Chipping Away

NARRATORS NOTE//: Hey guys! Quick note from me. I had a relapse in my injury again, and it caused me to fully focus on my rehab. I'll be honest, the amount of times I've promised that I'll get back on schedule is mind-boggling, and all I can do is apologize.

I won't promise a precise schedule again, but I will try and get at least a chapter out a week. Some chapters might be smaller, but I'm hoping that maybe some smaller chapters will help with alleviating some of the drought from the story. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this shorter chapter for now, and I hope you all have a good morning/afternoon/night.

Karray jumps backwards, flying a few feet away from the reawakened Clarva, who is now getting to her feet like she was merely napping, and wasn't knocking on ****'s door just moments ago.

The pixie sees Clarva's eyes, and she remembers the last time she saw that stare, that expression, and most memorable of all, that fury.

Clarva quickly stomps over to the stone dome that the others are trapped inside, and she's quickly joined by Karray as the half-giant gets there.

"Everyone inside! Get to the back, now!" Karray warns, hoping they heard her.

A moment later, Clarva plunges her fist into the dome, destroying almost half of said dome. Karray is scared to look for a second, but after carefully peeking, the pixie lets out a sigh of relief as everyone seems to be intact.

"Think you could put a little more power into that next time?!" Amilia jokes, but it's obvious that she nearly had a heart attack.

Clarva doesn't acknowledge the cat's comment as almost immediately after it, Clarva turns to her left and begins rushing toward Hilfa.

"What in the hells happened to her?" Kira asks.

Karray looks at her best friend, seeing her running towards the threat that is Hilfa. "She's fucking pissed."

Virra looks to the others. "Should we follow her?"

"Nah, she's got it. I think." John answers as they watch the half-giant getting ready to barrel into Hilfa.

Musha looks up, face covered in blood, heavy breaths not giving her the air she needs as the heat from the lava below feels even hotter.

"A valiant effort, but it was for naught. Your queen won't save you now. I only wished you were fighting on my side. It would've made everything so much easier."

Hilfa raises her spike, ready to drive it into Musha's heart, when she feels a new rumbling. Hilfa turns to her left, but she isn't fast enough, as Hilfa is sent flying by the charging Clarva.

Musha watches as Hilfa skips across the ground like a stone across water before looking back up at the woman who saved her. She sees Clarva with a feral look in her eyes, teeth bared, steam practically shooting from her nose as her breaths turn to growls.

"You couldn't have done this earlier?" Musha asks before coughing up some blood.

"Couldn't." Clarva gets out, even with the word being strained.

Musha looks at the half-giant once again before quickly glancing over to Hilfa, who is starting to get back on her feet. "Well, make sure to put the big bitch down this time. I don't think I've got enough in me to save your behind again."

"You won't need to." Clarva growls as she summons her shield before stomping over to the transformed giant.

"Ahh, I see you've finally woken up. I'm glad I didn't scramble your berry-sized brain." Hilfa says.

"I'm going to rip your fucking tongue out now." Clarva says before swinging her shield at Hilfa's head.

Hilfa scurries back, managing to avoid the quick swipes from Clarva. Hilfa notices that the half-giant's strikes are quicker than they were before, and even the sound they make while missing their target sounds painful.

Clarva's breaths are more controlled than ever, maximizing every ounce of air she has in her lungs to try and knock the brain through the back of Hilfa's skull.

John, Kyuala, and the others all catch up to Musha, who is limping away from the ongoing fight. They see just how beat up she is, and that confidence they had, just shrank considerably.

"Glad to see you're all well." Musha says as she takes knee to catch her breath.

John is the one to speak up. "Thanks for holding out."

Musha chuckles. "Being truthful here, I didn't hold out for any of you. I held out for her."

Musha nods her head to the side of the group, causing them all to look over at the Queen. They see that she's still holding the nub where her hand used to be, and while she is breathing, those same breaths are obviously laboured.

Musha takes a few more breaths, then spits out some blood before standing up. "Well, I gotta get over there. You all do me a favour, and finish that big bitch."

"We will. You have our word." Kyuala says, speaking for the group, of which there are no objections.

Musha nods her head before beginning to limp over to the Queen. As the group see her moving away, Lani flies in front of John's face.

"I think I should go with her. I can try my best to heal her wounds."

John raises a worried brow. "Are you sure?"

Lani nods, and John gives a small one of his own. "Well, I suppose we do owe her something, if we forget the whole situation upstairs for a second."

"I won't." Kyuala mutters, earning a little chuckle from the group.

