The Fall of Tagent

Before us stood the remains of what had once been a small tiger clan camp in the

middle of the Kuwana Prairie.

The giants in the Black Forest off to the south were slowly making their way up north,

laying waste to tiger clan camps as they went. Or at least, that's what I'd been told by

the tiger clan warriors after they finished slaying the dark giants outside the camp.

They were currently searching the ruins in the hopes of finding survivors. But by the

dark looks on their faces, it seemed as if prospects were grim. After all, it hadn't been

a large camp to begin with, and it had been attacked by ten dark giants.

That made the boy who'd come to the Ena clan seeking help was the sole survivor of

this tragedy.

The warriors had been in high spirits just moments ago, after killing the last of the

giants, but that mood quickly soured as they came face to face with the fate of their

comrades.

While I had access to magic spells that could revive the dead, they were of little use

here, given that almost all the victims were either missing heads or were just heads—

and even more of them were likely half-digested in the giants' stomachs. I'd already

learned my lesson about trying to bring back people who were too far gone after

attempting to revive soldiers slaughtered during a bandit raid.

The heavy silence and looks of mourning on Chiyome's and Goemon's faces made the

whole situation feel as if we were at a wake. Neither Chiyome nor Goemon had said a

word since Sasuke ran off. Sure, they were both usually reserved, but this was

something else entirely.

Ariane seemed lost as to what she could possibly say and simply frowned as she

watched the two of them. I called out to her, striving to keep my tone light.

"How're your legs and back doing?"

Ariane's expression lightened a bit. She rubbed her lower back.

"They're much better now. Thanks, Arc."

Of course, her lower back was never really the problem to begin with, but it didn't

seem appropriate for me to ask a woman about the trauma her backside had taken

from riding in a saddle for so long.

More importantly, it hardly seemed like the time to be making jokes.

Besides, I was pretty sure that my recovery magic wouldn't have much of an effect on

sore butts. Though, if it did, it'd be pretty handy to just cast a spell from time to time

to make such long rides more bearable.

I spotted Chieftain Houwe of the Ena clan and five other warriors approaching us.

All of them were absolute pillars of fitness, their bodies rippling with muscles and

adorned with various styles of battle dress, the likes of which were unseen on the rest

of the warriors. I figured these were the six chieftains.

Despite standing right in front of me, Houwe's gaze was focused on Chiyome and

Goemon as he spoke in a heavy tone.

"Arc, you said that these cat people accompanying you come from the northern

continent, yes?"

I was a bit confused by his question, but nodded my head anyway.

"The rest of the giants lurking around the camp ran off after a cat person who suddenly

showed up."

Even in the middle of an intense battle, a few people had apparently seen what was

going on with us. Anger washed over Houwe's face.

"Why did the giants chase after this person? Did he bring them to our camp in the first

place?!"

For a moment, I wasn't sure why he was asking me this. But the answer soon became

clear.

Another man—one of the chieftains perhaps—leaned in close and began yelling at

Chiyome.

"You can't talk your way out of this! This little girl, she knows the bastard, doesn't she?!

One of my men saw her talking to him!"

Apparently, their exchange hadn't gone unnoticed. Technically speaking, there hadn't

really been any sort of conversation per se. However, I doubted they were interested

in such semantics.

Goemon stepped between Chiyome and the yelling chieftain, glaring at the other man.

While the tiger clan chieftain had height on his side, the light emanating from

Goemon's body made him look the more powerful of the two.

Probably thinking that the glow came from the power of the spirits, the chieftain took

a step back, but he still looked as angry as ever. Goemon, however, showed no fear. He

glanced back at Chiyome again, then addressed the chieftains in a booming voice.

"That man used to be one of us, but no longer."

Goemon's words caused Chiyome's shoulders to perk up, though her eyes still remained

downcast.

"How can we believe a word you say? And why are outsiders joining us on the field of

battle in the first place?!"

The nearby warriors all focused their piercing gazes on me. While I was the one who'd

asked Chieftain Houwe to let us join him in combat, the hunting party had come

together too quickly for him to explain to the others why he'd agreed. Aene, chieftain

of the Whilee clan, knew the general story, but the majority of the people had no idea

what had brought us all the way out here.

Goemon looked out across the warriors standing on front of him. "He is no longer the

man I once knew. He is now one of the undead!"

This information surprised even me.

The chieftains were taken aback by this news and exchanged glances with one another,

as if to confirm that their ears had not deceived them. Many of the other warriors

standing by, however, didn't appear to grasp what Goemon had said. This seemed

strange to me.

Ariane leaned forward to whisper in my ear. "Undead probably aren't common out

here in the prairie, since they need mana to survive. Mana usually gathers in forests

and valleys, so people living on the plains might never encounter the undead."

She had hardly reacted to Goemon's statement. But elves could see spirits and other

types of energy otherwise invisible to humans. The moment Sasuke revealed himself,

she was probably instantly aware that he was undead. After all, she could see the

contamination of death, as she'd once called it. Indeed, the fact that Ariane hadn't seen

the contamination of death around my skeleton body was what originally convinced

her that I wasn't undead, merely cursed.

The mountain people apparently couldn't see this contamination, but they could smell

the scent of death in the air. If not, I had no doubt they all would have written me off

as an undead long ago, and we wouldn't be traveling the globe together.

"Kyii!"

Ponta seemed to pick up on my shift in mood and mewed to cheer me on. I reached up

and patted its head in appreciation.

"You, too, buddy. You don't judge people by their appearance either."

I turned my attention back to the issue at hand.

