"Do you accept?" the pale giant asked, his voice echoing like a cold wind.
The Nameless King remained on his knees in the mud. He stared at the ground, contemplating this new "purpose." It was a tempting offer, a chance to leave his hollow existence behind, but could he truly trust this being?
"What will happen if I accept?" the Nameless King asked, his voice raspy.
The Pale Giant looked at him with hollow, weary eyes. "I am the Death King. I am the one who brings the end to monsters and anomalies. I am a servant of the Gods and the primary disciple of Death itself. If you accept, I will send you on a mission."
The Death King paused, his gaze turning dark. "On this mission, you will destroy villages and cities. You will bring total devastation to the Elven Continent."
The Nameless King stood up, his mind finally made up. "I accept!" he said with newfound confidence.
The Death King simply nodded. He turned his back and walked toward his throne made of ancient bones. "You have two weeks. That will be enough time. Now, go. I will send a servant to accompany you."
The Nameless King nodded in return. 'There is nothing else I can do. If I say no, my head will fly off my shoulders!' It was frustrating. He felt like a mere insect next to this King, who sat on a throne emanating an aura so lethal that any suspicious movement meant certain death.
He walked through the pouring rain alongside the undead servant. The sound of water hitting the dead, damp earth and the snapping of dry branches filled the silence. The Nameless King frowned, his nose twitching at the rotting stench coming from the creature beside him.
'Ugh, I feel like I'm going to throw up... this is sickening,' he thought.
Eventually, they reached a vast body of water at the edge of a high cliff. The undead servant pointed a skeletal, rotting finger toward the horizon.
"It is there... where the continent... of the elves lies," the zombie giant croaked, his voice heavy and devoid of life.
Acknowledging the information, the Nameless King leaped. Dark energy swirled around him as he plummeted through the clouds. The wind roared against his face, whipping through his hair and clothes. It was hard to breathe.
As he fell, the nausea began to fade, replaced by the fresh scent of the ocean. 'Wait... does the water have a scent? Or is it just my imagination?' He didn't know.
After a long time of seeing nothing but the endless blue of the ocean, a thin line of green land appeared. He began to pick up speed, excitement surging through him. He slammed into the earth with a thunderous boom, creating a massive crater. Dust billowed as a dark figure rose from the center.
A villager, fallen on the ground, crawled backward with a terrified expression. His eyes shook with fear, and his legs gave out, trembling until they had no strength left. Tears streamed down his face as he grew paler by the second.
Cutting through the dust with his bone sword, the Nameless King emerged. He looked at the old elf, who felt the bitter taste of death approaching. The shadow of the sword began to cover his small body. His entire life flashed before his eyes, his voice trapped in his throat.
"N-Noooo!" he screamed as the blade swung down.
Blood splashed across the green, flowery ground.
Before him lay a village. Everyone had seemed happy before his arrival, but now, they were paralyzed by terror. The fear was visible in their eyes. With a growing bloodlust, the Nameless King rested his sword on his shoulder.
'Now is the time for destruction... wherever I step, I will be followed by it.'
The scent of iron hung thick in the air. The Nameless King walked through the devastation, his boots soaked in puddles of blood. He looked down at the ground that was once beautiful, now stained crimson.
Suddenly, he sensed something coming.
Swinging his sword, he cut through a magical projectile. The green energy dissipated instantly. He raised an eyebrow, looking at his blade and then at the elf before him. 'Strange. I felt the wind attacking me, but it was just this odd thing.'
The elf stared at the giant, shocked by what he had just witnessed. 'H-How... how did he cut through magic with a sword made of bones? That should be impossible!'
The Nameless King didn't wait. With a clean, dry cut, he split the elf in two. He continued his path as the sound of a house collapsing echoed behind him. He walked aimlessly, having already razed the village. The Death King hadn't given him a specific quota of villages to destroy within these two weeks.
The sky began to darken, blocking out the light of day. He heard a noise and looked to the side. Horses? No—elves riding horses.
The Nameless King drew his sword and charged. A roar echoed as the earth was pushed back by his sheer power. He covered his mouth with his elbow, his eyes burning with a hunger for blood. With a single sweeping strike, half the army was decimated.
In a single blow, nearly a hundred men were wiped out. The green grass was drenched in a red rain. The Nameless King felt a thrill; destroying a village and then an army was, to him, a thing of beauty.
At the rear of the battalion stood Baron Kotei. When he saw the rain of blood, his serious expression turned cold, mixed with the shock of seeing a giant's true power.
Dismounting his horse, the Baron commanded, "All of you, go!" He stared at the Nameless King with sharp, narrowed eyes.
The remaining soldiers nodded. "Yes, Baron Kotei!"
They charged toward the village, which was behind the Nameless King. Seeing the army of a hundred small, pointed-eared men coming his way, a psychopathic smile spread across his blood-stained face.
'Yes! Come! I will bring death to all of you! My blade will be stained with your blood! You small... insignificant beings.'
Suddenly, a ray of light pierced through the dark, cloudy sky. It moved at incredible speed—at least to the Nameless King. He defended with his bone sword, small shards chipping off his blade from the impact.
The giant ground his teeth in excitement. His clothes whipped around from the force as the yellow light illuminated his blood-covered body. He shifted his gaze as the battalion passed him.
He smiled. 'All of you will... die!'
