To Stagger a Colossus

The giant snapped the metal frame in two with relative ease. Then, the giant crouched and leapt, his massive body hurtling toward Xaren like a living meteor. 

Xaren's instincts screamed at him to move, and his body was even faster. He lightened his body with gravity magic and jumped with all his strength, pushing himself to his limits. But even his enhanced speed wasn't enough. 

The giant landed with a seismic crash, the sheer shockwave of his landing rippling outward like a bomb. Xaren was caught in the blast, his body flung like a ragdoll through the air. He smashed through several walls, each impact driving a sharp jolt of pain through his body. 

Dust and rubble settled around him as he lay amidst the wreckage. His entire body throbbed with pain and blood trickled from fresh wounds.

Yet, despite the pain, he refused to pass out—his Tenacity skill forced him to remain conscious. 

Just like how a cockroach would remain alive and try to run even after being kicked into a wall, Xaren pushed himself to his feet and leapt to the side to avoid the giant's crushing hand that came for him.

But before the blow could land, Bjorn charged in from the side. 

"Tordenklør!"

Bjorn bellowed, his voice echoing as his fists, surrounded by crackling lightning, collided with the back of the giant's hand. 

The impact should have been devastating, but in the split second before Bjorn's punch connected, the giant's hand was coated in a dense layer of aura. The rebounding force sent Bjorn flying backwards, crashing into the ground with a grunt. 

The giant snapped his gaze towards Bjorn, raising his foot, but Ilya dashed forward in a blur, grabbing Bjorn and moving out just before the massive foot came crashing down. 

The ground quaked from the impact, but Ilya had already leapt to safety, landing several meters away.

From another angle, flames erupted, licking the giant's side and drawing his attention. The giant turned to Carack who poured flames from his hands, but before he could retaliate, Kravok appeared from behind, his Warhammer raised overhead.

**BAAMM!!

The heavy weapon smashed into the back of the giant's head with a resounding crack, eliciting a roar of pain and anger. 

The giant stumbled slightly as Kravok used the momentum to vault off its head, landing on a pile of rubble some distance away. 

Other demons joined the fray, their attacks coming in bursts. Arrows flew, daggers slashed, and spells of varying potency were hurled at the giant, keeping him from focusing entirely on one target. 

The giant roared and raised his hand to swat away some of the attackers, but Xaren focused his magic on the limb and doubled its weight.

Caught off guard, the giant's swing slowed noticeably, creating a brief opening which allowed the other demons to strike at it.

Swords slashed, claws tore, and a spear pierced deep into the flesh of the giant's hand, causing dark red blood to spurt from the wound. 

The giant howled in pain, shaking his massive arm violently to dislodge the attackers. Xaren attempted to weigh the arm down again, but the giant wasn't caught off guard again.

He infused his entire arm with aura, negating the gravity magic entirely and the backlash from the failed attack hit Xaren like a hammer, sending a sharp jolt of pain through his body. 

The giant's eyes darted around, finally spotting Xaren in the shadow of a collapsing building. Throwing his fist forward, he unleashed a shockwave that raced towards the grey-skinned demon, forcing him to jump away as fast as he could.

But the giant didn't stop there.

He launched into a barrage of attacks, his fists punching the air in rapid succession, sending tremors through the air that forced Xaren to stay light on his feet.

Kravok saw an opening and charged, swinging his Warhammer with all his might at the giant's back. The strike landed with a resounding thud, but the giant's body shimmered with aura, deflecting the blow with ease. 

The giant turned his head slightly, an annoyed grunt escaping him as Kravok's hammer rebounded harmlessly off his back. 

Kravok was sure the giant intended to punch him out of the air, but suddenly, the giant's body jerked to the side, as though an invisible force had gripped him.

Turning his massive body, the giant spotted Ilya, her sword glowing with elven runes that amplified her wind magic which pulled the giant's hulking form.

"Annoying…" The giant growled, before leaping to close the distance between them in a heartbeat, his immense form blotting out the sun as he bore down on Ilya.

His palm swung down like a falling boulder, aiming to crush her outright, but Ilya jumped to the side to avoid it.

She kicked off a nearby building and vaulted onto the giant's hand, dashing up his arm as fast as the wind and leaving cuts into the giant's thick skin.

Though shallow, the cuts left blood spattering from the wounds, staining the giant's arm in streaks of crimson. 

"Enough of this!"

The giant roared, raising his other hand to swat her away, but as the massive hand descended, Ilya leapt off the giant's arm.

The giant's hand struck his own arm with a heavy slap, a grunt of irritation escaping him as he smacked only empty air. 

Just then, Bjorn descended from above like a thunderbolt, his leopard fist glowing with lightning as he punched down on the giant's crossed arms.

The shock rippled through the air, forcing the giant's muscles to strain and in that same moment, Kravok darted in low and struck the back of the giant's knee with his Warhammer.

The blow made the giant's leg buckle slightly, causing him to stagger for the first time.

The surrounding demons seized the moment, charging in with weapons and magic, hoping to capitalize on the giant's stumble. 

But the giant wasn't going down that easily. 

He spun around with terrifying speed, his leg sweeping through the air in a massive kick. 

Kravok managed to leap away just in time, but the demons who followed weren't so lucky. The giant's kick ploughed through them like a battering ram, sending a cluster of bodies hurtling into the ruins of a collapsed building. 

"Scatter!"

Xaren shouted, and the core group—him, Ilya, Bjorn, Carack, and Kravok—immediately leapt in different directions.

The giant's gaze followed them, his eyes noting each of their movements as he deliberated who to go after.

'The wind girl. The telekinesis and Warhammer boys. Those three need to go…'

Sweeping his hand through the air, the giant grabbed a handful of smaller demons nearby. His aura condensed into his grip, crushing them instantly as his eyes locked onto Xaren's figure.

"The one with telekinesis needs to go first."

The giant crouched and then lunged, his 20-metre frame barrelling toward Xaren with unstoppable force. 

Seeing the sudden shadow cast over him, Xaren's heart pounded, his gravity magic already covering his body as he prepared to dodge.

But before the giant could attack, his body jerked to a halt and he bent backwards to avoid a stream of flames that came from his side.

Turning towards the source, his expression twisted into annoyance. More demons were coming, their numbers swelling, their attacks converging from all sides.

Unsurprisingly Ilya, Carack, Bjorn and Kravok are not the only level 90+ demons around. There were others, they were just in another part of the city.

They also weren't the only ones who had figured that this was some sort of test after seeing the Low-Rank demons doing nothing but hovering in the sky and watching them.

These other Level 90+ demons watched from afar to gauge the threat. But now, seeing the giant bleed and Xaren's group hold their ground, they joined in.

Having realised it was a test, they weren't about to let Xaren and his companions steal all the glory—or the spoils. 

The flame demon who attacked first hurled a torrent of fire towards the giant's face and another, wielding a lightning spear charged in low, aiming for the giant's knee.

A third struck from above, unleashing a hail of dark magic arrows that rained down like a storm. 

The giant growled, his aura surging as he deflected the attacks. He swung his arms to bat away the flames, shatter the spear mid-strike and block the arrows with his forearm.

But even at his level, he couldn't fend off the attacks from around 10 Level 90+ demons at the same time, especially when surrounded.

A blade of wind magic cut through his shoulder, shallow but enough to draw blood. A spinning chain whipped around his arm, leaving a streak of red. Another blow, a hammer this time, slammed into his side, forcing him to take a step back as blood spattered onto the ruins. 

"Gnats!"