Ch 32
New Weapons?
New Weapons?
As the horn for the dead sounded, the resurrected ones’ footsteps gradually quickened.
More and more. Rough and strong.
Gyaaaaaah!!!
Every mouth on the Ragged Giant’s body roared violently. Starting from that roar, the corpses composing the giant’s form began to writhe, resisting the dead who crawled up its body.
Crash!
The Ragged Giant’s fist swept away a group of the dead. The gap created by the giant was instantly filled by an endless tide of new corpses. The void vanished in an instant.
An endless horde of the dead.
Even shattered and crushed corpses twitched their intact parts and began crawling toward the Ragged Giant again.
The dead moved in silence, and within that silence, only the Ragged Giant roared endlessly, thrashing wildly.
Gyaaaaaah!!!
We watched from afar. Dakia glanced at us cautiously before speaking up.
“It seems we need a finishing blow. Should I try supporting with magic?”
Carmen awkwardly smiled after glancing at me and Sajita.
“That might be… unwise.”
Sajita nodded quietly, and I cut in before Dakia could act recklessly.
“You must restrain yourself, Princess. As I’ve said before, uncontrolled magic from an ally is more dangerous than an enemy’s sharpest spear.”
Friendly fire was terrifying.
For mages wielding mana powerful enough to distort natural phenomena, precision—not raw power or versatility—was paramount.
A great mage had to control their power down to the finest detail. No matter how potent a spell was, its usefulness plummeted to zero if it swept up allies.
In this regard, Dakia’s magic had such a wide margin of error that attempting to light a spark could trigger an explosion. If she acted, it wouldn’t just be the Ragged Giant caught in the blast—the dead swarming it would be annihilated too.
In other words, staying still meant half the battle was already won.
Dakia flushed slightly.
“I-Is it really that bad? The target’s enormous! It should be fine…”
“To deal meaningful damage, you’d need vast amounts of mana, which would only widen the margin of error. If you want to obliterate the giant along with the city, I’d ask you to hold back while survivors remain.”
She glared at me with glittering eyes.
“Fine. I get it. No magic. But must you be so blunt?”
“Clarity is vital in battle. A warning after someone’s hurt is meaningless. Warnings only matter before disaster strikes.”
“You’re as sharp as a blade.”
“I need to be sharp as a blade.”
Gyaaaaaah!!!
The Ragged Giant rolled across the ground, crushing and flinging off the dead, but their relentless waves continued gnawing at its body.
Yet as Dakia had noted, even the Horn of Rest seemed to lack a decisive method to end the Ragged Giant.
While the Horn of Rest’s victory was inevitable, reaching that conclusion would take time.
Should we intervene?
Summoning my own Decay Giant would drastically shorten the battle, but only a madman would invoke their mother’s power before an intact priest. This also meant I couldn’t use the Decay Sigil or amplify my physical abilities.
For now, observing was our best option.
Just then, the Horn of Rest tucked his horn into his robe and strode toward us.
Why was he approaching?
Dakia asked cautiously, “Is he coming our way?”
“It appears so…”
The Horn of Rest closed the distance swiftly and spoke abruptly, his voice low and gravelly.
“Is there one among you four confident in their agility?”
Agility? What’s this about?
The party’s eyes turned to me. Their gazes suggested that as a priestess, I should handle this exchange—a notion reinforced as his blank white mask fixed on me.
I smiled awkwardly.
“Might I ask why?”
A black-gloved hand emerged from his tattered robes. His fingers traced the air, distorting it until a bone-white spear materialized. He offered it to me.
“I require someone nimble to drive this spear into the giant’s heart. The weapon itself will guide you to the heart’s location.”
A spear? That’s Sajita’s domain.
‘Kill!’
As I reflexively accepted the spear, Mother urged me to request a sword instead.
“Do you… happen to have a sword-shaped one?”
The faceless mask stared silently. His gloved hand slashed the air again, and a bone-white sword clattered into my palm.
Oh, he can make multiple weapons!
After this mission, I vowed to give Mother a thorough hand massage. Steeling myself, I ventured further:
“If possible, could you also make two more swords and a quiver of arrows?”
