Chapter 1: The Sword Saint
AOT x Overlord Crossover Fanfiction: Blades of Death
Author: Soul River and Solidorex
Beta Readers:
Editors:
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Standing at the boat's bow, which is being pushed by the wind and waves, Brain Unglaus stood crossed armed with his eyes closed, lost in thought.
'It has been a year, and I still think about it. There it stood, a champion of the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown, and it called itself Cocytus. With only one strike, it ended me, or so I thought.'
Brain knew even before the 'fight' what the outcome would be. His soul and instincts could feel it, screaming at him to flee. The insectoid was on a whole other level than him, perhaps on the level of Shalltear Bloodfallen, which meant he had no chance of winning.
The only thing he could do was find peace in the fact he would die at the hands of such an opponent.
Since the 'battle', Brain had improved significantly, making him believe his training wasn't a waste of time. That is probably one of the reasons that most people give up on their training in a particular field. They could not see one's improvement.
Despite encountering Cocytus, a powerful monster, his fate changed from death to life. He was sure he would be cut down and cease to be. That was not the case at all. It was the opposite.
Brain, under unknown means, awoken on an abandoned island, which did not appear familiar to him. Although, when compared to those sages, he lacked knowledge, however, when it came to knowledge regarding locations and exploration of the world, few could match him.
He had traveled extensively to improve his swordsmanship and knew more about the world than those who ruled it.
Brain was alone on the island and not as worried or startled as expected. With his experience, even if he couldn't live as he would in a civilized world, he would not die.
Exploring the island, he found some well-maintained crates of supplies that made him raise a brow with suspicion. No matter how dumb he was, he realized something was wrong. Why did it seem like these were prepared for him? Crates full of medicine, potions, and other utilities. Everything was something he knew and could use without having to experiment with it.
Brain's suspicion grew as he felt someone had prepared these for him. That being said, the amount of supply was limited and would not last forever.
Feeling his slowly weakening body, he could sense how he had been living had taken a toll. His reaction speed, strength, and even his swordsmanship were gradually becoming weaker. The only reason he could endure this far was his increased endurance, which had limits.
'I can't keep going this way, I need to find land, or I die! I have been given a chance, and…don't want to waste it.. I still have to fight those monsters….again.'
Gripping the handle of his katana, Brain's mind wandered back to his 'battle' with Cocytus, eager to learn from it. This is what he did every day for the past year at sea.
In his mind, he would create imagery scenarios to fight Cocytus, but no matter what he did, he could not find any flaws to exploit. If he increases his strength, Cocytus still use one strike to kill him. He could see that Cocytus hadn't used anything but swordsmanship, which made him confused. No matter what power Cocytus faced, a slash was all it needed for it to be over.
At Re- Estize, the capital of the Re-Estize Kingdom, even though he pushed his skills and body to their limit, Cocytus was able to finish the battle with one blow.
Brain imagined that the kingdom might evaporate if Cocytus went all out, using strength other than swordsmanship, let alone his body. That is the impression he got from the noble warrior, Cocytus.
In his heart, Cocytus was what the ideal warrior was, but he would never say it. How would it look for him, a human praising a monster?
Sighing deeply while opening his eyes, Brain's eyes narrowed as he spotted an island he had been dreaming of for months!
Though his expression was calm, his hands and feet were excitedly shaking, they were eager to embrace mother earth.
Hopping off the boat, Brain found himself standing firmly on the sea's surface. Each step would cause ripples to spread from where he steps.
If one looked closely at his body, one would notice a faint light flickering, causing him to look inhumane. How was a human producing light from their body?
Brain walked across the water with an unperturbed expression before stepping on the island, making the light disappear.
Dropping to his knees and touching the ground with his hands, a happy expression appeared on his face, with joyful tears streaming down.
"It's so good to see you again, old friend. I won't leave you again."
The skill Brain uses is something he learned by taking inspiration from the power of Sebas Tain in the crusade against the Eight Fingers. However, no matter what he did, he could not enchant his body like the butler. It was as if a barrier was in his way, blocking him.
