Chapter IX: The Wrath of Gods

  Rapunzel and Red observed from a distance as the cannons mounted on the castle walls blasted chunks off the elemental. The elemental, even under the barrage of fire, somehow kept increasing its mass. For some reason, it did not melt down below the buildings like it had done before. It seemed more solid as far as Rapunzel could tell. At over ten stories high, it no longer needed to weaken buildings, it simply walked through them, and like a caterpillar chewing through a leaf, it left a trail of bare earth as it absorbed everything in it's path.

  Darkness was falling fast, and so some of the cannons were loaded with glowdust, the bright moss packed into containers that shattered against the elemental, leaving bright patches to mark their target. The elemental, once more proving that it was intelligent, or possibly controlled by the Alchemist, absorbed those glowing spots, shifting the marked stones into it's interior, the glow fading from view as the stones sunk under the surface.

  A brave team of Hunters had ventured into its path to throw bottles of glowdust and firefly potions, giving the cannons a few moments to find their target. As the amount of glowdust increased, the elemental's tactic turned against it, its entire body now suffused with traces of glow dust and firefly potions. The gigantic form glowed dimly over the city like an avenging god visiting its wrath upon the mortal world.

  Slowly, ponderously, the elemental made its way towards the castle. The canon blasts became more frantic as the artillerists tried to keep it away. Chunks of blasted stone fell to crash into the houses below, only to be reabsorbed along with the destroyed buildings when the elemental flowed over them.

  The elemental formed a huge arm, reaching down and crushing a three-storie house with ease. It squeezed, compacting the mass of stone. The arm swung back, and with the force of a trebuchet flung the boulder against the high castle wall. The projectile fell short, impacting the castle walls and shattering to pieces, the famous stones of Thyrsusstein not showing a scratch. Their reputation was apparently well deserved. Still, the attack had had an effect, as the canon fire paused, the soldiers seeming to have been thrown to the ground by the impact. A second boulder soon followed the first, just as the cannons were resuming their own assault.

  "So, the cannons won't last much longer." commented Red, chewing on a sandwich.

  "Uhuh." hummed Rapunzel in agreement, lying on her back and also busy with a sandwich. The ground trembled underneath them as the elemental and cannons duked it out.

  "So do you have a plan? Or can we finally go?"

  Rapunzel thought for a moment. "There was a dome in the elemental. When we exploded it the first time. And when it melted as well I think. That must be where the Alchemist and Alice are. They can't turn to stone themselves, and given the magic that thing is burning through, I'm guessing Alice is in there feeding it." Rapunzel sighed. "Which also means that it will probably never stop. We have to get to the Alchemist. Everything else, it will survive."

  "See..." said Red "You pretend to be a sane person, but then you say stuff like that. How are we going to 'get to' the Alchemist? I could try clawing my way to the middle, but it'll just crush me. I might not die, but I'll be stuck. And you could barely take a hit from it before - no offense. It'll splatter you across the city."

  She put on a falsetto voice. "Gee, the rain is strange today." She switched to a deeper, masculine voice "That's not rain, that's the fool who tried to fight an elemental the size of a castle."

  "Are you done?" asked Rapunzel in a flat tone.

  "Actually I have another one about you not needing to be buried."

  "So the plan is" said Rapunzel, letting a little impatience color her voice. "That I can probably cut through it, given enough time to prepare. Then whichever of us is closest rushes through the opening."

  "And why, pray, would the elemental - which just destroyed those canons by the way - sit around an let you prepare an-" she paused. "Dammit, you're using me as a distraction!"

  "Glad to have you on board." said Rapunzel in the tone of a merchant welcoming their newest apprentice.

  She stood up from the overturned cart they were sitting on. The central square was mostly abandoned, the guards and hunters having switched to evacuating everyone once it had become clear that the elemental wasn't going to stop anytime soon, and the last squad sent to plant explosives didn't return.

  Rapunzel approached the guard captain. He had a grim expression, looking up at where the elemental had pelted the cannons with loose rubble, decimating the soldiers stationed there.

  "Captain."

  He grunted.

  "We're off for one last attempt at the elemental. We believe that the creator is still inside, along with Alice. If we can get to him..."

