Chapter 264

Chapter 264
## King of Madness (3)

The colossal fist plunged downward like a collapsing mountain.

Koooong—!

The impact fractured the surrounding fabric of space, igniting a violent tremor through the earth. A deep, jagged crater split open, clouds of pulverized soil and stone surged into the atmosphere, and a tempestuous gale roared across the wasteland. All of this destruction was birthed from a solitary, unadorned strike.

A simple punch.

“Khahaha! Now this is a thrill!”

Yet the warrior confronting the behemoth showed no fear. Operating with blistering agility, his anatomy began to shift. Harley expanded his form until he stood roughly fifteen meters tall, though he still barely reached the massive entity’s upper leg.

Crack—!

Clad in deep crimson scales, he lunged forward with feral intensity, his razor-sharp talons carving deep gouges into the titan’s gargantuan arm. Robust muscle fibers tore apart, sending torrents of pale, chalky blood spraying into the air…

Wham—!

Kaboom!

…But completely unbothered by the injury, the behemoth lashed out with its arm, swatting Harley away like an insect. It possessed a staggering reaction speed that utterly betrayed its immense bulk.

“You are an irritation, tribal savage. Your efforts cannot truly harm me.”

The titan growled, its voice dripping with irritation. Already, the severe lacerations on its arm were knitting back together seamlessly.

Harley scrambled back to his feet without delay, sustained by the volatile frenzy coursing through his veins, but the disparity in raw power was stark. The kinetic trade-offs were heavily skewed against him.

*Its awareness is far too acute. I cannot exploit my smaller frame and agility to outmaneuver it. It is reading my trajectory perfectly.*

He had failed to realize this while contending with Hans, neutralized as he was by that man’s sheer aura and dominance. But now, engaging in a direct test of strength, he could fully grasp the terrifying scale of the titan’s capabilities. Even with the tremendous power Harley had unlocked through his training, victory remained elusive.

*Leading it away from the urban center was the correct path. If I hadn’t…*

Barely sixty seconds had elapsed since Harley and the Revolutionary collided, yet the battlefield was already reduced to a scarred wasteland, looking as though it had been subjected to a heavy artillery bombardment. The ground groaned, shattered and warped by the raw violence of their movements, while the atmosphere crackled with the volatile friction of aura, primal fury, and alien forces.

*…I must draw it even further out. Tarak serves as Hubert’s headquarters; I cannot permit its ruin.*

Even with a separation of more than five kilometers, he could not afford to relax. The titan had caught him off guard earlier, closing the distance far more rapidly than anticipated after he had seized Diana to make his escape. Even with the enhancements of his high-grade tactical armor pushed to supersonic thresholds, supplemented by defensive arcana charms, he had only barely managed to break away.

“Khahaha! You possess far more grit than expected! You are no mere mindless brute like the rest of your kin!”

“Ha! How dare a worm like you equate me with—!”

Mid-sentence, the titan’s features stiffened. Pivoting with sudden, explosive velocity—.

Whoosh—!

…It whipped its massive arm through the air. A violent squall tore across the terrain, obliterating the sparse remnants of foliage and brush.

And then.

“Tsk, detected already. How irritating.”

A freezing voice cut through the distance as a silhouette detached itself from the gloom. It was Heinz the Second, the Sacred Blood vampire, who had been attempting a stealth approach utilizing “Existence Denial”. He methodically straightened his attire and clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.

Before the grimacing titan could voice a retort, yet another anomaly shattered the tension.

Flash—!

A brilliant, blinding radiance ignited in the distance.

“I have located you. Degenerate, who stands against the decree of the Main God.”

Emerging alongside the luminous burst, a figure materialized, his tone measured and unshakeable. A serene, sacred aura emanated from his form, instantly tranquilizing the volatile currents of energy lingering in the air. It was Heinrich, the Saint of the Main God Church, who had utilized “Blessing: Leap” to enter the fray.

Three entities of transcendent power now encircled the behemoth.

The titan paused, its eyes narrowing before a mocking grin spread across its face.

“Khaha! A mixed-blood savage, a vampire sovereign, and now the Saint of the Main God Church? Truly, this is… Wait?”

The mockery died in its throat. Its face contorted, its focus shifting rapidly from Harley, to Heinz the Second, and finally locking onto Heinrich.

