"Hehehe, one down," Finch chuckled wickedly.
"Cough, cough, cough. It hurts," Will weakly spoke as the dust in the arena slowly began to settle. He stood amidst the rubble of the broken wall, barely able to steady himself.
"What?" Finch exclaimed, unable to believe his eyes.
"Will! Are you alright?" Jin shouted, suddenly overjoyed.
It turned out that Will had raised his black shield just in time to block the fatal blow. Covered in dust, he stood in the wreckage of the wall, his shield—once a gift from his father—now bent and deformed from the giant's punch.
"Damn it, this was a gift from my father," Will muttered through clenched teeth, his voice faint with frustration. Stumbling out of the shattered wall, he threw the misshapen shield to the ground.
"Hmph! You think you can still block my attack without your shield?" Finch charged at Will once more, throwing a powerful punch.
"Watch out!" Jin yelled loudly.
"Boom!" A deafening sound echoed.
"What is this?" Will, eyes wide in confusion, opened them again. He had braced himself for death, but instead, a sudden earthen wall rose before him, stopping Finch's fist in its tracks.
"Will, run!" Lisa's voice rang out from behind him.
"Lisa? Is it really you? You're back on your feet?" Will turned in astonishment to see Lisa standing behind him.
"Ah, after resting for so long, I've recovered enough. You need to get out of here!" Lisa urged.
"Ah! Don't think you can escape! Damn human magic!" Finch roared, kicking the earthen wall with all his might, shattering it.
"Come on," Lisa said confidently.
"You little girl, watch how I crush you!" Finch snarled, raising his foot to stomp on Lisa.
Now fully recovered, Lisa nimbly avoided his strike with a graceful backflip as his foot crashed down where she had been moments before.
"What?" Finch exclaimed, stunned.
"Don't assume that all mages are slow and clumsy," Lisa retorted.
"Damn you! Watch me deal with you!" Finch bellowed, charging after Lisa in fury.
"I won't give you a chance," Lisa said with quiet confidence, before crouching down, placing her palm on the ground to cast a spell. She then quickly rose to her feet and began to retreat.
"Hmph, little girl, full of hot air. You're still running..." Finch taunted, giving chase.
"Boom!" The ground trembled as a massive burst of fire erupted from beneath Finch, engulfing him in a raging inferno.
"Ah! Ahhh!" Finch screamed in agony, surrounded by the flames.
"Hmph!" Lisa smirked in triumph, believing she had defeated the giant, and began walking slowly toward Will and Jin, not looking back.
"Ah! What a nuisance!" Finch's roars stopped abruptly, and, in a fit of rage, he emerged from the flames, scorched but still standing.
"What?" Will, Jin, and Lisa all exclaimed in shock.
"Ah! You'll pay for that, little girl!" Finch growled, storming towards Lisa, his hand raised to strike her in fury.
"Lisa, watch out!" Will shouted, rushing to her side and pushing her out of the way.
"Ah!" Will cried out in pain as Finch's punch landed squarely on him. The force of the blow sent Will hurtling into the arena's walls once more.
"Oh!" The audience gasped in shock.
"Tch, missed," Finch sneered.
"Will!" Lisa cried out, quickly scrambling to her feet and rushing toward him.
"He's still breathing!" Lisa sighed with relief as she knelt by Will's side, checking for signs of life. She closed her eyes and began casting a healing spell on him, trying to restore him from the damage Finch had inflicted.
"Hahaha, did you see that? The power of Finch!" Finch laughed heartily.
"Brother, are they dead?" Luke, eyes closed, asked quietly.
"No, there are still two left," Finch answered.
"I'm hungry, brother," Luke said, sounding somewhat downcast.
"Soon, there are only two left. Hehehe," Finch smiled wickedly, revealing the giant's terrifying teeth.
"Ah, time to deal with that little girl." Finch strode toward Lisa, who was still tending to Will.
'No, I need to think of something. But none of the spells I've used so far seem to have any effect on him,' Lisa thought rapidly as the giant advanced on her.
"Damn it, what should I do now?" Jin muttered to himself, frustrated, as he rifled through his pockets. His crossbow arrows were useless against the giant's tough skin.
'For now, I'll have to stall for time and think of a way,' Lisa resolved in her mind.
"Lightning Chain!" Lisa extended her hand, and a Jinen lightning bolt shot out from her palm, wrapping around the giant's legs and binding them tightly.
"Uh-oh!" The giant faltered, unable to maintain his balance, and fell to the ground with a crash.
"Ah! Useless magic!" the giant howled from the ground in fury.
At that moment, Jin quickly ran up to the giant, drawing his crossbow and taking aim at its face. Three arrows flew at the giant with remarkable speed, but they still had little effect on the giant's thick hide.
"Ah, annoying little flies!" Finch growled, braving the pain of the lightning and breaking free from the chains. Enraged, he began to charge toward Jin.
For Will and his group, stalling seemed to be the only viable strategy.
'Ice doesn't work, fire doesn't work, lightning doesn't work, and I can't use arcane magic. What should I do?' Lisa thought desperately.
"Ah..." Will, who had been lying motionless on the ground, finally stirred.
"Will! You're awake!" Lisa exclaimed.
"The giant, what's happened to it?" Will asked weakly, still struggling to regain his strength.
"Jin's keeping its attention, but... I haven't figured out a way to defeat it yet. All the spells I've tried seem to have no effect," Lisa confessed with frustration.
"Don't give up, we still have a chance," Will encouraged, pushing himself to sit up despite his weakened state.
"Don't move, you've only just woken up," Lisa tried to stop him, but Will refused.
"No, no time to waste. We're running out of it!" Will insisted, ignoring Lisa's protests and stubbornly sitting up.
"Alright," Lisa relented, seeing the determination in his eyes.
"Jin can't keep this up for much longer, he'll run out of energy soon," Will observed, looking at Jin, who was dodging the giant's attacks.
"Will, I have one more idea. But I'll need your help," Lisa said, her voice filled with resolve.
"Say it," Will replied firmly.
...
"Nowhere to run, little brat!" The giant roared, grabbing Jin as he attempted to flee, squeezing him tightly in his hand.
"Ah!" Jin screamed in pain.
"I won't make the same mistake as Luke," Finch snarled, taking Jin's crossbow and tossing it aside. Then he lifted Jin high, his massive hands closing in around him.
"I'll make your friends watch as I crush you to death," Finch sneered.
"Ice Arrow!" Lisa shot an icy arrow directly at Finch's chest. While the arrow didn't pierce the giant's thick skin, it left a thin layer of ice across his chest.
"Hahaha, these little tricks won't work, they can't hurt me," Finch mocked.
"Ahhh!" Just as Finch was mocking her, Will, with sword in hand, charged at Finch from behind Lisa.
"What?!" Finch gasped, surprised and unable to react, as he still held Jin in both hands.
Will leaped into the air with all his strength, raising his sword high and aiming directly for the giant's heart. The sword pierced through the frozen skin, cutting deeply into Finch's chest.
"Hahaha, impressive, a mere sword can pierce my body," Finch laughed, but then, with a sudden motion, he hurled Jin away and seized Will by the throat.
"But your luck's run out. Your sword's too short," Finch said, holding Will close to his face.
"Not necessarily!" Jin shouted loudly, standing firm and aiming his crossbow directly at Finch.