Lani then gets ready to head off towards the Queen and Musha, but before she does, she turns towards John. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Before anyone can say anything else, Lani heads off, leaving the remainder of the group standing there.

"So, let's not get trapped in a rock ball again on three?" Amilia puts her hand out, waiting for the others to join in.

Terra gleefully adds her hand in, but the others sigh before joining in. Amilia then counts them down.

"1...2...3..."

"Let's not get trapped in a rock ball again." The group say in unison before finally moving to assist Clarva.

Clarva and Hilfa clash once again, this time engaging in a test of strength with Hilfa's powered state giving her a slight advantage.

"Even with second wind, you still can't hold up. It's a pity that those measly runts you call friends are relying on you." Hilfa taunts, but Clarva doesn't take the bait. The half-giant instead tightens her grip, trying to pop the knuckles out of Hilfa's hands.

"You know, after I put you on a spike, I'm going to pick them apart one by one. I've already got an idea for what I want to do to that pixie of yours. I am going to pluck her wings from her teeny body before crushing them into dust to use for potions. Then, after she's writhing in pain, I'm going to crush her under my-"

An arrow guided by magic flies through the air, aimed at its target. The arrow whistles just mere milliseconds before it pierces the left eye of Hilfa.

The changed giant lets out a mighty roar of pain as she pushes Clarva to the ground before grasping at the arrow lodged in her eye. Another roar follows before Hilfa yanks it out with blood quickly spurting after.

"Looks like you finally hit something pointy two! Now, all you need to do is get laid!" Amilia jokes, getting playfully smacked in the arm by Terra.

"Leave my sister alone, at least for now." Terra jokes, getting a shocked reaction from Virra.

"Betrayed by my own sister! There's never been a worse pain!"

The interaction is interrupted by the centaur Kira, who isn't feeling amused. "You can joke after she's dead! Get moving!" Kira gallops away, earning herself a middle finger from Amilia as they all rush forward.

"Argh! The runts have the gall to attack again?! Oh, I'm going to enj-" Hilfa's little monologue is interrupted as a blast of purple magic hits the side of her face, courtesy of a certain pixie.

"Hey, bitch tits! We're back!" Karray calls out, making sure to do her best to annoy Hilfa.

Hilfa's gaze is firmly focused on Karray, and as her attention is diverted, a rock shoots up from the ground and clocks Hilfa right underneath the chin.

Before Hilfa can even react, Clarva's shield bashes into her side, sending her flying into the nearby wall. A loud crash echoes throughout the volcano as dust covers the impact area, giving the group and Clarva a chance to fully regroup.

"Good aim, you three." Clarva says as she continues staring at the impact site.

"It's all in the wrist. Anyone can do it with enough practice." Virra boasts.

Terra leans over to Kyuala. "She conveniently left out all the magic she had to learn as well as all the funds to get a fancy bow, along with a crap tonne of arrows."

Kyuala laughs, but it's quickly followed by the sounds of shifting rocks, some of which crash against the ground.

Hilfa's rock-covered form emerges from the volcanic stone, an enraged look on her face. "That hurt."

"Oh, boo fucking hoo. This next part's gonna hurt a lot more." Clarva responds before rushing over to the larger giant, ready to cave Hilfa's chest in with her shield.

The shield stops just a mere inch from Hilfa, the mage's power keeping it in place as Hilfa scans Clarva with her eyes. Hilfa's eyes seem to be searching for something in particular, but after a few moments, she looks back into Clarva's eyes.

"You're not ready yet. Just one more push. Let me help with that."

Hilfa's magic changes, blasting Clarva back with a gust that could part the clouds from the sky. However, Hilfa's magic didn't stop there as specks of her rock magic on Clarva's begin to join together, slowly threatening to encase the half-giant.

"Clarva!" Karray calls out before quickly flying over to her friend, trying to dispel the rocks as best she can.

While the pixie and half-giant are currently distracted, Hilfa turns back to the rest of the group with a smirk on her face. "Now, let's see how powerful you all are."

Kira snorts. "I've always fucking hated how smug you are. Can't wait to see that look get wiped off!"

"Yeah! What the pony said!" Kira looks at Amilia with a pissed and confused expression. "What? I was agreeing with you."

Hilfa chuckles. "Well, by all means, please come and do it yourselves."

A single bat of an eye later, Kira gallops forth with the others quickly following, all with a single thought in mind.

If they can't kill the giant bitch... they're gonna do as much fucking damage as possible.