It's lagging. I'm telling you, the card is lagging.
Watching the Giant King move with the jittery stutters of dropped frames, Faust couldn't help but sigh that the witch's authority was simply too broken. It was pure mechanics, with a priority that hovered above almost everything else.
Even Artedinis, who had exceptionally high standards, felt her eyes light up. She crossed her arms and remarked:
"Oh... this spell is truly interesting."
While keeping the burning damage over time active on the giant, Irithea used her speed advantage to turn and run.
Apply a status effect and then start a marathon; this was Irithea's secret to victory!
As a hunter by trade, Little Red Riding Hood didn't have any of those strange obsessions that warriors had. As long as she could hunt her target, she would use any means necessary! A hunter had no taboos!
Hehe, I must win!
The game of chase lasted for a long time, until the Giant King could no longer maintain its balance and collapsed to its knees.
Seeing this, Irithea stopped and took a deep breath.
"Hoo..."
A scorching breath escaped her. Her body was operating at overload, and countless sparks enveloped the white-wolf girl in embers. Then, sword after sword, she unleashed pulses of luminous flame.
"Thud—"
Seemingly drained of its reserves by the persistent burning, the giant's resilience was embarrassingly low at this moment. It was actually shaken by the tiny wolf-girl.
Across the gloomy, lightless earth, the giant's body was pushed back, plowing through the ground until it crashed directly into the mound of swords.
"Bang, bang—"
Accompanied by ground-shaking tremors, the giant was embedded into the rock face.
"ROAR—ROAAAAAAAR—"
A sound like an elephant's trumpeting, yet deeper and more terrifying, drowned out all other noise in an instant. A massive wound appeared on the Giant King's abdomen, where one could clearly see the mangled internal organs and writhing muscles.
But dark purple mist began to gather frantically at the wound. The bleeding was stopped in an instant, and with a disgusting squelching sound, tumor-like masses of flesh began to swell rapidly near the injury.
However, before the Giant King could complete its repair, Irithea plunged her silver sword, imbued with the 【Flame of the Wolf-Hour】, into the wound. The intersecting light and flames halted the momentum of the regeneration.
Next, Irithea moved across the fallen giant's body and drove her silver sword into the Giant King's skull. Immediately after, the soul-devouring black and white flames filled the scarlet cracks of the mask and permeated into the monster's body, greedily pulsing and frantically gnawing at its blood and soul from within.
"BOOM—BOOM—"
The colossal body of the giant was gradually stripped of its outer shell in the flames, its flesh burned away; those parts that had long since rotted away simply vaporized and vanished.
Only when the massive Giant King had turned into a lump of charcoal did the execution finally come to an end.
"Haa, haa, haa..."
Having finished all this, Irithea finally exhaled in relief and jumped down, swaying on her feet.
Faust stepped forward to catch the white-wolf girl. Her condition wasn't great, but the successful hunt still made her hum softly:
"What a terrifying prey, what an arrogant beast. I am satisfied..."
Even though she often spoke of wanting to experience different professions, Irithea was still a hunter at her core. She couldn't help but feel proud of an achievement she had forged with her own hands.
"Clap, clap, clap—"
Artedinis did not spare her applause. The Imperial Princess's smile and gaze, usually so haughty, finally held a hint of sincerity as she looked at Irithea.
"A magnificent hunt! I truly didn't expect you to be capable of this."
The Imperial Princess stood with one hand on her hip and said:
"According to intelligence from the Sanctuary, there are at least a thousand giants in this prison realm. Normal giants will instinctively head toward the exit, where the armies outside will fulfill their duties and slaughter the monstrous beasts. However, the leaders of the ancient Giant King's court are not permitted to escape the prison; they are the main course of the trial."
"Since you have the ability to hunt a Giant King independently, the rest will be even less of a problem. It seems we must part ways for now. The merit of slaying a Giant King is not something I can consider trivial, even for me."
Artedinis tilted her head and said:
"After all, I am still stuck at the threshold of ascending to a 【Saint】."
