282 Jotun Giants I : The Equally Matched Enemy

This time our journey to the giants was not as long as when Asha and I went looking for the Aviary. Of course part of that would probably have to do with the fact that, I already knew where to find them, and coupled with a Vampire's speed, it really didn't take me long until I was standing in front of the cave that would lead me to them.

The giants lived at the very top of a mountain, and the caverns within that mountain led straight to them. Previously, there were a lot of dimensional gates and wards to impede any sort of approach. But the last we were here, we had to clear the path of anything dangerous, because all of those dangers were standing in between us and the sealing array. We had to go through hell itself, and I had to be honest about it, it was an exciting adventure.

We completed that quest of ours, with most of our lives on the line. I mean there was hardly any casualty, but the process of facing the worst monsters necromancy was capable of conjuring, and taking a leisurely stroll through a hell dimension and surviving the assault of a legion demons kept our lives on a knives edge. But we survived and we triumphed, heck we even came out a whole lot stronger for it, who knew zombies, skeletons, riches and death knights had the energy necessary to help a vampire evolve. It was crazy wild ride.

Our journey through the tunnels and the dimensional gates that no longer transported anyone anywhere, was silent. It was a little anticlimactic, but there was really nothing to expect here. There were a few barricades and camps made by the other vampires, from the last time we were here, but there was no need to stop for a rest or anything of the sort, we webhad to get to where we were going.

Eventually we got to the final gate, or a wooden door to be honest. I never figured out how that door worked, but none the less on the other side, laid the giants that we needed to find. From my previous encounter with them, the giants were wise, gentle and kind. Though I've never seen them angry, so I can't exactly say my impressive n of them was true. I mean after all, this guys were still giants, and giants according pop culture are a rather violent species. I pushed opened the door, with Baeki and Teluna close behind me, and then…..

BOOOM!

A loud explosion took place right in front of us, throwing us back into the tunnel, and completely connect the obliterating the wooden door. Since I was at the forefront of the explosion, I took the full brunt of the attack, How t that might have been a bad idea. I was wearing just simple clothes, but they're were burnt to a crisp, and underneath that, my brown skin was covered in blisters from all over my body, event hair was complete burned to the scalp, witty only a few traces of hair left.

Whatever had set off that explosion, it was very powerful. So powerful that it could even burn me, and with my superior defense the only thing capable of doing so; should be a warhead with sheer power of nuclear or atomic bomb. But if it is, and something of that power has been set off right where the giants lived, then what has become of them?

I felt panicked and worried, and feeling an intense bout pain all over my body. I was healing, and incredibly fast, so much so that in five seconds, all I had left were scratches and light burns, and in six, I was good as new. This was completely unexpected, but I had to deal with what's in front of me first. I called out my armor, since my clothes were already burnt, I was very much naked. I turned to see Baeki and Teluna completely unharmed, with Baeki using just her Aura as a shield for both of them.

"I take it that your giant friends aren't to psyched to see us?" Baeki asked, as she wiped off dust from her clothes.

"They're not responsible for this Baeki, they're like common villagers, without the need for technology. They can use magic if they want, but they're not so violent to the point that they would blow up a door and the person behind it without knowing who it was." I explained to her, though it felt more like I was explaining to myself. I only spent a day with them, and I might be an excellent judge of character, but this was a little out of hand, should the giants be responsible.

"If what you're saying is true then, though it seems to me like you're not sure. It only means that they're in danger, and a blast with that much power would have hurt a lot of people. We should make haste." Teluna said, his words curt and short.

I turned to face the direction of the door, and waved my hands to release a blast of wind that cleared away all the dust and smoke. The door was gone, and all that was left n front of me, was a winding tunnel that led all the way to the top of the mountain. There was no time to waste, and I couldn't dawdle either, so I shot forwards, picking up speed with every stride I took, and pushing the capabilities of my armor to the very limit of what it was capable of.

Baeki could keep up with me because she a Dracula, Teluna was not so lucky, but he was still close behind. However the distance to the peak of the mountain was quite a ways away, because it took me an entire ten minutes of running, before we burst into a cavern, with a massive cave entrance that led outside. The cavern had massive houses, though they were built shabbily, it was sturdy enough to house the sleeping giants. And quite a few of said giants were laying on the ground, very much dead.

Their skin was brittle, and anyone we touched, rapidly turned to dust. It was as if, all that was left was a shell, and everything inside of them was sucked out. There was no blood to indicate if any sort of weapon was used, just the bodies and the aftermath of touching them, was left as proof that this was done by magic, or a very peculiar ability.

"They're all dead, all of them." Teluna said as he drew close.

"What happened here?" Baeki asked, as she looked around with furrowed eyebrows and worried eyes.

BOOOOM!

