Chapter 84: A World of Giants? (I)

The visibility was poor within the swirling winds, but through the distortion, he could just barely make out the shape of a silhouette.

A humanoid silhouette.

’Could there be people here?’

The possibility immediately caught his attention, and his steps unconsciously quickened. However, when he was only about ten meters away from the silhouette, when

BAANG!

Declan’s foot struck the ground, but the sound that followed was completely different from what he expected.

It sounded like metal.

BAAAANG!

BAAANG!

BAAAANG!

One after another, the sounds of metal clanging shut echoed around him, and Declan immediately looked around to find himself surrounded by some kind of metallic cube.

"A trap!?"

The realization struck him instantly as his hand reached out and gripped the cold metal cage.

"But... by who?"

He muttered, and the answer came almost immediately.

The storm of air surrounding him suddenly began rushing toward the humanoid silhouette at incredible speed, the swirling winds pouring toward it until, within moments, the entire storm had been completely absorbed.

The air cleared, and Declan’s vision returned.

There stood a man.

He was holding what appeared to be a half-open sphere in his hands, and inside that sphere, all the stormy winds that had surrounded the area had been compressed and sucked into it.

With a simple motion, the man closed the sphere within his palms.

Declan finally got a proper look at him.

He was a giant.

A ten-meter-tall giant of a man with dark skin that appeared to have been carved from the same metallic material as the mountains surrounding them.

A long, dark robe draped over his enormous body as he stepped closer to Declan, eventually crouching down to examine him more closely.

His eyes were blue. The same icy blue as Declan’s.

His snowy-white beard covered much of his lower face, while a single scar ran across one eye, leaving it permanently shut.

"What a weird beast."

’He can talk!?’

Declan thought in shock, his lips parting as he prepared to say something, but at the last moment, he stopped himself, though a single word still managed to escape.

"Are..."

"Hmmmm."

A deep rumble left the giant’s throat as he eyed Declan suspiciously.

"Makes strange noises too," he muttered, one of his massive fingers reaching forward.

Declan instinctively took a step back, and the finger halted at the iron bars, unable to move any farther through the gaps.

"Quite intelligent," the giant continued, "and less barbaric compared to those beasts."

"A pity. It’s too thin to be good food, and standing too upright to be a good riding steed."

CRAAACKKLE!

The sound of lightning echoed through the sky as the giant raised his head, looking up at the gloomy clouds brewing in turmoil.

"The Tears of Nura are about to fall. I guess I’ll call it a day after you."

He said this before rising to his feet.

His massive hands reached for the cage, gripping the protruding handle on top before lifting it into the air.

Declan’s hands gripped the iron bars tightly, though he wasn’t much affected by the swinging motion.

The last thing he had expected to find in this nightmare was an intelligent giant, but now that he had, he wanted to see if there were more of them, or better yet, where they lived.

It didn’t take long before they arrived before another creature.

It was a massive horse-like beast, standing almost fifteen meters tall, and it pulled an equally gigantic carriage with numerous iron traps poking out from its sides.

The carriage’s edge was opened, and roars and growls immediately came from within.

They were cages, each one trapping another wild beast.

The giant dropped Declan’s cage into the carriage and shut it closed before climbing onto the horse’s back.

"HYYYYAAAAH!"

"NEEEIIIIGHHH!"

The loud shout was followed by the horse’s cry, and the carriage lurched forward as the beast galloped into the distance.

______________

The world around Declan was much, much more chaotic, for one, the air was filled with growls and roars from the various trapped beasts.

They shook their cages violently, with some even striking their bloody claws through the bars at other cages, scratching and slashing at each other in blind rage.

’Barbaric idiots.’

Declan mused to himself, but his attention quickly shifted to something else.

One of those forsaken dog-like creatures from the wastelands was near his cage.

Its huge iron maw bit down on the iron bars, sending stinking grey saliva dripping everywhere.

It paused, however, when its eyes found Declan’s cage just beside it.

It stared at him.

GROWWWWL.

A beastly growl echoed through the carriage, followed by its claws lashing out, but in that instant, Declan’s hands shifted into golden claws as he pulled the creature forward with immense strength.

Its entire body smashed against the wall, letting out a painful whimper.

The sound, in such a charged atmosphere, made most of the enraged beasts pause and turn toward the scene.

