...
On the light curtain, the burning brewing village illuminated Loki's lonely and furious figure…
That roar, mixed with endless sorrow and the desire for destruction, struck like a cold giant hammer straight onto Harald's already shattered heart from Ida's death.
Tears had not yet dried before new shock and excruciating pain surged in.
"No! Why… would Loki say… his birth mother… threw him into the underworld?"
Harald's massive body swayed slightly, as if the ground beneath his feet were collapsing.
He murmured to himself, his voice hoarse and dazed, "I… I had no idea about this… not the slightest impression…"
His thoughts were forcibly dragged back to the distant past.
Back then, in order to persuade the elders of various tribes, unite external forces, and find a path for the giant race to shed the stigma of "monsters" and be accepted by the world, he had spent almost the entire year traveling outside.
When Loki was born, he wasn't even in Elbaf.
By the time he finally finished handling a thorny diplomatic matter and rushed back full of anticipation for the newborn and guilt toward his wife, what greeted him was the dreadful news of Loki's birth mother's sudden death.
The elders of the tribe and the female giants who assisted in the delivery all told him the same thing. Overwhelmed by grief and the complexities of tribal affairs, he had no time to investigate further.
He entrusted Loki to the care of his birth mother's older brother and plunged himself once more into the long journey of seeking a way out for Elbaf.
He had thought that although Loki's childhood lacked maternal love, with Ida and the tribe's care, it would at least be safe.
He never imagined that beneath that seemingly calm surface lay such a cruel truth.
His own son's mother had so heartlessly abandoned the infant Loki in the perilous "underworld"!
On the light curtain, Loki's cries had already grown hoarse.
But that heart-piercing despair and rage pierced through time and space like the sharpest ice spike, stabbing deep into Harald's soul.
Watching the boy swinging his warhammer amid the flames like a madman, seeing the bone-deep hatred and sorrow in his eyes, Harald felt as though his own heart were bleeding.
He had always believed that by personally exerting himself to the utmost, he was creating a peaceful, dignified future for all the children of Elbaf.
For this, he had broken his horn, signed a contract with the Celestial Dragons, endured humiliation, and donned the guise of a "monster" to hunt in the mists.
He had sacrificed so much time with his family, sacrificed the warmth of sharing joy with his sons.
But now, the light curtain mercilessly revealed the truth.
While Harald had planned a bright future for "everyone," in the times he didn't know about…
His own "little family" had suffered such devastating wounds. His biological son Loki had spent his earliest childhood in the cold underworld, gripped by unknown terrors!
And when he finally found a substitute mother—one who truly gave him warmth and love in Ida—she was taken away again due to the narrow-minded malice of scum within the tribe…
Neglect! Utter, complete neglect!
As a husband, he had failed to protect Ida.
As a father, he had been completely ignorant of Loki's childhood suffering and had even indirectly contributed to Ida's tragedy!
"Aaaaah!!!"
Harald could no longer suppress the churning regret, self-reproach, and rage in his chest. He threw his head back and let out a low, anguished roar.
His enormous fist smashed viciously into the already half-collapsed rock wall beside him. Shards flew everywhere, dust and smoke billowing.
Outside the light curtain, the watching crowd was also stunned by this sudden truth.
"That Loki said… he was thrown into the underworld by his birth mother?! My god, how could there be such a heartless mother?!"
A young mother clutched her child tightly, her face full of disbelief and lingering fear.
"If this is true… it's too ironic. The Giant King fights desperately outside for the tribe's peace, yet his own son struggled to survive in a hell back home…"
An elder sighed and shook his head.
"And have you noticed? That Ida, and the mountain bandit Dadan who took care of Straw Hat Luffy and Fire Fist Ace in the light curtain earlier…
They weren't the children's birth mothers, yet they gave the purest motherly love. Whereas some birth parents…"
A middle-aged man said with emotion, trailing off without finishing, but the meaning was clear…
[↑ The reason the masses know about the Summit War is that Morgans inquired with the pirates in God Valley afterward and then wrote the newspaper article.]
"Sigh… Thinking about it this way, King Harald is pretty pitiful… troubles inside and out, family and national affairs all in chaos."
Many people's tones involuntarily carried sympathy for this Giant King.
On the God Valley side, although the murmurs were suppressed by Rocks' glare and aura, fragments of those words still pierced like tiny ice needles!
They burrowed into Harald's ears, making his already riddled heart bleed even more profusely.
Gloriosa, holding the sleeping little Shanks in her arms, furrowed her delicate brows, anger flashing in her eyes: "What kind of people are out there!
Little Loki is obviously so cute, and such a lively child! How could anyone bear to throw him into that hellish place! How can there be such a ruthless mother in this world!"
Though her knowledge of the giant race was limited, the name "underworld" alone made it clear it was no kind place. Abandoning an infant there was unforgivable.
Nearby, Stussy also gave a slight nod, a complex emotion flickering in her cool eyes.
When she had accompanied Rocks to visit Elbaf, she had seen the young Loki.
Though the child's eyes were a bit unusual, in her view they weren't repulsive—in fact, they had a wild sort of cuteness.
Who could have imagined such a child had endured such a tragic past.
Rocks watched his friend's pained expression, his own brows knitting tightly.
He recalled his first encounter with Loki: howling winds, and in the distance, a "little guy" crying softly.
His mouth seemed to mutter something like: "Even dying isn't possible."
"Harald…"
Rocks' voice lowered, carrying a rare seriousness: "You really knew nothing about what Loki went through?
"When I met him, he was crying alone in the ice and snow. That didn't look like he was just out playing for a bit."
Harald's massive head drooped powerlessly. He covered his face with both hands, his broad shoulders slumping.
Memories surged like a tide, bringing only more emptiness and self-reproach.
"I… I really didn't know."
His voice came muffled through his fingers, filled with endless exhaustion and pain: "Back then, I was completely focused on finding a way out for Elbaf.
"I visited human kingdoms, negotiated with the World Government. I rarely came home, and when I did, I never stayed long."
...…
"I thought… with Ida there, with the tribe, he would grow up safe…"
Harald's voice choked: "I couldn't even… protect Ida properly… I…"
He could say no more.
The cruel reality revealed by the light curtain, combined with his own immense negligence and sense of failure, nearly crushed this Giant King renowned for his strength and resilience.
The scene on the light curtain did not stop because of Harald's pain.
The great fire in the brewing village gradually died out, leaving only scorched ruins and the acrid smell of smoke.
Loki stood in the center of the ruins like a statue that had lost all strength, leaning on his warhammer stained with blood and soot.
The tear tracks on his face had long been evaporated by the intense heat, leaving only two ashen marks.
The rage in his eyes seemed to have burned itself out, replaced by an empty, soul-drained deadness.
In the distance, the Elbaf guards and giants from other villages who had rushed over formed a wide circle…
They looked at the prince amid the ruins, at the perpetrators who were dead or dying, and at the innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire. No one dared approach, and no one knew how to handle it.
The air was thick with sorrow, fear, and a trace of confusion toward the future.
...