Chapter 663

“Grooaaaaar!”

Giganto bellowed toward the heavens.

“Ugh!”

The companions traveling with Arhi clutched their ears and faltered.

“An aura of dread…!”

Ar ground his teeth together, fighting for breath.

“Kuh-heo-eong!”

Ar unleashed a ferocious howl of his own, neutralizing the overwhelming panic Giganto’s cry had induced.

“Krahahaha! What a spunky little creature!”

Giganto shifted his gaze to Ar, who had successfully dispelled the terrifying aura, and flashed a bloodthirsty grin before lowering his posture.

With terrifying velocity, he lunged straight for Ar.

Ar’s eyes gleamed with intensity as he watched the monster approach.

Whoosh-!

A brilliant flash erupted from Ar’s gaze, which instantly transformed into liquid form.

“Hmm?!”

Giganto’s eyes expanded in sheer bewilderment.

“Transforming into water without the presence of a full moon?!”

Though the giant shouted in shock, his gaze quickly filled with absolute sadism.

“Fascinating! Truly fascinating! You look like a delectable snack!”

Giganto ran his tongue over his lips.

“I am going to consume you!”

“You think you can eat me?!”

With eyes wide open, Ar sprang fiercely from the earth.

Becoming a streak of golden radiance, Ar shot toward Giganto with incredible speed and delivered a devastating kick right to the center of the monster’s forehead.

Kwaaaang-!

Giganto’s neck reeled back violently, snapping as if broken.

Swoosh-! Kwagagagagang-!

Even with his head thrown back, Giganto swung an enormous fist that completely obliterated the surrounding terrain.

However, Ar had anticipated the counterattack and dodged beforehand, positioning himself directly behind the giant.

Paak-! Kwagagak-!

Ar slammed a heavy kick straight into the back of Giganto’s head.

Sent crashing forward, Giganto slammed face-first into the dirt.

It was an exhibition of terrifying, destructive force.

Yet, Giganto hoisted himself back up almost immediately.

“Krahahahahahahaha! Marvelous! This is absolutely marvelous!”

Kugugugung-!

As his colossal frame stood upright, clouds of dust cascaded off his body.

Observing the giant laughing with absolute mania, Karl’s expression soured with disgust.

“Did that really do no damage?”

“My name is Giganto! I am the vanguard commander of the magnificent Giant King’s army! I shall commit your name to memory!”

“Ar Tune. The successor who carries the legacy of the hero.”

“A hero? Was there ever someone worthy of such a title?”

“You wretched creature! How dare you disrespect Lord Arion! Is that massive skull of yours nothing more than an empty ornament?!”

An enraged Ar hissed through his teeth.

“Arion? Who on earth is that?”

Just as Giganto paused in utter confusion—

“Are we really going to waste time chatting?”

Pajijijijijijik-!

Blinding gold lightning cascaded violently from above.

Duran, engulfed entirely in a crackling lightning aura, was bringing down a massive greatsword with both hands.

Giganto swung his fist directly toward Duran’s massive blade, which was targeting his neck.

Kwaang-! Pajijijijik-!

Arcing currents of electricity exploded in every direction.

Giganto’s face twisted into an ugly grimace as he blocked Duran’s strike.

“You are quite fascinating yourself!”

Whoosh-!

His free fist, which wasn’t tied down by Duran’s greatsword, whipped through the air directly toward the warrior.

Pabababat!

Lightning flared intensely as Duran’s figure dissolved into thin air.

Leaving nothing but an afterimage behind, Duran had already repositioned and was driving his greatsword toward Giganto’s ankle.

Kwak-!

The heavy blade sank deep into Giganto’s leg.

Duran’s eyes twitched slightly.

While the sword had sliced through flesh, it stopped short of severing the bone.

Duran grimaced when he realized the greatsword was firmly stuck and refused to budge as he tried to pull it free.

“A finely honed blade.”

The corners of Giganto’s mouth curled upward.

“But its durability is nothing more than a child’s toy!”

Whoosh-!

Giganto’s massive palm came sweeping down, intending to flatten Duran into the earth.

Kwaaaang-!

The terrain trembled violently from the impact.

Having successfully evaded the crushing blow, Duran drew a longsword from his belt.

Giganto reached down and gripped the earth, clenching his hand with a loud crunch-! before opening his palm wide.

Hoodududuk-!

Shattered by that horrifying grip strength, Duran’s greatsword, Lightning Storm, crumbled into tiny fragments.

“O-our kingdom’s legendary treasure—!”

Karl clutched his head in absolute horror, screaming at the sight.

Lightning Storm.

It was the very blade wielded by the founding monarch of the Moira Kingdom.

It stood as the ultimate symbol of the royal lineage and was designated as National Treasure No. 1 of the Moira Kingdom.

Karl couldn’t restrain his despair as he watched such a sacred relic get obliterated right before his eyes.

“Hmph. It’s an ancient relic, so its structural integrity was bound to be pathetic.”

