Chapter 98

“…It’s annoying.”

Beryl retrieved his outstretched sword and stepped back.

The problem was that it wasn’t by his own will, but rather forced upon him, and the bigger problem was that the one forcing him wasn’t even a gigas, but a pitiful exile who might have been expelled long ago. To make matters worse, this exile had sustained a serious injury with a massive sword embedded in their abdomen before they had even fought Beryl.

Though he hadn’t given it his all, the bizarre posture and the strange movements derived from that stance made it feel oddly tricky during the fight.

Physically, he had the upper hand.

He was a finely honed body, far superior to an ordinary titan, but there was a significant difference between a titan known as a gigas from birth and just a titan.

He couldn’t finish it easily, and Silv’s attacks didn’t even graze the hem of Beryl’s clothing.

Yet, during this ongoing strange battle, Beryl frowned and stared at his opponent in front of him.

Blood flowing down from the wound below the abdomen had stained his pants a dark red, and the upper half of his clothing had been nearly cut away by the sword, leaving little trace. It looked as if he was wearing a garment made from the blood he had just etched onto himself.

However, his gaze still held an unbroken resolve, maintaining that strange posture.

It wouldn’t have been surprising if he had collapsed long ago; instead of tiring, he seemed to sharpen his attacks.

Just earlier, due to pride, he had pretended to be relaxed and almost let a hit through, which made him retreat.

Besides, although he wanted to avoid giving any blow to an exile, deep down inside, he felt it was a blow he couldn’t afford to take as a gigas.

Admitting that he felt pressure from a punch swung by such an exile was humiliating.

“Still, it’s good that those humans who were chirping like birds have gone quiet.”

Beryl’s gaze leisurely swept through the village.

The humans who had cheered every time the giant brothers defeated other giants gradually quieted down until they had become as silent as if they were dead.

In an instant for Beryl, but for the humans, they thought they were far away, yet he could see their terrified eyes peeking out from between the buildings.

Among them were some humans running away, not even looking back as they fled over the collapsed stone walls and palisades.

“Haah—haah.”

That was only natural.

Silv, right in front of Beryl, looked like he could become a corpse at any moment.

Even if humans, unskilled in fighting and struggle, could see Silv’s serious condition from a distance, they could easily sense that Beryl was going easy on him.

“Silv…! Ugh!”

It wasn’t as if Golb was being humiliated as much as Silv, but he was also in a tough situation.

After taking down five, five more had emerged.

His stamina was wearing thin, and the giants who had already suffered many losses cautiously closed in on Golb, on guard.

They didn’t charge in recklessly, nor did they give him any openings.

Even if they combined forces, they would be a sufficient threat for the exhausted Golb, but having already lost more than ten comrades, the giants seemed to adopt a strategy of patiently restraining Golb’s movements while waiting for Beryl to take care of Silv.

“How about it? Even now, how about begging for forgiveness? Who knows? Maybe merciful me would forgive you.”

“…Get lost, coward.”

“Oh, really.”

Beryl’s expression turned cold.

“You’re thoroughly unlucky. Let’s end this. You’ve spoiled my mood.”

Bang!

With that, Beryl’s body accelerated.

The mass of a titan, a calamity in and of itself.

However, unlike other titans, the quality of the muscles forming his body seemed different, and while it felt sluggish compared to the other titans, his speed was so quick that to human eyes, only an afterimage would be visible.

The massive sword pierced through Silv’s body.

“Silv!”

Seeing the sword’s position appear to be close to Silv’s heart, Golb let out a scream-like roar.

However, Beryl, who had thrust the sword in, withdrew his hand from the embedded blade and stepped back.

It had been a very brief exchange.

Silv, who was already at a disadvantage in speed, did not evade Beryl’s thrust but took it head-on, avoiding only the target, the heart.

‘Cough.’

As the sword sliced through the ribs and some of the intestines while burying deep within his body, Silv clenched his muscles tightly, enduring the pain.

The agony, and whether the sword had snagged on something, made even breathing feel difficult.

Yet, just as the sword pressed against his muscle and couldn’t be pulled out, he reached out towards Beryl’s arm.

With all his might, he squeezed to crush it.

If it had been the ordinary giants he had faced before, the bones of the wrist would have easily been crushed, but Beryl’s bones and muscles were much tougher and denser compared to the other giants.

However, feeling the pain in that crushing grip, he swung his fist toward Silv’s face, and the impact caused Silv’s hand, which had been squeezing Beryl’s arm, to lose its strength.

Yet, as the hand that had been holding his arm lost its strength, Beryl’s clothing wrapped around his arm was torn apart as well.

Now, with two swords embedded in his body, Silv smiled grimly, blood trickling from his mouth as he glared at Beryl.

“…You.”

Beryl gritted his teeth, and as he approached the almost lifeless Silv, his body suddenly staggered.

‘…?’

Unaware of why his body wobbled, a feeling of confusion overtook Beryl as he sensed something flowing from his mouth and moved his hand to touch it.

