FVN Chapter 141: The King of Giants
Chapter 141: The King of Giants
"What is that thing, anyway?" Nova wondered.
Finn kept his eyes on the enigmatic object on the pedestal, "I think it has something to do with the door–maybe a key to moving ahead."
"Positive?" Jasper asked.
"Assassin's hunch," Finn answered, keeping track of the rotating, sharp lines of metal while placing his hand close.
Charlotte worriedly watched, "Be careful, Finn."
"I know–I'm just figuring out the rhythm to this thing," he said, not looking away for a moment.
Like a cat watching its prey, he waited with his hand raised, cementing the pattern in his mind before–he swiped his hand through.
"Got it–" He claimed.
As soon as he managed to grab the sphere, he released a breath as the others let out sighs of relief of their own.
"Nice work, mate–" Jasper said.
Just as the knight tried to place his hand on the assassin's shoulder, the compact room shook as the floor itself seemed to adjust beneath their feet. Like a jigsaw puzzle, the stone tiles lifted and lowered, moving left-to-right, swapping spaces.
"Haah–?!" Charlotte reacted.
Finn stumbled, bumping into the pedestal as he looked around, "Hey–!"
There was no chance to get another word out before the colossal, bronze doors behind them slammed shut, trapping them in the shifting space.
"It's changing! The room—it's changing!" Jasper called out.
In the panic of the sudden change, Finn found the sealed doors on either side unmoving, though the floor seemed to continuously rumble and shift.
"It's an elevator," Finn quietly remarked upon realization.
"What?" Charlotte asked.
"It's an elevator—I don't understand how it's operating, but we're being transported down," Finn claimed while balancing himself.
Each piece of the sealed room reconfigured itself constantly while the grinding of stone hummed. He could feel it in his gut that the chamber was lowering.
"It's a trap, isn't it?!" Nova asked.
"Maybe—just be ready!" Finn told them.
After enough humming along the sound of stone grinding and shifting around, the downward motion came to a stop. It was a jarring shift that rumbled the entirety of the primordial elevator, forcing them each to catch their balance.
"It stopped?" Charlotte questioned.
There was no opportunity to catch one's breath as the unopened door opened itself by retracting metal plates. It opened itself into a vast, dim chamber.
Finn stepped out from the unorthodox elevator as the others followed, careful and cautious as to what the room may be.
"So dark...Use that light thingy, Finn!" Nova begged.
"Ah?--" Charlotte reacted.
As he landed with the woman, crashing to the side of the tiles of mossy stone, the pathway to the throne was left cleaved through by the azure light.
"Gotcha," Finn said, breathing out as he stood up, lending a hand down to the spellblade.
Charlotte nodded, accepting the hand as she was quickly helped to her feet, "Thanks."
"Just stay on your toes. This guy is probably full of tricks–when it comes to magic users, there's really no way to tell the depths of their arsenal," Finn claimed.
In the near distance, the pillar-sword of light dispersed back into the golden staff as the unspoken king stood in the same spot. The way that the figure stood there irked the assassin, as though those silver eyes said "That was my greeting."
Before another weaving of magic could be conjured, he set his sights on the robed king as the staff glistened again.
["Blink Slash"] [2:59]
He crossed a hundred meters in an instant, placing himself face-to-face with the Old King, who was easily twice his height. In the same moment, he dragged his blade across the side of the sable-skinned being's neck, though the collision felt like he slashed at solid steel.
'Seriously?--' He thought.
As he slipped by, the assassin spun himself around as he found the cloth of the Old King's robe cut where the strike landed, though only a light scrape was left. It didn't make sense to him how a caster could be that tough, having to correct his logic that followed games a bit too much.
The staff was slammed down with a wave of cerulean light, bringing the assassin to quickly toss his blade back towards his allies.
["Blade Warp"] [Mana: -100] [1900/3000]
—He caught his blade a safe distance away as his boots slid across the stones. The impact of the Old King's staff against the ground conjured a field of ivory spikes around the mage's position.
'...Good timing. I would've been skewered,' Finn thought.
For the moment, he stayed his distance, regrouping with the others.
One of the knelt statues of cracked marble was used for cover, granting at least a brief respite. He looked at the others, seeing that they were rattled by what the Old King had shown thus far.
"How do we even get close to that guy? Magic like that is just cheating, mate," Jasper remarked.
"Even if we do...It looked like it wasn't easy to hurt him," Charlotte said, looking at the assassin.
Finn exhaled, tightening his gloves as he nodded, "He's tough, yeah. It's going to be hard to get a good hit in."
"Didn't that book say giants were adverse to magic? What's the deal with this guy, anyway?" Jasper asked.
"I'm not sure, but it doesn't change that we're here right now—that's the reality of it," Finn answered.
As they spoke, the colossal statue quaked as an array of projectiles blasted into it from the other side.
"I'll try and keep his attention on me. Just give him hell for me, yeah?" Jasper offered.
"In that case...I'll support you with my singing, then. I can make sure you don't tire out," Nova added, looking at the knight.
Finn liked the proposal, though finding the time to discuss their plans being reduced quickly as the monument shook, "Alright. Charlotte, you're with me then."
"Mhm, I'm ready," Charlotte nodded.