Xaren instead unched a fireball at the giant’s hands, and the explosion on impact succeeded in shaking its trajectory and making him nearly drop his hammer due to the heat.

  ‘Perhaps I try to heat the hammer and make it too hot?’

  For a moment Xaren sidered that, but when the giant turowards him, he quickly dismissed that idea.

  The room acious, but its limits quickly became apparent as the giant covered half its length in just three strides. His enormous hammer swung through the air with crushing force.

  But rather thareat, Xaren propelled himself forward, using his fmes as jet boosters to close the gap.

  The giant’s hammer was at least 3 metres long, and though it had long reach, that strong point only applied when there was some distance from the oppo.

  If you closed the distaheack range became limited, and the attack speed would also drop. And even more, if the on was that long hammer. It was impossible to grab it shortly and fight.

  The giant noticed Xaren’s i and swung his hammer, sweeping it high to prepare for the possibility of Xaren jumping, but the giant couldn’t be prepared for Xaren’s gravity magic.

  Xaren threw his lightened body into the air and he flew higher than the hammer, feeling it rip the air right under his feet.

  The giant needed a few seds to retrieve the hammer, and Xaren only had those few seds to attack.

  He poured magic power into his Ruo amp up the damage of his bck fmes, nding on the hammer’s handle and then using it as a boost to dash into the air.

  However, the giant was not as dumb as Xaren had thought he was earlier.

  Seeing Xaren’s ining sword, the gia go of his hammer and swung his fists that became free, blog Xaren’s attack with his magicased fist.

  **BAMM!!!

  Xaren was blown back by the giant’s powerful strength, sent flying towards the ground with force while the other demons fired crossbow bolts and magic at its outstretched right hand, trying to damage it and prevent the giant from pig the hammer again.

  The giant lowered his posture and swung his left hand, geing a force that blew away some of the arrows fired at it, diverting their trajectories.

  He then reached out towards the fallen Xaren and grabbed him before the grey-skinned demon could get to his feet.

  Lightning cracked through the air with a deafening roar, striking the giant’s massive hand just as he reached for Xaren.

  The surge of magic power forced the giant to let go, but it wasn’t a gentle release.

  “You wanna save him! Here!”

  With a snarl, the giant flung Xaren’s body through the air as if he were a ragdoll, hurling him directly towards the demon who had cast the lightning spell.

  The demon’s eyes widened in shock, their hand twitg as they had been readying another bolt, but Xaren's rapidly approag form forced them to cel the spell.

  Xaren crashed into them mid-air, and the two tumbled to the ground in a heap, the force of the collision knog the wind out of both.

  Carack saw the giant motioning towards them and sprang into a to divert his attention. With a sharp yell, the fire demo into the air, fmes igniting around his body.

  He twisted mid-flight and smmed his bzing fists into the giant’s back with an impact that khe giant’s head forward, f a guttural roar from its throat as he stumbled.

  “You fire rat!”

  The giant’s eyes bzed with fury, and he spun around, his massive hand reag for the Warhammer once more.

  His thick fingers ed around the handle, and with a mighty swing, he brought the on crashing down toward the demons. Two demons tried to dodge, but the swing was too fast.

  The hammer ected with their bodies, smashing them into the stone wall with a siing thud. Their bodies crumpled to the ground, unmoving.

  Lunging towards a third demon, the gia his fist barrelling through the air like a battering ram. The demon narrowly dodged, rolling to the side as the giant’s punch cracked the floor where they had just stood.

  Carack aimed for the giant’s hand which was gripping the hammer and threw another punch. His fmes exploded on tact, searing the giant’s flesh and f him to drop the on with a loud noise as it hit the ground.

  But before Carack could follow up with atack, an arrow shot through the air, its tip embedding itself deep into Carack’s shoulder.

  He staggered back, clutg the wound as the pain spread through his body. The arrow had e from an elven archer hiding who was fighting the other demons, interrupting what could have been a decisive blow against the giant.

