Shadow Slave

The Crawling Horror was not as tall as Effie and the Obsidian Giant, but it was still a titanic creature. Therefore, its vast body had obscured the giant’s view for a few moments before being struck down.

Effie used these moments to shorten the distance between her and the enemy, unseen.

By the time the enormous abomination smashed into the ground, the Obsidian Giant barely had any time to react. All he could see was a steel colossus rushing at him with great speed, her body the picture of physical excellence and perfect athletic form. The white plume of her helmet fluttered behind her like a foaming stream.

The earth quaked with each of her graceful, but thunderous strides.

Effie did not waste any time to attack.

She was unarmed, but that did not mean that she was powerless.

Leaping over the scrambling Crawling Horror, she planted her feet into the ground and grabbed the hand of the Obsidian Giant that had swatted the abomination down.

Then, leaning back, she balanced on one foot and raised her other leg, bending it at the knee, A split second later, her foot shot forward like a demolishing siege ram and delivered a devastating side-kick to the chest of the six-armed titan.

A deafening thunderclap rolled over the burning city, and an invisible shockwave tore apart the billowing smoke. The power of Effie’s kick was so harrowing that a net of cracks appeared on the black obsidian of the titan’s chest. The giant himself staggered back, his movements seeming slow because of his tremendous size.

The Obsidian Giant would have been sent flying back and toppled to the ground, flattening dozens of buildings, if not for the fact that Effie was still gripping his hand.

At the same time as the dreadful mass of the titan’s colossal body pushed him back, she growled and twisted his arm, pulling it in the opposite direction. Effie used the rebound from her kicks to her advantage, adding it to her strength and channeling terrifying strain into the obsidian.

There was a sound of cracking stone, and an ominous groan of something that should have been indestructible being torn.

In the next moment, the elbow joint of the Obsidian Giant exploded into a rain of jagged shards. They rained down like meteors, causing clouds of dust to rise into the air. Effie wrenched the titan’s arm, tearing it from the socket entirely, and then ripping it off.

Finally free of her grasp, the six-armed abomination was tossed back…

Of course, by then, he was a five-armed abomination already.

Most Importantly…

Crushing the fingers of the torn hand, Effie grasped one of the Obsidian Giant’s weapons. A colossal black mace fell snugly into her grip, and a ferocious smile twisted her lips behind the mask.

Now… she wasn’t unarmed anymore.

«Two titans?»

Her voice boomed above the ruins, making the sky tremble.

Effie took a step forward.

«One is made of stone, the other is disgusting. Neither is edible. What’s the point of your misbegotten existence?»

With that, she lunged into the forest of obsidian weapons.

The giant had already recovered from her strike and launched a barrage of attacks, his five remaining arms moving like the spokes of a gargantuan wheel.

By then, the Crawling Horror had already come to its senses. Despite the fact that the abomination had been wounded and removed from its potent defenses — the cloud of miasma and the swarm of monstrous butterflies — it was still a dreadful creature. Its enormous body deflated, and then, a tide of enormous tentacles shot from beneath it, aiming to wrap around Effie’s legs.

«Aaah! Ew!»

Caught by surprise, Effie swayed. She managed to block three of the giant’s weapons with the black mace, but two more struck her on the shoulder, sending a powerful shock through her body and producing a river of sparks as they scraped against the polished steel of her armor.

«Crap…»

The powerful tentacles of the Crawling Horror were restricting her movements, enveloping both of her legs and one arm. At the same time, the Obsidian Giant was raining blows on her from above. l?ghtnоvelcаve~c/о/m. She managed to protect her head, but her torso was being battered, the breastplate on the verge of bending inward.

The Supreme armor still held, but it had a limit, too.

Effie was a Rank above the two vile creatures, but six Classes below them. At the end of the day, though, what mattered the most… was that she simply did not have enough limbs to contend with them both!

«You… bastards!»

Growling, she tried to rip the tentacles apart with pure strength, but the spongy flesh was too slippery and elastic, She tried to break off another arm of the Obsidian Giant with a powerful strike of her mace, but to no avail three of his weapons blocked her strike, while two more crashed into her helmet. All she achieved was becoming dazed.

The situation seemed dire.

«What… to do?»

Effie growled furiously and then dismissed her helmet, as if inviting the dreadful giant to smash her skull.

And indeed, an obsidian sword instantly fell from above, aiming to slice it open.

She looked up, placing her face in the path of the gargantuan blade…

And caught it with her teeth.

A dark joy ignited in Effie’s eyes, and the corners of her mouth curled upward in a vicious grin.

Then, she tightened her jaw, shattering the obsidian blade.

The dreadful giant was left holding only a hilt. He moved, planning to bring his four remaining weapons down upon her, but at that moment, Effie looked at him, her teeth still bared in a grin.

A split second later, her lips moved, and she spat a jagged shard of the gargantuan sword at his face. The fragment of the obsidian blade was shot through the air with the speed of a supersonic missile and plunged into the giant’s eye, utterly destroying it.

Even though the titan had seven more left, he still flinched back.

That gave Effie all the time she needed, Stopping her struggle against the Crawling Horrer, who had been trying to pull her down to the ground, she suddenly kneeled and bit into the largest tentacle, tearing it apart with her teeth.

The revolting abomination let out a terrifying screech and reeled away, a river of fetid blood spilling from the severed tentacle.

Effie spat the revolting flesh out, drowning a sea of flames below in a torrent of blood, and grimaced.

«Argh, it tastes like sh… tastes like crap!»

Using the momentary weakness of the vile titan, she used her trapped arm to grab another tentacle, pulled it to her mouth, and bit it apart, as well.

Both of her arms were free.

The Obsidian Giant was already towering above, his four remaining weapons raised to crush her head.

Effie lunged forward from her kneeling position. Her shoulder collided with the titan’s abdomen, and her arms whipped around to embrace him.

Then, a bestial growl escaped from between her bloodied lips.

The armor on her back split under four devastating blows, but her Awakened Ability stopped the obsidian weapons from doing serious harm.

She mustered all of her strength, and lifted the Obsidian Giant into the air. Not too high, but just enough to rob him of any leverage. 𝒻𝓇ℯ

«And away… we… go!»

Twisting her spine, Effie bent backwards and threw the titan over herself, performing a messy suplex.

Of course, she didn’t slam the Obsidian Giant into the ground.

…She slammed him into the Crawling Horror.

The world shuddered, deep fissures opening in the cracked earth.

And by the time the two battered titans recovered…

A graceful winged shadow fell on them from above, followed by an eerie song that washed over their bodies like a crushing wave.