Jonathan pursed his lips, and started to run towards the incoming foe, rather than retreating. If he let the monster get to the city, it would destroy it in an instant, whether he was there or not. However, if he was able to kill it miles before it actually reached its target, perhaps he could save his people.

The other Tier 2s caught onto this rapidly, and followed suit, racing across the plain. The monster moved like a regular snake, bunching and extending its sinuous coils. Only, in this case, those coils were hundreds of feet in diameter. It was an imposing sight, one that would have struck fear into the hearts of lesser men. Jonathan was no lesser man.

He reached the monster a few minutes later, traveling at his top speed. This close, the earth itself trembled beneath the titanic motions of the monster. It did not seem to notice Jonathan and his small group, instead single mindedly focused on its target.

Jonathan leaped onto its side, grabbing onto a thick outcropping of rock. The monster was hot to the touch, but not painfully so. Jonathan clambered up its side like a monkey, reaching the top a few moments later. His allies followed suit, with Edgar simply floating up.

“How do you plan to defeat such a massive monster?” Eva whispered.

“Constructs like this usually have a concentration of power somewhere,” Edgar said. “I assume that Jonathan means to destroy that. Generally, such things are located in a monster’s head.”

Jonathan simply nodded, confirming Edgar’s suspicions. The man nodded in return. They were standing near the snake’s head, and now that they had a vantage point, it was quite clear that there was something unnatural in there. There was a large bulge on the base of the head, one that glowed faintly.

“That must be where the power center is. However, we need to be quick. If we strike, and do nothing, the monster will be alerted to our presence.”

“What exactly is it going to do though?” Tukar asked. “It lacks hands or legs. Will it roll over and crush us?” He seemed faintly sarcastic at the last bit, as he had never encountered a beast like this.

In Tartarus, all of the monsters were optimized to their environment. A creature like this would have been torn apart in seconds. In the Ash Heaps however, this creature was a dire threat.

“If you look closely, you will notice the Fire elemental energy contained within this construct,” Edgar replied. “Monsters like this generally have some sort of expulsion ability in order to defend against smaller threats.”

“Alright,” Jonathan said, impatient. “Now that we’ve established the basic facts about this creature, can we actually get to work?”

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Chastened by his rebuke, the others nodded. Jonathan raced forwards, feeling Edgar’s buff spell take hold. Speed filled his limbs, and he let out a whoop as he ran. Void energy coursed down his arms, filling them with caustic power. Eva and the Uthraki fighters followed behind him, gathering their own power in preparation to strike.

Jonathan leaped into the air, bringing his fist down. As he did so, Eva blurred forwards, her spear glowing a brilliant green. Tukar lifted his sword, summoning dense obsidian to gird its form. Hushar did the same with his ax. The attacks struck at the same time, blasting apart the snake’s rocky flesh. Tons of earth were tossed up into the air, revealing a massive crystal beneath the surface of the monster. However, it was now aware of their presence.

Without warning, the ground underneath their feet started to liquify, turning into searing molten rock. Jonathan only managed to jump up in time to avoid the strike. The others were not as lucky. Edgar was seared by the roiling lava, as it sent its heat straight through his armor and into his body. The smell of burning flesh rose up as Edgar desperately tore himself away with his control over the wind. Even though the man had not been touching the lava, it was still hot enough to burn him severely. He rose a few dozen feet into the air, hissing in agony as his feet sizzled within his boots. However, the man kept the pain to himself, focusing on laying down suppressive fire.

The newly liquid matter that made up the surface of the snake was a lot easier to dislodge with wind than it had before, and Edgar sent waves racing across the lava with his elemental mastery. The melee fighters that accompanied Jonathan were caught fully unawares by the attack, and their flesh burned under the onslaught. Luckily for them, their durability was sufficient to keep the injuries from becoming anything life threatening.

Jonathan knew that the fight was entering a new phase, and it was time for him to bring out the big guns. His newfound understanding of Smite was sitting in his mind, waiting to be used. Jonathan drew upon his Divinity, visualizing it as a series of disparate parts instead as one liquid whole. Energy poured out of his stores and into his body, filling him with strength. As the power grew and grew, he began to slam his fists into the surface of the snake, ignoring the lava. In his current state, the molten rock was nothing more than a small annoyance. His durability was boosted somewhat while under the effects of Smite, and while it was not as much of a boost as it was to his strength and speed, it was still quite significant.

The lava poured off his hands as he raised and lowered them, pooling beneath his feet. Soon he was able to clear a large enough hole in the lava to begin his assault in earnest. Edgar helped out by keeping the lava from sliding back into place.

As the snake continued to move, Jonathan attacked like his life depended on it. His fists rose and fell with the cadence of a machine, sending cracks across the stony surface of the monster. The snake seemed unperturbed by the assault however, as it was too large to really feel the effects.

Jonathan started to move forwards, towards the crystal that controlled the monster. The others moved as if to follow, but the ground behind them started to bubble, revealing a group of elementals that had sprouted from the skin of the snake. They were made out of lava and rock, and came in a variety of different forms. Some of them were tall and lithe, wielding whips of heat. The others were shorter, but also far stockier, clutching large hammers of volcanic rock.