  He nodded gruffly. "I've sent some of my men up to the castle to dig out the cannons. They should have them ready to fire in half an hour. They will not wait for you."

  "Understood." Rapunzel nodded and turned around, heading towards the north city and the elemental.

  "They will not wait for you." Mimicked Red in a mocking imitation. "As if they did any good."

  Rapunzel could literally feel the glare of the captain behind them, and hurried her steps.

  ~

  The elemental was always visible, towering above the city, glowing faintly. It's sheer size became more clear as they approached. Limbs as wide as wagons swung above them, whipping winds following in their wake. The top of the elemental was so far up that it faded into the star-studded sky.

  Her heart thudded in her chest at the idea of facing such an entity. Red gave her a look, no doubt picking up on her trepidation. She put a hand on Rapunzel's shoulder.

  "Blondie, I know this looks... not ideal, and I still think we should just leave the city to burn." She took a breath. "But, if you are set on doing this, take comfort in the fact that, no matter what happens... I'm probably going to be alright. And I'll tell people you fought well, no matter how badly you mess this up."

  She delivered the monologue with such earnestness that Rapunzel had to laugh. Red grinned wide.

  Rapunzel smiled back, then adopted a sad and pleading expression. "Will you tell them I fought better than you?"

  Red shook her head sadly. "Blondie..." she patted Rapunzel's shoulder in a conciliatory manner. "...No one will believe that." She gave a nod and jumped up the side of a building, her form already getting taller and broader.

  Rapunzel looked up at the gargantuan elemental. It had two main limbs, hanging on each side like arms the size of ancient oak trees; smaller limbs protruded and retracted from various places, with no apparent rhyme or reason. Now that the canons were disabled, the elemental was slowly making it's way towards the castle, intent on absorbing the outer walls. Rapunzel shuddered to think what it could do with the enchanted stones of Thyrsusstein. It would be basically impervious to damage...

  On the rooftops, Red was rapidly making her way towards the legs of the elemental, still beneath it's notice.

  Rapunzel pulled out four loops of hair. There was no point in holding back, since a single hit would probably spell her doom. Two loops around her legs, two around the hands and ending on her swords. She pushed a bit of power into her limbs and stretched a bit, getting used to the charged sensation in her muscles.

  Her hair began to flood her senses with information, though since the biggest threat in the city was right in front of her, most of it was thankfully about it. She tried to focus her attention on the elemental.

  A boulder descended from above and she barely threw herself out of the way, crashing through a window of one of the intact houses. Before she could wonder at that, her hair screamed a warning and she rushed across the room, leaping through a window to the other side. Behind her, a boulder went through the house with little difficulty, leaving a new corridor as it didn't slow down until it finally coming to a stop inside the next house. Rapunzel looked up, but could barely see anything against the obsidian night. The faint glow from the remaining glowdust indicated the elemental had turned to face her, and its limbs were moving in a throwing motion.

  Rapunzel leapt up to the next roof, speeding over the city. The elemental was clearly aiming for her. It was probably her hair it was tracking, but not using it wasn't an option. Boulders crashed around her as she neared the base of the elemental. Unable to see clearly, she relied on her hair to warn her of incoming danger. As always, a lot of irrelevant information flowed into her, distractions that lasted as long as a blink. More boulders were hurtling towards her location, with something behind... a rain-like sensation.

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  With a flash of power to her legs, she dashed to the side over two rows of houses, the rooftops behind her being pulverized with mere seconds to spare. One, two impacts. Danger! She dived off the roof and down an alley as a rain of stones began. Loose rubble and pavement stones fell around her. Less deadly than the boulders, but a fist-sized stone falling at terminal velocity could easily kill her. This was the same attack it had used against the artillerists.

  Another boulder! Timed while the rocks were still falling. Rapunzel took a breath, readying her swords. She pumped power into both legs and arms. In an explosion of speed, she dashed through the falling rocks. Her awareness of the deadly rain became clearer as the falling stones came nearer, giving her less than a second to react. It was enough, barely, to make it through mostly intact. Her sword flashed up, the flat of the blade swatting rocks to the side she couldn't avoid. Behind her, the boulder landed, applying a full days work of a demolition team on a decorative fountain.

