Vol. 15 - Ch. 44 - Ultimate Clan Battle - Main Event (10/10)

The ogre who'd once been called "Little Ogre" had grown into a powerful hero—someone who'd saved the world from crisis more times than anyone could count, yet that same hero was bawling his eyes out as he spoke to Halt.

"Haruto-sama. It's really you. It's really Haruto-sama."

"Yeah. It's me."

"I... I've been waiting for you all this time. Just like I promised you, I've been protecting this world."

"I know. Tina told me."

Halt reached out and placed a hand on Gale's head. A small human patting a massive ogre on the head – it was an odd sight, but the strongest man in the western half of the world seemed absolutely overjoyed.

"Thanks a lot for protecting this world while I was gone."

Haruto had saved the village Gale had grown up in from the stampede all those years ago. Back then, the Guardian Hero had listened to the wish of a brave little ogre boy who'd tried to protect his village from countless monsters. It was also back then that Haruto had given him a name.

That ogre, now named Gale, had sworn to the hero with all the reckless enthusiasm of youth that he'd become a man who could protect the world too.

"Look at you. You were so small back then, and now you've grown this much. You've gotten really strong, I could tell from our fight earlier."

"I really worked hard, especially after I realized I had that Limit Break skill. I almost died a few times, but I pushed through because I knew I had to get stronger."

Skills that let you break past this world's level cap were beyond rare. When Gale realized what he had, he thought that if demons or other threats appeared in an age without a hero, he'd have to be the one to save the world. And he'd done exactly that—he'd achieved being the world's strongest.

"Everyone calls me the world's strongest, but if Haruto-sama's back, that title isn't mine anymore."

"Nah. I still want you to be the strongest in the West."

"But you said earlier you were interested in being the world's strongest, right? If you beat me here, you wouldn't just be the strongest in the East or West, you'd be the entire world's strongest for real."

"Yeah, I am interested in being recognized as the strongest by everyone, sure. I'm stronger now than I was before, too, but that's not enough. I can't protect the world alone. This world is way too big."

Back when he was the Guardian Hero, simultaneous stampedes erupting across the world had claimed countless lives. That experience had burned into him just how powerless one person could be. No matter how strong you were, no matter how fast you could move, you couldn't save everyone on your own. He'd learned that lesson the hard way.

"...I understand. Then I'll keep being the strongest in the West. And someday, I'll get strong enough to actually reach you, Halt-sama."

"Yeah. I'm counting on it."

"Yes!—Ah. So then... how do we settle this fight? If we keep going as we are, I definitely can't beat you."

"Hmm, you’re right. How about we go down to the arena together and put on a good show? Make it look like we're fighting hard, then maybe we call it a draw?"

"The world's strongest, fixing a match, huh?"

"Come on. I grew up hearing stories about you from Tina, you know. Until my memories as a reincarnator came back, I actually looked up to you. Even now, I respect you a lot. Thanks for protecting the world all this time."

In the western half of the world, Gale was actually more popular than Tina as a hero right now.

"I’m pretty sure the kids in the West all look up to you, the world's strongest ogre. If some random human nobody'd heard of came out of nowhere and beat you, they'd be crushed."

"...You'd be okay with people thinking you're only as strong as me just to protect some kids' dreams? I said I'd reach you someday, but honestly, Haruto-sama’s strength feels like it's on a completely different level from mine."

When his beloved Vermilion had been snapped in two, Gale hadn't been able to process what happened. However, now that he calmed down, he fully recognized just how absurdly strong Halt really was.

He and Tina had both been called the world's strongest, but even if they teamed up, they wouldn't stand a chance against Halt. Knowing that, Gale had to ask again whether Halt really did not want that title.

"Yeah. Being called the world's strongest is less important than a kid's dream."

Halt answered instantly, without even thinking.

Gale felt his chest tighten.

"Haruto-sama, you, you're genuinely a good person. You're still the hero I admired all those years ago. That makes me so happy. Alright then. I'll keep working hard too—to protect those kids' dreams."

"Yeah. Okay, let's head down—oh! Hey, Gale. Let me borrow your sword. The one I broke."

"Huh? Oh, yes, but why?"

Halt took Vermilion from Gale, then picked up the severed blade tip from the ground. He stabbed the tip into the earth, then adjusted the hilt side to align the broken edges.

Halt gathered ultra-high-density mana in his right hand and transformed it into blue flames that were hot enough to exceed ten thousand degrees. Gale was mesmerized by the beautiful fire—something he'd never seen before—then Halt pressed it against the broken edges of Vermilion.

Gale stared dumbfounded at the incomprehensible sight, but Halt paid him no mind. He tack-welded the edges together, then ran the flames across the entire blade.

A dozen seconds later, the sundered greatsword was flawlessly reforged.

"Wh-what. How... H-howwwww?!"

Gale stared at his beloved sword, now back in one piece. It felt slightly smaller, maybe, but it was strong enough to swing at full speed without any issue.

"We need you to have a weapon, obviously. Gotta make it look like we're really fighting. I fused it back together for you, made sure the strength would hold. I melted it from the core and reshaped it. Had to increase the density to keep it strong, so it might've shrunk a little. Sorry about that."

"Increased the density... I spent nearly a decade hammering that scarletite to get it there, and another twenty shaping it. And you just... did it in thirty seconds."

Gale's expression was pure disbelief. Tina, standing nearby, wore a smile that practically screamed, "Oh, this? My husband does this kind of thing without breaking a sweat."

"Alright, your weapon is all good now. Let's head down."

"Y-yes!"

"Halt-sama. Gale. Don't let yourselves get too carried out there. Go give them a show—a battle to decide the world's strongest."

Halt waved back at Tina's encouragement, then leaped off the Clan House. Gale followed right behind.

What followed was a clash that would be talked about for the next hundred years.

They fought with everything they had—or at least, with enough force that the audience couldn't possibly doubt it was their all. Their attacks collided with such power that the shockwaves shattered the protective barriers around the spectators.

That's when Gale called for a halt.

Halt agreed immediately.

He told Rivas, the commentator, that continuing would endanger the crowd, and proposed a draw. By the way, the battle between the nine Clan Houses on the arena floor and the four golems piloted by Ryuushin and the others ended with the golems’ victory. Not that it mattered—all of them had been caught in the crossfire of Halt and Gale's fight and were now completely inoperable.

Gale's United Front Clan House was already destroyed. The only one still functioning was Familia. By the strict rules of the "Clan House Brawl," Familia should have been declared the winner. But the crowd was electric from the Halt-Gale showdown, and since Halt himself wanted a draw, everyone accepted it.

"THE WINNERS OF THE 100TH ULTIMATE CLAN BATTLE AAAARE... GALE VERMILLION'S UNITED FRONT... AAAAND HALT ERNOL'S FAMILIA!! THESE TWO CLANS WILL SHARE THE TITLE OF WORLD'S STRONGEST UNTIL THE NEXT TOURNAMENT FOUR YEARS FROM NOW!! SPECTATORS, PARTICIPANTS—ONE MORE ROUND OF THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE FOR OUR CHAMPIONS!!!"

A hundred thousand people packed into the venue didn't hold back. The applause was deafening, relentless.

The two victors waved back, soaking it in.

And so, the 100th Ultimate Clan Battle came to a close—a tournament that would be passed down in stories for generations to come.

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