The Laughing Swordsman

Layla 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! Layla 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 clad in black armor, blending in with the dark night.

There was a small pillar that held a staircase underneath. The man was standing on top of this pillar, 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 placement, there was a strange beauty to it.

His helmet had four relatively small horns poking out of it. They resembled his strength classification, 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 black and over double the size of the man's head. One end had one large curved spike at the end that resembled a horn. The other end was simply a flat surface.

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

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

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

Layla's furry ears twitched.

"Hi!~"

Her hand waved in the air.

"Do you want to be friends?"

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

The man clad in black armor slowly turned towards Layla.

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

Layla blinked a few times.

"Eh? What does that mean?"

The man, clad in black 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 slam 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."

Layla pouted.

"Aw... friend not happy."

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

"If we play, friend will be happy!"

Hex let out an affirming and light grunt.

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

The man clad in black 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 Layla. He hardly made a sound, almost as though he was a ghost.

Layla smiled innocently. She was completely oblivious to the anger in Noctis' words. She simply believed he wanted to play.

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

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

As for Layla, her claw snapped out.

A deep thundering boom resounded throughout the sky.

Layla 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.

Layla 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 black flitting in the corner of his eye. Without inspecting further, his hammer slammed 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 particularly 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 claws with exaggerated size.

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

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."