Joe leapt into the air and tucked into a ball, wrapping his left shield arm around his knees even as he screamed, “Allanar!”

Water erupted from Joe’s shield in a columnar volcanic explosion outward, much, much more water than ever before! It proved useless as the giant’s fist blasted through the water as if it were nothing, misting the water into the air. The mist exploded outward into a cloud that covered the whole field surrounding the giant. A split moment later, Joe, still tucked into a tight ball, burst from the mist, trails of mist following his body outward from the cloud that had formed. As soon as Joe came out of the mists, a massive column of water shot out from Joe once again, directly in the path of his travel. It formed as a spike, the spike aimed at Joe’s back before it spread outward quickly into a column as wide as he was tall. Joe smashed into the water back first, the small spike spraying outward in a sheet before Joe was buried completely inside the water of the column. As soon as he entered the water, Joe splayed himself wide, spreading his arms and legs outward, spread eagle. Is he unconscious? He must be tumbling, arms and legs relaxing into… no, wait!

Gwenvair found herself struggling to understand what she was seeing. Joe had deliberately spread his arms and legs for some reason she could not fathom, but he slowed so fast. Too fast! Is it some magic? But such a strange bodily formation… Joe dropped from the column of water, much more controlled than the last, landing on his feet before tumbling backwards into a tight roll and coming back to his feet with utter grace before immediately sprinting back towards the giant.

Joe screamed, “Allanar! Remove the water from the air!”

Water? In the air? What is… Gwenvair saw Allanar as confused as he was and when Joe saw nothing happening, he looked back towards Allanar, shrugging helplessly. Joe continued his run, but shouted out.

“The mist is water… your water you created.”

Realization seemed to come to Allanar, although there seemed to be a bit of skepticism, and Allanar prepared himself for a Working. Allanar appeared stymied for a moment, but wonder came over his face even as the mist in the field faded so quickly, it seemed to melt. Gwenvair’s mother gasped softly but Gwenvair did not know why. She looked to her mother but was waved off with a subtle shake of her head. Why is mother… Realization came slowly, but struck as strongly as the giant’s fists. Since when was Allanar a mist mage? How did he…

Gwenvair’s eyes snapped back to Joe, then Allanar, then her mother. She found her mother staring at her just as she did to him.

“Mist mage.”

Her mother smiled, victorious, “Our clan grows!”

Kilniara looked over at Gwenvair, “The giant is also a mage? A mist mage?”

Gwenvair shrugged, uncertain, so turned the question to her mother, “I did not believe giants were mages… or mist mages?”

Gwenvair’s mother shook her head slowly, “Little is known of the giants… city killers. Few wish to strike them and none have so easily pressed one to their limits, but they have never been known to be… mages of any kind, let alone mist mages. The giant does not seem so easily killed, however, as its Health is still… gods!”

Her mother cut off, her face paling to a white Gwenvair had never seen before, “What?!”

“The eccentric has removed the giant’s health!”

Gwenvair blinked, unable to process her mother’s statement but then looked back, shock rapidly growing even as she heard the murmurs on the wall rise to cries of shock and amazement. Gwenvair stared closely at the giant and saw what her mother had seen; the giant’s calf had not regrown. It had lost a massive portion of its left calf. Some had obviously regrown from what Joe had originally removed, but it no longer had Health to fuel its flesh growth. The giant had lost its HP.

Joe sprinted across the field and seemed to have noticed the giant’s loss of Health at the same time. He changed direction, aiming for the right leg instead and immediately struck it starting from the heel, no longer waiting to start from the back of the knee. The giant roared again, although its voice was now growing quite hoarse. The giant’s fear was now palpable but it turned, however, now having seen its adversary. It jerked the leg away, but Joe reacted immediately and slipped his sword immediately upwards, scalloping the bottom fourth of the calf muscle. The giant did not flee, though, instead turning quickly to maintain sight of Joe. Joe ran back, escaping away, somehow having seen the giant’s attempt, or realizing it in some way as Joe ran back from the giant only far enough to be out of range of the giant’s feet before turning and quickly burying his sword into the ground. He then pulled his strange spear thrower and a mini spear from the mini spear case. His movement was lightning, far faster than he’d ever done so on the wall, the mini spear leaping from the spear thrower so quickly she wasn’t able to follow it. Immediately after, he pulled another miniature spear and released it before sprinting away once again, pulling the sword from the ground with his left hand.

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The giant howled in pain and rage, fear now long gone. Gwenvair struggled to find what Joe had done, but Garnedell sniggered, even as Zilnek laughed.

“Right in the balls! One for each.”

“Even if it survives, it will never have children again,” Zilnek replied, laughing uproariously.

