Oath

Everyone remains motionless at the sight of a rock giant, as most of their time spends motionless in mountains or forests.

"Why doesn't anyone answer? I asked if you are responsible for all that noise." The giant of the rocks was clearly annoyed by the uproar that Asteri and his companions were causing.

Everyone is silent, not knowing what to answer. Asteri did not want to do anything rash, after all the giant in front of them had such strength that the boy is unable to analyze.

"So you're forcing me ..." The giant raises both arms, moves faster than expected, slams them to the ground.

From that strong blow a shock wave spreads from the subsoil, reaching the two groups facing each other. Asteri immediately ran to the princess, protecting her in her arms. Beatrix was shocked, but she immediately returned to normal ... or almost, counting that Asteri's scent and touch were wonderful and tempting.

Everyone warns of what is about to happen, even if they are not aware of it.

The shock wave caused no damage, not even an iota of destruction. But after a few seconds they were all attacked by spikes of rock that came out of the ground. They were all in great danger, as these spikes were very fast and after exiting the ground they immediately retreated underground and then succeeded in a different spot. They were practically attacked from all directions.

Lanola had a hard time dodging, but with great effort she managed to dodge every peak. Allatu and Betty had serious problems trying to avoid the spikes, in fact some of them managed to scratch their skin, causing them to bleed. The three weakest pursuers were unable to continuously dodge, so they were impaled. On the other hand, the leader of the pursuers had managed to dodge almost all the spikes, but with a hole in the thigh. A spike had managed to pierce it.

Even Asteri was not doing well, if he had been alone he would have got away with a few scratches, but having the princess in his arms he had to try to triple her abilities.

"Argh." Eventually one of the spikes pierced his right shoulder, without even paying too much attention to the wound, he checked the condition of the princess, luckily she Beatrix didn't even have a scratch.

The princess had her eyes closed so as not to see what was happening.

Suddenly the giant ceased its attack. The leader of the pursuers did not miss the opportunity, he started to run away, even though his speed had slowed down due to the injury.

'I must first distance myself so that he can consume a healing potion.' The pursuer had already devised an escape plan, but unfortunately he had no escape routes.

"Useless." The giant said only this, as he put his hand on the ground. From the ground where the pursuer was running, a hand of rock came out, capturing him.

"Nooooo, free me stupid rock." The pursuer tried to free himself from the grip of the hand, but it was all in vain. The hand tightened more and more on the pursuer.

* Crack *

"AAAARRRRGHHH." The pursuer's bones break from too much pressure, desperate screams come out of his mouth, along with his blood.

Eventually, the hand finally crushes the pursuer creating a mess of guts, bones and blood.

"Now it's your turn ..." The giant, indifferent to the brutal death of the pursuer, looks at Asteri's group.

Lanola prepares for battle, Betty and Allatu do the same, but everyone knows they have no chance of winning against the giant.

'Even with the use of [Astral Empowerment], I cannot change the situation we are in. The only alternative is to talk.' Asteri wanted to use everything he could think of to save everyone from this situation.

"Giant of the rocks, wait!" The giant of the rocks, attracted by Asteri's call, turned his gaze to the boy. "It was not our intention to disturb you from sleep."

"That part is just one of the reasons I'm angry, if your fight had continued you would have damaged the nature around us, who are my friends." The rock giant was an elemental, so it was normal for him to get angry if someone harmed the environment around him.

"I am aware of your nature, but our purpose was only to pass here, not to fight. But unfortunately we have been attacked by these pursuers." Asteri hit a dead pursuer with his foot. "But with your intervention you saved us, for this we thank you from the bottom of our hearts".

"Mhh." The giant looks thoughtful, pondering what he should do.

"Giant, we know your species can perpetrate if individuals have evil intentions against nature ... what does your instincts suggest about us?" Lanola also knows the nature of giants.

"I don't actually perceive unnatural evil intentions on your part, but I could also be wrong is that you are very adept at hiding your true nature." The giant was still not entirely convinced by the group's words.

"You're not completely wrong, but we have no reason to damage a single tree in this forest. If you don't believe us, tell me what we have to do to convince you." Asteri couldn't help but hope the giant would let them go, even on one condition that was fine.

"Okay, I'll let you go. But first you have to swear." The giant approaches the group, with a heavy and moderate pace.

Now that he was closer, Asteri could clearly see his height. It is estimated that he was about five meters tall and two meters wide. Asteri stepped forward, even though he had a bleeding shoulder, he was ready for any eventuality. Giving the girls time to escape was worth something.

"You are enough to take the oath." The giant talks to Asteri, he begins to move his hand towards the boy's head. The women were concerned that the giant might make a sneaky move. Asteri unlike them was not worried in the least, he knew that giants were not creatures capable of doing things like that, so he puts himself at the giant's mercy.

The giant's finger touches Asteri's forehead. From that touch, a blue light was created at the point of contact between the forehead and the finger. Two seconds later the giant retracts his finger, the oath has been made.

"We are done, you have accepted the oath, so if ever nature or earth is in danger and the elements invoke your support, you will have to respond ... if you do not, the Elemental Furies will come for you." The giant gave Asteri a clear warning.

"I understand, if that time comes, I will come to the rescue of nature." Asteri had no problem helping the elements in the event of a major event.

"I'll take care of your wound before I go." The giant noticed that Asteri was turning white from blood loss. The boy didn't point it out, but he was in pain.

All the girls were worried, especially Beatrix, as she believed herself responsible for Asteri's injury.