<The Demon Lord of the Swordsmanship Family Chapter 122>
Even among the various Guardian Spirits, the evaluations of Gigant vary from one extreme to another.
The Yellow Dragon, a force that values strength, describes Gigant as a “weirdo who’s unnecessarily strong.” Meanwhile, Yggdrasil, who values harmony, refers to him as the “embodiment of curiosity.”
Gigant.
This mechanical Guardian Spirit views the world through only one lens: curiosity.
The desire to know the unknown.
An interest in the new and unusual.
Is it interesting, or not?
Is it novel, or not?
Is it unique, or not?
Gigant moves and acts according to this simple thought process. If it’s interesting, he cherishes it. If not, he discards it. If it’s new, he lavishes affection on it, but if it’s not, he ignores it.
Thus, anything that fails to evoke curiosity in Gigant is meaningless. Such entities don’t even register in his sight, and there’s no effort made to even acknowledge their existence.
On the other hand, anything that satisfies his curiosity is more valuable than all the treasures in the world — a gem that needs to be cherished and protected.
In this context, the current “Park Ki-hyuk” that Gigant is faced with…
“Lovely!”
Is incredibly appealing!
It may have started with a simple curiosity about who the calm-natured Yggdrasil was fighting against.
But how does this kid recognize me at a glance?
“Gigant wishes to see you.”
“Isn’t he already seeing me?”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you know? Ah… you really don’t.”
At that moment, Park Ki-hyuk was gazing directly into ‘Gigant’s eyes’ and said:
“You looked so sexy.”
What captured Gigant’s heart the most was Ki-hyuk’s gaze. That haughty gaze which appeared as if everything was clear to him.
More than that, he truly seemed to know everything!
“First question. Is this ‘Alpha Gear’ definitely something you created?”
This is a confirmation.
Knowing the connection between Alpha Gear and Gigant, and checking the ‘intention’ behind it all, Park Ki-hyuk was cross-validating his own assumptions.
In other words, Park Ki-hyuk also understood the exact ‘purpose’ of the Alpha Gear.
“Unbelievable! Could it be… does he also know about my ‘main body’? Oh, the anticipation makes my heart race.”
“Second question. Do you know why this was created?”
A question about Gigant’s intentions.
Gigant was certain Park Ki-hyuk understood the Alpha Gear was leading to the creation of artificial humans: Homunculi.
“But the enmity in his expression? Hmm, could he not like Homunculi?”
“Final question. Have you ever seen Gigant use magic?”
And this question. This final question…
Honestly, Gigant…
“Wow!!”
‘Fell in love.’
Gigant truly fell for Park Ki-hyuk, that human.
Unbelievable, he knows that ‘magic’ is forbidden to me?!
This means that Park Ki-hyuk accurately comprehends the Guardian Spirit ‘Gigant.’
Simultaneously:
“God, you know that b*stard?!”
Gigant became excited.
Goodness gracious! A human knows about God?! Do you have any idea how despicable, how petty, how dirty that old hag truly is?!
Park Ki-hyuk’s image completely filled Gigant’s transparent pupils.
“I feel like I’m falling in love.”
I want to possess him. I want to preserve him like a specimen and own him forever.
Gigant, having made his decision, held nothing back.
He employed all the ‘eyes of Gigant’ scattered across New York to find Park Ki-hyuk.
With the intention of capturing him and bringing him back. Maybe breaking some legs in the process would be fine.
“Still, calling him a ‘pervert’ went too far. He deserves punishment. I’ll heal it for him though.”
However, unexpectedly:
Park Ki-hyuk had known he was coming!
While hidden in a corner of the room, bathed in moonlight, the condescension in his eyes was truly something.
Saliva dripped from Gigant’s lips.
“Gigant… No, that’s wrong.”
“’Pervert boy,’ this suits you.”
Yes! Let me be a pervert!
From now on, I will be a pervert!
Gigant even found that the word ‘pervert,’ uttered by Park Ki-hyuk, to be pleasing.
How entertaining would a conversation with this person be?
