“Dantover Yera!”
This time, the ray struck the one of the Lake Lord’s hind legs. The spinning only made the damage worse. Unfortunately, the net also took a considerable amount of damage. In addition, that same leg was now free. Despite being injured, the Lake Lord used its free leg to pull against the net with all its might. It jerked at the net with its head and tail as it pushed against the ground with its leg.
“Dantover Yera!”
I aimed at the leg it was using to resist, since I could avoid hitting the net that way. Unfortunately, the Lake Lord saw the attack coming, and turned its body into the attack. It deliberately let me damage a huge chunk of its flesh over a wide area because it realized I would destroy part of the net along with it. After it took the attack, all it took was one mighty push, and it was free. It tumbled out of the tattered remains of the net, covered in injuries. If nothing changed, the Lord would retreat into the water. But before I could make a move, someone else did.
Seeing its longtime nemesis injured, the giant spider made a move. It lunged away from its position behind the tower to attack the Lake Lord. The spider’s fangs sank into one of the Lake Lord’s open wounds. If the Lord’s hide was too tough for it to bite through normally, then it made sense to attack where there were no longer any armor-like scales. When the giant spider tried to grab and hold the Lake Lord, though, the Lake Lord opened up its huge mouth and bit down. I could hear the spider’s thick carapace snap and crack as the Lake Lord’s jagged teeth sank into one of its front legs. Once it established a good grip, the Lake Lord violently twisted its body and ripped the spider’s leg clean off its body. Even as it lost a limb, the spider tried valiantly to make some more thread to hold the Lake Lord down, but it was just too strong for such stopgap measures. The strands for the net had been woven from multiple threads braided together; compared to those, these new threads were just too weak.
With the spider in the way, I couldn’t really fire off any magic. Still, I wasn’t going to give up. I deployed my wings. Not because I wanted to fly, but to give myself more time. With my wings deployed, I was much faster, but I couldn’t use attack magic with my feet floating in the air. In that state, I watched the clash between the giant spider and the Lake Lord play out in super slow motion. My thoughts were accelerated, and I focused entirely on how to overturn this situation. The game had no mechanism for Sprigians to move around in the water; in the worst case, I could die if I followed it into the lake. The best option was to keep it on land until we defeated it...but that was the hard part.
It was just so big. Even if I was technically stronger, that didn’t mean I could hold it back. I didn’t have the mass to avoid being tossed around. Sometimes in television shows you’d see a super strong character stop a giant from moving, but that’s not how physics works. No matter how strong you were, if you got hit hard enough, the difference in weight would send you flying. It’d be hard to stop something from moving with just your body when you had nowhere near as much mass as the thing you’re trying to stop. That was why we had used a net, and tons of leverage—but now that advantage was gone. The spider was big as well, but even if I used a strengthening spell on it, it wouldn’t be able to hold the Lake Lord back.
If only there was something big enough to stop it. A creature with size and strength to match.
For a moment, I wondered if I could make a magic item that would turn me into a giant. I quickly abandoned that version of the idea, but it got me thinking along those lines. Next, I thought about an enormous version of Team Apple working together to hold it down, but then the imaginary heroes got chomped by the Lake Lord. What about something with a tough hide? That was one of the things that made the Lake Lord so difficult to deal with. I thought about Hammer and Herc, but I abandoned that plan; their levels were too low for them to fight very well.
Then, everything came together in my head.
I needed someone who could fight as a giant, with armor-like skin. Capable of leaving the tower, and as a bonus, they had a ton of battle experience. There was only one person who fit the criteria. I pictured them in my mind. Not as they usually were, but gigantic: big enough to match the Lake Lord in size and strength. As the image crystallized in my mind, I put away my wings. With my feet on the ground, I could use magic again. This was my first time attempting a transport of this type, but for some reason, I was certain that what I wanted would become reality.
My magic power swelled, and I focused it into creating the portal I needed. When the moment was right, I yelled the name of the person I wanted to summon.
“Redimir!”
At my command, the sun was eclipsed by a titanic dragon. Like his adorable baby self, the giant Redimir was covered in black scales from head to foot except for his silvery underbelly, which stretched from his chin to his tail. Unfortunately, in this form, his proportions weren’t cute at all. The elongated neck and sky-blackening wings announced to everyone that a real dragon had arrived. Redimir himself only looked confused for a moment: He saw right away what I wanted him to do. At least, I hoped he did.
“Redimir!” I called out. Better safe than sorry. “The spider is on our side, get the other thing! Hold it down, and don’t let it into the water!”
“Finally, I’ve been given a chance to atone for the mistakes of my youth! Have at thee!” Redimir roared.
With that solid battle cry, Redimir joined the fray. The injured spider seemed relieved when he swooped in, and she backed off to let the other two titans go at it. The ensuing battle was intense. A very surprised Lake Lord tried to bite Redimir with its huge mouth and swung its huge tail around to attack, but neither connected. No matter what the Lake Lord did, Redimir easily anticipated it and turned the tables. When the Lake Lord tried to bite, Redimir dodged nimbly and sank his claws deep into its injuries. Its body was already covered in wounds, and as the battle raged on, they grew deeper and wider. Every time the Lake Lord swung its tail, Redimir deflected the blows with his own. As the huge creatures collided, they whipped up the wind around them.
From where I was positioned, I had a front row seat to a battle between two titanic monsters. A real life kaiju battle was unfolding, and I took in every detail as I watched for an opening. I wanted to finish the Lake Lord off with my magic, but I couldn’t risk hitting Redimir if their positions shifted while I was readying my spell. That didn’t mean I wanted to just sit and eat popcorn (or a reasonable fruit-based facsimile) while I watched Redimir do my dirty work, though. So I thought for a moment, and issued my orders.
“Redimir, hold it in place! I want to get a clean hit in with a spell!”
“Understood, please don’t hesitate to hit me as well if you must!” His voice was strained as he grappled with the creature.
“I’m asking you to hold it still so I don’t have to hit you!” Having devoted underlings was a curse sometimes, but I still wouldn’t trade them for anything.
Redimir did as instructed, and held the Lake Lord in place. I wasted no time casting the spell I had in mind. Well, no time except for the long casting interval, that is.
“Paleim Ornth!”
This time, my Impale Thorn spell did as it was supposed to and skewered the Lake Lord. The huge thorny stalk that erupted from the ground pierced straight through and tangled up the Lake Lord’s body. Even with that injury, though, I could tell it was still prepared to struggle.
“Redimir! Get clear!”
On command, Redimir opened his huge wings and gained altitude. He was far enough away that he wouldn’t get caught up in the blast, but close enough to rejoin the fray if my spell didn’t work. The spell I would try this time was my strongest. I hadn’t been able to use it before, because there’d been a very real chance I’d either miss or hit my allies. With the Lake Lord held down by Impale Thorn, though, I was free to bring my full power to bear. I began casting my strongest attack spell, but I wasn’t feeling confident.
“Redimir, be ready to follow up if it’s still squirming after this!”
“Of course, Your Majesty!”
As I prepared the spell, I could feel the magic surge inside of me. I held my hands up in front of me, and the attack began to take shape, a massive green sphere of pure natural energy. The orb continued to expand as I poured more magic into it. Sensing the danger, the Lake Lord thrashed around in a desperate attempt to free itself. As it struggled, I backed away a bit, but not because I was afraid of the Lake Lord. Honestly, I just didn’t want to be in the splash zone when this spell hit. It was my first time trying it in this world, and the orb of natural energy was way bigger than I remembered—at least ten times my size and still growing.
“Thuwra fo Ruthemo Turena!”