Chapter 206

#206 Little Lion and the Giant’s Dream

When I first opened the door, what was before my eyes was a horde of thieves.

When I opened the second door, I saw a worn-out and brand-new pair of skilled fighters.

And when I opened the third door, there was only one presence.

The scarlet armor radiated a heavy yet alluring glow.

Emblems resembling a tiger and a bear prominently showcased their presence.

A massive sword, nearly resembling a club, and a belt that seemed like a natural extension of the body.

It was a figure from my memories.

An opponent I couldn’t forget.

The champion of the arena prepared for battle against Adelheid.

The magical power radiating from their body and their impeccable stance hadn’t changed one bit.

But for some reason, Adelheid realized she felt oddly disheartened.

It was a reunion she had been longing for. A much-anticipated rematch.

Yet, astonishingly, her heart wasn’t racing.

As she pondered this with confusion, her body instinctively moved.

Thud!

Two footsteps hit the arena floor.

Two shadows rushing head-on.

The attack she selected for the first strike was a diagonal slash, identical to that of her mirrored reflection.

Boom!

It was the owner of Amaryllis’ belt on either side.

The clash of phenomenal strength between two powerful forces produced a terrifying sound.

Neither strength nor momentum prevailed, and the sword that aimed to split the opponent fell short, drawing a large arc in the air.

The attack she selected was the same again.

Using the recoil for a reverse slash, she aimed diagonally from the lower left.

Crash! Boom! Bang!

Same physical abilities. Same power type. Same two-handed weapon.

A battle of equals unfolded.

Being equals made the outcome painfully predictable.

With each blade clashing, Adelheid’s strikes subtly quickened.

Each clash of strength made Adelheid’s strikes gradually heavier.

[‘Tin Knight’ says that physical abilities do not grow rapidly in a short time!]

[‘Tin Knight’ also says that the skills in handling the body can change, good or bad, in a short time!]

Kalidahs was strong but a fixed opponent from the past.

But Adelheid was still growing in this very moment.

A difference of a single toe became a half-step difference, and a half-step turned into a full step that surpassed the shadow of her opponent.

Swish!

A large gash carved into Kalidahs’ chest.

The overflowing aura caused her helmet to get damaged, and a piece of it fell to the ground.

Adel was on high alert.

This was the territory her past self had reached as well.

Of course, she had to exert her full strength back then and needed to borrow the power of the purple lightning (which she had only recently realized), unlike now where she reached it effortlessly.

But Adel understood.

Kalidahs’ true strength was just about to begin.

Thus, she braced herself for the upcoming storm.

“Huh?”

She soon let out a dazed sound at the sight of the empty contents peeking through the broken helmet.

There was no crimson hair like freshly spilled blood, no violet eyes burning with animosity existing there.

《An error in the simulation has been detected. Starting correction process.》

Not the playful voice of the White Witch, but a mechanical voice like the one she heard in the library echoed through the air.

Immediately after, something like noise began to gather around Kalidahs’ body.

Although it had a tendency to be somewhat underrated since the creation purpose was a simple game, the Gamebook was one of the masterpieces crafted by the North Witch.

If utilized properly, it could create hundreds of thousands of soldiers, staging a battlefield where they would get entwined.

Reproducing a ‘person’ that was merely a bit strong wasn’t very difficult.

Yet, the air creaked.

As if the remaining resources were insufficient, the book began to recover previously implemented resources while making new investments.

The spectators that filled the surroundings vanished. After that, aside from the arena where two people stood, even other buildings disappeared.

The more the resources that composed the world were slashed away, the more Kalidahs’ appearance transformed.

The insides of the armor, once filled with emptiness, began to fill with blood and flesh.

Her presence surged, grew, and magnified.

At that moment, Adelheid realized something strange.

‘No, this is not.’

What stood before her was no longer the champion of the arena she fought against.

Even the berserk state of the Tin Knight’s Kalidahs did not exude this level of presence.

That was impossible.

Reproduction occurs based on memories.

The strength of Kalidahs recalled by Adelheid and the Tin Knight was certainly not at this level.

Then whose strength was this?

Whose memory was this?

The world became overwritten.

***

“Hah. This scouting method is good for avoiding detection, but the efficiency is too poor. Sending out a hundred, I might get lucky with one or two.”

“Well, it seems like your skill has improved; don’t you think you’re gradually learning how to see the ‘right moment’ you desire?”

“That’s true, but… hey, wait a second. You’re leaking magic like a sieve. I’m already annoyed waiting for recovery time.”

“Huh? Oh my. This isn’t me sending magic. It’s moving on its own and heading toward the Gamebook. Also, something seems off with Adel’s belt too.”