"That’s right! Y’all better see for yourselves!"

Declan said, drawing the dog’s claws closer before snapping one with a crack that made the creature howl in agony.

"You hear that!? That’s for any of you bastards who dare make a damn noise!"

"You think I’m the one trapped in here with you!?"

CRAAAACK!

CRAAAACK!

CRAAAACK!

He broke three more claws in quick succession, making the dog cry out until its voice went hoarse.

"Nah, nah, nah! You’re the ones trapped in here with me!"

"So y’all better shut the fuck up!"

BAAAAAANG!

His claws smashed into the dog’s mechanical jaw, blowing it away as the beast slammed into the back of its cage and collapsed.

The other beasts turned to look at it and noticed its five claws broken, with foam leaking from its mouth as it lay unconscious.

They turned back toward Declan, who met their gazes with a cold, threatening stare.

In the next instant, silence descended.

The beasts shifted around uneasily in their cages, but not a single one dared make another sound.

’Huuuu.’

Declan sighed.

’Finally, some peace...’

He slid down, sitting on his butt, and pressed his hands against the cage bars. With a bit of strength, he watched the iron bend slightly beneath his grip.

He paused afterward, lying quietly on his back.

"Maybe if I fall asleep, I’ll wake up back at the academy," he muttered, his eyes slowly drifting shut, but just then.

GROWWL.

He heard the faint sound of growling, which immediately ceased when he opened one eye.

The beasts, though quiet, were all staring at him.

Having both eyes closed while lying on his back was the weakest posture a beast could take.

If Declan stayed like that, he’d be showing vulnerability, and who knew what these strange creatures might do?

They could pounce on him at any moment.

’Tsk.’

He clicked his tongue and sat back up, keeping both eyes open.

’So damned, I can’t even get a quick nap.’

The carriage rumbled on for longer than Declan cared to count before finally coming to a stop.

Then came the sound of footsteps.

"You can resume your barking now," he said to the beasts, and right after, chaos broke loose again.

"Bloody beasts!"

The giant cursed as he opened the carriage door, watching the creatures growl and gnaw at their cages.

Declan could easily notice it now, the chatter all around them, the heavy footsteps coming from both giants and more carriages.

It seemed they had arrived at a settlement.

"Grifenne! Come help me with these bloody things!"

The giant called out, reaching into the carriage and grabbing about seven cages before turning his back.

"Be careful. They bite."

Soon enough, another head popped out.

A girl.

Her skin was pale, and her hair was pure white, completely different from the dark-skinned giant.

She was also gigantic, her massive hands reaching out to grab four cages.

She was about to turn away when her eyes caught sight of Declan.

"Oh?"

The sight of him seemed to make her lose focus, and all four cages she held dropped from her hands.

’Oh, please,’ Declan muttered with an eye roll, and in the next moment,

"Waaaaaaaaah, so cutieeeee!"

The little girl screamed gleefully.

"Can I keep it? Can I keep it!?"

She jumped in excitement, only for loud, boisterous laughter to follow.

"Grifenne, the mighty huntress, abducting a beast! Hahahahaha!"

The laughter rumbled through the air until a face appeared beside her.

It was another giant, with a thick black beard and half his face covered in soot.

"Please, Gorionda. Pleaseeee," the girl begged, clutching Declan’s cage and holding it up close.

The sight of him made Gorionda’s laughter freeze on his lips.

His expression shifted as he looked closely at the creature inside.

"Oh?"

"Looks like an interesting beast." he murmured, giving Declan a thorough look before turning back to the little girl.

"But I will always say this, Grifenne, once trapped in a cage, always a beast!"

"And though he might look cute and cuddly, once you grab a red-hot iron from the depths of the forge like this..."

He said this as he pulled out a glowing iron rod dripping with molten lava.

Declan swallowed hard, watching as the man brought it dangerously close.

"Their true nature comes to light."

"They roar, they growl, they bark, and that which once looked friendly becomes... monstrous!"

He thrust the iron toward Declan’s cage, aiming for his navel, but Declan stepped to the side, dodging the strike without a word.

"Oh, a smart one, eh?"

Gorionda smirked and pierced again, but Declan moved once more, evading with ease.

DING!

DING!

DING!

All dodged.

"You! Just stay still and let me kill you..."