Chapter 684

Only after the storm of System notifications finally passed was Su-ho able to look at Gestark again.

Gestark spoke with a benevolent expression.

- Is it all finished?

“Yes, thanks to you.”

- Then I suppose it is time for this old man to step aside. As the new king of the Giant Realm, please lead everyone well. And if fate allows......

Gestark smiled bitterly.

When he let the sentence trail off, Su-ho answered in his place.

“We’ll definitely meet again. So please wait for me until then.”

Gestark smiled at those words.

- I’ll look forward to it.

Gestark’s body began to glow, just as it had when he first appeared.

Then his head lowered.

When it slowly rose again, Seolmundae Halmang had returned.

After returning, she slowly bowed her head and paid her respects.

- I greet the new Giant King.

Her manner was exceedingly respectful.

As the current eldest authority of the Giant Realm, she offered her respects to the new Giant King on behalf of everyone.

Su-ho smiled.

“It feels awkward when you suddenly act like this.”

- Even if it is sudden, there are still things that must be observed. You have truly worked hard all this time.

She meant it sincerely.

There had also been many things Seolmundae Halmang had wanted to tell Su-ho, but because of both his security clearance as a Player and Gestark’s wishes, she had been forced to keep many facts to herself.

But now, she no longer had to hold back.

Thanks to Su-ho, she had risen to the position of High Elder, and from now on she intended to devote herself to serving Su-ho faithfully as the new Giant King.

She opened a portal leading somewhere new and spoke.

- Let us go. Countless Giants are waiting for the coronation of their new Giant King.

A coronation.

He had never done anything like that with Vampire Blood or Dragon Blood, yet here he was about to have one.

Perhaps that was why he found it amusing.

“Let’s go.”

His steps were light.

After passing through the portal, Su-ho soon found himself standing beside Seolmundae Halmang atop an enormous hill.

Below them, countless Giants packed the landscape, all looking up at Su-ho.

Seeing Giants packed together like matches in a matchbox, yet each one possessing a completely different build and size, Su-ho let out a quiet exclamation.

“I had no idea there were this many Giants.”

- These are all the Giants who exist in the Giant Realm. There are tens of thousands of them by number, and according to the rules, they are now all subjects of the Giant King.

Subjects of the Giant King.

In other words, my subjects.

At those words, Su-ho slowly looked over the faces of his tens of thousands of subjects.

Back in the Blood Realm, revenge had been the main objective, so he had neither the opportunity nor the inclination to look around at vampires of other ranks or pay attention to the vampires he passed along the way.

All he had cared about was carrying out Levan’s revenge.

The Dragon Realm had been similar.

There had been no one there except Omega in the first place.

In that respect, the Demon Realm had been somewhat better.

At least there had been people there he needed to protect.

‘But I could never shake the feeling that it was Grid’s world rather than a land of my own subjects.’

According to the System, it was his world, but in reality, ever since obtaining the Dominion Core, he had hardly even summoned Grid.

The Spirit Realm was the same.

That place also felt less like his own world filled with his own subjects and more like a realm where he acted as a proxy for Umbra and Jack.

Perhaps that was why.

Maybe because of everything he had experienced here, the Giant Realm inspired a strange sense of attachment in him, second only to the Human Realm.

As he slowly looked over his subjects.

“Hm?”

Something strange caught Su-ho’s eye.

More precisely, he saw someone who should not have been there.

Graul.

The man was standing with his arms folded, glaring up at Su-ho with a displeased expression.

How could Su-ho possibly fail to recognize that distinctive appearance?

Even his build was enormous compared to the other Giants.

“Why is that guy there?”

- Whom do you mean?

“Graul. He participated in the Giant King Competition this time, but I killed him myself.”

- Ah, you mean those people.

“Those people?”

- The ones who died during the Giant King Competition. They did not actually die. They were merely treated as eliminated after appearing to be killed, and they have all been watching you ever since.

“......What?”

What was that supposed to mean?

So aside from those who had simply been declared eliminated, the others had not really died either?

That was indeed the case.

Just as Seolmundae Halmang had said, every Giant who had supposedly died during the trials of the Giant King Competition had actually been summoned to something like a waiting room, where they watched Su-ho’s challenge unfold.

There were two reasons for this arrangement.

First, the Giants who participated in the Giant King Competition were no ordinary Giants.

They were valuable Titan-class personnel, and it would have been a waste for them to die.

The second reason was that Gestark’s Giant King Competition was inevitably designed so that only those called fake Giants could pass it.

Gestark wanted the other Giants to watch the challenge of a fake Giant and come to accept the result on their own.

And exactly as Gestark had intended, after watching Su-ho’s challenge from beginning to end, every one of them had ultimately been forced to acknowledge him, whether they liked it or not.

After learning the truth, Su-ho let out a hollow laugh.

“Haha, I never imagined there was a secret like that behind it.”

- Lord Gestark was wise enough to be called the Giant of Wisdom.

“I can see that. I’m very glad we were able to recover such valuable personnel thanks to him.”

Then Su-ho spotted Ruin and Uven among the crowd.

He was truly grateful to them.