A damp, viscous liquid.

The dark red liquid was proof of life flowing from the entirety of the corpse-like opponent before him.

To Beryl, who had reigned as a gigas for so long, it felt far too alien to be his own.

As he lowered his head, part of his rib cage, which had been made large to accommodate the giant’s body, had crumpled into a fist shape.

‘…Was it when I was caught just now?’

On the wrist that Silv had held, it bore a deep blue bruise in the shape of that held hand.

“Finally… got a hit.”

Enduring the rising congestion, while blood trickled from his mouth, Silv sneered at the bewildered Beryl.

“I’ll kill you… I’ll kill you.”

Shame. Humiliation. Along with that, anger rose.

Beryl drew his sword.

It wasn’t a mediocre chunk of iron taken from his subordinates but the very sword of a gigas, thrust into the body of a dragon.

“Are you afraid…? You’re stuttering.”

“You lowly bastard!”

Beryl’s feet slammed firmly onto the ground.

With that, the muscles from his calves to his thighs bulged as he leaped, and his clothes tore apart like they had exploded from the sheer force.

“…Ah.”

With that, a sigh escaped Golb’s lips.

Beryl was already moving at a speed he could not evade.

Moreover, with accumulated injuries, bringing another blade deep into his body.

And just as if that hadn’t been using his full strength until now, he jumped toward Silv at incredible speed, plunging the sword into Silv’s body once more.

It was over.

Golb sensed it.

There was no chance this time, just like earlier, for it to miss the heart.

This time, it had definitely pierced through.

As if to prove that, Beryl cursed Silv with a face flush with rage.

“Bug! Trash! Lowly thing! You dare! You dare! Ignore me!”

Beryl swung the sword, which was embedded in the center of his chest.

“Serves you right! You should have buried your head in the ground and begged for mercy—.”

“Your tongue is long.”

Beryl’s mad babbling suddenly halted.

Even though his heart was pierced and being thrashed about, Silv looked at him with eyes filled with a terrifying intensity, and for a fleeting moment, Beryl’s raging fury was stifled.

“Or is your head… strange? I could help you.”

Silv’s outstretched arms grasped Beryl’s face, and with that intense pressure, it bore down on Beryl’s features.

The pain made Beryl’s anger chill suddenly.

“Let go! Ugh! Let go of this!”

In the agony of his face being crushed, Beryl swung his fist and legs at Silv.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The sound resonating throughout the village was like that of a massive drum.

With every swing of his fist or leg hitting his body and kicking the sword embedded in him, Silv’s body trembled, and blood gushed from his mouth, while Beryl became drenched in blood.

Yet his strength did not diminish.

“Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!”

Terror gleamed in Beryl’s eyes as he began to flail about.

As the giants sensed that things were not going well and tried to rush towards Beryl.

“Look at me—!”

Golb, with his eyes turning red, stood in the way of the giants charging towards Silv.

His younger brother. Silv was burning his last spark of life.

Abandoning all cautious movements that had been made to face many, he attacked the giants, seeking only to reach Silv with lethal intent.

“Don’t get in the way!”

Golb’s body pierced with a sword.

‘For a trivial thing!’

His younger brother Silv had already had three of those huge blades embedded within him.

With all his remaining force, his punch struck the head of the giant who had plunged the sword into Golb, and skull and brain burst forth, spraying everywhere.

The giants that attempted to block Golb were momentarily frozen in fear from his fierce aura.

“You fools! What are you doing? Isn’t Beryl in danger!”

However, a titan wielding a sword who appeared to be of the warrior class seemed to snap back to reality and charged towards Golb.

Was it because they thought time was running out?

In the midst of Beryl’s increasingly loud roars, the sword wielding giant threw a sword towards Silv.

Whoosh!

“Ah.”

One sword flew and embedded itself into Silv’s side.

With that, the hand that had been squeezing Beryl’s head loosened, allowing it to find freedom once more.

With his legs seemingly giving out, Beryl stumbled down awkwardly, and Silv looked down at him.

“Ugh—! Ugh—! You… you bastard!”

In the interim, with his teeth and jaw broken, he howled as if the air was escaping.

Bang!

“Go back! Don’t trouble Lord Silv!”

“Leone!”

A young girl burst forth from behind Silv, throwing stones at Beryl while screaming, as her mother rushed over, trying to take her away.

“Come here quickly!”

“Lord Silv is hurt so much! It’s the mean giants’ fault! Leone has to protect him!”

Beryl’s gaze fixated on the mother and daughter.

With an expression that seemed lost to reason, filled with madness.

“With a lousy bastard… with a lousy… mug… you dare… gigas…”

“Hic!”

Under that intimidating aura, the mother seemed stunned and sunk to the ground.

Beryl’s hand reaching out toward the mother and daughter was stopped.

“Look at me… coward…”

“Wh-what…?”

Once again, the pressure on his arm awakened the fear that had filled him just moments ago.

