nycdaug Chapter 276 - 270 – The Giants?
Chapter 276 - 270 – The Giants?
The old cafeteria of the Veinwalker Compound had always been loud but tonight, it was alive in a different way. Months had passed since this exact group had shared a table. Missions, injuries, new ranks, unexpected alliances… everything had pulled them apart.But now, for once, everyone was here.
Long wooden tables lined the center of the hall. Lanterns hung low from the beams, casting golden warmth across faces that had long been separated by battles they never asked for.
Khael arrived late.
Not because he wanted to but because he had stood outside for a moment, breathing in the rare sense of peace. It's been too long… he thought, stepping inside.
The sound hit him immediately.
—AND THAT'S WHY JUNJUN CAN'T EAT SIX BOWLS OF RICE!" Andromeda scolded, holding his dog up by the armpits. Junjun, a fluffy white bundle of pure ego, barked in protest.
Shigeo sat two seats away, staring flatly at the commotion. "You brought an argument to the table," he said. "Please take it away."
Saya, already biting into a chicken leg, elbowed him. "Shigeo, shut up and pretend you're having fun. Your face looks like a tax form."
Kaya laughed so hard her drink nearly spilled.
Matthew Lomwel sat at the corner, calmer than usual, one hand stroking his newly recovered dog, Sae. The girl-dog barked happily whenever someone glanced at her. "Easy, Sae," Matthew whispered. "No biting ankles. This is a reunion, okay?"
Kenji leaned back, arms crossed, lips small but genuine. "Man, this feels like before everything went crazy."
Ceyla, sitting beside Khael's empty seat, looked around and smiled softly. "It really does."
Then Khael stepped forward.
"Yo! Finally," Rael called, waving him over. "Khael, sit your brooding dragon self down."
Everyone turned. Smiles rose. Even Shigeo raised a hand in mild acknowledgment.
Khael sat between Ceyla and Rael. He felt warmth not just in the room, but in his chest. Something familiar. Something human.
And he had missed it.
Bowls clattered, laughter rose, and the smell of sizzling beef and garlic filled the air.
Kaya slapped a plate onto Khael's side. "Eat, Khael. You look like a man living on water and trauma."
"I eat fine." Khael muttered.
"Lies," Kenji said. "Your face screams malnutrition."
Ceyla annoyed, covering her lips. "You really do forget meals."
Khael cleared his throat, ears warming. "I was…training."
Shigeo stabbed his meat with a fork. "Training to skip breakfast is not a training regimen. It's a dietary cry for help."
"Shigeo!" Saya barked. "For someone who sleeps twelve hours a day, you are not innocent either."
"I conserve energy." Shigeo corrected.
They bickered, they laughed, they teased and for once, the weight of calamities, shards, masters, and enemies felt distant.
Then Rael placed his chopsticks down and straightened.
The room shifted.
The laughter softened.
Something heavy filled the air.
Everyone looked at him.
Rael exhaled slowly. "Okay… since we're all here… I need to tell you what happened."
Khael felt his spine stiffen.
Kaen leaned forward.
Lira stopped eating.
Even Sae and Junjun fell silent.
Rael's eyes darkened not with fear, but with the seriousness of a man who had seen something ancient.
"We encountered something," Rael said quietly. "Something sealed. Something sleeping."
Kaen clenched his fists. "In the Tomb of the East."
"It wasn't part of the mission," Lira added. "We didn't even realize what we stepped into."
Rael looked at Khael directly.
"Khael… have you ever heard about giants?"
The table fell silent.
Shigeo set down his glass.
Saya's playful smirk fell.
Ceyla inhaled softly, expecting Khael to shake his head, like any normal 16-year-old Veinwalker would.
But Khael…
Khael already knew.
The moment Rael spoke the word giants, his blood ran cold.
The First Era's sleeping disasters… the ones the manga called "The Fallen Colossals."
Immortal. Unkillable. Sealed because nothing could destroy them
Except one artifact.
The Dragon Knight's weapon.
A divine armament capable of killing even immortals.
And now Lucere was hunting The shard of that exact era.
Khael swallowed. He knew the story too well.
But he couldn't say that.
He couldn't say, "I know because I read the Kaen Eclipse manga before dying and reincarnating here."
They'd think he was insane or worse, suspicious.
So he forced his expression into calm confusion.