From what Brain could see, Sebas was a Monk, and he was a fighter. It's impossible to learn a skill not in his class.
Without options, Brain could only apply it through the only way he could best Sebas in, martial arts. Through constant failure, the skill was created. Unlike Sebas way of strengthening his body, he made a skill that protects his body from attacks and extends the duration he can stay in a fight.
Walking on water was just another way of utilizing the skill. Still, it took Brain a long time to reach this level. Without dedication, it's impossible to use the skill, let alone reach the level of water treading.
The constant use of the strengthening and weakening caused by the skill will gradually make one's strength and endurance reach a terrifying level.
Standing on the island, Brain sighed with relief. His body was still adjusted to the sea, so he needed to find his bearings again.
He had been at sea for over a year, but that did not mean he spent his time doing nothing. As the tides rose, he swung his sword, and as the seas became peaceful, he meditated. At night, his long of home manifested in the form of searching for familiar constellations.
Feeling the gains of sand between his toes, Brain smiled wryly as he looked at his barefoot. On his journey, he was attacked by various sea beasts, each trying to drag him to the watery depths. The last thing on his mind was his shoes, so it's not surprising they were missing.
Though the creatures were no match for him, Brain could not defeat them instantly as he hoped, despite his strength. This showed his inexperience in fighting creatures that lived in water.
Brain learned its anatomy after defeating the first sea beast and was surprised by his discovery.
The sea creature was normal by the standard of his world and did not possess the ability to access magic. None of its body parts were reinforced, nor did the creature seem to possess intelligence. It was almost as if the creature was a simple animal of the sea.
Through this experience, Brain learned a weakness he didn't realize he had, or maybe it would be better to say he overlooked it.
He was unable to fight an enemy he did not have information about. For example, when he fought against Shalltear Bloodfallen, he had fought assuming she was a simple vampire, but when she showed strength beyond his, he lost the motivation to fight as the fear of death flashed in the corners of his mind.
Though this was mainly because he saw the vast gap between their abilities, it still showed a weakness in his fighting style.
The situation with the sea beasts is similar to what happened with Shalltear Bloodfallen, but in this scenario, he was the powerful one. Because of this weakness, Brain pushes his arsenal of skills to their limit, making his strength reach new heights.
Occasionally, he could be seen smiling, knowing he hadn't reached his limit.
Still, even with these skills, Brain didn't think he got any closer to Cocytus's power. The warrior was out of reach for the whole of humanity. Such strength is something that a simple human might never achieve in their lifetime.
Even if he trained for a thousand years, he was unlikely to reach that stage, and who is to say Cocytus hasn't gotten stronger in that time as well? It could also be that the monster already reached its peak? What would Brain know about such things beyond his being?
Speaking of Cocytus, while Brain was confused about how he came to this world, he could see all conclusions pointing to Cocytus and his master, Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown.
After Cocytus attacked Re-Estizel, Brain remembered his consciousness fading. Before falling into complete darkness, he remembered Cocyus telling one of his subordinates to do something, and then he arrived here. He was unsure of what happened afterward, but he had some suspicions.
Even if Cocytus could not send him to another world, Ainz Ooal Gown surely could. Just the power shown by the Sorcerer King was enough to place him on equal ground with the Six Great Gods, if not higher. This is something Brain firmly believed in, even if he wanted to deny it.
The Undead King has killed his long rival, Gazef Stronoff, in less than a second. He was there and witnessed it, but he still didn't know what happened.
Brain expected Gazef to at least land a hit on the Sorcerer King but was instead surrounded by Death's cold embrace as Ainz Ooal Gown held him in his hands.
Not only that but for Cocytus to be his subordinate and be so powerful, what power has Ainz Ooal Gown not shown to the world? He couldn't begin to imagine.
Brain always feels sad and guilty that Climb and the rest of the kingdom will be forced to experience the Sorcerer King's wrath. He only hoped that if Climb died, he at least had a quick and painless death.
He was surely able to come to this world because of Cocytus, but what about everyone else? Was their death permanent, or were they given a second chance? Maybe they were here as well, to be found in this vast world he knew nothing about.
