Ganz stood like a monstrous statue, towering over the grass-field. His skin had turned a deep crimson, veins bulging with blackened blood, and his once steely eyes now pitch-black voids. The air around him grew heavy, thick with an almost palpable dread, as if the world itself recoiled from the abomination he had become.
Gabriella's breath caught in her throat as she saw Ganz's eyes open, revealing two bottomless pits of blackness that seemed to pierce straight through her. The transformation he had undergone had turned him into something beyond human, a creature of pure, relentless fury. His once white skin was now a deep, menacing red, marbled with thick black veins that pulsed ominously beneath the surface. Each beat of his heart seemed to send waves of power coursing through his body.
The contrast between his ghostly white hair and the crimson hue of his skin was striking, almost surreal, a perverse twist on the image of a savior. But there was nothing saving about the aura Ganz now exuded. It was a force of destruction, a harbinger of doom.
Gabriella's fingers tightened around the hilt of her rapier, her knuckles turning white. She had faced countless foes in her time as a knight of the church, but nothing had ever instilled such primal fear in her as the sight of Ganz in this form. She felt the icy fingers of dread creeping up her spine, threatening to paralyze her, but she forced herself to remain still, to keep her composure.
The instant she so much as thought about moving one of her swords, Ganz's gaze snapped to her, locking onto her like a predator zeroing in on its prey. The weight of his stare was almost physical, pressing down on her with an intensity that made her feel as if she were standing on the edge of a precipice, about to be swallowed whole by the darkness that lurked within those eyes.
Her hair stood on end, every instinct screaming at her to flee, but she knew there was nowhere to run. Ganz was too fast, too powerful. If she turned her back now, it would be over before she even realized it. Gabriella had seen what he could do, how he had torn through her comrades like they were nothing more than paper dolls. She knew that she was no match for him in a direct confrontation, not as he was now.
Yet, despite the fear gnawing at her insides, Gabriella forced herself to meet his gaze, to stand her ground. This was her duty, her responsibility. If she faltered, if she failed to stop him, then all would be lost. The weight of that knowledge steadied her, giving her the strength to push back against the terror that threatened to overwhelm her.
Ganz yanked the arrow from his knee, blood oozing from the wound, and tested his leg with a deliberate step. He was now near the archer's corpse, the lifeless body a reminder of his brutal efficiency. With a slow, measured motion, Ganz let go of the spear and gripped the handle of his massive mace, still lodged in the ground. With a single pull, he freed it, the earth groaning as the weapon was dislodged. He swung it effortlessly, feeling its weight.
"Hmmm, that's more like it,"
He muttered, his voice a deep, menacing rumble.
Arat, hidden and watching, could hardly believe what he saw. Ganz's skin had turned crimson, his veins black and bulging, and his eyes were now pitch-black voids. The man who had trained him was now a monster, more demon than human. The sun, sensing this transformation, retreated behind thick clouds, casting the battlefield in an eerie twilight.
The atmosphere was oppressive. The warriors surrounding Ganz felt the weight of his transformation, their confidence wavering. The battlefield grew darker, colder, as the real battle was about to begin.
One of the lieutenants spoke in a cold, lifeless voice, "He's taken another potion just now, but his body can't handle it. He's is at his weakest now, take him on"
Gabriella sighed heavily, then addressed her troops,
"My brave brothers, the last stand against the demons, my beacons of hope. You are the knights of mankind, I ask you to offer me your hearts, for the hope of humanity."
Ganz chuckled, his voice a hoarse
"Hope of the humanity? You just want them to wear me out and die so you can handle me afterward."
A soldier, trembling and with his voice shaking, shouted back.
"So what? Even if Lady Gabriella and the others survive, it would be worth it! The meaning in their lives, their strengths—they're far beyond ours."
Another soldier roared with newfound courage,
"Our lives are meant to protect humanity. If we die instead of our sisters, they will surely save more humans than we ever could. Keeping them alive, even at the cost of our lives, is the right thing to do!"
Ganz softly smiled a warm, almost gentle smile, a stark contrast to his monstrous appearance.
"You're right, lad. One must know when it's time to put his life down for someone more important than him."
His gaze shifted toward Arat.
Arat couldn't understand the real meaning behind his words at that moment, he could only focus on his always calm and steady grand-father now looking like a demon that had crawled out of the abyss he was brutally killing the men that dared to come close at him.
Swinging his mace with force, Ganz faced the oncoming horde of men. He smashed through them, struggling to control the fury building inside. His once precise tactics gave way to wild, animalistic rage, his yells and roars echoing across the battlefield.
Lady Gabriella and her female knights stood back, watching their comrades charge toward certain death. They waited, patient and calculating, for the right moment to strike.
With a powerful swing of his mace, Ganz sent eight men flying, their armor crushed, weapons shattered, and blood pouring from their broken bodies. The sheer force of his attack made them seem like feathers caught in a violent wind.