Very, very entertaining!
Thus, Gigant even used the rarely utilized ‘Half Link,’ to confront Park Ki-hyuk.
And Park Ki-hyuk did not disappoint.
“Huh? Strange. Why does my presence suddenly feel so much stronger? Is it a ‘divinity’? Not quite… It’s like magic but not magic.”
“Apparently, a sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic. You sure are interesting in a unique way?”
Gigant and Park Ki-hyuk engaged in much dialogue.
Among this, there were stories that Gigant told for the first time.
The ill-fated history between Gigant and the Red Dragon concerning ‘the cloak’ and ‘the wings.’ The cause of the civil war between East and West. And even the reason behind his intense queries about ‘Homunculi’ creation.
Gigant revealed many things to Park Ki-hyuk, even surprising himself.
It was too entertaining.
Secrets like those were trivial compared to the stimulating discussions with Park Ki-hyuk. Various perspectives and differing viewpoints on ‘truth’ were exchanged. There was nothing to lose.
If this discussion could continue eternally, Gigant might even be willing to give everything.
Unfortunately, the duration of the ‘Half Link’ wasn’t that long.
“No!! It’s a disaster! I need to leave now!!”
“Yeah, you’ve lasted longer than expected. Safe travels.”
“Will you come find me? You must!”
“You’ll think about it.”
“No way! Absolutely! Definitely! You must come! If you do, I’ll give you anything you want. Victor? We’ve got lots of models like him!”
“Hmph… Why do only weirdos keep finding me?”
“Come! If you do, I’ll answer your last question.”
“The last… you mean… ‘you can’t use magic’?”
“More precisely…”
Park Ki-hyuk spoke with a deep resolution:
“The reason God created ‘us.'”
The very purpose of existence for the Guardian Spirits.
A secret of this world.
“I hope you come soon! Right, ‘fellas?’”
Behind Gigant, the mechanical giants that stood like sentinels gleamed in excitement.
After completing the first task, I immediately moved on to the second.
Fortunately, this time the support mission I was assigned to was in a general area, not near any Gate.
Tasks like catching smugglers or illegal immigrants at the harbor.
Wait around, and once the coastguard moves, so do I. It was similar to what I used to do as a ‘Knight.’
The only difference was in the scale. Surprisingly, a lot of superhumans were involved, and I couldn’t help but wonder why so many were working together.
Yet I found out during the first operation.
“Talking about the Thousand Nation, they’re definitely on another level.”
Why are all the smugglers superhumans?
I quickly leaped from the boat after realizing that the bullets fired by the coastguard were ineffective.
Ducking a ‘Wind Cutter’ flying toward me, I sprinted.
On the surface of the sea.
The target was a smuggler ship over there, where someone was firing magic.
At that moment, the water heaved, and chains of water stretched out. From a magical perspective, using water magic in the ocean is practically suicidal.
Back in the day, I would have either used a shield or retreated to the skies.
But not now.
“I’m getting used to this now.”
I ‘shattered’ the approaching chains with my bare hands.
Slowly but surely, I’m getting used to this giant body.
I invalidate all sorts of magics as I go. Breaking water chains, ignoring lightning spells, and proceeding towards the ship.
Charge
GROOOOAAAAARR
The ship swayed and was rocked.
I could hear curses from the deck. Insults starting with F and S due to the salty water were something I’ve become quite accustomed to lately.
“Let’s go.”
With a single leap, I was on the deck.
Organizations surrounding me.
Muzzles of guns pointed at my head, and sharp blades flashed. Axes, spears, arrows, staves… and there’s someone casting magic too.
All sorts of weapons pointed towards me.
“I always feel this way.”
The world is vast, and the number of villains seems endless.
Suddenly, a memory of something Gigant had said a few days ago came to mind.
“You’re right. This is a Homunculus. I’ve created it.”
“You won’t understand. How much blessings humans receive. The ‘infinite possibilities’ you possess. You’re different from us who are bound by countless shackles.”
