"Now who the fuck are these guys…?"
Erik muttered, eyes narrowing as the dragon riders vanished into the clouds beyond the giant's shoulder.
He turned back into the ruined temple.
"Okay. This is bad. I need to find that damn relic—fast."
Leaping from the balcony, Erik landed on the last floor and rushed inside. He didn't bother with care anymore. Room by room, box by box—he smashed through furniture, cracked open crates, tore at cloth and wood.
Nothing. Not even a glimmer of mana.
Then something caught his eye—carvings on the wall. Faint letters etched into aged stone. But the language was foreign. Something he had never studied, couldn't even recognize.
"I wonder what this says…" he muttered, stepping closer.
There was no answer. Just the groan of the giant's movements. Still unsure what to make of it, Erik began pacing the floor, looking for more inscriptions. More clues.
Then—
DOOM!
The floor exploded beneath his feet. He was thrown into a pillar, coughing as the entire structure groaned. The front wall was gone, a yawning void where stone had once been.
The temple had cracked.
Then came the second blast.
DOOM!
The entire temple shuddered—its base torn loose from the giant's nape. The building crumbled, falling from the massive creature's back like a dislodged tooth, spiraling down toward the beach below.
"Erik!" Yosul shouted, galloping ahead with the others.
They skidded to a halt in front of the massive rubble, eyes scanning for movement. Smoke and dust veiled the collapsed temple.
"Captain!" Leena cried.
The dragon riders had returned—swooping low.
Yosul's expression hardened. "Prepare to intercept them!"
But they didn't attack. Instead, the dragons veered past, completely ignoring the team.
"What the hell…?" a swordsman muttered.
Then came the real danger.
"Oh… fuck," someone gasped.
The giant had turned.
It stood still for a moment, its immense face twisted into a rage that could shatter mountains. Its red eyes locked onto Yosul's squad, glowing like embers in a dying furnace. Then it moved—turning its entire body to face them, shoulders rolling like collapsing cliffs.
Its hands curled inward toward its chest.
Its chest swelled.
Its head tilted back.
An attack was coming.
"Veinar!" Yosul barked.
"Got it!" the mage shouted.
Veinar leapt from his horse and threw both hands forward. A radiant, golden shield burst to life, stretching wide across the sand in front of the team. Mana pulsed through it in waves.
The giant's head snapped forward. Its jaw opened—no breath, no flame.
Just a sound.
A shockwave exploded outward from its mouth, tearing through the ground, ripping sand from stone, splitting earth in two. Veinar's shield caught it, but the impact was devastating.
"Ghhaaa—!" Veinar screamed, his fingertips burning, skin tearing. His fingernails blackened, then peeled away one by one.
"Master! Leena!" Yosul shouted. "As soon as the attack stops, go on the offensive! The rest of you—protect Veinar until he recovers. I'm going to find Erik!"
The moment the blast ended, the old man and Leena launched themselves at the giant. The rest of the squad closed ranks around Veinar. Yosul dashed into the rubble.
"Erik?" he shouted.
No response.
He stretched out his senses—but felt nothing. No trace of mana inside the debris. His stomach sank.
Then—
BOOM!
A massive ball of fire erupted on the back of the giant's head. It exploded violently, sending ash and fur flying.
Yosul's eyes widened.
From behind the smoke, Erik sprinted along the creature's upper spine.
"Fireball!"
Another blast slammed into the giant's face, catching it square in the eye. It roared—more in anger than pain—as Erik lost balance and tumbled through the air.
He was falling fast.
Then—snap—Leena caught him by the ankle mid-drop, flipping him upward and hauling him in.
"You could've died," she muttered, half-scolding.
"I had a feeling you'd catch me," Erik said, smirking.
"You're insane."
"Oh, great," the old man muttered. "Now he looks even more pissed."
The giant's face contorted, one massive hand covering the place Erik had struck. But only one of its eyes moved—slowly shifting to glare at Erik.
"…What about the relic?" the old man asked.
"Wasn't inside the temple," Erik replied. "But… there was a door."
"A door?" Leena asked.
"Yeah. Embedded in the giant's nape. No handle, no inscription. Just... there."
Before anyone could respond—
"Guys," Leena said, "another attack incoming."
"Grab the knob—now!" the old man commanded.
Erik and Leena each grabbed hold of his axe shaft.
With a grunt, the old man spun them once and flung them beneath the giant—Then he leapt after them himself.
The second shockwave struck.
Veinar, still healing, stood with bloodied hands and cracked bone.
"Shield!" he roared.
A second golden wall of mana flared to life—just in time. The shockwave slammed into it with crushing force. Veinar's scream echoed across the shore.
His fingers tore into ribbons. Chunks of skin scattered like leaves in a storm. Still—he held.
When the attack ceased, he dropped to one knee, breathing raggedly.
But he wasn't done.
"Thunderbolt… Spear!"
He raised his mangled arm to the sky. A bolt of lightning formed above his palm—long, jagged, seething with rage. It spun once, then flew like a missile toward the giant's face.
The giant's hand swatted it from the sky like an insect. The spear exploded harmlessly in the ocean behind.
"…You've gotta be kidding me," Veinar gasped.
To be continued…