“…What are you things?”

It muttered the question, a note of genuine perplexity underlying its words. It could not be entirely certain; it lacked the precise sensory apparatus—the sense of smell—required to make a definitive diagnosis. Yet, it could palpably detect a profound, discordant anomaly radiating from the trio.

Naturally—.

“Khahaha! I am Harley, the Sovereign of the South!”

“Perish, you miserable insect.”

“Degenerate, who stands against the decree of the Main God. Your retribution is at hand.”

…None of them entertained the notion of providing an answer.

—

Kaboom——!

An earth-shattering detonation vibrated through the world. A cataclysmic eruption sent a pillar of pulverized earth and smoke spiraling into the heavens, propagating a violent shockwave across the landscape.

“Brace for impact! The shockwave is coming!”

“Reinforce the warding matrix!”

…The concussive force traveled all the way to the ramparts of Tarak, a distance exceeding ten kilometers.

Rumble—!

The kinetic wave, compressing the atmosphere and warping the very air, struck the settlement. The protective enchantment enveloping the city flared brilliantly, its magical composition tightening to absorb the blow. Though the ward shuddered dangerously, the frantic coordination of the spellcasters stabilized the barrier, preventing a catastrophic breach.

“Phew— That was a narrow escape.”

A sentinel posted on the northwestern battlements of Tarak let out a ragged breath. It was a sentiment mirrored by everyone stationed along the walls, though their relief proved fleeting. They had no way of knowing how many more of these concussive waves were to come.

“Curse it all! If the structural integrity of the walls hadn’t been compromised before, we could manage this with ease! What is the status of the repairs?! Are they finished?! What are the reports from the magic corps?!”

“They have managed to erect a provisional barrier, but achieving total restoration under these conditions is a fantasy! They are exerting every ounce of strength just to prevent a collapse…”

“…We are incredibly fortunate they chose to engage that monstrosity at such a distance. If that abomination were loose within the perimeter…”

The assessment was entirely accurate; the entire metropolis could have been reduced to ash. The sentinel glanced back at the straining spellcasters before redirecting his gaze toward the origin of the chaos.

Koooong—!

Another tremor vibrated through the earth. This particular impact was less severe than the previous ones, causing far less panic. As the mages exhaled strained groans, the soldier focused his vision, channeling aura into his eyes to peer across the distant warzone.

“What in heaven’s name…?”

“Ha… Haha… This is madness…”

He was far from the only spectator. The remaining knights on duty, left with no active role while the magic corps labored, stared out in absolute paralysis, their complexions pale and drenched in nervous sweat.

Far across the ruptured geography, where forests and ridges had been ground to dust, a titanic silhouette dominated the horizon, its scale breaking all normal perspective even from leagues away. The giant stood like an ancient monolith, its terrifying presence amplified by the malevolent shroud of energy it projected. It was an absolute force of nature, altering the atmosphere with every motion and fracturing space with every strike.

A mere glimpse was enough to overwhelm the psychological defenses of an ordinary man. It was an entity that existed entirely outside the boundaries of standard warfare. The knights only retained their composure due to the vast distance, the shielding ward, and their advanced martial ranks. The common infantrymen had lost consciousness the moment the colossus appeared.

Rumble!

Before the eyes of the select few capable of processing the spectacle, a clash born of myth was taking place.

“Is this an illusion? It defies reality.”

“Puh— I understood his reputation was formidable, but this eclipses any tale. I have truly been blind to the world…”

Confronting the seemingly invincible titan, a trio was not merely enduring the assault, but actively forcing the monster backward—moving with flawless coordination, as though guided by a shared consciousness.

There was the champion, the Saint of the Main God Church, arriving like a celestial deliverer. Beside him was the vampire lord, who seemed to have crossed over from the neighboring Talia Kingdom. And lastly…

“…Is that entity… Harley, the Dragonborn? Word was he abandoned the northern territories some time ago.”

“Harley? *The* Harley?! The one credited with that unbelievable performance during the defense of the Steel Fortress…? Is that scarlet behemoth truly him?”

“Hmm, well, our understanding of the Dragonborn lineage is limited…”

The massive combatant, cloaked in midnight-crimson scales and armed with lethal talons and fangs, looked minuscule compared to the White Giant, barely reaching its lower leg. Yet, he fought without a shred of hesitation, anchoring the titan’s focus so his compatriots could deliver devastating counterstrikes.

