Case 04: Attack on Gigas

CASE 04:
Attack on Gigas

 

With a grim look on his face, the village elder told them of an old legend that had been passed down in the village.

In the age of the ancient gods, long before monster or human existed in the world, there had been a race of giants, ten times larger than a human, known as the gigas. They were colossal, cruel, and brutal. They ate anything and everything—not out of hunger, but out of avarice. If they were given an offering, it brought the benefit of a good, abundant harvest. However, those who didn’t give them offerings were tormented with relentless and unsparing violence.

At long last, when the tyranny of the gigas could no longer be overlooked, the gods admonished the gigas. Not only did they ignore their warnings, they revolted against the gods in an attempt to take their place.

The battle between the giants and the gods ended with the gods victorious.

The wild, violent race of giants was locked up in the center of the continent. In order to prevent them from escaping, the gods placed mountains on top of them as stone weights to keep them down.

The mountains that were piled on top of the giants became the steep peaks of the Vivre Mountains.

Even now, the giants suffered under the weight of the mountains. Still, they held onto their power even as they remained sealed within. They became gods that protected those who properly served them—and evil gods who brought disaster to the village when those duties were neglected.

It was the kind of regional guardian deity myth one could find anywhere. However, upon hearing that three hundred years ago, even before the war broke out between monsters and humans, the village had once been completely destroyed, the village elder hadn’t been able to laugh off this legend as fantasy.

The Giant Gods, the gigas, truly did exist. And not only that, this being was clearly a walking disaster, capable of destroying the village.

The destruction had happened three hundred years ago, so the village elder didn’t know if it was an accurate story or not. However, the Giant God of the gigas that appeared in the village and destroyed houses with their colossal body had nevertheless reduced the harpies to terror.

In the time since then, the village had erected a small shrine and now made offerings to the Giant God without fail. For they knew that if they forgot to give their offerings, the Giant God would again grow hungry and attack the village.

“I thought that it might have been just a fairy tale.” With snow falling around them, the village elder spoke as though he were warning children against doing something bad. “And even if it weren’t a fairy tale…I thought that if we did our best to make offerings to the Giant God, there wouldn’t be any disasters. Why is the Giant God angry now…? Did we do something that offended him?” The village elder frowned. His dread of the giant advancing step by step towards the village was clear.

Glenn pondered. Among the many species of monsters, there were some known as giants. Cyclopes and ogres were some of the races referred to as giants—but even though they were large, they were still only about two to three times the size of a human. He had never heard of a monster whose height was over ten times that of a human.

Once again, the earth shook. The houses built into the bluffs that flanked either side of the village collapsed with a loud crash. Cries rose up from the harpies gathered in the village square. Although they were out of danger themselves, Glenn was sure it wasn’t a pleasant feeling to watch their homes collapse.

Just like the village elder, other harpies were in a state of panic.

“The Giant God is coming to the village?”

“No way, that can’t be true.”

“But one of the young ones said they actually saw it.”

“Impossible, why would the Giant God attack the village?”

“How the hell would I know? More importantly, what are we going to do?”

Glenn could hear the stream of back-and-forth questions from the villagers. The legend of the Giant God was familiar to everyone in the village.

A question came to Glenn’s mind: What would happen if the Giant God, ten times larger than a human, really were to come to the small village? After all, the giant’s footsteps were capable of tearing down houses. If the giant actually arrived in the village, the harpies would not be able to escape the destruction.

They had to run—they had no other option.

“Listen up!” In the middle of the square, someone raised their voice above the disorder. Their tone was loud and clear. It was Tisalia, crossing her arms and puffing out her chest. “This is a village emergency! Everyone calm down and act with composure! First…Illy!”

The young girl with vivid wings shuddered in surprise at hearing her name called out so suddenly.

“A-ah?! What?!”

“First, I want to tell the Lindworm City Council what’s happening. Miss Skadi should be in the assembly hall even this late at night. She knows your face, so you’re best for the job. Get yourself together quickly! Fly to Lindworm!”

“O-okay! Leave it to me!”

Illy flew off immediately, as instructed.

