Everyone in the area including the Iron Tribe and the allied forces stared at the flames. The enormous figure made out of fire took one more step.
Thud!
Although a fire couldn’t have mass, whenever the flame figure placed its feet down, the ground trembled slightly as if a giant was walking. The flame figure looked similar to the flame troopers. For example, the fierce, burning flames made up its body, limbs, and the head that stuck out of its shoulders. However, there was also a dissimilarity such as its immense size. It was as big as a castle, and it looked like a legendary monster.
“…The fire giant,” one of the elves nearby murmured. The elves in the surroundings nodded slightly as they thought of the same thing. Zich and his companions were also not an exception.
“…Is that Renu Ent Draus’ last-desperate struggle for revenge?” Romanne’s voice was incredibly stiff; she had never felt this tense. The other elves also felt the pressure of the presence before them, but it was even more so for Romanne. The Lake’s Tear that she was holding continued to send warning signs to her. The mana from the Lake’s Tear spread across most of Mentis and burned away without a trace as soon as it approached the fire giant.
‘I can’t believe it burned water-type mana.’ The terrible power before her made her shudder and gave her an extreme sense of crisis. If this was Renu’s last struggle, it wouldn’t be favorable for the allied forces in any way.
“Yes, it is true. Since it looks like a power he dragged out by offering his life, I don’t think it will last long.”
“That kind of thing is dangerous even for a short amount of time!” Rather than a short amount of time, it seemed extremely dangerous even for a moment.
Craackle!
A change occurred on the fire giant’s face. Something pushed its face out of the surface of the burning flames.
“…Renu Ent Draus,” Romanne muttered. “He didn’t die yet.”
Contrary to Romanne who watched the situation gravely, Zich was calm. Frustrated by this, Romanne was about to emphasize the danger of the fire giant when Zich and Renu met each other’s eyes.
Although they were a considerable distance apart, Zich had no problem seeing Renu; and it was the same for Renu. He smirked.
[You…uh…uh…ah!]
As if his organs for speech or his language skills deteriorated, it was hard to decipher what came out of Renu’s lips. Yet, his voice clearly displayed the joy he felt at the moment.
Whoosh!
The fire giant swung its arm and a colossal stream of flames shot out.
Popp!
Fortunately, the attack shot far away from Mentis and fell into a lake. The fire giant looked like it didn’t have full control over its body yet and failed to maintain balance. However, no one laughed to mock its ridiculous body movements. Huge shockwaves burst out along and steamed. A huge hole seemed to have formed in the lake for a moment. The fireball struck it and displayed its colossal power.
[Uh…uh…ah!] Seemingly irked, Renu shrieked out strange sounds and swung his arm again. Thankfully, his attack missed again, and the fireball passed over the lake and struck the forest this time.
Crash! The fireball surged from far away. Like an exploding volcano, flames split the sky and remains of the earth scattered everywhere.
“Oh, ohhhhh!”
“Our king!”
In contrast to the speechless allied forces, the Iron Tribe members rejoiced. They couldn’t be happier to see their king suddenly appear the moment they were about to lose the war with a great power. Like children running to welcome their parents, they gathered at the giant’s feet.
“Our king! Please wipe out our insolent enemies before us!”
“Please grant victory to our people! Glory to our king!”
Seeing this, Zich said, “Don’t they look like immature kids running to tattle-tale on their moms?”
All the elves who heard him stared at Zich like he couldn’t believe his words. How dare Zich compare their current predicament to such an insignificant situation? Only Zich and his companions responded calmly to the situation.
Although the Iron Tribe elves ran towards the fire giant in joy, they didn’t meet a happy end.
Skree!
Like it was about to take one more step, the fire giant raised its feet. The Iron Tribe elves cheered; they thought the giant was about to stomp on the allied forces. However, what it squashed weren’t the allied forces.
“Uh, ah! Y-your Majesty! This isn’t the place!”
“We are here! Your Majesty, please go somewhere… else…uh, ahhhh!”
Crash!
Although they wondered for a bit if their king was really going to stomp over them, they didn’t have the time to think once more when a giant foot came from above. After the fire giant stomped over them, the Iron Tribe elves burned up in flames and turned to ashes.
It seemed Kandis thought that there was some kind of misunderstanding, and he poured mana into his throat and shouted, “Your Majesty! It’s us! Your loyal servants!”
However, Kandis had read Renu’s intentions incorrectly.
[Be…Quiet!]
The fire giant swung his arm again, and it didn’t miss this time. The flames struck the Iron Tribe elves.
Crash!
Even amid the explosion, the Iron Tribe elves’ screams were clearly audible.
“Kuaaaah!” Kandis had courageously led the Iron Tribe even in disadvantageous situations out of his loyalty to the king, and he was also engulfed in flames. He rolled on the ground to put out the fire, but it was futile, and he lost his life painfully. Those affected by the explosion and those swept by the flames followed suit and died while screaming.
It was unbelievable that Renu’s first attack had struck his subordinates. It was a truly ironic situation.