Sighing, Brain forces himself from those thoughts as it would be more painful when he realizes they are mere imaginations. Thinking about the kingdom would not change the fact he was incapable of helping them. No amount of people could stop those monsters. It's like using an anvil to kill an ant. In this case, the kingdom was the ant, and the anvil was the Sorcerer Kingdom.
From what Brain had seen, this world might be massive. When he first opened his eyes in this place, he was on an island where he trained with a few beasts for several months.
Though he loved training, there was only so much he could do without actual combat. So after failing to improve, he built a wooden boat and went to sea.
On his travels, Brain realized that land seemed like an oddity in this world, as all he saw was water.
Catching fish and birds and drinking their blood is how he survived, but his body had severely weakened as a result.
Brain had thought of Shalltear Bloodfallen when he drank the blood, feeling quite the irony. He had shown disdain towards the vampire, yet here he was, drinking blood like a vampire. Sometimes the monster is closer than one thinks.
Even after a year of sailing, Brian only found this island, meaning this world was massive and covered by a huge ocean. It would be shocking if he had simply missed the mainland, but he doubts it. His keen senses allowed him to peek far into the distance so he wouldn't miss such a big chunk of land.
Shaking his head, Brain grabbed a piece of cloth and started to wipe his katana down. Even though there was no damage or rust on it, he wanted to maintain this habit. A warrior should always be aware of their equipment maintenance as its one's partner in this otherwise cruel world.
Speaking of weapons, the first time Brain unsheathed his katana in this world, he frowned with confusion as he saw a golden inscription on either side of the blade. He knew his weapon like the back of his hand, so he knew this inscription was new.
After observing it for a while, he thought nothing of it as it did not weaken the equilibrium of the katana. However, as he ended life with it, Brain felt that the katana's sharpness and durability improved.
At the same time, he noticed that when killing a monster, the blood of the fallen would be sucked up by the blade, causing the dents and damages to disappear.
One time when fighting at sea, Brain accidentally dropped his katana into the sea but found the weapon flying toward him as soon as he reached a certain range from it.
He guessed the inscription had that effect, just like the enhanced sharpness and durability. He wondered how far he could throw the weapon before it would return to his hand but didn't dare to throw it into the ocean's depth to find out.
According to his guess, Brian concluded this weapon was on par, if not stronger than Gazef's Razor Edge because it can grow stronger with the user. He found its sharpness to have increased to incredible heights he could only dream of back in the day.
Speaking of growing stronger, Brain had improved his strength and felt he could easily defeat his old self in a few minutes. His understanding of the sword and his skills have gone through a metamorphosis without any distractions hindering him.
For example,
Ten meters is the limit his attacks can reach, but he feels he can still improve and surpass what he thought impossible.
Sheathing his blade and sitting cross-legged, Brian thought about what to do now that he had found land.
In this world, he has no rivals or goals to push him to greater heights. From what he has seen until now, this might be an ordinary world, as even the creatures that attack him are easily defeated.
As for what Cocytus expects of him, Brain is not sure, but eventually, he will figure it out.
'I should perhaps try to reach Shalltear Bloodfallen and Cocytus level of strength. That might be impossible, but it's still a goal nonetheless.'
Sighing, he reached for the small bag tied at his waist and fished out a green potion.
Drinking it, he could feel his stamina being replenished, but he still thought he should eat and drink water to have his body in optimal condition.
The bag is something he found on his body when he arrived. Quite the convenient tool, he must say.
Inside were some potions, from healing to stamina to body and mind enhancement. He knew them, as he used the same potions to fight Cocytus.
After drinking the last healing potion, Brain discovered that the bag had automatically made a new potion six months later. Not only that, it was the same one he drank before. He found it odd but thought the bag was a magic item with this enchantment. What enchantment could produce a health potion?
However, for a bag to be able to create potions, he imagined it would cost a fortune to create and souls to obtain.
Brian doubts that even the famed Slane Theocracy possessed items of this level.
The bag could also be used as a storage bag as the inside was around a meter in size, an incredible depth for its simple appearance.
