Chapter 300

“It’s the king of giants. I’m sorry I left you trapped in the castle, but I couldn’t get to you in time to save you.”

Those who heard the Savior’s words froze. Erratic flashes and roars shook the battlefield. Breathing heavily, Marja spoke.

“I understand—but what did you just say?”

“They said it was the king of the giants. Maybe that’s what they call him.”

“That can’t be—.”

She stiffened again. She thought she’d misheard, but apparently not. A king, I never knew giants had such a thing. Looking up at the sky, the Savior clicked her tongue.

“It’s a shame we missed that Abel guy, I didn’t expect such a bold strategy.”

“Ah, Abel—did you also fight with the headmaster of Nebula Clasier?”

“He was fighting, and he came close to slitting my throat. My son, once he threw off the shackles, really came into his own.”

“Shackles? Hey—what the hell happened while we were gone?”

Marja’s eyes widened, the changes had been too radical for the time she’d been away. She and the other commandos had been trapped in the castle and had no idea what had happened.

“Well, you don’t know, so let’s get down to the nitty gritty—.”

Shaking his head, the Savior spoke up. It was necessary to make the situation clear to such a major power, even if it was a bit of a hassle.

He gave a brief account of what had happened in the commandos’ absence. Ronan’s sunrise and the arrival of the battleship Dainhar, the sudden descent of the giant king and Abel’s flight. Marja was stunned, her mouth agape.

“Oh my God, Ronan’s gotten that strong?”

“I see. By the look on your face, you know of my son’s condition, and I assure you, Ronan is the strongest creature ever born on this planet. That is, of course, if the remaining curse is removed.”

“Great–it’s the curse after all. There’s a reason you’ve been hanging on so tight.”

Marja muttered. It couldn’t have been more amazing, but it was also hollow. I don’t know about you, but she really worked hard.

The thought of all the adversity and hard work had been for nothing, she thought bitterly. The Savior, who had been staring at her, shook his head.

“That’s not necessarily true. It would be impossible for my son to be as strong as he is if I didn’t support his efforts.”

“What? Uh, how do you think I—.”

“An old man’s few gifts. Look at me and Abel, and you will see that I have lived for immeasurable ages, yet I am no match for my son, who has just come of age. Your days of sweat and blood are not in vain.”

The Savior’s expression could not have been more sincere. He actually considered it a true miracle that Ronan had grown up to be a man capable of effort.

“I honestly expected it to grow into a fungus.

A lion is a lion is a lion, no matter how many curses he’s weighed down with in his infancy. Kasha was an intelligent woman, and Ronan must have realized early on that everyone but him was a sheep or a deer.

It was overwhelmingly likely that he would have lived a life marinated in sloth and arrogance, and as a Savior who did not know that Ronan was living a second life, he was grateful. He concluded with a wry smile.

“I’m just putting up the crown jewels of the Golden Pavilion, so don’t be pessimistic.”

“Yes, yes—thank you.”

Marja ducked her head. It wasn’t much, but somehow it made her feel better. Yeah, it couldn’t have been for nothing.

“—But I’m not sure I can fight that thing, it’s too strong.”

The Savior turned his gaze back to the sky and sighed. Just watching was taking a toll on his body. The sight of the King of Giants tearing through the magic circle to reveal himself had left an indelible mark on everyone’s minds.

Abel took advantage of the momentary confusion and fled. He wanted to give chase, but the giant king’s attack came right back at him, and there was no way.

If we had chosen to pursue Abel instead of defend at that moment, we would have wiped out half of our army. Marja asked.

“Is there–is there anything we can do?”

“There it is. But you’ve been through the wringer, haven’t you, and you need to rest up a bit, and then–kaboom!”

Suddenly, the Savior coughed loudly. Black blood soaked the floor, and Asel, beside him, gasped.

“What, are you okay?!”

“Yeah—whoops, not yet.”

The Savior nodded. Blood trickled down his clenched palm. Mana pulsed up Asel’s shoulders as he floundered.

“Well, I’m not strong enough after all, so I’m going to have to do a little more—!”

“No. You’re doing a good enough job, it’s okay, you don’t know when the big day will come, so don’t push yourself, just do what you’re doing now—.”

The Savior raised his hand to stop Asel from squeezing more mana. Suddenly, Marja realized why the Savior had told her and her crew to rest.

He was keeping the star’s protection alive by feeding mana to everyone on the battlefield, not just Asel. Wiping the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, the Savior looked back at Adeshan.

“—I am especially indebted to you two. If it weren’t for you and that child, Adeshan, I would have fallen apart long ago.”

Adeshaan sprawled on a towering pile of rubble. Her long, dark hair fluttered with each clash between Ronan and the giant king.

The shadowy mana that controlled the creatures’ minds was spreading like wildfire around her, and Marja, unable to see it, shook her head.

“Speaking of which, what is Adeshan’s sister doing?”

“Sah, he’s helping people draw mana, and I knew he was awesome, but I never thought he’d do that to the entire Alliance—.”

Asel stammered back. As he spoke, Adeshan was calming the frightened people, lulling them into a state of mind that would make it easier to transfer mana to the Savior.

Even though they were within the protection of the stars, it was still an abyss outside. The giants were flying around in a dizzying frenzy, hurling spears at the defenses, and the storm in Schlieffen was growing.

