Book 1 Chapter 295
295
Boom-! Boom-! Boom-!
The faces of the guards on the ramparts of Gardeslon’s castle turned pale.
Before their eyes, a colossal giant, taller than Gardeslon’s famously high walls, appeared.
“The, the Giant King… Gias!”
Trembling with their jaws, they uttered the epithet of the monster before them.
The Age of Cataclysm.
Anyone who had once fought in the war against Tartarus could not avoid encountering a Legion Commander.
However, no one present had ever actually seen the Giant King in person.
Not even the Commander King, the supreme commander of Tartarus and the most powerful subordinate of Erebus.
Nor the Queen of Monsters, the most cruel and bloodthirsty creature that reveled in slaughter.
Survivors were usually left behind.
But not the Giant King Gias.
A Legion Commander who absolutely left no survivors.
This meant he was the symbol of absolute death.
The appearance of the Giant King Gias, who had always delivered absolute death to those he met on the battlefield, filled the guards of Gardeslon with fear.
Boom-! Boom-!
Step by step.
As Gias’s enormous body approached, the guards stumbled backward.
“Everyone, maintain formation.”
A resolute voice echoed.
At that voice, everyone snapped to attention.
“This is Gardeslon. No matter how great the Giant King, he cannot breach this impregnable fortress.”
“Yes!”
At Dweno’s words, everyone found courage.
Watching them, Lunia muttered.
“As expected of Dweno-nim. With just one word, he can bring the disheartened soldiers back to their senses.”
As Lunia marveled, feeling the aura of a great hero, Dryana crossed her arms with a smug expression.
“Of course, it’s Dweno-nim.”
Next to Dryana, Ardo crossed his arms with a similarly smug expression.
“Now Arion-nim will come forward and boost the soldiers’ morale to the maximum.”
At Ardo’s words, Dweno let out a deep sigh.
“Unfortunately, that won’t be the case.”
“What?”
“I don’t know what illusions you have about Arion, but Arion is a terrible coward.”
With that, Dweno climbed onto the ramparts of Gardeslon and crossed his arms.
Though he was a small dwarf, his back appeared incredibly imposing.
Most were so terrified that they couldn’t even go near the ramparts.
At Dweno’s words, all party members except Leo looked towards Arion with expressions of shock.
Arion was hiding behind his disciple Berchia, his eyes tightly shut, trembling.
“B-Berchia. How is it? Big?”
“It’s incredibly big.”
Berchia, standing on tiptoe to see the Giant King beyond the walls, replied in a tense voice.
Arion let out a terrified groan.
Kal’s jaw dropped as he watched Arion whimper like a scared puppy.
“I-Impossible. That Arion-nim was such a coward…”
Kal too was struggling to even look away due to the sheer oppressive presence of the Giant King.
But the sight of him trembling behind his disciple with his eyes closed was truly shocking.
Especially the fact that Arion, praised as the bravest among the great heroes, was like this, was undeniably shocking.
Children of this era, having grown up hearing stories of the [Brave Warrior] with indomitable courage, found it even more shocking.
“This is bewildering,” Lunia muttered, her face full of disbelief.
Ardo, in particular, seemed deeply shocked, collapsing to the ground and clutching his head.
“Waaaah- Arion-nim! To be so different from the Arion-nim in the stories!”
Leo grabbed Ardo by the scruff of his neck and forcibly pulled him up.
Then, he turned his gaze towards the Giant King Gias.
“The appearance of great heroes in reality can be different from what we know.”
At Leo’s words, Lunia recalled Luna’s appearance.
Luna, the progenitor of the Celestial Nebula, who was depicted in countless history books and fairy tales as pure, gentle, and benevolent.
But in reality, she was a lively, bold, and curious young lady who loved flowers.
Dweno, the divine blacksmith, stern, resolute, and leading the world with his charisma.
Yet, in reality, he was a strange old man with a perverted streak who was obsessed with praising beauty.
Fairie Knight Berchia, who was praised for leading the elves with impartiality and overwhelming charisma.
In reality, she was a mischievous girl who often lied and acted stubbornly.
They had only spent ten days together.
However, their true selves, not recorded in history, were far from the perfectly depicted great heroes.
‘We spent our days laughing and chatting happily.’
Perhaps, even if I were to gather with Lisinas, Kyle, and Luna, whom I haven’t met yet, it would be like this?
‘If I think of Luna-nim, it would be like this.’
Lunia remembered Luna’s appearance, happily slinging an arm around her shoulder and laughing heartily.
“Leo’s words are right,” Lunia said with a bright smile.
“Even if they are different from what we know… they are still Dweno-nim, Arion-nim, and Berchia-nim.”
The party members looked at Lunia.
“They are still the ones who achieved great deeds to save the world.”
Instead, they gained courage from their everyday lives.
‘They are not so different from us.’
…This thought.
The idea that people like us achieved such great deeds gives us a sense of closeness and courage.
Hearing Lunia’s words, Ardo, who had been looking down, looked at Arion.
Then, he clenched his fist.
“That’s right! Arion-nim is Arion-nim!”
He jumped up and straightened his chest.
The fact that he was a descendant of a great hero remained unchanged.
Ardo snorted and climbed onto the ramparts.
“Let’s see the face of this so-called Giant King!”
Ardo, with his eyes narrowed and his ears and tail perked up, boldly climbed onto the ramparts.
