Chapter 191: At least we’ll be together

Chapter 191: At least we’ll be together

Things were getting, in a word, ridiculous.

The giant and his minions seemed pretty much unkillable. One of the smaller elementals had actually managed to catch Mason and knock him slightly dazed. At which point Mason had run off and entirely regenerated. Now they were back to running around uselessly again, and Mason was getting pretty ready to change things up.

On one of his many passes, he altered his trajectory, ran right up to the old druid, and gave a screaming Predator's Strike with his longer blade on the silver chain. He created a slightly green spark, but not a dent, earning a somewhat lazy and entirely too slow swipe from the giant, which he easily dodged.

"Any bloody ideas?" he yelled as he ran by the old druid.

"I'm sorry..." the old man wiped at his eyes, kneeling now by the giant's foot. "There's nothing...I shouldn't have asked...there's nothing..."

Mason was starting to think he needed back up like the nymphs once told him, though he wasn't sure who had the firepower to actually hurt this thing. Maybe it was a matter of speed—enough damage incoming he couldn't put himself back together. The only other option seemed to be to dig down and get that glowing little heart. But how the hell...

The giant growled and stomped, sending another crack fracturing through the earth. If that meant more bloody elementals Mason was getting pretty close to just turning around and...

Fire erupted from the opening chasms. And lava. Lovely, Mason thought, as he realized the cracks weren't entirely random. They seemed to be forming something of a triangle trying to trap him in.

"Streak," he called, then ran for one of the smaller cracks and leapt over it to escape. The wolf got the idea and jumped over rather lazily behind. Lava expanded out of the crevasse but at least didn't get far.

For someone who couldn't move so fast and jump so far, it would have been a decidedly bad situation, but didn't much frighten Mason.

Still, he was getting nowhere. He supposed he could try and dump the giant into one of the cracks in the earth, but the druid chained to his leg wouldn't exactly be 'saved'.

A terrible thought entered his mind that maybe ‘saving’ the druid meant just killing him, saving him from the terrible punishment. But Mason refused to do that, unless the old man asked. But better not to plant the idea in his head.

He decided it was worth one hail mary attempt at cutting into the giant's torso. The huge creature was big and slow and probably couldn't reach its back, so if Mason could hang on maybe he could just dig his damn way through. If not, he told himself he'd leave, and come back with more help. And maybe after more power.

Apparently, it had re-arranged, and reversed itself. Mason felt the danger before he saw the arms coming. He unsummoned his swords and tried to drop, but the huge stone hands caught him first, one seizing his arm.

In a panic he summoned his Claw and tried to cut his way out, but the giant's fingers were too thick and too strong. They held him fast.

[Duality of Strength activated]

"Work faster," Mason groaned as the giant tried to grab his other arm, then gave up and smashed him with its fist. It was like being hit by a truck. Mason's vision darkened and he tasted blood, still pulling as he felt his arms gaining strength. He watched the giant's fist pull back and ram towards him again.

He roared and lifted his legs, bracing to catch the thing. And succeeded. Sort of.

His own knee smashed into his face before the force stopped, the world exploding again with something like stars as pain took over Mason's head. But he knew he couldn't delay, couldn't stop pulling. He roared in trapped rage, yanking with all his increasingly inhuman might.

But still the giant was stronger. The world spun as Mason was lifted and swung at the earth. He felt his arm dislocate as he smashed into the dirt, agony and unconsciousness warring before he saw the giant lifting a foot.

"I'm sorry," he heard the druid weeping as he watched from his knees. "I'm sorry. But at least we'll be together. I'm sorry."

Mason scrambled to get under the giant’s fist before the foot landed, but his arm just wouldn’t move, and his body felt slow, and sluggish. Mason pulled and twisted to break free, feeling like he was trapped in an hourglass as the sand covered him from above. He heard the air whistling above him like a bomb dropped in some cartoon.

Then the giant's foot struck.

Mason didn’t feel much pain. He clung to consciousness as he yanked and clawed at the dirt, only a tiny circle of green and brown remaining in the pool of darkness that was his vision.

He focused on it with all his attention, and still he pulled and fought, nothing left in his mind but the endless will to live, to fight, to win.

A metallic ringing jangled near his ears, a swinging chain like a swaying snake moving past his eyes. It was the last thing he heard.