Chapter 79

Chapter 79

"What's starting now? And what's with that unpleasant magic?" Thesaya asked, warming herself by the campfire.

Ian took off his cloak, stored it in his subspace, and began tightening the straps of his armor that he had loosened.

"Thesa. You guard the carriage here. Don't lose even a single horse." He added calmly as he stretched his neck and shoulders.

"So, explain to me...!"

Thesaya's grumbling was cut short as her head snapped toward the entrance of the village they had entered. Her gaze momentarily paused before slowly moving sideways, eventually reaching another entrance on the opposite side.

"Are we surrounded?"

"Just don't forget your role." Ian, having spoken, headed toward the clearing.

Charlotte, catching her breath with her twin swords at her side, turned to look at him. Expectation for the imminent battle was evident in her orange eyes.

"There are many. And... something's different this time."

"Yes. There's a leader among them."

Ian's gaze suddenly shifted toward the entrance they had used.

"I'll take care of that one. But I might not be able to pay attention to other areas in the meantime."

"I'll handle the rest."

"It won't be easy on your own."

"That's what makes it meaningful, Ian."

Ian looked at Charlotte intently, reading the various emotions in her eyes, before finally speaking.

"Don't plan on dying here."

"I'll try not to." Charlotte shrugged.

"Both of you are out of your minds...." Thesaya murmured disinterestedly as she stood up and approached the carriage.

The two warhorses were already breathing anxiously as if sensing something. As she moved closer, she stared into their frightened eyes and murmured.

"It's okay... Just rest. I’m not going to eat you."

Her red eyes seemed to ripple outwards from the center in concentric circles. The horses' eyes began to cloud over, their breathing slowed, and they both sat down, not moving, as if in a half-sleep hypnosis. Thesaya smiled slightly as this happened.

Whisk, thud—

Ian and Charlotte leaped onto the roofs of different buildings.

Thesaya, who had taken off the cloak, also leaped into action, snatching a scurrying mouse before scaling a nearby wall to the rooftops. With the struggling mouse in her grip, the dilapidated view of the abandoned village unfolded before her.

And beyond the sporadically rising palisades,

“...”

Thesaya's frown deepened as she surveyed the entities that had surrounded the village.

They were undead humans and dwarves. Dozens of them, armed with worn-out equipment, stood motionlessly around. Their blue glowing eyes flickered quietly among the falling snowflakes, sending chills down even a vampire's spine.

"Yikes...."

As Thesaya scanned the undead, she suddenly gasped for air. Her gaze had met with something protruding amidst the undead. It was a giant with pitch-black skin, twice the size of the surrounding undead.

Wearing only tattered trousers and wielding a giant double-edged ax, the giant's head was shriveled like a mummy, revealing the shape of his skull, unlike other parts of his body. The flickering blue glow in his empty eye sockets seemed to flutter irregularly, as if it held emotions, unlike the others. It was a giant warrior revived with the madness of the black wall.

"Amazing...." Charlotte's voice reached Thesaya's ears as she stared blankly at the giant warrior, a smile forming on her face.

"I shouldn't be the one to say this, but there's no one crazier...." Thesaya's muttering was cut off as a question flashed through her mind.

If that's Charlotte's opponent, then.... What is Ian facing...?

Whoosh—

Just then, a wind, mingled with snowflakes, swept in, and Thesaya stiffened.

The wind carried a tainted magic, filled with sticky obsession and madness, momentarily overwhelming her. The mouse in her grasp went limp with a crunch, and Thesaya instinctively lowered her stance, her gaze turning toward the direction from which the wind had come. The first thing she saw was Ian's back, standing on the roof across from her.

"Why is that...." His murmuring head was tilted slightly downwards. Thesaya's gaze followed in the same direction.

"......!" Her eyes widened immediately.

"...!" Charlotte, retrieving her extended arm, suddenly rolled on the ground.

Ssss— Crash!

An ax, dual-bladed and aimed to cleave her head, struck deep into the soil, causing dirt to rise in a cloud. This ax, as tall as a short human, missed its target. Charlotte regained her stance and raised her eyes. Above, the giant warrior's aged face peered down at her, unfazed by its failed attempt. With a burst of agility, Charlotte leaped, her twin blades drawing a helix in the air. Their paths merged and descended on the arm of the giant holding the ax.

