Lorencios was confident in himself.
No matter how many times Fernan Pellenberg had interfered with their plans, he hadn’t reached this point without preparation either.
A magic circle powered by a thousand lives.
Traps.
And, on top of that, a blood giant reinforced with corpses and more blood.
Especially because on the other side, there was no Aint Armian, someone he could consider a true rival.
No Royal Knight either, nor an Archmage.
That was enough.
It would be difficult—perhaps he’d have to burn all his books and even his own life—but if he managed to kill the crown prince and Fernan Pellenberg, it would still be worth it.
He had taken his stand with that resolve.
But then—
“…I’ve never heard of anything like this.”
What stood before him was different.
A body over ten meters tall.
Black armor, smooth like polished steel.
An overwhelming presence and a gigantic sword to match its size.
A giant.
Not some improvised imitation like the one he had created, but a true steel giant.
— Kuuung!
The giant roared, turning its body.
────!
With a single slash, it split the blood giant that had been tormenting the Black Whale Squad in two.
***
A new body.
A gigantic body.
Since obtaining the body of a golem, Wooden had never felt disappointed.
He could grow or shrink at will, was faster and stronger than ever.
With that body, he could do everything he had dreamed of as a forest spirit, and accompanying Fernan had become fun.
But was he truly satisfied? Not quite.
When one runs, they want to walk.
When one walks, they want to sit.
When one sits, they want to lie down.
Such is the natural desire of any being with consciousness.
Wooden felt it too.
He wanted a good body—and after getting it, he wanted to use it to its fullest.
He had fought several times alongside Fernan, but it wasn’t enough to quench his thirst.
Something was missing—a full-scale battle, without shrinking, using his entire strength.
A fight where he had to go all out.
Yes, he fought Andromalius, but at that time, he was inexperienced.
He didn’t fully control his body, lacked combat experience, and swordsmanship.
His one real battle had come when he was still immature.
And now, having overcome that immaturity, there were no opponents left to fight in his full form.
That was Wooden’s dilemma—and his sorrow.
But there’s a saying among humans: “After waiting comes the reward.”
He believed it, waited—and finally, that moment had arrived.
— Kyuu!
A blood giant over ten meters tall.
A rival of similar size, with power that didn’t look weak.
Wooden’s eyes lit up, and he started demanding from Fernan.
— Kyuu Kyuu!
Let me out! Now!
I want to fight, I want to go all out!
The thirst to use the swordsmanship he had trained for so long in his full form burned inside him.
And luckily, his master didn’t ignore him.
“Go, Wooden. It’s your time.”
Fernan released the spirit from the pendant.
All restraints shattered, and Wooden returned to his full form—ten meters tall, his complete body.
— Kuuung.
Alright.
From here, humans looked like ants.
A feeling of omnipotence, as if he could do anything.
But best of all—for the first time, he had another giant before him on equal footing.
And that thrilled him.
— Kyuu!
Without hesitation, he drew his sword.
He spun his body to add force to his initial slash.
────!
The boom echoed loudly.
Wooden felt the heavy vibration run through his blade and was filled with joy.
But that joy didn’t last long.
— Kyuu?
That’s it?
The blood giant split in two and collapsed like nothing.
— …Kyuu, Kyu?
Really? It’s over already?
No way. It couldn’t end like this.
— Kyuu Kyuu! Kyuuu!
Get up!
Wooden roared—and to his relief, the enemy responded.
The spilled blood began regrouping, and the giant reformed once again.
“Damn it! What the hell is that?!”
A human standing on the blood giant’s shoulder shouted.
“Fernan Pellenberg! Damn you, Pellenberg!”
The man opened his book.
“Fine then! If that’s how it is, I’ll kill you even if it costs me my life!”
The book burned—entirely—engulfed in black flames.
“No!”
A shout rang out, perhaps from his master, but it was brief.
Demonic energy burst from the burning book and enveloped the giant.
The body, once red as blood, turned black.
Wooden understood instantly.
The giant, already grotesque, had become even more repulsive.
Stronger, tougher.
At last, it seemed like a worthy opponent.
“You thought a mere golem could stop us?! None of you will leave here alive!”
Those words enraged Wooden.
— Kyu? Kyu?
Mere? Golem?
“…You heard that.”
Fernan spoke calmly from his shoulder.
“He’s out of books and can only spew empty words now. Are you really going to let a worm like that live, Wooden?”
— Kyuuu!
Unforgivable!
A pile of stinking corpses against this perfect body? Never!
Wooden took a stance, regulating his breathing as he’d seen in human duels.
He leapt—and with a roar, left a crater beneath his feet.
The blood giant reacted.
Its right arm transformed into a massive black sword and met Wooden head-on.
─────!
The clash shook the entire battlefield.
This time, the blood giant didn’t crumble so easily—but its torso was exposed.
Wooden charged forward and plunged his sword in.
──!
But the enemy’s toughness was greater than expected.
A simple thrust wasn’t enough—it barely left a crack.
“Wooden, take it seriously. Don’t hold back your aura just because you want to prolong the fight.”
— …Kyu.
That was true.
Exposed, Wooden growled and raised his power.
A green aura, born from the World Tree and his essence as a forest spirit, enveloped his sword.
“That power…! The Cursed Tree!”
If Armian’s power devoured evil, the World Tree’s was its natural opposite.
Purer, closer to the essence of this world, in direct opposition to demonic energy.
And so—
────!
Wooden’s strike was precise.
This time, there was no hollow resistance.
Sword against sword—one shattered.
The giant’s arm and weapon were cut, and its torso was split in two.