They were fitting instructions, Glenn thought. Both Skadi and her bodyguard Kunai were very familiar with Illy. If she flew into the assembly hall with an emergency announcement, there was no fear she would be turned away.

“Those able to fly, please get your things together quickly! Evacuate to Lindworm!”

At these words, a light kindled in the eyes of the confused and agitated harpies. So long as there were reliable instructions flying about during the chaos, bodies would start moving. Tisalia’s loud, clear voice made the harpies understand exactly what they needed to do.

“Kay, Lorna!”

“Yes, Mistress,” Kay said.

“We are always at your side,” Lorna added.

“Help everyone who can’t fly to evacuate. After that, prepare and pack the carriage, okay? As fast as you can. Next is…you, spider woman!”

“Well now, that’s quite an eccentric way to refer to someone, isn’t it?” Watching closely over the situation with her four arms crossed was Arahnia. As she spoke, she unfolded an arm and scratched her head.

“I figured you’d just run away on your own.”

“Well, I am an outsider here. I’d be fine going off somewhere to stay out of the way, but…Sapphee’s here, too, after all. I’d like to do anything I can to help.”

“In that case, pack the villagers’ belongings together! Pack them as tightly as possible!”

“Yes, of course.” Arahnia nodded her head with unexpected obedience. Even now, Glenn couldn’t get a good grasp on her personality.

“I have something I need to discuss with you, village elder,” Tisalia said. “I’d like to make arrangements with you now to ensure the evacuation proceeds quickly.”

“H-hmm. Understood.”

She now had the presence of an army general. Glenn stared at Tisalia, dumbfounded. He had thought she had a weak side to her, but even faced with a dilemma, she was dignified. Glenn was greatly impressed with Tisalia for taking hold of the situation without causing any more chaos.

“And Doctor!”

“Y-yes!”

“Help with the harpies who can’t fly. If necessary, treat them so they’ll be able to get down the mountain. If they aren’t able to walk on their own, I can carry them in the carriage, but…there’s a limit to how many can fit. I’d like for as many of them as possible to walk. We don’t have much time; please be quick!”

“Understood. I’ll do everything I can.”

“Is that fine with you as well, Miss Sapphee?”

Sapphee gave a reassuring nod.

Glenn thought their inability to leave the mountain more quickly might have actually been a stroke of good luck. Thanks to their delay, he had yet another opportunity to use his skills with medicine to help others.

Even in an unprecedented situation, such as this invasion by the Giant God, Glenn found that the skills and knowledge he had fostered in his clinic somehow helped him keep calm. Glenn was a doctor, however, so he had to keep his composure. Like Tisalia, in dire situations, he had to focus on the things that needed to be taken care of.

“Now, then, everyone—just as I said. Let’s move!” Tisalia’s voice sounded almost as if she were signaling the start of a battle.

Their objective wasn’t victory, however, but escape. In order to begin that escape, Glenn and everyone else in the village began moving at once.

 

***

 

Harpies had a primarily migratory nature. Originally, they had been a species that crisscrossed the continent in search of a comfortable place to rest. The harpy village itself had at first been the colony of a migratory group of harpies who decided the location would be a good place to live peacefully and rest their wings.

Perhaps because of that, the harpies didn’t feel extremely attached to the village. Unconcerned with the decision to flee the village, there wasn’t any sense of despair on their faces.

“It’s because Lindworm is our home away from home,” one of the younger harpies said. “For now, we’ll escape to Lindworm—we can just come back later if the Giant God calms down.”

The harpy who had spoken was one of the ones who had injured her wings several days ago during the unrelenting earthquakes. She couldn’t fly, but she was young, and her legs were strong. Glenn didn’t think she would have any difficulty walking on the mountain road. He listened to her talk as he examined her wings.

From the beginning, the wooden houses had been built with the assumption that they would quickly fall apart. Taking nothing but money and whatever clothes they could carry, the harpies quickly flew from the village.

The village elder had said the village had been ruined at the Giant God’s hands once before. Glenn thought the harpies’ ability to quickly accept the inevitable might actually be one of the biggest reasons the village went on to survive.