Resting for a while, Brain got up and explored the island. He was not expecting much, just an island of beasts like the last one. There was nothing but plains in sight, maybe a tree or two. But the horizon wasn't showing any kind of difference.
As the hours passed, he found himself in a forest similar to the ones back in Re-Estize, but its density was far less than any forest he knew.
Traveling for a couple of miles, Brain suddenly knelt with his ear touching the ground. He could hear a slight vibration that seemed to be coming closer to him.
Looking up, he saw a few trees crushed by a violent force. He narrowed his eyes, deciphering what could make such noise and destruction.
A giant hand reached out from the canopy of trees, grabbing the tree on its left and unearthing it from the ground.
'What …What is that?' Brain asked himself, his eyes on the giant of a human far in the distance. It looked humanoid, but it was all distorted, looking abnormal. Its height was that of the surrounding trees. Its smile was something he expected from a monster, one that did not reach its empty eyes.
The weirdest thing to Brain was that even though the giant appeared human but enlarged, it lacked genitals even when nude. Not that he wanted to see it. It was just odd.
Suddenly, the monster's eyes lowered and made contact with Brain's, causing time to appear frozen as the two looked at each other.
Brain didn't move, only held his hand close to his katana, ready to unsheath it at any moment. He didn't know what this creature was nor its abilities. However, from the strength it showed, he knew he was no match for it in a contest of strength.
The giant approached him, slowly jogging, before breaking into a run. Its form was unstable as it leaned to one side, with its tongue hanging out. Drool drips from its mouth as its eyes seem to gleam with hunger.
ROAR!
Hearing the roar of the monster, the Sword Saint could sense a bone-chilling hostility from it.
Brain focused on his martial arts, trying to see any logic in the creature's movement, but it seemed as if it was only driven by instinct. However, this did not faze him as he had experienced worse at the hands of stronger beings.
Breathing out, he activated
The giant right leg stepped into
With speed beyond what the giant could fathom, Brain sliced off both of its arms and decapitated it in one fluid motion.
It was like he was teleporting as his speed did not leave afterimage, it was too fast!
Brain was like an experienced butcher slicing through meat to present to a customer, casual and delicate in the handling of the blade.
The giant's body hit the ground, causing a small tumor and a cloud of dust. However, despite its fate, it didn't stop smiling, which unnerved him, to say the least.
The severed head looked at Brain as it disintegrated into smoke. It was like it was trying to imprint his image into its memory.
'That was easy, too easy in fact. Perhaps this was a lesser of its kind?'
His first contact with these "giants" was a disappointment, to say the least. He knew of giants and heard rumors that one of the Eight Greed Kings was a giant, which caused the giant race to be on equal, if not higher, level than dragons.
Though evil and cruel, the Eight Greed Kings were gods of unimaginable power that craved the world up as they pleased. However, looking at these giants, Brain did not see the semblance of a god's descendant, just giant babies with immense strength.
Of course, he knew these giants had nothing to do with the Eight Greed Kings because this was a different world, and the kings had fallen long ago.
Shaking his head, Brain sheathed his sword and realized he was surrounded by even more giants lurking in the tree's shadows as if awaiting their prey. Their hungry gazes scraped across his body as if imagining the flavor of his flesh.
Did these monsters have nothing else to do other than eat and sleep?
According to the classification created by the Adventure Guild, of the danger a monster poses to humanity, one giant was a kingdom-level catastrophe but a hundred. World ending, perhaps?
Brain disposed of one pretty easily, but what was to say there would not exist one far stronger than it? If this world was covered with giants, the likelihood of all of them being fodder was small.
With this possibility running through his mind, the thought of running away appeared, but he held it down with force. He will never reach greatness if always run away when facing a formidable foe. Without overcoming them, he never reach the level he desired.
The memory of Shalltear Bloodfallen mocking him when he showed the attitude of a weakling and the respect Cocytus showed him once he stood his ground flickered through his mind.
No one will respect a coward, he never respected the ones he face either. All powerful beings possess an indomitable will, which made their strength ever so potent. He will not become powerful without a firm will to back up his strength and aspirations.
