[POV: Wyliame]

<15 Meters Away>

<[Appraisal Activated]>

Again with these question marks, damn it! This ability’s totally useless if I can’t even see their stats!

“Shit, Rose… what do we do now? There’s no way we could escape from Zilnus!” Jil uttered while clutching onto his mount.

Once again, the sound of explosions blew deep within the forest as even more trees tumbled down. Can we even survive this…?

“Get behind me. You too Wyliame. Don’t try to run away, or he’ll kill you in an instant. We’ll have to fight him face-to-face.” Rose mumbled, stepping closer toward the giant with her flaming sword.

The giant looked down at us, tilting his head as he gave a horrifying grin. “Rose? Is that you? Hahaha! Oh man, how have you been?”

“...”

She kept her head low, keeping her eyes on the snow on the ground.

“And what do you mean you thought I was dead? Just because someone beat me in a battle doesn’t mean I’ve died bahahaha!” the giant laughed, bending down to take a closer look at Rose. His weighty, metallic armor made sounds of clanging as his lengthy, dangling black hair drooped around Rose like they were curtains. His musty breath stained the air as its warmth slowly melted the ground.

“Why… why are we being attacked?” Rose asked, finally making eye contact with the giant.

“King’s order, hahaha!” his chortle echoed throughout the entire forest. “This is such a coincidence, though. Do you know how badly I’ve been craving to murder you after you escaped from me last time? If it weren’t for Onas, you’d already be dead by now.”

I see… so this was the enemy that Onas saved Rose from on that day…

“Oh well!” the giant continued, standing back upright. “He’s not here, so I guess I’ll just kill you off-”

“[Infernal Volley]!” Rose interrupted, blasting her five flames directly at him.

At the same time, the giant lifted his hammer and brought it toward Rose’s attacking flames.

*Hssssssssss*

In an instant, Rose’s flames were extinguished as the giant stood completely unfazed. “Well, that was rude.”

Suddenly, the giant lifted his hammer high into the sky and slammed it into the ground with full force, causing the snow to explode in all directions like a blizzard.

“Ugh!” Jil grunted as the snow piled up on us. Both of our horses neighed and shoved us away, dropping Jil and me to the ground.

“Bahahaha!” the giant chuckled. “Horses are always such cowards!”

Out of nowhere, a crack appeared on the ground, growing larger and wider as snow began to fall into the pocket.

“Watch out!” I screamed at Rose. As she dashed away from the hole, she turned toward Ryan’s corpse and her eyes widened as his body fell right into the shattered ground.

“Ryan!” she cried, gripping her sword tighter.

“Say, Rose. Why don’t you just give up? You lost pretty damn badly to me half a century ago, bahahahahaha!”

“...”

Am I really going to die already? I just arrived in this world, damn it!

Suddenly, the air became heavy. I could feel it pressing down on me, weighing on my shoulders. My body involuntarily began shivering- not from the frigidness of the air, but from its warmth. For the first time since I set foot into this world, the air became warm, as if the cold had diminished entirely. It was a moment of the impossible… a moment that was created by Rose herself.

“I’ll fucking kill you,”

“Eh?” The giant raised his eyebrow.

“Believe my words, Zilnus. No matter how long it takes. No matter what it costs me. I’ll fucking kill you!”

“Hahaha! I’d love to see you try it! Just so you know, I’ve never lost a single battle in my entire life! Apart from that Draconic Warrior, of course.”

“Then I’ll use the very same spell that he defeated you with. [Paralyzing of the Sun]!”

A ball of fire appeared above Rose’s head, emitting its blinding light in every direction. The horses froze up as the giant dropped his hammer onto the floor, shaking the entire earth. Yet, somehow, Liam and I were still able to move.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Wow… That’s really impressive, Rosey girl! Who would’ve known that you’d have that Draconic Warrior’s magic?”

Impossibly, the air became even warmer than it already was.

“Give up,” Rose demanded.

The giant’s eyes widened for a split second, but he quickly resumed his taunt. “Wahhhhh! I give up! Kill me!”

She stepped closer to the giant. The entire top half of his body was covered in armor… but his bottom half on the other hand-

“AGHHHH AH AH HAHAH HAHA! WOW, THAT HURTS!” he roared as Rose impaled her flaming sword through his leg’s flesh.

Rose pulled out the sword from his foot and, without hesitation, instantly jabbed it right into the giant’s knee, forcing him to take a kneel.

“ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”

The giant’s roaring was so loud and powerful that the snow on the trees began to fall.

“Agh… ah… why can’t you just kill me? Do you plan on torturing me or something?

She pulled out her sword from his knee and retreated backward. “...damn it….”

“Haha… HAHAHAHAHA!” Zilnus cackled. “So you did learn from last time! I thought you’d totally forgotten about it, considering the fact that you talked so much about killing me.”

“…Rose? What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Zilnus, the Giant of Ruination. Others know him as Zilnus the Immortal.” Jil explained, shaking his head as he hopelessly stared at Rose. “We can’t win this fight. The giant can’t die. He’s invincible.”

No way…

Zilnus stood back up, slapping his leg with his free hand. “Welp! Look at that! My wound’s all healed!”

And indeed it was- the wounds from Rose’s sword completely disappeared from the giant’s leg. Not a single lesion was found anywhere.