Illy had been the first to leave and those who had been swift to finish their preparations had departed for Lindworm, as well. So long as they could fly through the sky, even the steep mountain road wasn’t a problem for the harpies. Carrying nothing more than the minimum amount of belongings, the evacuating harpies were quite nimble.

There was one person who was integral to the speed of the evacuation.

“Okay, next! Now, now, keep them coming for me!”

It was Arahnia Taranterra Arachnida.

Instructed to bundle all of the villagers’ belongings together, she was now steadily wrapping their things together with her threads. Tying clothing and loose change together, her skilled legs and arms piled many layers of silk one on top of one another, until they’d been fashioned into a square.

These square masses of silk were light and easy to carry—and easy to store, on top of that. Packing each person’s belongings together like this one at time, Arahnia was steadily moving the evacuation forward.

“Thanks to my silk, your belongings will be safe, even if you drop them. No need to worry about them while you’re flying, now.”

Glenn had thought that she had an entirely self-serving personality, but he couldn’t see anything egotistic about her as she helped the harpies. She appeared to be a surprisingly good-natured woman, so long as her work wasn’t involved. Still, her habit of throwing away all ethics and morals when it came to her work was a problem.

Glenn’s job was proceeding decently, as well. The night had already grown late, but with the help of Sapphee and the helper fairies, he was examining everyone in the village. That said, Glenn didn’t have much work to do for the evacuation. Most of it consisted of strapping babies to their mothers’ backs with thread and handing out sturdy canes to the elderly harpies.

Sapphee was also handing out emergency-use medicine to their patients. If anything, Glenn thought that she was even busier than he was. When disaster struck, food and water were of the utmost importance, but the sick running out of their daily medicines was another problem that had to be faced. On top of that, while she worked hectically, Sapphee also hastened to pack together their things for the return to Lindworm.

Glenn had finished up his patient examinations for the most part when Kay came bounding over.

“Doctor!” she said.

With her sprain completely healed, she was rushing around the village looking even livelier than she had before the sprain. Glenn was sure that with her and Lorna’s help, the evacuation would continue without delay.

“We loaded as many of your medical tools on the carriage as we could. According to Miss Arahnia, it will be difficult to load any more than what we already have…”

“It’s unavoidable. We’ll leave the remaining tools here.”

“Are you sure?” Kay stared straight at Glenn. Once again, the air about her was subtly different when she was by herself than when she was working together with Lorna. She seemed more virile and androgynous than Lorna. Looking closer, her eyebrows were very imposing on her face, and when she stood with her back perfectly straight, she resembled a knight out of a fairy tale. She gave the impression of a woman who was popular with other women.

It was a mysterious air to have, though, as when she was standing together with Lorna, the two of them seemed like they were twins. The dignified Kay, and the gentle Lorna. The two of them each had their own quirks, yet when they were both together, they truly appeared to be sisters.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “We can always come back and get the tools when everything has calmed down… Even if, worst case, they get lost, we’ll order new ones from Kuklo Workshop. Carrying lives is more important than tools.”

“Understood. I will do as you say.”

Kay courteously bowed her head and took something from a pouch that hung at her waist. She tossed it Glenn’s way.

“What is this?”

“Wrapped candy Lorna made here in this village. A steady supply of nutrients is especially important in situations like this. If anything should happen to you, Doctor, everyone in this village will be in grave danger.”

“Th-thank you very much.”

“Now, then—I am off!”

Once again bowing her head, Kay dashed away. From guiding the refugees to supervising the preparations, she and Lorna had a mountain of things they needed to attend to.

Glenn thought that the consideration she had shown him, despite being busy with all of her work, was indicative of just how capable a handmaiden she was.

“Dr. Glenn,” Sapphee said.

“Hm? What is it, Sapphee?”

“The examinations have been finished for the most part.” She gave an assured nod. Her saying this meant that now all of the harpies in the village were ready and able to descend the mountain—whether by flying, walking, or being pulled in the carriage by Kay and Lorna.

