Chapter 146
Translator: penny
Chapter: 146
Chapter Title: Clash with the Frost Giant
KWANG!!
Snow piled around the hammer that slammed into the ground surged upward.
The decorations in the ancient king's tomb trembled and collapsed from the shock they couldn't fully absorb.
Leon scattered to the right while I went left, dodging the frost giant's attack.
We've known each other for about a year, roughly speaking.
By my count, you have to add another three thousand hours on top of that.
We didn't spend all that time as strangers, so there was no need to spell everything out.
We split left and right, drawing our swords at the same time.
Exwise and Deathwise, the holy sword and the demonic sword—brother blades forming a stark contrast.
Layer upon layer of swirling blizzard made it hard for sunlight to penetrate.
Yet the golden light flowing from Exwise, reminiscent of the sun, shone brilliantly.
As long as the sun was up, Exwise could unleash its full power.
Proving that fact, a blue hue began to mix into the holy sword's golden light.
Second Form.
The holy sword entered a realm Deathwise hadn't yet reached, its light slicing through the blizzard.
The blizzard cleared in the area where the holy sword's light touched.
Thanks to that, the sun shone down on us.
-Kuwooooh!
The frost giant whipped its head around at the sudden anomaly.
With its limited intelligence, it couldn't comprehend what was happening.
On top of that, Leon and I were moving from opposite directions, forcing it to choose one or the other.
Annoyed by that fact, the frost giant started swinging its hammer wildly at me.
Its attacks were so poorly aimed it was almost questionable.
But when its size rivaled a large bus—and even a graze could shatter every bone in my body—the sheer recklessness of its swings was a threat in itself.
Not to mention, repeated impacts could trigger an avalanche at any moment.
The frost giant would probably shrug off an avalanche unscathed, but Leon or I would die if we got caught in one.
A chilling sense of death tightened around my throat.
Even my winter gear couldn't block the sensation—goosebumps rose all over my body.
My brain flooded with adrenaline to evade the death looming right in front of me, thoughts racing wildly alongside my blood.
If it were just me, I'd run away right now.
But I wasn't fighting alone.
That's why I trusted Leon on the opposite side and charged straight at the frost giant's hammer.
Like whack-a-mole, the massive hammer closed in to smash down on me.
My limbs wanted to freeze up, my eyes to squeeze shut, but I gritted my teeth and whipped my body into action.
Just before the hammer could crush my head.
Slash!
A brilliant slash from the holy sword, wrapped in two lights, severed the frost giant's hand at the back.
It didn't cut to the bone—just a gash in the skin—but the pain made the frost giant drop the hammer.
The hammer, swung with full force, flew off and embedded itself in a nearby rock pile.
Naturally, my head didn't end up smashed.
Instead, I swung Deathwise as I passed through the afterimage of light left by the holy sword.
-Kuwooooh!!
The frost giant roared as a long gash appeared on its calf.
But its hide was thick; I hadn't inflicted proper damage.
I couldn't sever the muscle—just split the skin a bit to cause some bleeding.
Even that was like a minor finger cut compared to the frost giant's massive frame.
"Insufficient firepower."
Leon, now at my side, caught his breath.
In this extreme battlefield, stamina drained faster than usual.
I wasn't in any position to comment, so I forcibly steadied my breathing and nodded.
"Then we push harder."
Leon nodded and accelerated.
Exwise streaked afterimages like a comet's tail, slashing the frost giant's body all over.
I followed, swinging the demonic sword.
Slash, slash, slash again.
Pierce the hide, tear through flesh and muscle in the gaps, until it reached bone.
Even trivial wounds accumulate into damage that can't be ignored.
As the injuries snowballed, the frost giant groaned and flailed its arms and legs wildly.
Leon's sword severed the hand reaching for me.
Instead of the stiffened hand, the frost giant tried to kick at Leon, but its ankle had long since been sliced by my demonic sword.
When Leon made a large cut on its shin as it hastily changed course, blue veins of blood spurted out, forcing the frost giant to stagger back.
