Spear Throw
Elbridge kicked off the ground and sprinted forward, shouting as he ran.
"There must be a core entity commanding the horde!"
The vital points of humanoid demons were usually the heart or the head.
Right now, what mattered wasn't the exact location of the vital point, but the simple fact that one existed at all.
Even if the giant appeared to have split into dozens of fragments, there had to be a core somewhere — the true foundation that formed the demon's essence.
Rombel's judgment was just as swift as Elbridge's.
He charged at the nearest giant fragment, swinging his massive axe in a wide arc.
Whoosh—
One!
The giant's legs were severed clean through, sending the torso crashing to the ground. Rombel brought his axe down again on the fallen fragment, finishing it off.
Elbridge swung his sword and sliced through another piece of the demon. But neither fragment seemed to be the one controlling the whole, because the giant's scattered pieces showed no sign of stopping.
No matter how skilled Elbridge and Rombel were, the two of them alone could not hope to suppress dozens of fragments scattering in every direction.
"Stay sharp!"
One of the many giant fragments charged straight toward Viveka.
Though it was only a fragment, it was easily twice the size of an ordinary human.
Yet Viveka did not retreat. She raised her sword. She knew that if she failed to hold the line here, the others would have to bear the brunt of the giant's assault.
I can do this.
Among the holy knights of the Spring Rain and Moss Order, none surpassed Viveka in actual combat. But if someone asked whether she could face a giant fragment alone… she wasn't quite that confident.
I've trained so hard for this.
When the giant fragment swung its fist, Viveka angled her sword and raised it in a textbook defensive stance.
Thud!
She received the blow with perfect stability, just like the combat manuals taught.
The problem was that the rubble beneath her feet was nowhere near as stable.
Clatter—
With the sound of scattering stone dust, Viveka staggered.
The black fist that had nearly been blocked still carried too much momentum. It flew toward her again.
Viveka's eyes widened.
Am I really going to die this pathetically? In my first real battle?
But in the very next instant, a sword shot out from somewhere and severed the giant's forearm.
Elbridge?
Viveka whipped her head around to see who had saved her.
It wasn't Elbridge. The one standing there was Marcus, the mercenary who had been trailing after Elbridge like a shadow.
"…Huh?"
Marcus himself looked rather startled by the fact that he'd just cut off the giant's arm. His stance was slightly awkward, almost sheepish.
It wasn't exactly a reassuring sight, but the sword strike he'd just delivered was genuinely impressive, even in Viveka's eyes.
"Thank you, sir!"
The giant fragment swung another fist at Marcus.
This time, Viveka leapt forward to protect him.
The two of them darted back and forth, blocking, deflecting, and countering the demon's attacks with their swords.
Even subduing a mere fragment of the giant was no easy task.
Yet both Marcus and Viveka soon realized one crucial truth.
…It's not as strong as I thought.
Actually, this is pretty manageable?
The giant's speed was still frighteningly fast. If anything, its smaller size seemed to have made it even quicker.
But the overwhelming destructive power that had threatened to crush everything in its path was gone. A direct hit would still be fatal, but it was far more bearable than before.
The heat was the same. Just moments ago it had been so intense they couldn't even get close, but now it was tolerable.
In other words, they could fight it.
Marcus shouted, "It's doable! Don't freeze up!"
His cry wasn't aimed at Elbridge or Rombel, but at the holy knights who had been watching from the sidelines.
Contrary to Marcus's hopes, however, the holy knights' response was lukewarm at best.
Before entering battle, one needed to steel their resolve to bring out their full strength.
But the holy knights were far from that state.
The order's policy that had yet to be overturned, their desire for revenge against the giant that had killed their comrades, and their instinctive fear… all of it weighed heavily on them.
Even so, they couldn't simply stand by and let themselves be slaughtered.
The holy knights drew their weapons to protect their own lives and the spectators around them.
"Hold the line!"
The holy knights clashed with the giant fragments. Before long, one entity began behaving differently from the rest.
One of the fragments had broken away from the fight and started running.
Rombel bellowed at the top of his lungs, "Catch the one that's running! Now!"
But the other fragments moved in perfect coordination, forming a defensive wall.
The holy knights had no way to pursue the fleeing fragment.
Marcus was puzzled.
Why is that one running away?
The black giant was the one that needed to settle this fight quickly. In just a day and a half, the combat orders would gain even more influence.
Does it lack intelligence? Or is there a coward even among its fragments?
