Chapter 179
Chapter 179
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 179
Chapter Title: Chapter 54. Heavenly Crise (3)
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6.
Michael was a giant befitting his race, towering over 4 meters and nearly reaching 5.
But that wasn't all.
His body, clad in armor, was unmistakably honed and robust, no matter who looked at it.
Incomparably so, compared to his boyish, youthful face.
That only amplified his intimidating presence.
In front of such a Michael, Dibo's presence seemed utterly frail by comparison.
Honestly, from the outside, it just looked like an adult fighting a child.
"It's not too late even now. Admit your defeat. I've never learned how to hold back in battle."
Even from Michael's perspective, Dibo was a concern.
At those words, Dibo gritted his teeth.
"No choice."
Michael said nothing more in response to that resolute expression.
The two swung their weapons aimed at each other.
Whoosh!
Thus began the battle.
The opening clash was fierce enough.
Clang!
Dibo's polearm showed no sign of yielding against the massive sword Michael swung.
Clang!
Of course, he only held out for five exchanges.
"Hoo!"
From the sixth, Dibo no longer met Michael's sword with his own polearm.
Whoosh!
Instead, he twisted his body this way and that, dodging Michael's attacks.
His evasion skills were impressive.
Yet Michael wasn't particularly surprised or flustered by it. There was no reason to be.
'He's resorting to tricks because he's outmatched in strength.'
The very fact that Dibo was doing this was proof of how advantageous Michael's position was.
Above all, when outmatched in strength, Michael had only one thing to do.
Swoosh!
Rather than swinging his sword, Michael thrust forward the shield he held, completely covering his body.
'Outmatched in strength, there's no way he can pierce my shield.'
If attacks didn't land, there was no point in fighting anymore.
Dibo's feet stopped at Michael's choice, as if facing a wall.
And from Dibo's view, the shield the giant Michael held up was closer to a wall than a shield.
That was the moment.
Swoosh!
Michael swung his sword at Dibo, whose feet had halted.
Dibo belatedly raised his polearm against the surprise attack, but it was meaningless.
Boom!
Dibo went flying with his polearm.
At the same time, a voice rang out.
"Defeat! We admit defeat!"
El Pam, declaring Dibo's defeat on his behalf—and at that, Michael gave a wry smile.
"I acknowledge the courage it took to aim your polearm at me and fight to the end."
With that, Michael stepped back from his position.
Even after that, Dibo didn't rise.
"Dibo."
Only after El Pam approached did Dibo speak.
"How was my acting?"
"Brilliant."
Only then did Dibo finally stand.
His expression held dissatisfaction. It had to.
"Worth putting my all into the performance."
No warrior in the world enjoyed deliberately losing.
Especially since Dibo hadn't just lost—he'd given his all to make it look natural.
It was unpleasant in every way.
"But why did I have to lose?"
Crucially, Dibo hadn't heard the reason.
El Pam explained at that question.
"Right now, Michael has assembled a party to secure the core. If we'd beaten him, the elder wouldn't have permitted his party's actions. In other words, if we leave them be, they'll find the core and move on their own."
Dibo furrowed his brow slightly at the explanation.
He understood El Pam's plan well enough.
"Boss."
But there was a problem.
"That guy's at best 4th Circle level."
Michael's abilities could never reach the core.
"I guarantee it."
Having faced him directly, Dibo could say it with certainty.
"I know."
"What?"
Of course, El Pam already knew.
It wasn't just from looking.
"If they had the ability, they'd have gotten results by now."
If Michael and his comrades had what it took to reach the core, it would already be over.
Either they'd secured it, or his party would be wiped out.
"They must still be trying."
That didn't mean El Pam thought Michael's party was doing nothing.
"His eyes haven't gone dead."
Unlike the other giants who'd given up on life itself, Michael's eyes burned with fire.
He must have challenged it repeatedly.
"He'll challenge it again soon."
At El Pam's repeated explanation, Dibo grew more puzzled.
"But they'll fail anyway, right?"
Even if they tried now, it'd end the same.
"No, this time it's different."
"Different?"
But El Pam was certain.
"Because they'll get lucky."
"Huh?"
El Pam explained to his head-tilting comrades.
"Because they'll luckily face fewer monsters than usual."
7.
Heavenly Crise had been isolated from the world for a hundred years.
When the problem first arose, Crise's giants had tried everything to solve it.
But as time passed, they kept failing, eventually giving up on everything and just surviving.
In other words, those for whom less time had passed were different.
Crise's boys and young men were like that.
The young ones, born not long ago, were filled with the will to do anything to change the current situation.
"Michael!"
And at the center was none other than Michael.
"How'd it go?"
"Nothing much."
The reason Michael was at the center was simple.
"As expected! Fitting the greatest warrior of Crise!"
He was the most skilled.
"Now those adventurers won't act up anymore."
So no one was surprised to hear Michael had subdued the sudden group of adventurers.
"We'll challenge it again soon. All the way to the core."
"What?"
But his next words were different.
Everyone was shocked.
"Suddenly?"
They'd challenged for the core several times, but never achieved proper results.
Of course, they planned to keep challenging.
That's why they'd gathered.
But to challenge so suddenly now?
"The adventurers hunted Jr. Bills and Golden Jr. Bills. Not many, but they must've taken out a good number."
