"Kanaru?" The queen didn't stare at the monster longer and ignored the king. She heard Covey sending a chirping frequency that the bird family could catch. When she scanned the rows and rows of monsters, she saw how her third son fought for his life against a whole tide. "Kanaru!"
She would fly out as soon as her wings shot out from her back, but she remembered her severed right wing. She grasped her right shoulder and cried out again, "Kanaru!"
As if their cries gave Kanaru strength, the third son broke out from the entrapment of the mob. However, no matter how many scratches and cuts he had on his body, he still flew up to strike at the giant. The blade in his hand glinted against the scorching sun, attracting the giant's gaze. When it looked at him, Kanaru threw the big sword at its eye.
Schwing! The sword was deflected as the giant suddenly closed its lids. The stone hide was so tough that blades couldn't cut through it without much strength. Then again, Kanaru betted on it momentarily closing its eye, so he could fly closer without getting caught by the hands. When the giant opened its sole eye, Kanaru shot toward the most vulnerable part at his maximum dive speed.
Bang! A long whip came from the gorilla's head. It swatted Kanaru away and straight to the ground. Another monster came from the taller fur that served as the gorilla's hair. It looked like a moss moving around, with long appendages that would protect the gorilla's eye.
"Kanaru!" Covey got out of the mess as well before fluffing his feathers that turned into blades. The pinions then began shooting out like knives at the monsters underneath him. He then flew toward his brother, who was shooting to the ground at a neck-break speed.
Flap! Kanaru regained consciousness before he could hit the ground. He flapped his wings to fight the momentum, but one of his wings broke at the resistance. He cried in pain, but he managed to slow down before hitting the ground and volleying thrice. Before he hit the ground for the fifth time, Covey had already caught him.
The giant gazed at them and moved its foot to stomp on them, but Gannett joined the fray and spun like a bladed wheel. He crashed into the giant's knee, but the stone hide only cracked. When Gannett bounced back from the blow, the giant kicked him away.
"Gannett!" Covey brought Kanaru up and flew to catch Gannett next. However, the giant swung its hand to grab the first prince. Covey dropped Kanaru in an instant before he fought against the crushing force of the giant gorilla.
"Covey!" Kanaru fell from the height, unable to control his descent because of his broken wing. If he tried to use it to decelerate again, he might as well chop it off.
Covey turned his wings into blades again, and the gorilla roared at the pain. Its hand seemed to be not as thick as the other parts. However, it raised its hand and threw Covey to the ground faster than Kanaru fell. Before Kanaru could cry out, Covey's body had already crashed through the earth. The giant even stepped on it heavily before roaring again.
The force of the stomp produced winds that softened Kanaru's fall. It blew him to another spot away from the gorilla's path. However, he could barely move after falling. He just reached out a hand. "Covey… no, please don't…"
The gorilla then spotted the tower that swung at every step the gorilla did. It stepped closer to the tower and reached out to grab its body. Under the darkness cast by its shadow, everyone could only watch in horror. Such an enormous enemy was not something the small country could endure. They even saw how their three princes barely stood up against it.
When the gorilla tore and picked up the tower's upper half, Sir Heinz gritted his teeth and turned to one knight. "Take His Grace and escape—"
"Sir Heinz!" Voices from the castle walls called out to the captain of the Black Smoke Corps. When Sir Heinz looked up at them, one of the ambassadors yelled at him, "His Grace has already gone to engage the giant! Please support him!"
"…what the actual f—!" Sir Heinz darted his glare at the monster, soon seeing a bright light pulse from behind the gorilla. "Rodnir!"
…
When the dust mist settled from where the giant stomped earlier, it revealed a strange silhouette. It was actually just one man standing tall with his arm held up as if it was enough for him to catch the blow. On his other arm dangled another person, who was wondering how come he wasn't dead yet. Rodnir then dropped Covey to the ground.
Dusting his coat, Rodnir climbed out of the crater he created. "Stay down if you cannot fight it. If you want to move, look for Kanaru for me. However, I cannot protect the tower."
"The tower?" Covey looked up and saw how the gorilla crushed the tower's body to use it as a weapon. His eyes widened, only for them to dim again. He then tried his best to get to his feet and climb the crater. "I'll make sure Kanaru is well."
"Bring him to me if he's hurt." Rodnir started walking away as if the person he had just left wasn't hurt at all. Then again, he resorted to running when the gorilla eyed the castle and motioned to throw the tower at it. "I won't be too late this time."
Swoosh! Rodnir gathered light in his palm and shot it toward the gorilla's back. The light beam even grew bigger the higher it went. In an instant, the gorilla's back was pierced through as if the stone hide was nothing to Rodnir. Kaboom! The gorilla's torso even exploded at the impact—killing the gorilla and all the monsters attached to it.
However, what remained of its body was still so huge. It even fell toward Burdett.
When he got in range, Sir Heinz jumped up and flapped his bat wings. Strange red lights channeled from his belly to his throat like charging rings. Then, he released a loud and piercing scream toward the body. The shockwave was so powerful that the rings were visible to the naked eye.
The gorilla's meat exploded multiple times with every wave of the scream. It happened for seconds, turning the body into a rain of blood and chunks of flesh.
Rodnir was standing nearby. He felt so satisfied when he killed the huge gorilla in one blow. Then again, he watched Sir Heinz destroy the remaining body before it hit the ground. The rain of blood and flesh reached him because of the shockwave. He could only use his arms to shield his face, but the drops were too huge to block.
"…why must I be cursed with misfortune every time I use my power?" Rodnir sighed, only to be hit by a random chunk of flesh on the face.