It was practically thanks to her that the mana transfer was smooth in the midst of this chaos. Looking around, Marja spoke up with a look of determination.

“No way, I’m going to get her to a safe place first, and then you can use my mana.”

“That’s nice of you to say, and if that’s the case, I’m going to send my daughter to—”

The Savior was about to say something. Kwah-ah-! Something fell from the sky and struck the shields.

“C’mon!”

“Lo, Father Ronan!”

Blood spurted from the Savior’s mouth once more. It was so powerful that it shook the entire tabernacle. The astonished people began to shout.

“What, what happened?!”

“Did a meteorite strike—!”

It didn’t seem to be an attack from the Giant King, but what the hell had hit them? Suddenly, a voice rang out over the heads of the allied forces.

“Graaah! Damn it, this really hurts…!”

“What is this voice?”

The group looked up in surprise. A very familiar young man was lying prostrate on the tabernacle. It was only the back of his head, but he was unmistakable. Asher cried out.

“Ro, Ronan!”

“Huh?”

Ronan’s eyes widened, and he turned his head from his lying position. He could see his friends running around with their hands outstretched in the air.

“What the hell, you’re all alive.”

“Are you okay, Da, are you hurt?!”

“I’m sore, but I’m still okay. Good to see you all.”

He spit out a broken tooth and smirked. I didn’t think they would die, but seeing him so healthy was a relief.

Judging by the storm, the schlippen was still alive. Ronan glanced back at Marja and gulped. Iriel lay in her arms, fast asleep. He hadn’t seen her since Abel had taken her.

“And your sister—she’s sleeping, right?”

“Ugh, ugh. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it right now, and if there’s anything we can do to help—!”

“I’m done, mind your own business. With my sister.”

Ronan gripped the hilt of his sword. If he could, he would have rushed out and checked on his sister and her friends, but he couldn’t afford to; he was still recovering his strength as he lay there. Suddenly, the center of the dark cloud turned white.

“Oh, shit!”

It was like looking at the sky just before a thunderbolt struck. Ronan cursed at the self-explanatory phenomenon. He leapt to his feet and swung his lamancha. The clouds parted, releasing a beam of light that must have been dozens of meters in diameter.

“Oh my God—!”

“Ro, Ronan!”

The beam of light was falling precisely toward Ronan. The backlight cast long, deep shadows. The friends’ faces went white. They knew instinctively that it was an attack, a spear or orb of light hurled by the giants.

“I die—!”

Marja whimpered. It was impossible to dodge or block, but Ronan did not back down and swung his sword. Hundreds of sword strikes formed a dense web, shredding the flashes of light.

“Shut up—do something—!”

A heat that seemed to bring the sun to his eyes crushed the battlefield. Spiderweb-like cracks were forming where Ronan had stepped, and the spectacle drew gasps from the onlookers.

“Hey, I’m blocking that.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

I couldn’t believe my eyes. Ronan’s return fire hadn’t done any damage down below, his exquisite, sharp blade slicing through the air without allowing a single strand of light to escape.

Soon, the last rays of light scattered into thin air. The world, which had been stark white, began to return to its original colors. Ronan caught his breath, which had been rising to his chin. The upper half of the giant king’s torso suddenly emerged from beneath the thickening clouds.

“I’m here!”

“Oh my God, that’s—!”

There were gasps of horror all around. The giant king’s first blow came from inside the magic circle, and as soon as the Savior defended, Ronan was there to intercept, so this was the first time we saw him in action.

It was white, bald, and similar in appearance to other giants, but its size was unimaginable. It looked like it could swallow a normal giant in one bite, let alone Ronan. Hidden in the clouds were eight wings.

“That’s—.”

Suddenly, the Savior’s eyes widened. He had seen something like that before. A shooting star that had changed his life forever. It bore a striking resemblance to the giant in the abyss.

“You fucking bald motherfucker!”

Then Ronan, having caught his breath, called out in an angry voice. A thick line of blood streaked across his forehead where his bangs were pressed against his face, and the lamancha in his hand was stained with sunset. Ronan’s auror swept across the battlefield, dragging his opponent with it.

“Ro, Ronan?! It’s dangerous here!”

The sight of it horrified Braum. It was one thing to bring down a giant, but something like that would be too much for him to handle. He was about to shout something when the car came crashing down. A glow of sunset colored the sky, and Ronan’s body shot into the air.

“I’ll kill you!”

It was like watching a giant firecracker. As the giant king disappeared behind the clouds, Ronan, who had been shot in the same trajectory as him, disappeared into the clouds. Kwah-ang-! The crash sounded again.

“Huh?”

Braum was taken aback by this unexpected development. He wasn’t the only one surprised. Jaifa, who had been watching the situation in silence, was the first to speak up.

“Why is that kid moving, isn’t he supposed to come down and hit you?”

“My son’s auror seems to attract enemies within the reach of its light, but this time the opponent is too strong, and since the force of attraction is different, he is being dragged away.”

“I guess that’s how they got into the dogfight.”

Zaifa laughed at the Savior’s answer. Ronan had been using aurors, and he was fighting a giant king.

They soon regained their senses and were about to cooperate with the Savior in earnest. In the distance, they heard an eerily familiar, dry voice.

“—there you are. I’ve been looking for you.”