Pain. Exhaustion. Despair…
Trapped in disaster, everyone's hearts were stained with a gloom they couldn't shake.
Most of the Adventurers in Rivira Town lay sprawled on the ground, unwilling to spend even the effort it took to sit up.
The pitch-black calamity had drained away their fighting spirit. They had already accepted it.
They were going to die here.
"Hey… look…"
In the middle of endless wailing and despair, Mord called out.
His voice was strangely reverent, almost hushed, as if he was afraid of interrupting something.
"Shut up. I'm writing my last letter to my family… huh…?"
An Amazoness waved him off impatiently.
Then she lifted her head, and the parchment slipped from her fingers onto the ground.
She didn't even reach down to pick it up. She just blinked, staring blankly ahead.
"Hey…"
"No way…"
"Am I dreaming…?"
Soft murmurs spread through the crowd.
More and more people forced themselves up and turned toward the far-off battlefield.
The sight of that fierce clash burned itself into their eyes, rooting itself deep in their memories.
Like a shot of something invigorating, it washed away their fatigue, swept aside their despair, and for a moment even made them forget the pain tearing through their bodies.
The wind howled.
Facing the pitch-black giant that spread despair with its very presence, the boy didn't give an inch.
Like a blade drawn from its sheath, he charged straight at Goliath.
The crimson short blade in his hand shattered into fragments. He tossed the useless pieces aside without hesitation, and in their place, several streaks of Firebolt tore through the air.
"Ooooooooo!!!"
The giant's roar shook the sky.
As if it knew fire couldn't truly threaten it, it tightened its right hand and swung a slanting iron fist down at the smaller figure.
Firebolt erupted in rolling thunder, swallowing the giant's bellow.
Unlike the first exchange, the flames didn't focus on a single point. They spread out, striking with precision at the giant's eyes and the area around them.
Smoke surged upward, mixing with a blood-red healing glow.
Almost at the same instant, the iron fist cleaved through the air like a ravenous beast and crashed down with overwhelming force.
Goliath's mouth twisted into a vicious grin, confident that this single blow would end it.
Last time, that Light Shield had appeared too suddenly, and it hadn't been able to follow up immediately.
This time, it wouldn't give the boy any chance to slip away.
The massive fist slammed down.
The boy had no [Agility] to dodge, no [Speed] to block. That was how it should have gone.
But [Wind] sheltered him.
The tempest roared, and Bell moved like lightning, darting in before the iron fist could land and rushing straight into Goliath's reach.
Black smoke swallowed the giant's sight.
And from that blind spot, the boy's counterattack began.
"The world's fastest rabbit…"
Someone in the crowd muttered in awe.
It had started as a nickname, something people used to tease the boy's absurd leveling speed. Now, it no longer felt like a joke.
"Can a Level 3 really move that fast?"
If they were the same level, no one here could have matched that overwhelming speed.
"Just like the heroes of legend…"
Breaking shackles. Challenging limits.
Right now, the boy was the very hero everyone had been praying for.
"He actually rushed straight in… just like a hero from a story."
Lefiya stared at the battlefield without blinking.
More than his inhuman speed, it was his courage that held her breath hostage.
That savage iron fist brushed past him by a hair. Lefiya's heart nearly stopped.
If it had been her, forget charging toward the attack. She wouldn't even be able to run without constantly looking back in fear.
"Cranel-san knows what happens if he turns his back on that dark giant. That's why he gathered his courage and moved forward."
Worry flickered in Ryuu's eyes.
"But… the Sword Princess's [Wind] is still too much for him…"
Ais kept her gaze fixed on the boy.
A faint light trembled in her golden eyes.
[Ariel] was a well-rounded magic. It strengthened attack, defense, and speed, and even granted brief flight.
The cost, however, was immense. It devoured both the user and their weapon.
If Bell couldn't handle that tempest, he might lose control of his body at such extreme speed.
"Bell…"
Ais whispered his name.
Like a child, she hoped he would receive the help of [Wind], yet feared she had burdened him instead.
The instant Bell crushed the ground beneath his feet and leapt high into the air—
Ais understood.
He had accepted her [Storm].
Not by forcing it into submission, but by embracing it and making it his own.
Was it because of [Luck], the wind aligning perfectly with him?
Or because of grueling training, his body already accustomed to surpassing its limits?
Perhaps both.
Ais didn't know.
She simply watched in silence, wanting to carve every second of this dreamlike scene into her memory.
It was a contest of strength and speed.
Shouts clashed with roars.
Tempests howled. Firebolt thundered.
Goliath's iron fists struck empty air again and again.
Even when it raised both arms, trying to blast him away with raw shockwaves, Bell leapt lightly with the wind's aid, even using the giant's massive body to disperse the circular impact.
Layer upon layer of black mist swirled as sparks scattered wildly.
Bell never once left Goliath's attack range.
The Hestia Knife, wrapped in a raging storm, tore across the giant's body, drawing out rumbling cries of pain.
Blue-violet arcs split open its pitch-black skin, scattering countless crimson light particles.
It was a scene straight out of legend.
Some stared in stunned silence. Others trembled with excitement.
"Just like a heroic saga…"
Lefiya whispered blankly.
She once heard Tiona tell a fairy tale.
The protagonist had been an ordinary shepherd boy.
No one dared to face the giant. Yet the boy, armed with courage and wisdom, stepped forward alone to challenge it.
In the end, he defeated the giant with his weapon and became the ruler of an ancient kingdom.
[Hero David].
In Lefiya's eyes, the boy before her overlapped perfectly with that story.
If she told Tiona about this, she would surely be thrilled.
Even Lefiya herself felt ripples spreading through her heart.
Unlike the golden-haired elf, Ryuu narrowed her eyes and frowned.
"If this keeps up… Cranel-san will lose…"
Her fighting style was strikingly similar to his. That was precisely why she could see the truth of the situation more clearly.
Bell couldn't deliver a decisive blow.
The length of the Hestia Knife and Goliath's overwhelming defense were dragging him into a battle of attrition.
The moment [Wind] stopped, Bell would fall instantly.
And then—
As if answering Ryuu's unspoken fear.
A bell rang.
The white figure danced through the black calamity, weaving and evading.
Bell abandoned his assault, using the speed granted by the tempest to begin a parallel charge.
Ring~.
Ring~.
The sound echoed as white light gathered above the dagger.
The instant Bell swung the Hestia Knife—
No one expected it.
The blade that had accompanied him for so long suddenly snapped clean in two.