But no further action was taken.

“…Huh… Huhuhuh.”

Beryl lifted his body that had fallen to the ground and unleashed a torrent of attacks towards Silv.

“I’m gonna kill you! I’m really gonna kill you!”

With each swing of Beryl’s fist, blood sprayed everywhere.

Beneath Silv’s feet, who had yet to move an inch, a small pool of blood formed.

Yet.

“What… What… are you!”

Only managing to move slightly and deflecting a few punches, one of Silv’s arms was already broken and dangling.

With just one arm raised, Silv continued to look at Beryl, still filled with terrifying intensity.

“Get lost! Get lost!”

As time passed, fear began to show in Beryl’s eyes, even as he attacked Silv.

The remaining titans under Beryl, Golb, and the humans quietly watching in fear all became silent, as if overwhelmed by something.

A mysterious aura began to fill the entire village.

“What… What… are you…”

Four blades stuck in his body, twisted and tearing at the insides.

Blood had dyed his clothes so thoroughly that no bruise was visible.

One arm broken.

Yet, Silv still stood upright.

“…Ugh…”

Beryl tried to retreat from the foe he could not comprehend with his mind.

Then he turned to the giants and shouted.

“Get rid of this bastard! Kill him! Kill him!”

Just as Beryl shouted, white flower petals suddenly fell around him.

“Was it shallow…? Of course, it’s because he’s missing an arm!”

“…Antrea!”

Golb shouted at the giant that had suddenly intruded and cut Beryl’s cheek.

“…No wonder it seemed late, but such a tragedy…!”

Antrea gasped at the horrific appearance of Silv.

However, as she looked around and saw the dead giants, realizing the power had shifted towards them, she raised her sword towards the giants.

“This is the land of humans, Pohenornia! Infamous giants! Move back! Otherwise, you’ll all bury your bones here!”

Having suffered numerous losses, including a gigas like Beryl in such a state.

Moreover, the odd human wielding the strange flowers had suddenly appeared, causing confusion among the giants.

Then, one giant who appeared to be the highest-ranking among them fixed his gaze on Golb.

Golb, seeing that gaze, gritted his teeth in anger yet nodded.

Even if the power had shifted in their favor, Beryl was still standing tall, and the giants still had plenty left.

Above all… Silv was at his limit.

Because of these worthless creatures, he couldn’t let the last remaining words escape with his brother.

“Get lost! Get lost! You bastards!”

Remaining giants would drag Beryl away in chaos.

Watching that scene, Golb sneered inwardly.

Beryl’s physique still stood strong.

He could break free from the giants dragging him away any time he wanted.

But to not do that meant, yes. Beryl was terrified while forcing himself to feign being dragged for the sake of pride.

By such lowly beings.

Golb brushed aside the unnecessary thoughts and dashed toward Silv.

“Silv!”

“…Brother?”

He felt the life draining from Silv’s eyes as they turned to look at him.

Even with his eyes wide open, it was clear he couldn’t focus properly on himself, causing Golb’s heart to clench tightly.

He had surmised, and he was prepared, but it just didn’t hit home.

“Yeah, it’s me. They all fled. We won.”

“Did… many people… not get hurt?”

“Yeah… they’re all safe. The houses probably took some damage.”

“Did I… do well?”

“Of course.”

Golb said while watching the brave girl staring blankly at Silv.

“I’m a bit… tired…”

“You’ve used a lot of strength. Don’t talk more. Your wounds will worsen. It’ll make healing more difficult.”

“…I miss my master.”

Master. Where are you? Silv, my brother is desperately searching for you.

“You’ll be able to see him soon. He will come after helping Priegoss. You’ve done a great deed, so he’ll reward you well.”

“A reward… honey cookies… he said he would make me something big.”

“Absolutely. Having accomplished something great, he will make something truly grand for you.”

“Hehe…”

For the sake of humans. Even after having so many swords pierced into his body, this child did not retreat an inch.

Ever since meeting his master, he had never once broken the promises he had made. This pure and kind child sought out his master at the end of his life.

“…I’m tired.”

“Silv… Silv!?”

“…Ah. Green… butterfly.”

Whether he saw some kind of vision, Silv’s gaze drifted into space, and the light of life finally vanished from his eyes.

“…Silv?”

Silv, with a faint smile, stood upright and lowered his head, not responding to Golb’s words at all.

“…Mother has passed away. But… you too… you can’t do this to me. Are you going to leave this world with just me?”

The people could not search for words as they looked at the weeping giant holding his brother’s corpse.

After a long time of sobbing, Golb began to pull the swords embedded in his brother’s body one by one.

The gesture felt almost reverent, and the people silently paid their respects.

Once all the swords were removed, Golb removed his outer clothing and wrapped it around Silv’s battered torso full of injuries.

Then, he gently laid the standing Silv down on the ground.

Unlike his massive body, like the kind giant he had been in life.

That gigantic body was gently and quietly laid to rest on the ground.

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