The ground shattered, giving way to a rock giant that rose from beneath the earth. It stood fifty meters tall and wide, and on the back of its neck was the tree to which Ebony clung for her life.

  “Hold on tight, miss, this won’t be easy.”

  “At least warn me, idiot, I almost fell.”

  Beneath the giant remained an enormous circular hole left by the absence of its body, which had once been part of the ground. Right there, five hooded figures were left injured.

  “Perfect, just the way I like it. Well done, old man, let’s see who’s bigger then,” said the masked leader as he placed his hand in front of his mask, a magic circle glowing on the back of it.

  {{Blood Magic: Flesh Puppets}}

  “Listen up, useless vessels! From now on I don’t care if your bones break or if you die right here, break your limits!… Cage formation!” the leader shouted, his voice amplified by magic.

  The injured hooded figures immediately stood up, paying no attention to the pain or their wounds. They climbed out of the hole in the ground and began surrounding the giant.

  “That summon only lasts five minutes, stay away from it and let it tire itself out,” ordered the masked mage.

  At the giant’s head stood the elf, his sword embedded in the rock, and after letting out a whistle, his summon began to move, striking the ground to crush the nearby cultists.

  With every blow, several hooded figures were injured, but then a sphere of water slammed into the giant’s arm.

  “Where are you looking, big guy?” said the masked leader from the top of a tree, before reciting a spell as black water began to coil around the blade of his sword.

  {{Water Magic}}

  {{Black Sword: Corrupt Blessing}}

  “Let’s see if this is your size, old man,” he shouted mockingly.

  He began swinging his weapon, and with each movement, high-pressure water splashed from the sword like long-range slashes.

  The elf was forced to order the giant to attack the mage, but the man leapt from tree to tree, keeping his distance as he continued attacking.

  The remaining eight cultists, lacking any will of their own, drove black iron stakes into the ground where magic circles appeared.

  These magical weapons allow normal people like cultists to cast spells only once, or amplify the spells of real mages.

  Magic overflowed at each point, cracks forming in the ground that glowed with a purple hue as they spread toward the giant.

  “Miss, I don’t think I introduced myself properly earlier,” the elf said calmly as the cracks were only a few meters away from reaching the living stone.

  “But why does that matter now? That spell they used will immobilize us if it reaches us, do something!” the girl shouted.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  In the next instant, the giant leapt with monstrous force. Ebony didn’t stop screaming as they rose until they nearly touched the clouds. At the peak, the elf spoke.

  “My name is Lucian Kul-Raz, a proud elf of the Emerald Grove. A pleasure to meet you, Miss Visitor.”

  “You’re insane, we’re going to die if we fall from this height!”

  He looked at her with a confident smile as he chanted one final song. At that moment, he pulled his sword free from the giant’s surface.

  {{Sleeping Giant: Last Breath}}

  Green-glowing cracks spread across the entire rocky body, and in an instant it exploded, scattering its debris like a rain of stone that was about to blanket the entire forest.

  “Damn old man, everyone take cover!” the masked man shouted.

  “(Let’s see if this is your size, kid)” Lucian thought as he pressed his palms together, magic circles appearing on every fragment of the giant.

  {{Spirit Magic: Spirit Fire}}

  In the midst of the fall, every piece of debris, large or small, ignited in green flames.

  “(This would be an amazing view… if I weren’t in the middle of a rain of fire, stupid pointy-eared idiot!)” Ebony thought as she screamed in terror.

  “Calm down now, I won’t let anything happen to you,” Lucian corrected her as he formed a gesture with his fingers. Immediately after, the tree Ebony was clinging to began to change.

  {{Forest Summoning: Bird Basket}}

  The wood warped and intertwined around Ebony until it formed a sphere woven from thick branches that protected her.

  Moments later, the rain of fire and earth crashed into the ground, shattering the terrain amid deafening explosions.

  A few minutes passed before Ebony emerged from the rubble, safe and unharmed.

  When she looked around, everything was a flaming disaster, yet the fire did not affect the trees or her, only their enemies.

  But victory did not come. The leader of their enemies emerged from the debris near Ebony. His body was injured, his clothes were burning, and his broken mask revealed his right eye, glowing red.

  “Damn old man, damn girl… damn thieves!... I’ll complete my fucking mission even if I have to extinguish this life.”

  He then tore off the clothing from his waist up, revealing a magic circle tattooed in the center of his chest.

  “Hey, bastard… just die already!” shouted the elf as he emerged from the rubble. He still held his sword, but his body was wounded and his magic nearly depleted.

  “That’s the plan, immortal idiot.”

  Without hesitation, the masked man stabbed his own chest with a black iron dagger. At that moment, the tattooed circle began to glow. Pain and magic surged through the mage’s body as he screamed in agony.

  {{Dark Magic: Summoning; Lord of a Thousand Poisons}}

  Dark magic filled the air. The energy was so dense that small rocks began to levitate, and a terrifying presence pressed down on Lucian and Ebony’s chests. Their bodies stopped responding, they couldn’t even scream, only stare.

  “(So this is how I die… without having done anything… No… not like this.)”

  Ebony bit her lip hard until it bled. The pain snapped her out of the trance and allowed her to move, step by step, toward her enemy.

  “If I have to die, I’ll die, if I have to lose, I’ll lose… but I won’t miss a single fucking strike ever again!” the blonde girl shouted as she clung to her courage.

  When she reached the masked man, the dagger flew out of his chest, revealing a face black as tar trying to emerge from the open wound. Every instinct screamed at Ebony to run, but with all her courage and rage, she unleashed a direct punch to the monster’s face.

  A golden flash illuminated the area so intensely that the girl was forced to close her eyes.

  When Ebony regained her sight, the masked man lay face down on the ground, and the terrifying presence had vanished.

  She couldn’t believe it. She had done it. She screamed to the sky, celebrating her victory over fear. It was her moment… or so she thought.

  “What was that? That’s impossible,” said the elf in shock.

  For a second, Ebony believed her power had been so impressive that it had even frightened the elf. Nothing could have been further from the truth.

  “What the fuck?” shouted the masked man, the elf, and even the girl.

  Because the man in the mask, the enemy who had tried to kill them even at the cost of his own life, was there, lying on the ground without a single wound or scar.

  Yes, Ebony had healed him with her magic.