Jaime caught his breath and glared at the giant.
He couldn’t move as swiftly as he had in his youth, but decades of battle-hardened experience had taught him exactly how to face such an enemy.
The giant’s behavior was much like that of an orc—brutal, driven more by instinct than reason.
It reacted easily to even minor provocations, so Jaime had to outthink it.
He glanced around and spoke.
“Will you follow my lead?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Draw its attention from the front. Don’t get too deep in.”
“Understood!”
The knights obeyed without hesitation.
No one present didn’t know the name Jaime Theodore. He was the living shield of Briol, a legend who had dedicated his life to guarding the border.
The knights charged forward, taunting the giant.
Blinded by dark magic, the giant immediately swung its massive fists, trying to snatch its foes.
After a tense exchange, a small opening appeared.
Without hesitation, Jaime leapt forward.
“My lord count!”
The knights called out in alarm at his sudden move, but Jaime didn’t stop.
He plunged into the giant’s grasp—a place few could even approach—stepped on its knee, and vaulted upward.
A rush of exhilaration surged through Jaime’s entire body.
It was as if he had returned to his younger days.
Back then, fear was unknown to him. He always swung his sword in the thick of enemy lines. Before losing his son to the orcs, he had been recklessly bold to a fault.
Laughing, Jaime drove his sword into the giant’s shoulder, then used it as leverage to settle behind the creature’s neck.
The giant thrashed wildly, trying to shake him off.
Its resistance was fierce—just holding onto the shoulder wasn’t enough.
Wrapping his legs around the giant’s neck, Jaime pulled out the sword embedded in its shoulder.
The giant twisted violently, its massive body flailing helplessly. A blow caught Jaime’s helmet, knocking it off and tearing his cheek.
“My lord count! You’re in danger!”
Jaime ignored the warning.
His white hair whipped around as he gripped the sword backward and raised it high.
“Hah!”
His blade came down hard on the back of the giant’s head.
Though the strike was charged with deadly intent, the giant’s skull was tough. The blade tore through the skin but couldn’t penetrate deeper.
Jaime withdrew the sword and struck again.
Thud.
This time, the sensation was worse.
The giant had cupped its hand over the back of its head.
Jaime’s sword pierced through the giant’s palm, pinning it against the skull.
Without pause, Jaime pulled the sword free and struck down once more.
Blood splattered.
At the same time, the giant shook its body violently—pure frenzy.
Jaime’s thighs began to weaken. He felt as if he might fall at any moment.
If that happened, the giant would crush him, and he’d die a pitiful death.
His limbs would be mangled.
Just like his son, who had died at the hands of orcs.
A fire ignited in Jaime’s eyes.
He arched his back like a bow, raised the sword high, and struck down again.
Now the giant was protecting its head with both hands.
Jaime paid it no mind.
Strike after strike, he hammered the sword down.
Until the giant’s hands were nothing but shredded flesh.
The giant’s screams echoed across the battlefield.
Jaime laughed.
“Does it hurt?”
How many times had he struck? The giant’s hands were barely recognizable now.
Jaime lifted his bloodied face and stared at his target.
The air was thick with the scent of blood—he couldn’t tell if it was his own or the giant’s.
There was no flesh left on the back of the giant’s head.
Even monsters had white skulls beneath.
Jaime drove the sword down with all his might.
The skull cracked through.
No matter how much dark magic had created this monster, without a brain, it couldn’t move.
As Jaime twisted the blade, fluids splattered across his face.
He licked the brain matter from his lips, then plunged the sword deeper.
The giant collapsed.
Dust billowed up as Jaime rose to his feet.
The knights stared at him in stunned silence.
Reverence shone in their eyes.
Jaime turned away.
There were still many giants left, and their allies were dying.
In the faces of the dying young men, Jaime saw his own past.
The fire in his eyes flared once more.
“Good.”
He felt like kissing the prince for arranging such an opportunity.
Without a word, Jaime strode forward. The knights followed.
“My lord count, are you all right…?”
“I hate them.”
“Huh?”
“I hate them so much I can barely stand it.”
Jaime pointed his sword ahead.
There stood the giants, beyond them the monsters, and at the very end, the grotesquely transformed fortress of Zbeta loomed.
“Don’t you feel the same?”
There was a resonance in Jaime’s words.
The knights immediately grasped the meaning behind them.
The monsters who killed people.
Who treated them like livestock, modified them, sacrificed them.
Who threatened their daily lives.
Who forced them to risk their lives on this front line.
The dark magic, the monsters, and the so-called gods from another realm.
They were hateful.
Jaime’s hatred spread to the knights.
Their courage turned to rage, their sense of duty sharpened into deadly resolve.
A red fire blazed in their eyes like wildfire.
Jaime spoke, his voice barely holding back a smile.
“Looks like we all feel the same. Then talking like this is a luxury we can’t afford.”
“Yes, sir!”
The knights’ movements changed.
Like a pack of wild dogs, they swarmed the giants.
They darted and circled, biting whenever an opening appeared.
They didn’t care if they got hurt; they hunted for the enemy’s weak points.
Jaime gouged out another giant’s eye and rose from the ground.
His ribs felt cracked, but it was nothing serious.
Pain wouldn’t stop him.
“The numbers are still too many,” he muttered.
“There must be a way… Ah.”
His gaze lifted to the sky.
Something strange was happening.
The clouds rippled like a stormy sea, then split apart, forming a dark corridor.
