Skeleton Knight in Another World Vol. 5

by Ennki Hakari

  “Well, we’ve come this far. We might as well see it through.”

  Goemon snapped his reins and sent his driftpus running off after the other two men. I followed close behind.

  The messenger had reported that giants had appeared near the camp, but I still wasn’t quite sure what that meant exactly. From a human’s perspective, the tiger clan could easily be classified as giants in their own right. So a giant by their standards, especially one that elicited such a worried reaction, said a lot about the danger these creatures presented.

  For a moment, I thought back to the mysterious creature, the tridentinum, that we’d seen off in the distance. But then I shook my head and focused on the task at hand. Against something that size, I wasn’t sure we’d stand a chance. While I’d do my best to slay such a beast, it was more likely that I wouldn’t walk away from that battle.

  Ariane interrupted my meandering thoughts. “Seems like we’ve gotten ourselves wrapped up in someone else’s problems again.”

  “Well, think about it. If we help them out, it should be easier to negotiate later. So maybe we should consider ourselves lucky.”

  But my cheery laugh was only met with sighs of exasperation.

  Ponta wagged its tail calmly from its perch atop my head. Judging by my furry companion’s composure, I could tell that we weren’t in any real danger yet.

  I lost track of time as we continued after the pair of driftpus leading the way ahead. There were no watches or any other method of actually measuring time, but I figured it’d been about half an hour or so. Despite the frantic dash, I was impressed to see that the driftpus weren’t even tired.

  Finally, I spotted a small camp ahead in the distance.

  It was still pretty far off, and I had a hard time making out any detail with all the jostling from the driftpus’s movements, but I could make out a small cluster of buildings that looked similar to the yurts used by Central Asian nomads.

  A short distance away, among the hills just outside the camp, I could make out the figures of two giants. They struck an imposing sight, standing nearly three times as tall as the tiger clan members bearing down on them.

  “So, those are giants?” Ariane peeked around me to get a look at what waited us up ahead. Even over the driftpus’ thundering footfalls, I could hear the sound of her gulping.

  “Kyii kyiiii!” On the other end of the spectrum, Ponta began mewing loudly, hopping down from my helmet and wrapping itself around my neck.

  The giants were nothing like what I’d imagined.

  That is to say, they had no heads.

  They weren’t quite human, but they certainly were human-like. Or, more accurately, they looked a lot like headless gorillas. Though, I’d yet to see a gorilla in this world.

  Standing at an impressive six meters tall, these behemoths had dark skin, stubby legs, and carried crudely fashioned stone axes. Every time they swung these axes into the ground, huge plumes of dirt erupted into the sky.

  While they might have lacked proper heads, their faces—consisting of two eyes, a gaping mouth filled with yellow teeth, and no nose—emerged from their upper chests. They looked like villains you’d see in a kids’ superhero show.

  The name suddenly came to me. “Are these…dark giants?”

  I watched as a dramatic fight between the tiger clan and the dark giants unfolded in front of me, each side gaining and losing ground. There was no way that all the members of the tiger clan would come out of this battle unscathed. Not with the strength the dark giants could bring to bear.

  I saw one of them clutch a man’s body in its fist, gnawing on his upper torso. My Revival spell would be of no use here, not with how much of the body was now missing. I spotted other injured combatants all around them too.

  Sensing just how dire the position of their comrades was, the two soldiers ahead pushed their driftpus even harder, charging straight toward the dark giants. Once the men drew close, one of the giants turned toward the newcomers and let out a loud, intimidating roar.

  The driftpus were coming in way too fast for the giant to react in time, and they managed to score a direct hit on the side of its leg, twin horns striking its flesh. When I looked back, I was surprised to see that one of the driftpus’ horns had snapped off. They’d looked pretty solid to me, which could only mean one thing: The dark giant had really tough skin.

  Of course, the driftpus’ charge wasn’t all for naught—it was successful in knocking the giant back slightly. Though, judging by its movement, it didn’t seem to be in much pain at all.

