Kazius intended to execute his plan before any reinforcements came. They would only get in the way and get caught in the crossfire. If his plan worked at all that is.

“An idea? Not to be only negative… But what could we possibly even do? I will tell you right now, at most, I can take down 100 of those damn things even with time to prepare, at least as I am right now.” Azanor admitted in dismay. After all, he had made it clear his power was not in the state it should be due to getting Eve to summon him while skirting around the Demon King. Even with a month of recovery, it seemed even now he was not at full power. Then again, he had not eaten a single soul in a very long time, so that likely had something to do with it.

“Just making you fight them isn’t much of an idea, now is it?” Kazius questioned with a laugh.

“I promise, I have a good one… Though I will tell you right now, it will get Vind very angry.” Kazius admitted, holding back a wicked smile that wanted to make its way onto his face at the thought of angering Vind to such an extent.

“Is it really okay to do something like that then?” Alice questioned in concern considering she was not aware of how much Vind already could not stand Kazius.

“It is if you want to survive this.” Kazius responded simply before looking at Damon.

“Can I have that spear?” Kazius questioned, expecting Damon to at least hesitate a little, but there was barely a second from when Kazius asked for the spear before his friend handed over the weapon.

“Sure!” Damon beamed, handing it over.

The moment Kazius touched it, it stung, the pain was intense… Like every nerve on his hand touching it was being burned.

He let out a pained grunt. Still, Kazius held on, coating his hand with shadows instinctually until he could hold it. He could almost hear Vind’s voice cursing at him in the gentle breeze in the area. He squeezed the spear with both hands after that, almost as if he was strangling a neck. As he did this, he studied the spear, trying to figure out the best size and way to go about what he wanted. The whole time he did such things, his friends were staring at him in pure confusion while occasionally glancing back at the approaching army.

The spear felt like it was practically thrashing in his grip, yet if you looked at it, it was a perfectly immobile spear.

Nodding to himself, he began to shape the shadows the best he could. Soon, he was no longer holding the spear in his hand, but instead, it was mounted and gripped by a massive crossbow as if it were an arrow. The fact the spear was shaking became more obvious when this happened, clearly, it did not want to be held by shadows.

‘I almost feel bad… Almost.’

The tension of the shadow string on the crossbow was already strong… Especially with the spear actively resisting what he was doing to it. Still, he needed more. He needed more power… This definitely was looking like it would work.

“Dark Magic tends to be compatible… You told me that once, right, Azanor?” Kazius questioned.

“Yeah…?” Azanor responded back, a hint of concern in his voice as he studied the spear and the violent subjugation that was currently taking place.

“You and Eve use Dark Magic, right? Of different kinds… But it is still Dark Magic, right? Can you lend me some? I’ve heard of healers lending Mana to those who have used too much to the point of getting sick… That should work, right?” Kazius questioned. Of course, this was done usually with Holy Magic, intended to heal… Still, Kazius felt like this would work.

“In theory… It sounds about right….” Azanor admitted, he never thought about using such a thing offensively, it seemed. Then again, Demons were not the giving type and if they granted you power, it was usually at the price of your soul.

“I can help?! Yay!” Eve chirped happily. She seemed eager to try out such a thing.

With that, both placed a hand on his shoulders. Kazius almost felt it instantly, their power fueling his own. It was 3 different types of Dark Magic merging… Forming something stronger, something that could only be described as frightening…

Perhaps they could do this…

“Alice, I need you to start using your power to apply force to the spear, don’t hold back, try and pry it out and send it flying toward the Frost Giants… Damon, when I give the signal, I want you to use all the wind that you can to direct the spear in that direction in that direction too.” Kazius instructed as he began to focus, using his newfound power to keep hold of the spear and then even begin coating it in shadows.

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“Got it!” Alice exclaimed, sounding determined, trusting his judgment as she began to do just that. As she did this, the spear seemed to shake all the more with the force… Any normal spear placed under this much tension and pressure would have probably collapsed on itself… Or even exploded into pieces… But this spear contained the power of a Goddess… It stubbornly held on defiantly, pushing its potential to new heights…

Whether Vind liked it or not, he would use her power.

“Just let me know when!” Damon exclaimed; sounding determined too. There was a lot at stake with this attack. He refused to fail. He took a wide stance, distancing his feet apart while clenching his fists, bracing himself to put his all into it when the time came.

