Several peaceful weeks passed after Lucian's return to the capital.
For the first time in years, he was able to experience something resembling an ordinary life.
There were no alarms.
No urgent military reports.
No bloodstained messengers arriving at the palace.
No sudden attacks from the Demonic Beasts.
The war had not ended, but the front had become strangely quiet.
Lucian spent much of his time in the capital.
And whenever Clara was free, he found himself beside her.
Their relationship had slowly changed.
What had once been awkward conversations had become something natural. They walked together through the palace gardens, visited the royal library, discussed books, and sometimes simply sat together without saying much.
Lucian had begun to treasure those moments.
Perhaps that was why the order that arrived one morning caught him completely off guard.
He was to return to the Border.
Immediately.
Lucian stared at the sealed military document in disbelief.
His request to return to the Border had been rejected several times.
He had asked.
He had argued.
He had even tried convincing Max to support him.
Every attempt had failed.
And now, without him asking, they were calling him back.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
An Unexpected Farewell
Before leaving, Lucian went to see Clara.
She was in the Royal Library when he found her.
She looked up from her book.
"You're here early."
Lucian smiled faintly.
"I have to leave."
Her smile disappeared.
"Leave?"
"The Border."
Clara stared at him for a moment.
"Already?"
"I received the order this morning."
She closed her book.
"Is something happening?"
"I don't know."
That was the truth.
Even Lucian had not yet been told the full details.
He simply knew that the kingdom had suddenly decided that his presence was necessary.
Clara stood.
"Then be careful."
Lucian nodded.
"I will."
Neither of them knew what else to say.
After everything they had shared during his brief stay in the capital, this farewell felt different.
Lucian reached for her hand.
Clara allowed him to take it.
"I'll come back."
She smiled.
"You better."
For a moment, Lucian considered saying more.
But the words remained trapped in his throat.
Instead, he squeezed her hand gently before letting go.
"I'll see you again."
Clara nodded.
"I'll wait."
Those words stayed with him as he left.
The News at the Station
The train station was unusually crowded.
But it wasn't filled with nobles or civilians.
It was filled with adventurers.
Warriors carrying swords.
Archers carrying bows.
Mages carrying staffs.
Healers carrying bags of potions.
Some wore old armor covered with scratches.
Others carried newly purchased weapons.
They were experienced adventurers who had spent years away from serious combat.
Now they were returning to the frontier.
Lucian barely had time to wonder why before a military officer approached him.
"Prince Lucian."
Lucian turned.
"What's happening?"
The officer handed him a report.
"You're being briefed before departure."
Lucian opened the document.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then stopped.
He looked up.
"What?"
The officer remained silent.
Lucian looked at the report again.
"A giant?"
The officer nodded.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Lucian's expression became serious.
"Explain."
The officer took a breath.
"Two days ago, scouts near the eastern forest detected something enormous moving toward the lake."
"At first, they thought it was a mountain."
"A mountain?"
"Yes."
The officer pointed toward the report.
"The object was so large and distant that the scouts couldn't determine what they were looking at."
The following day, it moved closer.
And the scouts finally understood.
It was alive.
A giant.
The Giant
The ancient world contained many stories.
Some were considered history.
Others were considered legends.
And some were so unbelievable that scholars had eventually classified them as myths.
Among those myths were stories about the ancient war between Darkness and the Dragons.
The stories spoke of enormous creatures that fought alongside the Dragons.
Creatures that could walk across mountains.
Creatures whose footsteps could shake the earth.
Giants.
For centuries, scholars had debated whether they had ever existed.
No remains had been found.
No living specimens had ever been discovered.
Eventually, the Giants were considered extinct.
Or perhaps fictional.
But now...
One had appeared.
And it was walking toward the lake.
Lucian slowly lowered the report.
"If Giants really existed..."
He looked toward the officer.
"Then what about the Dragons?"
The officer didn't answer.
Nobody could.
The possibility alone was terrifying.
If one species believed to be extinct had survived...
