─At first glance, it was a monster that resembled a troll.
From its appearance to its bodily structure, it looked somewhat similar to the Rock Troll the cadets fought today; calling that creature's species a troll would be correct.
…However, that thing.
‘C-Can a troll so massive truly exist?’
About five times the size of a normal troll.
No, perhaps even larger.
On top of that, its skin was dark red.
While rough, rock-like skin was the norm, this troll's skin resembled a snake's scales.
A body several times larger than a normal troll and dark red skin reminiscent of snake scales.
And on top of that.
[[GRRR….]]
A shiver ran down his spine!
……Its entire pupils were dyed red, as if filled with blood.
“Hnngh…!”
The mage barely resisted the aura the creature emitted, yet his legs trembled.
Out of sheer terror.
And he recalled.
‘T-That's right, I… I know what that is….’
The contents of an old document he read in his master's room, which was filled with ancient texts, when he was young.
The nonsense-like contents compiling various legends, and the 'Nightmare' regarding an ancient species he saw in those old texts.
“G-Guiwang (Ghost King)….”
Troll….
No, the moment he called the alias of a creature that dared not be defined as a mere troll.
Swish!
He saw the creature raising its body from the lake.
Even though it was a fairly deep lake, only half of its body emerged; every time the creature raised its body and flailed its arms, water overflowed as if a flood had occurred, swirling like waves.
It acted as if there was no resistance from the water, and the mage, confirming its appearance, gradually stepped backward.
“Guiwang?”
The knight asked back toward the mage, who was trembling like a quaking aspen.
Asking if he knew about that troll.
King, huh….
“A grandiose title for a troll.”
“D-Don't say stupid things! G-Guiwang is not a normal troll!”
Guiwang—it might seem like an arrogant name to give to a mere monster, but considering the deeds that troll had accomplished, it was understandable for the mage to be terrified.
“W-We have to run! T-That thing isn't a simple monster! It's the Guiwang, the Guiwang! A thousand-year-old troll!”
“…?”
“The champion of the trolls! A monster that eats ogres! A lifeform said to possess the power of immortality! A kingdom slayer!”
About a thousand years ago, there was an incident where a kingdom, which enjoyed more prosperity than Pendragon, perished overnight.
Since it was an incident that only existed in documents, no one knew if it was true, but as time passed and artifacts of the ruined kingdom were discovered, that record at some point became close to an established theory.
And the one that destroyed the kingdom overnight was none other than—
“A massacre caused by a single troll….”
It was said to be an incident caused by a mere monster, and surprisingly, that monster was known to be a troll.
However, that monster was not a simple troll.
A troll that lived for a thousand years.
Just as trees, lakes, winds, and volcanoes bearing mysteries gain spirituality by existing for a long time, even monsters, if they endure for a thousand years, would become calamitous existences that could not be defined as mere monsters—a truth the ancient humans had to realize through the disaster of destruction.
“A c-creature that achieved evolution through a thousand years of mystery, the king of all trolls and simultaneously the pinnacle of monsters, is exactly that….”
Black skin dyed with dark red scales.
A body more than twenty times the size of a normal troll.
Even a regeneration rate akin to immortality, where it wouldn't die no matter how much it was wounded by swords, fire, magic, or any weapon.
Guiwang.
It could be called a Demon King without issue, but it was an alias given because its appearance resembled a ghost,
and it was like a living natural disaster that humans should absolutely never mess with.
Therefore.
“W-We have to run! Right now, immediately…!”
The mage feeling terror was merely the survival instinct that any living creature ought to have.
And the knight, having heard all this explanation.
“Twenty times? No matter how I look at it, it seems like it's only five times bigger.”
Just wore a nonchalant expression.
It wasn't that the knight was ignoring the mage's explanation or letting it go in one ear.
Nor was it because he was disregarding the monster.
Just to be scared—
‘It doesn't look like that much.’
Because, unlike the grandiose explanation, he couldn't see the power to destroy a kingdom.
Instead of trembling in fear while listening to the mage's explanation, the knight narrowed his eyes and assessed the [enemy].
The knight asked.
“It does look bigger than a normal troll, but it seems smaller than what I heard. What do you think about this?”
