Daka and Rizra stood frozen as they stared up at the massive figure looming over them. The giant was easily over 100 feet tall, its body covered in thick, scarred skin that looked like it had endured countless battles. It was slumped against the walls of the chamber, its deep breaths echoing through the room like rolling thunder.

  Rizra blinked a few times, processing what she was seeing. "So… uh… this thing is sleeping, right?"

  Daka gulped, nodding slowly. "Y-Yeah… for now."

  Rizra took a step back, rubbing her temples. "Of course. Why wouldn't there be a massive, potentially world-ending giant waiting for us? Because, you know, a normal fight would be too easy."

  Daka, still staring up, clenched his fists. "We need to be careful. If this thing wakes up, we’re screwed."

  Right as those words left his mouth, a deep, guttural groan rumbled through the room. The giant’s massive eyelids twitched before slowly peeling open, revealing glowing red eyes that immediately locked onto them.

  Rizra exhaled sharply. "...You just had to say something."

  The giant shifted, its enormous body cracking the stone beneath it as it moved. It inhaled deeply, then let out a deafening roar, the sheer force of it sending shockwaves through the chamber.

  Daka instantly summoned ice around his hands, his breath visible in the sudden drop in temperature. "Welp. Guess we’re doing this the hard way."

  Rizra cracked her knuckles, stepping forward with a smirk despite the tremors shaking the ground beneath her. "Good. I was getting bored."

  The giant's massive hand swung down toward them, ready to crush them instantly—

  And the battle began.

  Rizra crashed into the wall with a sickening thud, blood splattering as she barely clung to consciousness. Her entire body felt like it had been ripped apart—her bones ached, her muscles screamed, and yet, she forced herself to stay awake.

  Daka, seeing her state, clenched his jaw. "Tch… damn it." With a snap of his fingers, a thousand golden swords materialized around him, hovering in the air like a celestial army. With one motion, he launched them all at the giant at blinding speed.

  CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

  The swords struck, but instead of piercing the giant's skin, it opened its mouth wide and devoured every single blade like a snack. The weapons disappeared into its abyss of a stomach, and the giant let out a satisfied grunt.

  Daka's eye twitched. "Are you kidding me?!"

  The giant grinned, revealing razor-sharp teeth, then slammed its fists onto the ground. The impact sent a shockwave across the room, making the entire place shake violently.

  Rizra, coughing up blood, barely managed to push herself up. "Okay… that sucked." She winced, looking at the giant with pure rage. "Yo, Daka—next plan?"

  Daka sighed, rolling his shoulders as frost began forming around him. His irritation morphed into determination.

  "We’re killing this bastard. That’s the plan."

  Daka raised one hand, his fingers moving in intricate patterns, forming a magic sigil that glowed with a golden radiance.

  "Mystical Golden Spear: Swords of Judgement!" he roared.

  From the sky above, his golden spear appeared, spinning rapidly, and in an instant, it began summoning an endless barrage of enchanted golden swords. The blades rained down, piercing toward the giant with unrelenting fury.

  BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

  Each sword crashed into the giant like a divine punishment, forcing it to stumble back. It roared in pain, its skin now covered in deep cuts, but still, it didn’t fall. Instead, it began rapidly regenerating, its wounds closing as if nothing had happened.

  Daka clenched his teeth. He could feel his magic draining rapidly, his breathing growing heavier. If this went on, he wouldn’t be able to keep up.

  “Tch… This thing won’t go down?!” Daka growled, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

  Rizra wiped the blood from her mouth and cracked her knuckles, a wide grin forming. "Looks like you're running out of juice, huh?"She took a step forward, her fists glowing with raw energy. "Guess it's my turn to do some damage!"

  She charged forward, her body breaking the sound barrier, preparing to unleash a devastating punch at the giant’s core.

  As Daka thrust his hands forward, wind and ice intertwined, forming a spiraling stream of razor-sharp icicles.

  "Wind Icicle Stream!" he roared, unleashing the attack.

  The howling winds carried thousands of frozen shards, cutting through the air like a relentless storm, slamming into the giant’s chest. The temperature dropped instantly, ice spreading across the giant’s body, freezing parts of its massive form.

  “Got him—”

  Before Daka could finish his thought, the giant’s massive fist swung at blinding speed, crashing into Daka’s body.

  CRACK!

  Daka was sent flying, his body smashing against the stone wallwith a thunderous impact, causing debris to crumble around him.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Silence.

  His body slumped against the rubble, motionless. Blood dripped from his forehead, his breathing faint. He wasn’t moving.

  Rizra’s eyes widened in pure horror. Her heart pounded violentlyin her chest as she took a step forward.

  "Dakaori?!"

  Her voice shook, and for the first time, she didn’t use his nickname—no “Golden Idiot,” no teasing. Just his real name.

  Because she was scared.

  "Dakaori!!" she screamed, her voice raw with desperation as she rushed toward him.

  As Daka coughed violently, thick blood splattered onto the ground, his breathing ragged. His body trembled, his arms barely able to support him as he tried to push himself up.

  BZZT!

  Rizra’s communication device buzzed. She quickly pulled it out, answering the call with shaky hands.

  “Hajime?” she breathed out, still keeping an eye on the motionlessDaka.

  “Yo, we just got through some insane stuff in our room,”Hajime’s voice came through, a little exhausted but still sounding like his usual self. “What about you guys?”

  Rizra gritted her teeth, glancing at the giant, who was still standing tall, unaffected by their attacks. Then her eyes drifted back to Daka, who was pale, his golden aura flickering like a weak flame.

