Episode 680
Chapter 173. Chasing the Sword (5)
From beneath the sea, towering red pillars shot upward. The beams from the Graveyard Giants were so dense it was nearly impossible to dodge them all, but as they descended, the two of them skillfully scattered their magic and aura to change direction.
Like partners who had fought side by side for years, there was no need for words. Jin and Valeria moved as one, constantly watching each other’s backs.
Thanks to memories from his past life, Jin was familiar with most of her fighting style, but Valeria wasn’t as well-versed in his.
Still, whenever Jin fought alongside Valeria, he felt the same strange sensation she did.
“Unlike me, my master barely knows this version of me, yet we always sync perfectly.”
“Fighting with Jin always feels oddly stable…”
Though they were heading straight into the heart of the enemy, neither had taken much damage yet. But above them, chaos had already erupted.
The Balmur Alliance had suffered no losses thanks to Quikantel’s expert dodging, but the problem lay with Zipple, Kinzello, and the Sword Garden’s pursuit squads—their numbers were overwhelming.
It was like the difference between small fish slipping through a net and those caught in it. The Balmur Alliance was the former; the other three factions, the latter. Only Quikantel, protected by those riding on his back, was calmly evading the beams.
Each faction’s elite fought desperately to minimize friendly fire, but the Graveyard Giants’ power far exceeded common sense.
If each Graveyard Giant had transcended to a higher level, Jin wouldn’t even consider fighting them.
No matter how strong, a weapon without consciousness has its limits.
Whoooosh!
Along with the red beams, massive tree-trunk-sized spears flew in from all directions—moving at speeds that defied their size and weight.
Jin deliberately didn’t dodge the first spear, instead testing it by striking it with his sword. His wrist immediately stiffened.
“Heavy, but no trickery or depth to these attacks.”
They followed a monotonous, mechanical pattern—reacting only to certain triggers.
The sheer number of spears made the battle complex, but Jin easily deflected them all and landed on the seabed.
As soon as the two touched down, the defensive mechanisms attached to the buildings activated simultaneously, locking onto Jin.
“Automated reactive magic cannons like the ones Lady Amela made?”
The magic cannons didn’t distinguish friend from foe. Even though the Graveyard Giants blocked the view, they fired in Jin’s direction.
But the shots ricocheted like light off mirrors, bouncing off the giants’ bodies with a clinking noise that didn’t match their destructive power.
Most shots escaped into the sky or the sea walls, but there were still too many threatening Jin and Valeria’s path.
“This is going to be a bit exhausting.”
Just as Jin thought that, Valeria tapped the ground once with her silver pine staff. A massive magic circle spread out like flowing water along grooves in the floor.
“It’s not a shield.”
“I’m going to twist the flow of those ricocheting shots. You just focus on smashing the Graveyard Giants.”
Runes began to etch themselves into the air, hundreds of them—each fixed about five steps apart. The shots struggled to pass through the gaps.
Even the trapped shots never reached the two of them. It was as if the magic circle completely ignored the radius in which they moved.
“The magic’s power is far weaker than the shots’ destructive force… How is this possible?”
It was like a master effortlessly deflecting a novice’s attacks with minimal effort. Valeria was accomplishing with magic what is usually seen only in martial arts duels.
“Probably how Sister Runtia survived too—through such miraculous techniques.”
Jin found himself newly impressed by his master’s magic.
“Got it.”
Fzzzt!
Sigmund glowed with a deep electric energy.
Jin summoned all his strength and slashed at the Graveyard Giant’s ankle blocking his path. The blade didn’t slice through smoothly.
Meaning it didn’t cut cleanly.
Instead, with a dull crash, part of the ankle shattered and caved in. Jin thought that was enough.
“If I really focused, I could cut through… but that would require intense concentration every time I swung. No need to fight so inefficiently.”
Snap!
With the blade embedded, Jin detonated the electric energy. The ankle broke apart. Though the cut looked messy for a warrior of Jin’s caliber, the effect was undeniable.
“Grrrroooaaar…!”
The Graveyard Giant with the shattered ankle dropped to one knee, trying to steady itself. Jin leapt onto its body and drove his sword into its head.
The skull exploded instantly, and before the shards mixed with electric energy hit the ground, Jin descended like a lightning strike, swatting away spears flying toward Valeria.
It was as if the thunder god was crushing the spears beneath his feet. Compared to the Graveyard Giants, Jin was tiny—almost insignificant—but his presence dwarfed all the giants combined.
