"Gnats!"
The giant roared, his voice shaking the battlefield. He twisted his body and lashed out, his massive leg sweeping in an arc to keep the demons at bay.
And this created the perfect opening for a certain grey high-demon.
A massive blade, the discarded weapon of another fallen giant, hurtled through the air like a missile.
Its partially rusted steel glowed with Xaren's signature dark red magic power as it pierced into the giant's thigh with a sickening crunch.
The giant let out a howl of pain, his hands instinctively reaching for the weapon embedded in his leg.
'It's not deep. I can remove it fast and block the wound with aura!'
Such were his thoughts, but before he could execute them, Kravok dashed forward, his warhammer glowing with demonic energy.
"Let's see you stand after this!" Kravok bellowed, leaping high and bringing his hammer down on the pommel of the embedded blade.
Xaren played support again, doubling the weight of Kravok's hammer at the last moment as the strike hit with a deafening clang, driving the large sword deeper into the giant's flesh.
Blood erupted from the wound, splattering across the ground as the giant howled again, louder this time.
In a fit of rage, he swung his massive arm, catching Kravok in mid-air. The blow sent Kravok hurtling through the ruins, his body smashing through walls before disappearing into a cloud of dust.
"Kravok!" Bjorn shouted, his voice echoing, but there was no time to check on him.
The other level 90 demons seized the moment, launching another wave of attacks. Magic and steel struck from all sides, forcing the giant to defend. He staggered backwards, blood pouring from his wounds, his aura flickering like a broken shield.
Roaring once more, the giant poured more aura into his arms and drove his fist into the ground.
The earth erupted like a bomb, the shockwave tearing through buildings and scattering the attacking demons like leaves in a storm. The sheer force flattened the nearby structures, sending debris and dust spiralling into the air.
As the shockwave tore through the battlefield, demons scrambled to block and dodge.
Some of those skilled in wind magic like Ilya propelled themselves into the sky. Earth magic types erected walls of solid rock to shield themselves, then retaliated with stone spikes aimed at the giant's torso and limbs.
Fire demons focused their flames on the embedded giant sword, heating the metal and scorching the wound, hoping to worsen the injury.
This giant, however, had a deep well of vitality, even for his level. He wasn't going down from just this.
He infused his aura into his legs to block the flames, then reached out to snatch one of the fire demons.
The captured demon struggled, but the giant's grip was too strong. Ignoring the struggles of the demon in his hands, the giant hurled the demon upward at one of the wind magic users.
The impact came barely a second later, knocking the wind-using demon out of the air and sending both of them plummeting to the ground.
In the process, they also knocked down another demon who leapt into the air to attack the giant.
The giant had splendidly taken out two birds with one stone.
And he wasn't about to let his lucky stone go just yet.
Despite the sword impaled in his thigh, his massive frame displayed surprising agility as he leapt skyward.
He snatched two of the falling demons in mid-air before they could recover, then spun and hurled them like projectiles.
One demon flew toward Ilya, who was mid-attack, and the other careened toward Xaren, preparing to strike from the opposite side.
These were Level 90+ demons, in other words, they had strong attack potency that the giant could not easily ignore.
Ilya and Xaren moved to save these demons from further harm. While Ilya used a gust of wind to cushion the incoming demon's fall, Xaren used Gravity Attraction to pull them close to himself.
The move spared the demon from crashing hard into the ground, though the distraction cost Xaren precious moments.
Just as Xaren set the demon down, the ground shook violently.
The giant landed with a thunderous crash and immediately crouched, his muscles coiling like a spring. Before anyone could even get an attack in, he lunged toward Xaren with terrifying speed, his injured leg barely slowing him down.
If it was the Xaren of his past life, he would have noticed that the giant had activated a skill—the real reason behind his sudden bursts of speed.
But even if he couldn't sense skill activations like before, Xaren's danger senses were still in perfect working condition.
Without hesitation, he abandoned the wounded demon, focusing entirely on lightening his own body and leaping away.
But the giant was too fast. The edge of the massive hand grazed Xaren's side, and due to the speed, Xaren's body was thrown onto the ground with a thud.
Pain surged through him as he tried to roll away, but before he could move, the giant's enormous hand closed around him, lifting him like a doll.
"Got you, bastard!"
The giant growled as he lifted Xaren, only for his arm to suddenly fall back to the ground as Xaren doubled the giant's arm weight, along with his own.
Though he stumbled, the giant quickly infused his arm with aura and forced Xaren's gravity magic back.
Xaren gritted his teeth and unleashed a blast of black flames, but the thick aura coating the giant's hand absorbed the fire's impact.
The pressure around Xaren increased as the giant's fingers began to close. He could feel his ribs groaning under the weight, the air in his lungs thinning.
'Fuck! Gravity Sph-'
Xaren couldn't complete his skill activation, as a blinding flash of light crackled from the side in that moment.
"Tordenklør! Burst!"
Bjorn's voice rang out as his lightning-coated fist slammed into the inner part of the giant's wrist. It broke the aura that was already weakened from Xaren's flames, and the giant's hand twitched involuntarily.
In that same moment, several other demons leapt into action, their weapons slamming into the giant's wrist, and simultaneously, another demon struck the embedded sword in the giant's leg.
The blade quivered, then pushed further through the flesh, piercing cleanly out the other side.
Blood spurted from the wound, pooling on the ground and the giant let out a thunderous bellow, his grip on Xaren faltering.
Carack took advantage of the moment, directing a stream of flames toward the giant's face. The flames roared, forcing the giant to lift his free hand to shield his eyes.
It was the opening everyone needed.
Blades slashed, hammers struck, and arrows pierced from all directions, bombarding the giant relentlessly.
Despite the aura protecting his body, the sheer volume of coordinated attacks drew blood, weakening his defence.
Bjorn, seeing his moment, climbed the giant's hand with the agility of a leopard. Reaching the enormous thumb, he grabbed hold and pulled back with all his might. Sparks of lightning flickered around his body as he growled with effort.
*SNAP!
The sickening sound of the giant's thumb breaking reverberated through the air and the giant howled in agony, his grip on Xaren finally releasing.
Xaren fell to the ground, his battered body screaming in protest as he hit the dirt. Pain radiated through every nerve, but he knew hesitation could cost him everything.
'Cockroach-like vitality indeed…'
Xaren had this thought about his Tenacity skill as he lightened his body with gravity magic and kicked off the ground with all his might. Black flames surged around his Runeblade and focused his aim on a vulnerable spot he had targeted on a previous giant.
The groin.
The blade slashed cleanly through, and the giant's scream of pain was deafening. The sound echoed across the city, drowning out even the roar of flames and the clash of steel.
Xaren landed lightly on the ground, spinning around with his sword still ablaze. Changing his grip, he hurled the weapon toward the giant's exposed back like a spear.
The flaming sword tore through the air, embedding itself deep into the giant's flesh. Flames erupted from the wound, spreading across the giant's back as the massive foe staggered forward.
The giant howled, his massive hand instinctively clutching his groin where Xaren's blade had cut deep. His pained roar was soon joined by another as the flaming sword lodged in his back sent searing agony through his body.
While the giant flailed to deal with the pain, Xaren seized his moment. He leapt onto the giant's back, grasping the hilt of his sword and yanking it free with a sharp pull.
The blade came loose in a spray of blood, and Xaren immediately stabbed it down again, aiming for another weak point.
But before he could drive the blade in a third time, the giant's body shifted. A shadow loomed over Xaren as the giant leaned backwards, intending to crush him against a nearby building.