Gazef Stronoff, his long-time rival and friend was a man who possessed a firm will and strength. Not only did a being that could be called a god show him respect, it was remembered by all those present.
Gritting his teeth, Brain cautiously approaches the closest giants while crawling on the ground and hiding presence.
Approaching within ten meters of giants with
They were nothing like the giants he was expecting. Even if he had fought one, he considered it a small adult, maybe in its early stages of development. However, these giants seemed grown, their size two to five meters more than the one he killed.
Brain felt embarrassed thinking he put these abominations on the same level as a gods' descendants. If the Giant King of the Eight Greed Kings were to resurrect and see these things, he imagined these giants would be exterminated.
"The only thing giant about these fools is their size. They lacked combat experience and mature intelligence to utilize their advantages. Not only that, if they trained, it's not hard to become powerful but they instead go around mindlessly, looking for something to eat." The disgust and disappointment began to grow apparent in Brain's words.
Thinking about the cautiousness he showed, he didn't know if he should laugh or cry. However, he believes this cautiousness should be utilized going forward in order to build a habit. If one day he lowered his guard, it will most likely be his downfall. Arrogance and pride brings ruin to people.
Unsheathing and sheathing his blade in a split second, Brain shook his head and walked off without looking back.
If these were giants were trolls, he would not feel this way, sadly they were just weaklings in his eyes. But maybe there were stronger ones out there, he really hope so.
Just like how he was amongst the peak of humanity, and many weak humans exist underneath him, perhaps the giants were merely fodder with powerful ones elsewhere?
Brain didn't look at the giant he instantly killed as he became bored of the pointless killing of beings that couldn't fight back.
Behind Brain, a giant could be seen split in half from it's head down.The cut was so smooth that not even a drop of blood leaked out until the body hit the forest floor, causing a small tumor in the ground.
Looking at his katana while walking, Brain found threads of blood being devoured by it, strengthening the blade in the process.
'This new power is quite certain a work of Cocytus or someone of similar strength. But why would he give me this power?'
He knew the blade could strengthen itself, but it would take quite some time for it to be noticeable to an outsider, but as the sword's owner, he could feel it as clear as day.
Caressing the katana while continuing his journey, Brian defeated so many giants that he stopped counting as it was pointless. They could not withstand a simple blow.
Even when he fought them in hand-to-hand combat, the giants, though they had the upper hand in strength, lacked the intelligence to utilize this advantage, which caused them to die all the same.
Setting up camp, Brain quickly cooked his meat, knowing the giants could be lurking everywhere. He was not scared of them but he found them to be quite annoying. They brought him no benefit, other than making his sword stronger. Perhaps they are not useless after all.
After eating his meal, he went to a tree to sleep for the night, so his body could get rest after 'fighting' the giants all day.
The following days were boring with nothing of networthiness happening. On the fifth day of contact with the giants, he found something surprising.
"Is that a village? It looks… abandoned?"
Brain finally found traces of civilization, even if destroyed and reclaimed by nature. He knew humans built these houses.
He walked into the village, yet not a soul was around.
Looking through the houses, Brain could see the houses were quite primitive in architecture. It was as if someone simply put some logs up, added a roof, and called it home. But he knew even back in Re-Estize that such houses existed. The villagers probably didn't have enough money to pay a builder for their houses and decided to make them themselves. Resulting in houses that weren't of the best quality.
After scouting the buildings, he could not find anything that could give him information about the village inhabitants. However, he could conclude they were of an intelligent species, probably human, as he guessed.
One thing he found quite intriguing is the fact that many things lay around, like clothes and various coins.
From experience, Brain concluded that the villagers didn't have enough time to leave because something unexpected happened. If that was not the case, he did not see why they would leave so much valuables behind.
Turning and looking outside the village, he wondered if it was giant's work. Though he had no idea of the strength of the humans of this world, it was quite evident they weren't strong. If humanity could wipe these giants out, humanity would not hesitate. The human race is a rebellious race that even turned their face with gods, so it's impossible for the prideful human race to let these thing roam free.