We heard another explosion, and this one was just as intense as the last, seeing as the entire cavern itself was given to shaking. It seems there was still a fight going on outside, which means we weren't a completely to late. I changed into my half dragon form, letting my armor change and acclimate to my new form and power. The horns in my head were coated with black scales, and so was my tail, while the rest of my body took on a black and white armored form, that was a little bulky than normal. But to me, I didn't even feel any weight.

We ran outside the cavern and saw a group of giants huddle together and suffering assault from three massive ships. Those ships were colossal, almost 250 meters long and about 70 to 90 meters long.

The giants had an energy shield in front of them, it's what's been keeping them alive. But from the look of all the cracks in it, they obviously wouldn't be able to last long under the endless shots of energy blasts and beams. I shit towards one of the ship, and weave [BREAK] the moment I cake in contact with it. Now it was just a matter of sitting back and watching it be torn apart by a power it could not possibly hope to defend against.As I turned my attention to the other ships,a rapidly approaching black dot, slammed into me, and sent my crashing to the ground.

I created a huge crate on the top of the mountain as my insides felt a little rattled. Whatever, or whomever just hit me, was incredibly strong. The ship I had weaved upon, began to break apart, twisting into itself as it's components fell apart. Even the crew members who were smart enough to launch their escape pods were not spared from the power of my runes, as those pods also broke to pieces, and they fell down, through the clouds and straight into the embrace of the unforgiven earth.

I looked up in time to see that black dot, coming for me, with a speed comparable to mine, if not a little higher. I dodged to the left, but his landing created a huge explosion that picked me off my feet, and threw me across the top of the mountain. The peak of the mountain was only the size of a football field, and the entire mountain rose up until a point. But with the power of his hit, it almost threw off the edge.

CRAAAACK!

A massive fissure spread out from the point where the black blur had landed, spreading rapidly as the mountain suddenly tilted to the side. I felt my eyes widen in shock and surprise as I quickly Weaved the soul rune [SHIELD] and had it wrap around what was left of the giants, and Teluna. And then the mountain split apart, one half falling to the other side, like it was a piece of wood that had just been split in two.

I took a closer look, and saw that the person in the armor was human, or a kind of human. He was fair skinned, but he had two pupils in his eyes, a bulky body,though that could be the fault of the pitch black armor he was wearing, green tribal like markings on his skin that looked more like he was born on them, rather than having them painted on him. And the most bizarre would be the fact that he only had four fingers, if his gloved hands were any indication.

But there was no more time to scrutinize him, and his weird anatomy as we were all falling down with the mountain. Well everyone except me and Baeki who could fly with both our Aura and wings alone. The dude in the black armor was covered with a black veil of light, making me realize that he was also using aura to fly. I would have been surprised, but Aura was not a vampire exclusive skill, we just had enough time to perfect it.

Baeki shot towards him, gathering power into a punch that she threw at his face, and he just smacked her away. I was sure my jaw was hanging halfway down my mouth as I couldn't fathom the fact that there was someone who could throw Baeki around like she was a ragdoll. Who the fuck was this guy, and what the hell did he want. But I wasn't going to be getting an answer anytime soon, as the guy shot towards me.

I was thankful though, it seems the guy was really strong,even stringer than both me and Baeki from the look of things. But he wasn't that fast, I could track his speed, and react accordingly to what ever threat he poses. Since I could see him coming, I could prepare my defense.

[SHIELD!] BANG!

He slammed into the golden barrier that showed up in front of both of us with a loud bang. The shockwave from the attack pushed us both back wards through the clouds around us. He was not so lucky as he flew through one of the ships that brought him here, destroying it in the process as it exploded in a bright flash of fire and light.

My shield was completely intact, fully capable of withstanding a full strike from him, and because of that, there was definitely a way to beat him. But he didn't look to happy about that, as he released a yell and shot towards me again. This time however, his approach was intercepted as Baeki appeared, carrying a piece of the mountain the size of two story building and smacked it into his body, destroying the huge body of rock in seconds, and turning it into a shower of rubble and dust.

ARRRGGGHHH!

"Oh would you look at that, are you angry little one?" Baeki asked him with a mocking tone in her voice.

"Ming Bae Ki! I don't think it's wise to antagonize the weird dude in a black armor who seems to be able to match us blow for blow." I said to Baeki as I hunkered down behind my shield, keeping my eyes on the guy, in case he should make any moves apart from floating in the air and looking angry.

"I don't care if he feels antagonized. There's only one thing that's for sure, I'm going to fuck him up so hard that his mama won't recognize him."

And then Baeki shot towards him, her speed twice what he or I was capable of. He charged towards her, meeting her charge head on, only for him to run into a giant fist, made from fire. The fiery punch? Threw him backwards and away from sight, but at that moment, I totally forgot about the last ship. Not until it fired of a beam of energy that slammed straight into Baeki's chest. Since I was standing behind her, I thought she had brushed it off, and there was not much power behind the strike, but when she started falling from the sky with a hole in her chest, I knew then, that we had fucked up.