Chapter 263: The King of Madness (2)

The Steel Fortress, located at the northernmost point of Count Aonia's territory in the Tulke Kingdom.

This was the kingdom's foremost fortress, built to repel monsters from the infamous Northern Mountains.

It usually served as a base for those entering the mountains for special material gathering and hunting, and also functioned as a reconnaissance base, constantly monitoring for unusual situations.

After the madness incident intensified monster activity and a massive monster invasion, additional reinforcements were sent, making it an impregnable fortress…

"Kghk! My leg… my leg!"

"Haak, haak…"

"Move quickly! Tend to the wounded first!"

But now, it was in utter chaos.

Many injured people groaned in pain, and there were quite a few severed limbs and horribly mangled corpses.

Thud—

One side of the fortress wall, reinforced higher and stronger to withstand monster attacks, collapsed miserably, and the destruction extended to the city inside the fortress.

"Captain! Are you alright? Here's a potion!"

"Over here! Quickly, take the captain to safety!"

The commander in charge of the defense of the Steel Fortress also suffered a mishap.

The Count's top knight, leading the Aonia's First Knights, was considered on the verge of master-level.

But his condition after being pulled out from under the rubble of the collapsed wall was far from worthy of his reputation, it was utterly wretched.

The middle-aged man, with his body completely mangled and one arm lost, received emergency treatment from his subordinates and was quickly transported for follow-up care.

"Kgh… that thing…"

"Oh! Captain, are you regaining consciousness?"

Then.

Having regained consciousness due to his strong vitality as a knight and emergency treatment with potions. He weakly muttered.

However, slowly opening his eyes, he could only clench his teeth at the sight of his surroundings.

He could understand what had happened while he was unconscious.

'The White Giant…'

He had heard the rumors about it.

As one of the main perpetrators who had plunged the entire continent into fear, along with the Immortal Army, he couldn't not know.

'But it was different than what I heard. It was much bigger, and its facial features weren't sealed. And…'

Above all— Its strength was far beyond anything he had heard.

He thought he could at least buy some time by using the magically reinforced wall.

It was a foolish misconception.

The high and thick wall, built to withstand large monsters, only reached its chest, and he and his knights couldn't resist it at all.

'Even in its damaged state, it was that strong. How monstrous was it originally?'

The giant had been covered in wounds from the moment it appeared.

But its might was overwhelming enough to make one wonder how it was still alive.

"We've already reported the situation. Captain, please rest."

"Kgh— Pathetic… Not only did we allow it to break through, but we couldn't do anything…"

"It was a natural disaster. How many people could stop such a monster? Except for that famous Saint…"

"…The temple?"

"We contacted them immediately."

"…Hoo, I hope the damage isn't too great…"

No matter how they thought about it, the monster was not something the kingdom could handle.

In the end, they had to rely on the church.

The key now was how much damage they could withstand until the secret society led by the Saint arrived.

"Oh Lord…"

With that, the knight captain, who had been struggling, fainted.

As the Steel Fortress, which had suffered a sudden disaster, fell into chaos.

The monster that caused that havoc was moving rapidly southward.

A mere day's journey by carriage.

Towards Tarak, a large city in the north.

It feels ominous.

A sudden feeling, causing her heart to pound.

She felt a sense of foreboding, as if something was about to happen, making her restless and uneasy.

"Diana? Are you alright?"

"Ah?"

Diana, the girl who had been unconsciously biting her nails, flinched at the sudden voice and replied, trying to control her expression.

"…Yes, I'm sorry. Please handle that matter as discussed."

"Yes, understood."

Having regained her composure, she finished giving instructions.

Her employees bowed their heads and dispersed busily.

"Diana seems unwell today."

"More importantly, the movements of the soldiers have been unusual. Did something happen…?"

"Come to think of it, I went to the wall a while ago, and it was…"

Merchants chatting and going about their business.

But Diana, who had come to inspect the warehouse district on the outskirts of the city, wasn't in a state to worry about such trivial things.

She took a deep breath again and put a hand on her chest.

Thump— thump— thump—

Her heart was still beating violently, faster than ever before.

Even though nothing had actually happened yet.

'Why am I suddenly like this? This is like…'

It was similar to when she smelled something 'extremely dangerous' in Azantou, her hometown.

The thing she kept avoiding and searching for for her uncle's sake.

No, it was even worse.

Unlike then, she felt her life threatened in real-time by something real.

'The vampire guards my uncle assigned are certainly hiding, and this warehouse area is swarming with mercenaries from our company. It's a place where I don't need to worry about safety… huh?'

As she frowned and analyzed the cause.

Diana suddenly covered her nose at a certain smell.

"Ugh, what is this?"

A dangerously ominous smell, enough to make her head spin, began to waft from all directions.

As a merchant, she was quite used to the smell of monster byproducts, but this was of a different order.

'…From where, suddenly?'

Her gaze involuntarily turned to one side.

The strong smell prevented her from pinpointing the exact location, but she could clearly identify the general direction.

It was quite far from this place, on the outskirts of the city.

Diana's head turned north.

And only then did she realize another fact.

Beads of sweat formed on her forehead.

The unidentified smell was.

Getting closer.

At an alarming rate.

Right towards her.

Weeeeeooooong——

Ding ding ding—!

A loud alarm sounded throughout the city.

Something unusual was definitely happening.

'Let's go back. As quickly as possible.'

As she hurried to move with her group…

Kwaaaang—!

She stumbled from a sudden shock that shook the area and could only barely stand thanks to her guard.

"What was that, suddenly!"

"The wall's protective barrier has been activated! External attack!"

"Protect Diana first! Immediately to the company headquarters…!"

Screams erupted from all directions at the sudden incident.

