Caught between a wolf and a tiger.
This was the dire situation Garde and Surtr found themselves in.
Though the Flame Titan Surtr had summoned was powerful, it struggled against the combined assault of an ancient civilization's city.
The Flame Titan's massive size made it an even easier target.
When a dozen flying dragons dove toward it, even the mighty titan had to halt its advance.
Boom!
The flaming sword unleashed a fiery torrent, engulfing the dragons. Yet, scattered attacks like this couldn't completely destroy them.
Just as the Flame Titan swung its sword, a dozen projectiles rained down from the sky, striking its body.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions forced the Titan to stumble back. Surtr, perched on its shoulder, gritted her teeth as she struggled to keep the Titan upright.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two spears shot forth from a distance, their terrifying sonic booms piercing through the Titan's body.
However, the Flame Titan's form was a manifestation of fire, rendering physical attacks relatively ineffective. The real issue was that the enemy's focus had shifted from targeting the Titan to targeting Surtr herself.
"Tch."
Shrapnel from an explosion grazed Surtr's cheek. She glanced at the restless black dragons in the sky and shouted loudly, "Garde, get up here and block those projectiles for me!"
The Flame Titan's body was resilient, but Surtr's was not. Even a single fragment of a projectile hitting her would cause the Titan to disintegrate instantly.
"Got it!"
The Flame Titan extended its hand, lifting Garde onto its shoulder. Beside the headless Flame Titan, Surtr looked rather battered.
"What are you looking at? I didn't come here to help you," Surtr said, wiping the blood off her face with an air of nonchalance.
"I'm here because I want to be."
After all, she had already lost her memory. Only a few days had passed since she'd awakened, so even if she lost her memories again, it would only cost her these few days.
"Hmph, and you had the nerve to tell me not to drag you down. Clearly, you're the one holding me back."
Faced with Surtr's arrogant expression, Garde found himself unable to retort.
He knew well the cost of Surtr fully unleashing Laevatain. Let alone doing it twice in such a short period—the toll it took on her wasn't just mental but also on her life force.
Though Garde hadn't spent much time with Surtr, their relationship couldn't be called close, but neither was it distant.
Were they friends? Allies?
Often, Garde wouldn't hesitate to lend a helping hand to those in need, as long as it was within his ability. He didn't mind helping.
But if it came with a price, if it crossed his boundaries, Garde would hesitate. He'd refuse.
For instance, to Garde, memories were the most important thing.
If saving a stranger came at the cost of his memories, Garde wouldn't hesitate to refuse. Without his memories, would he still be himself?
The thought terrified him!
Just as he feared losing himself completely in his rage, unable to wake up.
It had taken him four years to quell his anger—to prevent himself from being ruled by it again, to avoid repeating Renekton's mistakes.
But was a crocodile man who had entirely suppressed his rage still the same crocodile man?
No. That wasn't it.
Anger was never meant to be extinguished. It was meant to be hidden.
And when the time came, it would ignite like dry kindling in a blazing fire—the fuel for his engine to roar into action.
"Surtr, slap me."
"What?"
Surtr swore she had never heard such a bizarre request in her life.
"Hurry!"
"This… you asked for it."
Seeing Garde leaning his face closer, Surtr smacked him hard.
Slap!
"Garde, did you not eat or something?"
Slap!
Surtr clutched her hand in pain, crouching down as tears welled up in her eyes.
At that moment, a shell fell, landing directly on Garde.
The explosion engulfed both of them, but Surtr felt no pain—Garde had shielded her entirely from the blast.
"Garde?"
Surtr heard a sound like a drum beating, a rhythmic pounding. She looked at Garde, standing protectively before her. His golden eyes were slowly being consumed by a crimson glow.
Thump-thump!
Thump-thump!
The sight of the crocodile man in front of her made Surtr instinctively take two steps back.
For a moment, she felt as though the figure standing before her wasn't Garde but a wild beast.
Could Garde have been blasted senseless by the shell?
She saw him bend forward, murmuring something under his breath, as if speaking to someone—Laevatain, perhaps?
Surtr couldn't make out what Garde said. Once he finished, he didn't even glance at her. Instead, he leapt straight off the Titan's shoulder.
The city's artillery fire continued unabated, but as Garde descended, he hurled his weapon into the air.
A crescent-shaped great axe, glowing with a blood-red hue, split the incoming shells apart and flew toward the distant defensive turrets.
These turrets, embedded in the ground, were nearly impossible to destroy from the outside. But while destruction was difficult, blocking their barrels was just as effective.
Garde's aim wasn't destruction—it was support.
He had noticed that Kal'tsit and the others had begun moving.
As a master of stealth, Scout was doing his part to aid Garde and the others' advance, working to disable all the defensive turret barrels.
This meant he had to get dangerously close to the formidable mechanical knights guarding them.
Each turret was protected by a mechanical nightmare. Garde's role was to take out the nightmares obstructing Scout right before he made his move.
At the same time, Garde broke into a sprint toward the nightmares.
On all fours.
Like a beast.
Surtr, keep up with me!
Garde's rough, beast-like voice echoed in Surtr's mind. Before she could even command the Flame Titan beneath her, it began moving on its own, keeping pace with Garde.
As long as both Garde and Surtr remained together, the black dragons circling above hesitated to attack. But if they separated, the dragons wouldn't hold back.
With only a faint trace of clarity remaining in his eyes, Garde charged headlong into the city's final defensive line—a formation of dozens of nightmares.
The Flame Titan drew its sword, cleaving the path ahead in two.
<+>
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