Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: The Six-Armed Giant
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The giant's appearance was strange.
Allen had seen the remains of a giant before. Though only bones, they were enough to tell that the skeleton had belonged to a giant.
But the giant before him was different from what he had imagined.
Its eyes, nose, and mouth were all stitched together with half-loosened thread. What could be seen through the gaps was utterly gruesome.
The impossibly massive body was covered in patchwork scars, and crucially, the giant did not have two arms.
It had six in total.
Considering the remains he had seen, this was an impossible form. There was a chance it was a variant Allen didn't know about, but he set that possibility aside.
If that were the case, Vestla would not have reacted this way.
Allen glanced down to check on Vestla.
"Ah."
She hadn't been able to compose herself since seeing the giant.
As if she had seen something she shouldn't have.
The usually boisterous woman muttered in a dazed voice, as if in shock.
"...It wasn't. Right... there's no way it could have remained."
Words whose meaning he couldn't grasp.
Allen resolved to ask her about it later and turned his gaze away.
"Uwaaaargh!"
A knight was sent flying by the giant's attack.
*Craaash—*
The knight crashed through several trees before slamming into the ground.
Soldiers rushed over; fortunately, the knight was still breathing. But it looked like it would take some time for him to regain consciousness.
"Parry the attacks! Don't take a direct hit!"
"Senior! Liam...!"
"Liam's alive, so shut up and focus!"
The senior knight shouted at his shaken subordinate and raised his shield.
*Clang!*
"...Ngh."
Even with his body reinforced by mana, his wrist nearly shattered. A cold sweat broke out on the knight's brow as he saw the surface of his shield already denting.
The giant was strong.
So strong that the territory's top fighters, who handled all its problems, were struggling to hold their own.
Its steel-like body was impervious to most attacks, and even when a wound was inflicted, its monstrous regeneration healed it in moments.
The relentless attacks from its massive frame and six arms restricted the knights' movements. The elite soldiers found it difficult to intervene carelessly in such a brutal exchange.
A wrong move could easily get both themselves and their comrades injured.
But at this rate, it was clear that even if they defeated the giant, there would be many casualties.
As much as he disliked the knights, if they died now, it would cause significant problems for the territory.
They needed to hold on, for now.
*Until my and Julius's factions grow much larger.*
Though he didn't like them, he couldn't deny that they had served the territory well until now.
He would separate public and private matters, but he would hold them accountable for having condoned Julius's changes.
*One cannot say their actions were without their own volition.*
The vitality overflowing in his body converted into immense strength.
Feeling a thrill as his suppressed power was unleashed, Allen kicked off the ground hard.
*Thud!*
The ground cratered under the force of his step.
Just then, a knight before him was precariously deflecting an attack.
The giant's massive fist fell with a deafening roar.
*Would it be hard to block?*
No, at that level...
As Allen sized up his opponent, the senior knight enduring the giant's assault gritted his teeth.
*This is insane.*
Three knights had already been sent flying, unable to withstand a single blow. Had his shield already turned into a lump of scrap metal after just a few blocks?
"...Damn it."
If only the Knight Commander were here.
The image of him fighting an ogre on equal terms and eventually defeating it flickered in his mind.
"Graaaaaaah!"
The giant, annoyed by the knight who had parried its attacks several times, ignored the others and charged at him.
He parried the attack.
His scrap-metal shield groaned and creaked, and his wrist throbbed from the repeated impacts.
"Ngh, damn it."
The barrage of attacks made him dizzy. The other knights couldn't carelessly intervene against the giant's fierce momentum. The ground shook with each step, and the earth shattered from its missed blows.
Just as his shield finally gave way and shattered.
*BOOM!*
A gust of wind erupted.
"I'll handle this. Fall back."
Allen, who had approached unnoticed, blocked the attack. The senior knight flinched in surprise and answered without thinking.
"But..."
"You know you're outmatched, don't you?"
*And you're not, Young Master?*
The senior knight couldn't bring himself to say the words that rose to his throat.
*BOOM! BOOM!*
Because Allen was matching the giant's attacks, blow for blow.
The air hummed with the giant's attacks. Its heavy fists were powerful enough to shatter bone and tyrannical enough to crumple steel.