For some reason, Sasuke, one of the six great fighters of the Jinshin clan, and Chiyome

and Goemon's ally, was here on the southern continent… and was undead at that.

Though he'd been a bit on the pale side, honestly, Sasuke hadn't looked all that

different from Chiyome to me. However, his status as undead was confirmed both by

Ariane and Goemon.

"How can we be sure what you say is true?" One of the chieftains spoke up, eliciting

nods of agreement from the others.

Only two men, Chieftain Aene of the Whilee clan and Chieftain Houwe of the Ena clan,

looked at Goemon and me, as if searching for some sort of truth in Goemon's claim.

I tried defusing the situation. "There's much I don't know about Chiyome's

circumstances, but I do know that she's been searching for Sasuke for some time. It's

pure coincidence that she and Goemon encountered their one-time comrade here.

After all, I was the one who suggested traveling here in the first place."

"But how can we…"

One of the chieftains began objecting, but I started speaking again, cutting him off.

"Can we all just call it a day? Did you not hear the report that there were thirty giants

out here? Because all I counted was ten… only five of which we actually killed! We

might not know why the giants were chasing after that man, but I want you to ask

yourselves, are there any other camps in that direction?"

The chieftains—indeed all the warriors around us—started murmuring among

themselves. Apparently, there was a camp in the direction Sasuke had gone.

The warriors began crowding around the chieftains, many of them proposing they

take off in pursuit of the giants.

Chieftain Houwe spoke up, putting an end to the roar of voices.

"We must pursue the giants and secure and protect all other camps!"

His declaration was followed by a round of cheers.

The warriors immediately mounted their driftpus. As I watched them, I saw out of the

corner of my eye that Houwe was walking toward me.

"Show us what you're made of!" he said as he passed.

With that, he and the other chieftains mounted up as well.

I wasn't sure exactly what he was trying to convey, but the general message was clear.

I'd started this whole endeavor figuring that I'd earn a few favors and the rest would

be easy. But ultimately, I just kept getting myself into one mess after another.

"My apologies, Arc." Goemon bowed his head low.

"There's no need to apologize, Goemon. Besides, I don't mind going it alone from here."

It wouldn't be a problem if we were just facing some dark giants, but given that we'd

likely also encounter Sasuke, things could get awkward.

Goemon shook his head and clenched his fists. "No. He is our problem, and we can't

turn aside. Come, Chiyome."

I watched as he and Chiyome walked solemnly back to their mount.

There was something in Chiyome's expression that seemed odd, almost as if she'd

seen a ghost.

I turned to Ariane. "About Sasuke… Is it common for the undead to be running around

like that?"

Ariane furrowed her brow.

When I heard the word "undead," I imagined rotting corpses and skeletons—creatures

far different from the skilled fighter Sasuke had shown himself to be. If anything, he

was closer to how I imagined vampires. Though, I didn't know if they existed in this

world. I certainly hadn't seen one.

The only undead I'd seen move about gracefully like that were the ghoul worms we'd

encountered back in the cave near the Dragon Wonder. But their bodies hadn't even

remotely resembled humans. There were also the man-spiders in the same cave—at

least, I recalled Ariane calling them undead—but, just like the ghoul worms, they

looked nothing like humans.

Sasuke, however, looked pretty much like any of the other cat people.

Elves were generally able to see the contamination of death that hung around a person,

allowing them to identify whether or not someone was undead, but unfortunately, my

sense of sight wasn't as strong as my elven brethren.

"It's the first time I've ever seen an undead retain its living form. Fa— The village elder

may know more though."

I shook my head. We didn't have time to go back to the elven village, nor was it a

productive use of our time to think about them.

"Well, right now we'd best head after the giants."

I made my way back to my grazing driftpus and hopped up on its back. Ariane made

her way over more slowly, let out a heavy sigh, and climbed up behind me.

I waited for Houwe's signal before once again urging my driftpus into a fast clip across

the prairie, following the rest of the mounted warriors.

***

It felt as if a dark, oppressive cloud surrounded us as we rode. The general mood was

much more somber than it had been when we'd first left the Ena camp. The tiger clan

warriors' feelings toward the giants were no different than before, and while there

was still a bit of nervousness about hunting giants, that wasn't the source.

No, the dark mood was coming from up near the front—from Goemon and Chiyome,

who sat quietly on the back of their driftpus, her head buried in his back. I couldn't see

her expression.

I thought back to our voyage on the Rievbelta, when Chiyome had been excited about

sending some of the roasted kraken to Sasuke. Now that I was a skeleton, it was hard

for me to truly understand, or even sympathize with, the sheer pain that she must be

in right now.

As soon as I turned back into an elf, however, I knew the emotions would come

flooding in like a tidal wave. I wasn't confident I'd be able to think clearly when that

happened.

Honestly, I didn't think too highly of myself in that regard.

While in the body of a skeleton, I was able to keep my emotions subdued almost as

well as any seasoned soldier. But I was nowhere near the level of professionalism that

Goemon and Chiyome displayed. She wasn't quite a seasoned warrior, but she also

wasn't helpless by any stretch of the imagination.

I let out a long, deep breath and shook my head. Though not much of a thinker, my

mind tended to wander. It'd be best to focus my mental energies on what lay ahead.

Besides, I had a sword to fell my enemies, a shield to protect my friends, and armor to

protect myself. Overthinking things was a waste or time… or potentially worse. I could

let myself, or someone else, get hurt.

Though… I'd need to be more careful about leaving my sword and shield behind in the

future.

***

We continued for some time. I cast a recovery spell on Ariane's backside whenever she

complained about it aching. Slowing down wasn't an option, so I figured magic was

the best way to offer her some relief. Unfortunately, it almost certainly looked like I

was rubbing her butt whenever I cast the spell.