Looking at himself, Brain smiled and decided to pick up some of the clothes in the houses. His clothes were drenched in sweat, torn and bloody from his adventures. It was good that his nose got used to his smell of himself, otherwise, he would keel over at the stench.
Scanning the area, he noticed a bucket and decided to take a crude bath. A small pond was located near the village, so getting water was no problem.
He didn't remember how long ago it was when he last showered. Though he did not mind, he still felt it was disgusting. If he were to find other humans, he at least has to smell appropriate, or they would even confuse him with a monster.
It took many different changes of waters before the water stopped turning black and his skin got back its tan color, which was hidden under heaps of grime. One could imagine how dirty his body was.
After the bath, he felt like twenty pounds left his body. His body function seems to go through a slight improvement.
Getting dressed, Brain put on long black pants and black shoes with metallic soles for tractions, a pale white tea shirt, covered by a black cloak with a hood. Underneath his cloak, he wore his items like usual.
Leaving the village, he felt slightly hungry after collecting the valuables into his storage bag. He had killed and eaten a couple of wild beasts on the way, but that was a while ago. Though his endurance had greatly increased, he still felt hungry, after all, he was human.
Looking through his storage bag, he pulled out a roasted boar's leg and devoured it whole. Though he lacked seasoning, the boar still tasted quite good, probably because his standards dropped immensely in the last year.
Compared to eating food raw, a roasted boar leg was a delicacy.
Something he realized was that no matter how long food is kept in the storage bag, it will not decay but will remain fresh. The bag truly is amazing. Imagine if he ordered a year's worth of food and put it into it, wouldn't he be free to travel as he pleases?
Sadly the bag can only hold so much, with its limited capacity.
Munching on his food, Brain took a step back as he senses a presence behind him. He turned around, already knowing what it could be.
A smile appeared on his face, looking at the female giant before him who was smiling back. However, the smile did not reach the giant's eyes.
Swallowing the meat and spitting the bones out, Brain grabbed the handle of his katana and lowered his center of gravity.
Breathing out slowly in a rhythmic manner, he focused his strength at the tip of his toes and vanished or so the giant thought.
Brain moved at such speeds that the giant couldn't follow, causing it to look around confusingly.
Appearing at the neck of the giant, he stood with a frown and shame in his eyes. His blade got stuck in the neck muscles, and was unable to cut through.
Though he didn't go all out, he was sure his sword would avoid all the muscles. His physical strength, though above most humans, was still weak compared to the other races. The only thing that separated him from them was his swordsmanship, which few could rival.
After a few encounters with giants, Brain had already learned their weaknesses. Well, to him, it was vital no matter where he hit, but to achieve instant death, one had to sever the head. It should be more accurate to say it's the neck. Even without the head flying through the air, a strong enough attack at the back of the neck would kill it.
Prying the blade out, Brain took a white cloth from his storage bag and cleaned it.
A thought struck Brain as he absentmindedly cleaned his blade. These mindless giants numbered in hundreds from his limited scope of vision, so using the logic of his world, doesn't that mean there has to be a king?
He actually had thought about this for a while. No matter what race, there is usually a leader, and they are generally quite powerful. Maybe he would stumble across them on his travels? But he doubted that.
The Dragons had Dragon Lords, humans had Kings and Emperors, and Elves had an Elf King. So these giants would have a Giant Lord or something. He was not sure. After all, he knew nothing of their society, if they even had one.
Walking for what seemed to be a week, Brain stood on top of a tree, spotting something incredible in the distance that made him smile with hope.
There stood a wall, probably a city behind it. The wall is the tallest one he has ever seen. Not even Re-Estize's walls compared to it. But how could one even build such huge walls? He knew the giants were big, so maybe that is where they had actual civilization. He had many questions but no one to answer them.
As he gazed down the wall, the number of giants outside them was more than he had encountered at any given time. If he had to guess, he would say something is behind that wall attracting them.
Food? The only thing from Brain's discoveries that could draw them was food. When they encounter him, they will attack with the sole purpose of feeding. They would also attack other creatures, but only as a last resort.