During all of the preparations, the tremors had never stopped. Yet another house built into the bluff collapsed and fell to the earth. The village elder had said they would later collect the scattered pieces of wood and use them for lumber to remake their houses, but even with those uplifting words in the air, it wasn’t going to be an easy feat.

In the meantime, the harpies had all accepted their move to a new address with ease. That was just the type of people they were. They had originally been a species of monster that lived freely, after all, much like the winds that crossed over the continent.

“We should hurry, ourselves,” Sapphee said. “We wouldn’t stand a chance against this ‘Giant God,’ if we ran into them.”

“That’s right…”

A Giant God who could shake the very earth. If their mythic strength was a reality, the Giant was obviously not an opponent humans or normal monsters could deal with. To oppose them head on, they would probably need a dragon at their side. Indeed, if they’d had a dragon with them—such as the fire dragon Skadi Dragenfelt, who lived in Lindworm—they might have been able to tackle even an emergency situation like this with strength of arms.

However, all a mere man of medicine such as Glenn could do was lend a hand to help make the evacuation a quick one.

“That’s right,” Glenn murmured to himself. “But…” He paused.

“Doctor?”

There was something on his mind that had been bothering him for a while, now. Kay, Lorna, Arahnia, and Sapphee: they were all working in earnest for the sake of the village, yet—

There was one person Glenn couldn’t find anywhere.

Glenn had been certain that she was speaking with the village elder, but he was busy issuing instructions to the other harpies. It seemed that their meeting together was over.

“…Doctor. Don’t tell me,” Sapphee said.

“No, I’m sure it’s nothing, but…” Glenn shook his head at the bad hunch he had.

Something had felt off from the start. Tisalia had handed out her instructions to everyone and had put forward a makeshift escape plan but hadn’t said anything about what she herself was going to do. Maybe it had been something not worth the trouble of speaking out loud. Maybe it was already clear what she was going to do.

What, then? What was she doing?

They had plenty of people to do what needed to be done. She had been standing there acting as their leader, and now she was gone. What in the world was it that Tisalia Scythia had to do so urgently?

From far off in the distance, Glenn could hear the rumbling of the earth.

Again, the Giant God took another step closer to the village. The tremors seemed to be getting bigger. If that was the case, the evacuation might be hindered.

“In any event, let’s keep doing what we can. Right, Sapphee?”

“O-okay,” she said, looking alarmed. She seemed perplexed by Glenn’s words.

Kay, Lorna, Illy, and Arahnia, who Glenn had thought to be self-righteous and selfish—none of them were from the village, yet they had united as one to find a way out of their predicament. That’s how pressing the situation was.

So, what about Tisalia? Glenn wondered. After all, she was the person with the strongest sense of responsibility of them all.

In a crisis such as this, he wondered what in the world it was that she could possibly be doing. Glenn felt that, with some thought, the answer would come to him in due course.

 

***

 

Tisalia Scythia continued along the mountain road, snow falling around her.

She was on the mountain path, but it wasn’t a path that led down the mountain. In fact, it was headed in the opposite direction—a path that continued up to the summit. The snow wasn’t enough to cover it up but instead soaked and muddied the trail as it fell. However, the centaur’s hooves continued forward in defiance of the mud. The horseshoes that Glenn had fitted her with protected her steps no matter what road she walked on.

She had only two of her belongings with her. On her back was her cherished spear. The other thing she carried was a heavy burden of hers—her determination.

Tisalia knew where the Giant God was from the rumblings of the earth. She only had to walk in the direction of the thunderous tremors and the quaking of the ground. She was sure that if it had been the middle of winter, with the snow thick on the mountain, she would have had to be careful to avoid any avalanches. Fortunately, however, the winter was still young. Tisalia continued marching forward, unwavering.

Even if she had staggered along, thanks to the continuous tremors, even if her legs were at times swept out from under her, she had no intention of stopping.

“…I wonder if I should have said something to Dr. Glenn.” That was the only regret she had. “But he probably would have stopped me if I had, right?”

Tisalia was going off to meet with the Giant God. No, she thought, correcting herself. This won’t be something as simple and easy as merely meeting with the giant.

Tisalia was headed into battle to stop the Giant God’s advance.