  “Whoa… This one won’t be easy!”

  Chiyome was standing on the back of the saddle, holding on to Goemon’s shoulders as he continued steering the driftpus, watching the battle unfold.

  “I’m not able to use any of my more powerful magic with all these people around. But we definitely need to do something about these big lugs.”

  I yanked back on the driftpus’s reins, hopped down from the saddle, and retrieved my Holy Thunder Sword of Caladbolg and Holy Shield of Teutates from the saddle bags.

  With my sword drawn and shield at the ready, I made a mad dash toward the dark giant.

  Ariane, Chiyome, and Goemon each got their own weapons ready and followed closely behind me.

  “First off, a little bit of protection! Holy Shield!”

  As soon as I summoned this Paladin skill, a dim glow enveloped my shield, spreading out to cover my entire body.

  I hadn’t had the opportunity to use this defensive skill yet, so I wasn’t too sure how effective it would be. However, I figured a little insurance couldn’t hurt.

  I zigged and zagged through the bodies of the tiger clan, my body glowing as I moved toward the front line. Once I got there, I found myself facing off against one of the dark giants alone.

  “Time to try my skills out! Holy Ray Sword!”

  I launched into another skill, swinging my Holy Thunder Sword of Caladbolg straight up toward the sky. A bright light formed around the blade then shot off toward the giant, tearing the ground up in its wake.

  The moment the wave of light crossed the dark giant’s foot, there was a thunderous roar followed by a bright spray of blood.

  “Auuughraoooou!!!”

  The scream that came out of the face embedded in the dark giant’s chest sounded almost human…but not quite. The hills reverberated with its cries.

  Judging by the amount of blood, I initially assumed this to be a grave wound, but once I got a better look, I could see that it was only a mere cut.

  At the very least, this creature wouldn’t make it through unscathed.

  The dark giant fell back, in an attempt to protect its injured foot. However, I continued pressing the attack.

  Suddenly, all eyes of the tiger clan were on me. Evidently, they were surprised to see a man fully decked out in gleaming armor join the fray, and I could hardly blame them.

  “I won’t let there be any more casualties!”

  I yelled loud enough to make sure those around me could hear before lunging in once more at the dark giant’s foot, this time coming in to strike directly. There was a loud thunk as the blade sank halfway into the giant’s flesh, followed by another spray of blood. Still, I was surprised that I wasn’t able to cut all the way through, even with my immense strength.

  “Oouaaaraugh!!!”

  The face in the giant’s chest contorted in pain as it screamed, lifting its foot in an attempt to guard itself from another blow.

  Goemon came running up from behind me. “Muscle to stone, concussive fist!”

  He punched down with his fist, now the color of dulled steel, straight into the dark giant’s other foot. There was a loud, concussive burst followed by a creaking sound. A second later, the dark giant began to topple.

  Next up was Chiyome. She dove off of Goemon’s shoulders and launched herself toward the falling giant.

  Two strings of water danced around her hands like writhing snakes.

  “Body to water, aqua sp
ear!”

  The strings straightened into dual spears made of water. They launched straight toward their mark like giant arrows.

  One of the spears stabbed into the dark giant’s gaping mouth, while the other embedded itself deep in its eye.

  The giant let out an unearthly howl as it slammed into the ground with an earth-shaking thud. Ariane joined us, her snow-white hair fluttering as she ran past me, sword in hand and flame encircling her blade.

  “Holy flame, heed my call! Devour thine enemy and burn it to ash!”

  A long chain of flame arced out of her sword in response.

  Ariane ran straight up the dark giant’s chest and buried her flaming sword deep in its unscathed eye.

  The dark giant flailed about like a broken toy, its arms and legs twitching uncontrollably as smoke rose from its gaping mouth. The scent of charred meat filled the air.

  It seemed like it was finally dead.

  Unfortunately, there was another dark giant, which was now bringing its stone axe down toward Ariane as she pulled her sword out of her fallen foe.

