"The bombardment has stopped."
The guards relayed the situation through their radios when the giant ceased its attack.
"Move quickly right now. Hurry."
"It's unbelievable even seeing it with my own eyes. All this was caused by just one of them?"
A subordinate murmured in an admiring tone as he looked at the collapsed abandoned factories and flickering flames all around.
"I knew they were making something underground, but I never imagined they were creating such an enormous weapon."
The sight of the giant overlooking everything, illuminated by the burning flames, had something about it that made one's spine tingle even though it was on their side.
Especially the terrifying bombardment that turned the entire area into a wasteland upon its appearance was unbelievable even to those who witnessed it.
Could it be this reassuring to know that it was on their side?
"I understand how you feel, but focus on the current situation. Quickly check the scene.""Is there really any need for that? With this kind of firepower, anyone inside would have died a hundred times over."
"That's not why we're doing this. We need to at least confirm the bodies."
"I doubt there would be any trace left."
Despite saying this, they moved in an orderly fashion as instructed, just to be sure. Wearing gas masks because of the black smoke emitted from the flames, they soon witnessed an astonishing sight.
Four enemies rising shakily from the ruins of destruction. The moment they saw this, they felt a chill run down their spines.
"Those bastards! They're alive!"
"They didn't die even in that situation? What is this, some kind of necromancy from a black mage?"
They survived bombardment that would kill even cockroaches? It was enough to make one think they weren't living humans but zombies.
"But they look severely injured. We should be able to finish them off at our level."
They aimed their guns and fired. But surprisingly, the nearly dead enemies clustered together, raising the remaining parts of their suits and half-destroyed shields to defend themselves.
However, they no longer showed the aggressive, bull-like movements of before. Still, just to be safe, they slowly tightened their encirclement while continuing to fire warning shots.
They intended to finish them off the moment their solid defense broke down.
It was then, as they were gradually increasing the pressure, that something changed in the enemies who had been solely focused on defense.
A pure white light so bright it was clearly visible even against the burning surroundings began to gather around the enemies before seeping into their weapons and shields.
Even with the smoke partially obscuring their vision, they could see the sparks of starlight shining on the ground.
"Is this possibly what I think it is?"
Anthony asked as he looked at the Starlight that had settled on his half-broken sword. And not just him. His comrades Jedgy, Burkan, and Perth were all using the power of Starlight.
They were so surprised they couldn't close their mouths. At last, they had grasped that starlight they had so desperately wanted to use.
If Asmer had seen this, he would have sincerely congratulated them. Osian would surely have said the same.
But they couldn't just hug each other and rejoice in this situation. It was fortunate that they had awakened to Starlight. But the situation was still dire for them. The enemies were numerous, they were injured, and they couldn't receive any support.
All they had left was the Starlight they had just awakened to. So how should they utilize this power?
The Knights were essentially taking their first steps as true knights. They still had many challenges ahead of them. But none of the four showed any panic.
Hadn't they already seen enough how to use this brilliant starlight? They had received guidance many times by watching the back of the one who walked ahead of them.
Above all, their hearts knew well how to handle this starlight.
"A means to protect my comrades."
As Burkan muttered softly, Starlight settled on his shield. The Starlight overlaid on his shield, which had lost a third of its surface, making it larger and more solid than before.
"The power to win this battle."
As Perth murmured, a Starlight sword extended from what he held in his hand. It was nowhere near as refined as Osian's flame, appearing more like an overflowing shape, but it seemed all the more splendid, like heightened emotions.
"Courage to not yield."
Starlight settled on Anthony's exposed bare skin, forming armor. It was only partial compared to a full set, and the shape of the armor was somewhat blunt and lacking in refinement. But it was definitely Starlight armor.
"I..."
The youngest, Perth, hesitated as he looked at the starlight on his hand, wondering what to wish for. But his hesitation didn't last long.
Perth threw away his broken sword and shield and picked up a long iron bar from the ground instead. The half-burned iron bar was as long as a spear shaft, about 3 meters in length.