Slash—
The demonic energy and the World Tree’s power consumed each other, filling the air with an acrid smoke.
But amid the smoke, the blood giant reassembled itself.
The blood-soaked earth was drained until it dried up.
— Kyuu! Kyu?
Regeneration? Endless?
Wooden’s eyes sparkled.
He’d been holding back, afraid it would end too quickly.
Now he saw—there was no need.
“What a monster! How can a golem like that even exist?!”
Lorencios’s voice rang out in fury.
“Fine then! All the way to the end!”
“Want to drag it out?”
They both realized at that moment—neither side had the upper hand.
The World Tree’s energy and demonic energy canceled each other out.
That’s what the enemy was aiming for—a battle of endurance.
“How long can that huge golem last?! He’ll be a pile of junk soon enough!”
“That’s what he says, Wooden.”
But Fernan replied.
“Really? In a long fight, you’ll turn into useless scrap?”
Wooden answered with a deep laugh.
— Kyuu, Kyu.
Never. Not ever.
And he unleashed his power.
Branches and roots sprouted from his body and sank into the ground.
— Kyuu! Kuuuung!
Infinite energy!
As long as nature existed in the world, his magic and aura would never run dry.
“…Im…possible. The World Tree?”
The enemy’s face twisted.
Wooden found it funny.
— Kyuuu!
Here I go again!
He raised his sword and charged.
The blood giant reluctantly charged as well.
“That can’t be! Die!”
“You think your spellless magic can touch me?”
The two giants clashed swords, and the magic from both mages engulfed the world in chaos.
***
“B-Back!”
“Keep your distance!”
Fernan had assumed that while Wooden and the blood giant fought, the monsters and demons would attack the crown prince’s group.
But he was wrong.
─!
──!
The battle between the two giants, and the magical duel between the mages atop their shoulders, turned not just the village but the entire surroundings into a devastated field.
Monsters, demons, humans—all were hit by the shockwaves.
The prince reacted quickly and ordered a retreat, but the beasts blindly followed the corrupt ones’ commands.
“…Wow, they really are idiots.”
Gismond laughed as he watched the monsters charge into the giants’ battlefield without thinking, only to be crushed in the process.
Not all died in the shockwaves, but the damage was severe. Those who made it out were covered in wounds.
And those weakened monsters and demons were no match for the Black Whale Knights or for Luina.
The prince’s group finished off the last of the demons far from the village center.
With a sigh of relief at still being alive, everyone turned their eyes once again to the fight still raging.
Giant versus giant.
A battle that, aside from one person present, no one had ever imagined witnessing in their life.
“…Sir Krams.”
“…Yes, Your Highness.”
“What do you think of that?”
“…It’s an incredible golem. Not only does it think for itself—it also absorbs mana from the surroundings to withstand long battles.”
Moreover, it was skilled in swordsmanship, and that style—it was Altrierc’s.
Alprosen and Altrierc knew each other well, as they had sometimes fought and sometimes traded across the desert and lake that separated them.
“Who do you think will win?”
“Both are impressive, but I lean toward young Fernan and that golem.”
The reason was simple.
The blood giant’s blows couldn’t damage the golem—but the golem’s could cut it down.
The giant’s constant regeneration was concerning, but after seeing it put down roots and absorb mana from the surroundings, that concern vanished.
“It’s not that the giant’s attacks are weak.”
The ground exploded and trees vanished with every strike—a testament to its power.
Krams didn’t even dare to think about interfering in that fight.
“So?”
“The golem’s armor is incredibly durable. I could swear it’s coated in adamantite—that legendary metal…”
“Is it possible to get that much adamantite?”
“…I don’t know, Your Highness. But being the Pellenbergs, maybe.”
“That’s true, too.”
It was hard to argue when the proof was right before his eyes. If it wasn’t adamantite—what else could it be?
“And the mage? Could he fall first…?”
The mages on the shoulders of the golem and the giant were exchanging spells.
Their level far exceeded the prince’s—and that of any mage present.
“He won’t fall.”
The answer came from Luina, not Krams.
“Fernan is a great mage. Even if he denies it, he’s strong enough to win any magic tournament.”
“A magic tournament…?”
At the Academy, that tournament wasn’t just for students—it gathered the best from the entire continent and crowned the strongest.
Winning there meant surpassing most veteran mages.
“…I’d heard Fernan Pellenberg was ranked tenth.”
“He’s first now. He just hides it because he likes keeping things secret.”
Luina’s eyes gleamed with confidence. She didn’t show a shred of doubt that Fernan would lose.
“Young Master doesn’t want that known, but it’s the truth.”
Hyde chimed in.
“…I see.”
The crown prince accepted the explanation without hesitation.
Why would someone hide a talent like that? He didn’t understand.
But seeing that Fernan had even hidden such an incredible golem, it was clear he had that strange habit.
“Tell me, Sir Krams.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Do you think… rumors will spread after this battle?”
“Without a doubt. Just look at the faces of the soldiers and mages.”
The soldiers, forgetting the war, watched the fight in awe.
The mages even more so—all eager to study that golem if they survived.
“…If word gets out, will I really have to pay the three months’ kingdom budget in damages?”
“Your Highness, how could you do something so reckless…!”
That was a comment one should never make to a prince.
But neither the order’s captain nor the prince himself were in the mood for reprimands.
“I didn’t know.”
The prince lamented.
“I didn’t know it would be like this! How was I supposed to imagine it?”
He wanted to rip out his own tongue for what he’d said barely twenty minutes ago.
____
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