“How can you say that so calmly when your own family’s heirloom just shattered?! The King will never forgive you for this!”

“It was bound to become my property regardless, so it makes no difference to me.”

“Wow… there are times when I genuinely envy your sheer audacity.”

Karl breathed heavily, stunned by the unbreakable mental fortitude of Duran, who remained completely unfazed even after the kingdom’s greatest treasure and his own family heirloom was ruined.

Giganto pounded his fist against his chest with a heavy thud-! as his gaze burned with pride.

“This physical form was sculpted by the greatest smith in existence! My progenitor, Gias, swung the hammer personally to forge this body! Against this frame, the ultimate masterpiece created by the Giant King, no edged weapon can ever prevail!”

“Hmph! The title of the world’s greatest smith belongs to Lord Dweno, not that Giant King Gias!”

When Driana sneered mockingly in response, Giganto tilted his head in bewilderment.

“Dweno? What sort of thing is that?”

“You are ignorant of Lord Dweno, the legendary divine blacksmith?! Is that oversized head of yours strictly for decoration?!”

“Control yourself. Ar already used that line.”

Karl placed a hand on Driana’s shoulder, trying to restrain her as she snarled and shook her fist in rage.

“Bizarre creatures. A hero, a divine blacksmith. What do those worthless titles even mean?”

Giganto scoffed contemptuously.

“If you lack the intellect to comprehend, I will split that skull open and carve the knowledge directly into your gray matter!”

With a chilling declaration, a figure soared directly toward Giganto’s head.

It was Artian, a woman of remarkably small stature.

“Ah! Professor Artian! Charging blindly without understanding the enemy’s capabilities is incredibly reckless!”

Karl desperately yelled out to halt her advance, but Artian’s eyes flared with rage as she bellowed back.

“Silence! If blades are useless, then you just have to hit them harder!”

Hwawang-! Kwaaaaaang-!

Artian’s fist smashed squarely into Giganto’s forehead.

Kwagagagagagak-!

The earth beneath Giganto’s feet fractured instantaneously, causing the ground to erupt violently upward.

“Cough?”

Giganto, who hadn’t budged an inch against the strikes of Ar or Duran, actually stumbled backward for a split second.

Whirrr-!

Thwack-!

“Hyaaaah!”

Dropping down onto Giganto’s ankle, Artian grabbed hold of it and unleashed a primal roar.

Stagger-!

Giganto immediately lost his center of gravity.

Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!

“Ugh-oh-oh-oh?!”

“Cough?!”

Utilizing her mind-boggling physical might, the diminutive Artian began to swing the massive giant around in circles.

Ar and Duran, finding themselves within the lethal radius of the spinning behemoth, scrambled backward in utter astonishment.

“Hryaah!”

Whoosh-! Kwagagagagang-!

Released by the immense centrifugal force, Giganto’s massive body was violently hurled and buried deep into the dirt.

“Ugh!”

“Here comes the follow-up! Take this!”

“Cough!”

Artian lunged toward Giganto at blinding speed just as he was attempting to rise, executing a savage headbutt straight into his midsection.

Struck by Artian’s headbutt, which propelled her like an artillery shell, Giganto went flying backward through the air.

From the giant’s perspective, it felt as though an incredibly dense, palm-sized object had collided with his abdomen at impossible speeds.

“Whew!”

Artian pulled her fists back toward her hips and exhaled sharply through her nostrils.

“I… I am making a sacred vow right now. Moving forward, I will absolutely, positively, never talk back to Professor Artian again.”

Karl swallowed hard, muttering under his breath after witnessing Artian’s unfathomable combat prowess, and the rest of the group nodded in silent agreement.

Kugugugugu-!

“Ohohoho! It has been an absolute age since my blood pumped like this!”

“Oh? You’re still laughing? Do you require another thoroughly savage beating?”

Just as Artian’s eyes began to gleam with renewed violence—

“Allow me to handle this opponent, Professor.”

Artian glanced over at Leo, who had stepped up to stand by her side.

“You performed spectacularly, you know.”

Artian squinted her eyes slightly, looking up at Leo who was smiling gently while patting her on the head.

“It feels as though the positions of mentor and pupil have been reversed here.”

“My apologies for that.”

“Hmph.”

Artian let out a sharp snort and crossed her arms defiantly.

“I shall take charge of the youngsters and clear out the remaining small fry, so ensure that you properly dismantle that oversized lump.”

“Understood.”

Entrusting the frontline to Leo, Artian turned on her heel and rejoined the rest of the party.

Grooaaar!

A horde of beasts began to pour out from the subterranean passage that Giganto had carved open.

“How do you intend to keep me entertained!”

Giganto’s gaze burned with sadistic excitement.

Staring back at the behemoth, Leo unsheathed his blade.

“I might find this amusing, but I highly doubt you will enjoy what comes next.”

“Krahahaha! I adore arrogant pests! However!”

A mocking smirk spread across Giganto’s face.

“A simple knight possesses absolutely no hope of besting me!”

