The Veteran Player Already Knows

Chapter 144 - Climax (4)

I checked my watch.

The Titan would switch to its 'attack phase' roughly within 3 minutes of being summoned.

So, roughly...

Now.

-...

-...!!!

A red light began to glow in the eyes of the giant, which had been quietly catching its breath after being summoned.

And subsequently, it began to look around, searching for the nearest attack target.

So, geographically.

That would be us.

"...Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Isn't that thing looking at us right now?!"

Along with Lee Si-yeong's terrified voice.

-Submit.

A wave of mana that shook the axis of the earth, could easily shake the axis of the heavens, and could even boil the sea.

Was conveyed in just 'a single word' spoken by the Titan.

How should I put it. The feeling that the air itself was oversaturated and filled with that guy's mana like a gas.

In fact, those with high mana sensitivity nearby had collapsed from just that.

"...Keck, hoook..."

Lee Si-yeong, who couldn't control her body and collapsed on the spot, couldn't even stop the drool from flowing from her mouth and exhaled as if she were gagging.

"...This, dammit, are you kidding me? How are we supposed to win by fighting something like that."

Well, if this phenomenon was caused not by it 'attacking' but just by it uttering a single word, it was understandable to feel that way.

What was the difference between that and saying that we would be neutralized just by it breathing?

"...In a situation like this, what are you so happy about to be grinning like that again?"

"No, well."

Wasn't this a perfect situation?

An overwhelmingly powerful enemy. A desperate situation.

Hmm. A magnificent 'stage.'

[ All preparations are complete. What will you do? ]

I heard Ms. Catherine's voice from over the radio.

Along with that, I did a final check of my entire body.

Hmm, good.

It seemed I wouldn't have to worry about my body betraying me at a crucial moment.

"Well, then. Let's go."

As soon as I said that, a scream like a seizure erupted from behind me.

"Go where, you insane man, really! Hey! Kim Gyu-sik!"

"..."

Ms. Seo Hye-in.

Your character is breaking.

Please maintain it and let's calm down for now.

"Do I look like I can calm down right now, you man! You did the same thing during the last rescue, you're just dying to die!"

"U-unni! First, calm down, Mr. Kim Gyu-sik isn't someone who would die so easily...!"

"Big trouble happens when everyone thinks so easily! In the first place, if you were going to do everything by yourself, why did you even call us! Answer me, you bastard! You're really making me frustrated-!"

"..."

Hmm.

The sisters' characters were breaking at the same time.

Weren't you two supposed to have a heavy past that made you awkward with each other?

The sight of Seo Ah-in, who was holding back Ms. Seo Hye-in as she tried to charge at me as if to eat me alive, was like that of close-knit blood sisters.

"...In the first place, you're the cause, so is it okay for you to watch so leisurely?"

"Huh?"

"Not 'huh?', they're so serious about you that their concepts are breaking. Have you ever thought that if they have a tug-of-war over you later, the rope will snap?"

"..."

Uh... Ms. Lee Si-yeong.

I don't know what you're talking about.

Let's focus on the current situation instead.

At the same time as the watch beeped, the Titan began to move towards us.

As the Titan's footsteps, which echoed like thunder, approached step by step, the complexions of the people nearby grew paler and paler.

-Submit. Or there will only be death.

"Hmm."

Well.

My opinion was a little different.

Mainly.

If I could just match the 'size.'

***

"...A masterpiece."

Crawford looked at the sculpture in front of him with an ecstatic expression.

It wasn't a simple 'hobby activity' as usual, but a small-sized version of something that someone had commissioned before.

At first, when he had barged into his research lab and made a mess, he had thought he was a complete villain, but after actually talking to him, he was a reasonable opponent.

You could tell just by looking at the design of the sculpture in front of him now.

A pure white armor reminiscent of a medieval knight, and the reliefs of a dragon and a lion imbued on the entire body.

It looked like an apostle of salvation who had risen from a desperate situation.

"The problem is..."

He was the one who had drawn up the 'blueprint' as the guy had requested, but a sense of doubt as to whether it would actually move was heavily clouding his mind.

More than anything else, an absurd level of power source would be needed to move an object of that size smoothly.

"...Wouldn't a Dragon's Heart be needed?"

"What? Why a Dragon's Heart?"

At the voice that suddenly came from behind, Crawford fell backwards in his chair.

"...Are you okay? That's one heck of a reaction."

"Leila. Please, at least knock before you come in."

"Then you shouldn't have given me the keycard."

To the vampire who spoke with a grin, Crawford sighed and staggered up from the floor.

This woman was a problem, barging in without permission like this whenever she had a chance.

Still, as fellow creators who 'sculpted' something together, it was good to have many things to share opinions on.

"By the way, this one... the quality is quite good. It has a romance to it, doesn't it?"

"It is a design that someone who knows a thing or two would come up with."

As Leila gave that impression after looking at the small robot sculpture he had made, Crawford sighed deeply and agreed.

"But it'll need a pretty powerful 'battery' to move. That's why you mentioned the Dragon's Heart thing earlier, right?"