Marcus soon learned the answer.
At some point, all the giant fragments froze in place, then dissolved into the air like night fog or smoke.
The holy knights were thrown into confusion.
"What the hell? What's happening?"
The dark smoke rose into the sky and vanished into the purple clouds.
Rumble—
From within the purple clouds came a thunderous roar. And a moment later, the clouds spat out a small, pitch-black mass.
From a distance, it looked like nothing more than a black dot.
But the falling black speck rapidly grew in size. By the time it reached the ground—
"…"
Marcus finally understood the black giant's nature.
In dangerous moments, it split into dozens of fragments. Unless the true core among them was destroyed, it would quickly reform.
His vision went dark. No matter how strong Elbridge and Rombel were, they couldn't possibly handle dozens of fragments by themselves.
No. Sir Elbridge might still have a way.
Clinging to that thought, Marcus looked toward Elbridge and Rombel.
But their reactions were completely unexpected. Neither of them looked excited or frustrated. They were simply calm.
Viveka seemed to share Marcus's confusion. She shouted at Elbridge, "Why are you so composed? All that fighting was for nothing!"
Rombel answered in Elbridge's place.
"Did you really think we'd be able to take down a demon with just that much effort?"
"…Just that much?"
"We barely even fought it, didn't we?"
It wasn't bravado. Rombel genuinely meant it.
"We were just testing what kind of abilities that thing had. Besides, demons have never been the kind of opponent one or two people can easily suppress."
Elbridge silently agreed with Rombel's assessment.
That didn't mean he felt entirely at ease, however.
No matter how skilled Elbridge was, identifying and destroying the single most important fragment among dozens was an entirely different matter.
To destroy the giant's fragments, the cooperation of the other orders' holy knights was essential.
They couldn't keep smashing the black giant indefinitely, either.
The divine authority granted by the Goddess was still limited, and even her healing power had its limits.
Elbridge offered a quiet prayer.
"Goddess. How many more times can I withstand the giant's attacks with my shield?"
Twice more is possible, Elbridge.
Twice, huh.
How many opportunities could he create with that?
It depended on how they fought.
But in Elbridge's opinion, dragging the battle out and waiting for an opening wasn't a wise strategy.
He glanced behind him.
Countless people had been struck by debris from the buildings the giant had hurled, or injured and killed while fighting its fragments.
As expected, the holy knights of the Spring Rain and Moss Order were already using their power to treat the wounded.
The more divine healing authority Elbridge consumed, the more casualties there would be. That much was certain.
Elbridge made up his mind.
We'll end this in one strike.
Staring directly at the giant, he shouted in a voice that carried across the battlefield.
"Holy knights! What do you believe is the difference between a mercenary and a holy knight?"
No answer came.
But he could still deliver the lesson even without one.
"There is only one crucial difference. A mercenary fights because he has been promised payment. A holy knight is promised reward because he fights!"
Elbridge took a deep breath and concluded.
"Right now, you stand at the crossroads of becoming mercenaries. Consider carefully whether you will remain mercenaries under the orders, or be reborn as true holy knights."
Elbridge began walking toward the black giant.
"Rombel. Follow me."
"I'm coming."
The skin beneath his heated armor burned fiercely.
But from experience, Elbridge knew that feeling pain was proof he was still alright.
He slowly flexed his body, checking for any parts that wouldn't move.
No functional problems.
Tap.
Anticipating that the black giant would swing its fist, Elbridge kicked off the ground.
But the giant reacted differently than before. Instead of throwing a punch at Elbridge and Rombel, it leapt backward and raked both hands across the ground.
Grind—
Debris from the collapsed buildings was hurled toward them. Many of the stones were larger than a person.
When Elbridge and Rombel dodged to the side, the debris slammed into the spectators and holy knights once again.
"Aaaargh!"
Screams rang out. But the damage wasn't as severe as the first time. This wasn't the giant's first time attacking by throwing rubble.
What frustrated Elbridge more was the growing distance between himself and the giant, which kept retreating while hurling debris.
He made an immediate decision.
Break through.
Elbridge lowered his stance and charged. More debris flew at him.
He twisted his body with minimal movement to evade what he could, and took the rest on his armor. A piece must have grazed his head, because blood trickled from a cut on his forehead.
The giant threw again. This time, the debris was too large for him to endure.
Elbridge raised his shield.
"Goddess! Grant me the Authority of No Retreat!"
The power to never be pushed back.
