Ben emerged from the stairs, gasping for air, and moved to a safe distance. He had followed Hauxwell and Le’Vieux and needed to charge his legs with magic to keep up to their pace when, suddenly, everything began to shake and rock.

  Quicksilver flew out of the opening, holding Jerry by the shoulders before they fell on the ground, and ducked as a torrent of flames shot out.

  Moments before, Le’Vieux had mercifully taken care of the duke to put the misery of his situation to rest. He had then piled a few glass vials there before ordering Jerry to light the place up like the Fourth of July.

  Jerry stood up and brushed the dust and ash that covered his armor. “Next time, one of you lot can shoot the arrow.”

  Ben glanced at the courtyard and noticed the Titan’s position had changed. Its arms and face were pointed upwards, with its mouth open like a whale. Magical energy whizzed around it like a tornado, with sparks shooting off at various points like supercharged static electricity.

  Within moments, the clouds in the sky fizzled away, leaving only the blue. A circular pattern darkened everything within its center before it looked like space and time were being warped. Ben thought the thing looked like a magnifying glass without the bezel and handle. Suddenly, the scenery of space shifted to that of a planet that looked like it had been charred to the point it resembled a lump of coal.

  Ben felt the vast amounts of energy being forced into the spell. The Titan’s body started to lose weight before shriveling like a raisin. It was doing everything in its power to ensure absolute success.

  The portal’s view zoomed in on the planet to the point where they could see an endless sea of creatures waiting at the ready. A thick ring formed around the circle's edges before Ben could feel the other side starting to connect.

  Pointing upwards, Ben twisted his head and glanced at the others. “It’s going to start connecting to the other side, and those creatures will start to pour in like a torrent of endless water. If we’re going to do something, now is the time.”

  Le’Vieux, who was looking on in shock, nodded his head. “Listen up, men, we must stop this madness before it goes any further. It looks weak compared to before. Maybe this is our opportunity to deal a finishing blow to this evil.”

  Ben rushed to the van before getting in the driver's seat. Once the engine was on, he hit the gas and rushed into the creature at full acceleration. Before the impact, he selected the [Exponential Mass] skill and reinforced his entire body with what magical energy he could muster.

  Even with the added force, it wasn’t enough. The entire front end of the van felt like it had crashed into a solid brick wall. The back end was lifted before it rebounded off the creature's flesh as if made from cardboard.

  Ben had been lifted off his seat and hit the steering wheel with such force that his protection magic shattered. For a split second, he felt the full brunt of the pain before everything went numb, and he blacked out momentarily.

  “Damn it!” Ben grumbled as his senses returned.

  Parts of the dash were covered with blood, and Ben’s nose was running down his mouth and chin like a fully open faucet. His neck was stiffer than an iron rod, and he was certain most of the tendons had been either torn or ruptured beyond repair. Taking out a health potion from his inventory, it slipped out of his hand.

  Ben tried his best to lean towards the potion but failed. He felt the darkness once again try to consume him before he was on the verge of blacking out. Suddenly, something pressed against his lips, and a liquid was forced down his throat.

  Ben’s eyes shot open. His entire body throbbed from what he had gone through before his sense of touch returned to him. He was undoubtedly lying on the stony surface of the courtyard. Once his sight returned, he saw the portal was still present in the sky, albeit suspended in the same stage he had seen it last.

  Alfred appeared above him with his arms crossed. “We thought we’d lost you there with that one. Glad to see you awake again.”

  Ben let out a groan and sarcastically asked. “I’m starting to doubt it wasn’t worth it one bit. Did it work?”

  Alfred scratched his head. “Somewhat. The nudge you gave it was enough to knock it off balance, but as you can see, Le’Vieux and Hauxwell now have their hands full.”

  Curious, Ben wanted to see what on Earth Alfred was doing and pushed himself upright. The Titan entered his field of view. Its top half almost touched the ground as it struggled to stay upright. The two knights had somehow found a thick chain, wrapped it around the creature's neck, and pulled each end as if playing a game of tug of war.

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  Ben shook his head. “Those two never cease to amaze me with their tactics. I don't think that will be enough to keep it down, so we can complete the final part of the plan. I might be able to give it another whack with my van to get its head down for good.”

  Alfred scratched his head. “About that.” He then pointed across the courtyard. “I ordered a few knights to help me move it out of the way while those two wrestled with the giant.”

  When Ben set his sights on the van, his mouth dropped. “Oh, hell no!”

  Ben rushed over to the van and shook his head in disbelief. He pushed back the tears as his eyes swelled to the sore sight.