One of the lieutenants standing near Gabriella, growing increasingly anxious, spoke up.
"Commander, this is enough. We need to engage."
But Gabriella remained still, her eyes locked on Ganz, waiting. Seconds turned to minutes, and most of the male soldiers now lay on the ground, drenched in their own blood. Ganz's labored breathing became more strained, each breath a painful struggle.
He coughed violently, expelling red smoke and droplets of blood before vomiting a large amount. As he doubled over in pain, two rapier swords suddenly pierced his chest.
Ganz screamed, unable to bear the agony. He swung his hand so fast that Gabriella had to let go of her swords, stepping back before the iron mace connected to her body. From behind him, Arat's tear-filled eyes widened in horror. He frantically opened the window and shouted,
"Grandpa!"
Ganz, still impaled by the swords, turned his head toward the voice. His gaze met Arat's, filled with both pain and a deep, unspoken sorrow.
Lady Gabriella then shouted
"Get that boy, don't let him escape"
Ganz attempted to move forward, determined to stop them, but his injuries were too severe. Every step was a battle against the excruciating pain that wracked his body. Blood poured from his wounds, and his limbs felt heavy, nearly unresponsive. He looked up, his vision blurred but focused on the female knight clad in golden armor.
Through the haze of pain, his black eyes met hers. Even in his weakened state, there was a flicker of defiance in his gaze, a silent refusal to surrender despite the odds stacked against him.
"Don't you dare touch him"
Gabriella's eyes flared with fury. Her brows knitted tightly as she glared at Ganz.
"I forgot about that little scum"
She hissed, her voice laced with venom.
"Watching you slaughter everyone made me lose focus."
Ganz groaned as he forced himself to stand, his body trembling with the effort. With a pained expression, he yanked the rapier swords from his chest, a torrent of blood spilling forth. The sight of the blood loss signaled that he had accepted his fate, knowing that his end was near.
The two lieutenants, driven by urgency, sprinted toward the house with inhuman speed. Reaching the door in an instant, one of them delivered a powerful kick that sent the wooden door flying off its hinges, crashing onto the wooden floor with a resounding thud. The noise echoed through the corridor as they prepared to storm inside, their intentions clear.
Arat, startled by the female knights' speed, jumped in fear as the door was kicked open. The sight of the two armored figures with drawn swords, their eyes cold and terrifying with vertical pupils, sent a shiver down his spine.
As they advanced, Arat instinctively turned to flee toward the study room, where a collection of swords was stored. But before he could reach them, one of the knights grabbed him from behind and hurled him against the wall.
He hit the ground hard, curling up in pain, the impact jarring the arrow lodged in his back. The arrowhead pushed further through his chest, causing fresh blood to pour from the wound. As he struggled to recover, one of the knights seized him by the hair, lifting him upright and dragging him outside. They thrust him in front of Ganz, the cold steel of a sword pressed against his throat.
"This is as far as you go, surrender yourself, you mindless heathen!" t
he knight holding Arat demanded.
The other female knights and the remaining soldiers formed a tight line, surrounding Ganz. Gabriella, clad in golden armor, took a sword from one of the male soldiers and pointed it at Arat.
"Drop your weapon and surrender, Ganz."
Ganz's eyes flicked between the knights, the soldiers, and the helpless Arat. He saw that the remaining soldiers, who had been guarding the back side of the house, had now joined the others, surrounding him completely. With Arat captured, he realized he was out of options. The situation was dire—four of the devil brides and fewer than twenty soldiers remained, but they had his grandson's life in their hands.
Ganz, with a pained expression, slowly loosened his grip on his blood-soaked mace and let it fall to the ground. He took a moment to catch his breath, placing a trembling hand over his mouth as another fit of coughing wracked his body, more blood spilling from his lips. Straightening up, he wiped his mouth and prepared to speak.
Gabriella, anticipating something different, watched him warily, her white, pupil-less eyes analyzing every subtle movement. She noticed Ganz inhaling deeply, a strange calmness settling over him. He held his breath for a moment before releasing it in a powerful, guttural roar.
The force of the sound was overwhelming. A deafening shockwave rippled through the air, causing blood to seep from the ears of everyone around him. The warriors, including Gabriella, and even Arat, were thrown to the ground by the sheer intensity of the roar. They clutched their ears in agony, their bodies twitching uncontrollably as they struggled to withstand the force of Ganz's voice.
The battlefield, which had been filled with tension and anticipation, was now consumed by chaos as the sound echoed through the air, leaving everyone in its wake temporarily incapacitated.
Ganz, with urgency in his movements, quickly approached the unconscious Arat and shook him, trying to bring the boy back to his senses.
"Arat, wake up boy, wake up!"
