Chaos

Eric felt some kind of power direct him to the right, so he changed his course, following it.

"Don't stop," he muttered under his breath, trying not to lose sight of himself as his mind was beginning to seriously hurt from the amplified desires.

He ran and ran until…

He exited the forest and found himself on some kind of field.

The first thing he observed was that the ground was perfectly, unnaturally flat.

The second thing was that the air felt heavy.

It was hard to explain, but it felt like reality itself was becoming undone by a terrifying power, and that terrifying power…

Eric raised his gaze, his eyes narrowing in horror.

A giant, a hundred meters tall, was standing and looking directly into Eric's eyes.

Eric felt like his own soul was laid bare for the giant to judge.

Gritting his teeth, he spoke,

"Hey, I came and brought company. I hope you don't mind."

*****

Aria's muscles ached as she ran with all her might. Her mind was beginning to hurt.

She was now so close to the cathedral that she felt it calling—no, demanding—that she enter it and try to liberate it.

"How much longer?" Olivia shouted, irritated.

They had battled quite a large amount of foes in their search for the cathedral, though it was probably nothing compared to what Eric was now running from.

"We're here," Aria spoke quietly as she stopped at the edge of the forest, resting her hand against a tree.

As she observed the scene in front of her, her eyes narrowed in horror and awe.

The first thing she saw was the once beautiful and pristine cathedral, standing in the middle of a large field, waiting to be cleansed of the corruption that plagued it.

The second thing she saw was a gigantic giant, more than a hundred meters tall, with its back turned to them, walking slowly toward…

Eric, who was covered in dried blood—how much of it was his own was unknown.

He was carrying his sword in his right hand and Aria's lantern in his left.

His eyes were shining brightly crimson, most likely deep in the negative effects of his sword.

He dashed proudly toward the giant, while behind him were thousands of all kinds of horrors following him with the intention to devour him.

Cursing, Aria didn't allow herself more than a moment of rest as she dug her foot into the ground and exploded forward at full force toward the cathedral.

It seemed like Eric had managed to do what he promised them.

Before, when he was telling them his plan, he had promised to distract the guardian while the two of them—Aria and Olivia—would manage to sneak into the cathedral without having to deal with the guardian.

"He isn't planning to sacrifice himself, is he?" Olivia muttered as she ran closely behind Aria.

All Aria could do now was to become a Grandmaster as soon as possible, before the worst happened.

*****

'Of all the ways to die, being chased by an army of monsters while approaching a giant of enormous proportions has to be one of the coolest ways,' Eric thought as his lips curved into a smile.

"Let's see, the moment of truth is now…" Eric muttered as he completely cast off all of his doubts to the side, with only one thing remaining on his mind.

'I will win.'

The giant opened its massive jaws and let out an ear-piercing, threatening roar.

The monsters following Eric froze for a moment—unlike him—but then they continued their chase, answering with threatening roars of their own.

It seemed they were about to battle for the right to consume Eric's soul.

Now, not only was an army of monsters on his tail, but there was also a being with the power to manipulate time and space.

His trait, 'Punching Up,' shined like it never had before.

So did 'Last Stand.'

And because the girls were running toward the cathedral with their gazes locked on Eric, so did his third trait, 'Charmed.'

Letting out an inhuman roar, Eric felt so powerful, like he could rival a god.

Planting his foot deep in the ground, he exploded forward with such speed, shattering the ground below his feet.

Despite still being far from the guardian, the giant raised its hand, making it into a fist, and then punched.

The next moment, Eric was moved—exactly where the punch was going to land in a second.

Forcing his muscles to move so fast that he felt his tendons beginning to split apart, he managed to dash just enough so the punch didn't manage to hit him.

But something else did—the shockwave of the punch was so powerful that it sent Eric falling forward, making him lose his balance.

Not waiting for him to recover, the giant opened its massive jaws, and then inside its mouth began to glow as an inferno was getting ready to be launched directly at Eric.

He couldn't dodge. This was going to be the moment and place he would died…

Until something reached the hand of the giant that was still planted on the ground, creating a small explosion.

In surprise, the giant moved its gaze, as well as its mouth, and Eric did the same.

The thousands of monsters had reached the guardian and had begun to battle with him, not wanting to let him get the soul of Eric.

The giant released the inferno that had been charging in its mouth, and the flames collided with the monsters.

Countless were burned, but countless more remained.

Making use of the moment, Eric moved. Raising his sword, he slashed with both hands for maximum power.

His sword cut through the air with a speed Eric didn't know he was capable of, hit the skin of the giant, and bounced off—not leaving even a small scratch on it.

"Fuck!" he shouted as he was sent flying again from another shockwave.

The guardian had punched again, crushing dozens of monsters below its fist.

"Eric saw the army of monsters getting closer and reaching the guardian's legs, with some beginning to climb them, while others still had their gazes set on Eric, who, despite the situation, was grinning… no, he was laughing."

"I doubt I will see something like this ever again!"

Gripping his sword tightly, he spoke firmly between his manic laughter,

"Let's see what you got!"