  The entire front end of the van was pushed into the engine bay. Ben was certain he would have been crushed like a bug without the bullbar, and he added armor upgrades that prevented the engine from coming through the dashboard and into the cabin. After glancing up, the roof looked like it had also gone to hell and back, with the solar panels shattered into a hundred pieces and the entire ceiling going in and out like a mountain range.

  As Ben moved toward the driver's side, he was starting to regret what he had done. When he pulled the latch, the entire door came off its hinge and started hanging off, with only the cables holding it upright to the ground. Expelling a sigh of frustration, Ben looked inside and noticed that the windscreen, although cracked a little, had survived a shattering. He sat on the seat, put the key in, and prayed it would work. After twisting his hand a few times, he only received sounds of ignitionless cranks.

  “Damn it!” Ben cursed under his breath. He knew that without it being on, there was no other way for the menu screen to appear and activate the repair skill. He took a deep breath and added, “Please, come on. You’ve served me without issue all these years. Just start one more time.”

  The sounds of the cranks rang through Ben’s ears as his prayers went down the toilet. He was about to call it quits when suddenly, there were a few hums here and there. Keeping the key pressed, it jerkily hummed back to life.

  [Condition: 5%, Fuel: 57%, MP: 200.]

  Ben wasn’t certain how long the engine would stay on, so he quickly got to work by pressing the [Repair] skill. He could have used the MP stored in the tank before he realized he had made a silly mistake by not using it to repair the van when he struck the Titan.

  The entirety of the van glowed like a lighthouse as the skill worked its magic. It was like the rewind button had been pressed, with the panels cracking back into place and everything returning to its original condition.

  [Condition: 100%, Fuel: 57%, MP: 105.]

  Hauxwell and Le’Vieux were losing the struggle with the Titan, who was getting more upright and back to its spell-casting position.

  Ben revved the engine, which sounded like it had just come out of the factory. Putting it into gear, he muttered, “It’s time to dance.” Turning the van around, he positioned the front to align with the Titan’s face before racing ahead.

  Ben pressed the [Kunai Outbreak] skill. The chained blades shot towards the Titan's head and landed under its chin. Instead of bringing the enemy to Ben, the chains pulled the van with such force that it was sent airborne. Ben followed up with the [Experimental Mass] skill and prepared to hit the repair skill when he made contact to avoid repeating the same mistake.

  The van hit the Titan in the face, which looked like a knockout punch from a professional boxer. Combined with the knights' efforts, it was enough to bring the oversized head down to the ground. Luckily for Ben, the van had survived, and the wheel spun away as the fairies and mages moved in to conduct their part of the plan.

  The fairies were given the remainder of the explosive fire vials and moved just above the creature's mouth, where they started to throw them in carefully. It was done so they didn’t crack and blow their load. Once done, they flew out of the way, allowing the mages to take their places.

  The mages hovered in a circular position and began to charge their staves full of magic. Some had even gulped down a few potions until they were ready. They all pointed the ends of their staves to the center point, where they discharged everything into a giant ball of fiery goodness.

  Suddenly, the ball became unstable, and the mages used some telekinetic ability to push it down and force-feed it down the behemoth's mouth. The fairies came up behind them, grabbing them by the shoulders and pulling them back in a coordinated retreat.

  Hauxwell and Le’Vieux dropped their ends of the chain and were about to high-tail it out of there when the Titan jumped up and was about to throw up their plan. Its efforts were in vain as its head exploded as if a metric ton of TNT had detonated.

  The entire structure of the Chateau was shaken to the core, with the courtyard ground cracking in every direction before tearing apart and falling into the catacombs below. The palisades followed suit, some falling into the river while others added to the mayhem. A few towers flatlined and fell like tree trunks in a forest.

  Most of the knights had made it out and across the bridge, with Ben following suit. The fairies dropped the mages to safety while Le’Vieux and Hauxwell were the last to make it out, helping the knights caught in the raining debris.

  With the dust still settling, Ben glanced up into the sky. Although the portal was getting smaller, it was still active, and it looked like a few high-level creatures were approaching the event horizon as if they were seconds away from hopping over.

  “Damn it! Ben exclaimed, hitting the steering wheel. Till then, there was no kill notification for the Titan, which meant it was still alive and kicking. Huffing a sigh of frustration, he gripped the steering wheel tightly, expecting another fight when something strange began to happen.

  The sky had become encased in a shroud of magical energy that shimmered in light blue. A figure materialized, hovering near the portal. Upon closer inspection, Ben realized that it was Blue.