As Sion stepped through the swirling warp gate and entered the region known as Hallowed Vale, a formerly quiet village now shrouded in dread, an unnatural stillness settled around him. Despite the rising morning sun, the village was cloaked in utter darkness—no light pierced the air, as if the land itself had been severed from the world.
"This place…" Sion muttered.
Raphael appeared beside him, her expression stern and wary. "Now I have no doubt, Sion. This land—this darkness—it reeks of the Fallen Angels. The demonic cult and the cursed ones have touched this place. Be on guard. Anything can happen."
As they stood amidst the silence, sudden visions danced before Sion's eyes. Twisted illusions—yet so vivid they felt real. They saw the peaceful village before it was lost: children laughing, farmers tending crops, animals grazing. Then, without warning, the sky tore open. Portals emerged, massive and glowing a menacing purple. From them, monstrous beings surged forth—grotesque titans of unfathomable size, humanoid in shape but demonic in aura.
Their bodies were distorted. Each stood nearly twenty meters tall, with sinewy, obsidian flesh and elongated faces that blended the horrific traits of both man and beast. Red-hot eyes glowed from their sockets. Horns sprouted from their skulls, and their teeth were serrated like jagged weapons. Each step they took left the ground cracked and shaking.
The villagers, helpless and unaware, were crushed beneath the beasts' feet like insects. The titans showed no emotion—only a twisted delight in destruction. In mere moments, the entire village was annihilated. Animals and humans alike—slaughtered, and then their remains twisted into new titans. A curse so vile, it severed the Hallowed Vale entirely from the human realm and the rest of the Clover Kingdom.
"What… is this chaos?" Sion whispered, overwhelmed by the depth of destruction.
A rumbling noise broke the illusion. A group of the monstrous titans appeared ahead—at least a dozen of them, walking with slow, lumbering menace. They radiated an intense dark mana that crackled in the air like static. Strangely, that mana interfered with Sion's divine magic. His senses were dulled, his aura unstable.
Raphael narrowed her eyes. "This isn't right. They shouldn't be able to suppress divine energy like this. These creatures… they aren't just corrupted—they're something far worse. These titans were once human."
"They… transformed them?" Sion's fists clenched, rage boiling in his veins. "This is far beyond anything—even in my past world. Even with all our science and magic combined, I've never seen this."
He leapt off his horse and deactivated the surveillance drones to prevent damage to the data. With a swift command, the magical tanks activated and aimed their powerful strike spells at the advancing titans.
"FIRE!" Sion commanded.
The tanks released devastating blasts of concentrated mana, enough to reduce a fortress to rubble. The blasts struck—but when the smoke cleared, the titans stood unharmed, their twisted grins wider.
"What… no effect?" Sion gasped.
"I told you," Raphael whispered, tense. "This is beyond your current power."
Sion ignored her, fury overtaking reason. "Then I'll deal with them myself!"
Charging forward, his blade surged with divine aura. But before he could swing, one of the titans moved—unnaturally fast for its size—and its massive fist connected squarely with Sion's torso. He was flung through the air, his body crashing into the ground with a thunderous boom.
Coughing blood, Sion struggled to rise, only for another titan to raise a hand and use telekinesis. Invisible force wrapped around Sion's body and began to crush him—his bones snapping under the pressure. He screamed in pain.
"You… what are you!?" he roared.
With sheer will, he ignited his divine aura again and infused it into his sword, managing a desperate slash that forced the titan back momentarily. But the toll was immense. He collapsed to one knee.
Raphael appeared beside him, trying to heal his wounds as fast as she could. "Sion, don't be reckless! You're hurt—your power isn't enough yet!"
And then, a voice echoed from the darkness—cold, malevolent, and ancient.
"So this is the God-chosen hero. Sion Ragnar… or should I say, Allen, the mortal from another world who dares to defy us."
The shadows trembled as the source of the voice remained hidden.
Sion's eyes widened. "They… know who I am."