Yet Allen blocked those attacks without yielding an inch.
"Now!"
"...Understood."
Seeing this, the senior knight no longer hesitated and retreated.
Once he was clear, Allen focused his gaze on the giant.
His spread-out senses painted a picture of the giant's movements in his mind, and the fierce battle with the knights had served as a reminder of its strength.
*At least on par with an ogre.*
A knight might struggle, but a mage would need to be at least 5th Circle to face it.
The giant, annoyed that Allen wasn't backing down, let out a monstrous roar and swung its massive fist. A monster wielding heavy violence targeted Allen with clear intent.
In his past life, he would have died from a single blow.
In the past, yes. But now?
The memory of his ordeal in the ruins flashed through his mind. The sword movements he had practiced ceaselessly were long ingrained in his subconscious, and the secret techniques Vestla had taught him began to unfold through his blade.
The Allen of today was not the Allen of his past life.
Giant's Sword Style, First Form.
A human's strongest attack is born from rage.
Manngram.
The power drawn from his entire body was amplified by mana and forged in anger.
The fiercely falling slash seemed to embody rage itself, just as its name suggested. Mana flowed into the crimson-tinged blade, accelerating it.
Vestla fell in an instant toward the giant's chest.
*Shunk—*
Even the giant's tough hide could not stop Vestla's blade.
The giant's eyes turned red. It let out a great shriek, as if unfamiliar with the pain of its chest being torn open. Blood burst from its stitched-up lips.
*This can't be all there is to it, right?*
The creature's eyes filled with killing intent. The bleeding stopped quickly, and its muscles regenerated. His senses detected the giant's muscles contracting sharply. Four of its hands twitched.
*Similar. But different. Where did it get hands of a similar size? Or are there more giants like this?*
"Young Master!"
The senior knight watching the battle shouted loudly. *I know.* His thoughts ceased. A mage's reason remains unshaken in any situation.
Allen's shadow stirred.
The shadows of the subterranean world are immeasurable, thus infinite.
If the First Form delivers the optimal, best strike in any situation, the Second Form seeks to create an opening to attack at any time.
Giant's Sword Style, Second Form.
Irfascadus.
The shadows shimmered and danced.
With one step, shadows surged up and followed him. Two steps, three, four... With each step, the shadows multiplied and danced. The giant's eyes couldn't follow Allen.
Allen spread his threads of mana, recalling Vestla's teachings.
["It doesn't matter if you just get hit, right? Just trust me, will you?"]
She was quiet now, but normally she would be nagging like that. She had urged him not to dodge, saying that one grows stronger by getting hit a lot.
Unfortunately, Allen's preference was the opposite.
The spread mana followed the will refined in his mind's eye. The dragon's core roared like a ship's horn, and the threads occupying the space began to intertwine.
[Space] [Sound] [Vibration] [Impact] [Soul] [Quake]
The object formed from thousands of threads eventually took the shape of a single bell. The threads forged a bell, and the forged bell made the space resonate.
Thunder Bell: Rumble.
*Ruuuumble—*
A clap of thunder exploded.
The creature's eardrums ruptured as it took the noise head-on. Thrashing in agony, its flailing limbs shattered the trees.
It would recover soon, but that brief opening was all Allen needed.
He unleashed the First Form, analyzing the difference between himself and the creature.
The creature was a giant.
Whether it had six arms or was smaller than he'd thought, it was undoubtedly a giant, just like Vestla.
And so, he would give it his all.
Giant's Sword Style, First Form: Manngram.
The blade forged in rage tore through the giant's joints. The billowing shadows mimicked Allen's sword. Dozens of sword strikes hammered the giant's flesh from all sides.
The giant clutched its shattered joints and stumbled backward repeatedly.
Allen did not let his guard down. He didn't think a giant would collapse this easily.
*But this should be enough to gain the upper hand.*
He'd confirmed its regeneration, distracted its attention, disoriented it by rupturing its eardrums, and bound its movements by destroying its joints.
And yet, the giant was still alive.
It continuously regenerated its torn flesh, roaring as if to defy the one-sided assault.
The soldiers took a step back at the sight.
*Just who is the Young Master, to do that to such a monster...*
The senior knight watched the battle with a dumbfounded expression.
