**Chapter 443. Gigant**
—
At the words *upper-rank knight*, the elder’s expression hardened completely.
“Please stay here and do not move. You are our hope—under no circumstances must you leave this place.”
Hope.
These guests from beyond were nothing less than hope to them.
If Pangaenia still existed, and if these people had come from there—
…it meant there was a way out of this hell.
Of course, the elder himself had no intention of returning until their *god* was rescued. But at the very least, the newborn dwarves could be allowed to carry on their lineage.
That was why these two guests had to be protected at all costs.
No matter what—even if it meant his own death.
“Where are you going?”
“……To stop it.”
Resolve filled the elder’s eyes.
Though his body was aged, his gaze was that of a warrior ready to face the enemy.
It was likely the spirit he had cultivated through countless years of battling those beings called *knights*.
He was afraid—terrified, even—but he would never flee.
Kuurururung!
“Level 9 security zone breached!”
“Do we know who it is?!”
“N-not yet!”
“Level 8 breached!”
The surroundings erupted in chaos.
There was no more time to hesitate.
“Please wait here for a moment. I’ll deal with it quickly.”
Whoosh!
As the elder waved his hand, a massive suit of armor was summoned.
As expected, it was no ordinary armor.
*It has an eye.*
A crimson eye was embedded in the center of the armor.
The eye slowly scanned its surroundings—
Crackle! Crackle-crackle!
With an eerie sound, the armor began to cling tightly to the elder’s body.
As if it were alive.
That armor, too, had undoubtedly been forged from *runes*.
Like the Guardian Holy Sword, it was armor capable of evolution.
The armor that had attached itself of its own accord transformed entirely into a new form.
“Woah……”
Dietrich couldn’t help but gasp in awe.
The elder’s figure was gone—replaced by a completely different being.
The elder explained.
“This is the ultimate evolved form of equipment capable of consuming runes. We call it a *Gigant*.”
Gigant.
Its shape was closer to that of a machine.
I had seen something similar in Pangaenia before.
“Is it like a golem?”
“A golem…… the principles are similar, but the essence is different. I’ll explain when I return. Now then—!”
Similar to a golem, yet fundamentally different.
After all, one cannot *wear* a golem.
But the elder had donned this armor called a Gigant.
A product of civilization—technology born from runes and evolution.
Certainly unique.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Standing nearly 2.5 meters tall in the Gigant, the elder left the shelter.
*
*
Alchaka tilted his head.
“I definitely felt powerful mana around here……”
An upper-rank knight.
A being that had reached the pinnacle of this world.
This area was also his territory.
Unknown mana had erupted within his domain—of course he had come to investigate.
And he was forced to gape in shock.
Hundreds of his pets had been completely wiped out.
“Which bastard killed all my pets?!”
They were pets—and emergency rations.
Eating one from time to time was entertaining, and watching them evolve on their own had its own charm.
How long had it taken to gather that many?
And they were all gone in an instant.
Unforgivable.
Boom! Boom! Kwarurung!
Enraged, Alchaka began blasting the ground indiscriminately.
In doing so, he discovered other beings hiding underground.
“When did these dwarf bastards dig so many tunnels?”
After a brief moment of surprise, he clicked his tongue.
He had heard rumors that dwarves still remained here and there—but never imagined they were hiding in *his* territory.
Alchaka raised his sword.
Whoooosh!
A greatsword wreathed in wildly flickering black flames.
When he swung it, the earth was carved open, and the dwarves’ forms began to appear one by one.
Kwarung! Kwarurung!
Hundreds of dwarves fired their mana guns.
But the black flames erased every mana round.
Such crude weapons might work on lower knights—but they were useless against Alchaka, an upper-rank knight.
“Devour them!”
Alchaka lifted his greatsword.
At the same time—
Kuaaaaaang!
The blade expanded until it seemed to cover the sky.
It slammed down, and countless *mouths* burst forth, beginning to devour the dwarves.
“Aaaagh!”
“Fall back!”
“To Level 5—!”
The dwarves retreated into deeper tunnels.
Alchaka frowned.
“They really are artists when it comes to digging tunnels.”
Like true moles, their tunneling and sealing techniques were works of art.
The deeper it went, the sturdier it became, making it take considerable time to break through.
Well, with skills like that, it made sense they’d fought a war.
But in the end, it was nothing more than a futile struggle.
The dwarves had lost.
This place was merely a refuge for the defeated.
There was no wall an upper-rank knight couldn’t break.
No matter how talented the dwarves were, they couldn’t compare to beings capable of limitless evolution.
Kiiiek!
That was when it happened.
As his greatsword tore through the ground, it suddenly shrieked and shrank.
Something had attacked his weapon.
When he saw the Gigant appear, Alchaka’s eyes widened.
