A battle began unfolding; the crazed stone giant thundering steps as it swatted its giant club at the Willows, trying to maim the blonde disturbance. The wind howled as Rhashan —all metal and glowing in the sun— and Murphy —plain and chubby as he was— dashed towards the monster.
The duo weaved and dodged out of the way of rocks, debris and the stomping mass of death the stone giant called its foot, all while waiting for the perfect timing. Their hearts pounded in their chest, their unconscious mind counting the seconds till the monster left its crazed state and became a calculating death machine.
From the top of the hill, Maximilian watched, spear in hand, occasionally throwing a sideways glance at Suho, Midori and the sauntering body of Kazuya. He wasn't partaking in the battle, but he felt his blood boiling nonetheless, as well as a burning sensation in his lower abdomen— pain from holding back urine.
Dust gathered, crashing noise reverberated through the ruined plains and soon, the opportunity came just seconds after the giants' mad chase.
Even while darting about to avoid being smashed to death by a gigantic club, Willow has a good bearing on her surroundings, especially as she perceived it through four POVs. Noticing that the giant was moving too much, she knew she had to do something.
"Great, barely half the time and the first error already appeared." She (They) cursed under her (their) breath. "This is going to hurt!"
The Willows suddenly changed their movement pattern, one of them charging directly at the monster. The creature growled, swinging its club in hopes to smash her to bits.
It succeeded.
"Urgh!!" Willow screamed in pain, the remaining three of her stumbling. The giant lifted its club, meaty paste falling off in chunks, a few solid innards and organs twitching. It saw that the other pests had stumbled, and with its legs still rooted in place, it swung once again, aiming to take out another one.
Rhashan and Murphy glanced at each other, a single word appearing in their mind. "Chance!"
Murphy's speed suddenly increased, his figure blurring a bit as he charged like a raging bull. He arrived at the foot of the monster and planted his feet into the ground. His body coiled almost awkwardly as he gathered strength from his feet, up his core and unleashed it in the ankle joint of the stone giant.
Thuum! Crack!
Dust scattered from the impact, the floor underneath Murphy's feet cracking. What followed was a sickening crack, the joint bone of the stone giant's ankle had shifted. Without pause, Rhashan dashed past Murphy, his hands spread out like a bird preparing to soar.
The metallic arms began shifting, morphing in the blink of an eye into the shape of a blade. It gleamed underneath the sunlight with malice, a maddened smile blooming on the youth's face.
He leaped into the air, his body curled and with a grunt, he spun, ripping and tearing his way into the hardened flesh on the monster. Blood splattered on the dusty floor and the giant howled into the sky.
It stumbled backwards and crashed into a building, a Willow was standing there. She leaped down, landing in the creature's head, sword in hand. Running along its skull, she leaped once more, using its blue hair as leverage to swing across its face.
She stopped just before one of its gigantic eyes, seeing her reflection in its pupils. Blonde, beautiful and cruel. She smirked and stabbed.
The monster howled once more, this time with even more pain. It slammed its hand at the blinded eye, aiming to kill Willow.
Splat!
"Fuck!!" Willow screamed again as another one of her died, but a wicked grin remained in her face. In its clouded attempt to kill her, the monster pushed the sword even deeper. The stumbling increased as the stone giant crashed into more buildings. The ankle bled worse and it looked like the group was making good progress.
"The pain…." Kazuya groaned. Maximilian who had been enraptured by the fight taking place down below was pulled out of his trance by the young voice. He looked behind him, Kazuya was bleeding from seven apertures.
"Something's wrong!" Midori's enchanting voice sounded like a whisper in his mind. Maximilian rushed towards the young boy. Kazuya's eyes slowly returned to normal, his skin gained a reddish glow and he limply fell forward, landing against Maximilian.
"Kazuya!"
"Is it a minute already? What's wrong?" Maximilian looked at Suho, but the latter remained silent, staring at them with a carefree smile.