'Maybe there are humans or something similar behind that wall. It would make sense for the giants to want to enter if a food source exists behind it. It would also make sense to build such huge walls. How else to stop the giants from entering?'
While the giants' intellect is equivalent to the undead, the reason behind the undead was far clearer than the giants.
On the way here, he had come across more and more signs of humans, so he concluded if he continued along this path, he would eventually find some, probably behind that huge wall. But he had no idea of how to enter or climb it.
'There should be an entrance, but it should be sealed because of the many giants around here.'
Brain doesn't necessarily care if humans existed or not. He was more prioritized with learning more about this world and its connection to his own. Even if he found humans, they were not his humans, nor were they from his kingdom, so he had little reason to care for them. But it wouldn't hurt him to see a face or two again.
'Incredible… These walls are huge. There is no chance I can get over that. Maybe through?'
Resting his hand on his sword, Brain approached the walls and felt insignificant as a fly. Even at this distance, he could not see the peak of the walls. One had to imagine how massive and long it took to build them.
Suddenly, he shifted his gaze upon a group of humanoids as his acute senses picked up their presence on top of the walls. Even if he could not see their faces, he could decipher their form. He sensed no hostility from them, so he lowered his hand.
'Maybe I can talk with them. But I should be prepared for the worst.'
He neared to what seemed to be a small gate, one which he almost didn't recognize from the distance. It seemed worn off, to no surprise.
"Hey! Let me in!" Brain said as he knocked on the gate, hoping for a response from the other side.
After waiting for a couple minutes, nothing happened. He tried again, but still no answer.
Suddenly, after an hour of patiently waiting, the gate started to move, its gears hearable as it finally opened.
Looking through the gap, Brain saw a group of individuals mounted on horses. They looked human, at least to him. He could see them wearing a sort of uniform, probably from the military this city housed. On the soldier's uniform, he recognized a coat of arms with two wings, one white and the other blue.
They approached Brain with caution as their horses slowly moved forward. Their eyes narrowed on Brain carefully, sizing him up.
Behind the uniformed men, a group of civilians could be seen looking with genuine surprise and disbelief. He could not understand the meaning behind these looks, but he felt it had something to do with the giants. Maybe it was not often that these people received visitors.
From his gaze alone, he could say these soldiers lacked experience fighting these giants. Perhaps they know hardships, but actually doing something about it was different. One could see from the eyes of one fought monster. In Brain's eyes, it was quite visible.
"Hello there. Can I come in, or do you prefer for me to-" Before Brain could speak speaking, he was interrupted by one of the mounted soldiers.
"Who are you? How did you come here?" The man asked. He seemed confused, suspicious, and wary.
A man suddenly appearing from outside the walls was never heard off. Maybe the survey corps would come and go, not just one man.
"My name is Brain Unglaus and I walked here. I answered your question, so can I come in now?" He said casually.
The soldiers seemed to calm down but still eyed Brain as if he was some kind of monster.
"Mmh, very well, Brain Unglaus. But I must ask you to follow me. It isn't 'common' for people to come from outside the walls." The Squad Leader said in a relaxing tone, yet still holding some suspicion of Brain.
"Fine by me. I just want to eat something good after traveling that long." Brain said as he slowly crossed through the gate. He saw the civilians that looked at him step back as if to fear him. The soldiers still eyed him as if he was an enemy.
"I am Adam Hisense of the Scout Corp. Now, please follow me."
Brain nodded and noticed the soldiers seemingly 'accidentally' surrounded him. He looked at the people left and right, seeing surprised faces everywhere.
"If I might ask, Mister Unglaus, where exactly do you hail?" Hisense asked. His curiosity was expected. Brain smirked as he prepared an answer.
"I come from a faraway land, far away from here. I was at sea, traveling by boat, until I found myself on this island. As I continued walking, I found this wall, and now I'm here." Brain answered, and the look on the Squad Leader's face was priceless.
Hisense was shocked to hear this, trying to decipher it from reality and lie. He shook his head to remove such thoughts as they would burden him more.