Silence. Only when the Ragged Giant’s roar echoed again did he reply.
“Speak all at once.”
Fortunately, he was generous. I received two additional swords and a bundle of bone arrows, distributing them to the party.
Sajita swung the bone spear experimentally and grinned.
“Quite decent.”
Dakia sliced the air with her sword and marveled.
“It’s incredibly light!”
As Carmen inspected her arrows, I examined my bone sword. Its edge was improbably sharp for bone, and though its durability worried me, the Horn of Rest’s divine authority likely reinforced it. A faint holiness clung to the blade—fatal to undead like the Ragged Giant.
“If you assist, these weapons are yours,” the Horn of Rest declared.
We exchanged glances and nodded. Such weapons were rare, especially from the Horn of Rest himself.
I bowed.
“We’ll help. But…”
Crash!
The Ragged Giant showed no fatigue, still thrashing wildly. Climbing its body to impale its heart? That was a feat for mythic heroes or game protagonists.
The Horn of Rest seemed to read my doubt. Uncharacteristically verbose, he explained:
“I will halt its movements briefly. Use that opening to drive the weapons deep into its heart. Arrows are too short for this.”
Before Carmen could protest, he cut her off with a look. She sulked and stepped back.
“Do you accept?”
The task would fall to me and Sajita. He met my gaze and nodded firmly.
“We accept.”
The Horn of Rest withdrew his ivory horn and blew a mournful note. Instantly, the dead surrounding the giant melted, their hardened blood and flesh merging into a viscous liquid that crawled up the giant’s body and solidified, trapping its lower half and one arm.
Gyaaaaaah!!!
Melt corpses to immobilize it? Isn’t that worse than creating the giant in the first place?
We all turned to stare at the Horn of Rest. He answered indifferently:
“I handle only the shells granted rest. Now run.”
We charged forward. The Ragged Giant’s struggles intensified—if we delayed, it would break free.
We sprinted up the slope of solidified corpses toward its torso. The giant noticed us and roared.
Gyaaaaaah!!!
Dakia taunted, “All bark, no bite!”
Thud!
Before she finished, the giant’s right arm shattered its constraints and lunged. I shot her a glare, and she clapped a hand over her mouth.
“Marnak! I’ll handle that arm!” Carmen nocked an arrow. It streaked like light, piercing the giant’s skull.
Kyaaaaaah!!!
A shrill scream erupted from every corpse’s mouth. Dakia darted forward, slashing a deep gash into the giant’s trapped left arm.
“Carmen and I will keep pressure below!”
Sajita and I sprinted toward the giant’s back. Its right arm swept the area, but predictable attacks were easy to evade.
As we neared the heart, Mother whispered:
‘Kill.’
The giant’s head held a mass of concentrated divinity. Mother had asked me to retrieve it.
“Sajita!”
“Yes!”
“Can you pierce the heart alone? I’ll disrupt the head!”
He checked the spear’s guidance and nodded.
“Easily.”
We trampled over grasping corpse-hands scaling the giant’s back. At the summit, the giant’s patchwork face resembled Riverkel’s.
Perfect.
Kyaaaaaah!!!
The giant’s massive maw opened toward me. Its right hand swiped, but I dodged, reversing my grip on the bone sword.
I’d have helped regardless. This monster—Saintus’s enemy and that damned mage—deserved to die by my hand.
Thunk!
The sword pierced the crown of its skull.
Kyaaaaaah!!!
I roared, unleashing years of hatred.
“This is the corpse cleaner’s revenge, you trash!”
I carved downward. Amid the falling gore, a red orb pulsating with divinity rolled free.
‘Kill!’
I snatched the orb and tucked it away. The giant’s body began crumbling—Sajita had struck its heart.
Crash!
I landed as Dakia and Carmen rushed over.
“Are you hurt?”
I nodded. “Where’s Sajita?”
“Here.” He emerged, coated in gore, hefting his spear. “This thing handles well.”
The Horn of Rest parted the sea of corpses and approached, his mask locking onto me.
“Follow me. Alone.”