The evacuation of the harpies was moving forward quickly with Glenn’s help, but it was still too slow. It was especially dif­ficult to imagine that the elder harpies, who were unable to fly, and the children, would be able to evacuate in time. Even if they left the village quickly, if the Giant God had seriously set their sights on the harpies as they descended the mountain—the difference in their gaits was plain to see. Without a doubt, the Giant God would gain on them.

The legend of the Giant God was new to her, but if they were truly ten times the size of a human, their gait would be different, as well. Even if the Giant God was slow and dull, she had no doubt they would catch up with the fleeing harpies.

Someone had to stop the Giant God from advancing, Tisalia—the heiress to the Scythia family and the one who had pledged to lead their clan—was the only one who could do it. So long as she carried her pride as her clan’s princess, it was her duty to take up her spear and lead the way in times of crisis. As the princess of the Scythia, who had won their fame as warriors, it had been the natural choice to make. Her decision had been inevitable.

Taking pride in her family’s military fame was still beyond her wildest dreams unless she faced battle and her own certain death. Holding both her spear and her own resolve, Tisalia unwaveringly continued up the path leading toward the Giant God.

“…Tee hee.” She laughed to herself, sure that, if he’d had the opportunity, Glenn would have asked what she would do if she were killed. Tisalia unconsciously let a laugh escape from her mouth. Asking her what she’d do if she died was a silly question. The second she died, her consciousness would disappear. Anyway, thinking about what would happen at that moment wouldn’t help her.

She had to make the most of the present—that was what was most important. At that moment, taking up her spear for the sake of the harpies was Tisalia’s purpose—that and her honor.

Naturally, the difference in strength between her and her opponent was undoubtable. Tisalia didn’t know what type of being this Giant God was, but if they had caused ruin to the village before, then a mere arena fighter like Tisalia had no hope of holding them at bay.

Still, someone needed to be the village’s shield.

Tisalia wondered if anyone else could have done the job besides her. Kay and Lorna, Glenn, even Illy, Sapphee, or even—actually, she thought, interrupting herself, I don’t really care what happens to Arahnia. But the others were all important people to Tisalia. If she wanted to protect them, she herself had be the one to go.

Tisalia gave no thought to what she would do if she died—or anything like that. Instead, she decided to think about what would happen if she were victorious. If she managed to survive, proposing to Glenn sounded like a good idea. No matter how straight-laced he might be, he would surely be moved when presented with the famed and glorious fighter who overcame the Giant God.

“Hee hee hee hee…” Indeed, Tisalia thought to herself, that didn’t sound bad at all.

Thinking this, she burst spontaneously into high spirits as she approached her near-certain death. It was as if her fantasies had wings and raced through the sky. It was good, she thought, very good.

“Please don’t laugh in such a revolting manner.”

“Nhgaaah?!”

Out of the blue, something flew towards Tisalia. It was a white snake’s tail, bent like a stinging whip, coming right for her face—but the centaur’s experience wasn’t just for show. She held up her spear at once and brushed aside the white whip. It seemed the attack had been nothing more than a feint, and Tisalia’s response to it was a light one.

“Who is it?! No, I know who it is! Miss Sapphee!”

“That’s right.” The albino lamia appeared without a sound from a copse of trees alongside the road.

Thanks to her lineage as an assassin, Sapphee had been able to sneak up close to Tisalia without revealing her presence. Tisalia, of course, wasn’t aware of Sapphee’s heritage. Nevertheless, she had a feeling that Sapphee had been trained in some kind of combat skills and techniques.

Tisalia’s warrior’s intuition had probably been sounding warning bells ever since the two of them met.

“…What in the world is with that big fluffy coat you’re wearing?” Tisalia asked.

“It’s cold, you know. Arahnia improvised and knitted it for me,” Sapphee said nonchalantly, wrapped up in a hooded coat heavy with fur.

Being a lamia, she had a poikilothermic body. No matter how much protection she wore, though, it would probably never be enough—after all, the weather was cold enough for snow.

