“I’ll back you up.”
“Appreciate it.” Myra was the holy knight who usually took the leading role in her squad, but because she knew my situation, she devoted herself to support this time. Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine. I wasn’t shaken or anything—my experience had just subconsciously told me I was in danger. “Something’s coming!”
While it wasn’t a specific warning, a skilled holy knight would know how to prepare themselves. In addition, the cause of the chill soon became clear. The giant planted the knee of its intact right leg and handless right arm on the ground, using them as pivots to swing its left leg. It almost looked like a leg stretch to loosen up the body or a very low roundhouse kick. However, those analogies were only applicable if it were human—on a giant’s scale, the effects were quite different.
All the buildings in the path of the giant’s left leg crumbled like baked goods, sending debris flying everywhere. It was like a storm had broken out directly in front of us. With a single rotation of its leg, the giant had kicked up a violent tempest that left the destruction of a natural disaster in its wake. Battered by the heavy winds, we had to avoid a downpour of rubble and debris.
It was so unreal I couldn’t help but laugh. If it could cause this much destruction in a single action, it was more than capable of slaughtering hundreds of saints. The One-Armed Giant was a walking calamity—one that had survived three centuries and was even capable of healing itself.
But I wasn’t the same person I had been a moment ago. The princess was currently in a position where she and the other holy women could support each other. That meant I’d be okay. I put more strength into my legs than before. No longer carrying anyone, I could move even faster. The moment I dashed forward, I heard the crash of rubble landing behind me. I continued running, weaving through gaps in the raining debris. And that wasn’t all.
“Perfect.” I jumped, leaping from one piece of falling rubble to the next. Like a stone skipping across a river, I quickly reached the giant’s eye level. That said, it was kneeling since it couldn’t stand at the moment.
“You made it, Albert!” Another holy knight had done the same thing—the tanned, dual-wielding swordswoman Serrulata. I had come from behind the giant, while she had charged in head-on. Radiance was glowing in her right hand. Given how things had gone thus far, the blue-haired asshole would soon restrain the giant with his thorns. Apparently, the giant thought so too.
“This thing’s pretty agile.” The giant had jumped, though probably not in response to Serrulata and me.
It went straight up. It was more than just an evasive maneuver—the impact from such a massive body hitting the ground would be immeasurable. It understood its enormous size and weight and was using them as a weapon. Not finished yet, it brought its right hand up to its jaw and started crunching it with its teeth. Then it spat.
Despite not having lungs or vocal cords, curions could speak. By sucking in and exhaling air, they could create vibrations. Similarly, the giant could chew its regenerating bones, then spit them out as projectiles.
“Serrulata, jump!” Immediately sheathing my sword, I clasped my hands together.
“Ha ha ha! I’ve got this, Albert!” Quickly picking up on my plan, Serrulata landed in my hands. I threw my arms up, lifting her into the air as she jumped. Deflecting and sometimes burning the barrage of projectiles, she managed to reach the giant in midair. Then, her sword shining like the sun, she severed its lumbar vertebrae. The giant’s body was split into upper and lower halves.
“Now it’s the One-Armed One Half Giant!”
After launching Serrulata, I drew my sword again and landed as I deflected bits of bone raining down on me. Once I hit the ground, I immediately raced over to where I expected her to fall. It felt like the opening to a story where a beautiful woman falls from the sky as I caught her in my arms.
“Whoa... Oh, it’s you, Albert.” She was taller and more muscular than the princess, so she had more weight to her. That said, it was a negligible amount.
“Nice one.”
“All thanks to you. Uh, this is kinda embarrassing though.”
“I hear it’s called a princess carry.”
“Stop... I ain’t suited for this.”
“Nonsense. I’ll do it anytime you please, Princess Serrulata.”
“Kn-Knock it off.” Once we were far enough away from the giant, I put her down.
Then the giant’s upper body fell, shaking the ground beneath us. Its lower half was crumbling to dust and wasn’t an issue, but its upper half alone was plenty dangerous. The tremors shook the ground so hard it was impossible to stay upright, and several buildings were unable to endure them and collapsed. I looked over at my allies to make sure everyone was all right.
“Wanna go one more time, Serrulata?”
“We’ll keep goin’ ’til it’s dead.”
Seeing the giant without most of its body reminded me of a helpless insect crawling on the ground after having its wings plucked off, but there was no room for mercy. In addition to Serrulata and me, everyone with a sword took off running.
“Mmm...” The giant groaned, yet that didn’t change what we had to do. “Meet... O-One more...time...”
Guess that wasn’t a groan. Come to think of it, there’s no reason a giant wouldn’t be able to talk.
“Meet. W-We promised.” The giant had been this city’s guardian. On that day three hundred years ago, it was said to have done everything it could to help people escape. Some of them had probably been its close friends. It had promised one of them, or maybe several, that once the city was peaceful, they would meet again.