“They’re resonating with each other…?”

***

When she came to, Adel realized her field of vision had risen significantly.

From head to toe, from her heart to the tips of her fingers and toes, power surged through her.

Adel instinctively felt that, as she was now, she could throw a huge ship as if it were just a pebble.

She could crush any ordinary house with a mere flick of a foot and uproot even a decades-old giant tree as easily as a weed.

That, a giant being truly like a disaster.

A tiny life that could barely reach the giant’s ankle stood in the way.

“How dishonorable you must be. You lot.”

The words escaped from Adel’s mouth.

No, the words slipped from the mouth of the ‘giant’ whose sight Adel was borrowing.

“When we swept through the ground, you hid in the heavens, watching passively, and now that the humans on the ground are holding out more than you expected, you hurry to send support.”

Curiosity about what the opponent would retort crossed the giant’s eyes, gazing down at the small existence beneath.

Its appearance resembled but differed from what Adel remembered.

The armor mixed with leather and metal, adorned with tiger and bear motifs, looked much newer, and the design was subtly different. The sword in hand was also much more massive than she knew.

But above all, the sword wasn’t made of metal but of a gigantic emerald.

Since there was no helmet, the crimson color reminiscent of spilled blood danced in the wind.

The once purple eyes filled with animosity, now stared blankly, devoid of any feeling, at the giant.

Despite being insulted by the giant, that expression was remarkably indifferent, as if there was no intention to respond to the giant’s words.

As if there was no need to converse with an enemy.

The giant clicked its tongue, clearly displeased.

“Truly, you angels are irksome. Meeting a knight, as rumor has it, would certainly make for a more worthwhile battle.”

The giant filled its limbs with strength.

To crush the tiny being before it, the giant raised the club it held high.

“Get out of the way, puppet of the false king! I will deal with you and show the heavens our wrath!!”

The club came crashing down at where Kalidahs was.

Boom!

Just like breaking thin plywood, the earth, struck by the giant’s blow, split left and right, forming an inverted triangle.

No one could defend against that. Adel thought.

It’s not over yet. The giant sensed.

And as if to affirm the latter, a burst of purple lightning exploded beneath the giant’s club.

Fwoooosh!

The club, larger than a house, was sent soaring upward as if it were a light wooden sword.

And below that, Kalidahs’ emerald greatsword absorbed the violet light.

Fwoosh!

Adelheid couldn’t express what kind of attack that was.

The closest description would be “released a blade of magic,” but she wasn’t sure if it could fully convey the massive crescent-like strike that was ten times bigger than Kalidahs’ body.

The giant swiftly stepped back, surprisingly agile for its size, and blocked the strike with its club, but still, the giant’s body slid back dozens of meters.

Buildings in what had once been a grand city were shattered into pieces at the giant’s feet, scattered as mere remnants of former glory.

“Ha!”

An exclamation of surprise escaped the giant’s mouth.

The giant reached for a nearby majestic mansion, grabbed it as if it were a strangely shaped stone, and without hesitation, flung it toward Kalidahs.

An extraordinary mass attack that would shatter not just an ordinary person but even a sturdy steel structure reduced to rubble just from a graze was racing through the air.

Clang.

Kalidahs’ actions in front of an attack that meant evasion and defense were futile were surprisingly earnest.

Swinging the greatsword, packed full of the essence of blade pressure, she sent the massive projectile hurtling back as if it were nothing.

Boom!

The mansion, which only touched the ground a moment too late, left tremendous destruction in its wake, scattering its remnants everywhere.

The giant and Kalidahs raced toward each other.

With every clash of swords and clubs, a deafening roar echoed as if lightning struck.

The giant’s power, easily crushing all architectural structures like sandcastles, was formidable, but Kalidahs, with her significantly smaller frame, was engaging in an equal battle that seemed to stretch beyond the realm of logic in this world.

‘It’s the same.’

Looking at Kalidahs through the giant’s eyes, Adel realized that the violet lightning enveloping Kalidahs shared the same power as the one she used.

The nature of that ability was nothing out of the ordinary.

Rather, if you merely considered its role, it could be deemed just a typical enhancement of the body using magical power.

It’s just that the level of that ‘enhancement’ was on a different dimension.

A child against an adult.

No, like a mantis struggling victoriously against a cart.

The battle was so overwhelming that a new map of the surroundings needed to be drawn, and finally, the giant’s right arm was severed.

The scarlet beast’s greatsword, swinging down toward the giant’s head—

《External awakening request confirmed.》

《Ending the story.》

─Adel woke up from her dream.

When she opened her eyes, another battlefield awaited her.

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