A vine thicker than a tree trunk lashed out at breakneck speed, friction scorching the air just before it slammed into the flying red humanoid giant, sending it hurtling into the earth like a meteor.
(Boom!)
Rudra and the others gazed at the town with their mouths agape as the impact sent several buildings tumbling to the ground, sending a massive shockwave through the surroundings.
Rudra felt the vibrations in his bones, and he was astonished by the level of power displayed by the monster in the clouds.
Coincidentally, the place where the red giant had fallen was slightly toward the outskirts of the city, giving them a clear view of the massive crater it had created.
A hand rose from beneath the crater, and the giant slowly climbed to its feet at the edge, struggling to stand. Its movements were awkward and untrained, almost as if it were unfamiliar with its own body.
Rudra noticed this immediately and could not help but wonder. ’Is it because it’s unaccustomed to the body?’
The thought did not come without reason. The Krasurs have six purple eyes, while the human-looking red giant had only two. Its limbs were also shaped much like a human’s, while its wings resembled those of the flying Krasur.
And then there was the similar feeling it shared with the crimson tree. He remembered the enormous crimson fruit hanging from the tree and suddenly found himself connecting the pieces.
Could the red giant have been born from that fruit?
Rudra thought back to everything he had seen. The tower filled with human flesh should have been the place from which one of the beams originated, or at least one of the four places. It meant there were three other towers throughout the city, filled with flesh just like the one he had seen.
All that energy from the flesh and blood of the humans had converged at a central point through that blood-red circle covered in mysterious symbols in the sky, before being poured into the tree. The tree had grown larger using that energy and eventually given birth to the fruit.
The more he thought about it, the more solid his speculation became. Yet one question still bothered him.
If the body had been created using energy taken from humans, was that why it resembled a human body?
Then what is controlling it?
Rudra’s eyes narrowed.
Could a Krasur be controlling the red giant?
Or could there be some other alien entity behind all of this, something capable of creating the mysterious circle and using them to bring such monsters into existence?
Rudra had no answers, but the more he thought about it, the more the pieces seemed to fit together.
The red monster finally found its footing, but before it could properly steady itself, the ants swarmed it.
"It’s done," Pranay commented, and Rudra nodded in agreement.
He didn’t think that the red giant could make a comeback as well.
Hundreds of large ants, like the ones they had taken down, literally crushed the smaller ants in their path just to get a bite of the red giant. As for the smaller ants, even the presence of the giant flying ant did not deter them. Completely ignoring life, they continued to march forward.
The giant ant, which had somehow maintained its patience and rationality despite being overwhelmed by the urge to tear the enemy of the world apart, could no longer hold itself back.
Its wings flapped, creating a wall of air around it that pushed away the smaller insects and sent its giant body soaring into the air as if it weighed nothing.
It looked at the huddle of insects down below and swooped down without hesitation, slaughtering the small and even large insects that came its way. It grabbed onto the red giant, several times bigger than it, and lifted it into the air.
The sight was so shocking that a feeling of disbelief settled over everyone. Compared with the larger ants they had fought, the giant flying ant was a megalith. Yet compared to the red giant, the difference was like that between a baby elephant and its mother.
Despite the enormous difference in size, the giant flying ant managed to lift the red giant several feet into the air, carrying its massive body with surprising ease. With the dark, rain-filled clouds serving as its backdrop, the sight only gave more weight to Rudra’s earlier impression that the flying insect was the king among the ants.
"Kick, kick, kick."
The ant let out loud, victorious screeches and dove down, with the flapping of its wings actually increasing the speed.
Rudra’s eye widened, and an incredible possibility crossed his mind. ’Is it going to sacrifice its own life?’ Although it was an enemy he hated with his guts, an emotion of admiration appeared in his heart.
The emotion directly startled Rudra.
He was confused.
Technically, it shouldn’t matter to him which monster survived. Although he was averse to the red giant, he could understand it and even reluctantly accept it because he knew that the giant was a threat to the very concept of life. But admiration for the ant king for fighting the red giant was a different matter altogether.
He didn’t want to feel admiration for the ant. He hated it. He didn’t want to forget what it had done. As if in defiance of the feeling, he gritted his teeth and looked at the falling ant with narrowed eyes filled with hatred, or at least he tried to summon that hatred.
But it was nowhere to be found.
"Damn it."
He didn’t like it one bit, but there was nothing he could do.
Right before the red giant crashed to the ground for the second time, the ant let go a few meters off the ground.
(Boom!)
The explosion this time was louder than the one before, and the crater created was wider as well.
The ant was left suspended in the sky, tears in its wings and thick blood gushing from its damaged joints. Yet it looked down at the red giant with a victorious gaze, like an apex predator looking down upon its prey.
Rudra felt happy. He was now sure that the red giant was dead for sure and the enemy of life was no more. Remembering that the ant’s next target might be them, a chill seeped through his spine, waking him up from the excitement, and he turned around to have the others quickly set off.
However, just as he opened his mouth to speak, he heard gasps from his companions and stopped halfway.
He swung his head toward the town at once, and his body shook. He had to steady himself for a moment, lest he fall.
The red giant was not dead.
If anything, it had changed.
Patterns appeared on its body, illegible ruins or symbols of some sort. It looked very similar to the symbols that previously appeared in the circle that hovered over the town.
With symbols brighter and redder than its own appearance, the red beast got up. The ants that continued to swarm it were not able to do a single thing. They beat the tree, but not even a single scratch appeared on the red giant’s body.
It stood there unperturbed. However, different from the dull and lifeless movements of before, its neck moved, and its purple eyes gleamed with a brilliant glow as it gazed at the ant king in the sky and the many ants surrounding it.
"Kaaaaa"
It let out a deafening roar, so loud that it was almost like a sonic attack. The clouds directly above it were punctured by the sheer force of the roar, and sunlight briefly streamed down before the clouds closed in and engulfed it once again.
The crimson symbols all over its body got even brighter, and it radiated a formidable sense of power. Rudra rubbed his eyes as he thought that he was seeing writhing human faces in the red mist that began to engulf the red giant Krasur.
Rudra’s knuckles tightened, and the killing intent in his heart started to go out of control. Thankfully, maybe because he was so far away, he was able to realise his own weirdness and woke up. Seeing Pranay, Ranga, Laila, and Prabhu trembling, he woke them up as well and gazed into the distance.
The red giant spread out its hands, and two giant balls of crimson energy took shape. Rudra felt uneasy at the sight, but before he could react, the giant clapped its hands.
(Boom!)
A blinding red light engulfed the surrounding field. Small ants and larger ants alike were instantly reduced to blood mist, covering the weeds like bright crimson petals. But before the mist could settle, it spiralled through the air and funnelled into the giant’s chest.
Its body grew larger.
The ground shook violently, the hospital’s compound wall collapsed, and Rudra and the others crouched to keep from losing their balance. When Rudra finally looked up, his throat ran dry.
The entire field was empty.
Millions of ants had vanished, leaving behind nothing but blood mist that had been absorbed by the giant.
"If it does that once again, we’ll be next," Rudra muttered under his breath and whispered.
"Let’s get that girl and get out of here."
Everyone woke up from their stupor, and Laila ran towards the clean room while Prabhu and others went to ready the vehicle.
Hoping that it could kill the red giant, Rudra gazed at the giant flying ant for the last time.