He redirected the glowing ray toward the elven army. Kotei turned pale, sweat dripping down his face as his own magic decimated his loyal troops. 'Dammit!'
Drawing a sword hilt, Kotei rushed toward his horse. He mounted it and charged the Nameless King, his cape fluttering in the wind.
"GIIIIIIAAAANNNNNTTTTT!!!!" Kotei roared like a commander who had lost everything. Yellow light surged around him.
Hungry for blood, the Nameless King prepared an attack with his bone sword, swinging it toward the elf's face. 'You will die now... giant!'
Just as the sword was about to touch the elf's skin, a yellow light struck like a lightning bolt. The blow was repelled, and the Nameless King's arms were forced up against his will.
"Huh?!" His eyebrows shot up as he realized he was falling backward.
Everything was engulfed in a yellow flash, blinding the Nameless King. The Baron conjured a blast of divine light. "May the Goddess of Life have mercy on you... Giant."
Something slammed into the Nameless King's stomach. With every second, the pressure grew stronger. His muscles began to contract. His eyes rolled back, and saliva escaped his mouth.
'I have to... get out of this alive... so I can see my family again,' Kotei thought.
The giant slammed into the ground. Blood sprayed everywhere. The sound was like a building collapsing. "AAAAHHHHH!!!!" An indescribable pain surged through him—a pain he had never felt before. His stomach was nearly pierced through.
The Nameless King writhed on the ground, his entire body trembling. In contrast, the Baron stood panting, drenched in sweat. He looked at his shaking hand. 'Dammit! I used too much mana, more than I usually do. And it seems the fight isn't over. Dammit, DAMMIT!'
Forcing himself up, the Nameless King looked at Kotei with even greater killing intent. 'How fun... I can taste the blood running down my body!' he thought, licking his lips.
He drove his bone sword into the ground to steady himself and stood up. Baron Kotei felt a cold shiver run down his spine. 'Im-impossible?! How did he... how did he get up so fast? Is this the level of a giant's power?'
Suddenly, the giant vanished.
Kotei looked from side to side but found no trace. Then, something appeared behind him, bringing a violent wind with it. Kotei turned, his pupils dilating. The bone sword swung with such force that it seemed to cut the air itself.
Kotei conjured a magical shield as fast as he could. Raw energy exploded as the two collided. Then, something snapped.
The sword was pushed back, and a closed fist took its place. The punch moved closer, and Kotei, paralyzed by surprise, could only watch it come. 'Regina... I'm sorry!'
There was a sickening, meaty crack. His entire body compressed from the impact, bones snapping as he was sent flying through the air, leaving a trail of blood behind him.
With a sudden burst of speed, the Nameless King appeared in mid-air. Kotei saw only the silhouette of a massive hand coming for him. He had no strength left to conjure magic. Only one thought repeated in his mind: 'I'm sorry, Regina... maybe I won't be able to keep my promise... I'm sorry.'
Struck again by the Nameless King, Kotei was hammered into the ground. The impact caused a massive boom, sending dust into the air. The Nameless King landed with a wide, manic smile.
'It's been a long time since I've had a fight like this. Hahaha! This is fun. Come on, entertain me more, you pointed-eared brat,' the Nameless King thought.
In the smoke, a small figure began to take shape. Kotei was barely standing, his posture broken. As the dust settled, Kotei was revealed—covered in blood, hair matted, his eyes... lifeless.
The Nameless King's smile widened, filled with a fleeting happiness. 'How am I... still alive? How?' Kotei wondered. He held out his arm, blood-soaked and trembling. 'If I'm alive, then...'
Bolts of light began to surge around the elven Baron. '...I will fight and seize this chance granted by the Goddess!'
The Nameless King charged, bone sword in hand. He swung the blade in a cold, dry arc, parting the air once more.
"All my energy... all my mana... I will give... all of me!" Kotei roared. Flashes of his wife and daughter smiling invaded his mind. His pupils dilated.
Kotei let out a warrior's cry. The magic fired. Leaves swirled violently, and the wind became a gale. The lightning raced toward the bone sword. The collision caused an explosion between brute force and magic.
'Is he... smiling?' Kotei was incredulous.
The giant's skin began to burn from the lightning, but it only excited him further. 'This pain... feeling this is the proof that I am alive. Ah, my skin burns, it burns!' the Nameless King thought, ecstatic.
Kotei felt his mana core screaming. Blood leaked from his pale mouth. He knew that if he continued, his chances of dying were high, and even if he survived, he might never use magic again. But in his desperation, the elf took a step forward.
The giant's skin began to melt. Then, suddenly, the magic was split in two. The Nameless King lunged. Kotei saw his death standing right in front of him.
But as the giant was about to deliver the final blow, his arm locked. Kotei collapsed, unconscious. Against his will, the Nameless King's eyes closed as well.
When he finally opened them again, the sky that was once blue was now a vibrant orange. The sunlight was fading. The Nameless King was speechless at the beauty before him. His eyes shone.
"So... beautiful!"
And suddenly, his gaze went empty. Life left his eyes, leaving them hollow. The fight was over. He stood up and looked at the body of his enemy.
"There is no reason to kill you."
The Nameless King turned and began to walk away, wandering without a destination. 'Why is it always like this? Why, at the end of every fight, is this feeling the only thing that remains?'