Perth raised the iron bar vertically, then thrust it into the ground with all his might.
The Starlight flame flowing through his hand ran up the iron bar. As the burns disappeared like peeling rust, the Starlight gathered at the end of the iron bar, forming a fluttering flag.
At the same time, stardust spread outward from the flag in concentric circles. The guards retreated nervously, pushed back by the force.
Meanwhile, the knights smiled as they felt power surging through their bodies.
"Perth, you bastard. I see you in a new light."
"Kid. You've learned a good technique."
While everyone was exchanging such words of praise, Perth said,
"What are you doing? Get up now."
The response came not from the other three who had awakened to Starlight. Jonathan, who had been lying still as if dead, slowly raised his body.
"You're the last one."
He looked around at his comrades with his blood-soaked appearance. Everyone was enveloped in starlight, waiting for Jonathan.
Jonathan nodded and grasped the flagpole Perth had planted. At the same time, the Starlight energy penetrated Jonathan's body.
Jonathan forcibly tore off the remaining pieces of his suit with his hands as Starlight began to gather on his exposed, wounded bare skin.
Soon, the starlight engulfed Jonathan's entire body before taking a form covering him from head to toe.
Jonathan, wearing the complete Starlight armor, stepped forward and said,
"Boys. Let's go."
The Starlight Knights march begins.
The Knights, suddenly revitalized, began to drive back the guards. The Giant, watching this scene, moved.
-Boom!
The massive body takes a step. That alone should intimidate the enemies, but these tiny humans seemed to know no fear as they were busy taking down the guards.
The Giant thought and considered. If it attacked now, friendly forces would be caught in it. But if it left things as they were, allied casualties would continue to increase. Having already expended significant firepower in one barrage, it didn't have many weapons left.
After calculating all these factors, the Giant reached a conclusion.
It would accept the allied casualties and eliminate those white-armored humans. Its left arm, mounted with a huge cannon, aimed at the Knights. At Jonathan Russell, who was at the very front, breaking through formations like a rhinoceros.
Jonathan seemed to sense this as he stopped in his tracks and looked up at the Giant. His eyes, shining through the white armor, were remarkably clear and transparent. Not a trace of fear could be found in them as he faced the Giant.
The Giant wondered why, but still did not stop its attack. Just as it was about to fire its energy-charged cannon, a sound rang out.
-Bang!
A loud explosion sounded from not far away. The Giant paused its attack and turned its head to look at the source of the sound. What its emerald-colored lens saw was the sight of a fellow Giant's massive upper shoulder armor completely falling off.
The Giant's eyes quickly scanned the surroundings to analyze the situation. And it was able to discover the cause.
A human riding a pitch-black motorcycle, presumed to be responsible for shattering its comrade's shoulder. It was Lupona.
The comrade extended its left arm to fire a shell, but it didn't reach Lupona. Instead, Lupona swung her whip widely, grabbing the Giant's gun barrel.
Of course, this didn't cause the Giant's gun to turn sideways. Despite Lupona's strength, the difference in size was too great.
Knowing this, Lupona chose a different approach.
She pulled hard on the whip and leaped high into the air with her motorcycle.
The airborne bike raced along the long gun barrel like a road, instantly reaching the Giant's head.
As if aiming for the head this time instead of the shoulder, Lupona's whip was swung in a semicircle. However, the Giant wasn't just going to take the hit passively.
-Hissssss!
Massive steam burst out from all the seams of the Giant's body. It was an enormous amount of steam created by the vaporization of high-density ether water.
The temporary hurricane-level force sent Lupona soaring high into the sky. Floating in mid-air, Lupona looked at her motorcycle that had risen alongside her.
Her trusty steed, which had carried her through countless battles, was breaking apart into pieces, unable to withstand the impact.
Lupona, clad in Blood Demon armor, looked down at the Giant with a cold red light in her eyes.
"...You, I really can't forgive you now."
The moment Lupona muttered these words, her falling body became fixed in mid-air. The Giant was startled by this sight, which defied the inevitable descent that should occur without wings.
