The large stone hurtled through the air almost languidly, reaching the peak of its flight then falling back to earth in accelerating fashion. There were cries of “Get down” from some of the watching adventurers, but they wouldn’t make it in time. The rock was too big and too fast. Lilli readied her crossbow as the shadow of the boulder fell over her, but an overwhelming sense of powerlessness flowed through her as she did. Then, fractions of a second before the boulder made contact, a clear feminine voice rang out across the battlefield:
“Rock of Ages!”
A barrier of light grey magic popped into existence over their heads, a large square that interposed itself between the town and the projectile. With an immense CRASH, the rock dashed into the barrier, kicking up a massive wind all around the township with the force. But the protection held, and the rock cracked into a million pieces which bounced backward due to the rebounding force. They bounced back, right into the monsters standing at the outskirts of the town. The creatures didn’t even scream as the debris buried them, killing some of them outright with the backfired attack.
Wide eyed, the members of Rivira township turned in unison towards the source of the voice. They laid eyes on a shockingly beautiful human girl, dressed in a white mage’s robe with black fringes. Her striking silver hair danced magically as she pointed her glowing sapphire staff at the barrier above, bright eyes shining the same hue as the magic tool. She turned to meet the onlookers and gave a small smile before calling out:
“Level 3 Mage, Emily Teasanare at your service!”
The whole township gave a massive cheer, the relief of having their lives spared overwhelming everything else for the moment. Their celebration was cut short, however, as they heard massive footsteps coming their way. The Goliath showed no outward signs of irritation in the face of its attack’s failure. It had begun striding rhythmically toward their defensive positions, burning purple eyes focused on closing the distance. Several of the monsters had also dug themselves out of the rubble and were making a way for their charging leader. Bors began hollering aggressively:
“We have incoming! Mages, start your chants! Archers, weapons free! Try to kill this thing before it breaches the gate. Everyone else, get behind the wall and prepare for battle!”
The adventurers scurried to do exactly that. Emily smartly held the barrier to prevent more projectiles as the other mages and the archers began following their orders. Arrows tried to pierce the great beast, and some of them did, but the monster swiped many of them out of the air as it ran. When it reached the gates, it swept its great forearms across the battlements, causing watchtowers to topple and forcing the archers to abandon their posts. Some were too slow and were knocked flying into buildings by the monster’s attacks. With the pests handled, the creature began hammering at the thick wooden gates. The adventurers holding the gates, including Ouka, managed to match the creature’s strength and prevent the gates from breaking open immediately. However, the wood itself creaked and snapped as the monster rained down blows. It quickly smashed through the upper portions of the wooden barrier, sending splinters and chunks of wood flying everywhere. Its fingers curled around the openings, and it began to pry off more pieces of their only protection. Then, the mages finished their chants.
The mages of Rivira specialized in synchronized casting, and they sent a wave of deadly magic right into the hole that the Goliath had created. Fireballs and lightning and icicle lances and a wide array of other magics poured through the opening in a wave that might have vaporized a Level 5 monster. But the Goliath was too smart. At the last second, it had leapt to its right to avoid the mighty deluge of attacks. It couldn’t avoid them entirely, of course, and the left side of its torso was lit up by the stream of magic. When the creature stood up again, the adventures could see that they had vaporized its entire left arm and hideously scarred much of the left side of its body. Still, the Goliath stared down at them with an unfeeling gaze that sent chills up their spines. Bors was shouting hoarsely at the mages to start chanting again, but it was too late. The Goliath reached out with its one good arm and forcefully pried one of the gates off of its hinges, tossing the wooden rectangle to the side with a great CRASH. Then, The Sapphire Mage’s voice rang out across the battlefield once again:
“Cornerstone!”
She had surreptitiously let her barrier fall when the Goliath reached the gates, choosing instead to begin her chant for her attack magic. The boulder Emi generated sped through the air, larger and faster than anything she had created before. It smashed right into the giant’s face as a direct hit, causing its head to jerk back and forcing it to stagger backwards. Some of the archers had also gathered on the battlements again, and they began shooting at the beleaguered giant. To make matters better, someone had found a stock of explosive arrows, so the fiend’s whole torso was now being littered with destructive ordinance. But in some ways, the damage had already been done.
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A gaping hole now existed where one of the gates used to be, and the other monsters were pouring into the gap. The adventurers stood to battle the enemy, but many of them were Level 2 or high Level 1. They struggled mightily to kill the enemy, but they weren’t used to monsters that could fight with uncanny precision. Ouka gave a battle cry as he charged into the fray to help, and Lilli saw that he had found a spare greatsword and greatshield as replacements for the axe which had shattered from the Goliath’s earlier blow. Mikoto flitted through enemy lines, severing a hamstring here and stabbing a magic stone there, while Asuka tried to keep up. Chigusa hadn’t found any explosive arrows, but her fletched shafts always seemed to find a target in time to save a life or provide a needed reprieve. Lilli was also unrestrained in her use of items, tossing handheld explosives into the monster crowd and firing Little Ballista bolts at the same time.
