Winter Falling on Steel

Winter descending on steel. The hero's Giant Knight, which beheaded the colossal dragon king—a feat no one else had achieved. Over long ages, heroes had piled up all sorts of accomplishments, but Hero Park Chun-sik's technological feats were on another level; even if a dwarf devoted their entire life to it, reaching even one pinnacle would be a stretch.

He left behind all kinds of technologies, but regrettably, most of the weapon-related ones were lost to actual combat. Historians speculated that this was the hero's choice, worrying that they would accelerate wars and repeat meaningless slaughter. In fact, like other heroes, in his later years as the Dwarf King, he focused on developing farming tools and medical facilities—excluding gates—to advance the kingdom.

The great decisive battle weapon, said to have been made to slay dragons and confront evil gods, survived only as blueprints and a single frame. Stories of how it was built had been passed down, but no one could understand the structure of its heart. The heart, made from a dragon's heart and the Giant Knight's core—touch it wrong even slightly, and it might stop functioning entirely. So the dwarfs decided to transplant the heart and build their own Giant Knight separately.

The hero hadn't left a will forbidding it, and the dwarfs' desire to realize his technology accelerated, turning into a generational goal. As a result, fields like artificial humans and golem engineering advanced greatly, but it also led to an era of mishmash energy sources suited to their convenience—chaotic and messy in many ways.

In that flow, the eldest princess of the 7th Dwarf King, a genius by birth, finally succeeded in reviving the Giant Knight. It took a whopping 15 years, but at a truly miraculous timing: the evil gods broke their seals, and she used their skeletons, muscles, nervous systems, and more without restraint. She created the greatest guardian deity in dwarf history, surpassing the Giant Knight the hero had made from a dragon—new era performance that even outdid its sturdy exterior in lightness.

Right after installing the heart, they made adjustments for contingencies, called in priests for repeated purifications, and proceeded flawlessly. With blueprints already existing, the moment materials gathered, the kingdom mobilized all its top dwarf engineers, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠scientists, and artisans. The dream bore fruit.

"Finally, we've reached the hero's feat!"

The hero's achievements, once only viewable from afar. The dwarfs, who revered the hero most, had finally caught up to his footsteps. Though they'd only matched about 20% of high-tech so far, and couldn't even grasp the heart's structure. The Giant Knight's revival was already a massive shock to the dwarfs.

For those who could only imagine the guardian deity's valiant form—quietly slumbering in a museum, once fighting dragons to protect dwarfs, mines, and the kingdom—this Giant Knight march turned their dreams into reality. We did it together, pooling our strength to make the dream real.

Default Kingdom sent invitations to other kingdoms, urging them to share this joyous day, creating an unprecedented festival atmosphere. A minor hiccup with sudden snow was handled by the kingdom-wide barrier over the capital.

"That's why it's festival day, huh?" Dwarf Kesera Sera Sera chuckled, poking fun that they should just drink their fill since it was a celebration. Larirure wanted to watch the Giant Knight sober, buzzing like a kid. Unlike Larirure, Kesera Sera Sera was a veteran engineer with over 10 years at the kingdom, holding a high position.

She seemed stressed to the point of worrying—trembling with the urge to stuff bombs in the mouths of her assistant lackeys who kept asking her stuff. She chugged another energy drink. Staring blankly at the crowd for a moment, she asked us,

"Honestly, the hero pisses me off. Being worshipped is one thing, but why chase bipedal walking? Just blast 'em with cannons that size and done, right?"

Well... yeah, put like that, it made sense. No real need for humanoid shape? Tanks might be stronger, like she said. Or quadruped animal robots with blades in their mouths.

"Ugh, that damn firepower-is-everything logic again? So tiresome. The hero went for that form to protect our living environment, y'know."

"Tch."

Kesera fell silent, blocked by Larirure's logic. The hero probably didn't avoid overwhelming firepower to massacre enemies. From his later years' tales, he didn't like that stuff. Maybe a stubborn aversion to war.

But to Kesera, that seemed frustratingly slow. She gnashed her teeth, saying high firepower could've wiped out the elves too. Hated 'em that much.

"Plus those damn bosses bitch that high-firepower weapons are dangerous... Fuckin' assholes... Nukes are the truth!!"

One firepower blast changes everything over that shitty bipedal robot!

"You're friends with Larirure, alright."

"If you buy 'friend' from that, sis'll cry."

"I'll wipe her tears."