Not only Hubert Company's party but others nearby were also thrown into chaos.

However, the situation didn't end there.

Kuung—! Kwaang—! Kwaadduk—!

Along with successive shockwaves.

Stone fragments from the wall collided with the surrounding warehouses, causing a loud roar.

Kururung—

The outskirts were being devastated.

Buildings collapsing.

And beyond that—.

"Th… the wall has collapsed!"

"W… wait. W… what is that?"

"Th… th… that… Could it be? A… a giant…?"

Even from a distance, it was a huge being that defied perspective.

A huge white giant exuded an overwhelming sense of oppression, watching them.

With a grotesque smile on its face.

"Ah, ah."

"Ugh…"

Everyone who made eye contact with it – merchants, workers, mercenaries, soldiers – froze in place.

Like helpless lambs facing an overwhelming predator.

"Kukukuk, I f o u n d y o u—"

The giant's voice, filled with ecstasy.

And immediately after.

Kwaaaang—!

A huge impact struck the outskirts of Tarak.

My thoughts are jumbled.

My mind was a mess, unable to think properly.

What was I doing?

I left home as usual, went to work at the company, had lunch, and went to inspect the warehouse on the outskirts.

And while giving instructions… I felt something.

'Ah! And…'

An enormous white giant appeared.

Everyone froze at its gaze, and then lost consciousness from the shock of its voice.

And I…

'What… happened…?'

Just after having that question.

Diana finally became aware of a certain smell and sniffed.

A very warm and familiar scent.

Thanks to that, she quickly regained consciousness and opened her eyes.

"Ugh!"

She closed her eyes tightly again, turning her head from the strong wind hitting her face.

Into the arms of the person holding her.

"Are you coming to?"

A very familiar, calm voice as always, flowed into her ears.

"Master? What happened…"

Diana, calmed by the calm voice, cautiously spoke.

Slowly opening her eyes, she looked around—.

"Ah?"

She opened her mouth wide, blinking repeatedly.

Goooo—

Grasslands and trees flashed by at dizzying speed.

They were flying.

More accurately, Hubert was carrying Diana in his arms and flying through the air at an incredible speed.

As she stared blankly at the sudden situation.

Hubert, glancing down at her, breathed a sigh of relief.

'It was quite close. It arrived in Tarak faster than expected.'

Even though he prepared and moved immediately after the monster disappeared from the border, he almost missed it.

And the fact that Diana was on an outside inspection didn't help either.

The reason he could quickly retrieve her and escape was all thanks to one item.

The armor Howard was making.

'"All-purpose Combat Full-body Suit Mk.1 (prototype)."'

It was still unfinished, only partial armor with a few parts combined.

"Master Hubert. That armor…"

Diana, noticing it, cautiously asked, her voice sounding confused.

The suit was unusual compared to ordinary armor.

A smooth, elegant appearance made of an unidentified metal, with complex circuits engraved on its surface.

The light emanating from the core at the heart area flowed ceaselessly along the circuits, like blood flowing through veins, and it extended to the soles of her feet and the back, transforming into a fierce flame and erupting outwards.

"It's a magical tool under development. It's still a prototype, but thanks to it, we weren't late."

Hubert, provided with the suit through "Avatar Cloud," quickly grabbed Diana and escaped in the critical situation.

'I pushed it too hard, and the material life is reduced to the point of needing to be discarded. …But considering we got real-world data, it was a bargain.'

Considering the price of the materials used, it was a waste to use it once, but it was unavoidable to escape the giant's notice, even for a moment.

"Ah! What about the giant?"

Diana, who had been dazed, asked urgently, having finally regained her composure. Her gaze also sharpened.

"Ah, that giant."

Immediately after Hubert escaped with Diana, the giant immediately lost interest in the city and pursued them.

Thanks to the top-grade magic stone core obtained through the Karma store, which was overloaded, they could temporarily escape, but it didn't last long.

The giant, pursuing at an incredible speed, caught up to them in just ten seconds—.

"We were lucky. Someone who could deal with it was nearby."

It was stopped by someone who blocked its path, causing it to lose them again.

'Just in case. Until things are completely settled, I need to keep Diana as far away as possible.'

Seeing the giant's reaction, her existence seemed more important than he thought.

That was why Hubert continued to fly even now.

At the same time.

The person who bought them this respite was in the midst of a busy moment.

Kwaang—!

An explosion erupted again in an area a little distance from Tarak.

"Kgh! What the hell! How are you here? You were supposed to be in the south!"

The giant roared, venting his anger.

His reaction was natural, as one of the people who had ruined his plan was once again obstructing him.

"Khahahaha! This is a huge one! I can't miss this!"

Regardless.

Ignoring the opponent's anger, Harly laughed and charged at him again.

The reason he was here was simple.

Didn't he have "The Hero's Footsteps," which allowed him to go anywhere he had already been?

At first, it was a special ability with a long cooldown and a short range, but thanks to Heinrich continuously following the hero's footsteps, he could now go anywhere on the continent.

'I was a bit late explaining the situation to Misty.'

Anyway, the situation wasn't that bad.

The damage from the fight with Hans, along with the strengthening effect from that space, was surprisingly great. The giant's aura had clearly diminished compared to when they clashed on the border of the abyss.

'It seems its powers have weakened, since it didn't recognize me immediately.'

While he could temporarily obstruct it, Harly wasn't strong enough to win alone.

He would probably lose if things continued as they were.

"Kahahahaha—! Let's have some fun!"

"Alright! I'll kill you first, barbarian!"

But he wasn't worried about that.

At that moment.

A Blood Gate opened at the vampire's dwelling in Tarak.

At the same time, a sacred light emanated from the temple's gate.