Valhalla
Viscount Hadion rode hard once he cleared the castle gates.
Hiiiiing—!
His well-trained warhorse showed no fear even among the demons. Or, more precisely, that was thanks to the potion he'd fed it beforehand—but the reason hardly mattered now.
Kieeeeek!
Kyaak!
The Viscount cut down the demons charging from every side with swift, clean strokes of his blade and kept riding.
How far he had gone, he could not say.
Grooooh—!
A nameless demon barred his path. A large-class specimen standing a full three meters tall—a two-headed brute that resembled an ogre.
Tsk.
The Viscount's brow furrowed. At that size, forcing a way through would be no easy task.
And then—
Tadak, tak!
Golgoloooool—!
Something pure white flashed past his side, and a massive greatsword split the large-class demon clean in two.
Khtun!
Yes. Khtun's undead had followed him out.
Golgol's blade cleaved one of the creature's heads apart.
Puguk!
Another undead appeared from nowhere and smashed the remaining head to pieces with a mace. A faint holy power shimmered along the weapon's head.
…Myuhan, was it?
He had heard the name. A demon hunter, resurrected as one of Khtun's undead.
"My thanks! Yah!"
"Think nothing of it."
The Viscount and his four knights vaulted over the fallen large-class demon and rode on. Nothing stood in their way after that. Every demon that lunged at them lost its head the moment the Viscount's sword moved. The bloodline of Relentless Assault ran true in him—his blade never ceased, and the unbroken storm of cuts blasted every obstacle from his path.
For a time he carved a road soaked in demon blood.
"Grrrk, grrk—."
When he reached the giant, the Viscount dismounted without hesitation. The riderless horse would not survive—but he did not care. He had not come out here with any thought of returning.
"We will cover you."
"Climb, my lord."
Under the knights' protection, the Viscount leapt up onto the giant's body.
That was the moment.
"You… rat bastards!"
"…!"
The Viscount saw them—the giant's eyes, lifting to look down at him.
"I'll chew you to pulp… you worthless little things!"
The giant's hand came crashing down.
"Viscount—!"
At the knights' desperate cry, Viscount Hadion threw himself clear.
Kuuung!
The giant's palm, swung as if swatting a mosquito, struck only its own chest. Barely alive, the Viscount looked to his knights.
"Keep it from rising! The ankles! Sever the tendons!"
"Yes, my lord!"
The knights charged as one.
"How dare you!"
Sensing their intent, the giant shook itself.
Kugugu!
Its massive bulk scraped and heaved against the earth. The knights dodged with agile footwork even as they carved into its flesh with blades wreathed in deep-blue aura.
"You vermin!"
The giant drew its legs in and tried to push its upper body upright.
And then—
A flash!
"Kraaaaaaah!"
A searing pain split its face. The Viscount's sword had cut across both pairs of eyes.
Watching the giant thrash in agony, the Viscount drove his knights harder.
"Hurry!"
In that brief instant the giant had squeezed its eyes shut, and the cut had not gone deep enough. It would open them again soon enough. Before that happened, they had to rob it of its mobility.
Whether they understood that urgency or not, the knights boldly scaled the thrashing giant's body and drove their swords into its Achilles tendons.
"Kaaaaaaak!"
"Keuk!"
As the giant twisted, one knight was flung far away. Vailen.
Kyaaaaaak!
Kiik, kik!
Dropped into the middle of a demon swarm, Vailen roared at the top of his lungs.
"Cut it again! It was too shallow, so—kraaak!"
Vailen's voice was swallowed by the demons. What followed was a sound no one wanted to imagine.
The remaining knights left their comrade's death behind them and kept swinging.
"…."
"…."
In silence.
"I'll kill you! I'll kill every last one of you!"
The giant thrashed to shake the knights off. The motions looked almost comical—like a child throwing a tantrum on the floor—but with that crushing mass behind them, every movement was lethal.
Still, the knights and the Viscount calmly carved away at the giant's body.
And then—thud…uk!
At last, one Achilles tendon gave way.
Kwajik.
Knight Biter was crushed beneath the giant's thigh and died.
Even so, the Viscount and the knights who remained did not stop.
Swaaaaek! Kwajik! Kwaduk!
The Viscount weaved past the giant's thrashing hands and split its hide open.
"Hoo, hoo."
"Keuk!"
The knights turned their blades on the knees—easier targets than the Achilles tendons. It was acrobatics of the purest kind. A single misstep meant certain death. But the knights had already accepted that fate, and so there was no hesitation in anything they did.
Somehow!
Even if it kills us…!
Their swords butchered the giant's knees.
How long it lasted, none of them could say.
"Kraaaaaak!"
The moment the knights finished their work—
Ppeok!
A swinging forearm smashed into them. Knights Kane and Sheren never even managed a death cry before they were reduced to bloody pulp.
The Viscount mourned them even as he kept swinging.
Huuuung—!
He rolled across the ground, barely slipping free of the giant's grasping hand, then climbed back onto its body and drove his sword in. Fortunately, for a man who carried the power of Swiftness, the giant's movements were not especially fast.
But—
…Not enough.
He lacked a decisive blow. The giant's hide was simply too thick. And—perhaps it was only his imagination—the more the giant recovered its strength, the harder it became to drive the blade home.