“If it were my father, he wouldn’t even need to focus; he’d just naturally dismantle these things.”
The sudden thought of his father made Jin’s brow furrow briefly.
“You seem to have the luxury of other thoughts. I have to risk my life every moment here.”
“Then focus more.”
In truth, just as Valeria twisted the magic cannon’s trajectories, Jin could have ensured she never got hurt—at least against the Graveyard Giants.
Valeria knew this but said it anyway. Jin was a little surprised she would tease him like that.
A pleasant battle.
Regardless of the situation, their perfectly synchronized offense and defense lifted their spirits. Whenever Jin swung his sword, a part of a Graveyard Giant shattered; whenever Valeria cast magic, their attacks faltered.
No matter how many Graveyard Giants there were, it felt like they could happily break them all.
More than ten had already been destroyed. New giants still formed, but thankfully not faster than the two could handle.
And the rate of new giants appearing was slowing. Jin guessed that once a certain number was reached, no more would spawn.
“Jin.”
“Yes?”
“Normally, these weapons don’t operate once their protected target is gone.”
“Are you saying there might be the forgotten remains of a god buried somewhere in this tomb?”
“Maybe. Or perhaps… the god itself still lingers.”
“You think the living figure presumed to be the ancient Runkandel could be a god?”
“We don’t have time to cast recording magic now, so we can’t confirm until we meet directly. Even if we checked the records, my current level wouldn’t reveal much. And their movements seem too simple.”
Valeria’s words made Jin suddenly realize the Graveyard Giants’ behavior was strange—almost as if they had a purpose.
“Now that you mention it, it doesn’t seem like the Graveyard Giants are just trying to eliminate intruders.”
They were huge, and because they’d been smashing them indiscriminately to avoid friendly fire, Jin hadn’t noticed before.
“The formation they’re making isn’t to surround us, Valeria. It’s just that their size naturally puts us under pressure.”
Jin and Valeria passed between the giants’ legs, carefully observing their overall movements.
First, not all the giants were attacking them. Some stood still, staring at the ground; others were digging.
If they weren’t broken, there was only one reason for digging.
“They’re searching for something.”
“The giants searching underground have a more refined form than the others. Jin, if I’m right, this is an ancient unsealing ritual. They’re trying to find the core of a seal buried somewhere here.”
“And once they find the core?”
“All the giants’ powers will connect to it, and the seal will be broken. The sword’s long flight was probably part of the process to locate this core.”
“So if we destroy all these giants, the sealed being won’t awaken.”
Valeria nodded.
“The choice is yours.”
The one to awaken from the seal is presumed to be a god or a godlike ancient Runkandel.
Whoever it is, there’s no guarantee they’ll be friendly. In fact, hostility is far more likely.
Or worse—they might be consumed by hatred and resentment, like Padler.
“Let’s wake it.”
But Jin didn’t hesitate.
If they destroyed all the Graveyard Giants now, they’d be safe—but a piece of ancient Runkandel’s history would be lost forever.
From that moment, the two shifted to a purely defensive stance. The giants kept attacking, but as the two didn’t retaliate, the intensity gradually lessened.
After about ten minutes, the giants stopped attacking them altogether. However, attacks toward the sky continued.
“The Graveyard Giants aren’t attacking you or Aria. You must have found some clue. We just need to keep dodging and blocking!”
Thanks to that, the chaos above worsened, but it didn’t affect their allies much.
The Balmur Alliance hadn’t counterattacked once since the Graveyard Giants awoke.
Meanwhile, Zipple, Kinzello, and the Sword Garden kept fighting back, so at some point, the giants stopped recognizing Quikantel’s group as enemies. The sweat they broke dodging the red beams was only because their allies were in the path of those attacks.
“Almost made a grave mistake waking an ancestor who’s been asleep for a thousand years.”
After about ten minutes, one of the graveyard giants in front of Jin and Valeria suddenly flashed its eyes with a fierce glow, its whole body trembling. It was the giant standing right before them.
“GROOOAAAR!”
As the giant let out a deafening roar, the others lit up their eyes and shuddered in response. It looked like they were channeling their power into the core of the seal.
The first giant to roar finally raised its two massive hands, which had been stirring the waters beneath the sea.
In its grasp was a glowing orb, shining like a miniature sun. Jin and Valeria watched as the combined strength of the graveyard giants focused entirely on that sphere.
“Let’s just hope whatever wakes up is something we can handle, Jin.”