Vol. 15 - Ch. 42 - Ultimate Clan Battle - Main Event (9/10)

"...Huh?"

Gale stared blankly at his beloved sword, now snapped clean in two.

"Whew. Well, you're without a weapon now. Do you still want to keep fighting?"

Halt pointed Hakoku's tip at Gale, but he wasn't letting his guard down. Just because he'd destroyed the guy's weapon didn't mean this was over.

The reason Gale was the strongest in the western half of the world wasn't because of some fancy sword. It was because he was a monster—someone with the Limit Break skill who'd actually gone to the Demon Realm to grind his stats all the way to level 370.

However, Gale didn't move.

"I-Impossible... It's scarletite! Immutable metal! The strongest sword in the world! How... HOW?!"

He couldn't accept it.

Vermilion was the greatsword he'd spent thirty years forging. For an ogre-man with a five-hundred-year lifespan, thirty years wasn't that long, but he'd devoted almost all of it to shaping that raw lump of metal into a blade.

Seeing his life's work reduced to scrap had left him completely hollow.

On top of that, Vermilion was a sword that could cleave even demons. It had slain three high-ranking demons and saved the world multiple times. It had blocked demon attacks and kept him alive.

He couldn’t believe a weapon that could withstand demonic assaults had been destroyed just like that.

"W-What's going on?! What is that sword of yours?!"

"This blade is made from the same material as yours, it’s scarletite."

"Impossible!! The only scarletite weapon in this world is Hakoku, the national treasure of the Elven Kingdom of Alheim—wait. No way?!"

Apparently, Gale had once visited Alheim after becoming known as the world's strongest. He wanted a weapon worthy of his title and had asked the Elven King to let him have Hakoku, rumored to be the strongest sword in the world.

However, the Elven King, Sairos Alheim, refused.

Gale wasn't a hero. The previous king had decreed Hakoku should go to a hero. Besides, there was no Demon Lord threatening the world at the time—it was an era of peace.

Giving someone as strong as Gale—already ranked alongside Tina as one of the world's strongest—even more power might tip the global balance too far. No matter how hard Gale negotiated, the Elven King didn’t relent.

And so Gale, dead set on obtaining the ultimate weapon, made a decision after much agonizing: he'd just have to forge one himself.

"Impossible. Are you saying you're the hero? ...No. That's wrong. YOU don't deserve that sword! I will NEVER accept anyone other than HIM as the hero!!"

Gale's despair twisted into something else—rage burning in his eyes.

"Hakoku belongs to ME! I'm the one HE entrusted this world to!!"

Mana exploded around him as he prepared to lunge at Halt—

"Enough, Gale."

Tina's voice cut through the chaos.

The killing intent radiating from Gale, who'd been on the verge of losing himself, softened.

"...Tina-sama. It's been a long time."

For some reason, Gale's posture shifted to something almost deferential around Tina. It seemed they went way back. Not just as two of the world's strongest—they'd known each other long before that.

Gale pointed at Halt and demanded answers.

"This man is strong. Probably far beyond me now. I'd even call him the strongest in history. But WHY, Tina-sama?! YOUR partner should be HIM!! You always said you'd wait for him—"

"Fufu. That's exactly why it's Halt-sama."

Tina smiled and wrapped herself around Halt's arm.

"After he returned to his world, countless men approached me. I waited for him for a hundred years. Sometimes I received proposals so wonderful they almost made my heart waver. But I could never accept them. My soul must have rejected anyone but him."

"W-wait. What do you mean by that?"

Tina looked up at Halt, seeking permission. He nodded slightly.

"The Guardian Hero I waited for all those years... has been reborn in this world as a human once more. He stands here before you. Halt-sama."

"You're—no. You're... the Guardian Hero?"

"Yeah. That's right. When I found out you were still using the name I gave you... it made me really happy."

Halt answered with a warm smile, his tone shifting to something more casual, like the old days.

About a hundred years ago, when Gale was still just an ogre, it was Haruto Saijo—the Guardian Hero—who gave him his name. And that same Haruto had been forcibly reincarnated by the Calamity God, becoming Halt.

Gale had never told anyone about being named by the Guardian Hero. Tina hadn't been there either. The fact that Halt knew about the name was proof enough.

"Ah... AhhhhhhHAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"

The ogre-man known as the world's strongest broke down completely, tears streaming down his face as he threw his arms around his long-lost benefactor.

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