“I-I think it might be lacking in nutrients. The Guiwang originally takes a long sleep lasting hundreds of years at the edge of the continent where human foot has never reached. Maintaining such a massive body constantly is inefficient, so it's predicted that it sleeps for a long time. And right now, the Guiwang was forced out of its long slumber by summoning magic and dragged to this place against its will. This means….”
[[-GAAAA!!!]]
“…It must be furious for not getting enough sleep, and feeling a massive hunger due to the stress of being forcefully awakened.”
It was merely a basis derived from analysis.
However, the mage's analyses were rarely wrong.
It was a specialty of mages who read the world with mana.
Also, if the mage's analysis was accurate, it meant that troll surely required a massive amount of nutrients due to anger and hunger, and the targets containing those nutrients were probably—
“The name is grandiose, but at its root, it's still a troll.”
All monsters eat humans.
However, among them, the ones that eat humans particularly and specially more were the trolls—monsters called man-eating demons.
“T-They'll all be eaten….”
The mage's mind calculated even if he didn't want to.
How many humans the Guiwang would need to consume to regain its original body, compared to the documents.
And the result of the calculation—
‘All the citizens in the royal capital-!’
The moment that thing escapes the lake, not a single blade of grass would be left in the royal capital.
“Heh, it's all over. The Guiwang, the legendary Guiwang….”
The mage gave up and revealed a hollow despair.
For a mage with quick calculations, his giving up against an unbeatable opponent was also quick.
The mage lost his will to fight without even thinking of raising his mana.
…However.
“So that guy. It means it's in a severely weakened state.”
“……?”
“Yeah, that's enough.”
Thud!
Leaving the mage to his despair and hollow state, the knight confidently approached the lake.
He downed five potion bottles at once and drove a syringe filled with potion straight into his leg.
Crack!
Originally, the daily limit for potions was two.
Drinking more than that should cause symptoms of poisoning and hallucinations, but the knight ignored this.
Because right now was not a situation to worry about pain or side effects.
Above all, fortunately, troll genes were circulating in his body, so the side effects would be less than expected.
Rather.
“Phew, now I feel a bit alive.”
The effect worked so well it was almost a problem.
Thump, thump.
A body gradually getting lighter.
Forced awakening effect.
The bones of both legs, which had been broken and burst, reattached, and the skin regenerated.
Blood seemed to have been replenished to some extent, and the knight, like that—
“Even so, a troll is just a troll.”
[[Grrr-!!]]
The Guiwang did not know human language.
Therefore, it could not understand what that lowly creature was spouting.
However, one thing.
In an instant, the Guiwang's sense of smell caught a scent.
That scent was none other than—
“Ah, this potion? I made it by hunting your kin's brats, how is it, does it look well-made? It's a bit disappointing since it's diluted by 30%, though.”
The scent of its kin carried on the wind─.
[[GR-R-!]]
The Guiwang didn't know that it was merely a potion created by alchemists replicating troll blood, but that wasn't the important thing.
What was important was that it was a provocation.
How dare mere prey provoke the king-!
The Guiwang was enraged and wanted to immediately tear off both arms of the lowly creature before its eyes.
After killing it so painfully, it wanted to chew it up thoroughly for daring to touch its kin…!
No, it wanted to kill the bastard that had provoked it.
The moment the Guiwang, already heated to the top of its head from not fulfilling its sleep cycle, was about to charge—
“Did you think I was an idiot who would sacrifice a leg just to drop you into the lake?”
The knight welcomed the rapidly approaching dot in the sky as he looked up.
“I-Instructor! I-I brought them!”
“Drop them just like that.”
“B-But.”
“I won't get hurt.”
“Uuuung!”
With a groan and effort, Irene Windler poured out dozens of large harpoons she had carried with telekinesis.
Thirteen large harpoons used for whaling.
Thud.
“Thanks.”
The knight caught the falling harpoons and lightly expressed his gratitude to Irene Windler for bringing them all the way here, then—
Huuup!
He gathered all his strength and threw the harpoon as hard as he could.
Boom!!
[[Grr!!]]
“In the era you were active, it must have been a time when humans couldn't even hunt whales yet.”
But, now is not a thousand years ago.
“I'll show you how far human cruelty has developed.”
The harpoon that split the riverwater struck the Guiwang's shoulder, and the Guiwang felt pain.
Though it couldn't pierce its hard scales—
Crack.
—Because a single clash cracked the scale that was like armor.
[[Gaa-.]]
The Guiwang finally realized.
