Chapter 295
Chapter Title: The Giant King's Arrival
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Thud—! Thud—! Thud—!
The faces of the guards in the watchtowers of Gardsrone's walls turned deathly pale.
Before their eyes stood a colossal giant, taller even than the famously high walls of Gardsrone.
"Th-the Giant King... Gias!"
His jaw trembled as he uttered the epithet of the monster before him.
The Age of Calamity.
Anyone who had fought in the war against Tartaros could not avoid an encounter with a Legion Commander.
But no one here had ever seen the Giant King in person.
Even the Spirit King, commander-in-chief of Tartaros and Erebos's most powerful subordinate.
Even the Demon Queen, the most ruthless of all, who reveled in slaughter.
They always left survivors.
But the Giant King, Gias, was different.
The Legion Commander who never left a single survivor.
That meant he was a symbol of absolute death.
The appearance of Gias, the Giant King who delivered certain death upon encounter on the battlefield, struck fear into the hearts of Gardsrone's guards.
Thud—! Thud—!
One step, then another.
The guards stumbled backward with each step Gias's colossal form took toward them.
"Everyone, hold your formation."
A stern voice rang out.
At the sound of it, everyone snapped to attention.
"This is Gardsrone. Not even the Giant King can breach this impregnable fortress."
"Yes, sir!"
Dweno's words gave everyone courage.
Watching this, Lunia murmured.
"That's Lord Dweno for you. To snap soldiers out of their fear with just a few words."
As Lunia marveled, feeling the dignity of a Great Hero, Driana crossed her arms with a smug expression.
"Of course. It's Lord Dweno, after all."
Next to Driana, Ar also crossed her arms with a smug look.
"Now Lord Ar-on will step up and boost the soldiers' morale to its peak."
At Ar's words, Dweno let out a deep sigh.
"Unfortunately, that won't be the case."
"Huh?"
"I don't know what kind of fantasy you have about Ar-on, but he's a terrible coward."
With those words, Dweno climbed onto the ramparts of Gardsrone and crossed his arms.
He was a small dwarf, but his figure from behind seemed immense.
Most were too terrified to even approach the walls.
Hearing Dweno's words, the party members, except for Leo, turned to look at Ar-on with shocked expressions.
Ar-on was hiding behind his disciple, Verchia, trembling with his eyes shut tight.
"B-Verchia. H-how is it? Is it big?"
"It's huge."
Verchia answered in a tense voice, having stood on her tiptoes to peer over the wall at the Giant King.
Ar-on let out a terrified whimper.
Seeing Ar-on whining like a frightened puppy, Karl's jaw dropped.
"N-no way. To think that *the* Lord Ar-on is such a coward..."
Karl himself was feeling an oppressive pressure from the Giant King's mere presence, making it hard to move.
But the sight of Ar-on trembling behind his disciple with his eyes closed was truly shocking.
The fact that it was Ar-on, the [Brave Hero] praised as the most courageous of the Great Heroes, was all the more stunning.
It was especially shocking for the children of the current era, who had grown up hearing tales of the [Brave Hero]'s indomitable courage.
"This is bewildering."
Lunia muttered, a look of disbelief on her face.
Ar, in particular, seemed deeply shocked, slumping to the ground and clutching her head.
"Waaah— Lord Ar-on! How can he be so different from the stories!"
Leo grabbed Ar by the scruff of her neck and forced her to her feet.
Then he turned his gaze toward the Giant King, Gias.
"The real Great Heroes can be different from what we know."
At Leo's words, Lunia recalled Luna.
Luna, the founder of Nebula, was depicted in countless history books and fairy tales as pure, gentle, and benevolent.
But in reality, she was a spirited, bold, and endlessly curious young lady who loved flowers.
Dweno, the divine blacksmith, was known as solemn and upright, forging weapons for the world.
But inwardly, he was a strange old man with a perverted streak, busy praising beauty.
Verchia, the Fairy Knight, was renowned for leading the elves with fairness and an all-encompassing charisma.
In truth, she was a rambunctious girl who lied at the drop of a hat and was prone to mischief.
They had only spent ten days together.
But their true selves, unrecorded in history, were far from the flawless image of the Great Heroes.
*'We laughed and chatted, spending our days together cheerfully.'*
Perhaps it would be the same if they all gathered in one place—with Lisinas, Kyle, and Luna.
*'Thinking of Lady Luna, that must be it.'*
Lunia placed a hand on her own shoulder.
She remembered Luna's bright smile, how she would cheerfully throw an arm around her shoulders without hesitation.
"Leo's right."
Lunia smiled brightly.
"They might be different from how we know them... but they're still Lord Dweno, Lord Ar-on... and Lady Verchia."
The party members looked at Lunia.
"The fact that they accomplished the great feat of saving the world hasn't changed."
If anything, their ordinary sides gave them courage.
*'They're not so different from us.'*
...that thought.
The idea that people just like them had achieved such a great feat gave them a sense of familiarity and courage.
Hearing Lunia's words, Ar, who had been hanging her head, looked at Ar-on.
Then she clenched her fists.
"Right! Lord Ar-on is Lord Ar-on!"
She shot to her feet and puffed out her chest.
The fact that she was a descendant of the great Brave Hero remained unchanged.
With a snort, Ar climbed onto the wall.
"Let's see the face of this Giant King or whatever he is!"
With her eyes wide and her ears and tail standing on end, Ar boldly climbed onto the rampart.