Where…? Gwenvair searched, confused, but the quickly noticed and realized. Oh! Her face flushed brilliantly and she attempted to hide her body’s desire to purse her lips in slight embarrassment. She turned her focus to Joe instead, and tried to ignore what the eccentric had done. Joe had only sprinted away a dozen steps or so before looking back and immediately stopping.

The giant had collapsed, its howls shifting from fear to almost complete pain. It had fallen to its face once again, both its hands cupping its manhood even as it kept its knees up to hold its belly and manhood from the ground. Its efforts proved too difficult in its current state, however, and it tilted slightly to the side. Shifting a knee proved ruinous as pain obviously erupted and the giant’s howls of pain took on a more poignant and higher cry even as it widened its stance to remain off the ground. The right sprawled outward slightly to hold itself off the ground and protect its manhood even as its right shoulder slammed to the ground, becoming the brace for its head and upper body. Joe paused, unmoving, then burst into action.

“Allanar! One more!”

Joe sprinted, angling away first, almost perpendicular to the giant’s position before turning towards it. His path would have him run up the outside of the giant’s right leg. Does he wish to remove the rest of the calf? Joe stopped, still well short of the giant before turning to look towards Allanar. Another of the iron formation tools grasped in one of Allanar’s water hands zipped through the air before slamming into the ground near Joe’s feet. Joe ripped it from the earth and sprinted towards the giant. Joe sheathed his mini spear thrower clumsily, but successfully, the sword, however, proved a bit more difficult and he struggled. He continued his sprint towards the giant, refusing to lose ground, but could not sheath it. Finally, he exchanged the two weapons, tossing them into the air simultaneously before grasping them firmly once again. He used his right hand to throw the iron formation tool several body lengths in front of him before returning his sword to the right hand again. His left hand dropped down and to his back, pressing the sheath upwards, angling it over his shoulder. This allowed Joe to more easily get the sword tip into the large opening at his back and drop the sword in. He then knelt down and snagged the iron formation tool with only minor delay. He transferred it to his left hand then ripped out his war maul.

When he arrived at the giant’s leg, he slowed, but still moved quickly, but slowed ever more as he continued to travel up the right side of the giant. Not the calf, then? The leg? Joe continued past the giant, it’s mewls of pain still heard easily from the walls. Joe slowed even more when he passed the giant’s waist, then closer. Kilniara’s grip squeezed tighter on her hand. Gwenvair felt her heart thumping harder and harder, her breath coming in gasps until it suddenly froze in her lungs, unable to move. He came upon its chest, continuing upwards, passing its shoulder, then coming in close to the giant’s neck. He came closer and closer, until he was able to reach out and touch the giant’s neck easily.

There he paused, seeming to be searching for something, his head moving in such an obvious way, highlighting the fact the giant was attempting to search for something. On the giants neck? What does he seek! Why does he not kill it!? He’s… Her fear mounted, even as Kilinara’s hand squeezed tighter and tighter. The entire wall fell into silence, no one spoke, no sound escaped, and for a moment, the monsters rampaged past the defenses those on the walls had created; a moment that shattered in an instant when the eccentric raised his iron formation tool, placed it against the neck of the giant, and slammed his war hammer home onto the formation tool, driving it deep into its neck. The formation tool plunged more than half way into the flesh. The giant roared and its entire body seized, a spasm that shook through the body. Move! Move! The giant will… The eccentric rapidly and desperately slammed home another strike upon the formation tool and the tool disappeared into the flesh. Run! Run! You have the formation tool set, flee! You cannot…

The eccentric froze, unmoving and waiting. He did take a few steps back, cautious, but did not flee. Run! RUN! After another few seconds, the eccentric raised his maul and smacked it hard against the giant’s shoulder. The giant did not respond at all. Another thunderous strike retrieved no response. The eccentric retrieved his short sword and plunged it hilt deep into the giants shoulder. Gwenvair breathed, awe and relief thundering through her body. He… he…

The eccentric paused and seemed to shudder, his own relief coming to him and Gwenvair blinked in surprise. He was not certain… he… Gwenvair’s relief turned… into a complicated mélange of gratefulness, awe, pity, and hero worship that only increased her impression of the man. Joe rested against the giants shoulder for a few moments before standing again and bringing his sword down on the giant’s head. It roared, angry, terrifying, and with terrified hatred. Gwenvair jumped. Run! Run! It’s still alive!

Her fear spiked once again, but Joe did nothing at the giant’s response. He sighed for a bit before turning and walking around the head of the giant. He paused when he came around to its forehead, seemingly cautious to stay out of its line of sight. He poked his sword into the giant’s eyes, the giant’s roars returning. Joe remained at the forehead for a few moments, unmoving and obviously cautious, but his fear seemed long gone. The quiet that had replaced the clans murmuring was quickly being replaced by shouts of relief, awe, and praise. A massive swell of noise so great nothing could be heard, but Gwenvair heard little of it, her own eyes only on Joe.