  As soon as the stones stopped raining down, Rapunzel ran out of cover, heading straight for the elemental. Keeping her distance just gave the elemental the upper hand. Up close it might be more dangerous, but at least she could fight back.

  First, she would have to get to it though. She had reached an area of bare earth, where the elemental had stripped the city clean. There was little cover, and the uneven ground was treacherous. Boulders flew above her as she neared, then fell vertically like meteors, pounding the bare earth with a vengeance.

  Then she was there. A mountain of stone rose sharply before her, bits of furniture and metal poking out. She kept her momentum, jumping up and barely loosing speed as she used every foothold to propel herself higher and higher.

  On the way her swords cut through the many smaller limbs reaching for her. The tendrils of stone were severed; slowly succumbing to gravity, went crashing down to the earth far below. One of the giant limbs swept towards her, deceptively quickly, the sheer size and distance making it appear slow to start, then accelerate as it got closer. Rapunzel leapt as the stone fist cracked against the side of the elemental, the blow sending stone shrapnel flying.

  She landed on the limb itself, stabbing into it to keep her balance. She kept slashing with one sword, while the other kept her in place as the elemental tried to shake her off. Her cuts didn't have much effect. Once the limb was at a higher angle, she started to climb, cutting as she went. The cuts closed soon after, only a small mass of stone falling off. But she wasn't trying to cause damage, she was preparing her power.

  Power, magic, the wyrd, whatever you called it, you needed three things for it to have an effect: Magic itself to fuel it, an appropriate tool, and a way to make the magic understand what exactly it was you were trying to do. Which wasn't always easy, considering how often the blessings of fairies went awry.

  It was also more difficult the grander the magic, and the less experience you have performing it. Rapunzel was about to try something for the first time, with pretty much all the magic her hair could muster. So... maybe a bit of preparation was necessary. You know, to avoid the whole 'blowing yourself up' situation that came with dealing with large amounts of magic.

  Now where was Red? She was supposed do be keeping the elemental off her.

  ~

  Red climbed the elemental on all fours, her powerful fingers, closer to claws right now, finding easy handholds. It was a trivial climb, the elemental completely ignoring her. Even the smaller limbs that grew across it's body didn't acknowledge her. Unfortunately, this happy state of affairs could not last. She was here to distract it, after all. She had to hold on as the elemental resumed throwing boulders at what Red was pretty sure was Blondie. Well, time to get to work.

  Red reached one of the giant limbs, and took a moment to appraise it. About as thick as a wagon at the base and made of rough stone, it moved rather quickly, and could toss boulders weighing at least ten tonnes with ease. Well, the usual strategy would have to do. Go for the joints and weak spots, keep getting back up until the beast couldn't keep up. This time with an extra shot of caution, until she got the measure of the thing. Nodding like a carpenter gauging a troublesome stool, Red got to work.

  She began with her previous tactic, punching through the stone and tearing chunks out, letting them fall far below. The elemental continued to ignore her as she dug a small ditch into the top of it's shoulder. About a quarter through the joint she hit what felt like much denser rock. As soon as she tried to punch it in, the entire elemental bucked, throwing her up and out of the hole she had been digging. She, thankfully, landed on top of the elemental, which turned the small mound on its top, what Red thought of as it's head, to look at her. She felt a face twice as large as she was scrutinizing her. She gave it a little wave.

  Pillars of stone erupted around her, striking at her with blinding speed. Red dodged most of them, and used the ones that hit to propel herself out of the way. The small cracks in her bones quickly fused back together. She dodged and weaved on top of the elemental, careful to not stay in one position for too long, lest it open up a hole and swallow her. A chunk of stone whizzed past her head, and she rolled backwards, arriving back at the shoulder. She continued her roll to fall down into the ditch and bring her arm back for a blow.

  Her shoulder and arm swelled as she pushed into an unbalanced transformation. Her fist came down so fast that the recoil threw her back out of the ditch. Below her, a massive crack radiated across the solid stone core.

  Her ejection from the ditch was fortuitous. A second later, two waves of stone rose like jaws of jagged rock, closing in over the shoulder. She landed at the edge, tumbling as she scrambled to get a grip. She bounced on rough stone, but her fingers caught on a protruding piece of masonry, leaving her hanging over the abyss. She dangled for a moment, catching her breath. Feeling the stone beneath her fingers start to move, she dragged herself up and quickly climbed back up.