When it became clear that Arat wasn't recovering, Ganz lifted him with one arm and carried him inside the house, leaving a trail of his blood on the floor. He hurriedly rummaged through his leather pouch, pulling out another vial and drinking its contents before heading back outside.
The knights were still reeling from the effects of Ganz's roar; some lay unconscious, while others struggled to stand. Gabriella and a few of her elite female knights managed to stay on their feet, though their stances were shaky, weapons drawn in a futile attempt to stop him.
Ganz placed Arat and the leather pouch on the ground, then kicked the boy, jolting him awake. Arat groggily took in the scene: the knights barely standing, his grandfather covered in blood, and the ominous tension in the air.
Gabriella, panting and visibly strained, fixed her gaze on Ganz.
"How in the world did you gain the Giant's roar, you bastard? What other secrets are you hiding, you twisted old fuck?"
She demanded, her voice laced with disbelief and frustration.
Ganz remained silent, refusing to answer her. Instead, he leaned close to Arat, his voice low and urgent, audible only to the boy.
"Cover your ears as hard as you can. After that, run toward the forest."
Arat's eyes widened in understanding, knowing his grandfather was about to unleash something even more powerful.
Arat realizing the same shout was about to be yelled again, closed his eyes and squeezed his head and ear between his hands, even so the sound seemed to pierce his hands and reach deep into his ears shaking his skull, once he opened his eyes, he saw the four female knights who were on their knees holding their head with their hand as blood was now gushing out of their eyes as well.
Ganz then collapsed on to his knees following them and coughed a few times before throwing up more blood, he then shouted at Arat
"What are you waiting for run!"
With a trembling voice filled with worriedness words started to come out of Arat's mouth
"But… but grandpa I can't just leave you…"
His sentence was cut by Ganz as he commanded him with a high hoarse voice
"Look at me, I'm beyond any help you can give me, now run, run toward the forest as fast as you can"
"Ganz's eyelids started falling down, his energy had been run out he slowly calmed down the intruded veins started to go back in his skin, he once again gathered all his might and stood tall on both his feet, as Arat noticed the male and female knights regaining their strength and standing back up. He quickly grabbed the leather pouch and took a few steps before his eyes caught the sight of a steel sword in a sheath held onto a bloody leather belt, Arat didn't waste a second lowering his body grabbing it as he kept running toward the line of trees.
Huffing and puffing, each breath felt like a knife stabbing into his chest. Exhaling was no better; it was as if that same dagger was being taken out. But with gritted teeth and nails clenched into the leather of his gloves, he forced himself to take the next step. Behind him, the air was filled with screams and the sound of steel clashing steel. He could still hear his grandfather's war cries, growing weaker and weaker with each passing moment.
Tears soaked his eyes, visible through the holes in the iron mask he wore.
"Grandpa is surely going to be killed by those women."
Was the only thought that occupied his mind, He pictured his grandfather's lifeless body on the ground, head severed, surrounded by the demonic female knights.
Arat stumbled into the cold atmosphere of the forest, shaded by the trees above. He had to keep moving, no matter what. His black blood, which had started seeping from the wound again after being thrown into the wall by that crazy woman, dripped beneath his feet, marking the path he walked.
Soon, he heard the sound of water falling. Pushing his limits, he made it to a lake. He bent down to drink, but before his hand touched the water, he noticed his black blood dripping into it. Looking back, he saw the trail of blood he'd left behind.
If I go inside the cave here, they can easily track me down. Coming here was only for me to be in a safe place until grandpa could arrive. I need a place to hide until I can think of anything else none the less.
Arat gulped some water allowing his blood to fall onto the stones nearby a bit more indicating that he stopped here for a few moments, he then kept walking the sound of fighting and screams have now been completely cut off.
Arat, who knew this forest like the back of his hand had an idea. This forest had been his only playground since he couldn't go into the city or near other humans, let alone play with the village children. Whether it would work or not depended on his luck and how clever his pursuers were.
He pressed on until he reached a small cave beneath a hill. Once inside, he frantically searched his leather pouch until he found a small, thick iron sheet with a mouth-shaped carving, wrapped in fine cloth. There was no time to be curious about it; he tossed the iron sheet back into the bag and used the rag to bandage his wound.
"Now all I need to do is get back into the cave without leaving any marks."
Arat exited the cave and headed back toward the lake. On his way, the darkened sky opened up, and cold raindrops began to fall, turning the dirt into mud and soaking everything.
He finally reached the lake again, climbing over the stones and slipping behind the waterfall. Passing through the veil of water that guarded its entrance, he found a spacious cave, the same one he had discovered with his grandfather.
Exhausted, Arat collapsed against a stone, using it to support his shoulder and arm, careful not to put pressure on the wound in his back. Tears mingled with the rainwater running down his face as he cried his heart out.
He knew, deep down, what had happened to Ganz, the one and only person he had in this world.