Xaren's danger senses kicked in and he pulled his sword free once more and leapt just in time, landing atop the building that now groaned under the weight of the giant's crashing body.
The structure crumbled in seconds, but Xaren had already leapt again, soaring through the air and landing atop the giant's head.
Dark flames ignited around his hands, and he slammed them down, setting the giant's hair ablaze. The flames spread rapidly, scorching the giant's scalp and sending him into a fit of wild thrashing.
Just as Xaren did that, a burst of wind magic blew past him, fanning the flames and forcing the giant to claw at his burning hair.
Ilya landed on the giant's head, then grabbed Xaren by the arm and jumped off again landing on the floor nearby.
"Take it."
Xaren blinked as she handed him a crudely made bottle with a familiar liquid inside, and as he looked at his reflection on the bottle, he saw a good amount of blood dripping from his nostrils.
He didn't come out unscathed from being squeezed in the giant's hand, the adrenaline had just prevented him from realising his body's messed up state.
"Thanks."
Xaren didn't hesitate to gulp down the potion bottle's contents, and as he did that, he caught sight of Kravok leaping towards the giant in the corner of his eye.
Despite his left arm hanging limp and broken, Kravok charged forward, his warhammer glowing as Carack's fire magic enveloped it.
With a roar, Kravok swung the hammer with his one good arm. The flames intensified, and just as the hammer descended, Xaren acted, doubling its weight using his gravity magic.
The blow struck the side of the giant's head with devastating force, the impact echoing like a thunderclap, and the giant stumbling to the side, groaning in pain.
Bjorn bounded onto the giant's body at that moment, grabbed Kravok mid-fall, and carried him away from the battlefield before the giant's erratic movements could crush him underfoot.
As the giant tried to regain his balance, the ground beneath him suddenly cracked open. Thick vines erupted from the earth, wrapping tightly around his feet and rooting him in place.
The giant bellowed in frustration, yanking his leg upward with tremendous force.
The vines snapped, but as his foot rose, Ilya appeared again. She jumped onto the raised foot and sprinted up his legs, her blade blurring through the air as she ascended, leaving trails of cuts in her wake.
Roaring, the giant raised his massive hand to swat her off like a bothersome insect, but before he could reach her, a coordinated barrage from the surrounding demons struck his hand.
Blades, arrows, and magic collided with his wrist and forearm, forcing his hand away and leaving him momentarily vulnerable.
With the path clear, Ilya continued her ascent, reaching the giant's waist before launching herself off with a powerful leap, landing safely on the ground below.
The giant coated his hand in aura, smothering the flames consuming his hair. But just as the fire began to die, Xaren leapt onto the giant's shoulder, his sword flashing in the air as he swung with full force, slicing into the giant's right ear.
Blood streamed down as the giant roared, his hand reflexively moving to shield his ear.
Xaren used the opening to dart across the giant's back, reaching the other side. This time, instead of slashing, he drove his blade deep into the giant's left ear.
However, the giant used his speed skill this time, and before Xaren could pull away, the giant's massive hand struck him with brutal force.
The impact sent Xaren reeling, and the giant's fingers closed in to capture him. Xaren instinctively released a random burst of fire magic, but before even that reached the giant's fingers, Ilya attacked the giant's arm.
Her timely strike gave Xaren extra time to not only escape but throw in a counter.
Xaren lifted chunks of debris from the shattered buildings around them and hurled them at the giant. The rubble shot through the air, crashing into the giant's body, but midway, their momentum suddenly ceased.
The debris dropped unceremoniously to the ground.
Xaren froze, his breath catching as realization struck—his magic power had been completely drained.
Ilya noticed instantly, her eyes narrowing as she pieced it together. Xaren's relentless use of gravity manipulation had sapped his reserves, and now, only the demonic energy he hadn't used against the giant was left.
But even that would eventually run out as it wasn't even up to 40% of his maximum reserves.
The white-haired demoness checked her remaining reserves, then scanned the area around, taking stock of the situation.
The giant was wounded all over, but thanks to his immense vitality, he was far from defeated.