Harley lunged toward the leviathan’s lower limb with the ferocity of a predatory beast. The titan anticipated the movement, swinging its leg to crush him, but its upper limb was suddenly bound by an array of sanguine chains, instantly disrupting its center of gravity.

Seizing the opening, Heinrich materialized directly before its face, his consecrated blade radiating an intense light as it slashed across the titan’s eye. The colossus flinched, jerking its head back to evade total blindness—

Kaboom—!

—And Harley’s dense, armored frame slammed directly into its supporting leg exactly as calculated. As the behemoth lurched, its footing compromised, the vampire lord and the Saint renewed their offensive, their respective techniques carving deep lacerations into the massive target.

“Kyaaa—! You wretched insects—!”

The titan bellowed, a sound that reverberated through the heavens.

The subsequent counterattacks from the trio were utterly unyielding. Operating in perfect harmony, the three combatants steadily boxed the giant in, systematically dismantling its defenses like seasoned hunters wearing down a apex predator.

“Breathtaking… This represents the absolute pinnacle of martial synergy.”

“Astounding… That vampire has never trained alongside them, yet their tactical integration is seamless. Do individuals who attain that echelon of power simply share an intrinsic understanding?”

“Kuhum… Just observing this makes my stomach turn. Without the barrier, ordinary citizens would be dying from the ambient pressure alone.”

While the martial officers marvelled at the surgical precision of the assault, the spellcasters were engaged in an entirely different ordeal—a grueling war of attrition against cataclysmic elemental forces.

“Catalyst stones! We require a greater supply of magic stones immediately!”

“Do not idle! Keep moving! If this perimeter shatters, the population will be slaughtered!”

“Rotation! The Roccafellia Mages fall back, the Tenure Mages assume the focal point! Fast!”

They labored frantically to insulate the populace from the radiating shockwaves of destruction, combining the forces of the local domain with the scholars of the magic towers. As they reached the absolute nadir of their endurance, their expressions drained of vitality…

[“The situation appears quite critical. Permit me to provide reinforcement.”]

…An unfamiliar voice resonated directly within their minds. It was an intellect saturated with such refined arcane authority that it commanded immediate reverence.

“What?”

“Hold, who goes—!”

As the startled casters looked skyward,

Crackle—!

The outer surface of the ramparts suddenly flash-froze. A sheet of pristine ice raced across the structure, sealing the fractured segments and manifesting a pristine, secondary defensive shell.

“Wh-what sort of sorcery is this…? She utilized cryomancy to forcefully stabilize and patch the ward’s foundational circuits?!”

“She mapped the entire defensive matrix of the wall instantaneously?!”

“Set that aside, look at the sheer density of that mana… This far exceeds the capacity of a standard Archmage! Could it be…!”

Hovering far above the bewildered spellcasters, Isea, the Archmage who had executed the long-range intervention, offered a brief nod as she glanced toward her allies.

“I question if our direct participation would yield much benefit in a conflict of that magnitude. We might simply complicate matters for them…”

“Our primary directive is to offer assistance to the Saint. By utilizing an aerial approach, we can mitigate the operational danger.”

Lydia Granwood, the High Elf who had stood as the premier power within the Elven Kingdom prior to Harris’s emergence, spoke alongside Liesta, the Saintess possessing the most potent sacred energy. The entirety of the hero’s retinue, who had been residing at the Grand Temple following the obsequies of the Pope, had mobilized to support Heinrich.

They were not the sole arrivals, however. Another assembly of formidable individuals had converged on a separate flank.

“As expected of the High Lord! Even the Saint cannot eclipse your majesty!”

“My existence belongs to the triumph of Hybrid!”

“Hmm, the titan’s vital fluid possesses no utility. This is highly inconvenient.”

A contingent of True Blood vampires loyal to Hybrid, featuring Freesia Brokoslack, had taken up positions…

“Khehehe, the rest of you simply ensure I have adequate backing. This promises to be highly entertaining.”

“Understood! Lady Briki!”

…And Briki, another Sacred Blood vampire, had made her entry into Tarak.

The hunt for the Revolutionary had begun.