Chapter 195
Chapter 195
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 195
Chapter Title: White Giant (2)
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Pfshaaa!
White paint-like blood burst out in all directions from the deeply carved wound.
If it had been normal red blood, it would have been a gruesome sight, but the bizarre color made it feel anything but cruel.
It was more like looking at a scene with its own built-in mosaic.
'Never mind that right now!'
Spinning gracefully to dodge the giant's defiant swipe, Heinrich swung his massive light sword with centrifugal force.
The same spot as before.
The giant's Achilles tendon.
[———!]
At the same time, Harley and Gios struck the opposite ankle in a pincer attack, followed by Isea's gravity magic manifesting to restrain its movements.
Right after locking eyes with the giant's meaningful expression.
Heinrich and the rest of the hero party threw everything they had into seizing its ankle, even at some risk.
They couldn't just play it safe like before...
That reaction it showed moments ago was far from ordinary.
In battling this white giant, one realization had dawned on them.
It was certainly huge, with tough skin and overwhelming regenerative power that made it tricky to handle, but given enough time, they could take it down with their own strength.
It was fairly agile for its size, but not enough to keep up with them, and it didn't have any special attack methods either.
All it had was that brutish body.
'The problem is that body itself is overwhelmingly powerful.'
Attacks bolstered by immense holy power and the holy sword's might were dealing significant damage even to this giant.
The issue was that its vast life force made it barely noticeable.
But while they failed to finish it off due to that immense vitality, damage to the village was steadily accumulating.
The once-peaceful village was gradually being destroyed, with screams from people and livestock caught in the aftermath echoing everywhere.
[“Saint! It's trying to break free again! Ugh, people still haven't evacuated!”]
[“Gravity suppression is at its limit! The size difference means I can't control the whole area... It'll take at least five minutes to recast. Ah, I should've studied this more!”]
Gravity magic was an efficient control tool against the giant, whose massive size meant tremendous weight.
Without it, they would've let it break through long ago.
But its immense physical prowess and resistance had pushed even that to its limit.
'If only we could focus solely on the fight—if we just had more time!'
They were struggling now due to all the considerations, but if they clashed head-on again, he was confident they could hunt it down.
No matter that Heinrich's height was only the size of the giant's palm—even with Blessing: Amplification active, the light sword's maximum length exceeded three meters.
That was like a dagger to the giant, plenty lethal.
Harley's battle axe could sever its fingers, and Gios's spear thrusts were like awls.
If its physical abilities had been even slightly lacking, this would all be over already, wouldn't it?
'...To hold back a foe this much larger even briefly is impressive in itself.'
It couldn't ignore its legs being sliced off every time it tried to push through.
'...One breakthrough, and the village suffers a catastrophe. There really is no other way... Hm? What's that?'
Just then, something caught 'Harley's' eye.
The giant's wounds, regenerating even amid their ongoing battle.
[———!]
Heinrich's holy sword scars were mostly just at the sealing stage, while the holes Gios had pierced were healing flawlessly without a trace soon after.
The unexpected part was the marks left by Harley...
'Wait a minute.'
He narrowed his eyes and glared at the cross-section of the massive pinky toe he'd severed earlier.
Its regeneration speed seemed about midway between Heinrich's and Gios's.
And Harley could clearly see the reason.
'...I see. Of course—it's a host of madness too. In that case...'
It was a turf war between the madness in his attacks and the madness dwelling in the giant's body.
Of course, the amount infused in his strikes was negligible compared to the total inside it, so the effect wasn't great...
But that was no real issue for him.
A breakthrough in sight, the corners of Harley's mouth slowly curled into a ferocious grin.
But the opponent was in the same boat.
“Ugh, no!”
“...Its magic resistance is too strong—I can't block it...!”
The white giant, having found its own breakthrough, turned one way with a twisted smile.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Right after the white giant appeared.
Kruguuung—!
A massive roar echoed from the village outskirts, and the ground shook continuously like an earthquake.
“Uwaaa! What the hell is that?!”
“Kyaaak—!”
“Monster! Everyone, run!”
Naturally, the nearby villagers screamed and scrambled to flee as far as possible from the source of the chaos.
This resource-poor area had no major monster habitats nearby, making its peace its only virtue.
Now, the entire village was a scene of pandemonium, everyday life a distant memory.
Then again, a monster the size of a ten-story building was rampaging right next door.
At least it had appeared on the outskirts, and the hero party had responded immediately, limiting the damage so far.
“Waaaang—!”
“There, there... M-Mommy...”
“Hiii— M-Monster...!”
The orphanage in Chehai was plunged into chaos too.
Isea's mana barrier blocked hostile energy, preventing direct harm, but panic was inevitable with a colossal monster rampaging so close.
“Kids! Calm down and evacuate orderly. Thomas, Sally? Help guide the children!”
“Y-Yes... Yes, Mom! Phew—Billy, Hans! Stop moping in the corner and come here! Hover, check off everyone exiting the door. I'll do one more sweep for stragglers.”
“...Everyone hear Mom? Ganet and Sara, come with me to the nursery to get the little ones first. The rest, soothe them so they don't cry.”