She then glanced at Xaren, her mind thinking back to his question at the campfire two days ago.
Then, she made her decision.
Ilya darted towards Xaren who had just torched the giant's hair again and grabbed his arm firmly.
"I'm heading to the city centre. Draw the giant towards me!"
Without waiting for a response, she turned and sprinted in the direction of the city centre, as though fully confident Xaren could succeed in doing what she asked.
She leapt over the ruins of broken buildings, and upon reaching the heart of the city, where the giant had first appeared, Ilya found a group of demons engaged in battle with a few remaining elven mages.
The demoness wasted no time in joining the fray and helping to wipe out the elves, and after the last elf fell, Ilya addressed the demons in a cold, commanding tone.
"Take the souls and get out of here."
Meanwhile, Xaren was still locked in combat with the giant.
As the behemoth fended off attacks from several other demons, Xaren leapt onto his back and drove his sword into the giant's shoulder.
He sent a few chunks of debris smashing into the giant's face, before jumping off his back and landing on the ground.
Rolling a bit, Xaren quickly got up to his feet and shouted.
"Hey, you oversized bastard!"
"YOU TWAT!!!" The giant instantly snapped back.
"…uh, oh…"
Xaren realised far too late that he, out of every single demon in this city, was the one whom the giant wanted to kill the most.
Not so surprising, considering he'd made the giant go half bald, cut off his ear, and most of all, attacked his balls.
The giant's eyes flashed with rage and he unhesitatingly threw a shockwave punch at Xaren. The grey demon dodged nimbly, darting away, only for the giant to slam his fist into the ground, sending a shockwave that obliterated everything in its path.
Demons were sent flying, some dying in the blast, but the giant didn't pause. He charged after Xaren.
Xaren lightened his body and sprinted as fast as he could, the giant hot on his heels, knocking demons out of the sky as he moved.
Thanks to those demons, the giant's speed was slowed so Xaren was able to gain some distance, reaching the city centre before him.
There, he saw Ilya standing atop the corpses of the fallen elven mages.
Once she spotted Xaren, Ilya took a snow, controlled breath, resting her hand on the hilt of her sword.
A few nights ago, Xaren had mentioned seeing dark blades swirling around her during their fight for the fortress.
At the time, everyone had been confused—except for Kravok, who had understood the significance of Xaren's words earlier today.
Now, Xaren wasn't just catching glimpses of those dark blades. He saw them in their full form.
Blades of dark wind whirled around Ilya, spinning rapidly in a deadly dance. Demonic energy filled the air as she looked up with glowing eyes and called out.
"Unique Skill: Darkstorm!"
The moment Ilya invoked the skill's 'Active' state, the blades of dark wind around her accelerated to a speed so rapid that Xaren could not track them with his eyes.
However, his instincts screamed danger and without hesitation, he used his gravity magic to lighten his body, leaping to the side. As he landed, he doubled his gravity to anchor himself to the ground.
The giant, sensing the surge of Ilya's demonic energy, swung his focus toward her. But the moment he turned, the wind around her spun with such force that it created a violent vacuum, pulling the giant's enormous body toward her.
This was her Darkstorm Skill's 'Pull Mode'. By spinning the wind blades at their highest velocity, Ilya created a vortex that sucked in everything within a certain radius around her, forcing it into the storm's core.
The giant tried to resist, grabbing onto nearby buildings for support, but the vacuum was too strong. The structures themselves were pulled into the whirlwind, joining the storm of debris now hammering the giant's massive body.
Nearby demons who had ignored Ilya's warning were also caught in the vortex, their bodies torn apart by the relentless winds.
Rocks, fragments of buildings, and weapons littered the air, slicing through the giant's skin. Xaren, acting quickly, used his gravity powers to lift weapons and discarded tools from the battlefield, hurling them into the storm to add to the attack.
The giant coated himself in a protective aura, trying to withstand the shredding winds. He reached toward Ilya, determined to stop her, but the closer he got, the more the winds tore into him.
It eventually reached a point where his aura skin was broken through and at that moment, Ilya thrust her sword forward.
"Darkstorm: Repel Mode."