“Do you hate humans? Not at all! I like you so much! The reason I protected you from ‘those perverted guys’ was because I love humans.”
“I admit, I do get bored rather quickly. But I don’t destroy like ‘those perverted guys.’ Homunculi are made using ‘machines’ only, making them rather human-friendly. Hemhem!”
“I like you folks. I envy the potential you possess. That’s why I want to learn more, satisfy my curiosity, and create them. Am I… wrong… to do this?”
Humans are blessed.
Ordinary humans wouldn’t understand such talks.
Surely, aren’t we simply better than plants and animals? But it’s honestly hard to feel that way.
However, I’m a bit different.
Because I’ve lived in places where other sentient beings existed.
Elves, dwarves, goblins, and other humanoid creatures… From my experience meeting countless races,
Gigant is right.
Humans are definitely a race blessed by the God.
“You guys even empower trash, huh?”
“k*ll him-!!”
At the leader’s shout, everyone charged.
Magic erupted. Weapons gleamed with killing intent.
However,
I have no intention to evade. I don’t even plan to counterattack.
Because there’s no need for me to intervene.
These lowly individuals are beneath my level.
“Work, slaves!”
They’ve accepted it themselves, so no more delays.
William arrived by riding the wind, protecting me.
“Chris.”
When Chris, who’s small in size, emitted a cry, the air rippled, and William’s spirit army blocked my front.
At that moment, a voice resonated from above.
“Victor, destroy…”
“Hey! What are you destroying?”
“…destroy moderately.”
KWAANG!
Mana surged, and a circle formed in the air.
A giant glowing ring in the night’s darkness.
The ring then sparkled in various colors, and a mechanical giant hand burst through it and landed on the ship!
KWAK!
Victor’s mechanical arm crashing into the ship.
Flames burst out, lightning struck, waves surged and covered the ship, and trees rose up.
Amidst this chaos, the mechanical arm mercilessly crushed the enemies.
The spirits and machines.
Two unlikely allies decimating the foes together.
“Hungry. Finish this quickly.”
The ship docked at the harbor, and handcuffed people lined up and disembarked.
While the police were busy guiding the smugglers, a police officer walked towards me.
The officer assigned to me.
“You’ve done well. I was worried because it was a large gang, but as expected, Pak handled it with ease.”
“Indeed, there were more than I anticipated. They seem to be a rather well-known organization?”
“They’re a newly-established gang called ‘God Maker’ that’s growing rapidly. Because of their explosive growth, even higher-ups are getting suspicious.”
“Like someone’s backing them?”
“Yes, now it’s quiet, but the drug market in New York was dominated by Mexican mafia. However, after the ‘Archangel’ incident where the star hero flipped New York upside down catching Celutis and others…”
An exclamation of surprise escaped my lips.
This incident has reached everywhere… What a butterfly effect it is.
“So, during this relative quiet period, new gangs like this one popped up. ‘God Maker’ is one of the more well-known among them.”
“Ah.”
Honestly, I’m not very interested.
It’s just a ceremonial inquiry and response.
What’s the importance of gangs appearing and disappearing? They’re like cockroaches, persistent ones that keep popping up. And worrying too much would only hurt me.
Seriously, this is not even my country. I just need to do my job. Just enough to not embarrass my mother…
Just thinking of heading out to eat, I looked for two of my ‘darling’ slaves.
William, who’s learning magic from me in exchange for serving me, and Rosaria who follows me out of respect for the Guardian Spirit.
“Where are those two when I’m hungry?”
Perfectly timed, flying towards me from afar were the two.
Apparently, they were delayed because they’ve been moving containers.
Working on my behalf, they’ve earned some consideration. While casually walking towards them,
KUNG!
The dropped container opened.
A familiar scent?
“Hmm?”
A sweet sugary scent yet with a tingling spicy undertone… a very recent smell.
Naturally, my head turned.
And there I discovered, a familiar object.
“Well, they’ve reached here too?”
Soul Extractor.
A bottle of “Soul Extractor” was in clear view.
The entire container was filled with them.
