Chapter 95: Belly of the Beast

"Ugh! This place is disgusting!"

I groaned loudly, before using Silver Lining to cut through a web of bulbous flesh. The mass splattering into a gooey black fluid as it fell to the ground.

UEEGH!!

I jumped back, deeply repulsed.

My face twisted into one of disgust, as I kept Silver Lining far from my body, the poor blade was pretty much doused in the black fluid.

I hissed.

I really need to give it a thorough cleaning...

Coincidentally, I took a deep breath of the damp, sticky air, an action which made my face turn green.

Damnit! Who was the madman that thought teleporting into a dead giant's body was a good idea?!

Yes, I wonder...who...

My inner voice spoke in a sarcastic tone.

Oi! Oi! You know it wasn't me!

What the-?! Then who the hell was it you lying bastard?!

It was my past self!

My inner voice went quiet, as if questioning the audacity, I had to lie to myself.

Then again, I wasn't lying.

It was after all, my past self who made this crappy decision and now am suffering from it.

You hear that kids...if you're suffering in the present and have no one to blame then just blame your past self...

Nah... you should never be allowed around children...

How about you tell that to a certain American rapper?

Wait...wha-whatever...virgin, just keep moving...we've been in this body for way too long, I want out.

HA...

I sighed; my inner voice was right.

It had been quite a long while since I had teleported into the Breathing Giant's body. The instant I materialized above its nostrils, I was pulled in by its powerful inhalation; instantly making my way down its trachea before having to divert out of it to avoid its approaching exhalation.

As a result, I got lost in one of the Giant's arteries, whether it was the carotid or subclavian I didn't know though. The Giant was just too damn massive.

Thank goodness...its dead though...

I let out a sigh, before hopping over the puddle of black fluid.

It was quite an exhilarating experience actually, to be sucked in through a giant's nose... that's if we ignore all the thousands of micro-bacteria, strange dust and bloody splatter contained within it, though.

"Well, oh well...speaking about the dust...", I muttered to myself as I continued walking forward, making sure to avoid the black puddles.

It is quite a strange thing...

Indeed.

The fog that the Breathing Giant breathed was a rather strange phenomenon, in the sense, that it posed no harm towards the Giant nor me and it always moved towards a single point when it passed through the Giant's trachea.

That point was undoubtedly, its Aperture, a fact which led me to conclude that the Giant had an affinity towards the strange dust.

HA...

I let out a sigh before muttering, "I wish I could just teleport."

In all actuality, I do indeed have the power of teleportation.

I had gained it after brutally engraving Galter Droet's magic circle onto my left hand. It was a painful yet necessary process, had I not done it then...who knows? I might have never escaped.

I grimaced.

The Fomorians were a truly harrowing bunch, a wicked set of creatures who killed and devoured their own kind.

They were the very embodiment of chaos.

I had gone through literal hell just to escape from their maws.

Well, whatever. I still wrecked them in the end anyway.

SHIFF.

I used my right hand to slick back my flowing black hair, before stealing a glance at my left hand.

Before invading the Giant's corpse, I had theorized that Teleportation worked like Communication.

To teleport, one needed a sending magic circle and a receiving magic circle to vanish an object across space.

But when I teleported into the Giant's nostrils, there was no actual receiver – I had used my Mind Palace to conjure an image of the receiving circle.

The reason I had failed to teleport to the Giant's nostril on my first try was because the image in my mind was too vague.

And that was exactly my current problem, I had no concrete map of the Giant's body and as a result, I couldn't teleport through it.

TSK!

"So much for an overp-"

DROOOMM!!

Suddenly, a massive ripple swept through the flesh beneath me.

"D-damn! Not again!"

Immediately, I plunged Silver Lining downwards, piercing the writhing flesh beneath me before falling to a knee.

DROOOMM!!

The body of the Breathing Giant suddenly trembled, causing its entire torso to vibrate with immense force.

Shit...

The world around me shook violently, the bulbous flesh around me swinging around like meat sacks and the pools of black fluid momentarily jolting off the mushy ground.

This process lasted for what seemed like several minutes before coming to a slow halt.

For a short moment, I was struck by a sense of vertigo before snapping back and rising back to my feet.

PHEW...

With a calm expression, I pulled out Silver Lining from the flesh beneath, feeling my feet sink into the ground slightly.

Oh...what had just happened?

Nothing much, the Breathing Giant just breathed.

SQUILSH...

Another stream of black fluid stemmed from the ground, dousing Silver Lining's blade once again.

I raised the silver foil to my eye level, and stared at the blade. My eyes narrowed as I peered at it, I couldn't even see my reflection.

Ha...I really need to have you cleaned...

I shook my head before turning forward, my gaze peering deep into the tunnel of the Giant's artery – it was enshrouded with the usual darkness and decked with fleshy webbings.

"Hmm...", I paused for a moment before outstretching my hand.

Open.

For a brief moment, the darkness of the Giant's artery was dispelled, illuminated by a whirlwind of sparks which connected along the outline of an odd hatchet.

[Equipped Item: Maladroit Ax.]

As usual the moment I gripped the hilt of the Ax, the World Energy in my core was suddenly devoured in large chunks.

But unlike before, I didn't buckle or keel from the strain.

After all, I was Level 11 now...

I gripped the two weapons in my hands and stared down the tunnel, my face turning to one of slight concern.

Should I risk it?

I lingered for a moment, simply staring into the darkness before sighing.

"Well, oh well..."

With Silver Lining in one hand and the Maladroit Ax in the other, I raised my hands to my sides before suddenly slamming them over my head.

CLANG!!!

A deafening shockwave was suddenly emitted from the impact point of the two weapons, causing the air around me to crack and the gooey puddles to ripple.

ARGH!!

My ears throbbed from the blast, momentarily reddening; a loud ringing sound overcoming my sense of hearing.

I dropped to a knee as Silver Lining and Maladroit Ax fell to the ground.

For a moment, the world was still, the sound of ringing ever present.

Come on...

I took a breath, calming myself and grasping the lingering sounds.

[Skill: Reverb Mapping is active.]

The system spoke as a vague image of the space before me, formed in my mind.

Ah...here they come...

I waited for a moment, simply staring forward with an arm over my knee until something suddenly moved in the darkness...

[Bloodlust detected.]

At the system's voice, I grinned.

Alright Alex...it's time for slaughter...