Unfortunately, it was not his imagination. As long as the giant's heart still beat, its skin maintained an almost inexhaustible anti-demonic resilience.
As the situation steadily worsened—
"Kraaa, kruu, kraaak!"
—the giant kept thrashing to throw the Viscount off, and the Viscount's concentration began to fray. His bloodline had gifted him great power, but he lacked real combat experience. He was tiring.
Can I win?
Anxiety rose from deep within him. Naturally, that once-tempestuous blade lost its bearing and began to waver.
Still, the Viscount steeled himself again.
Or rather—he tried to.
If only the giant's hand had not closed around him.
Deopseok—!
"Keuk…!"
"Got you. You rat bastard…!"
Ttuduk, ttuk.
The giant squeezed, intent on crushing him. As the bones in his body twisted and ground together, the Viscount could not even scream—only open and close his mouth in silence.
It hurt.
Is this how I die? Without having done a single thing?
"You… will not die easily. You will not die easily. You will pay the price for daring to stand against Tumag of the Giantblood Clan."
He could not even hear the growling voice. All he felt was regret.
If I had known it would end this hollow…
He should have forced it—driven his sword into that throat no matter the cost. He had thought himself ready to die. He had been wrong.
But what was there to do? Regret always comes too late, no matter how early it arrives.
Viscount Hadion coughed blood and turned the bitter truth over in his mind.
And then—
"Valhaaaal—laaaaaaa!"
A thunderous shout from somewhere.
"Kraaaak!"
The giant screamed as searing pain lanced through its forearm. The Viscount, who had been held fast and helpless, found himself free.
What…?
Someone caught him as he fell. Groaning through the pain, the Viscount looked at whoever had broken his fall.
No—not a person.
A skeleton.
Golgol—
How a creature without vocal cords made any sound at all was a mystery. But wait. A skeleton…?
"Are you conscious?"
"Young Master Khtun!"
Beyond the skeleton, the Viscount found Khtun looking down at him.
"How are you here…! What about the command!"
"Would my presence there have changed anything? Sir Rockton will handle it well enough. And I did not come alone."
"Viscount. Yours was a truly noble sacrifice. I have come to lend what humble aid I can."
"Priest James…!"
Viscount Hadion could scarcely believe it. If they left the line—what of the front? The front would—!
"Be at ease. Our other brothers are assisting. For reference, the prayer offered at the Hour of the Ox is far more potent than the prayers of any other hour. Of course, it will not hold for long, but…"
"In any case, things are fine for the moment, so rest easy and go thrash that giant. Brother James?"
"Yes."
James dropped to one knee and began to pray.
"You bastards—!"
The giant, furious, tried to charge—
Hwaa!
—and flinched as holy power erupted from James. At the same time, the Golgol–Myuhan duo and the Minitons surged toward the giant.
"Kraaak!"
The giant thrashed under the attacks punching deep into its flesh, but it dared not approach the Viscount, where holy power was rising.
"The trio is buying us time, but not for long, Brother James."
"Almost ready."
James murmured before the Viscount.
"Goddess, here stands one who fights against evil. I beseech You—grant him Your mercy—"
Holy power settled into the Viscount's body.
Tudduk, tuk…!
Vitality began to return to the wreck of a body the giant's grip had made of him. He was not fully healed, but it was enough to swing a sword.
And then Khtun's voice reached his ear.
"Finish it."
"Mm!"
The Viscount rose quickly. At once, with James's prayer, holy power gathered along his blade—and over it, aura layered itself.
The Viscount settled into his stance.
And he steeled his heart.
Death…
He had thought himself ready for it. He had not been. So what was he to do now, when a miracle had granted him one more chance?
It was a question that needed no answer.
Kwaduk.
The Viscount gripped his sword tight—and charged the giant.
"You…!"
The giant, still dealing with the undead, snapped its gaze toward him.
A mere insect dares—!
A fist heavy with the giant's rage tore through the air.
Huuuuung—!
In the face of that monstrous wind pressure, the Viscount did not so much as blink. Instead he boldly kicked off the ground and vaulted onto the giant's arm.
Kung!
As the giant's fist slammed into the earth, the Viscount seemed to sway for a moment—then he scrambled up the forearm and leapt.
And he shouted—
"Valhalla!"
The Viscount's sword split the air. More precisely, it split the gap in the giant's already-riven chest.
There was no sound of rupture.
"…!"
The giant froze, eyes wide. Its breath stopped. That vast body went rigid.
A moment later, the Viscount—hanging from the sword he had driven into the heart as if scaling a cliff—pulled with everything he had left.
And then—
Chwaaaaaak—!
Just as when the chest had first been split open, a fountain of blood erupted. In that deluge, the Viscount felt the strength drain from his limbs.
It's… done.
In the fading haze of his mind—
"Golgol—! Catch the Viscount!"
"Brother, the demons are coming! Back to the castle, quickly!"
—the voices grew distant. But the Viscount felt a satisfaction beyond anything he could have asked for.
The fighting continued until the sun went down. When the Viscount opened his eyes again, the battle was already over.
"Viscount!"
"Sir… Rockton. The battle…"
The old knight Rockton answered with bloodshot eyes.
"We have won."
"Ah. Aah."
Only then could the Viscount smile.