“Are you referring to your unique aura trait that completely dampens and nullifies standard aura? The Knight Slayer, Giganto.”

“Oho? You are fully aware of my specialized aura traits and yet you still possess the audacity to face me? You are a remarkably bold creature!”

Thud-

“…?”

Giganto’s attention shifted downward toward the ground.

His eyes stretched wide with pure horror as he noticed his massive arm suddenly twitching on the dirt.

“Ugh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!”

Giganto shrieked in agony, clutching the cleanly severed stump where his arm used to be.

Leo stepped closer to the agonizing giant and spoke softly.

“Five millennia ago, you were quite a troublesome nuisance. Your particular trait allowed you to invalidate aura. And Arion was still incredibly green when we first encountered you.”

Leo had managed to suppress Giganto back in the era before Dweno had aligned with Arhi’s fellowship.

During that period, the army of the Giant King was marching its forces to lay siege to the citadel that Dweno was actively holding.

Giganto, armed with his aura-nullifying capabilities, had proven to be an incredibly vexing adversary.

Furthermore…

“Just as you boasted, that physical form of yours truly was the finest creation Gias ever forged.”

His skin, completely impervious to mundane weaponry, was also heavily infused with anti-magic properties, granting him immense defenses against sorcery.

Naturally, Luna and Licheness possessed the magical caliber required to shatter that anti-magic defense.

However, they were stretched far too thin to focus entirely on halting the advance of Giganto’s vanguard force.

‘Back then, Arion suffered his very first emotional breakdown.’

The soldiers and knights who had marched alongside Arhi’s party perished in that conflict.

Arion had been consumed by absolute fury over his own perceived weakness.

Evoking the memory of Arion, who had deeply loathed his own lack of experience, Leo hoisted his blade into position.

“What is the meaning of this! That weapon!”

Giganto’s face twisted in pure bewilderment as he stared at the mundane, unremarkable longsword gripped in Leo’s hand.

“This?”

Leo casually aimed Posteritas, the blade in his grasp, toward Giganto as if it were a mere trinket.

“This is the living proof that Gias, that miserable fool, is far from the title of the greatest blacksmith.”

“You insect! How dare you utter such absolute sacrilege!”

Kwak-!

“Cough!”

“There is truly nothing simpler to best than a warrior who relies entirely on the strength of their equipment.”

Leo remarked callously, having already severed Giganto’s leg at the ankle.

The only truly terrifying aspect of Giganto was his extraordinarily resilient hide, which standard blades failed to pierce.

It was the ultimate masterpiece crafted with meticulous effort by Gias, a smith who produced incredible gear by the standards of that ancient era.

However…

‘Such defenses are entirely trivial when facing the armaments forged by Dweno. Because the undisputed greatest smith in the world is Dweno.’

Furthermore, what Leo currently wielded was the singular masterpiece that Dweno himself considered his only true success.

Giganto’s physical resilience was completely worthless when matched against Leo’s sword.

“You miserable wretch! Do you honestly believe I achieved the rank of vanguard commander for the magnificent Giant King’s army solely due to my physical hide!”

Kwagagagagang-!

Giganto slammed his remaining fist violently into the earth.

In response, a torrent of dark, boiling lava erupted from the ground, surging forward like a massive tidal wave to swallow Leo whole.

Leo merely chuckled at the oncoming disaster and raised his open palm.

A specialized ring began to shimmer brightly on Leo’s finger.

Chrr-chrr-chrr-!

“…!”

Giganto’s eyes threatened to burst from their sockets as he witnessed the roaring torrent of lava instantly freeze solid into ice.

“Whew…”

A faint breath escaped from Leo’s lips.

“Elemental magic combined with… ancient sorcery? You… who in the world are you…!”

“You built quite a reputation for yourself as an absolute battle maniac.”

Step- Step-

Resting his blade casually over his shoulder, Leo advanced toward Giganto, a dark smile playing on his lips.

“Yet, when your demise finally arrived, you did nothing but shriek in terror.”

Leo’s gaze shifted, turning an ominous, piercing gray.

Locking eyes with that terrifying gaze, Giganto involuntarily dropped to his knees.

Thud-!

For a terrifying instant, a vision flashed through his mind—a phantom image of a silver-haired youth ruthlessly hacking his physical form to pieces.

‘…What is the meaning of this? Am I experiencing a delusion? Is this a glimpse of the future? Or perhaps… a memory from the past? What is happening to me!’

Giganto’s massive frame began to shudder uncontrollably.

“It was highly entertaining to watch someone like you, who only cared for the thrill of triumph, beg so pathetically for your life.”

Staring up at Leo’s serene smile, Giganto forced the words out through his trembling jaw.

“What kind of monster are you?!”

“Me?”

Kwak-!

Without warning, Leo’s blade plunged deep into Giganto’s eye socket.

“Ugh-oh-oh-oh!”

“The legendary hero that you feared above all else.”

The true persona of Kail, the entity that had struck absolute terror into the hearts of endless fiends in the ancient past, had fully awakened.