The Authority of No Retreat was a power meant to prevent being forced backward, not to advance forward.
Nevertheless, Elbridge thrust his shield, which glowed with pure white light, and charged straight through the massive debris.
Because this wasn't the proper way to use the authority, the Goddess's power was consumed at an alarming rate.
But one decisive strike was better than two clumsy ones.
When Elbridge finally broke through the debris and appeared at close range, even the black giant could no longer rely on throwing rubble.
The giant's upper body twisted, and its enormous fist came crashing down.
Boom!
Elbridge leapt into the air to dodge the fist, then drove his sword into the giant's wrist.
He immediately pulled the blade free and kicked off the giant's forearm. He could feel his armor heating up at a terrifying speed. The smell of burning flesh was nauseating.
Still, Elbridge ran along the giant's forearm. One step. Two steps.
The forearm led to the shoulder, and the shoulder connected to the neck and heart.
Elbridge's blade chose the giant's neck.
Slice.
A pale, smoke-like gas leaked from the giant's throat.
Perhaps something akin to human blood.
"…!"
The black giant let out a bizarre, wheezing shriek, then slapped the still-airborne Elbridge with its left palm.
Smack!
Elbridge twisted his body in midair, trying to deflect as much of the force as possible.
But completely neutralizing the giant's overwhelming power had been impossible from the start.
The left arm holding the shield and the left knee supporting its lower edge were both crushed. Had he not rapidly accumulated divine power recently, he would have died instantly.
Crash!
Elbridge was sent flying and tumbled across the ground.
But he was smiling.
"How foolish."
Once again, the giant had lost track of Rombel.
Rombel had already climbed onto the giant's back and brought his axe down vertically.
"Die!"
Crunch!
Rombel's axe split the giant's head nearly in half.
The black giant's body began splitting apart into multiple pieces once more.
Everyone present now knew exactly what would happen next.
Boom!
With a deafening roar, the black giant shattered into dozens of fragments.
Then the fragments began to run.
But the holy knights still hadn't made up their minds.
The holy knights of the Laurel Crown Order, the Bloodied Spear Order, the Deer Antler Order…
They all remained on the defensive, merely blocking the giant's fragments.
"Hold!"
And unlike before, the fragments that had gathered at a single point now violently pushed against the encirclement formed by the various orders' holy knights.
Just as the balance was about to collapse, three of the fragments suddenly changed direction and began sprinting at full speed.
One of those three had to be the demon's true core.
But they were already too far for the holy knights to stop with their swords.
Still, it wasn't too late.
"I have shown you, as promised, how to fight a demon!"
Suppressing his pain, Elbridge demanded an answer from the holy knights.
"Now answer my question! Do you fight because you have been promised reward? Or are you promised reward because you fight?"
Finally, someone answered. It was the senior holy knight of the Bloodied Spear Order.
"We have pledged our faith because we fight! Therefore, all of you — short spears!"
The holy knights of the Bloodied Spear Order simultaneously hurled their long spears and gripped shorter throwing spears in their right hands.
"Ready!"
With their left hands — the ones not wearing gauntlets — they grasped the blades of the short spears.
Blood flowed from their palms, coating the spearheads.
Then they leaned their upper bodies back as far as possible, waiting for the next command.
"Throw!"
At the senior holy knight's command, dozens of spears tore through the air.
Since ancient times, the holy knights of the Bloodied Spear Order had been tasked with piercing the breath of demons.
Their short spears, empowered and protected by divine power, flew in perfectly straight lines without even drawing an arc. They looked like dozens of rays of light.
Thud!
Dozens of short spears embedded themselves in the giant's fragments.
Two of the fragments simply had holes punched all over their bodies.
But one was different.
That fragment began spewing thick black smoke.
Then, something formless exploded.
At the same moment, the holy knights felt divine power flood the entire area.
Strength surged through their bodies. Their fatigue seemed to melt away.
The holy knights, momentarily lost in ecstasy, quickly came to their senses and shouted.
"We must seal the demon! Bring the mages! Bring the mages!"
"The Magic Tower couldn't have missed this! They're probably already on their way!"
Only then did Elbridge finally collapse to the ground.
Agonizing pain wracked his entire body, but his heart was at peace.
Rombel, whose beard was completely singed, plopped down beside him and grumbled.
"These are the guys we'll have to fight alongside from now on, but except for a few, their level is just pathetic. It's hopeless…"
At Rombel's complaint, Elbridge simply smiled without saying a word.