As she said that, Leila stroked her chin with a "hmm."

"...Who was the client for this, by any chance?"

"Hmm? Why do you ask?"

"Because I think it might be someone I know."

As she said that, Leila smirked.

Well. There certainly was such a guy.

A guy who had brought several 'Dragon's Hearts,' which he had no idea where he had gotten, and asked him to build them into a single 'engine.'

"...Was there such a guy?"

"Of course. There was."

She replied, crossing her arms.

"And if it's really that guy..."

Turning on the TV in a corner of the room, Leila smiled meaningfully.

On the broadcast, which was live-streaming the inside of the ongoing ordeal, the figure of a giant that more than filled the entire screen was being shown.

"...I think we can get a pretty good show?"

The situation on the screen was truly desperate.

A Titan, boasting an overwhelming presence against legions that looked almost like ants, was looking down with merciless eyes, its sword raised.

And at the point of impact were Kim Gyu-sik's troops, who seemed to have lost even the will to fight.

Most of the people there would die with just a few strikes of that sword.

But, Leila and Crawford looked at that desperate scene with a feeling that was even close to excitement.

Generally speaking.

If the opponent was a giant monster, its opponent was already inevitably decided.

At least, for people like Crawford and Leila, it was an undeniable fact.

"Show us the romance, Mr. Kim Gyu-sik."

In fact, that romance was realized shortly after.

[ Hostile Titan detected. ]

[ Prototype - ‘Savior’, deploying. ]

A giant steel god falling from the sky with that voice echoing in the air.

And when they saw Kim Gyu-sik jumping up as if flying through the sky and boarding the cockpit in its head.

Crawford could not help but let out a scream filled with elation.

***

[ Welcome aboard, pilot. ]

[ Current machine status is offline. ]

"..."

Yes. It was cool how I got on, but.

Even for a machine created by mobilizing all of the Dwarf's seemingly insane technology, it seemed it still couldn't move without 'appropriate measures.'

Indeed, romance was a kind of dream. And dreams were usually built on a very realistic foundation.

So, to produce the scene that was currently unfolding, it meant someone had to make a bit of a sacrifice.

"...Why are you looking at us with those eyes?"

"I agree."

Ms. Meirin and Evangeline, who had just been summoned after I had scraped together my last remaining points, said with somewhat creeped-out expressions.

It was probably because I was looking at them with a gaze similar to one you would give a cow about to be led to the slaughterhouse.

"No, well... did you bring what I asked for?"

"Yes, here..."

Ms. Meirin held out the black cube she had been holding dearly to her chest.

Yes, this was the 'mana fuel' created by compressing several Dragon's Hearts using the essence of alchemy. With this, moving the giant I was currently on was no longer a dream.

The problem was, fuel usually couldn't supply energy on its own.

And that's where these two were needed.

"...First, follow me."

As I said that, I walked down a corridor made of steel. I arrived at a place that was a kind of... leading the two who were looking dubious.

"...A bathhouse?"

It was closer to a jjimjilbang.

An optimal environment for burning something to create 'steam.'

"It said 'Engine Room' outside. What on earth is this structure?"

To Ms. Meirin, who was muttering with a look of "what is this," I spoke with a slightly apologetic tone.

"You've been working hard on your stamina outside, right?"

"I have... but."

To Ms. Meirin, whose expression was now even more amplified with anxiety, I brought Evangeline over and stuck them together.

I adjusted their posture so they were practically hugging.

"...Eh, uh, th-th, Mr. Kim Gyu-sik? What is this?"

"You two can synchronize, right? You've tried matching your mana patterns before."

"...Yes, well."

"Do that, and Evangeline. Make fire."

"What?"

"You're good at making flames. Since you're synchronized, Ms. Meirin won't take any damage, so burn it up real good. Enough to melt this."

As I said that, holding up the solidified Dragon's Heart fuel, the expressions of the two, who seemed to have gradually realized what they were about to do, became strange.

"Since you'll be sweating and feeling weird and a bit awkward if you keep hugging and sticking together, use the shower here to splash some water on each other sometimes. I've also prepared some drinks, so if you get thirsty, have some..."

"...Hey, you."

Evangeline, who was pressing her temples with a look of a throbbing headache, retorted my words with a dumbfounded voice.

"It seems like you've prepared various things because you feel sorry for us. But in the end."

The sentence continued as she gritted her teeth.

"We, who have trained hard for months for 'you' with a desperate resolve, and who have come here prepared to do anything."

"..."

"You're not even using us to assist you, but just tying us two together and using us as an 'engine,' aren't you? Treating us like mere parts?"

"..."

"While you're fighting spectacularly by controlling this giant machine, we have to stay here and act as a lighter that spouts fire."

"..."

"In this embarrassing posture, no less. And this might even be broadcast live to the whole world."

"...It is most efficient when you're that close. You know that too."

"Kim Gyu-sik."

Evangeline said with a sweet smile.

"Go die."

Rarely, I was unable to retort.