As soon as he saw Gias, his ears and tail drooped, and he quickly descended.
“W-Why is it so big?”
“It’s truly like a giant mountain.”
“That’s the Giant King… Does that mean the rumors were true?”
Before entering the world of heroes.
The party members broke out in a cold sweat, recalling their mission to investigate the mysterious giant.
Boom-! Boom!
The ground continued to tremble.
No one could think of boldly climbing onto the ramparts like Dweno.
Clack-!
Someone stood confidently beside Dweno.
White hair fluttering in the wind.
The party members and the guards protecting Gardeslon thought that Arion had bravely stood beside Dweno.
But it was Leo who stood next to Dweno.
“He seems genuinely fearless.”
“To withstand the Legion Commander’s aura head-on…” Lunia clicked her tongue, and Dryana exclaimed.
“As expected of Leo-nim.”
“Ugh! If the black rabbit can do it, so can I!”
As Airan exclaimed, Ardo’s competitive spirit flared, and he lifted his head.
The aura emanating from a Legion Commander.
By its very nature, living beings are intimidated.
To overcome the aura, one must raise their mana to resist it.
However, Leo and Dweno showed no such signs.
They simply endured the aura emanating from the Legion Commander with a calm demeanor.
Their resolute appearance gave courage to those watching their backs to face despair.
Dweno opened a subspace and drew out his Battle Axe.
Leo, with his arms crossed, gazed at the Giant King approaching, shaking the very ground.
‘According to the original timeline, the invasion should begin tomorrow morning?’
The Giant King’s appearance at Gardeslon was much earlier than the actual time.
‘That means…’ Leo narrowed his eyes.
‘This is the Giant King of the current era.’
In the current era of heroes, there are two Giant Kings.
The Giant King of the past.
And the Giant King of the current era, who invaded to burn down the world of heroes.
The Giant King before them was indeed the Giant King of the current era.
“As you said.”
Whoosh-! Roar-!
“Giant King Gias has arrived.”
He swung the Battle Axe in his hand through the air, scattering powerful gusts of wind.
Boom-!
Dweno slammed the Battle Axe onto the ground.
Dweno’s mana spread throughout the entire rampart.
Along with it, the soldiers on the ramparts regained their courage.
Dweno’s mana had pushed back Gias’s aura.
“Now, do I just need to lop off that giant’s head?”
At Dweno’s words, Leo drew his sword.
“It’s better not to move rashly. His army isn’t here yet.”
“Hmm. That’s true.”
“And.”
“And?”
“There might be two Giant Kings.”
Dweno’s eyes twitched.
“Indeed.”
Dweno, who had sensed Leo’s origin from the future, immediately understood his words.
“What happened to us in the original battle?”
“…We won. Although we suffered heavy damage.”
“I see.”
“What are you talking about? I want to hear too…”
ROOOOAR-!
“Hiiik?”
Ardo, who had mustered the courage to try and climb onto the rampart where Leo stood, screamed at Gias’s roar and rolled to the ground, landing on his backside.
There was still a considerable distance before the Giant King Gias reached Gardeslon’s ramparts.
However, due to his immense size, Gias’s movements were visible at a glance.
Whoosh-!
The Giant King drew a colossal greatsword from subspace.
A greatsword with a crimson blade, smeared with flesh.
Seeing it, Dweno narrowed his eyes.
“This dark magic… Is it a greatsword made from the spinal bone of Jormungandr? I thought it would take hundreds of years to complete…?”
Jormungandr, whom Kyle and Lisinas had defeated.
And it was none other than the Giant King Gias who had recovered Jormungandr’s corpse.
He had created a demonic sword of evil using the corpse of his comrade.
Gooooh-!
An unusual surge of magic swept through.
The Jormungandr corpse sword, having absorbed the Giant King’s dark magic, writhed.
Kwagagagagang-!
Dark green dark magic was unleashed.
The dark magic of the Gluttonous King Jormungandr revealed its wicked form.
A massive dark green mass of dark magic swallowed everything around it and flew towards Gardeslon’s ramparts.
Everyone who saw it wore expressions of horror.
“D-Danger!”
“Black Rabbit! Dodge!”
Ardo cried out urgently.
However, Leo didn’t even flinch.
Dweno was the same.
If hit directly, it was a dangerous attack even for Dweno.
For the current Leo, it was a fatal blow.
As they watched the terrifying dark magic that seemed capable of swallowing the ramparts and reducing them to dust, many felt fear.
But Leo knew.
Always the coward, the one who appeared on the battlefield last out of fear.
But yet, the moment the signal for battle was given.
Tap-!
He was the first to charge forward, the coward.
White hair fluttered in the wind.
Whoosh-!
The beastman youth who had stepped on the rampart leaped high into the air.
Before him was a mass of dark magic that greedily devoured everything.
Srrrring-!
Arion drew his sword.
Brave, a sword that would later be called the symbol of the brave warrior.
Golden aura erupted from the sword.
Flash! Kwagagagagak!
The sword strikes emanating from the sword shot upwards like ascending dragons.
Along with them, the dark green mass of dark magic vanished without a trace.
Whoosh-!
Tap-!
Whoooh-!
The wind howled.
Everyone held their breath, watching the back of Arion, his white hair fluttering, his sword lowered.
That unwavering back always conveyed great courage to the great heroes.
‘This is… a Brave Warrior.’
‘The person with the greatest courage in the world…!’