In fact, the second time I cast it, the jostling of the beast beneath us actually did cause

my hand to make contact, resulting in an immediate and merciless punch to the back

of my head, sending my helmet spinning.

At least Ponta seemed to enjoy it.

The sun was on its downward trek, but still a long way from sunset. I figured it was

around snack time. Up ahead, after we crossed over a gentle hill, the tiger clan camp

came into view. It was small, consisting of fewer than ten of the yurt-like buildings.

I spotted several domesticated animals roaming around. Some people around the

camp pointed toward us as we approached, their attention drawn by the thundering

footfalls of the driftpus. The camp looked completely unharmed. In fact, it looked

rather peaceful. By all accounts, the dark giants hadn't made their way out here.

The hunting party slowed to a crawl, and Chieftain Houwe jumped off his driftpus to

speak with the people in the camp. I made to join him, in the hopes of learning what

was going on here, but the conversation was over almost as soon as it started.

Houwe conferred with the warriors in the camp and nodded in the direction they were

pointing. Then he shouted orders to his men.

"The giants passed by this camp on their way north! Change course!"

The hunting party adjusted its direction and left the camp behind.

The chieftains at the front of the formation drew their mounts close together as they

discussed something. I couldn't tell what the problem was, but it wouldn't be long

before I found out.

***

The hunting party found itself atop a small hill.

Well, that wasn't entirely accurate. The ground was no higher than the rest of the

prairie, so the area ahead was actually something of a lowland. Thanks to our higher

vantage point, I caught sight of the vast ocean spreading off to my right.

More noteworthy, though, was what I saw farther down the slope ahead—I spotted a

large, humanmade construction spreading from the shore, as if marking some border.

This construction looked a lot like the walls I'd seen surrounding towns and castles in

this world, and its immense length reminded me of the Great Wall of China. I spied

square gun ports built into the wall at regular intervals. It was clear that they were

primarily for defensive purposes.

The ports themselves were quite large, suggesting there were perhaps cannons or

fixed catapults on the other side.

Come to think of it, I recalled some of the mountain people on the Rievbelta saying that

humans lived on the other side of a giant wall beyond the prairie. Maybe the humans

owned the land here?

There were looks of shock and surprise on many of the faces around me. Had they

never seen this wall before? Though, to be fair, it was quite an awe-inspiring sight to

see something humanmade on this grand a scale.

I couldn't even imagine how much time, energy, and money must have been poured

into building such a thing.

Houwe glowered at the massive wall. "Hmph. There's no way we could have missed

the giants. But would they really come all the way down to the humans' peninsula?"

So, apparently, there was a peninsula on the other side of the wall. In that case, it

meant that the wall must have been built in order to close it off from the mainland.

But there was something about the wall that didn't seem quite right.

Large towers rose high above it, spread out at regular intervals. I supposed they could

be lookout towers, or barracks for the soldiers stationed here… but I couldn't see any

signs of life.

Anyone up there should have spotted a formation of 150 mounted warriors, and

would almost certainly be worried about this. But no one stirred, or sounded any sort

of alarm.

I looked over at Houwe. Deep wrinkles creased his forehead as he stroked his chin.

"I don't see any movement. Is the wall usually… empty?"

The wrinkles grew deeper at my question. He turned back to me and narrowed his gaze.

"No… soldiers are always stationed here. They often let off harassing volleys of arrows

the moment they catch sight of us."

I glanced back at the wall, but all was still. So still, in fact, that I wondered if it had been

abandoned.

A warrior rode in toward us, stopping right in front of Houwe. Apparently, he was a

scout sent on ahead to see what he could learn.

"Chieftain Houwe!"

I could tell by the look on his face that his report contained urgent news. Houwe

nodded for the man to continue.

"The wall's been breached! There are signs of a great battle, and the corpses of several

fallen giants."

The other chieftains, and the surrounding warriors, immediately went into a panic.

"The wall was breached?! How far did they make it through?"

"I could see clear to the other side! I assume the giants made a concentrated attack

against the wall."

The warriors began frantically talking among themselves while the chieftains looked

on in surprise.

I couldn't be sure of the exact height, but the wall looked to be about ten meters tall

from where I stood.

The dark giants themselves stood at about six meters or so, but considering that they

were tough enough to resist even bladed weapons, I had little doubt they could barrel

through a wall in a full-fledged attack.

The scout reported that he'd spotted several of their corpses, however, so that meant

that the wall had at least held up against the behemoths' onslaught for some time.

"And they breached the wall? We've never even gotten close, despite our best efforts!"

"Maybe the giants intended to break into the human towns from the very start?"

The other chieftains were in a near panic at this point. Chieftain Houwe, however, was

deep in thought, and gestured toward his scout.

"Prepare to follow this man to the hole in the wall!"

The warriors immediately moved in unison toward the wall.

It was a very short trip.

In the middle of the wall was a huge gap, nothing but a pile of rubble remaining. I could

see straight through to the land on the other side.

I counted six dark giant corpses in front of the wall, each of them with an arrow as

thick as a log piercing their face.

My best guess was that those arrows had been launched from ballistae built right into

the wall.

The bodies of human soldiers also littered the country side; there were no survivors.

On the other side of the wall, I saw a figure running across the plain.

"What's that?" A voice cried out from among the hunting party.

The figure looked to be around twenty or so, and had a short tail and animal-shaped

ears atop their head, one of which was torn. I couldn't tell the species at this distance,

but they were definitely one of the mountain people. They were dressed in tattered

clothes and had iron shackles and chains around their feet and neck.