“It was fun playing with you again, Rose. But I’m afraid that this will all have to end now. I gotta get to your kingdom, after all. Archers, take aim! I’ll let you guys have some fun now!”

!!

Just then, dozens of rangers appeared in every direction. Some sat on the branches while others peeked out from behind the trees. Damn it… have they been hiding there the whole time?

“A-archers? There’s more of them?!” Jil cried out, cowering his head next to the horse.

“No…” Rose mumbled. “Stop it! You’re fighting me and me alone! This is a duel!”

The giant leaned down toward Rose, his large strands of hair falling onto the ground. “Huh? Since when did I ever give a damn about the Warrior’s Code, let alone a duel’s rules? I’m just here to take over your kingdom, that’s all. But don’t be sad, Rose. You never would’ve won against me. Not even in a million years. Trust me, the archers wouldn’t make a single difference in this battle.”

Simultaneously, the rangers all pulled out their bows and steadied their aim toward us, waiting for the giant to give his command.

“Well, Rose? Let go of your weapon and I’ll consider letting your comrades live.”

“...”

She obeyed and dropped her weapon down in the layer of snow, allowing the sword’s flames to smother. “Please… please don’t kill them. I’m begging you. Your enemy is me, not them.”

The winds calmed down and became frosty, just as it’s always been before. Rose’s determination and warmth were no longer being expelled into the air. It was almost as if the flames of hope in her body had been smothered, just as her sword had been.

“Hahaha… Bahahahaha… BAHAHAHAHA!” the giant roared in laughter, shaking the snow off of the trees as his voice heavily echoed through the entire forest. “Did you really think I’d let go of my prey just like that? You’re too goddamn foolish, hahahahaha! Oh, man!”

…damn it. Damn it all!

Rose brought her fingers close to her hair and began to pull out the strands on her head anxiously. Her body trembled as she slowly turned toward Jil and me. Her eyes were teary. They were tears full of regret and despair… tears that belonged to someone who had given up. Although she didn’t say a single word to us, her quivering lips said everything that had to be said.

“I’m so sorry Jil... I’m so sorry Wyliame… I can’t win. It’s over. I was never suited to be a warrior.”

Jil took off his helmet, revealing his luscious green hair and smooth skin- he was a man who looked as though he was in his twenties. His eyes were relaxed and calm as he murmured, “Commander…”

He stood up and quickly ran next to her, embracing her tightly in his arms. “Please don’t say that Commander- no, Rose.”

She broke out in a cry, desperately embracing Jil back. “I-I’m so sorry…”

“Wowwww… that’s pretty damn sad…” the giant cried. “Alright, archers! Fire away!-”

“HAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLT!”

!!

I glanced around in every directions, trying to figure out where the voice came from.

“Commander Rose, the fight lives on!”

Behind the giant, a silver-haired man with a tidy beard stepped forth with his brawny steed. The man wore golden white armor that covered him from neck to toe as he pulled out the long sword from his back, the air becoming silent from his presence.

“Chief Commander Rayder!” Rose cried out.

…chief commander?

<[Appraisal Activated]>

Then, behind Rayder emerged three- no, four dozen men. All of them were carrying weapons and wearing the same kind of armor as Jil, all riding their respective horses.

“I knew it. The winds were telling me that something was wrong.” Rayder remarked as the men behind him drew their weapons. “I’m glad I came. I’m not too late, aren’t I?”

The giant turned around and began walking toward Rayder. “Eh? Who the hell are you-”

Instantly, the giant’s face was smashed by an invisible force. As a gust of blood flew into the air, the giant tumbled backward, nearly falling onto Rose and Jil.

“My name’s Rayder, but the people know me as the Chief. Sorry to ask, but would you mind not hurting my comrades anymore?”

The giant laughed, his face already healed from the attack. “Hah! My name’s Zilnus! Archers, lower your weapons!”

I glanced behind. The archers that were sitting on the branches disappeared altogether as the ones that were on the ground withdrew their bows and went back to hiding behind the snowy trees.

Rayder slowly climbed off his horse, still clutching onto his sword. “Zilnus, the Giant of Ruination, right? Or was it Zilnus the Immortal?”

The dozens of warriors that followed Rayder from behind all got off their mounts and quickly began to position themselves in a formation.

“Huh? I’ve heard of people calling me the Giant of Ruination but I haven’t heard of the other one before. Am I that famous around here?” Zilnus wondered.

The tension in the air felt thick, almost as if the two powerful warriors in front of me were waiting for the opposing side to make a move.

“I, the chief commander of the Amber Kingdom, have come to declare a proposal.”

The giant tilted his head and leaned his hammer over his shoulder. “Oh? It better be good then!”

Rayder closed his eyes and took a deep breath, withdrawing his sword behind his back. “We can resolve this peacefully. Let Rose and her companions go, and your archers won’t have to die. We can all walk back home without a single scratch on our bodies.

“...”

Zilnus scratched his head and turned around to look at Rose. She sat on the floor, completely frozen from fear as Jil was seated next to her with a hand on her shoulder.

“Let’s see… what did my king say again? Hm… think… think…” the giant began. “Ah! I remember now! The king told me, ‘kill whoever gets in your way. Whatever it takes, we will take over the Amber Kingdom and slay the king who commanded Cervos.’ I’m a pretty faithful giant, so I’m gonna have to decline your offer, sir Rayder.”

…what? Did I hear that correctly? Slay the king who commanded Cervos?