Lupona threw her whip above her head. The thrown whip formed a circle in the air, changing into a ring shape. At the same time, it burst into a blood-red flame, transforming into something like a sun.
[Dark Sun]
A sun of death rises, using the weapon as a medium. It shone with a gloomy color in the darkness. Lupona raised her finger and pointed at the Giant.
The surface of the sun flashed, and countless swords shot out toward the Giant. The Giant immediately activated its defense shield. A bluish barrier covered its massive body as the red sun's swords pierced it, causing successive explosions.
Watching this scene, the other Giant judged that supporting its comrade was more important than eliminating Jonathan and the Knights.
It aimed its left arm at Lupona, who was still in mid-air. Lupona was currently too focused on pressuring its comrade to pay attention to this Giant.
If so, it would shoot her down in one go. It would deliver a fitting end to this flying insect.
Just as it was about to fire with this thought, the Giant realized that its view was blocked. And it realized that what was blocking its view was a pair of brilliantly burning starlight swords.
"It's not fair to cowardly interfere in a comrade's fight."
Because it was distracted, it had failed to notice Asmer approaching.
-Crack!
Asmer thrust his twin star swords into the Giant's two eyes.
"Whew. What's this? Everyone's doing incredibly well."
David, who had urgently dropped off Asmer, was busy driving his muscle car. He had no choice. In the current situation, stopping meant death.
-Toot toot toot toot!
As he sharply turned the car sideways, a large-caliber bullet scraped the ground where he had been heading just moments ago. If his reaction had been just 0.5 seconds slower, the muscle car would have been riddled with holes.
Actually, the car body was already quite damaged. The vital parts were still intact, but who knew when they would reach their limit.
-Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sound of the steel giant pursuing him from behind could be heard. No matter how fast he drove to shake it off, there was no sign of the persistent chase ending.
"Seems like it's quite upset with me."
Though not intentional, he appeared to have been marked by that steel giant. It was understandable. After all, he had managed to survive and continue resisting with just one vehicle, so he couldn't complain if it felt toyed with.
"I'm really struggling here with all my might, though."
-Bang!
The wall in front of him crumbled. The giant had deliberately destroyed the path to block his escape route. Even knowing he shouldn't, David had no choice but to turn the steering wheel.
Indeed, that steel giant knew how to think for itself. At the same time, he could see his comrades fighting hard elsewhere.
"You guys. You finally awakened to it."
A bittersweet smile formed on his face. He had vaguely sensed that his comrades would eventually use Starlight. They might not have felt it themselves, but David, watching from the side, could tell. At the same time, he knew that he himself could not.
That's why he had followed Osian to District 49 out of frustration. And there, he had seen a knight newly awakened to Holy Light. The moment he faced that, David realized more clearly that he had no talent for Starlight.
"In the past, you know, I thought I would shine brighter and more beautifully than anyone else in the world."
David was talking to himself. No, there were ears listening. They just weren't human. Ronald and Reginald MK2 were in the back seat.
They, too, were in terrible shape, worn down by the fierce chase.
"But as I lived, I eventually came to realize. That there are those who are destined to shine on their own."
And David himself was not among them. No one knew that better than David himself.
"So what, should I give up after coming this far?"
David smiled wryly.
"But then again, it's not entirely that way either."
David looked up at the completely open roof of what was now a convertible. In his eyes, the moonlight shining in the dark night sky was visible.
"You don't have to shine by yourself."
Unlike stars, the moon doesn't shine on its own. Even that soft light is actually reflecting light received from other stars. Nevertheless, the moon is beautiful. Even if it's somewhat forlorn, the way it tries to shine somehow. As if it resembles himself.
"Your light. I've received it well."
David concentrated his mind as a cool energy flowed through his hands and into the vehicle.
-Sizzle.
A piercingly beautiful blue light covered the damaged exterior of the car.
-Whooosh!
Behind the speeding muscle car, pure white frost powder scattered into the air.