Chapter Sixteen: The Arrival of the Ancient God

Clearly, compared to the monster that emerged from the sea, Raguis was far stronger. Its body seemed to be made entirely of rock, and when its massive fists pounded against its opponent, the other creature could only let out agonized screams. The monster’s enormous claws flailed, but they could never inflict much harm upon Raguis.

With a sudden swing, Raguis’s stone-like tail crashed into the other monster, sending it toppling to the ground with a muffled thud. Its great fists then rained down mercilessly, drawing more anguished wails and spilling green blood that stained the entire sea. The battle did not last long; Raguis quickly emerged victorious, and when Tetsuya looked back, all the villagers erupted in joyous cheers.

“Raguis is a monster too, isn’t it? How did it become your guardian?” Tetsuya asked the little boy, curiosity in his voice.

The boy seemed unfamiliar with this history, so an elder explained, “We once wished to move to Lulue, but we were turned away for not meeting their standards. So, we stayed by the sea. As more people tried to cross the sea to reach Lulue and were denied, our small fishing village gradually took shape.”

The old man paused, gazing at Raguis who stood by the shore, his eyes brimming with a unique emotion. “When I was young, the villagers discovered a giant monster sleeping near our settlement. It never troubled us, simply slumbered in peace. Many fled out of fear at first, but those who remained gradually learned to live alongside it. Years passed, and one day the skies turned dark and the waves swelled, massive and relentless. No one dared go out to sea. On that day, a colossal monster emerged from the ocean. We were terrified, trapped by the weather, unable to leave our homes. Just as despair settled over us all, Raguis protected us, driving the monster away.”

The boy, excitement in his voice, added, “That’s right! That’s how Raguis became our guardian spirit, watching over the village for years and years. Look, grass even grows on its back now.”

Tetsuya gazed at the sight with a smile. The peaceful coexistence between humans and a monster—who would believe it without witnessing it firsthand?

“We should go thank Raguis!” The boy tugged the old man’s arm and they quickly returned to the village.

Raguis seemed exhausted, curling up on a spot along the shore, resembling nothing so much as a towering hillside. The villagers soon gathered at its feet, each carrying stones. Under the village chief’s direction, they began to climb Raguis’s back, stone by stone. Tetsuya joined them, following the others up the “mountain,” where small groups continued handing stones up the slope. Those above walked to battered, uneven spots along Raguis’s back and set the stones into the hollows.

Tetsuya watched quietly. These depressions, he realized, were wounds from battle; beneath, tinged with red, the monster’s flesh was exposed. Raguis, for all its rocky exterior, was a living creature—a monster with a carapace of stone. Tetsuya helped the boy carry a larger stone, and carefully placed it into one of the wounds. The stone soon melded seamlessly with the rest of Raguis’s shell.

Reaching a spot where Raguis’s body was exposed, Tetsuya bent down and touched the area, as if he could feel the steady, powerful thrum of a giant heart. The little boy came over, gazed at it, and whispered, “That’s a wound from protecting us.”

He squatted down, gently touching the spot, his voice low, “It must hurt a lot…”

Tetsuya smiled, ruffling the child’s hair, but said nothing. He simply rose and stared out at the distant sea. He’d never believed that a monster could truly protect humans, but now he found himself unable to doubt. Raguis’s desire to shield the villagers was no different from his own wish to protect Saro Mizuhara. The resolve to fight for those one loves—no one could deny its power.

The event to comfort Raguis soon ended. As Tetsuya descended the slope, Makado approached, his expression grave. Before Tetsuya could ask, he said, “An Ancient One is approaching…”

The Ancient One did not tarry. Before the villagers had even finished descending the slope, it landed upon the beach.

Tetsuya looked on in surprise—he recognized this Ancient One.

His skin was a blend of black and blue, with an energy timer on his chest glowing ocean blue, spreading outward into black and white armor across his shoulders. His oval eyes shone with a pale yellow light, in which Tetsuya saw coldness and pride.

“Agul…”

Agul, sent from Lulue and tasked with cleansing the oceanic region, swept a cold gaze across the gathering, his eyes settling on Raguis’s massive form.

“Grandpa, look—it’s an Ancient One!” the boy exclaimed, tugging his grandfather’s sleeve, pointing excitedly at the being.

But the old man panicked, quickly pulling the boy’s hand down and dragging him to his knees. Behind them, the other villagers also dropped down, bowing their heads in reverence and chanting, “Welcome, honored Ancient One…”

Camilla and the others, together with Makado, pulled Tetsuya behind Raguis’s back. Seeing the villagers’ reaction, Tetsuya’s eyes widened. This was nothing like he’d imagined—the relationship between humans and the Ancient Ones was more like that of servants. The villagers prostrated themselves, paying homage as if to a god.

Agul did not spare them a glance. He stepped forward, stopping before Raguis, his eyes still cold. Under the immense pressure, Raguis transformed from a mountain back into a monster, roaring defiantly at Agul.

Camilla watched in shock. “Is the Ancient One going to fight Raguis?” she asked, astonished.

Tetsuya tried to answer, but his throat was dry; he didn’t know what to say. Instead, Makado replied coldly,

“That is only natural.”

Camilla’s tone was pained. “But Raguis protected the villagers. He’s a good monster…”

Makado was blunt. “Only one guardian is needed to protect humans—the Ancient One. Their enemies are not only the Old Ones, the evil gods, and the man-eating monsters, but also any who dare contend with them for the title of humanity’s protector.”

Suddenly, Tetsuya felt that this era was not as simple as he had imagined, and the Ancient Ones were not truly Ultramen.

The ones who truly fought alongside humanity were Ultramen, not the Ancient Ones. Masaki Keigo had once believed that Ultramen were beings who forcibly guided human evolution. The ‘Ultramen’ he spoke of were the Ancient Ones from thirty million years ago.

Tetsuya found himself believing that gifted man’s judgment.

He even recalled what Yuri once said: “Giants cannot interfere with human choice, for they are the Light.”

But the Ancient Ones’ consciousness was light itself—light that controlled and manipulated those colossal forms. They possessed immense power, but not human will. The host merely provided a body for the Light to take the form of the Ancient One and do battle.

Though the Light could not interfere with humanity’s choices, it could ensure humanity had only one choice.