Hearing this, the surrounding citizens started to rumor about what the outside looked like and how this man could survive. However, what truly intrigued people was his ability to survive outside the walls in one piece by himself. This was truly a miracle.
How long have their own people been trying to reclaim the outside world, and how long have they failed? Hundreds of people went out there, and hundreds died, yet this man was still unscathed, barging in as if nothing happened.
Brain heard the slight murmurs and realized he was not wrong. These people are indeed captives. They were forced to live like cattle because of the threat of the giants. He could see that they were weak, vastly weaker than the kingdom's people, but that doesn't explain how they managed to survive and build cities within giant-repelling walls.
Adam Hisense was about to speak when he heard the gears of the gate opening again.
Turning around, he saw a group of wounded riders return with a bleak atmosphere surrounding them.
The civilians also noticed this, their faces in horror at the sight, their hope gone.
"Make way!" Adam ordered as he ran forward, looked at his comrades' grim faces, and an ominous premonition entered his mind. "No…"
It did not take long to see that his darkest thoughts become real. Behind the first group of soldiers, one could see soldiers carrying the few fallen comrades they could salvage.
Tears appeared in his eyes as he fell to his knees, his fist hitting the ground out of fury.
"Damnit!" How many times have they tried and failed? How many have died since? He dared not to count.
Slowly he turned around. Adam remembered the civilians were there. What would they think about all those sacrifices if he gave up and caved in?
The civilians felt the same as Adam, if not worse because they were powerless to do anything.
Out of the crowds, an old woman could be seen running towards the troops.
"Moses?! Where is Moses?!" She screamed for her son, her eyes going left and right to see him somewhere, hoping he would appear at any second now.
With sad eyes, the Squad Leader of the returning soldiers ordered a similarly sad soldier to bring a wrapped package to the woman. He felt his heavy heart in pain to know this was reality.
The woman's face turned white with apprehension and fear, but she unwrapped the package with realization washing over her.
Opening it, she saw an arm without the rest of the body.
"No! Moses! Nooo!" She cried out, wrapping the arm tightly in her hug, rivers of tears appearing under her.
The others could only watch with dread as they felt similar pain at the sight.
Other mothers, fathers, and siblings reacted similarly upon seeing their relatives either slaughtered or missing in the past.
Brain looked at the scene and sighed with pity. No matter what world, there would be war, and death is inevitable. Strong warriors exist to limit the scope of the pain caused by war. If he could somehow help out these people, he would certainly try. Even he was not immune to empathy, feeling the pain of what this mother lost in some way just as he did with Gazef.
Brain thoughts produced a picture of a robust warrior that appeared in his mind, making him smile slightly. He did not originally plan on helping, but even if he gained immense strength, without something to protect, that strength was useless.
Brain looked confused at the screen he was seeing, but seeing that Cocytus was somewhat with him, he felt honored for such a being to care about him, even following him through this world to an extent. Now he knew he was sent here for a purpose. As for the gift, he looked forward to it. Anything a warrior of Cocytus's caliber calls a gift had to be precious.
Pondering, Brain stood watching the scene and turned his head, feeling two gazes bore into him.
The owner of those eyes are two innocent-looking children looking at him with awe, but the boy seems to be experiencing a kind of sadness his age shouldn't know.
Why did they not become occupied by the scene? Interesting. Brain decided to remember their appearance and jolted it down.
Clearing his throat, he approached the leader of the arrived troops and spoke in an authoritative tone, "I am Brain Unglass of the Re-Estize Kingdom, I wish to have an audience with your king. We need to figure out a solution to the situation you are facing."
—-----
Authors' Note:
Brain Unglaus is a little stronger than his anime counterpart. Based on the light novel, his level was 40 when he used his strongest attack according to Cocytus. Without that, Brain is level 33, that being said, since he was killed by Cocytus, we took the liberty of making him stronger. As for his level, it should be around 35-40. Though this might seem like an overkill, Brain is a swordsman, so it makes sense. If he was, let's say Fluder, AOT would be steamrolled. Magic is pretty versatile. Even then, Solidorex and I are pretty sure Brain is Titan level in AOT.