But at his follow-up explanation, everyone's eyes changed.
"That means their numbers have decreased now."
"What about their skills?"
"Not on my level, but they weren't clueless. They probably got decent results."
If Michael's words were true, it was the best opportunity in some sense.
"Even if not, we've rested enough. Any more delay, and the monster numbers will grow again."
Crucially, Michael and his comrades regularly subjugated monsters to reduce their numbers—and now was the time.
"Alright."
So no one questioned further once Michael finished explaining.
No preparations needed either.
Everyone was already fully ready.
"We're moving out now."
"Alright!"
Everyone headed straight for the core.
The first hurdle was Crise's outskirts.
A place teeming with Jr. Bills and Golden Jr. Bills!
"Huh?"
Michael's party realized it the moment they entered.
"No baby rabbits?"
Jr. Bills and Golden Jr. Bills—the vicious rabbits—were almost nowhere to be seen, unlike usual.
They'd expected it somewhat.
They'd come because they figured the adventurers had hunted Jr. Bills and Golden Jr. Bills here.
"What? Why isn't there even one?"
But they hadn't anticipated this level of culling.
Of course, Michael's party thought:
"No way they got them all?"
"Impossible. Be realistic."
El Pam's party couldn't have wiped out the Jr. Bill packs.
"There's no way tiny humans could do what even we can't?"
So the mystery deepened.
If not, then why had the overflowing Jr. Bills and Golden Jr. Bills vanished?
"Everyone."
Michael told his puzzled comrades.
"It doesn't matter."
Don't worry about it.
"This is our chance. A chance to skip fighting the Jr. Bill packs. That's what counts."
His comrades nodded at his words.
"Let's move to the next area."
Thus, Michael led his comrades out of Crise's outskirts without any real combat.
"Lawless Zone."
The next place they reached was what Crise's giants called the Lawless Zone.
It wasn't always called that.
They'd named it after Heavenly Crise fragmented, needing new names for areas.
Of course, "Lawless Zone" reflected how dangerous it was.
"Watch out for Scopis."
What made it dangerous were the scorpion monsters, Scopis.
Not ordinary scorpions.
Massive ones with potent venom, and crucially, they wore giant helmets like armor.
Meaning ordinary attacks couldn't even scratch them easily.
"We retreated here last time too."
They'd troubled Michael's party before.
A monster requiring resolve in every way.
So Michael's party, steeling themselves, entered the Lawless Zone—and immediately encountered them.
Shaa!
"Scopis!"
A pack of massive scorpion monsters.
The moment they saw them, no more doubts or worries.
"Battle ready!"
There couldn't be.
"We fight to the end from here on!"
No time for doubts or worries before this endless battle with the Scopis.
In other words, everyone resolved themselves.
To fight all day.
Clang!
"Huh?"
But that resolve didn't last long.
"That's all?"
Thirty minutes into the battle, no more Scopi packs appeared.
"What?"
Before, they'd fought all day and still fled from swarming Scopis.
Michael provided the answer to that question again.
"It's a chance."
"A chance?"
"A chance to move without fighting. We can't miss it."
No doubts this time either.
"A chance to reach the Colosseum."
Use this to reach Crise's arena, the Colosseum—somewhere no giant had ever entered.
At those words, Michael's comrades' eyes changed.
'Colosseum.'
'A place no giant has ever reached.'
The chance to be the first to reach an unreachable place—it excited them, sent shivers through them.
Of course, it was dangerous.
No one reaching it meant it was that perilous.
Unknown dangers too.
But those here were different.
They were young.
No, beyond young—they were brash and hot-blooded.
'We're the ones who'll save Crise.'
That overflowing brashness fueled their courage.
So no hesitation.
"Let's move."
Michael and everyone headed straight to the next stage.
And in the place they vanished from, a group appeared.
"They're really going for it. Looks extremely dangerous."
El Pam's party—one of them, Dibo—grimaced as he watched the departed Michael party.
"Charging ahead without looking back."
Not getting drunk on courage—that was one of an adventurer's virtues.
From such an adventurer's view, the courage-drunk Michael party was embarking on a highly dangerous adventure.
Of course, Dibo and the others thought:
"If not for the boss, they might've died."
With El Pam there, they wouldn't fall into danger.
It had to be that way.
"Monsters are a joke against the boss once he's adapted."
El Pam's current abilities were beyond what ordinary monsters could handle.
And El Pam demonstrated it himself.
While Michael's party fought Scopis for thirty minutes, El Pam annihilated the surrounding Scopi packs.
So quietly Michael's party noticed nothing.
Truly another dimension!
"Don't let your guard down."
Of course, El Pam didn't slacken his vigilance even slightly.
Not knowing what issues might arise.
His comrades nodded at his words.
Adventurers all knew vigilance beat carelessness.
In other words, deep down they thought:
'No problems.'
Surely there'd be none.
It was true.
At least until they followed Michael's party to the area with Heavenly Crise's massive arena, the Colosseum.
Until then, everyone thought there'd be no issues.
"Plan change."
Except for one—El Pam.
"Huh? Plan change?"
"We're escaping with Michael's party."
"Escaping? What do you...?"
He knew the instant he saw the traces near the Colosseum.
"Xerxes. He's here."