But as soon as she saw Gias, her ears and tail drooped, and she hastily scrambled back down.
"Wh-what is that thing! It's so big!"
"It's really as big as a mountain."
"That's the Giant King... Does that mean the rumors were true?"
Before entering the World of Heroes.
The party members broke into a cold sweat, remembering how they had come here to investigate a mysterious giant.
Thud—! Thud!
The earth continued to tremble.
No one else dared to stand confidently on the wall like Dweno.
Tap—!
Someone landed confidently beside Dweno.
White hair fluttered in the wind.
At this, the party members and the Gardsrone guards thought Ar-on had mustered his courage and stood beside Dweno.
But the one standing next to Dweno was none other than Leo.
"That kid really seems to have no fear."
"To take a Legion Commander's Fear head-on..."
Lunia clicked her tongue in amazement, and Driana let out a gasp of admiration.
"That's Lord Leo for you."
"Hmph! If the Black Rabbit can do it, so can I!"
As Eiran expressed her admiration, Ar lifted her head, looking defiant.
The Fear exuded by the Legion Commander.
By its nature, it instilled fear in all living things.
To overcome the Fear, one had no choice but to raise their mana and resist it.
But Leo and Dweno showed no sign of doing so.
They simply stood there, calmly taking the full brunt of the Legion Commander's Fear.
Their steadfast figures gave those watching from behind the courage to face despair.
Dweno opened a subspace and took out his battle-ax.
Leo watched the approaching Giant King, who made the earth tremble, with his arms crossed.
*'According to the original timeline, the invasion shouldn't start until tomorrow morning.'*
The Giant King had appeared at Gardsrone much earlier than he was supposed to.
*'Which means...'*
Leo narrowed his eyes.
*'This must be the Giant King from the present era.'*
Currently, there were two Giant Kings in the World of Heroes.
The Giant King of the past.
And the Giant King from the present era, who had invaded to burn the World of Heroes to the ground.
The Giant King before him was the one from the present.
"Just as you said."
Fwoosh—! Whoooosh—!
"The Giant King Gias has arrived."
As he swung the battle-ax in his hand, a powerful gust of wind scattered through the air.
Thud—!
He slammed the battle-ax onto the ground.
Dweno's mana spread throughout the walls.
With it, the soldiers on the ramparts regained their courage.
Dweno's mana had pushed back Gias's Fear.
"So, do we just need to take that big oaf's head now?"
At Dweno's words, Leo drew his sword.
"We shouldn't move rashly. His legion isn't here yet."
"Hmm. You're right."
"And."
"And?"
"There might be two Giant Kings."
Dweno's eyes twitched.
"I see."
Dweno, who had figured out that Leo was from the future, understood his words immediately.
"What happened to us in the original battle?"
"...We won. Though we suffered heavy losses."
"I see."
"What are you two talking about? Let me hear..."
Groooowwwwwwl—!
"Hieeek?"
Ar, who had been mustering the courage to climb up to where Leo stood, shrieked at Gias's roar and tumbled to the ground, landing on her backside.
There was still a considerable distance between Gardsrone's walls and Gias.
But because he was so massive, Gias's movements were clearly visible.
Fwoom—!
The Giant King pulled a massive greatsword from a subspace.
A greatsword with a dark red blade, caked with chunks of flesh.
Seeing it, Dweno narrowed his eyes.
"This dark magic...? Is that a greatsword made from Jörmungandr's spine? I thought it would take at least a few hundred years to complete...?"
Jörmungandr, the beast subjugated by Kyle and Lisinas.
And the one who had recovered its corpse was none other than the Giant King, Gias.
He had used the corpse of his comrade to forge a demonic sword of immense evil.
Gwoooooooh—!
An ominous magic swirled around it.
Having absorbed the Giant King's dark magic, the corpse sword of Jörmungandr began to squirm.
Kraka-ka-ka-ka-BOOM—!
A dark green miasma of magic was unleashed.
The dark magic of Jörmungandr, the King of Gluttony, revealed its sinister form.
A massive wave of dark green magic flew toward the walls of Gardsrone, swallowing everything in its path.
Everyone who saw it wore a look of horror.
"I-it's dangerous!"
"Black Rabbit! Get out of the way!"
Ar shouted urgently.
But Leo didn't even blink.
The same went for Dweno.
It was an attack that would be dangerous even for Dweno if it hit directly.
For the current Leo, it was an attack that would certainly mean death.
Many felt a sense of terror as they watched the horrifying dark magic, which looked powerful enough to swallow the walls and obliterate them without a trace.
But Leo knew.
The coward who was always so terrified that he was the last to appear on the battlefield.
And yet, the moment the signal for battle was fired.
Thump—!
That same coward was always the first to charge.
White hair whipped through the air.
Fwoosh—!
A young beastman leaped high into the air from the rampart.
Before him was the mass of dark magic, greedily swallowing everything.
Shing—!
Ar-on drew his sword.
The sword that would one day be known as the symbol of the Brave Hero: Brave.
A golden aura erupted from the sword.
Flash! Kraka-ka-ka-ka-ka!
The sword strike that shot out from the blade soared as if ascending to the heavens.
And with it, the mass of dark green magic vanished without a trace.
Fwoosh—!
Thump—!
Whoooooosh—!
The wind raged.
Everyone held their breath as they watched the back of Ar-on, his white hair fluttering, his sword held low.
That unwavering back had always given the Great Heroes immense courage.
*'This... is the Brave Hero.'*
*'The man with the strongest courage in the world...!'*