Judging by the way the man was running for his life, I had a good idea of what was

going on: He'd likely been enslaved by the humans. After hiding himself away while

the giants crashed through the wall, he'd spotted the tiger clan's hunting party and

come running to us to seek assistance.

Just when I thought I had it all figured out, an-ear shattering roar rose up from the

wall itself as bricks began tumbling down. Out of the dust, a dark giant emerged. The

man realized he'd misjudged the situation.

The giant's cry echoed across the prairie, stopping the man dead in his tracks.

Houwe shouted out a command. "Keep the giant away from that man! Kill it!"

The warriors let out a cry and charged their driftpus downhill at top speed.

Unfortunately for me, the command came way too quickly for me to respond, and I

was left standing alone atop the hill.

Though I'd originally assumed that they were going to make a headlong charge at their

opponent, instead the rushing warriors gave it a wide birth, maintaining a consistent

distance as they circled it.

This technique was definitely not something an amateur like me should try.

The giant let out another mighty roar as it noticed the thundering footfalls and dust

cloud trails of the hunting party.

The young slave was now between the hunting party and the giant. While there was

still some distance between him and certain doom, his comparatively small legs

wouldn't carry him far. The giant's inky black eyes focused on its prey.

There was no way the tiger clan would make it in time. I had to do something to slow

the giant.

"Fire Beretta!"

I focused all my power into my fist. A second later, a massive ball of fire formed in front

of me, obscuring my vision. The warriors and chieftains who'd held back looked on in

surprise, their eyes fixated on it.

The next moment, the fireball launched, whistling as it sailed through the air straight

toward the giant. It flew over the heads of the hunting party and slammed straight into

the giant's face, resulting in an impressive explosion.

"Hey, I got it! Didja see that, Ariane?"

"Wait, you weren't even aiming?"

I'd figured that a hit anywhere on the giant would be great, especially if I could slow it

down a bit. That's why I'd decided to use one of my faster magic attacks and make the

fireball as large as possible. Granted, the giant's face was a rather large target, but even

so, I never thought I'd score a direct hit. The more power you put into a magic spell,

the harder it became to control.

By the time the warriors reached their objective, the giant was lying on its back, stock

still and thoroughly charred. Well, probably. Dark giants were covered in fur, so it was

hard to tell.

I looked at the stunned chieftains and asked what we'd do about the young slave. This

brought the men back to themselves, and they quickly hurried down the hill.

"E-everyone else was killed when the wall fell. I… I'm the only one left."

I used my recovery magic to cure the man's wounds as he responded to Chieftain

Houwe's questions. He clenched his fists as he spoke.

The man was thin and malnourished, his clothes no more than rags.

"The nearest human town is Tagent, no? Are many of your kind being held there?"

The man replied with a firm nod.

The chieftains debated what their next step would be.

"What should we do? I have to admit, it's rather fortuitous to find the wall breached

like this."

"If the giants are already going to be ravaging Tagent, why not join in the havoc?"

"We need to decide soon, or we'll lose whatever advantage we have."

"I don't know how big Tagent is, but if it's anything near the scale of Fernandes, it's

probably too big for us to free everyone."

"So, you'd rather turn a blind eye?"

While the chieftains deliberated, the warriors chimed in with their own opinions.

Then, all eyes focused on Houwe.

After a moment, Houwe dropped his arms to his side. There was a decisive look in his

eye.

"We will depart at once for the human town of Tagent to liberate the beast people. We

must not forget that humans have assaulted our camps and taken our own as slaves.

We will slay any giants that get in our way! Warriors, keep an ear open for the call to

withdraw!"

His speech was met with a roar of cheers. The hunting party split into seven platoons

to sneak their way into Tagent.

As for my companions and I, we made our own eighth platoon.

It was time for the playoffs of the Giants vs. the Tigers.

I glanced up ahead at Goemon and Chiyome and thought about the troubles they faced.

Well, we'd just have to deal with that when the time came.

***

The peninsula jutting out like a finger on the southern continent belonged to the Great

West Revlon Empire.

The port town running along the eastern shore of the peninsula was the major hub for

shipments leaving the continent for the empire, though it had grown over the years,

and now rivaled some of the biggest cities in the north.

The Hilk church located at the center of the town was flanked by two massive towers

that served as quarters to the priests and the temple knights, as well as the cardinal's

private chambers.

The contrast of the red bricks and white stones used to construct the buildings gave

them a rather elegant appearance. The white stone pillars throughout the vast church

grounds also helped it stand out from the sea of brick buildings that made up the rest

of the town.

The cardinal's private chambers were located on the third floor of one of the buildings.

This was where he made all the decisions about the church's direction.

A massive, colorful painting adorned one of the walls, a towering presence in the

room. Not to be outdone, all of the furniture in the room was also ornate and fit for a

king. A woven rug on the floor completed the look.

At the center sat a large bed, made specifically to order. The bedposts reached nearly

to the ceiling. A curtain draped over them covered the bed in an intricately detailed

cocoon of splendor.

Atop the bed lay a large, balding man with a jutting belly, drooping cheeks, and a face

reminiscent of a frog. The man's name was Cardinal Charros Acedia Industria. As he

did most days, he was currently stuffing his cheeks with fruits from a basket tucked

under his arm.

"Ahh, what a wonderful day. Those little prats from the homeland haven't bothered me

ever since I sent them off. Gyahaha! They must've just given up after they realized that

a force of ghostly soldiers was nothing of note. I have to admit, I'm quite the brilliant

little thinker. Yes, I am!"

Charros burst into a fit of laughter at this, his massive belly shaking and legs flailing

about.