  A metallic clang so loud I thought my head would burst reverberated around us. I’d managed to catch the axe with my shield held above my head, though my legs felt like they’d buckle at any second.

  I looked down at a wide-eyed Ariane. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded, almost imperceptibly.

  I let out a breath in relief and glared at the dark giant.

  Even with my increased defense, I could still feel my arms tingling from the sheer power of the blow. Still, it was impressive that I was able to hold my own against it in the first place.

  As soon as I felt the dark giant pull its axe away from the shield, I drew back.

  Behind me, Chiyome threw several water shuriken at the giant’s face in an attempt to keep it at bay. Fortunately, this seemed to annoy the behemoth, and it fell back a few steps.

  One of the tiger clan warriors stepped away from his dumbfounded comrades and let out a roar as he lunged in, armed with a metal club.

  “You dirty bastards! You won’t drive us out of our prairie. These are the lands of our clan, the lands of the great hunters!”

  The man brought his club on the giant’s foot with a powerful swing, causing it to cry out.

  As if on cue, the rest of the tiger clan warriors descended upon the giant. There must have been around thirty of them. They swarmed the dark giant’s feet, knocking it onto its back. Then they turned their attention to its face, bashing it in until the creature stopped moving.

  The valley was now home to two dark giant corpses.

  The victorious members of the tiger clan let out a massive cheer. The man who’d implored his comrades to take up their arms approached us.

  “Thank you for your assistance. I take it you’re from the east? And…elves, it seems?”

  I turned toward the man. I figured he was a representative of the tiger clan, so I quickly grabbed the waterskin from where it hung at my waist and gestured for Ariane to introduce herself first.

  Ariane caught on right away. “My name is Ariane Glenys Maple, a citizen of the Great Canada Forest on the northern continent. My comrades here are members of the Jinshin clan, also from the northern continent.”

  Ariane handled the introductions while I took a swig of the spring water.

  I couldn’t help but worry about how quickly things would get awkward if the water’s effect wore off while we were in the midst of discussions.

  I took my helmet off, took my place at Ariane’s side, and made eye contact with her.

  “And this here is my fellow elf…”

  “Arc Lalatoya. I’m a new member to my village, but I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.”

  “Kyii!”

  Ponta peeked up from around my neck and let out a loud cry.

  “And this is my travel companion, Ponta.”

  “Kyii!”

  The man nodded and lowered the gigantic club down from his shoulder, resting it on the ground with a heavy thud. He puffed out his chest and introduced himself.

  “My name is Aene Wilhe, chieftain of the Whilee people, one of the six clans that roam these great plains. While I wish I could spend more time properly welcoming those who have come to our aid in our most dire hour, unfortunately, I must get my injured brethren back to our camp. I understand you have some business with us, but I ask for you to be patient while I tend to these matters.”

  I nodded as I slid my helmet back over my head. “Chieftain Aene, my abilities may be of service. I can heal the wounded, if you like.”

  A look of surprise washed over the man’s face. “Please, by all means. I’ll return to the village and have some of my people come here to assist you.”

  The chieftain smiled broadly before hurrying back toward their camp. Once he was out of earshot, Ariane looked up at me with a skeptical eyebrow raised.

  “For a moment there, you had me thinking you were actually a nice guy. But you’re just trying to get in their good graces, aren’t you?”

  I let out a short laugh. “I got my chance to meet the tiger clan, didn’t I? Having them be in my debt could definitely help in the red nail negotiations.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t get it. You don’t really care about money, but you’re absolutely fixated on food.”

  “What’s so bad about that? Besides, don’t you think it’s more in the elven spirit to favor the hunt for good food over the acquisition of wealth?”

  Ariane screwed her face up. “One of these days, I’m going to need to ask some specific questions about how you view the elves…”

  I’d already turned away from Ariane and had begun enthusiastically making my way toward the field of battle to provide aid to the wounded. I heard her mumble something from behind me; she sounded embarrassed.

