#195
White Giant (2)
Puhwaak!
Through the deeply carved wound, blood like white paint burst out in every direction.
Had it been red blood as usual, it would have been a horrific sight, but perhaps because the color was so alien, it did not even feel particularly gruesome.
It was as if he were watching a scene that had censored itself.
‘Not that any of that matters right now!’
Heinrich spun around, evading the giant’s rebellious swipe, then swung his enormous sword of light with centrifugal force behind it.
The same spot he had attacked earlier.
The bastard’s Achilles tendon.
[———!]
At the same time, Harley and Geos launched a coordinated attack on the opposite ankle, and Lee Se-ah’s gravity magic manifested immediately after, suppressing the creature’s movement.
Right after they had faced the giant’s meaningful expression.
Every member of the Hero’s party, including Heinrich, had poured all their strength into holding the thing by the ankles, even if it meant taking on a little risk.
To deal with it only as safely as they had until now was… The reaction it had just shown was too ominous for that.
As they fought this white giant, there was one thing they came to realize.
It was true that the thing was troublesome to deal with, with its enormous body, tough skin, and overwhelming regenerative ability, but if they had enough time, they could bring it down with their strength alone.
It was fairly agile for its size, but not to the point of keeping up with them, and it did not have any particularly special means of attack either.
All it possessed was that absurdly brutish body.
‘The problem is that body itself is far too overwhelming.’
Attacks backed by immense divine power and even the strength of the holy sword were certainly dealing meaningful damage to that giant.
The only problem was that its vitality was so vast that it barely showed.
However, while they were unable to finish it off because of that immense vitality, damage to the village was steadily accumulating.
The once-peaceful village was gradually being destroyed, and the screams of people and livestock caught in the aftermath echoed from all over.
[“Saint! It’s trying to break through again! Keuk, the people still haven’t all evacuated!”]
[“Suppressing it with gravity is reaching its limit now! Because of the difference in weight class, I can’t control the whole area… I think I’ll need at least five minutes to cast it again. Ah, if I’d known this would happen, I would have studied this side a bit more!”]
For a giant whose weight was as massive as its size, gravity magic was an efficient means of restraint.
Without it, they would probably have had no choice but to allow it to break through long ago.
But because of the creature’s powerful physical abilities and resistance, even that seemed to have reached its limit.
‘If only we could focus entirely on the battle, if only we had enough time…!’
Although they were struggling now because there were too many things to consider, he was confident that if they clashed head-on again, they could surely hunt it down.
No matter how Heinrich’s height was only about the size of the creature’s palm, the maximum length of the light sword, when he used even 「Blessing: Increase Mass」, easily exceeded three meters.
That meant it was still about the length of a dagger to that giant, so its lethality was sufficient.
Harley’s battle axe was a super-large weapon capable of severing at least the creature’s fingers, and Geos’s spear thrusts were no different from awls.
If the thing’s physical abilities had been lacking even slightly, perhaps everything would already have been over.
‘…In fact, considering this much of a difference in weight class, just holding back a monster of that size even briefly is amazing.’
Of course, whenever it tried to ignore them and pass by, its legs would be sliced apart, so it had no choice.
‘…If it breaks through even once, a catastrophe will happen in the village. Is there really no way… Hm? What’s that?’
At that moment, a certain phenomenon entered “Harley’s” field of vision.
The giant’s wounds, which continued to regenerate even as it fought them.
[———!]
The marks left by Heinrich’s holy sword had, at best, mostly only entered the stage of closing up, while the holes Geos had pierced through were cleanly restored without a trace in no time.
What was unexpected were the marks Harley had left…
‘Wait, come to think of it.’
He narrowed his eyes and glared at the cross-section of the enormous little toe he had severed a short while ago.
Its regeneration speed seemed to be somewhere between Heinrich’s and Geos’s.
And in Harley’s eyes, the reason for it was plainly visible.
‘…I see. Well, that thing was also a host of madness. If that’s the case…’
It was the struggle for dominance between the madness contained in his attack and the madness dwelling in the giant’s body.
Of course, the amount contained in his attack was absurdly insufficient compared to the total amount inside the creature’s body, so the effect was not very good…
But in truth, something like that was not a big problem for him.