Don't stop thinking.
Keep moving.
I whipped my creaking body to match Leon's sword.
In the frenzy of ceaseless slashes, the frost giant's entire body was dyed blue with blood.
-Kuoooooh!!!
Spewing blood, the frost giant roared.
The enraged beast crouched its massive frame.
"It's jumping! Dodge!"
Leon didn't even question it—he swiftly moved out from under the frost giant.
At the same time, the frost giant leaped straight up with agility unbecoming its size.
KWAANG!!!
A leaping area attack and area stun.
In a game, I'd dodge with the 0.3-second invincibility from a roll or jump, but unfortunately, this wasn't a game.
The impact dwarfed even its stomps—my stance crumbled, as did Leon's.
Normally, we'd recover immediately, but this opponent was bad news.
The frost giant rolled sideways right after landing.
At that size, just rolling was enough to crush everything in its path with sheer violence.
And Leon and I were in its path.
No time to think.
I used dimensional magic to teleport Leon and me away.
My mana was depleting—headache throbbing, vision spinning.
"Cough...!"
Combined with the earlier hit, a cough burst out.
No blood came up, but a metallic taste filled my mouth.
"You okay?"
Leon asked, glaring at the frost giant.
I barely nodded, but the words wouldn't come.
The frost giant, rolling with murderous intent to crush us, had already reached its dropped hammer.
It gripped the hammer again and grinned dumbly at us.
"Still... strong."
"Even if it looks stupid, they're a race that can rival dragons when they band together. Our attacks are probably just paper cuts to it."
"But they're landing. It's lashing out wildly."
Leon was right.
Still, continuing like this, who knew when it'd end.
No—before it ended, an avalanche would probably hit first.
That last jump made it overdue.
"Hoo... Leon, if you go all out, can you pierce its skin and reach its heart?"
"...Possible. But it takes time to prepare."
Leon's holy sword grew more powerful the longer the preparation.
Of course—unlike my beams or mana bursts, one shot wouldn't drop it.
If he condensed golden mana fully into the blade, taking down the frost giant wasn't impossible.
Impossible for me right now.
Considering our roles, this was the optimal split.
"You'll be fine alone?"
"No choice. Besides, you're not the type to let me die. If you're worried, prepare as fast and thoroughly as possible."
Leon started to say something, lips moving.
But he closed them and nodded.
In the snowy expanse, his vividly gleaming red eyes looked straight at me for the first time—not the frost giant.
"I'm entrusting my life to you."
"...Yeah, leave it to me."
A bit of pressure would help Leon.
At the same time, I reminded myself Leon was behind me as I charged the frost giant.
I didn't know if it understood human speech...
"Hey! You oversized muscle pig!"
I yelled something fitting, and it swung its hammer wildly at me.
The reckless hammer strikes, but this time Leon was a step behind, watching from the side.
No immediate support.
I had to dodge purely on my own skill.
I can do this.
I can.
I repeated it endlessly.
My eyes scanned everywhere madly, plotting the optimal path.
Blind spots without visual info were covered by dimensional magic.
Massive info flooded my brain, but I analyzed it all desperately.
Stop thinking for even 0.1 seconds, and I'd die.
Knowing that, I ignored all stray thoughts.
With every thought circuit tuned to survival, feats I couldn't imagine normally became possible.
Big dodges wasted stamina.
I slipped every deadly attack by a paper-thin margin.
Each time, shockwaves and wind battered my body, but I braced my knees and endured.
-Krooooh!!
Maybe frustrated at almost grabbing but always missing.
The roaring frost giant pounded the ground with its hammer and bare fists.
An attack that would pulverize me beyond recognition if caught, but right before impact, I chained dimensional magic to escape.
"Hahk... hahk...!!"
Life-risking evasion maneuvers with continuous dimensional magic.
Stamina and mana drained in an instant—my breath came in gasps.
My heart pounded so hard I no longer felt the cold.
I couldn't hold out like this for long.
But retreating to catch my breath would send the frost giant after Leon.