Ignoring all that, Tisalia had to admit that the arachne woman’s workmanship was in fact quite unbelievable. No matter that the coat had been “improvised,” she had still created a hooded coat in an extremely limited amount of time.

“Do you intend to go up against the Giant God all by yourself?” Sapphee asked.

“But of course! Times like these call for noblesse oblige, a duty for those who stand above others! Oh ho ho ho!”

“Your ears. They’re shaking.”

“Ah.” Her ears were indeed trembling with anxiety. Having that pointed out to her put Tisalia at a loss for words. No matter how much she puffed out her chest, no matter how resolved she was, her body was still honest. It eloquently revealed her fear of the near-certain death she was approaching. The mere act of steeling herself was itself driven by the fear she held of death. After all—if she hadn’t been scared, then there wouldn’t have been any need for her to resolve herself to her actions.

“This is very much like you, Miss Tisalia.” Another well-known face appeared.

“D-Doctor?!”

“But saying you’ve prepared yourself to die—well, as a doctor, I can’t overlook that. What would you do if you died?”

Tisalia gave a dry smile as Glenn said exactly what she had imagined he would.

She had known that this would happen—that was why she had slipped out of the village without saying a word to anyone. She didn’t actually think that they would chase after her.

“It would be tough by yourself, right? We will back you up,” Sapphee said as if it were simply the natural thing to say.

“B-back up?! Are you serious?! You didn’t come to try and stop me?”

“You’re not the type to listen when others try to stop you—right, young miss horsewoman?” Sapphee took a blade from her breast pocket. It was a deeply curved short sword, used for surprise attacks. There was an elaborate design engraved into the blade, the sort venom could be applied to. Victims of the blade would thus be filled with a large amount of poison.

That was the type of woman Sapphee was. Despite being a town medicine maker, she had taken out her poisoned short sword with unflinching calm. Using poison as a weapon was a double-edged sword, as there was always the chance that the user could die if they made even a single mistake. That Sapphee could calmly wield such a weapon surprised Tisalia.

“You might die,” Tisalia said. “I’m more than fine on my own.”

“And what if you were trampled without stopping the Giant God at all—what then?” Sapphee asked.

“That’s why you two should come with me…? I can’t even laugh, the punchline is that we all die in vain.”

“Why did you come if you knew you would die in vain, then?” Sapphee was stubborn. Tisalia understood what she was saying.

Saphentite and Tisalia were both very similar. Tisalia thought this was probably why they had grown to love the same person. It was why her relationship with the lamia wasn’t just antagonistic. Tisalia also felt a sense of closeness with her.

That was precisely why Tisalia had to make Sapphee back down.

“I need you to protect the doctor and go back down the mountain,” Tisalia said. “Who will protect the doctor if you’re with me?”

“Now, now, both of you hold on a second.” Glenn cut into their endless back and forth to mediate the situation. “I have a bit of an idea.”

 

***

 

The doctor’s plan was simple.

Glenn had a thought. Was it really necessary for them to fight the Giant God in the first place? The Giant God in question was just walking at the moment. Its movement had caused earthquakes and made the houses of the village collapse, but that didn’t mean the Giant God itself was causing harm to the village. They didn’t seem to be doing anything proactively destructive.

It was true that just by walking they were causing damage and that this had made it necessary for the harpies to evacuate. But Glenn wondered if it were really necessary to try and fight the Giant God.

Was it really impossible for them to negotiate with the Giant God?

“A-are you serious, Doctor?” Tisalia asked.

“I’m serious. We’ll talk with the Giant God and—if possible—have them stop their movement towards the village.”

“We don’t even know if they’ll understand us!”

“Exactly. We won’t know unless we try to talk with them.”

Tisalia shook her head, completely flabbergasted.

But Glenn was serious. At the moment, nothing the Giant God was doing seemed malicious. Even if the brutality spoken of in the legends wasn’t all a lie, it was likely that they were probably living a quiet life these days. Their personality may have mellowed out a little due to being sealed away by the gods.

Glenn shook his head. Surely that was all nothing more than his own optimism.