  The gia out a botling roar that echoed through the fortress walls as his massive hand ched around the Warhammer once more.

  His fiery red eyes bzed with fury, and his voied like thunder as he turned his gaze toward the demons engaged in battle with the elves.

  "Useless long ears! It's just five demon rats and 12 of you are struggling!"

  Without waiting for a respohe giant surged forward, hammer in hand, barrelling toward the demons like a battering ram.

  His powerful legs sent tremors through the ground with each step, and as he reached the group, he swung his colossal hammer in a wide arc.

  The demons scattered without hesitation, barely evading the crushing blow that sent shockwaves through the entire fortress upon its collision with the ground. The grouh them cracked and buckled uhe sheer force of the impact, dust and debris erupting into the air as a deep fissure split the floor.

  An elf, pale and trembling, shouted desperately at the giant.

  "Careful, you brute! You'll destroy the fortress!"

  The giant whipped his head toward the elf, his eyes narrowing in pt as he bellowed.

  "Shut up! I'll smash these rats how I see fit!"

  Ign the elf’s warnings, the giant raised his hammer again, swinging it toward the demon. His attacks were wild aless, each blow shaking the ground and sending shards of stone flying.

  The demons darted and dodged, keeping just ahead of the giant’s attacks as they struggled to find an opening.

  One demon, qui his feet and seizing the moment, spotted the giant's wounded khe ohey had attacked right after the giant had ehe room.

  With a burst of speed, the demon dashed behind the giant and drove his bde into the back of the wounded joint. The bde bit deep, and a pained howl escaped the giant's throat as his leg buckled beh him, f him down onto one knee.

  The other demons didn’t waste the opportunity and rushed in from all sides, sshing and bashing at the giant’s legs.

  Some targeted the hand holding the Warhammer, but the giant roared and puhem with his other hand, sending them flying.

  **BOOM!!!

  Fmes and lightning hit the giant’s shoulders at the same time and the giant cursed and forced himself to his feet, gripping his hammer with both hands and moving to swing it.

  “Gravity!”

  “?!”

  Xaren’s yell echoed in the giant’s ears and immediately, the giahe weight of his hammer double.

  Though the giant knew Xaren had done something, he had to attack Carack who was gathering demoniergy for a powerful attack so he poured more strength into his arms, determio lift it despite the doubled weight.

  His muscles bulged, veins pulsing visibly as he forced the heavy on upward. But just as the hammer began to rise, Xaren inversed his gravity manipution.

  With all the extra force the giant had beeing, the sudden lighthrew him off bance. His arms shot up too quickly, the hammer flying up above his head with far too muentum.

  Staggering backwards, the giant’s eyes widened in shock as he lost trol of his on. The Warhammer arced wildly through the air, spinning as if weightless.

  “CLEAR OUT!!!”

  Carack shouted and the demons jumped with all their might, avoiding the fall of the hammer that bashed into the ceiling and then crashed down ba the ground with a deafening ‘boom’.

  It smashed onto the stone floor with great force, squashing three elves us weight and shattering the ground, sending a shockwave through the fortress.

  If they weren’t on the ground floor, then they would have broken through the grouh them by now.

  The giant cursed under his breath, his footing now promised, and in that brief moment of imbahe demons seized the opportunity.

  They rushed ba, ung attacks on the giant’s body, aiming for his arms and legs.

  Disarmed he may be, the giant’s arms and legs were ons in their ht, so he coated them in magic power to increase their durability before taking wide swings at the demons.

  He punched oh enough force to send blood spraying from the demon’s mouth and was about to throw in a sed attack when Carack, his shoulder still bleeding from the earlier arrow, leapt into the fray.

  With fmes dang around his fists, he aimed for the giant’s weakened knee and struck, f the giant who’d beeing to his feet back down on one knee.

  The giant howled in pain and frustration and in that moment, Xaren charged forward.