"Fuckin' bastards! No flirting in front of me!"

"What's wrong? You had a boyfriend once. Wasn't he a good guy?"

"He's dead. Yeah, good guy."

The mood sank suddenly. Larirure went "Oh, really?" peeking cautiously. Suggesting they watch the parade from a good spot since prep was soon, and she'd cover drinks and food. Kesera laughed happily, saying "Sure, your wallet dies today," slinging an arm around her.

"So, how does the Giant Knight move?"

"Huh? Infinite mana from the heart, duh. Infinite mana, it could self-heart, but even archmages couldn't. Kyahaha. Holy power might work, but that frame's junk now."

She laughed, saying she'd stripped it from armament to heart, making it museum-worthy scrap. Corpses on display fit museums, she frowned—better fail and make a normal tank or armed airship. A dwarf with personality like Larirure's.

Chatting Giant Knight as we settled at a cafe terrace with a good high view for the march.

Bang! Trumpets blared. The massive skyscraper tower's doors opened. The king waved from inside the megastructure. Golems flanked him like guards, followed by the dwarf knight order—armed in steel, guns, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and swords.

New gear, fresh guns—Hyacinth and Mortis buzzed excitedly. Po'runga eyed the king's ride more: wheel-less, horse-less carriage floating mid-air over the road. Fitting for a dwarf tech pinnacle.

Thud—Even from afar, the heavy footsteps reached my ears. The two-legged dragon rose from inside the gates. Canopy opened, a cute girl waved—probably the princess. Genius dwarf princess, huh? A real 7-8 meter giant moving was awe-inspiring. Felt like a movie.

Giant Knight's back bore the greatsword True Dragon Slayer, used to behead the dragon king—4 meters long.

"Giant Knight's dragon-made, but that's evil god stuff, so it'd crush it. Though stripped of armor and skin, heh."

Kesera, who'd ragged on bipeds all day, now hung off the balcony cheering with Larirure. "Dwarf tech's peak!" Laughing wildly—head seemed odd, but enjoying it.

As dwarfs cheered and others marveled at the legendary Giant Knight's return, it suddenly halted.

"Bug?"

"Don't jinx it, fuck! I made it!"

Kesera yanked her hair at Larirure's words. No bugs, perfect! Screaming about her programming, seemed not her fault. Bloodshot eyes yelling "No bugs!"—Larirure apologized, spooked.

"Energy supply glitch, muscle issues inside the frame, or nerve contamination—one of those!"

"Tech team problem, not research?"

"Bingo!"

Pointing at the skyscraper—tech team'd come running. Boom! Wall exploded. Smoke and flames surged. All turned shocked; Kesera leaped from balcony.

"I'll catch up!"

Larirure dashed; I told Hyacinth to follow. Not jump-spec, I raced stairs to street.

Smoke billowing from skyscraper—festival-goers murmured, clueless. Sky barrier vanished; snow poured. Ominous. Something's coming.

Rumble—The still Giant Knight raised its head. Glowing red eyes, crouching quadruped-like. Jaws gaped, teeth bared. That head... familiar unease wrinkled my brow. Bones carved, but like the evil god head from the sea.

"Grraaarrgh!"

"Gone mad."

Giant Knight rampaged—with princess aboard. Knights fired desperately at it charging the king; golems rushed. No stopping a 7m giant mana-clad, evil god skin/muscle beast-mode.

I saw a massive mechanical arm burst from opening road—defense system shielding civilians with barriers, unleashing firepower. King evacuated under knight guard; I gazed past translucent barrier at the Giant Knight.

The goddess's voice cut off abruptly, as always—but this alien dissonance differed from usual, tensing me, stirring needless vigilance...

I'd finally touched that shadow. But the goddess said it wasn't the Maou. Then what? What was this alien energy I felt? She stayed silent—her words alone could tip scales. The three constellation tickets flying to me were all she could convey.

She always said she pushed limits; in this silence-worthy matter, I tore the tickets.

──Not bad! Curse issue, but curses are "given," unrelated to blessings. Magic circle for bluffing... Last one's distorted, but constellation ticket stuff vanishes like always. Anyway, means I can use Levitfoot racial skills too.

I cast [Small Polymorph] instantly, jumping to vault the wall.

"W-W-Wait, hold oooon!!!"

A lone Levitfoot leaped skyward to the skyscraper's cloudy peak. The white-robed Levitfoot flailed pathetically, plummeting.