Dungeon Raider System

The two hunters charged at the feet of the giant with the intention of bringing it down or at least stalling it even for just one second in order to save their companions who were getting slaughtered at a rapid pace.

Alonso knew it was probably his last moments and he regretted bringing Sancho along with him. The only reason why he didn't send him away was because that would be disrespecting the man's fighting spirit and courage he displayed by being the only one who showed up.

The lance Alonso used broke in half like last time, though now it remained jabbed on the cryptid's calf causing the giant to roar in pain. Sancho attacked the other leg, though he lacked his boss' strength and he didn't lost his weapon nor did he cause any damage, but the round bellied man held his position as best he could and although the giant managed to push him back, it wasn't without resistance.

Noticing this, Alonso also attempted to maintain his position managing to slow dawn the foul creature that but a few seconds after had been running amok. Their actions may have been foolish as they accomplished nothing but delaying the inevitable, though when the remaining men witnessed their valiant effort one by one they started to join them and it wasn't long until they reformed the Tercio formation causing the tide of the battle to shift.

Those who had lost their horses gathered together in a single group while the ones who remained mounted took laps around the giant to confuse it with their movements. Those who had escaped inside the buildings came out of hiding and opened fire at the creature from every angle causing it so much pain it started to pat itself as though he was covered with bugs.

It seemed as though the hunters had finally managed to get the upper hand when in reality nothing changed. Although they were able to cause pain, they did little to no damage and to make matters worse, their ammo was limited.

When Alonso was handed a new weapon he immediately jabbed it on the unscathed leg causing a similar injury to the one he inflicted before. The giant bellowed a pained roar that stunned the hunters for a brief second before waving its stone hatchet causing debris to be lifted in the air all round itself, though missing the annoying hunter who caused hi. Being the size of a three story building had its advantages when fighting smaller opponents, especially in large numbers, but it made targeting a single enemy way more difficult. Though that wasn't the reason why he unleashed such an open attack.

By performing a wide attack it managed to momentarily disable the hunters that surrounded him and even injure some of them, which allowed the giant to adjust its attack and aim its hatchet directly on top of Alonso who was now hitting its legs with his bare fists.

The immense hatchet arose in the air way above the town skyline and then fell down like a hammer, the only possible result being the delirious hunter becoming a blood stain in the middle of a crater. But the outcome wasn't what the giant predicted.

It didn't aim poorly nor did its weapon broke and the strength it put into the blow meant the strike couldn't possibly be deflected, though that was exactly what happened when Nika used shadowblink to appear directly in front of Alonso and parried the hatchet as if it was a plastic toy.

"A black knight!" Alonso let out a gasp as he didn't have anything else to compare Nika's current appearance to. He had faced such cryptids before, though only at the entity level and it always resulted in a stalemate given that Alonso would never break the code of chivalry.

"She's Nika." Uttered Luna who just showed up mounting on her cryptid horse.

"But that armor... it's..." Alonso attempted to rebuke.

"Uhm... tacky." Luna said.

"Tsk! One must look good to fight good." Said Nika before leaping towards the giant's chest and stabbing it with a sword made of shadows then sliding all the way down to cause the most possible damage.

The cryptid slapped its chest one second too late, though the impact caused a gust of wind that threw most hunters at a distance, but not Nika. Her shadow armor kept her completely safe from debris and it boosted her physical prowess to the next level. She felt intoxicated by that power and slashed at the cryptid at every occasion causing shallow wounds that drove the giant mad in pain, yet even after a full minute of this the cryptid refused to fall.

"Am I doing something wrong? Uriel does this exact same thing all the time but cryptids usually fall much easier." Nika grunted right before a palm strike hit the place where she had been standing a second ago.

"Your weapon is too short and you're not targeting weak spots." Luna casually informed, holding the reins of her steed so she wouldn't fall due to the debris flying around.

'He makes it look so easy, maybe I shouldn't give him so much trouble.' Nika inwardly thought, then shook her head and focused on the fight at hand once more and a grin appeared on her face. "Why didn't you say so before?"

By channeling more flux energy, Nika changed the shape of her weapon turning the two handed blade into a spear two times her height that had a curved blade on its tip. She swirled it in the air before using it the same as a pole vault athlete would, allowing her to reach the height of the cryptid's face. She used all the momentum she carried to strike the cryptid in the eye, popping it like a balloon and by the time the giant attempted to counter she had blinked to safety already.

"Just a couple more times and it's done for..." Nika said as she attempted to repeat the same move, but the cryptid burst in a bellowed laughter.

"That will not work again." It grinned before striking the ground with such force it cracked, making it too unstable for Nika to jump like that again. But what came next was even worse, the cryptid grabbed a piece of a nearby building and threw it directly towards her.

Nika slashed at it without thinking it twice, only instead of the piece of concrete she thought she slashed, a hunter lied cut in half directly in front of her.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Nika cried as she fell into a daze. The look of anguish on the man she had just cut in half was more than she could take, but then Alonso stepped in.

"It's a good thing I did not leave this place, for I can tell you that what you just destroyed is nothing but rocks. That foul thing is playing with your mind, hold your steel tight and continue fighting. I will do the same." Alonso explained at the same time he unmounted his horse and bashed at the half of the lance that was still jabbed on the cryptid, causing it to fall on its knees. "Now!"

Nika shook her doubts and followed Alonso's lead, this time taking impulse with the pole alone instead of running since the terrain had been made uneven. The tip of the shadowy spear pierced through the cryptid's eye and then its skull. Had it been a human it would have dropped dead on the spot, but the giant's skull was mostly empty and Nika's attack only blinded the giant.

Unfortunately, that didn't prevent the cryptid from catching Nika with its hand. The gigantic hand applied so much pressure she couldn't move and despite her armor being realized of flux infused shadows, cracks were starting to appear on the spiky plates.

Nika shouted in pain, yet refused to blink away as she wanted to give Alonso the chance to land the finishing strike. It was an all or nothing bet and she was currently losing. She knew she couldn't hold much longer and was about to blink away despite knowing that it would be the same as sentencing Alonso to death, but then Luna shouted.

"I will make your shadows stronger!" Luna placed herself behind the giant before activating her trait. She pointed both palms in front of her beaming a luminous beam that hit the back of the giant casting a powerful shadow in front of it.

Thanks to Luna's intervention, Nika's armor regenerated causing its spikes to pierce the cryptid's hands acting like hooks that prevented it from letting her go.

"How do you like that? Huh!?" Nika scoffed, making sure the cryptid knew its fate had been sealed.

In the end, not even after all their efforts did they manage to find their weakness, but since Alonso was able to see more than a regular hunter, he was able to find the location of the cryptid's flux orb which was precisely the place he had previously attacked with a lance on its calf.

By putting his two hands together and smashing the lance still jabbed into the cryptid's flesh with all of his strength, Alonso was able to crack the orb causing the giant an immense amount of pain and to die an agonizing death much to the joy of those who survived.

The fight had taken a toll on everyone and they couldn't fathom fighting against the remaining giants, especially if they were as strong as they one they just defeated. However, they were reluctant to leave the place until the flux orb dropped.

"You know what they say," Nika let out after lifting the mask of her shadowy helmet. "the bigger they are, the longer they take to fucking die."