Something was descending through it.
At first, Jaime thought it was the sun.
A blazing red object streaked down, trailing a long tail.
A meteor.
Jaime smiled.
“Beautiful.”
Its trajectory was aimed right between the Anti-Empire Alliance and the walls of Zbeta—where the imperial army was densely packed.
A legendary magic, whose very existence was uncertain, was unfolding now.
Inariel, was it? The elven mage who looked like a boy.
At that moment, everyone on the battlefield looked up.
Even the monsters paused.
The empire didn’t stand still either.
From inside the organic walls of Zbeta, something like a cannonball was fired.
Whether to alter the meteor’s course or detonate it midair, dark masses flew toward the meteor.
It was useless.
The dark magic projectiles burned red and twisted as soon as they touched the meteor’s heat, and the meteor seemed to grow larger with each strike.
Then, a black net of tentacles spread across the sky.
It seemed like an attempt to lessen the impact.
But everything melted before reaching the meteor.
The massive rock that tore through the sky caused a disaster upon impact.
A meteor.
Jaime’s vision whitened with blinding light.
Yuri had moved far ahead, facing the enemy.
He had nearly pierced the giants’ front line, but a half-beast, half-human monster waiting behind blocked his path.
The half-beast was as large as a giant and had the agility of a wild animal.
Its reaction speed was much faster than the giants’, making it difficult to find an opening.
So Yuri relied on brute force.
He swung his sword wildly, unleashing powerful slashes.
Each strike was met with beastly howls and splattering blood.
Mana consumption was heavy, but it no longer troubled Yuri.
Having grown accustomed to wielding chaos magic, he could now control his mana reserves and unleash as much as he wished.
Jared watched in awe.
“A monster? How do you keep going against that…?”
“Just keep trying.”
“Huh? Trying?”
“Of course.”
He was joking, of course.
Yuri knew he had transcended humanity.
Sometimes, it felt dangerous to be so strong.
But that was a luxury he could only afford when he had the leisure to think.
Right now, he was grateful for the power he’d been given and wielded it to its fullest.
Yuri called out again.
“Cedric!”
But there was no answer—only more monsters swarming in.
Jared shouted.
“You’re too far ahead! We’re surrounded from behind! Hey, Roland! Are you okay?”
“No!”
Yuri, Roland, and Jared stood back to back, swords drawn.
Roland, cutting down enemies with his dark blade, shouted.
“Yuri Briol, we need to fall back for now!”
“I’m fine!”
“Fine? What do you mean fine?”
Roland caught his breath and continued.
“We’re overwhelmed. Save your strength and retreat slowly. We’re waiting for the main force.”
“No need.”
“Got a better idea?”
“Of course.”
“And what’s that?”
“What’s that?”
“Hyah!”
Unsure how to respond, Yuri swung his sword out of frustration. There was no clever trick here—he just didn’t want to retreat.
An urge to push forward as far as he could was driving him on from behind.
“If there’s no other way, we have to fall back for now.”
At that moment, as Laurent blocked a monster’s attack, he snapped irritably at Yuri.
Yuri looked up at the sky. His senses picked up on something unusual before anyone else did.
“Uh…”
He pointed upward.
“That.”
“What?”
Laurent and Jared quickly followed his gaze. Even the monsters surrounding them sensed the danger and instinctively lifted their heads.
The sky was opening up.
And a fireball was falling.
Exactly what Yuri had been hoping for.
“That’s it…”
Not just a blazing fireball, but a meteor with a tangible form crashing down.
“That’s the sharp move I was talking about.”
“You look surprised inside.”
“So what?”
The meteor’s trajectory was not far from where Yuri stood—he’d stepped too far forward.
Raising his sword, Yuri formed a protective barrier.
“It’s going to get hot, so bear with it.”
“We should fall back—”
“Too late.”
Yuri unleashed his Soul Slash, creating a glowing, hemispherical shield.
The monsters pounded on his sword barrier in a frenzy, but it was useless.
The meteor drew ever closer.
“Magic’s definitely an elf thing.”
“That’s a bit racist.”
“If you don’t like it, you can leave.”
“Heh heh…”
Then—
His vision was completely washed in white.
No sound reached his ears, only a high-pitched ringing.
Dizzy and off-balance, Yuri staggered. His shield wavered, and through the crack, scorching heat seeped in.
Clenching his teeth against the burning pain, he endured.
The meteor’s power was beyond anything normal.
If he stayed like this, Laurent and Jared would be in danger, even if he somehow survived.
Mana surged from his core, searching through chaotic possibilities.
He closed his eyes.
A long time passed.
When Yuri opened them again, the power he needed was firmly in his grasp.
His shield had strengthened, pushing back the invading heat.
He turned his gaze.
As his vision cleared, he saw Laurent and Jared.
Laurent lay collapsed, utterly drained, while Jared clung to Yuri’s pant leg, mouth agape, unconscious.
Shaking Jared off with his foot, Yuri looked ahead.
The meteor’s aftermath was far from over. A mushroom cloud of dust billowed into the sky.
It was overwhelmingly powerful.
Inariel had surely managed the magic carefully, but Yuri worried about the damage to their own side.
A fierce wind swept in.
The dust stirred up by the meteor was blown away.
Soon, the sky cleared.
“Ah…”
Whether from the meteor’s effect or something else, the black clouds that had filled the sky vanished, revealing a clear, blue expanse.
A massive crater had formed on the ground, and around it, nothing remained.