His eyes fixed on some of the fruit juice dripping from his hand as he yanked the

curtain back.

"Well, I suppose I can't just idle my whole day away. There's work to be done after all.

Still, nothing wrong with being a little self-indulgent, is there?"

He continued speaking to no one in particular as he rolled his rotund body across the

bed.

The sound of someone banging on the door interrupted his reverie.

"Cardinal Charros, we have an emergency! Please, grant me an audience!"

The priest would normally wait for permission before entering the room, but he didn't

even bother waiting for Charros to respond before bounding through the door, arms

and legs flailing as he tripped over himself, landing face first on the floor.

This took Charros by surprise. Then, a scowl soured his face.

The prostrate priest didn't even bother looking up before he began speaking, the

urgency clear in his unsteady voice.

"I have just received reports that twenty or so monsters have breached the border wall

and are descending upon the town. They appear to be giants. The magistrate has

requested the services of the church to fend off the attack."

After the priest finished his report, Charros gestured for him to bow lower, until his

forehead brushed the floor. He hefted himself off the bed, his scowl deepening.

"But it's just twenty monsters, no? Why should I have to get my temple knights

involved? The magistrate has 2,000 soldiers under his command, while my men

number a mere 500!"

Charros walked over to the window, where he gazed out at the houses and cathedral

before him. The towering wall surrounding the church grounds prevented him from

seeing out into the town.

The priest, sensing what the other man was thinking, continued.

"Cardinal Charros, you can see out into the town from the church's towers. I believe

you can truly understand the peril we face from up there. Please, come with me!"

"Harrumph. I know I said I should get out of bed today, but I'm really beginning to

regret that. I wish you'd just stop pestering me."

The plump man's cheeks puffed out as he muttered to himself. Then he looked down

at the prostrate priest and let out a dramatic sigh. With a heavy shrug, he waddled

over toward the door, the priest's gaze following him the whole way. Cardinal Charros

waved the man over.

"Well, come on now, take me to the tower! I rarely have occasion to be up there, you

know, so it's not like I'd know the way!"

"R-right away!"

The priest smiled broadly, tripping over himself again as he made his way past the

cardinal. He jogged ahead, like a dog leading its master. Charros somehow managed to

keep up with him, in spite of his large girth.

The two made their way to one of the towers connected to the cathedral and began

the long climb up the spiral staircase. It wasn't long before Charros was breathing

heavily and wiping sweat from his brow.

"Wh-who decided to build towers like this? Even if we needed them, I can't see why

we put stairs in here. What purpose do they even serve?"

His body jiggled as he complained, but he still jogged his way up the stairs at a steady

clip. The man wasn't quite the fat slob people mistook him for.

The lanky priest leading the way, on the other hand, was heaving for breath, and

looked as if he might pass out at any second. He stuck his head out one of the open

windows built into the side of the tower to catch his breath, the light of the setting sun

shining brightly on his face and causing him to squint.

As his eyes adjusted to the light, he was able to take in the sights of the town below.

What he saw took him by surprise. He jerked his head back to look at the cardinal, his

voice shrill.

"Cardinal Ch-Charros! Come here, quickly! You can see the monsters!"

The tower itself was quite cramped, and his voice resounded off the walls like an echo

chamber. Charros glared back at the priest and shoved his fingers into his ears.

"Fine, fine, I got it! You've no need to yell like that."

Charros grumbled to himself as he moved his face closer to the window.

The window allowed only a narrow glimpse of the outside. Making matters worse, the

overly excited priest was also trying to crowd his face in, further limiting the view.

Using his rotund body as a battering ram, Charros shoved the priest away from the

window and looked outside. The rays from the setting sun caused him to squint as

well, but as his eyes adjusted to the light, he was able to make out fires burning near

the wall surrounding the town, though far from the church itself.

He could also make out strange beasts towering above the brick houses off in the

distance. With the sun at their backs, these figures appeared as headless shadows

against the sky. One black, headless giant smashed the roof of a building in, reached

inside, and started shoving something into a large hole at the center of its chest.

Charros watched wide-eyed as the giant munched away on a person as if it were a

mere snack right in front of him.

From where he stood, Charros could see four of these figures. The screams of the

townsfolk came to him faintly on the wind.

Charros stepped back, indentations from the window still marking his skin, and

looked back at the priest.

"Waaaaaugh!"

He screamed and stuck his head back out the window.

"What is that thing? Who would dare attack my town? Just what's going on here?!"

He was near hysterical. Charros looked to the priest for answers, but all he could do

was shake his head, desperately hoping the cardinal would know how to respond.

"Ah, yes, the temple knights! Go dispatch them at once!"

"Right away!"

The priest bowed. When he looked back up, he saw Charros running down the stairs.

"Where are you going, cardinal?"

Charros didn't even bother to turn around.

"Reinforcements! I'm calling for reinforcements, so hurry up and—"

The rotund man slipped on the step and tumbled down the stairs for a ways before

slamming into the wall and bouncing off it like a massive rubber ball. The force of the

blow took him over the railing and down the center of the tower.

The priest looked over the edge.

"Charros! Cardinal Charros!"

He was surprised to see Charros climb back to his feet and take off again in a hurried

waddle. The man must've fallen at least four floors.

The priest's mind went blank with shock at what he'd just witnessed. Once he came

back to his senses, he took off to fulfill his orders and summon the temple knights.

***

Charros went straight to the cathedral's basement.

At the bottom of the dimly lit stairs, he could make out the shape of a huge metal door,

held fast by a peculiar lock with no keyhole.