But under the lead of Chehai's wife, Millena—the orphanage's mother figure—they methodically quelled the chaos and prepared to evacuate.
With mature children on the cusp of independence taking charge of the younger ones, they swiftly got ready and filed out as if the earlier pandemonium never happened.
And right on cue.
“Millena! The kids? Everyone safe?!”
Chehai arrived at the orphanage, panting heavily after seeing off their guests.
After a quick scan of the bustling children, he let out a heavy sigh and continued.
“Phew, not entirely fortunate... But you're all set, so let's move now. As far from here as possible!”
Kruguuung—
At that moment, fresh vibrations and explosions erupted from the battlefield.
The shock felt even sharper outside the building, amplifying the children's agitation despite their efforts to stay calm.
No point delaying any longer.
Chehai hurriedly led the orphanage family away from the spot.
How much time had passed since they started moving?
He glanced back toward the giant to assess the situation and find a safer route...
“...?!”
A sudden chill froze his body stiff.
“...Damn it, what the hell is this now...?”
He swallowed hard, unwittingly cursing aloud.
He usually minded his language around the kids, but this slipped out unconsciously—he couldn't help it.
And for good reason—
The moment he turned to look at the giant, amid its fierce battle with the hero's party, its face had turned directly toward them, eyes locking.
Well, technically its eyes were still sewn shut, so 'locking eyes' wasn't quite accurate...
But that hardly mattered now.
Not when it was grinning creepily, as if it could see something, scanning the orphanage children one by one with a sickening leer.
Chehai's brief僵硬 lasted only moments.
[———!]
With a earth-shaking roar, the overwhelming colossus charged toward them at tremendous speed.
With legs on another scale entirely, it closed the distance to the evacuating group in an instant.
And then.
“Damn...!”
Kwaaaang—!
A explosion-like boom erupted right where they were.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Kwaaaang—!
With a heaven-shaking blast, dirt and shockwaves scattered everywhere.
This quake dwarfed all previous ones, collapsing nearby buildings and spiderwebbing countless cracks across the ground.
A truly colossal scene of destruction, like a small meteor had crashed.
“Urk—what the...?”
Chehai cautiously opened his eyes and looked around, stunned by the massive impact right in front of them.
What he saw first was a faint blue light enveloping their group, and beyond it, swirling clouds of dust.
This was the protective barrier that had shielded the village from the shockwave.
“Phew, we had time to prepare this time, so it held with some margin. Of course, a direct hit would've shattered any barrier in an instant.”
A familiar voice spoke from right beside him—one he'd grown accustomed to during their stay.
Turning quickly, he saw Isea, the commando team's mage, sighing as she lowered her staff.
“Ah, thank you for sav—”
“Not over yet. Let's get the kids back first.”
“Ah! The children! Are they safe?”
“Don't worry. I put extra into this barrier.”
With that, she waved her staff again, levitating the fainted children behind them with magic.
Such simple levitation and transport spells were no burden, no matter how many.
“I put the wife and kids to sleep on purpose. No sense letting them stay close and get traumatized.”
“...Thank you. Makes sense. My heart nearly stopped... But was that just now...?”
Sensing something, he retreated with Isea while repeatedly glancing back.
Through the settling dust, a massive shape loomed vaguely.
Taller than him, yet rounded like a boulder.
The giant's head, smashed face-down into the ground.
[———!]
It twitched briefly from the impact, then bellowed in rage, shaking violently as if about to rise any second.
Clearly, this wasn't the end.
Still, he'd hoped otherwise, but...
“Ha, impressive. That much destruction from just a trip.”
Obviously, the culprit behind that massive shockwave was the all-white—no, now dust-covered brown—giant itself.
The result was spectacular enough to drop jaws, but the process wasn't all that impressive.
It had just charged ferociously and dove headlong into the ground with full momentum.
[———!]
“Kuhahaha! What a sound—that's gotta sting, buddy! Stay down a bit! Uhahat!”
Of course, the giant hadn't just tripped like an idiot.
Someone had tripped it during a lapse in attention, slamming its head down.
“...Harley?”
And that voice was familiar to Chehai too.
Gios's comrade, the rough-looking southern warrior the kids feared.
But the silhouette where the voice came from was off.
The twitching head on the ground, twice his height at least, was undoubtedly the giant's.
But the house-sized bulk sitting on it like a chair, matching its scale—what the hell was that?
“...Wow, even I've never seen him like this. Guess that's his beastkin form? ...Kinda different from what I imagined.”
As the dust fully cleared, revealing the figure completely.
Chehai wasn't the only one gasping in admiration beside him.
Muscles beyond human limits, glossy dark-red scales covering his body like armor.
Mouth crammed with fangs, claw-like talons sharp as blades.
Glowing red-green eyes burning like lanterns.
Horns sprouting from his head, blood-red aura rising from his form.
No trace of humanity left anywhere—
The ultimate evolved lifeform, Flesh Transformation expanding his bulk over four meters, manifesting all dominant genetic info gathered via Mutation thus far.
The so-called 'complete Harley.'