As if he had finally found a breakthrough, the corners of Harley’s mouth slowly rose, and a ferocious smile settled on his face.
However, the same was true for the other side as well.
“Keuk, no!”
“…Its magic resistance is too strong. I can’t stop it…!”
The white giant, having finally discovered a breakthrough, looked toward one side and wore a twisted smile.
***
Immediately after the white giant appeared.
Kugugugung—!
At the same time as a thunderous roar rang out from the outskirts of the village, the ground continued to shake as if an earthquake had struck.
“Uwaaa! What the hell is that?!”
“Kyaaak—!”
“It’s a monster! Everyone, run!”
Naturally, the nearby villagers had no choice but to scream and clamor as they tried to get as far away from the source of the disturbance as possible.
It was a neighborhood whose only advantage was its peace, with no resources, but also no notable monster habitats nearby.
Yet now, the entire village had become such chaos that it was difficult to even recall that ordinary daily life.
Well, it was only natural, since a monster the size of a ten-story building was rampaging right nearby.
Even this much could be considered fortunate because the giant had appeared on the outskirts of the village, and the Hero’s party had moved to respond the moment it appeared.
“Uwaang—!”
“Hic, hic. Ugh… Mommy…”
“Hueee— A m-monster…”
And the one thrown into confusion was the orphanage of Chehai as well.
Although Lee Se-ah’s magical barrier blocked hostile energy, preventing direct damage, it was only natural for them to panic when an enormous monster was rampaging at such close range.
“Children! Calm down, and let’s evacuate in an orderly manner. Thomas, Sally? Help lead the children!”
“Y-yes, Mom! Hoo— Billy, Hans! Stop sulking in the corner and come over here! Hover, you check the people leaving at the door. I’ll look around one more time to make sure no one’s missing.”
“…You all heard Mom, right? Garnet and Sara, come with me to the nursery and let’s bring the little ones first. The rest of you, soothe the kids so they don’t cry.”
However, they soon began to settle the confusion and prepare to evacuate step by step under the lead of Milena, Chehai’s wife and the mother of the orphanage.
When the older children in the orphanage, centered around those mature ones who were soon to become independent, began taking care of the younger ones, they quickly finished preparing and were able to leave the orphanage as if they had never been at a loss before.
And just then, as if the timing had been arranged.
“Milena! The children? Is everyone safe?!”
Chehai, who had gone out to see off the guests, arrived at the orphanage, panting heavily.
He quickly looked over the bustling children, then let out a heavy sigh and continued.
“Hoo, thank good… No, perhaps not. Still, it looks like the preparations are done, so let’s move right away. As far away from here as possible!”
Kugugugung—
At that moment, another vibration and explosion erupted from the battlefield.
The shock, felt much more clearly than when they had been inside the building, caused the children, who had been desperately maintaining their composure, to waver even more.
There was nothing good to be gained from delaying any longer.
Chehai hurriedly led the orphanage family and began to leave the place.
How long had they been moving like that?
To check the situation again, he glanced toward the direction where the giant was.
It was to observe the actions of that towering body, rising like a spire, so that they could move along a route that was even slightly safer…
“……?!”
At the chill he felt in that instant, his body stiffened.
“…Shit, what the hell is this bullshit now…?”
Then, swallowing dryly, he unconsciously let a curse slip from his mouth.
If possible, he wanted to use only gentle words in front of the children, but he could not help the words he had unconsciously uttered now.
Because—
The moment he turned his head and looked at the giant, even though it was in the middle of fighting the Hero’s group, the creature had turned its face this way, and their gazes met head-on.
No, in truth, the creature’s two eyes were still sewn shut by something, so saying their gazes met was not quite accurate…
But that was hardly the important issue right now.
Yes… In this situation where the creature, as if it could see something, was sweeping its grotesquely distorted face over the orphanage children.
And grinning unpleasantly.
The brief grace period in which Chehai stood frozen lasted only a moment.
[———!]
With a heavy resonance that shook the surroundings, the overwhelming giant body charged toward them at a tremendous speed.
Since the length of its legs was on an entirely different dimension, once it lunged at them in earnest, it reached right in front of the group that had left the orphanage and was fleeing in the blink of an eye.
And then.
“Damn it…!”