“It’s just as he said, Tisalia,” Sapphee said. Somewhere along the way, she had stopped referring to Tisalia as “Miss” when she spoke. “This is what my Dr. Glenn is like. You told me to run away and protect the doctor, but…that was wrong from the beginning. Dr. Glenn isn’t the type of person to run away. He’s much more stubborn than the both of us, you know.”

“B-but…”

“If he weren’t, then I wouldn’t have ended up breaking into a slave-trader’s hideout.”

It hadn’t been his intention to get wrapped up in that situation, but—well, none of that mattered now. As long as there were people who might end up getting hurt, there was no way Glenn would run away. None of the three of them had any intention of running, so now that they were gathered together, it would be best to simply head toward the Giant God.

If they managed to convince the Giant God to stop, that would be ideal.

“What will you do, Tisalia?” Sapphee asked.

“…Fine then.” Tisalia still had a frown on her face, but she fixed her grip on her spear again. “Understood, Sapphee. Dr. Glenn is the person I fell in love with at first sight. If you insist, then I will agree to your accompaniment… However, when negotiations fail—” Tisalia hoisted her spear and showed a glimpse of her fighting spirit.

On the other side of her, Sapphee wordlessly readied her knife. It was possible that she was better than Tisalia when it came to flexible and adaptable weapons like her deadly poison and short sword—though who knew if her skills in assassination would be effective against a Giant God.

“Of course,” Sapphee said. “When the time comes, we’ll figure something out. I hope that paralyzing poison will work.”

“When you poison them, I’ll use that opening to attack,” Tisalia said. “Does that sound good, Sapphee?”

“An adequate plan.”

Glenn gave a sigh of relief. The two of them were always picking fights with each other whenever they got together, but he knew for certain that their relationship wasn’t only filled with hostility. Even when something happened in the village, they both seemed to be worried about one another. Glenn thought it likely they wouldn’t join together outside of times like today, but together, the seasoned centaur warrior and the skilled lamia assassin made a good team. Glenn couldn’t have asked for a better pair of bodyguards.

He had a feeling that with them both dropping formalities, there was a kind of friendship forming between them, and he heaved a deep sigh of relief. He was positive that it was better for the women he knew well to get along.

Once again, the earth shook. Glenn stiffened and drew close against Sapphee, waiting for the tremors to subside. Now the shaking of the earth had made it hard for them to stand. The fear he had felt from earthquakes was nothing compared to what he faced now.

That said, the intensity of the shaking was proof that the Giant God was close by.

“Here we go, you two.”

Keeping her resolve locked in her heart, Tisalia spearheaded their advance.

 

***

 

The snowstorm grew stronger. The mountain road at last arrived at a ravine between the mountains. The area resembled the village’s location, a wide open space flanked on either side by large bluffs.

In the ravine was the Giant God.

“This is, well…” Glenn didn’t know what to say.

Amongst the piling snow, the Giant God stood there like a huge tree that had been there since time immemorial. Glenn, Sapphee, and Tisalia all looked up at the size of what was before them and give a long sigh.

It was a giant.

The elder had told Glenn they were ten times the size of a human. But there was a big difference between knowing the numbers and seeing the size in person. The Giant God’s overwhelming presence left Glenn and the others at a loss for words.

He couldn’t really see the monster’s face. The sun had long gone down and long bangs shadowed the Giant God’s visage, a fact that only heightened the trio’s fear.

The god’s body was very similar to a human. However, long white hair grew from both their legs and arms. Glenn wondered if that was because they lived in the snowy mountain. The long hair that stretched out from their head was disheveled, making them look more beast than human.

As for the giant’s physique, both of their arms were comparatively big. Their fingers seemed to be thick, as well. The clothes they wore looked sloppily made. No, Glenn thought. Not made. I could search the whole continent and still not find any clothes to match the giant’s size.

Instead, the cloth looked patched together, giving an impression of barbarity and wildness.

Some species of monsters in the world resembled monkeys and bears. The giant before them had some physical qualities that resembled those races. Glenn shook his head—no, this appalling size was completely different from any sort of monster he was familiar with. Even ogres and cyclopes, which were often referred to as giants, would never grow to such heights.