Then perhaps others had as well.
A Moving Threat
The giant continued toward the lake.
Every hour, the scouts reported that it had moved closer.
It did not appear to be attacking anything.
It did not stop.
It did not change direction.
It simply walked.
One step.
Then another.
Always toward the lake.
But there was something even more disturbing.
The scouts had detected Demonic Energy around it.
At first, the readings were faint.
Then they became stronger.
The closer the giant came, the more intense the readings became.
The soldiers stationed near the lake could feel it themselves.
A heavy pressure filled the air.
The same instinctive sensation that soldiers experienced when a powerful Demon was nearby.
The giant was therefore classified as a hostile threat.
The commanders at the frontier were immediately recalled.
Messages were sent to the Tecka territory.
The Elven Kingdom was contacted.
The Dwarven Kingdom was contacted.
Even the commanders who had remained dormant during the peaceful months were ordered back to the frontier.
Something enormous was coming.
And nobody knew why.
The Return of the Adventurers
The kingdom also made another decision.
The reclaimed territories had remained mostly empty.
The war had destroyed the local economy.
Farms had been abandoned.
Markets had closed.
Roads had become deserted.
The kingdom now wanted civilians to slowly return.
But the presence of the remaining Demonic Beasts made that dangerous.
So an unusual solution was proposed.
Adventurers would be allowed into the secured territories.
Their task was simple.
Hunt the remaining Demonic Beasts.
Clear the roads.
Protect settlements.
Make the reclaimed lands safe enough for civilians to return.
The news spread quickly.
Adventurers who had spent years away from serious hunts began arriving from every corner of the kingdoms.
Some came for money.
Some came for glory.
Some wanted to fight the creatures that had once terrorized their families.
And some simply wanted to prove themselves.
The train station became crowded with them.
Yet they were forbidden from entering the actual Border Wall.
They could hunt only within the secured territories.
The true battlefield remained the army's responsibility.
Reunion at the Border
When Lucian finally arrived at the Border, he was surprised by how crowded the fort had become.
Soldiers filled the streets.
Adventurers moved through the secured areas.
Engineers transported weapons.
Messengers rushed between command posts.
And everywhere he looked, preparations were underway.
Then he saw familiar faces.
"Kae!"
His cousin turned around.
"Lucian!"
May stood beside her.
Uncle Max was there as well.
"You took your time," Max joked.
Lucian smiled.
"I came as soon as I received the order."
Around them stood commanders from the Elven Kingdom and the Dwarven Kingdom.
Several renowned knights had also arrived.
The atmosphere was different from the battles they had fought before.
Nobody knew what they were dealing with.
And that uncertainty frightened even experienced warriors.
The Plan
The giant was expected to reach the lake soon.
The army had very little time.
The commanders gathered around a large map.
The lake occupied most of the center.
The Border lay far behind them.
The giant's projected path was marked in red.
"We cannot stop it here."
One of the commanders spoke.
"If we attack it directly, we will only waste soldiers."
Another commander nodded.
"The main army needs time to cross the lake."
Lucian studied the map.
"So we don't defeat it."
Everyone looked toward him.
"We delay it."
Silence filled the room.
Lucian continued.
"We intercept it before it reaches the lake."
"We attack the Demonic Beasts surrounding it."
"We slow its movement."
"And while we do that, the main force crosses the lake."
Max nodded.
"Exactly."
One of the Elven commanders frowned.
"And if it attacks us?"
Lucian's hand tightened around the hilt of his sword.
"Then we retreat."
"We don't try to kill something we don't understand."
The plan was simple.
Not to win.
Not yet.
Only to buy time.
Into the Forest
The expeditionary force departed.
Lucian traveled with the forward commanders.
Kae and May remained with the main force.
The soldiers moved through the forest carefully.
But something felt strange.
There were no Demonic Beasts.
No Demons.
No movement.
The forest was completely silent.
Lucian looked around.
"This is strange."
Irene wasn't there this time.