They had supported him throughout the trials.

-j Then, to commemorate your ascension as the new Giant King, why not say a few words to your subjects?

“Is that all I need to do?”

- Yes. The succession battle took place while everyone was watching, so there are no objections. And according to the rules, they will all become the Giant King’s loyal soldiers.

The rules seemed to compel them to some degree, but because they had witnessed the entire challenge, they were also genuinely acknowledging Su-ho.

Thanks to that, Su-ho could approach the speech with a much lighter heart.

After clearing his throat for a moment, Su-ho slowly began.

“Hello, everyone.”

His voice carried mana.

Even without raising it loudly, it reached everyone gathered there clearly.

Several of the Giants looked surprised.

They had not expected him to know how to project his voice like this.

Perhaps because of that, everyone listened closely to Su-ho.

But then.

“Heh, heheh...... Hahaha.”

Su-ho suddenly burst out laughing.

He had started confidently enough with a greeting, but when he actually tried to give a speech, something about the situation struck him as funny.

Seolmundae Halmang simply watched him.

Smiling benevolently.

She had no intention of becoming stiff or formal simply because Su-ho was now king, or because this happened to be an official ceremony.

Whatever Su-ho did, she intended to respect and support him as her king.

“Ah, sorry. I actually just found out that all the competitors I thought I’d killed are still alive...... So something about the situation struck me as funny.”

This time, the listening Giants laughed.

It was because of Su-ho’s very human reaction.

“Kuhaha, I’d laugh too.”

“Imagine killing someone with all that solemn resolve, only to find out they’re perfectly fine. Of course that’d be funny.”

“I thought I was going to die in Apophis too.”

“Even I think it’s funny that I came back alive. Imagine how funny it must be for the king over there.”

The Giants each threw in a remark.

The atmosphere was good.

Perhaps because of that, it gradually began to feel less like a speech and more like a casual conversation.

Su-ho continued.

“Uh...... well, they told me to give a speech, so I started one, but I don’t particularly intend to act grand or put on airs just because I became the Giant King. I inherited Lord Gestark’s will and became the Giant King, and now that I have this power, I intend to make full use of it and fight with everything I have. So.”

He raised his fist high.

“You should all fight with everything you have for me as well! Isn’t that the destiny of us Giants!”

They had watched the entire process, so he had no intention of explaining this or that.

Nor did he intend to make some politician-like promise about working for the sake of the Giant Realm.

The only person here who had welcomed him was Seolmundae Halmang, who came from the same country as he did.

It would have been strange to suddenly declare that, now that he was king, he would work himself like an ox for everyone.

Perhaps that was why.

“That’s right!”

“That’s all we need!”

“We don’t need a laborer! We need a warrior!”

“Pretty bold for a fake Giant!”

“You idiot, he’s a real Giant now!”

“He inherited Lord Gestark’s will!”

“For the new king!”

“For the new Giant King!”

“Waaaaaaaah!!”

The crowd’s fervor surged.

Everyone raised their fists after Su-ho, then began stomping their feet in unison as they responded to his speech.

Seolmundae Halmang’s smile deepened as she watched.

Su-ho lowered his raised fist and looked at her.

“Well? Was that good enough?”

- Excellent. It was the most Giant-like speech imaginable.

“Thank you. Then is there anything else I need to do here?”

- No. Whenever the Giant King calls, we Giants will answer, no matter when or where—even if the place is hell itself.

“Sounds good.”

Su-ho snapped his fingers.

A portal leading back to his original world appeared.

“Then I’ll leave the Giant Realm in your care for a while. I still have things I need to do.”

- Of course. Leave it to me.

Just then.

“Boss!!”

A voice rang out from somewhere, practically striking his ears.

When Su-ho turned his head, he saw one Giant among the countless crowd shouting “Boss!” at the top of his lungs.

It was Ruin.

Su-ho burst out laughing.

Seolmundae Halmang looked at Ruin as well.

- It seems he has something to say.

“Could you bring him over here for a moment?”

- Of course.

She gestured with one hand.

Ruin’s body floated into the air and, in an instant, arrived in front of the two of them.

The moment Ruin saw Su-ho, he rushed toward him.

“Boss!”

“You’re still calling me Boss? I’m a king now.”

“Then what am I supposed to call you? Lord Giant King?”

“Heh, just call me whatever feels comfortable.”

“Right? Once a boss, always a boss.”

“Whatever you say. So why were you shouting for me loud enough to tear your throat out?”

“Congratulations on becoming king. I congratulated you from afar too, but I wanted to see you in person and say it properly at least once.”

Su-ho let out an amused snort.

That was Ruin for you.

He never changed.

“Yeah, thanks. I’ll never forget the loyalty you showed me.”

“Thank you. But are you leaving already?”

“I have to. There’s still a lot I need to do. So keep training steadily. There’ll come a time when I need to borrow your strength.”

“Understood. I’ll keep training.”

Reassuring.

Su-ho offered Ruin one last handshake, then stepped into the portal leading back to his original world.

And after Su-ho disappeared, Seolmundae Halmang once again looked over the assembled Giants.

It was a magnificent sight.