However, Glenn thought: A w-woman?!

Her ample breasts. The tapering of her waist. Her long hair.

Looking at these parts of her, the Giant God was undoubtedly a woman. When he thought about it, it wasn’t necessarily strange that she was a woman. It was just that he had been thinking of the Giant God as a man and was surprised at the revelation.

The fact that she is a woman means that they have genders?! In that case, can they have children? If that’s so, then…while she’s quite different from common races of monster, can her existence be placed within the larger monster taxonomy?!

Glenn’s academic interests came to the forefront of his mind, but he shook his head, thinking that now wasn’t the time for that. Their first priority was to negotiate with the Giant God standing calmly on the ground in front of them.

“O Giant God! We have something to tell you!” Glenn called out to her. When he received no answer, he said, “Please hear our cries! Your footsteps have terrified the villagers! Why do you now make your way toward the harpy village?!”

Glenn called out again and again but still received no reply. She didn’t move at all.

Tisalia readied her spear, and Sapphee held her poisoned knife at her side. The two of them were already prepared for battle.

“What has caused your anger, O Giant God? Please tell us the reason for your wrath!”

Slowly, the Giant God’s face turned towards them.

The eyes hidden by her hair met Glenn’s for just a moment—or at least, Glenn got the feeling they had. His shoulders shook in surprise at the giant’s withering gaze. So, this is what such a colossal opponent is capable of, Glenn thought. Even the strength of her gaze is extraordinary!

He wondered if it were going to end up being impossible to negotiate. He shut his eyes and gave up. They didn’t stand a chance.

Then, at that moment:

“Aaaaaaaaaah.” The Giant God said something.

They didn’t seem to be words with any meaning to them. Glenn wondered if they would be able to speak with the Giant God, period. Up until that moment, he hadn’t considered that possibility.

But if she can talk, then a conversation might also be feasible, Glenn thought.

“O, Giant God! Just now, what did you say?!”

“Aaaaaaaaaaah, aaaaaaaaaah!” The giant’s body shook intensely. Tisalia and Sapphee began charging at once. Glenn braced himself, thinking the encounter would end in a battle after all, when—

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaachoooooooooo!” Splush!

Something fell in front of Glenn’s eyes. It was about an armful’s amount of thick, viscous liquid. It closely resembled a race of monster known as a slime.

But this was different.

It wasn’t a slime or anything of that nature. It appeared to be some sort of secretion. It was a splash of either drool or mucus, expelled by the Giant God—something that took Glenn a moment to recognize.

It hadn’t harmed him, since it had fallen right before him, but…if he had been hit directly in the head with it… Well, he didn’t especially want to think about what that would have been like.

“Um, excuuuuuuuuse me.” The voice had a long, drawn out way of speaking, without any feeling of tension or nervousness.

“She talked…” Tisalia muttered, utterly stunned.

Overwhelmed, Sapphee had dropped her poisoned knife. She picked it up with her tail in a fluster.

Glenn wondered what was going on.

“I heeeeeeeeeard a dooooooooooctor was in the harpy village, you seeeeeeeeeeee…” the giant said.

“O-okay…” Glenn replied.

They would be able to communicate, then. And not just communicate, but communicate with ease. The Giant God’s manner of speaking was relatively normal. She spoke slowly and calmly. Her voice echoed from far up in the sky, but that didn’t hinder their conversation.

That said, her voice was powerful, and each time she spoke it seemed like her words were slamming into Glenn’s body.

“I was thinking I’d like to be exaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamined. I feeeeeeeeeeeel like I have a coooooooooooooooold.” She gave a loud sniff of her nose.

Glenn had no idea what to say.

The three of them looked at each other, at a loss for words for reasons completely different from what had originally struck them speechless at the Giant God’s imposing presence. They wondered what they should do. They had prepared themselves to try and negotiate with the Giant God.

Before they knew it, the snow had stopped.

The Giant God looked troubled and was waving her colossal hands left and right.

The dwarfed human and monsters stood there for a long, long time without giving any answer. The woman known as the Giant God simply sat there in confusion and waited for their reply.