Max was.
And even he seemed uneasy.
"Too quiet," Max muttered.
The forest had once been filled with Demonic Beasts.
Now there was nothing.
Not even the sound of distant creatures.
They continued forward.
Hours passed.
Then one of the scouts returned.
"We're close."
The entire formation stopped.
Lucian looked ahead.
At first, he saw only trees.
Then the trees began to move.
No.
They weren't moving.
Something beyond them was.
A shadow rose above the forest.
Higher.
Higher.
And higher.
The soldiers slowly looked upward.
Their faces changed.
There it was.
The Giant
It was enormous.
Far larger than anything Lucian had ever seen.
Its body rose above the trees like a moving tower.
Each step caused the ground to tremble.
THOOM.
Birds fled from the surrounding forest.
Dust rose around its feet.
Yet the creature showed no sign of awareness.
It simply walked.
Straight toward the lake.
Like a puppet following a single command.
Lucian stared.
"So that's a Giant..."
Then he noticed something else.
Around its feet were hundreds of creatures.
Demonic Beasts.
They moved alongside it.
Like a living shadow.
Some crawled through the undergrowth.
Others ran between its enormous legs.
Several Demonic Beasts even climbed over fallen trees to keep pace with it.
But the Giant itself appeared completely indifferent to them.
It didn't command them.
It didn't attack them.
It simply continued walking.
The First Engagement
The commanders gave the signal.
The soldiers moved.
Their first target wasn't the Giant.
It was the swarm surrounding it.
Light Cannons fired from the forest.
BOOM!
A wave of white energy tore through the Demonic Beasts.
Several collapsed immediately.
Archers fired from hidden positions.
Mages launched spells.
Soldiers charged forward.
The Demonic Beasts reacted violently.
But they were slowly being pushed back.
Lucian joined the attack.
His sword flashed.
A Beast lunged.
He stepped aside.
His blade passed through its neck.
Another attacked from behind.
Lucian released a burst of Light Mana.
The creature was thrown backward.
One by one, the beasts began disappearing.
Yet the Giant didn't react.
It continued walking.
One step.
Another.
Another.
Its feet crushed trees beneath them.
The soldiers continued their assault.
They slowly reduced the number of Demonic Beasts surrounding it.
But they never attacked the Giant.
Not yet.
They wanted to know what it would do.
The March to the Lake
Hours passed.
The army continued moving around the Giant.
The Demonic Beasts were almost completely eliminated.
The Giant never stopped.
Never looked toward them.
Never raised its hand.
Never showed anger.
It was as though the soldiers didn't exist.
Eventually, the Giant reached the edge of the lake.
Only a handful of Demonic Beasts remained around its feet.
The scouts withdrew.
They had completed their task.
They returned toward the main camp.
Lucian remained with the forward force.
He stared at the enormous creature.
Something about it disturbed him.
"This isn't normal."
Max looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
Lucian narrowed his eyes.
"The Demons we've fought always reacted to us."
"But this..."
He looked at the Giant.
"It's as if it doesn't even know we're here."
The Giant stopped.
For the first time...
It moved differently.
Its enormous head slowly tilted.
The soldiers froze.
The Giant turned.
Its eyes opened.
A deep, ancient gaze fell upon them.
The pressure that followed was overwhelming.
Lucian instinctively released his Light Mana.
The soldiers raised their weapons.
The Giant stared at them.
Then—
It stepped toward the lake.
THOOM.
The water trembled.
The battle had not truly begun.
It had only reached the lake.
And now, for the first time, humanity was standing directly before a creature that had existed only in the pages of ancient myths.
Lucian tightened his grip on his Melarium sword.
Behind him, the army prepared its weapons.
Across the lake, the main force was already beginning to establish its position.
And before them stood the Giant.
Silent.
Ancient.
And covered in the faint aura of Demonic Energy.
Lucian took a breath.
"Everyone..."
He raised his sword.
"Prepare yourselves."
The battle against the Giant had begun.