As this occurred, by now the spear was entirely black as Kazius piled layer upon layer of tightly bound and compressed shadows on both the spear and the crossbow. Were it not for the trees, as the contraption grew, it would definitely have given their position away… Any sound made by the spear was drowned out by the thundering steps of the Frost Giants as they grew closer and closer.

‘Focus…’

The crossbow and spear grew bigger, the wind around them turning from a gentle breeze to something that would give Mount Cyklon a run for its money… Alice was used to it… But Eve and Azanor hung on with surprising ease, not moving from their spot, and continued to hold onto his shoulders.

Their clothes began to violently shake. Alice and Eve’s hair was basically slapping their own faces due to the strength of the wind. Even now the wind remained gentle with Damon despite his obvious betrayal of Vind. Whether it was because she didn’t want to or couldn’t, she was not taking back her power it seemed.

As for himself, his hair and clothes were the only ones that did not move at all. It seemed The Shadows were still protecting him.

‘Focus!’ Kazius demanded of himself mentally, putting all effort he could into what he was doing. Suddenly, the size of the spear and the crossbow seemed to double thanks to the shadows. The force from such a thing sent all nearby trees flying, roots and all.

A particularly large tree was flung so far and hard that it took the peak off of a nearby smaller mountain.

The wind grew worse as it circled them.

The Frost Giants could be heard stopping their march. The silence of their steps was almost frightening. They had spotted them and knew something was wrong… But it was too late anyway.

Soon the contraption doubled in size again. The spear now with the shadows had reached 57.4 ft(17.5m) and the wingspan of the crossbow was as long as 42 ft (12.8m).

By now the wind was worse than Mount Cyklon yet they all were fine.

It was ready, they had to do this now.

“NOW!” Kazius exclaimed, looking at their targets that had stopped in their tracks.

Just as he gave the signal, he released the shadows that kept the string and the spear in place. Just as he did this… As instructed… Damon put his all in the strongest wind he could muster.

The force of the spear releasing flung away the few trees that were left around them… Even the grass itself was uprooted without mercy.

Dirt, dust, and debris clouded their vision as the spear was flung up. It almost looked like the spear had gone too far out, out of sight, reaching even past the very clouds, making a hole in them. The ring of clouds around the entirely clear circle in the sky began to worry Kazius… Had they aimed too far up? Were they screwed?

It was then there was a shine as the spear began to come down, fire surrounding the projectile they had launched.

Before anyone in the group could blink or the army react… It happened…

Impact.

As the tip of the spear touched the ground… Dust began to be forced out like a sand storm… An explosion followed seconds later. The explosion was blinding, the strong wind that came from it was likely something that only Vind would be capable of at full strength.

Kazius was forced to shield his eyes, The Shadows were only protecting him so much. Thankfully, the others stood their ground too, but eventually, all of them were forced to shut their eyes.

Everything about the impact was disorienting, especially once the sound of the impact made its way to them, threatening to burst their ears.

Still, just as fast as it happened, it ended… And aside from the ringing in their ears… It was quiet…

Able to finally open his eyes once the explosion subsided, Kazius would open them to a shocked group. All of his friends had their mouths left agape, their eyes wide. When Kazius looked on at where the army stood, it was soon clear that only 30% remained… If that much. A massive crater and charred black bodies of giants were left where the spear had struck. The spear in question glowed red from the heat, despite the shadows around it. Darkness swirled around the weapon ominously in a way that made Kazius begin to wonder if he had done something wrong…

Their actions were like an impact heard all around the world, the skies themselves remaining parted from what just had occurred…

Whether The Oracle was 100% right or not…One thing was clear…

Kazius would leave his mark on the world… Whether for better or worse.

The destruction they had caused seemed to shock even Azanor. It seemed even someone as knowledgeable and long-lived as Azanor had not seen anyone pull off such a thing the way they did.

Kazius himself was not sure whether to celebrate what they had done or not. They were all just silent, admiring their handy work.

What was lacking in their own cheering though was supplemented by The Shadows. The chorus he heard for once was nothing but clapping and cheering… As if they were giving him a standing ovation.

While their attack sadly missed the Frost Giant leader and Luna… The fact that the odds were now in their favor was undeniable. That was excluding the terror they had likely just instilled into the Frost Giants and what that would do to their morale… No amount of weaseling from Luna could change that… Nor change the destruction they had caused.

While his friends and him were silent, staring in awe… Their expressions remained frozen in time, unable to process what they had done… Slowly but surely… Without Kazius realizing it, the expression of a mad grin made its way onto his face.