  “And…thanks, Arc. For helping me back there.”

  Her timid behavior somehow brought a smile to my lips. Back there… I assumed she was talking about using my shield to protect her from the dark giant.

  “Oh, hmm?”

  I rubbed at my chin and turned back, trying to lock eyes with her. However, Ariane kept jerking her head to the side and refused to meet my gaze. I ended up slowly walking circles around her.

  I could suddenly feel eyes on both of us. Though neither said anything, Chiyome and Goemon’s gazes carried with them an almost physical pressure. Giving in, I hurried away toward the battle field.

  “Ah, right. I’ll get on that healing.”

  ***

  After dealing with the fallout from the dark giant attack, we were invited to a corner of the Whilee camp, where the chieftain’s hut was located.

  The camp itself wasn’t all that big, serving as the home to fewer than a hundred or so people.

  Now that I was up close, I was able to confirm my original impression of the homes here looking like yurts. The buildings consisted of windowless, circular frames with a thick, white cloth pulled tight over them. Inside, they were illuminated by the same crystal lamps I’d seen back in the elven villages.

  The interior walls were decorated with the bones, fangs, and other body parts of various animals, while the floors were covered with several intricately weaved rugs.

  The entrances and ceilings were made for members of the tiger clan, all of whom were more or less Goemon’s size, and felt rather large compared to the quarters I was used to in human towns. Even the room itself was quite spacious, giving me the impression of a hotel lobby.

  With all of us here, however, the chieftain’s home felt more than a tad cramped.

  Aene sat in a chair facing the four of us, while several of his tiger clan warriors sat around the perimeter of the room, leaning in closely.

  Everyone in the room was absolutely rippling with muscles, either just as large as Goemon, or even larger. It was quite an impressive display of physical prowess.

  Chieftain Aene interrupted my thoughts and broke the silence.

  “I can’t thank you enough f
or your help, Arc. I see that Ariane here keeps herself surrounded by good subordinates.”

  Ariane tried clearing up the chieftain’s misunderstanding. Apparently, he was under the impression that Ariane was our leader, and that I was one of her subordinates. It did make a degree of sense, considering she’d been the first to introduce herself.

  “Ah, I see. So, you’re travelers, you say? My apologies, Arc. All the same, I’d still like to express my gratitude.”

  After his brief apology, he offered up his thanks once again.

  The soldiers around the room shuffled about a bit, uncomfortable looks appearing on their faces.

  A hulking woman stepped from behind the chieftain’s chair and shot a harsh look at the men sitting around the room.

  “Are all of you going to just sulk around like babies because you needed someone to clean up after your little hunting expedition? If you think it’s okay to mutter about someone else getting praise, then you’ve got another thing coming! I’ll smack you right upside your stupid heads if you do that again.”

  Apparently, some of the warriors had reservations about the healing I’d done earlier.

  The muscle-bound woman took up a position beside the chieftain and crossed her huge arms across her chest as she shot a death glare at the warriors lining the walls. She was massive, nearly as tall as Goemon. Compared to the other warriors in the room, she actually looked rather slim, but this was nothing more than a trick of the eye. Next to Ariane or Chiyome, she’d be absolutely huge.

  Her skin, or what I could see of it through her tiger-striped fur, was the color of bronze, and she had a voluptuous chest that was nicely propped up by her crossed arms. Overall, she had a rather refined look about her.

  All the other warriors in the room instantly went quiet and looked down at the ground.

  The chieftain shrugged sheepishly and glanced over at the woman next to him.

  “Apologies about that. This is my wife, Yugah.”

  Yugah offered up a charming grin. “Yugah Aene’s the name. I’m sorry about that. You’re our guests and all, but these guys here…they don’t even warrant the title of warriors. Those giants have been whittling away at our clans. Even though we were able to get our people to safety, we’d sustained many casualties. I’d like to thank you on behalf of these worthless idiots here.”