Take Familia’s well-honed skill and teamwork was still pushed to its limits when fighting creature’s this well coordinated, however. Even the Level 3 Bors was struggling under the well-coordinated assault of two Minotaurs and a Bugbear, though he still managed to cuss at the top of his lungs while doing it. Many of their other, weaker allies were already lying in pools of their own blood on the ground, and the pressure quickly increased to the point that Ouka was forced to use his skill. The aggro effect didn’t seem to affect the purple eyed monsters, but even its increased defenses only delayed what was increasingly inevitable as the fighting grew more desperate.
On the bright side, the ground fighters were starting to see some relief. The archers on the battlements had turned their fire away from the Goliath, satisfied that it was dead, and started shooting into the backs of the monsters below. Some of the monsters responded by shooting rocks or breathing fire, but most of the archers managed to dodge these attacks and keep up the pressure. Some of the mages had also finished their second round of chants and were firing off their magic into the monster horde. It was a haphazard thing, and they ran the risk of friendly fire, but they still managed to kill quite a few monsters. The horde was seeing some reinforcements supplied from the forest and the Middle floors, but it was a trickle compared to the amount that the adventurers were now killing. As the enemy decreased in size, the adventurers began to feel less pressured, allowing them to fight more effectively. To add a cherry on top, Emily’s voice called out for the third time:
“Mighty Protector!”
Immediately, both Bors and Ouka began glowing with a bright, gray light. Ouka’s skin was still red, but him and his weapon were encased in the light, and he began to move faster. His chops, blocks, and cuts began to come much faster, and his sword sliced through monster flesh more easily. And if he had been tough before, that toughness increased severalfold, to the point that strikes were bouncing off him. It got to the point that Ouka just tossed aside his shield and began swinging his sword through the mob with all his might. Bors had killed off his own opponents and rushed to join the melee with still more cursing, for whatever reason. Lilli’s eyes started sparkling. They were going to survive this.
Her hopes were soon dashed into the ground.
Several thunderous noises rang out across the battlefield, the footsteps of imminent doom. A massive grey and red arm swept across the battlements again, tossing the remaining archers away or forcing them to jump down. A massive, disfigured face peered over the wall once again and Lilli felt her stomach sink as she looked into the angry eyes of a butchered-yet-living Goliath. Its arm was awash in blood and its torso was charred beyond all recognition, the flesh hanging off in inky strips. Its nose and face had been shattered and cut by Emi’s magic, and Lilli even saw where it had been scorched by her Ballista earlier. No normal living thing should be able to move while damaged that much, but the Goliath peered down at them with nary a peep. Things grew even more dire when it reached down and began to tug at the piece of the wall normally overhanging the gate. The wood gave way with a loud set of snaps, and the mangled beast fixed its eyes on the mages. Some of them shot off a few feeble blasts of fire at it, but the Goliath didn’t hesitate to lift its arm and throw the flat piece of wood right at them:
“No!”
Despite their Level difference, it was Ouka, not Bors, who scrambled to protect their vulnerable backline. He hastily interposed himself between the projectile and them, catching the wood even as he was pushed back into the mages by its momentum. The whole group was pushed back into a building behind them, falling completely out of sight. It was unclear whether they were alive or dead, but their comrades didn’t have time to investigate. To his credit, Bors fought savagely through the monsters to confront the behemoth all by himself, running hastily to try to put a final dagger in the Goliath’s heart. He was sucking wind and obviously fatigued as he dashed to meet the beast, but he still was moving uncannily swiftly as he blocked one of its strikes. The adventurer managed to turn it aside and race to strike at the monster’s vulnerable ankles. He dodged a stomp and sliced through the Achilles tendon of the Goliath’s left leg. Lilli watched with increasing hope as the monster fell to one knee, and Bors raced around to finish off the right leg.
Then the buff ran out.
Bors stumbled as his speed suddenly decreased, a moment of weakness in an otherwise perfect assault. But it was all the giant needed. The Goliath reached backward and snatched up the adventurer like it was picking a grape. With a side handed flick of the wrist, it sent Bors sailing away, the adventurer crashing through several buildings on the far side of town. The struggle on the ground was also starting to get more brutal. Without their two strongest fighters, the humans had brought their invaders to a tenuous and bloody standstill. They didn’t have the energy to pay attention to Bors’s defeat, but if they had been watching, they would have gaped in horror as the Goliath finally turned its eyes to the adventurer frontline. Lilli did plenty of gaped for them as her mind raced to find a way out of this situation, but she was out of items and ideas. She watched helplessly as the monster turned its attention to the battlefield.
And roared.