La giggled when she saw Hex. She called out, not bothering to lower her voice.


    "Hi, friend! I''m over here. Do you see me?"


    Hex smiled softly. He called out as well, though it wasn''t unnecessarily loud.


    "Me see you! La is here!"


    The two of them jogged over to each other.


    However, their reunion was interrupted.


    "Who dares defile the walls of the Obrad Empire?"


    There was a man d in ck armor, blending in with the dark night.


    There was a small pir that held a staircase underneath. The man was standing on top of this pir, holding a massive hammer.


    He was only roughly two meters high, but his presence was overbearing. Not even a small section of his skin was revealed. The armor covered him up thoroughly.


    There were various small engravings made in his armor, only visible if one looked closely. They appeared to consist of skulls and bones, randomly strewn about. However, despite its seemingly random cement, there was a strange beauty to it.


    His helmet had four rtively small horns poking out of it. They resembled his strength ssification, four-horns.


    There was a cape on his back. However, it was heavily torn, leaving only a couple dozen centimeters to flutter with the wind. It almost looked like a rag that was casually put on.


    Within this man''s hand was a massive hammer. While he himself was two meters, his hammer was three meters long, almost dwarfing him.


    The head of the hammer was ck and over double the size of the man''s head. One end had onerge curved spike at the end that resembled a horn. The other end was simply a t surface.


    The handle of the hammer was sleek. Although it was ck, it was a lighter shadepared to the head of the hammer and the man''s armor.


    At the bottom of the hammer was a small ck metal halberd. If it wasn''t for the head of the hammer, this weapon could be used as a spear.


    Befitting itsrge size, the hammer was incredibly heavy. Yet, the man wielded it as though it were a piece of stic. He held one end while the handle rested on his shoulder.


    La''s furry ears twitched.


    "Hi!~"


    Her hand waved in the air.


    "Do you want to be friends?"


    La''s beady eyes widened, glimmering under the moonlight.


    The man d in ck armor slowly turned towards La.


    "We can be friends if you surrender yourself and willingly ept your execution."


    La blinked a few times.


    "Eh? What does that mean?"


    The man, d in ck armor, paused.


    He was a little dumbfounded by this girl''s strange personality.


    "The only way I shall reconcile with you..."


    The man''s tone suddenly dropped.


    "...is if one of us dies."


    He pulled his massive hammer off of his shoulder, letting it m into the ground.


    A loud crash resounded through the dark sky, while several stone fragments scattered in the air.


    The hammer sunk into the ground, forming hairline cracks within the floor.


    Hex rubbed the top of his head with his sleeve.


    "Me think big human is not happy."


    La pouted.


    "Aw... friend not happy."


    She raised both arms in the air. Her pout immediately became a bright smile.


    "If we y, friend will be happy!"


    Hex let out an affirming and light grunt.


    "Ah! Big human will be happy if y!"


    The man d in ck armor was silent. He was getting ticked off.


    "My name is not ''friend'' or ''big human''. Heed my words, ignorant children."


    His hand clenched tightly against the handle of his hammer.


    "Noctis, one of the twenty-five giants in Obrad Empire, will strike you down."


    Noctis dashed towards La. He hardly made a sound, almost as though he was a ghost.


    La smiled innocently. She waspletely oblivious to the anger in Noctis'' words. She simply believed he wanted to y.


    "Hehe, if friend wants to y, we will y!"


    She pulled back her hand, forming a w. The muscles in her shoulders tensed, slowly bringing her w forward.


    Then, her arms tensed before traveling to the fingers.


    Noctis had already reached attacking range by now.


    He held his hammer with both hands, sending it straight towards La.


    As for La, her w snapped out.


    A deep thundering boom resounded throughout the sky.


    La stumbled a few steps backward while Noctis was essentially running backward. His hammer had flown back, just barely restrained by his hands.


    With how he was walking, it appeared as though the hammer was a rope, forcefully pulling Noctis along like a piece of baggage. He nearly fell over.


    La pouted and looked at her knuckles. If one looked closely, one would see a slight pink tint.


    "Mm... that itches! Be more careful, friend!"


    Although it wasn''t visible from the outside, Noctis narrowed his eyes.


    This girl... was strong.


    Noctis caught something ck flitting in the corner of his eye. Without inspecting further, his hammer mmed down behind him.


    A boom echoed throughout the night sky.


    Dust and debris flew into the air. Surprisingly, the wall held itself together. To be able to withstand so much force, it must''ve been built meticulously and with high-grade materials.


    When the dust cleared, Noctis saw a shadow. He always had a shadow, though it was faint since the moonlight wasn''t particrly strong.


    But now it was far darker, like the sun was brightly shining down upon him.


    ...and the shadow had a smile.


    Since when did shadows smile?


    Under Noctis'' watch, his shadow began distorting. His arms became thin while his hands grew into ws with exaggerated size.


    Suddenly, the shadow emerged from the ground. It swiped at Noctis with its giant ws.


    Noctis responded by swinging with his hammer, colliding with the shadow''s hands. He retreated a few steps backward, trying to create some distance.


    However, the shadow did not get any farther.


    Part of it was still connected with Noctis'' shadow.


    Hex sighed.


    "Me win.. Nobody else."