeling he couldn't quite shake. Even as he remained vigilant, his eyes darting between Shirou and Skadi to prevent any surprise attacks, he used Hræsvelgr 's Origin Wheel to cast his gaze downward. And in that moment, with just one glance, Surtr's world collapsed.

"UUUAAARRRGGGHHH!" He let out a guttural, animalistic roar that erupted from deep within his throat. His eyes went wide with horror, his mind struggling to process the nightmarish sight before him. A blood-curdling scream ripped from his lungs, echoing across the withering World Tree and sending shivers down the spines of everyone who heard it.

There, among the ranks of his once-proud army, a scene of unimaginable carnage and destruction unfolded. The colossal octopus-like creature, a grotesque abomination, tore through the fire giants with sickening ease, its monstrous tentacles whipping through the air and slamming into the helpless giants with bone-crushing force.

Surtr's stomach churned as he watched his soldiers, the very lifeblood of his people, being ripped apart like ragdolls, their bodies mangled and dismembered. The creature's gaping maw, a door to an abyss of endless hunger, consumed giant after giant, their screams of terror and agony abruptly cut short as they were swallowed by the monster's bottomless gullet.

Shirou, no stranger to the battlefield's ever-shifting tides, had grown accustomed to dividing his focus between the task at hand and the constant stream of reports from his subordinates within the Black Network. Yet, even with this practiced vigilance, Surtr's over-the-top reaction managed to pique his interest. Curiosity getting the better of him, Shirou used his Clairvoyance, and his gaze was drawn to the chaos unfolding beneath the World Tree.

As his vision sharpened, his eyes widened in surprise. There, amidst the sea of fire giants, a colossal octopus-like creature wreaked havoc, its mountainous form dwarfing even the strongest giants. The monster's tentacles, each as thick as tree trunks, whipped through the air with devastating force, the resounding "boom, boom, boom" of their impact sending shockwaves rippling across the battlefield.

Fire giants unfortunate enough to find themselves in the path of these flailing tentacles met a grim fate, their bodies battered and broken, if not outright killed by the sheer might of the creature's blows. The scene happening before his eyes was similar to that of eldritch horrors described in the Cthulhu Mythos, a nightmarish sight of tentacles capturing hordes of helpless giants, only to hurl them into the gaping maw of the beast, their screams swallowed by the sounds of battle and the monster's insatiable hunger.

Skadi, who had gathered all the divinity of the Nordic gods, could easily see the tragic scene happening on the ground, and Shirou was no stranger to this infamous monster in Norse mythology. It was the North Sea's massive Phantasmal Species that ruled the Nordic seas. Even when the Vanir gods gave it their all, they couldn't take down this monster. The main reason for Galahad's earlier defeat in Alfheim was also because of a surprise attack by this Kraken. But why was it here now? And why was it attacking Fire Giants of all things?

At that moment, Surtr screamed in despair, "No, no... Why is Kraken here? This can't be..."

Suddenly, frenzied, hysterical laughter came from the battlefield. Shirou and Skadi looked closely and saw a crazed Frost Giant sitting on the Kraken's head, pointing here and there like a conductor, laughing his head off, "There, and over there too! Yes! Kraken, go for it! So many Fire Giants, more than enough for a big feast. Hahaha!"

"Be- Bergelmir?" Skadi's eyes widened, "Is that really Bergelmir?"

Shirou looked at her, surprised. And Bergelmir, who was frantically commanding the Kraken, seemed to sense the gazes from Shirou, Skadi, and Surtr. He turned his head slowly, his gaze landing on the top of the World Tree.

"Surtr! I know you're watching! How do you like it? Do you like this big gift I sent you?" A manic grin spread across his face, and he threw his head back, cackling like a madman, his voice dripping with twisted glee.

"It- it was you who summoned Kraken, Bergelmir?" Surtr was completely stunned.

He couldn't wrap his head around it. Didn't Bergelmir want the Frost Giants to survive and thrive? As long as he still had the desire for the Frost Giants to continue, he shouldn't have opposed him.

"Hmph. Letting the Frost Giants continue?" Bergelmir's lips curled into a sneer, and he spat the words out like they were poison on his tongue. "You give me too much credit, Surtr! Frost Giants were born before the Fire Giants, and our mission is to revive the ancestor. Once this mission is complete, no new Frost Giants will be born." He paused, his eyes glinting with a malicious light. "And guess what? More than two thousand years ago, Frost Giants had already revived the ancestor!"

"Do you understand, Surtr? You destroyed the Frost Giants! You destroyed me, how could I not destroy you in return!?" Bergelmir shouted hysterically. "Two thousand years ago, the one who destroyed me was you. It's the cycle of heaven's law, and two thousand years later, I'm your retribution!"

"Kraken, eat up! Devour all these damn Fire Giants!" Bergelmir screamed, his eyes wild with rage.

The Kraken let out a delighted roar and swallowed the Fire Giants even faster. Bergelmir had gathered these Fire Giants together under the pretext of a defensive battle, all for the sake of revenge. It made it so much easier for the Kraken to hunt them down. This was the reason they were only defending and not attacking Salter and Eternal King's army. On the surface, it was to protect Surtr, but the real reason was to gather these giants in one place. It was all to make it easier for Kraken to maintain its hunting ground!