The stone stairs were covered in thick layers of dust, rarely traveled by the church's

inhabitants. The air around him was filled with a unique, almost spicy smell from what

lurked on the other side.

Charros approached the massive door and put his hand on the keyless lock.

Magic formed around Charros's palm, and the thick shackle on the lock released with

a satisfying thunk.

Charros placed his hands on the metal door and gave it a push, revealing a large, highceilinged room on the other side. Shelves lined the walls of the room, illuminated by

the magical lantern Charros held in his hand as he moved deeper and deeper into the

darkness.

Countless box-shaped coffins, all painted black, lined the shelves.

Charros was in the town's catacombs.

His eyes scanned the rows of coffins as he moved down the narrow passage, the

echoes of his footsteps the only sound in the silence.

"Why do bad things always happen to little old me? Tagent is dooooomed!"

He stopped, as if something had just occurred to him.

"Did he have all this planned before coming here? But that would mean using them

would violate the will of the pontiff. Hmm…"

He put both hands on his head as he mumbled to himself in the middle of the corpselined shelves.

Charros stood up straight, his mind set. He began moving quickly through the passage

before stopping at an altar at the center of the catacombs, where he picked up a black

box sitting on a platform.

"This is all awful, awful, awful! I'll put an end to them all—those black shadows, and

the jerks that started this whole thing!"

Charros's right hand began glowing as magic flowed through it, spreading to the black

box, which let off an eerie glow of its own.

Suddenly, the lids of the coffins all opened in unison, skeleton knights in dull armor

slowly climbing out and grabbing their weapons as they rose. They moved almost like

any live soldier would.

Charros looked around at the armored warriors and nodded. He held up the box and

called out in a loud, clear voice:

"I order you to kill the dark giants! Don't leave any survivors!"

The knights moved in unison. Each of the churches throughout the town were

connected to the vast catacombs via an underground passage.

The skeleton soldiers marched down the passageways, passed through the oftoverlooked doors, and stormed out into the town like a swarm of ants. The small

squads of temple knights standing guard at each of the churches were immediately

cut or beaten down.

The skeletons numbered around 10,000, a full third of Tagent's population. Slowly but

surely, the town fell into chaos.

One man, dressed in the garb of a priest and sent from the Holy Kingdom itself, stood

atop one of the town's brick buildings and watched the skeleton knights flow into the

streets, the corners of his lips tugging upward into a grin.

His smile didn't last long, however, as he observed the citizens of the town getting

pushed ever closer to the giants by the mobs of soldiers. His eyebrows knitted in

consternation as he let out a sigh.

"If he wanted to kill the townsfolk, that would be one thing. But the giants too? This is

in clear violation of the pontiff's wishes. Proof that I am far better suited to serve as

cardinal."

The man chuckled to himself before pulling a round crystal out of his pocket. It emitted

an eerie glow. He held it high in the air and smiled.

"Kill all of the living! This town will belong to the dead, the servants of the pontiff!"

The crystal's glow grew harsher as all of the skeleton soldiers ceased moving… but

only for a second. The next moment, they began cutting down any humans who crossed

their path.

It was like the gates of hell had opened up.

The elderly were the first to die, their bodies lining the streets. Next were the fathers

trying to protect their children. Their heads were lopped off, landing in their children's

arms. After that were the mothers, run clean through along with their children.

"Gyahahaha! That's it! You will be the vanguard of the pontiff's forces! Just the thought

of marching down the roads with you behind me brings a tear to my… Wha?!"

The man sensed a presence behind him and turned around.

A younger man kneeled before him, looking up with bright red eyes under a head of

black hair, cat ears sprouting from the top of his scalp.

"Ah, you're back. I see that you were successful in killing the giants' children and

leading them here to town. Why don't you go out and draw in the giants still fussing

with the wall over there?"

A smile broke out on the man's face as he indicated with his chin.

The young beast man—Sasuke, one of the six great fighters of the Jinshin clan—

nodded before running off, darting from rooftop to rooftop.

The man watched as Sasuke disappeared into the distance, a smile gracing his face.

"He's quite the impressive asset. After I am appointed cardinal, I may ask the pontiff

to give him over to me."

The man turned his gaze back to the hell unfolding before his eyes.

***

The tiger clan party, accompanied by me and the gang, stormed north on their driftpus

toward the human town of Tagent. Every direction we looked, there were crops as far

as the eye could see, almost as if the entire peninsula were one large farm. It was quite

a shock.

Off in the distance lay a small village in the middle of a field. There was no defensive

wall at its perimeter—a sight rarely seen in this world.

This tranquil scene was marred by massive footprints amid the fields. The trail of

crushed crops pointed straight ahead. This was almost certainly the route the giants

had taken.

The lone road running through the farmlands was jammed with people, all their

worldly possessions on their backs. They stared in amazement at the massive mounts

ridden by the tiger clan, some of them even waiting quietly for the hunting party to

pass on before running off.

The humans made little fuss over the army of mountain people. Nor did they show

much in the way of fear, suggesting that the town of Tagent was already under attack.

They looked like refugees escaping a massive tragedy.

Chieftain Houwe and the other tiger clan warriors snorted at the humans in disdain

before looking toward their objective ahead.

One of the warriors laughed, and the rest of his cohort was quick to join in.

"I'm surprised at how pathetic the humans living here are. Without that wall, they're

nothing."

"And yet, for generations, that same wall kept us from even getting here." Houwe

looked back over his shoulder and glared at the warriors, putting an end to their

banter.

The sun hung low over the horizon, turning the sky a deep shade of burgundy. I could

see the outline of Tagent off in the distance. The whole town was ablaze. Eerie cries of

fear and anger filled the air.

