Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 682

Su-ho’s gaze followed Seolmundae Halmang’s hand as she pointed downward.

At the same time, a memory flashed through his mind, and goosebumps rose all over his body.

It was a memory from when he had first come here.

On the day he first progressed through the Giant Bloodline quest and met Seolmundae Halmang, Su-ho rode Cheolma endlessly upward.

What he eventually arrived at was an enormous palm.

The unmistakable contours of a hand cupped as though scooping water from a pond.

As he followed them with his gaze, he saw the wrist, and then the arm extending beyond it.

He could not see anything farther than that.

Because it was obscured by something he could not tell was darkness or something else, as though hidden behind fog.

And later, after finishing the wars of Olympus, he had asked about its identity as well.

The answer he received was that he lacked the qualifications to be told, but even then Su-ho had been certain that it was related to some particular giant.

‘But to think that was the First Giant King.’

Having understood the entire truth, Su-ho unconsciously swallowed dryly, and Seolmundae Halmang gave a faint chuckle.

- Look at you getting nervous. It doesn’t suit you.

“Haha...... Do you remember when I asked you about him before, back when I didn’t know what he was?”

- I remember. I couldn’t tell you because of the security clearance issue, could I?

“Yes, I’m only learning the truth of that day now. Though even putting that aside, how should I put this.......”

Su-ho’s gaze swept over Gestark once again.

“Even when it came to giants or Titans, their size was still within a range I could imagine, but this man is.......”

Huge.

Not merely huge.

Far too huge.

The largest mountain on Earth was Mount Everest, with an elevation of roughly 8,500 meters.

He had been there before and had climbed it before.

But the height of the First Giant King Gestark made even the Everest he had faced back then feel like a child’s toy.

Was he like some robot from a mecha series set in outer space?

Then a thought suddenly occurred to him.

“Ma’am.”

- Speak.

“I’m asking just in case. Do I have to fight him too?”

- What? Hahaha!

He was serious.

Considering the pattern of the trials so far, just how many battles had he been forced to fight?

Especially the battle with Hyman immediately before this one had, to be honest, not been easy either.

‘It’s a good thing I had blood magic and things like that.......’

No, even before that, it was only because the Gigantification skill had allowed him to become roughly Hyman’s size, even if only temporarily, that he had been able to entertain the thought of fighting him at all.

But Gestark was not that kind of problem.

He was simply too huge.

It was not even a matter of whether the thought of fighting him occurred or not.

It simply felt overwhelming.

‘I didn’t even think like this when I met the Demon King or the Dragon Lord.......’

Perhaps this was why primordial things were the most frightening and powerful.

‘Wait. Then Overment even defeated someone like Gestark......?’

His mind suddenly went blank.

Just what the hell were those Overment bastards?

As Su-ho’s expression grew serious, Seolmundae Halmang spoke.

- I think that’s enough idle thinking. You should speak with Lord Gestark directly about the details.

“Directly?”

- Yes, directly.

At that moment.

Fwoosh!

Light burst from Seolmundae Halmang’s body, and her head tilted slightly backward.

“M-Ma’am? Are you all right?”

Then her head, which had tilted back, slowly returned forward.

Her expression had become much calmer.

Su-ho instinctively knew.

The being before him was no longer Seolmundae Halmang.

Su-ho immediately showed his respect.

“It is an honor to meet the First Giant King.”

At Su-ho’s courtesy, she...... no, he smiled benevolently.

- You have a good eye.

The voice had changed.

His face and appearance were clearly still those of Seolmundae Halmang.

But the voice coming from his mouth was no longer hers.

It was his.

His voice had become more dignified and deeper, almost reminiscent of royalty, and anyone who heard it would surely think of him as the Giant King.

Gestark, borrowing Seolmundae Halmang’s body, curled and opened his hands, enjoying having a physical body again after so long.

But Gestark’s expression did not look entirely happy.

“You look somewhat sad.”

- How could I not be? Unless it’s a time like this, I have no choice but to remain trapped inside my own body for eternity.

“Trapped inside your own body?”

- Exactly as I said. I lost every opportunity and was stripped of my qualifications, leaving me preserved here like a specimen. If there is anything fortunate about it, it’s that I did not lose my body. The sad part is that the very body I retained became a prison that confines my mind. To make it easier for you to understand...... yes, being in a vegetative state would be the perfect description.

“Ah.”

Su-ho understood immediately.