Was she bragging? She was about the same age as Faust, yet she was nearly at the pinnacle of mortal limits.
"Then, let us do that."
Although Faust also found Artedinis interesting, the way she coveted him with her gaze at every moment was truly difficult to endure.
The Imperial Princess subsequently distributed a shuttle and supplies to Faust's group before returning to her own warship.
The two groups moved separately. Faust chose a direction to advance, searching for prey.
Although it looked boundless, this was, in the end, only a secret realm; its area was ultimately limited. Faust soon discovered another teleportation gate.
"That should be the portal to the western part of the empire, the fiend defense line."
Viviana observed for a moment and made her judgment.
Irithea: "Does that mean Alexander is operating nearby? I quite like that sword of his; I feel like it has a connection with me."
"If you feel a connection, just ask for it openly. It's no problem."
Faust said to the white wolf: "Because you are Lady Irithea, you can have whatever you want. I'll cover for you."
Irithea laughed: "Is that so? Then I really must try."
As if to verify their hypothesis, the shuttle continued forward for a while, and on the distant plains, the silhouette of a colossal corpse emerged.
Its form was similar to that of the previous Giant King, draped in tattered dark armor, with a mane of long red hair scattered on the ground, blowing in the wind.
Its face was also covered by a shattered mask, only the scarlet cracks on the mask were completely dimmed, no longer possessing any light.
A massive wound ran from its chest straight through to its back. Traces of some kind of scorching remained at the edges of the wound, scattering true-red embers that refused to fade.
And at the feet of that colossal corpse, a figure sat cross-legged, eyes closed, regulating their breath.
Bronze-colored skin, golden hazel-colored hair; it was none other than Alexander.
His clothes were tattered, revealing his lean, muscular upper body. His chest and arms were covered in scars of various sizes, some scabbed over, others still seeping blood.
That oddly shaped greatsword was stuck silently in the ground. Gems of various colors still floated slowly near the crossguard, chanting poetry as if they were living things.
"Alexander. It seems he also hunted one, and a solo kill at that. Sigh, the stats of artifacts."
The brave one candidate sensed the arrivals. His eyelids slowly opened, and he saw Faust and the others disembarking from the shuttle.
"...So it is you."
Alexander's voice was hoarse and weary, yet carried a hint of indescribable, complex emotion.
Alexander looked at the face that had defeated him so thoroughly in their duel, and said helplessly:
"I specifically chose to go to the fiend defense line to avoid you, yet I didn't expect to run into you anyway."
"Why are you hiding? Do you still feel ashamed?"
"I simply do not wish to work with shameless people..."
While Faust and Alexander were talking, Irithea examined the 【Blade of Praising Gods】 with great interest. This weapon, which could chant poetry and hymns on its own, completely struck a chord with her preferences.
Irithea said openly: "I really like this greatsword. I wonder if you could lend it to me, or trade the usage rights? I am still... well, Faust is quite wealthy."
"It is indeed a remarkable artifact from the age of gods. Even someone as mediocre and incompetent as I can hold this sword to slay countless strong enemies. I also feel that I am not worthy of possessing it."
Alexander picked up the 【Blade of Praising Gods】 and said calmly:
"Unfortunately, this relic from the age of gods has already been bound to me. Unless I die, no second person will be able to use it... If you want it, you can only kill me."
"Is that so? Then never mind."
Irithea said with regret. As a civilized person, the wolf-girl would not allow herself to commit such indecent, barbaric acts, and behavior like "killing and looting" was something she wouldn't even consider in her own worldview.
However, Faust rubbed his chin with a thoughtful expression.
According to the continuation of the 【Witches' Feast】 script, Irithea should receive the reward she wanted in this trial.
This kind of reward definitely wasn't hopping into bed with Faust; she could do that whenever she wanted, so it couldn't count as a reward.
And as it stood, the thing the wolf-girl wanted most was undoubtedly the 【Blade of Praising Gods】. However, this item was bound to the 【Brave One】 fate-star, which created a conflict.
Rate on N.U.