Occasionally, I caught brief glimpses of dark giants popping up above the brick houses

that filled the town before disappearing again.

Though nowhere near the scale of the wall at the entrance to the peninsula, there was

a wall surrounding the town of Tagent.

Standing around the same height as the giants, it had been smashed wide open in

several places. Citizens of the town, along with the occasional mountain person among

them, poured out of these holes.

Houwe moved forward with his original plan and split his men into seven platoons to

enter the town and save as many of the mountain people as they could.

"Everyone ready? Don't harm any humans… at least, not those who don't deserve it!

We're here to rescue our comrades. Strike down anyone who gets in your way! And

whatever you do, do not forget the way of the warrior! Now, goooo!"

With the chieftain's orders issued, platoon commanders took their men off into the

town.

The town itself was rather large, and its roads relatively wide, but due to the sheer

amount of space taken up by the massive driftpus, the platoons also included

dismounted troops to search houses and alleys.

Houwe's platoon waited at the town's perimeter, to keep an eye on the mounts left

behind and to protect any of the escaping mountain people while they waited for the

warriors to return.

I'd figured Houwe for the type to lead from the front line of a battle, but, considering

most of the tiger clan wanted to fight in the front, his ability to stand back and watch

things unfold was probably what had led him to become the leader of the largest clan

on the prairie.

I gave my regards to Houwe before heading off to join the battle with Ariane, Goemon,

and Chiyome. We'd be going in on foot to support any tiger clan platoons that ran into

trouble and to wipe out any enemies that stood in our way.

These were not orders given to us by Houwe, but rather the job I gave us myself. Put

simply, we were going to search the town for enemies then take them out. So pretty

much what we always did.

"Well, let's get going. Ariane, Goemon, Chiyome… ready?" I looked back at each of

them, one by one. "This is basically the same as when we freed the beast people from

the slave market."

Ariane had her hand on the Sword of the King of Lions that hung from her waist, her

golden eyes squinting as she looked at the town ahead.

"Hmph."

Goemon brought his metal gauntlets together with a loud clang before casting a glance

over at Chiyome.

Chiyome nodded and let out a deep breath.

"I can't say that I'm totally okay, but I'll do whatever's needed of me."

"Kyii!"

Ponta offered its own cheerful mew from where it sat perched atop my head.

"I'm really sorry about all this. If I hadn't come here seeking that red nail we found

back in Plymouth, we wouldn't even be here."

Goemon shook his head. "No need to apologize, Arc. Had we not come here, we would

not have learned what happened to our lost brother. I owe you my gratitude."

"I… I see."

Chiyome's ears twitched at Goemon's comment. Assuming that Chiyome's friend had

led the dark giants all the way here, it was highly likely that he was somewhere in

town.

I wondered if that was what was on Chiyome's and Goemon's minds.

"Well then, let's get going! You know the drill!"

Everyone moved close to me and put their hands on my back and shoulders. It had

become like second nature to all of us.

"Dimensional Step!"

An instant later, we found ourselves inside the town, on the other side of the shattered

wall.

There were no signs of life coming from any of the buildings near the wall. The

townspeople there had probably run as soon as the giants broke through.

I could hear the roar of fires blazing, their tendrils licking high into the sky all around

us.

Amid the roar, I could also hear the sounds of fierce fighting and screams.

We made our way down the road using Dimensional Step.

Since much of this route was blocked by wreckage from the collapsed houses lining

the road, the mounted warriors weren't able to head directly down the paths the

giants had taken.

As Houwe had pointed out earlier, rescuing all of the enslaved mountain people was

likely impossible, due to the sheer size of the town.

But even so, as one who was once a human myself, I couldn't just leave these

murderous giants to their own devices. First off, I needed to find the dark giants in the

first place. After that, I doubted anyone would mind if we killed them.

If the original report was correct, there were still around twenty left.

"Picking up anything? Goemon? Chiyome?"

I looked back at the two of them. They simply shook their heads.

Thanks to their ninja training, I was relying on their extraordinary senses to locate any

survivors, but it was clearly no easy task.

Back in the Rhoden capital, the Jinshin clan had already identified its target, so it was

only a matter of carrying out the plan. Relatively simple by comparison. Out here in

Tagent, however, we didn't have the benefit of any advance reconnaissance and had

no idea where anything was located.

We'd need to find a lead that we could follow.

After several more teleports, we found ourselves standing before a large, open space.

In the middle of the square stood a decorative stone fountain. All of the surrounding

houses were in flames.

Nearby, I found several humans who'd escaped here for safety.

Around the survivors stood a group of guards, dressed in light armor and armed with

shields and spears, engaged in violent combat with another group of soldiers, dressed

in full body armor made of dull metal.

"What's going on here? I thought the town was being attacked by giants!"

Ariane shook her head at this, puzzled at the sight unfolding before us.

I glanced back just in time to see one of the guards use his spear to score a direct hit

on a soldier's helmet, knocking it right off his head. The helmet hit the ground with a

loud clang and rolled.

However, the soldier didn't seem fazed in the slightest, and continued pressing in on

the guards with his sword.

Now that the helmetless soldier's identity had been revealed, a cold chill ran up my

spine.

Its face was that of a skeleton, not dissimilar from my own.

"Ariane, that's me! I wonder if all of the soldiers are just like me too?"

"They can't be! If they were all like you, then… well, they probably wouldn't have made

it this far."

Ariane was always the wet blanket that dampened my enthusiasm.

"But still, something strange is going on here. Those soldiers are definitely undead."