  “…We’re in trouble.”

  There was a brief silence on Hajime’s end. Then his voice dropped into a serious tone.

  “…How bad?”

  Rizra looked down at Daka, who was still spitting out blood, his body shivering from pain.

  “Dakaori can’t fight right now,” she admitted, her usual confident tone wavering. “And I don’t think I can take this thing down alone.”

  She clenched her fists tightly, frustration boiling inside her.

  “Hajime,” she said, her voice tense, “if you don’t get here soon… we might not make it.”

  Hajime bit his lip hard, frustration boiling inside him as he ran a hand through his messy hair.

  "Tch… Damn it," he muttered, glancing at Angel, who looked just as concerned. "It's impossible for me and Angel to get to you guys. These doors… it's like a damn maze. Even if we tried, there’s only a ten percent chance we'd pick the right one and get to you in time."

  On the other end of the call, Rizra's grip on the device tightened. Her eyes flickered over to Daka, still struggling, still bleeding, still trying to push himself up despite the pain.

  Then, something clicked in her mind.

  This is it.

  This was their chance—their moment.

  She and Daka had both been frustrated at always relying on Hajime. And now, here they were, alone against a giant, with no way for Hajime to save them.

  Rizra suddenly smirked, standing up straight. She cracked her knuckles, a familiar fire lighting up in her eyes.

  "Heh… Guess God really does listen to our little chats, huh?"she said, her voice filled with renewed confidence.

  Daka, still weak, managed to lift his head slightly, staring at Rizra.

  "What... the hell... are you talking about...?" he mumbled, coughing up more blood.

  Rizra turned toward him, that same fearless grin on her face.

  "I'm saying," she said, shifting into a fighting stance, "that this is our damn fight. Not Hajime’s. Not anyone else’s. Ours."

  She pounded her fists together, her aura flaring up.

  "So let's show this oversized bastard why we're not just side characters in Hajime’s story."

  Rizra's aura exploded around her, a golden light illuminating the massive chamber. Her body grew, muscles expanding, her height towering like the very giants she sought to challenge.

  "Kami No Shirushi: The Giant !" she roared, her voice shaking the walls as her form transcended into one fit to challenge the beast before her.

  At the same time, Daka pushed past his limits. Blood dripped from his mouth, his vision blurred, but his determination burned brighter than ever.

  He raised his trembling hands, forming sacred hand gestures—Up. Down. Left. Right. His fists came together, sparking golden energy, his entire body radiating raw magic.

  "Tch… You wanted to see me at my strongest, right, Rizra?"Daka smirked weakly. "Then let's burn this image into history!"

  A surge of energy erupted from them both—a combination of brute force and ultimate magic.

  Rizra charged, the very ground cracking under her monstrous power, while Daka's final spell manifested, forming an ethereal spear of pure magic energy.

  With a thunderous roar, they unleashed their strongest combo attack—

  "Most Powerful Duo Move!!"

  Rizra's fist clashed against the giant’s jaw at the same moment Daka’s spear pierced through its core, their combined force shaking the very foundation of the room.

  Rizra collapsed to the ground, her body completely drained from using Kami No Shirushi. She gasped for air, unable to move even a finger.

  Daka, still conscious but barely holding on, felt his entire body ache from the overuse of his magic. His vision blurred, his limbs wouldn’t respond—he had nothing left to give.

  And yet…

  The giant still stood.

  Blood dripped from its wounds, its body barely holding together, but its eyes still glowed with primal rage.

  "Tch… It’s still alive…?" Daka muttered, his voice weak.

  Rizra, panting, could only let out a weak chuckle. "Guess this is it, huh…?" she said, a smirk on her face despite her exhaustion. "At least we proved ourselves… at least we didn’t rely on Hajime… heh."

  The giant raised its massive fist, ready to deliver the final blow. Rizra and Daka closed their eyes, accepting their fate.

  Then—

  A blur of movement.

  A gust of wind.

  And then—silence.

  Daka's eyes barely cracked open, and a figure stood in front of them, sword unsheathed.

  A tall, imposing man with dark green hair, piercing green eyes, and a mask covering his mouth. His presence alone was calm yet overwhelming.

  Duella Rock.

  Daka's father.

  Before Daka could even process what happened, the giant stood frozen.

  A thin, perfectly clean slash ran across its body.

  A moment later—

  The giant collapsed.

  Its massive frame hit the ground with a thunderous crash, the impact shaking the entire room.

  It was dead.

  Daka’s eyes widened before they filled with joy. "Dad…?!"

  Despite his battered state, Daka forced himself up and ran toward Duella with his arms open, attempting to hug him.

  But just as he got close—

  Duella sidestepped.

  Daka stumbled, nearly falling over. "H-Hey!" He pouted, turning to face his father.

  Duella let out a quiet sigh, adjusting his sword. "Control your emotions."

  Daka grinned. "No way! It’s been so long, and you saved me!"

  Duella glanced down at him, his calm expression unreadable. "I only stepped in because you were going to die. That doesn’t mean you should be reckless."

  Rizra, still lying on the ground, groaned. "Daka, stop embarrassing yourself…"

  Daka huffed. "I’m not embarrassed! I’m just happy to see my dad, and he—"

  Duella started walking away.

  Daka blinked. "H-Hey! Wait!" He scrambled after him, despite his body being sore.

  Duella didn’t even look back. "If you have the energy to talk, you have the energy to walk. We’re leaving."