Kwaaaang—!
From where they stood, a roar like an explosion burst out.
***
Kwaaaang—!
With a thunderous blast that shook heaven and earth, dust and shockwaves spread in every direction.
The earthquake, on a scale far different from anything that had occurred so far, not only collapsed every building nearby but also caused countless spiderweb-like cracks to form in the surrounding ground.
It was truly a tremendous scene of destruction, shocking enough to make one wonder if a small meteor had fallen there.
“Keuk— What is this…?”
And Chehai, who had closed his eyes against the tremendous impact that had erupted right in front of him, carefully opened them and looked around.
The first thing he saw was the faint blue light enveloping their group, and beyond it, the murky dust swirling chaotically…
This was clearly the protective barrier that had protected the village from the shockwave.
“Hoo, still, since I prepared in advance this time, it was somewhat manageable. Of course, if that thing had hit directly, barrier or not, we would have been crushed flat in an instant.”
At that moment, a voice he had grown familiar with after spending time together for a while sounded from right beside him.
When he hurriedly turned his head to look, sure enough, Lee Se-ah, the mage of the death squad, was holding out her staff and letting out a sigh.
“Ah, thank you for saving…”
“It’s not over yet. First, let’s gather the children and fall back.”
“Ah! The children! Are the children safe?”
“Don’t worry. I put particular care into this barrier.”
After saying that, she waved her staff once more and lifted the children who had fainted behind them with magic all at once.
This sort of simple levitation and transport magic was no great burden for her, even if the number reached several dozen.
“I put your wife and the kids to sleep on purpose. Staying close to a place like this for no reason would only traumatize them.”
“…Thank you. That would certainly be the case. Even I thought my heart was going to stop… But that just now, could it be?”
Sensing something, he hurriedly retreated backward following Lee Se-ah, while glancing behind him again and again.
Through the slowly settling dust, an enormous shape was dimly visible.
Something that was far taller than he was, and round like a boulder.
It was the giant’s head, lying face-down on the ground.
[———!]
It seemed to flinch briefly from the shock, but soon, the enormous head spread an enraged roar in every direction.
Judging from the way it was heaving as if it would rise at any moment, it definitely did not seem like that alone was enough to end it.
Even so, to think it really had…
“Hah, unbelievable. To think just falling over would have this much destructive power.”
Naturally, the one who had created that enormous shockwave was the giant whose entire body was white… No, now it was the brown giant itself, covered in dust.
The result was so spectacular that it left one’s mouth hanging open, but in truth, the process was not anything particularly impressive.
It had merely charged fiercely toward them, then, with that momentum intact, violently dived into the ground.
[———!]
“Krahahaha! Whoa— That was one hell of a sound! You must be embarrassed, so lie there for a bit, friend! Uwahaha!”
Of course, the giant had not simply tripped by itself because it was stupid.
There was a separate culprit who, while the creature was careless, had discreetly hooked its leg and intervened so that its head would be driven into the ground.
“…Harley?”
And that too was a voice familiar to Chehai.
Wasn’t it Geos’s companion, the fierce-looking southern warrior the children had been afraid of?
But the silhouette visible from where that voice came from was somehow strange.
The large head writhing face-down on the ground, twice as tall as Chehai himself, was undoubtedly the giant’s.
But what on earth was that house-sized bulk, not inferior in size to it, sitting on that head after driving it into the ground like a chair?
“…Wow, even I’m seeing that form for the first time. So I guess that’s what a dragonkin is. …Though it seems a little different from what I imagined?”
Before long, when the dust completely cleared and that figure was fully revealed.
Lee Se-ah, just like Chehai, exclaimed in admiration beside him.
Muscles developed beyond human limits, and glossy dark-red scales covering his entire body like armor.
Teeth packed densely inside a mouth split wide, and fingernails and toenails sharp as blades.
Red and green eyes blazing as if lanterns had been lit within them.
Horns sprouting from his head, and blood-red energy rising from his entire body.
Now, no trace of humanity could be found anywhere in him—
An ultimate evolved life-form whose body had been enlarged past four meters with 「Body Transformation」, and who had manifested all the dominant genetic information he had gathered through 「Mutation」 until now.
Commonly known as “Complete-Form Harley.”