Lord of Annihilation

Lucius' cold voice cut across the boiling atmosphere of the Giants and immediately cooled their hot-blooded minds.

Realizing that the person inside was undergoing their ascension and should not be disturbed in the slightest the crowd collectively and immediately took a few steps back. 

Creating a distance of thirty meters from the door, the crowd of Giants instantly bowed their bodies and apologized, "We are extremely sorry brother Black Blade. In the heat of the moment, we forgot about our surroundings. You are free to ask us whatever you want."

The voice of the crowd was unified and solemn. 

Having each undergone an ascension or two, the people within the crowd immediately realized how threatening their thoughtless actions had been. 

To this race of powerful warriors who adored power and deeply respected every powerful person, disturbing another person's ascension was the highest form of transgression. It was a sin that could never be washed away, even if paid with death.

As such, the moment their minds cooled and the crowd realized the situation, they hurriedly apologized. Even if Lucius were to ask them for their heads, they would not hesitate to pay him.

That was how honest the Giants were and that was how highly they viewed power. And the 'ascension' was the most sacred act of gaining power.

"I too, apologize for the actions of my kin, honored warrior," a voice boomed from the sky.

The crowd of Giants and Lucius raised their heads to identify the speaker, only to realize that it was their own king. 

Giant King Klytius, alongside the tiny, tiny Ka'lor'ah, had arrived at the scene.

Gently touching down onto the ground, Klytius walked up to Lucius and continued with his speech.

"I request that you spare their lives in honor of our friendship. They might be foolish, but they are my men after all."

Hearing his words, the crowd of Giants felt their hearts warm. With tears in their eyes, they looked up at their mighty king and spoke.

"…my king, but we—"

Giant King Klytius instantly cut off their answer and interrupted.

"I know. Your thoughtless actions were unforgivable, even though they were unintentional. Fortunately, you were all stopped before anything concrete happened and no harm was ultimately done. This lightens your sentence."

"What if I want their lives?" a chilling voice calmly asked.

Lucius continued to stand at the doorstep of the coliseum with his scythe unsheathed. His entire body radiated such dense murderous intent that the air around him seemed to be twisting with pain.

Being the source of that earlier question, Lucius defiantly looked at Klytius while standing in a leisurely stance. His demeanor contained none of the respect that one would usually possess while facing a king.

Hearing that question, the bodies of the Giants in the crowd froze while Klytius' eyes slightly narrowed.

Ka'lor'ah, who floated somewhere above Klytius, silently clicked her tongue but did not intervene. It was evident that no matter what happened, she would always stand by Lucius' side.

'Still, could you not take it a little easy, man? We aren't exactly strong enough to take on the Giants, you know,' she thought to herself.

"Is that so," Klytius spoke in an unusually low voice. Lowering his head, he hid his eyes underneath his hair before suddenly looking up while roaring with laughter.

"BWHAHAHA! This is exactly why I like you kid! You possess the confidence of a Giant! Hahaha! How I wish that I could adopt you as one of my sons!"

Klytius continued to roar with laughter to the point of having tears form in his eyes. Using his humungous, calloused fingers to wipe his eyes, Klytius continued.

"But still, I can't budge on this. What kind of king would I be if I can't protect the men behind me?"

Saying so, he looked at Lucius with bright eyes and a smiling face. His aura was peaceful and placid with no intention of battling anytime soon. 

The sight that the crowd of Giants saw was that of their easy-going king peacefully looking at the fearsome Black Blade while spreading out his arms as if showing how defenseless he was.

They saw that familiar armored back that had protected them many a time during battles and wars. It was warming, comforting, and filled them with confidence from knowing that they were protected.

However, the sight that Lucius saw was different.

He saw a terrifying wolf that was acting harmless all while instigating its prey to jump towards it. Lucius' instincts, born from three hundred years of battle experience, severely warned him of the danger of rushing in unguarded.

It was simple. If he were to take a single step forward, he would instantly be injured to a degree where his combat capability would reach zero.

Lucius was strong. He knew this. But fighting against a Mid-Level Stage 5 who was being serious was the same as committing suicide with his current level of strength.

Recognizing this, Lucius backed off.

"I'm not your match," he spoke while retracting his murderous aura. "…yet."

"Bwahahaha! Then I eagerly await our battle! You still owe me a fight, remember"

Lucius simply nodded his head, turned around, and headed inside the coliseum. Klytius did not speak any further and followed behind him, behind whom Ka'lor'ah followed after letting out a sigh of relief.

Seeing the Black Blade leave peacefully and their mighty king follow him inside the coliseum, the crowd of Giants who were following the events with their hearts in their mouths, hurriedly yelled.

"Brother Black Blade! I sincerely apologize and acknowledge the fact that I owe you this life! If you are to ever need me, I, Morom, will follow you into battle and will lay down this life for you!"

"Me too! I, Karu, also owe my life to you and will repay it on the battlefield!"

"I, Rapol, also promise to repay you!"

One by one, the large crowd of Giants solemnly spoke out their promise while performing their unique military salute.

Were these words spoken by members of some other race, it could be written off as something said in the heat of the moment and was them simply being perfunctory.

However, if these words were to be spoken by the Giants, they held a completely different weight. Knowing their honest, straight-forward character they could be counted on to follow through with their promise

For that is how Giants were. A race of simple-minded, innocent creatures that lived to fight and fought to death.

----------

Walking into the coliseum hardly hindered the group from listening to the pledges of the Giants. 

Klytius, who also heard the pledges, wore a smile on his face and softly spoke.

"You know have a few dozen, battle-hardened warriors ready to heed your call for war. I only ask that you grant them an honorable death."

"I don't need them," came the response, curtly and coldly.

"Well, nothing changes and I get to keep them, I guess," Klytius replied with a smile.

Lucius simply scoffed at his reply and continued to follow the corridors of the coliseum. By this time, Ka'lor'ah had made her way towards Lucius and slowly sat on his shoulder.

Leaning into his ears, she asked, "What the hell happened in there? How did she succeed?"

"She has surpassed all our expectations. Her talent and potential are way beyond our initial predictions. She will be a fine ally," Lucius calmly replied.

Hearing his answer, Ka'lor'ah's eyes widened with shock and her mouth went ajar. Taking a few seconds to exit her disbelief, she continued with absolute shock in her tone.

"Lucius are you suggesting—"

"Yes," he immediately interrupted her. Continuing to stare straight into the long, dull corridor, he continued, "She may very well accompany us till the end."

Hearing that, Ka'lor'ah's shock exploded.