That prey was not an easy hunt.
The thousand-year-old man-eating demon and the modified human born from human malice clashed like that.
* * *
Do you know what happens when you fire a harpoon like a cannon?
Simply.
A cannon in the shape of a harpoon is fired.
Its power exerts a brutal and cruel force capable of hunting even the Blue Whale, that massive whale known as the bowhead whale.
It was a weapon invented by various kingdoms for whale hunting when the Age of Exploration opened.
However, after several kingdoms were submerged by
But, humans were not the kind of race to just leave an invention they had painstakingly created alone.
They modified the large harpoons to catch large monsters, or at the very least, modified them to catch marine creatures that had turned into monsters.
Thus, the cannon in the shape of a harpoon was still frequently used on the field, and its power and ferocity were, rather than when whaling—
Crunch
—even more vicious.
[[Gaaa-!!]]
The Guiwang was in an excited state.
It wanted to escape the river, yet the harpoons kept attacking it as if tying it down.
The power of the harpoons flying straight in a line couldn't be ignored even by the Guiwang.
If it were in a normal state and had consumed even a little nutrient, that might be one thing, but unfortunately—
“Right where you opened your mouth!”
The Guiwang was just about to consume a fish, but Lee Han thrust the harpoon into the Guiwang's mouth as if precisely aiming for an opening.
Tremendous accuracy, speed, and power!
Boom!
The Guiwang's jaw was twisted in one blow.
Crumble….
[[G…R…!]]
However, worthy of a monster passed down in legends, the Guiwang reacted to the harpoon and showed the feat of catching the harpoon flying like a cannonball with its teeth.
A strength not inferior to Lee Han's—no, a terrifying bite force.
However.
“Stupid bastard. That's why you're just a troll.”
[[!!!!]]
Uweeeek!
When the liquid smeared on the harpoon entered its mouth, the Guiwang felt indescribable pain in its tongue and throat.
An excruciating pain as if thousands of needles were piercing it.
Normal poison doesn't work on trolls, but that poison had no choice but to work.
An alchemist's extreme poison specially crafted in the kingdom and produced in small quantities.
It was something he obtained after throwing a tantrum—no, after a dramatic compromise—with a certain princess who hated giving it away and frowned.
“I told you, I'd show you how far human cruelty has developed.”
Lee Han kept his promise.
The human desire to reign at the pinnacle of the ecosystem through the struggle for survival, developed over a long time, had created countless byproducts.
Lived for a thousand years?
Called the king of monsters and even possessed immortal regeneration?
It's nothing.
“Hunting things like you is what we do.”
Humans are the kind of creatures who would someday use even the moon as a resource.
Lee Han drove the Guiwang back with an extremely arrogant posture, and watching that scene, a certain girl mage—
‘What is this? Who is the evil one?’
[…Isn't it us?]
…Just as those words said.
‘Humans are really a sorry sight…’
Irene Windler was dismayed, unable to distinguish who was good and who was evil.
—However.
Crack!
“Huh?”
[I-It's eating the harpoons…?]
As if proving that the line between good and evil the girl was questioning was merely human arrogance, the ghost called the pinnacle of monsters, the Demon King equipped with ferocity, embraced a murderous intent—
[[[Kill… you…]]
—and spoke a language as it charged.
Enduring even all the flying harpoons.
Like that, the creature somehow—
Rumble!
—stepped on the ground.
[[You… I'll kill… you.]]
“Bastard, it's fucking huge.”
It was as big as three elephants combined.
Not only was it massive, but an overwhelming aura and malicious murderous intent could be felt.
A pressure so intense that even a veteran warrior's blood would run cold and they'd clutch their chest and vomit blood.
It was the impression of facing it directly, and he shook his head as if this wasn't a creature meant to be taken down as a game, but—
Shring.
For some reason, Lee Han was drawing his sword, contrary to his terrified expression.
“…It felt a bit wrong to just keep doing petty ranged attacks anyway.”
How long could a guy calling himself a knight act like an infantryman?
Like that, he swung his sword in the air a few times and, with a refreshing smile—
“If I keep slashing until it vomits blood, it'll die eventually, I suppose.”
One Step, No Retreat (Ilsubultoe).
Whether in Go or in battle, the moment you step back, only defeat remains.
He merely advanced, calmly spitting out his resolve without taking a single step back.