Crack!

Even with Charlotte's strength, she couldn't sever the black arm of the giant. It felt like striking frozen ground. Tar-like black fluid oozed from where her swords were embedded in the giant's forearm. Then, the giant warrior, freeing his other hand from the ax handle, swung his fist at her.

Swoosh!

The sound of the air being torn was ominous. Despite its massive size, the giant was not slow. Charlotte, who had bent the arm holding the sword handle, now straightened it, releasing her grip on the handle and propelling herself upward just in time.

Whoosh!

Its fist narrowly missed her, passing just beneath her as she somersaulted through the air, landing precisely where she had jumped from. Seizing the sword handle once again, she leaped over the crossed forearms of the giant, sword drawn with all her might. The giant's face, nothing more than skin stretched over bone, loomed closer, its blue eyes ablaze with what seemed like raging fury.

"Ah-ahahah—!"

The giant, with its mouth agape, let out a roar. A shockwave erupted simultaneously, sweeping Charlotte off her feet. Losing her grip on one of her swords, she was flung through the air, spinning before landing gracefully.

The giant warrior then pulled an ax from the ground where it had been embedded. The fluid that had been oozing from its forearm had by now congealed into a sticky mass, resembling its original skin once more.

Woosh.

The giant swung its ax again, aiming to cleave Charlotte in two. She dodged sideways in the nick of time.

Crack!

The ax embedded itself deeply into the earth. Amidst the rising cloud of dust, Charlotte's eyes flashed a bright orange as she charged toward the ax handle. Clutching her sword with both hands, she struck down hard on the giant's wrist.

Crunch—

The blade cut more than halfway through the giant's wrist. Charlotte's arms bulged momentarily with exertion.

Crack—!

Finally, the giant's wrist was severed. Black fluid spurted from the cut, splashing onto Charlotte's head.

The giant howled, raising its severed hand.

"Ha... Haha......!" A thrill spread across Charlotte's face as she looked up at the giant. She flicked the blood off her blade and crouched down again.

Clash—

From a distance, a shockwave burst forth, resonating through Charlotte's entire body. Instinctively, she turned around. The first thing that caught her eye was the specter of a giant wielding a greatsword, having just brought it down. A massive explosion enveloped the area around the greatsword. Briefly, she glimpsed a sword spinning through the air, its owner unmistakably clear without the need for thought.

"Ian...?"

Her sigh was cut short. The giant warrior, having risen, was about to bring its ax down on her. Without even realizing she had been worried about Ian, Charlotte lunged toward the giant again.

***

Crash— bang!

Ian's expression twisted as he rolled across the ground, propelled like a cannonball.

Despite being shielded by the Whirling Barrier and the Wind Blade, the impact that followed would have shattered the bones of an ordinary person. Had he not let go of his sword, his wrist would likely have been broken much sooner. However, the real reason for Ian's grimace lay elsewhere.

Straight to the final phase from the start is really crossing the line.

This Wraith Giant, also called the Gatekeeper, was a named monster Ian had fought in the game. Its first phase consisted entirely of physical attacks. He had stepped outside the village just to avoid the village turning into a wasteland by the giant's greatsword. Ian intended to fight as he did in the game, methodically dismantling the giant's armor for a safe battle, until it started using skills reserved for its final phase. Of course, he had prepared for some variables, given this creature wasn't supposed to appear here.

"O Usurper—!"

In the game, such nonsensical taunts had never been uttered, and crucially, a quest had appeared right at the start of the battle. However, Ian hadn't anticipated that this would mean jumping directly to the final phase. Until now, the only variations he had encountered were new attack methods or faster progressions through the phases.

With a crash and a thud, his rolling body came to a stop against the trunk of a tree. Despite sensing the smell of blood rising within him, Ian first checked the sensations in his limbs. Thankfully, they all seemed to respond.

I've been thrown quite far.

His gaze then shifted to the distant figure of the Gatekeeper, raising the greatsword it had just slammed down.

"■■— or prove yourself—!"

The creature turned to Ian, roaring with its eyes ablaze in a fiery blue.

Alright, I’ll do it, you motherfucker.

Spitting out the blood that had pooled in his mouth, Ian stood up, drawing a necromancer's staff from a spatial void, ready to confront the challenge head-on.