"Is this... is this really going to be okay?"
Neneva’s voice trembled as she peered down from the top of the ladder, looking out over the defensive wall.
Her gaze was fixed on the two Orc Kings towering like mountains below. Even the Knight Order Commander, Olgos—a man who usually boasted a massive, imposing frame—looked like a mere child compared to those titans.
One wore a crown of gold, the other silver. Both monsters peered down at the humans with hideous, mocking sneers.
"Keep on... laughing!"
With a roar, Olgos leaped.
He held the Magic Sword Gigantomachia in a high overhead stance, swinging it down with a speed that left sound itself trailing behind. The air split as a crimson line carved its way from the Golden Crown King’s shoulder down to its flank, sending a fountain of blood spraying into the air.
"That’s our Commander!"
"He did it!"
Cheers erupted from the knights. But even as the blow landed, that grotesque grin remained plastered across the Orc King’s face.
"No way..."
A voice choked with despair drifted from the ranks.
Steam billowed from the wound, and the flesh began to swell and knit together. Within seconds, the gash had sealed completely. It was as if time itself had been wound back.
"Gugaaaah!"
Wearing malicious expressions, the two Orc Kings effortlessly swung their massive, tree-like clubs.
The ground shattered with a thunderous boom, leaving a massive crater in the wake of the impact. Olgos evaded by the narrowest of margins with a backstep, but the Silver Crown King’s club was already whistling toward him without a moment’s delay.
"Commander!" someone screamed.
Olgos used Gigantomachia as a shield to catch the blow, but the sheer weight of the impact caused the ground beneath his feet to cave in.
"Gugh... Oooooh!"
Though his knees buckled, Olgos held his ground. However, the Golden Crown King was already raising its arm for a follow-up strike.
"Fire! Support the Commander!"
The mercenaries stationed outside the wall released a volley of arrows. The fletching cut through the wind—but it was futile.
"It’s no use..." Neneva said, biting her lip.
There was no way arrows could hope to harm a monster that could instantly regenerate from Olgos's lethal strikes. The shafts simply bounced off the beast’s leathery hide and fell uselessly to the ground.
"Guooooh...!"
As if swatting at annoying gnats, the Golden Crown King turned its gaze toward us. Its bulging eyes locked onto our position atop the wall.
This is bad.
Olgos had his hands full with the Silver Crown King. If that golden monster charged the wall, we wouldn't stand a chance.
"Garon! No!"
Before Neneva’s warning could leave her lips, Garon’s shadow was already in motion.
"I won't let you do as you please any longer!"
Garon leaped from the wall, running like a gale. He drew his daggers and lashed out with a sharp, precise strike. An invisible blade sliced clean through the Golden Crown King’s eyeball.
"Bumo!?"
The king recoiled, but the regeneration was instantaneous. Enraged, it brought its club down in a savage arc.
"Ngh...!"
Garon rolled clear, but the sheer force of the shockwave sent him tumbling. At this rate, he was going to die. I wouldn't be able to look Rag in the eye if that happened.
"Dammit!"
My body moved before I could think. Without a glance back at Neneva, I vaulted over the wall.
"Walt!?"
I ignored the voice behind me, drawing my sword the moment I hit the ground to move in and support Garon.
The battlefield split in two: Olgos stood his ground against the Silver Crown King, while Garon and I faced off against the Golden Crown King.
"My apologies...!" Garon grunted.
"Forget it! Here it comes!"
The Golden Crown King’s onslaught began.
Garon and I coordinated our movements, striking from its blind spots and aiming for its legs with Iron-cutting. But the wounds were too shallow. Even when a blow felt solid, the injury would seal shut a second later.
It was a battle of attrition we couldn't possibly win.
The sheer scale of the power was tipped too far against us. We didn't have the stamina to keep dodging attacks that would mean instant death if they so much as grazed us.
"Gah!"
The club finally caught Garon.
He was sent flying like a ragdoll, slamming into the rubble of the defensive wall. He didn't move.
"Garon!"
The moment I shouted, a shadow fell over me.
"Crap—"
I raised my sword to guard, but I couldn't negate the impact. With a sharp, brittle snap, my blade shattered into pieces.
I was hurled through the air and slammed into the dirt. Every bone in my body screamed in protest as the air was forced from my lungs. My Iron Skin had offered no protection at all.
"Cough... hah..."
My vision blurred. Hovering over me, the triumphant Golden Crown King raised its club for the kill.
Ah. So this is how I die.
"—Please!"
A dignified voice rang across the battlefield. It wasn't a scream of terror, but a cry from the very depths of a soul. A plea to the heavens.
"Give him strength!"
The sky seemed to split open. Tearing through the darkness of the night, a pillar of golden light poured down, flowing directly into my body.
"What is... this...?"
The pain vanished. In its place, a searing heat surged from the core of my being. I pushed myself up and gripped the hilt of my shattered sword.
The light converged.
What extended from the hilt was no longer steel, but a Blade of Light that shone with a brilliant, pure white radiance.
"Gu... o...?"
The Golden Crown King recoiled in visible fear. But it was too late. I took a firm stance with the Sword of Light and stepped forward.
The world seemed to slow to a crawl. The massive club descending toward me was moving so slowly it was almost boring.
"Haaaaaaaaah!"
A flash.
The moment I swung the sword, light erupted as if the night had suddenly turned to day. I felt no resistance. The Blade of Light sliced through the club and the Golden Crown King in a single diagonal stroke.
"Gi... a... a...?"
The edges of the wound were scorched; the regeneration didn't even trigger. Instead, the Purifying Light began to dissolve the king's body from the inside out.
Without a sound, the Golden Crown King crumbled into ash.
I didn't stop. I spun on my heel and lunged toward the Silver Crown King.
"Hah!"
Stunned by the sudden death of its comrade, the Silver Crown King couldn't react in time.
I delivered a horizontal flash that left a lingering trail of light in the air.
The massive beast was cleaved in two at the waist before vanishing into ash.
As the two kings disappeared, a heavy silence returned to the battlefield.
Its purpose served, the Sword of Light dissolved into shimmering particles, leaving nothing but a broken hilt in my hand.
"Phew..."
I let out a long breath as a crushing wave of fatigue washed over me.
Total silence. No one uttered a word.
I turned around to find Olgos standing there, paralyzed. His eyes were wide, staring at me as if he were looking at a monster.
"You..."
His voice trembled as he spoke.
"Just who the hell are you?"