"The pain…" Kazuya groaned, half conscious. Maximilian looked towards Midori for understanding but she seemed just as stumped as he was.
The pain, what does he mean by the pain? Maximilian looked back at the battleground, the stumbling giant had slowed down, growling and shaking its head. It slowly let go of its club, it landed on the ground with a loud thud.
Below, the voices of the trio echoed back,
"Woah!! What did you do?"
"Took out one of its eyes."
"That's sick!! Go for the other one, We'll take out the second ankle, get this ugly brute on its knees!"
"Okay!!"
Maximilian watched as the remaining two Willows dashed across buildings, heading for the giant who remained still. On the ground, Rhashan and Murphy went for the second leg, they planned to use the same strategy.
Maximilian watched, searching for clues that might help him understand Kazuya's cryptic message. A movement caught his attention from the corner of his eyes.
Oh shit! Pain!! The pain made it easier for the stone giant to regain its senses! That's why it's not moving. IT'S A TRAP!
"It's a trap…" he muttered, "It's a trap! We have to warn them!!" he yelled to Midori. Gently placing Kazuya down, Maximilian ran to the edge of the hill, popping out of the bubble apparition.
"GUYS!! FALL BACK!! IT'S A TRAP!!!" He yelled. Dammit, they can't hear me!
"Hey, aren't you supposed to be the supervisor? Do something! They are going to die!" Maximilian yelled at Suho but the latter remained passive. He cursed inwardly, his attention turning back to the giant.
What's it planning? Maximilian asked himself as he tried to decipher the stone giants' action. His brows arched as he remembered Suho's words.
They are masters at using their environment… stone giants… Maximilian eyes jumped about before focusing on the stone giant's hand.
They were just hanging by the side before, they are clenched now!
Tap~
Maximilian jumped when he felt a hand touch him. He looked beside him, Midori was standing by his side, her hand pressed against his back as if to give him a push.
"Shout!" Her voice floated into his mind. Maximilian nodded, gathered his breath and yelled,
"WATCH OUT FOR THE ROCKS!! IT'S A TRAP!" Maximilian's voice thundered and echoed, spreading across the ruins towards the stone giant.
In the distance, Rhashan's steps slowed, a tingling sensation in his mind. He looked behind him, his eyes narrowed and locked on the tiny silhouettes of Midori and Maximilian.
During the battle, the group moved even deeper into the ruined landscape, they were now close to five hundred metres away, so even with the help of Midori, the boosted yell had mostly faded when it arrived at his position. He barely managed to make out a few words.
What are they doing outside the bubble? Stone… trap? Rhashan's eyes suddenly widened, and realization dawned on him. "It's a trap!" he muttered.
"IT'S A TRAP!" He yelled. This time, his voice got to Murphy and the two Willows, but it was too late. With shocking dexterity for its size, the stone giant finally moved. It raised its injured leg high and with a defiant roar, slammed it into the ground.
Murphy and Rhashan were less than thirty meters away from the falling doom, they would be caught in the devastating impact.
"Oh no!" Murphy panicked just before the looming shadow came crashing down.
Boom!
"Murphy! Rhashan!!" Willow screamed. She immediately commanded her double, both of them retreating through the buildings to get away from the stone giant. It didn't matter.
Fist still clenched, and with saliva drooling from its mouth, the stone giant swung. When it opened its hand, huge chunks of rock whipped out, tearing through the buildings around with devastating force.
Maximilian and Midori watched from afar, fear and shock strangling them as they watched their teammates get caught in the devastating attack of the stone giant, unable to do anything.
The stone giant bent down, grabbing a handful of rocks once again. When it raised its head, his remaining eye locked on the silhouettes standing in the hill. A crazed smile bloomed on its bloody face.
Maximilian's legs went weak as the giant hurled the new batch of stone. Sending death knocking on the door of the youths.
It's over.
Maximilian watched as the rocks tore through the air, heading for them. Time seemed to slow down, but he remained still, unable to do anything.
"Guess it's finally time for me to step in."