“Oh? What’s this. There’s still a Gigant a dwarf can operate? Or is it newly made? No—that’s impossible. Your god was abducted.”
Gigants.
Divine armaments forged by dwarves to oppose the knights.
The crystallization of all dwarven technology.
But the dwarves had lost, their god taken, and all Gigants destroyed or confiscated.
There shouldn’t have been any left.
As Alchaka gazed at the 2.5-meter Gigant gleaming in silver, greed filled his eyes.
“If I devour that Gigant, I’ll grow even stronger.”
The core of a Gigant was a precious material even to knights.
Countless runes fused together, refined by the dwarves’ craftsmanship—it surpassed any delicacy imaginable.
Many mid-rank knights had consumed a Gigant and ascended to upper-rank in a single leap.
If an upper-rank knight devoured even more, they could become a king.
Alchaka himself had already devoured more than five Gigants.
Therefore—
*It’s mine.*
It had been far too long.
Too long since he’d devoured a Gigant.
If he could consume it, it would reignite his long-stagnant evolution.
Alchaka vanished.
Spot!
Moving at the speed of light, his leg smashed into the elder’s head.
Kuaaaang!
The elder was driven deep into the ground, barely managing to rise again.
Whiiiiiing!
Shuaaaaaaak!
Light gathered above the elder’s head, then split into tens of thousands of rays that shot toward Alchaka.
An overwhelming sight.
A barrage of light that burned and destroyed everything it touched.
Watching the storm of light rush toward him, Alchaka clenched his fist.
Then he thrust forward his pitch-black fist.
Boom!
A single shockwave.
That was all.
The countless rays of light evaporated in an instant.
In that moment—
Spot!
The elder was suddenly close, a golden halberd gripped in his hands.
He swung it down with all his might, aiming to cleave Alchaka’s head—
“Too slow.”
Clack!
Caught.
The halberd was firmly seized in Alchaka’s hand.
“……!”
“Slow and weak. It’s a decent Gigant, but is the user just too old?”
Leisure crept into Alchaka’s eyes.
In past wars, Gigants had been serious threats even to knights.
Many knights had lost their lives to them.
But unlike knights, dwarves aged.
They grew old.
Having lost their god, they could no longer create Gigants.
And most dwarves capable of wielding them were already dead—those remaining were old enough to die at any time.
What a disappointment.
“Not even good enough for entertainment. This is just—”
Crunch!
The halberd shattered.
Clicking his tongue, Alchaka’s hand shot out and grabbed the elder by the throat.
“Moles. Just lie still and be eaten.”
The elder struggled, but it didn’t budge an inch.
*Of all knights… it had to be Alchaka.*
Alchaka was a knight who had distinguished himself in the wars against the dwarves.
He had slaughtered countless dwarves and devoured Gigants—one of the strongest among the upper-rank knights.
He had even served as a royal guardian knight.
Had they known it was Alchaka tearing apart the ground, they would have fled immediately.
If they’d used the emergency routes, at least total annihilation could have been avoided.
Saving even one life—that was the dwarves’ goal.
But regret came too late.
*I have to buy time.*
All he could do was stall.
So that the other dwarves could escape.
This wasn’t the only tunnel—if they could regroup elsewhere, their lineage could continue.
His own life meant nothing in comparison.
Kwarung! Kwarurung!
“Release the elder!”
“Fire! Knock him down!”
The brave dwarves did not flee.
Instead, they poured every mana round they had into trying to save the elder.
*Why… why won’t you run?!*
The elder grew desperate.
Their resolve was admirable—but ultimately reckless.
What good was it if they all died?
Especially when there were important guests below.
Guests from Pangaenia—who might be able to leave again.
If that happened, the dwarves could survive.
His own life was insignificant.
“Run—!”
“You annoying little moles.”
Alchaka dropped his greatsword to the ground.
Whoosh!
Whooosh!
Countless *mouths* burst from the fallen blade and charged toward the dwarves to devour them.
Soon, their screams would drive the elder into despair.
Eager to savor that beautiful melody, Alchaka granted a brief reprieve.
“Watch quietly as your children are all eaten.”
“Ughhhhh……!!”
The elder’s body trembled.
Rage and grief surged through him.
Alchaka, the knight, was in the best mood imaginable.
Then—
“Hm?”
No screams came, no matter how long he waited.
Alchaka lowered his gaze.
“……What are you supposed to be?”
At the same time, he frowned.
He had no choice but to.
Because his fallen greatsword—
His weapon—
Was being held lightly by someone.
“I couldn’t keep watching anymore.”
A sudden appearance.
The man was not a dwarf.
He looked less like a dwarf, and more like a knight.
But if he were a knight, Alchaka would have known him.
That left only one answer.
“……So you’re the one who killed all my pets.”