In truth, he had considered retreating the moment the Young Master stepped in, but Allen's overwhelming display against the giant had frozen him in place. Not just him, but all the soldiers.
And so they witnessed a battle they could not possibly join.
*The Young Master is no less formidable than Lord Julius.*
The senior knight naturally compared Allen's current display to the overwhelming power young master Julius had shown in the capital.
His eye for talent wasn't good enough to say who was better, but Allen's current performance reminded him of the Knight Commander defeating the ogre.
*Either way, they're both monsters.*
A bitter smile formed on his face as he realized they were on a level he could never reach.
"Graaaaaaah!"
The creature, now backed up against the building behind the clearing, showed a flicker of fear before letting out a great roar. A declaration of its will not to retreat any further.
At that sight, Allen's movements stopped.
It wasn't because of the fear in its roar. It was because its wounds were no longer healing. Covered head to toe in blood, he could only now realize it.
*It's not regenerating already? Did it use up all its regenerative power? This quickly?*
The reason didn't matter. Through the skin-pricking killing intent, Allen moved. Irfascadus. In that moment, a chunk of mana drained from him, enough to strain the core.
The giant radiated a chilling killing intent. Its stomping foot cracked the ground, and a great gust of wind howled as it swung its six arms back.
*I can feel it.*
Its distorted gaze, laced with fear.
Its desperate struggle, hidden behind a powerful aura.
It wasn't just a feeling. All the information within his small domain flowed into his mind like a torrent. The creature wasn't weak. It was simply that Allen's abilities were advantageous against the giant.
Within a certain range, a mage is no different from a god.
No matter how strong the giant was or what abilities it possessed, it was meaningless if he knew its every move.
The giant's surging, monstrous strength crashed down violently, pulverizing the ground. Clumps of dirt flew everywhere, and the resulting wind ruffled Allen's hair.
Between the rushing arms, Allen walked slowly.
A slow rhythm was embedded in his steps.
A black afterimage billowed in the dust clouds kicked up by its feet, and between its scattered gazes, a single figure approached with slow steps.
The giant's six arms crushed the shadows as they fell toward him.
Between the exploding earth, the shadows scattered into fragments and began to float chaotically.
Manngram.
The clustered shadows became sharp blades. Every strike falling from front, back, left, and right was refined with rage. The best, most optimal strikes rained down like a torrential storm.
Despite this, the giant swung its arms as if refusing to give up.
A single punch made the earth tremble and shattered the terrain, and the grazing attacks were enough to make Allen's skin tingle.
But they didn't connect.
The Allen within the shadows was formless, and the giant's hands, chasing after him, only grasped at empty air.
The giant's flesh was sliced away. Its hide, battered tens, hundreds of times, was stripped off.
The giant did not retreat.
Allen, though questioning it, did not stop.
He swung his sword.
Firmly, concisely, and strongly. Following her teachings.
["Just because I said you don't need to learn techniques doesn't mean you shouldn't aim for weak spots."]
He once again recalled Vestla's teachings. He had never forgotten the swordsmanship she taught him every morning.
["It's wide open, so when you can stab it, you stab it!"]
First, he aimed for the ankle.
["I mean, it's funny not to aim for a weak spot when it's right there, isn't it?"]
Next, the armpit of the topmost arm.
Immobilizing the top arm would hinder the movement of the arms below it.
Acting rashly is poison. He would wait for the right moment, step by step.
From within the shadows circling the giant, a swing outside its field of vision pierced its tough hide and severed its ankle.
As the off-balance giant urgently reached out an arm to brace itself on the ground, Allen pierced its armpit from below with his sword.
Next was the head, for a perfect finish.
The giant's face contorted as it forcibly swallowed a groan.
As if to protect its last shred of pride.
Allen prepared for the end with an indifferent expression.
To make a perfect finish.
He planted his feet and put all his strength into it. His muscles contracted in preparation. The mana dwelling in his body amplified the power.
With emotion as a sacrifice and rage as fuel, the ultimate strike.
Giant's Sword Style, First Form.
Manngram.
Just as Allen's sword strike was about to reap the giant's neck.
"Wait!"
Vestla shouted.