Chapter 21: Plunge
"GRAAAAHH!!"
Screams a Goliath as it tumbles over backwards from an overwhelming concussive wave, and crushes dozens of the corrupted, its massive bulk shaking the earth. Father David takes a knee, catching his breath as Selene steps forward to cover him.
The priest’s hands tremble at the exertion, the Goliath proving to be an incredibly hardy monster. "You alright?" asks Selene, cutting through swaths of monsters with her magical bolts. "Just...need...a second." replies David, sweat stinging his eyes as he greedily gulps down air.
On instinct, the elf-like woman dodges as a monster materialises out of thin air, cutting down at where she used to be. She conjures a magical spear, viciously stabbing upwards and ripping through the monster’s bulbous head.
Father David widens his eyes and unleashes a concussive blast towards the floor, destabilising the surrounding corrupted. "Be careful! There are invisible monsters! Stay behind Alex as he releases flames! Everyone else, get ready." David shouts, eyes peeled for any signs of the unseen creatures.
Roaring out in effort, Alex unleashes a stream of fire that spreads outwards in a conical shape. Dozens of invisible forms catch fire like kindling, their screams of agony giving the group a grim sense of satisfaction.
Jacob laughs and unleashes a weaker gust of wind that doesn’t blow out the flames, but instead feeds its intensity. The monsters collapse to the ground as the flames consume them completely, unable to resist one of nature’s most devastating weapons. Jen gives her brother a thumbs up, then blurs forwards as she stabs every downed creature multiple times before moving to another.
Dominic shouts and barrels through monster after monster, earth spikes shooting out of his rocky armour every time he makes impact. He shoots upwards as an earthquake pillar launches him and grins maliciously as spikes emerge from the ground, impaling every monster around him.
Kevin, who has begun trapping and crushing a few of the corrupted, gasps as the Goliath slams its fists on the ground in anger as it works to stand up. The strike sends a shockwave underneath the concrete, the wave undulating and fracturing the earth, forcing everything to stagger. Jen trips from a protruding section of the street, tumbling violently for a distance as wounds and gashes form on her body.
The speedster groans in pain, a copious amount of blood starting to stain her clothing, as she laboriously rises. "Jen!! Get out of there!!" Jacob’s words pierce through the air, shaking Jen out of her daze as she finally notices where she had stumbled to.
She looks up and sees the Goliath, its snarling face mere feet away from her face, as it pushes off from the ground and prepares to slam its fists down. Jacob propels himself towards Jen, feeling something fundamentally improve with his ability.
The wind user thrusts out with both hands and unleashes dozens of wind blades that bite deeply into the Goliath’s flesh. The hulking monstrosity raises its hands in a defence that does nothing to stop the blades from cutting massive wounds onto its body.