My role was to protect him until he was ready.
Knowing that, I stepped forward again—
"Ready!"
Leon's long-awaited voice.
At the same time, I gripped Deathwise's hilt tightly.
The sky turned black.
The sunlight piercing the blizzard vanished.
Moon, stars, even faint light—all gone in pitch-black midnight, where Deathwise wrapped itself in darkness.
-You, in that state, can hold out for maybe one second at most.
That's enough.
In that one second, I unleashed the demonic sword's full power.
Jet-black mana surged up the blade from the hilt.
Kwagagagak!!
I swung without restraining the power that seemed ready to explode.
A slash of mana thick as concentrated night deeply severed the frost giant's ankle.
It shredded tough skin and solid muscle, pulverizing straight to the bone in one strike.
The frost giant screamed in agony, clutching its half-severed ankle as it collapsed in place.
But I wasn't the only one crumbling.
I'd pushed my body to the limit and summoned night on top.
Even the Earth Dragon's Heart couldn't fully cover the backlash.
I barely stayed upright using Deathwise as a staff and vomited blood.
Squeezing out a voice through my hazy mind.
"Hit it now!"
I stood between Leon and the frost giant.
I'd get hit too, but Leon swung the holy sword without a moment's hesitation.
From upper right to lower left.
Then upper left to lower right.
Two crossing diagonal slashes overlapped.
The two slashes conjured along the holy sword ignored the laws of physics—a kind of miracle.
A miracle and hope certain to bring defeat to the enemy and victory to allies.
A brilliant white beam that seemed to incinerate everything in its path raced across the snowy plain.
Only then did the frost giant notice Leon's white beam and try to dodge, but its mangled ankle made it impossible.
At the moment of collision, all sound vanished from the snowy plain.
No sound of flesh slicing, bones crushing, or the frost giant's screams.
Without a single noise, the white beam left a massive, deep X-shaped wound on the frost giant's chest and faded.
White beam—Leon's ultimate technique boasting absolute destruction.
Naturally, a direct hit would erase a human without a trace.
Yet I rose intact from my spot.
The barrier from the Ring of the Absolute shattered with a fizz as its charged power depleted, scattering in the wind.
"Haa... what the hell is this body made of..."
Nothing in this world was easy.
Exhausted, I collapsed onto the snow.
Sensation faded from my limbs.
The blood taste clinging to my mouth was numbing my sense of taste too.
Still, we won.
We'd averted the worst possibility.
We'd even thwarted Aniraza's scheme, I suppose.
Exhausted to the point of death, but a laugh bubbled up.
Cough—laughing made blood spray too.
Leon staggered over and offered his hand.
I raised my barely functional right arm, grabbed his hand, and stood.
Head spinning from blood loss, I wobbled—Leon steadied me by the shoulder.
"Asking again, you okay?"
"Honestly, no way I am. We just fought that monster. I just... wanna go down, drink some hot soup, and sleep."
I joked, but Leon's red eyes, filled with worry, stayed fixed on me.
Stubborn guy—jokes don't land with him.
"I'm fine, so stop looking like that. Let's end the hunt quick and head down..."
As I went to finish, I instinctively glanced back at the frost giant's corpse.
An ominous aura emanated from the motionless body.
I thought it was fatigue playing tricks, but Leon was glaring at the corpse too.
"...You felt it too?"
Leon nodded silently.
Not my imagination, then.
"Doesn't seem over."
Supporting me, Leon regripped his holy sword's hilt.
Damn it—I swallowed a curse and raised my demonic sword too.
At that instant.
A massive surge of ominous mana erupted from the wound on the frost giant's chest.
The explosive expansion of mana, like a volcano erupting, couldn't be blocked or dodged.
It swallowed us in an instant, and an uncontrollable dread crawled up my neck.
I'd felt this ominous mana countless times before.
"It's black magic...!"
Black magic using vast mana unleashes disasters beyond common sense.
I tried to escape somehow.
But before I could, all light in my vision vanished, plunging us into darkness.