Kurt barely had time to process the massive door swinging open before his vision was flooded with notifications.
[NEW SYSTEM QUEST AVAILABLE]
- Defeat the Twilight Giant
- Reward: +10 points
[NEW SYSTEM QUEST AVAILABLE]
- Survive the Boss Level
- Reward: +10 points
[SUB QUEST AVAILABLE]
- Die a Maximum of Three Times During Battle
- Reward: +5 points
[SUB QUEST AVAILABLE]
- Defeat Twilight Giant Without Dying
- Reward: +7 points
[Penalties for Quest Failure: None]
Kurt stared at the overlapping screens and let out a low whistle. "Well, isn't that just bloody lovely."
He dismissed the screens with a thought and stepped through the doorway.
The chamber beyond was so massive that Kurt couldn't see the ceiling. The walls glowed with veins of molten essence like they saw earlier, casting everything in shifting orange light. And at the far end, seated on a throne carved from blackened stone, was the Twilight Giant.
It was enormous. Easily thirty feet tall, its body covered in cracked armor that looked like cooled lava. Red light burned in its sockets, and in one massive hand, it gripped a sword that was longer than two Kurts put together. The blade scraped against the ground as the Giant shifted, sending sparks flying across the stone.
The team fanned out behind Kurt, their weapons drawn, their faces grim. And then the Giant stood.
The movement of the monster was intentionally slow, like a mountain deciding it was done resting. It rose from its throne as the sword dragged behind it with a grinding screech that made Kurt want to dig his own ear out.
Each motion made its armor crackle and flare as the heat in the chamber intensified, and the air itself seemed to ripple in such a way that made sweat bead instantly down his spine.
"Goddamn it," Rook groaned in frustration as the Giant took one step forward. Then another. Each footfall shook the ground, sending tremors through the stone.
And then it roared.
The sound was deafening and primal, a shockwave of pure noise that slammed into the team like a physical force. Kurt felt it hit his chest and drive out breath from his lungs, felt his vision blur and his knees buckle. Around him, guild members dropped like puppets with cut strings, their bodies crumpling to the ground unconscious.
Kurt's vision went black at the edges, and he felt himself falling as well when—
[SYSTEM ALERT]
[Knockout Prevention Activated]
[You are about to be knocked out. Preventing unconsciousness to maintain combat capability]
Kurt blinked, and the darkness receded like a fog. His vision cleared, and he found himself still standing, though barely. His legs shook, and his ears rang like a bell, but he was conscious.
He looked around to find half the team was down, passed out cold on the stone floor, and only a handful remained standing: Rook, Emma, Cassandra, Lizzie, and two other guild members who looked pale and shaky but upright.
Kurt spat blood and wiped his mouth. "Right. So that's how it's going to be, is it? No bloody in-between. Either I die or I win. Fantastic."
Rook stepped forward with the calm resignation of someone who hated everything about his current situation but was committed to professionalism, and reached for his gauntlets.
With a soft click and a hiss of released pressure, the reinforced metal detached and fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Then he rolled his shoulders, and his hands began to glow faintly as essence flowed through him.
"Enough holding back," Rook said with a steady and calm voice. He looked at the Giant, then at his team. "Let's go. We fight smart."
Emma snorted. A rough, amused "tch", then stretched out her hand as the air around her blistered and a massive cleaver materialized in her grip, six feet long.
Its blade was wide and brutal with flames erupting along the edges, and the heat rolling off it forced Kurt to take a step back.
She spun the cleaver once, testing its weight. "Smart?" she said with a feral grin that reminded Kurt why people feared her. "Boring. I'm going for maximum carnage."
Lizzie stayed back, her hands glowing green as she channeled her essence. The glow spread outward, washing over the team in a warm wave, and Kurt felt his body respond as his muscles tightened, his reflexes sharpened, and the exhaustion from his last death faded, evaporating like steam.
"Twilight Giant!" Lizzie rattled off information like she memorized it, speaking way too fast for someone in a life-or-death scenario.
"High C-rank to low B-rank. Some reports say it can even hold against a low-tier A-ranker if it's pissed enough. My buffs should help, but please don't get cocky. I'm really attached to your faces being, ya know, attached."
"Hm," Cassandra muttered inaudibly as she looked down and flexed her fingers, staring at the yellow glow surrounding her body. She felt stronger and faster.
Her blue eyes shifted to Lizzie, and for the first time since they'd met, there was genuine respect in her expression.
"Not bad," she said, drawing her sword then testing her enhanced strength with a subtle flex. "Acceptable."
"Don't go soft on me now love… that was almost a compliment," Kurt muttered, pulling his knife that felt small and useless compared to the Giant's sword, but it felt right.
"Don't get used to it," Cassandra said in a detached tone, shifting her stance as she prepared for the charge.
The Twilight Giant stopped walking, tilting its massive head and studying them like insects, then its grip on the sword tightened.
The shift was instant. From moving like a glacier to vanishing from Kurt's sight.
The thing moved like a catastrophic blur. One heartbeat it was across the room... the next its blade was already descending in a murderous arc toward Rook.
"MOVE!" Emma roared.
The team threw themselves in every direction as the sword struck the floor with an explosive force that sent shockwaves through the chamber.
Stone exploded outward in jagged chunks, and the heat from the blade scorched the air like an oven door being kicked open... if that oven could melt rocks.
Kurt rolled to the side, came up on one knee, and stared at the crater where Rook had been standing.
He couldn't even see the monster move and reacted only due to Emma's scream. If that attack was aimed at him and not Rook, he'd be dead.
"That's just some bollocks," he muttered.
***
A/N: I hope you're enjoying this so far. Add to Library and send a power stone or two if you're.
And a review or two would mean something to me! Thank you and peace!