"Giants?" Khael echoed. "What… happened?"
Rael nodded grimly. "We found one. Frozen. Buried in a shrine like a cursed relic. A huge one. Taller than the academy tower."
Kaen added, voice steady, "It wasn't dead. Just sealed."
Lira shivered. "Its eye… even frozen, it felt like it was watching us."
Shigeo tapped the table slowly. "A giant with consciousness? Dormant but aware. That's…" His eyes sharpened. "That's catastrophic."
"I know," Rael said. "That's why I'm telling Khael."
Everyone stared at Khael.
Even Ceyla.
Even the dogs.
Khael held their gaze and for a heartbeat almost told the truth.
That giants are calamity-class beings.
That one escaped in the old story.
That its name was Cylopse the strongest of them all the one who nearly reset civilization.
That the Dragon Knight killed it using the Divine Annihilator.
That Lucere gaining shards is connected to their awakening.
But instead
He lowered his head, pretending to think carefully.
Then he lied.
"I've only read about them once," he said slowly. "In one of Master Isen's old scrolls."
Everyone leaned closer.
Shigeo squinted. "Isen… keeps scrolls about giants?"
Ceyla blinked. "He never mentioned that."
Khael kept his tone calm. Steady. Convincing.
"They were from the First Era," he said. "Beings that couldn't be killed. So the ancients sealed them instead."
Rael nodded. "That matches what we saw…"
Khael continued, weaving the truth from his old world into a believable lie.
"Only two giant escape and one who died," he said. "A calamity giant named… Cylopse."
Kaen frowned. "The strongest?"
Khael nodded. "Yes. And even he could only be killed by a special weapon, the Dragon Knight's divine armament."
It wasn't a lie.
Just a truth he wasn't supposed to know.
The table reacted in a wave.
Andromeda: "Bro… why does your knowledge sound like it belongs to a professor?"
Kenji: "How old are you again? Sixteen but speaking like a historian?"
Saya narrowed her eyes. "Khael, what else do you secretly know?"
Ceyla watched him closest.
Her expression soft.
But filled with concern.
Khael calmly lifted his cup. "Just something I read. That's all."
Rael inhaled sharply. "Whatever that sealed giant was… it wasn't Cylopse. It was something else. Something older."
"And it's waking up." Lira whispered.
Matthew clenched Sae closer. "Great… as if Calamity-class monsters weren't enough already."
Shigeo tapped the table. "Based on Rael's description… the seal is weakening."
Saya crossed her arms. "So what now?"
Rael looked at Khael again.
"You're the one with answers, Khael."
Khael stared back.
And felt the crushing weight of fate tightening around his throat.
This wasn't supposed to happen yet.
Lucere wasn't supposed to accelerate the awakening.
The giants weren't supposed to appear until Arc 4.
But now… time is folding.
His fingers tightened around his cup.
He forced himself to smile lightly. "I don't have all the answers. Just a little knowledge."
Ceyla leaned in closer, voice gentle. "Khael… are you okay?"
Khael looked at her.
For a moment, her warmth anchored him.
"Yes," he replied. "Just thinking."
Shigeo sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Whatever is coming… it's big. Too big."
Saya punched his shoulder. "Shigeo, you say everything is too big. You panic when you run out of snacks."
"That is a valid crisis," Shigeo protested.
Laughter erupted again slightly strained, but real.
The tension eased just enough for everyone to breathe.
Kenji raised his bowl. "Whatever giants or calamities are coming… we're still together. That's what matters."
Rael nodded. "Damn right."
Kaen smirked. "We'll take whatever fate throws at us."
Saya shouted, "Let's eat until we forget the stress!"
Andromeda lifted Junjun. "Say it, boy! Bark for courage!"
Junjun barked once. Loud and proud.
Sae barked too, tail wagging aggressively.
The group laughed, the dogs barked, and plates clattered as food refilled.
Khael leaned back quietly, watching everyone.
Their laughter.
Their warmth.
Their unknowing faces.
And he whispered in his heart:
I won't let your future repeat the manga.
Not this time.
Lucere won't awaken the giants.
I'll stop him no matter what.
Ceyla nudged him gently.
"Khael… you look deep in thought."
He smiled faintly. "Just enjoying the moment."
And for once
He let himself enjoy it truly.
Even if the storm was already building beyond the horizon.
To be continue