HOTD! Busujima’s Step Brother
Chapter 128 – El Gigante

I narrowed my eyes and watched it. I knew it was dangerous, but it was far away and I didn't want to provoke it, at least for now. It walked and stopped at some place, raising its head and sniffing the air.

As if searching for something.

Then its eyes landed on the mansion. Its eyes never left the building.

And then, it charged.

"Miss Rika!" I called out to her. She nodded and aimed her rifle, shooting it with her weapon. I also shot it, but our bullets didn't even faze the giant.

They bounced off the hard skin like a pebble would. The El Gigante didn't flinch and continued its path, charging straight at the mansion with a loud roar.

It ran and crashed into the wall.

The wall of the mansion was destroyed.

Wood pieces, stones, and other materials flew everywhere as the monster rammed through it, making a new opening on the wall.

I could hear the screams of the zombies and other creatures inside as they were crushed under its feet. However, I didn't see the members of STARS through the scope.

The mansion's interior looked empty and deserted. Nothing but corpses were on the ground, and no sign of humans or survivors anywhere.

"This is bad." Miss Rika said as she reloaded her sniper rifle.

I was about to reply to her when I heard a loud noise. My head snapped towards it and I saw a giant figure moving around the mansion. It roared and roamed around the area, smashing through the windows and destroying the garden.

Miss Rika cursed.

"We must do something about that or the team won't be able to return."

"Should we engage?" I asked.

I had no idea what to do against that thing. If I remembered correctly, it had thick skin and could take a lot of damage before dying. Not to mention the Plaga on its back that could make it regenerate its wounds.

Yes, the plaga. It was its weak point and we had to target it, but...

I looked at Miss Rika. Her eyes were wide and her face was pale. She shook her head and whispered to me. 

"Can you do it? I don't want you to throw yourself in a clear danger like that, but if we do nothing, that thing will destroy the mansion. The mission will be a failure and everyone will die. I don't know what we can do to help them but I believe that we have a better chance of survival if we fight."

"I can do it," I replied confidently.

People who speedrun the game often did a knife-only challenge. And they could fight El Gigante with no problem, showing that we could kill this monster even with just a knife.

I had a sword, and it was better than any knife.

And I also had a sniper rifle and revolver strong enough to pierce its skin, hopefully.

"Okay. I will distract him from here. You take the opportunity and sneak close to him. If he tries to attack us then we will run. But don't go too far. I need you to be near to protect me. We have a mission, but our safety is the top priority." Miss Rika instructed.

"I got it."

I put down the sniper rifle and took out the revolver. I checked if it was loaded with bullets and I had the holster with extra rounds on my hips, so everything should be ready.

With that, I jumped down the tree and started sprinting to where the El Gigante was. The zombies noticed my movement and began chasing me but I was faster than them.

My body felt so light even with all the weapons. I was like a superhuman athlete. My stamina, speed, and strength all increased by a lot.

So I dodged them with ease, and even El Gigante didn't see me as it was busy rampaging through the garden, killing zombies with its bone club.

The El Gigante didn't seem to care about the zombies at all, it was more focused on breaking stuff and roaring. Everything and everyone was its enemy. It only made things easier for me to sneak close.

Once I was close enough to see the monster, Miss Rika began firing from the distance.

She aimed and shot its head, causing the creature to stagger a little and growling angrily. It allowed me to sneak from behind it without it noticing me. Then, she fired again. This time it was on its left arm. The El Gigante turned to the direction where she fired from.

I used the chance and moved behind the creature. I raised my revolver and aimed at its head, the second weakness beside the plaga inside its body.

Bang!

I pulled the trigger and the bullet pierced the monster's thick skull.

Blood spurted out and stained my shirt. The creature screamed loudly as it was shot in its head, but the bullet stopped before it managed to pierce through the bone.

El Gigante was still alive and well.

Turning around, it locked eyes with me. Drool was dripping down its mouth, and I could smell its breath from this distance. It was filled with bloodlust and hunger, a primal desire for destruction.

With a roar, the monster charged at me. It swung the club wildly at me but I managed to dodge the attack easily. Its attack was slow and predictable. The monster was big, strong, and durable but not smart or agile.

I grinned and circled around it. The monster kept attacking me, trying to crush me with its giant club.

However, my agility was far better than this lumbering giant. I easily evaded its attacks and fired my revolver at the same time. My shots weren't hitting the weak spots, but they managed to injure the creature.

Bang!

The bullet flew toward its stomach, and I could see the blood coming out of it. The wound wasn't deep and I didn't know how much damage it did to the creature. It seemed like a shallow injury.

The creature was furious now. Its eyes were filled with hatred and rage.

With an angry cry, it began swinging its club even harder. Each swing caused shockwaves and I was almost thrown backward by the sheer force. I had to duck and roll around to dodge its swings and keep myself alive.

It was tiring me out.

I looked at my surroundings and found a good place to jump. A pile of stones and rocks on the ground. The El Gigante continued its assault but it was only hitting thin air. I rolled around, trying to avoid getting crushed by its massive club, and managed to get closer to where I wanted.

I reached the spot I targeted. And with a swift motion, I stepped onto it and launched myself into the air.

El Gigante reached out its hand to grab me. Its hand was big and its palm alone was enough to grab a full grown man's body. But I managed to dodge it and land on the creature's arm.

I quickly unsheathed my sword with a quick pull of the scabbard, and swung it downward at its wrist. The blade met the resistance of muscle and bone, stopping midway.

I put my full weight onto the grip of my sword, and pulled it upward with one swift movement.

Slash!

A large cut formed in its wrist and I saw the bones beneath its thick skin.

Blood poured down like a fountain from its severed artery, and the giant let out a pained roar.

Still, it wasn't enough to force him down. The Plaga behind its back hadn't shown itself yet. I was only scratching his skin, cutting muscles, but I needed to force it out.

Miss Rika's support fire arrived right in time.

She managed to hit his eyes with a perfectly placed bullet.

It let out another roar, louder this time, and it swayed back and forth. It tried to grab me but its arm was badly wounded so it fell.

At that moment, the parasite sprouted out from the tiny bulge on its back. Pus and blood squirted as it emerged, showing its ugly worm-like form to us.

"Daiki! Do it now!" Miss Rika shouted through the communication device.