“…How are you going to fight it?” Lyla asked. She also felt the threat of the fire giant. No, since she had a close affinity with magic, she probably felt its danger more than anybody else.
“Don’t worry. I won’t ask you guys to fight it.”
“Then who are you going to fight with?”
“I don’t need anyone else.” Zich put Windur on his shoulders and took a very light step forward. “I’m enough.”
“What? Even for you, that’s too much!” Even though Lyla also acknowledged Zich’s strength, his opponent was way too strong. The fire giant in front of them was stronger than any existence they met so far. However, Zich merely waved his hand and didn’t stop his feet from moving forward.
Instead, he told Romanne, “Withdraw the troops. If they get dragged into this fight, they’ll die a pointless death.”
Romanne desperately shouted, “Are you really thinking about fighting by yourself!”
To her, Zich’s actions were basically the same as committing suicide. Snoc tightly hugged Nowem and shifted his gaze between the fire giant and Zich. He didn’t stop Zich like Lyla and Romanne. Since Snoc had unshakeable trust in Zich, he thought that Zich had a plan in mind. However, the fire giant was an existence that crushed common sense, so Snoc was a bit anxious.
Compared to Snoc, Hans was not even a little anxious. “Sir, how far should we withdraw the troops?”
“As far as possible. If you could, I would have liked you to take all the soldiers out of this island, but I don’t think there’s enough time.”
“I understand.” Hans bowed down at his waist towards Zich’s back; then he turned around and faced his companions. “Let’s quickly withdraw the troops.”
“…You really think that Zich can defeat that giant with no preparation?”
“Yes, Ms. Lyla.” At Hans's confident reply, Lyla became speechless.
Lyla knew that Hans’ trust in Zich had reached an almost fanatic level, but she didn’t think that he would be able to reply to her question with zero hesitation.
However, Hans’ trust in Zich was not the only thing that made him confident that Zich would beat the fire giant. “After Sir Zich got out of the castle, I saw him use his powers.”
“What?”
“I don’t know how he did it, but Sir Zich is different from usual. He probably is in a similar state as he was at Violuwin.”
“At Violuwin?” A memory flashed past Lyla. “…Perhaps!”
Romanne asked, “Is there something that comes to mind?”
“Yes, there is.” Lyla thought that if Zich was really in the same state as he was when they were in Violuwin the first time… “Then he probably doesn’t need anyone’s help.”
Snoc and Nowem, who were now able to fully assess the situation like Lyla, nodded. However, Romanne, who did not share their experiences, was left confused.
* * *
A signal rang out from the back, and the allied forces began withdrawing. Compared to them, the Iron Tribe couldn’t figure out what to do. Their enemies were in the front, and from behind, their now crazy king was blocking them. However, as the allied forces began withdrawing, an open space appeared, and they also began to slowly increase their distance from their king. No matter how they looked at it, the king was now insane. While the elves moved away from the fire giant like a tidal wave, only Zich walked towards it.
[Heh…!] Renu laughed. His face was even more marred than before, and pieces of melted skin converged and twisted across each other. It was now even difficult to say that his face resembled an elf’s.
[You…You. I…Ki…Kill…You!]
“You can’t even talk properly now.”
It was a pathetic state for someone who wanted to rule over all elves and even humans. However, the power he had right now was impressive.
[I-I am…now…s-stron…!] The fire giant raised his arms. [S-strong…er…than…yo…you!]
Whoosh! He swung his arms. The raging fire was so hot that it seemed as if it would burn everything in its path. The giant’s attack held clear murderous intent towards Zich.
Zich fixed his grip on Windur. “Even till the very end, you are mistaken.” Zich had a kind heart, so he wanted to fix Renu’s misguided thoughts.
Swish! Zich swung Windur. The fire giant’s fist and Windur collided.
Crasssssh! A loud explosion rang around its surroundings, and the elves blocked their ears once again. However, they stared at the sight of the explosion to assess the situation. Their gazes moved towards where the giant had swung down its enormous fist.
“Huh?”
“What?”
The elves all halted their movements; they even forgot to block their ears or run away. They froze at the unimaginable sight in front of them.
[…Ah?] This was also the same for the giant. Renu turned his face to the right where his fist had swung at Zich. Nothing was there. The only thing left was the flames left on his shoulder area. The fiery sparks looked like blood scattering out. He stared back at Zich—the person who should’ve been crushed by his fists and screaming in burning pain by now was completely fine. Moreover, there was no trace of his destruction in their surroundings.
[Ugh…ahhhhh…aaah!]
Crackle! Flames erupted from his shoulders, and his arm regenerated instantly.
“You can even regenerate,” Zich murmured to himself as if he was commenting about falling leaves.
[Ahhhhhh!]
Whoosh! The fire giant swung his fist again; it held enormous strength and let out life-threatening heat. However, the result was the same as before.
Crash!
Renu opened his eyes wide as he saw his arms fly off once again.
“Why don’t you start fixing your misconception, Renu Ent Dras? Even right now, I’m stronger than you.” Zich smiled kindly at Renu and said, “How was your sweet moment of hope?”