Chiyome carefully inspected the soldiers, narrowing her eyes and giving the air a brief

sniff.

This only made the whole situation even more confusing.

Why were there fully armored undead, and why were they wielding human weapons?

If there had been just a few of them, a simple explanation, like a dead soldier being

buried with their armor and weapons, could easily explain it. But there were at least

ten that I could see, and at least ten more were flooding out of the destroyed houses

and making their way here.

"Now isn't the time. We need to help the guards. We can look for answers later!"

I pulled the Holy Thunder Sword of Caladbolg off my back and lunged into the fray.

The humans took one look at me and, figuring I was one of the skeleton soldiers,

readied their shields and spears.

I wasn't in a position to explain to them who I was. Besides, they weren't entirely

wrong on the skeleton point.

I gave the human guards a wide berth and focused on the skeleton soldiers, swiping

down with a heavy blow.

The air whistled as my sword flew through the air, cutting through armor like paper

and sending fragments of metal and bone raining down onto the pavement.

The skeletons' armor were made of relatively light metal that put up little resistance.

It might have been able to stand up to an average sword or spear, but in the face of the

mythical-class Holy Thunder Sword of Caladbolg, it was like they were wearing

cardboard.

"I thought we'd be hunting giants, but here I am fighting my skeleton brethren…"

I complained to myself as I swung my sword once more, knocking back another soldier

with a loud clang, sending pieces of bone flying every which way. Its armor collapsed

in a neat pile.

All twenty skeletons were reduced to literal bones faster than a ramen joint could get

the bowl from their kitchen to your table.

"That about wraps things up here. Anyway, I have a few questions for you guys, if that's

okay."

I slid the sword back into its sheath and looked at the guards and townsfolk. They all

looked completely taken aback at what they'd just seen.

I took another step forward to try and speak with them, only to be met with fear, and

several spears pointed my way.

"Arc, behind you!"

I glanced back to find Ariane running full tilt in my direction, sword drawn. It took me

a second to realize what she was trying to tell me. I pulled my shield up with my left

hand and swung my sword with my right to meet the incoming blow.

The newcomer did a flip through the air, bounding over my head, and landing in the

middle of the human guards. He swung his blades with deadly precision, sending

blood spraying every which way.

"Sasuke!" Chiyome called out his name.

I couldn't tell if he was actually responding to her or not, but Sasuke's expressionless

face slowly turned toward me.

Before I could react, I heard a now-familiar cry from above and felt the ground tremble

beneath my feet.

I used Dimensional Step to move out of the way.

The earth rumbled so tremendously that the surrounding buildings shook on their

foundations. The spot where I'd been standing mere moments ago was now occupied

by a six-meter-tall dark giant, its weapon raised high in the air.

That was close. One second too late, and I would've been as flat as a flower shoved

between the pages of a book.

The giant let out a furious cry before lifting up its immense stone axe and swinging it

down toward Sasuke. The ninja, however, anticipated the strike and bounded up the

wall of a building, disappearing onto the rooftops.

"W-wait up, Sasuke!"

Chiyome took off after him, running down a narrow alley before bounding onto the

roofs herself, heading in the direction Sasuke had gone.

Goemon ran straight up the side of a building and followed suit, leaving clear outlines

where his feet slammed into the wall. That technique must've been a sheer feat of

strength.

Ariane watched them go, the worry clear on her face, before glancing toward me. She

wasn't sure if she should stay with me or follow them.

"Ariane, you go after Chiyome and Goemon! Leave this big lug to me!"

She glanced up at the roof above her and, after a prompting nod from me, chased after

the others.

It was now just me and the dark giant alone in the square.

The headless dark giant pulled its stone axe up from the earth and focused its large,

inky black eyes on me. It was a rather disconcerting sight. The dark giant swung wide,

and I pulled up my own weapon, light slowly building around the blade. I slammed it

into the ground.

"Sword of Judgment!"

A rune appeared under the giant's feet. Out of the center rose a sword of light, piercing

the giant's body from below. The sword tore up out of the giant's mouth before a loud

metal clang resounded through the square as it shattered into a thousand pieces a

second later.

As the shards of light clattered to the ground, the giant began shaking wildly.

"Well, your hide may be tough, but sensitive spots are all the same."

I yanked my sword from the ground and started walking away when I suddenly

spotted a young boy huddled in the ruins of a building.

I put my sword back in its sheath and approached him. He looked afraid as he clutched

a piece of timber in his hands, pointing it in my direction. Behind the young boy, I could

see a woman lying on the ground, her foot trapped under the rubble, blood flowing

from her head.

The woman, probably the boy's mother, spoke weakly.

"Please… save yourself… Please…"

However, the young boy continued holding out the wood, tears rolling down his

cheeks. "I'm not leaving you, Mama! I won't go without you!"

I felt bad that he believed I intended to do him harm, but I had no ill intentions for him

or his mother. To be fair, though, I must have looked just like the other skeletons to

them.

"Kyii! Kyiiii!"

Ponta looked up from where it was wrapped around my neck like a scarf and tried

telling them I wasn't some sort of strange monster. Unfortunately, it had little effect.

I remembered something I had stashed away at my waist and reached down to pull

out my waterskin. After a quick swig, I was overcome by a massive headache as

everything blurred in front of me.

I let out a deep breath as I tried to get ahold of myself.

A shudder passed through my body as the rush of built-up emotions washed over me.

Maybe it was the up-close-and-personal battle with the giant that had taken such an

emotional toll on me.

I took another deep breath and let it out slowly before turning my attention back to

the boy and pulling my helmet off.

"You're… not a human, are you mister?" The young boy looked up at me with great

curiosity