  The entire top of the elemental was crawling full of the whip like limbs, undulating like the limbs of some creepy sea creature. She dodged the first few, but had to take a few hits to avoid getting thrown off. Raising her arms in a pugilist's stance, she fortified her upper body. Feeling her teeth starting to lengthen, she kept the transformation under control and began to fight in earnest. Stones whipped at her from all directions, looking to either crush her or throw her off.

  She ducked, and punched a limb going for her head. Her fist smashed through the stone, and the only reason the recoil hadn't thrown her back was that one of her bare feet was dug into a crack in the stone.

  That gave her an idea. She danced back towards the shoulder, defensively striking the offending limbs, but not overextending herself. When she reached the now healed shoulder, she dug in the closing hole with her feet, finding firmly attached rock to hold against. She held back the limbs attacking her, but every once in a while, in the brief moment between attack and defense, she had the time to combine a downward dodge with a punch. Slowly, she dug out the ditch again, this time stopping when she felt the solid core of the elemental.

  She was forced to jump out when the elemental's other arm descended, threatening to crush her. She fled, and the stone fist landed heavily, squashing all the little limbs and further cracking the shoulder joint. Taking the opportunity to gain some distance and catch her breath, Red kept an eye out for Blondie. She spotted her on the back of the elemental. She was- ...what was she doing?

  She was running around on the steep slope of the elemental's back, and cutting any stones or debris that pocked out of the elemental, leaving a relatively smooth surface behind. Typical! Here she was, risking- Whoa! Red jumped as the stones beneath her shifted and opened into a pit. She landed safely and kept up her loop of the elemental's top. So, here she was risking life and limb, while Blondie was doing sod all. Red doubted what small pieces of stone Blondie was shearing off even registered to the elemental, and given it's undivided focus on her, they probably didn't.

  Red completed her lap, finding her ditch only partially filled. Taking a few quick breaths to tank oxygen, she jumped in. This time she didn't bother with defense. A few rapid strikes cleared her way to the core. She pulled her arms back, even as a web of stone closed in above her. Her form once more shifted, and she grew at least a head taller. The muscles in her torso grew in size and so taut that her bones creaked. Her fist fell with instantaneous speed, cracking the stone beneath.

  The force blew her back but she bounced off the stone done keeping her trapped, and fell back down, bringing her other arm to bear. Her second punch shook the entire limb. It also broke her hand in multiple places, but it was already healing. And she had another arm at hand, so to speak. She swore to distract herself from the pain and readied her next attack.

  The stone dome was pressing in above her, looking to trap and immobilize her. It only gave her stable footing as both her arms went up and down with the speed of a woodpecker and the power of a canon. The stone above her pressed in, trying to crush her, but her elbows smashed their way up before her fists bore into the gigantic limb below. Her back was being slowly crushed, and her legs trembled to keep her upright under the sheer weight the elemental was piling on top of her.

  She grunted, going to one knee as the meager light of the stars cut out, a solid dome forming above her.

  She kept punching.

  A vice of stone gripped her head and she had to waste a punch to free herself. Her feet were being squeezed by the smaller stones flowing underfoot.

  She kept punching.

  The limb below her lurched, and a shudder went through the elemental.

  She kept punching.

  Thin whips of stone cracked against her head, what was by now a snout cracking back by the impact.

  She kept punching.

  The entire dome around her constricted, looking to immobilize her. Her muscles swelled once more, burning with effort as she flung the avalanche above her to the side like an uncomfortable cloak. She raised both fists, yellow eyes glowing in the night. Her hands, broken at least a few dozen times in the last minute, punched into the stone.

  Flesh and bone met rock, and rock was the first to yield.

  The fissure that had been growing since the beginning of her attack, expanded with the sound of exploding glass. The sheer weight of the gigantic limb pulled it apart the rest of the way off the elemental's shoulder. Like a toy discarded by the gods, the gigantic limb fell towards the ground, collapsing as it met the ground, mere stone unable to support the structure. It crushed itself against the earth.

  Red remembered the words of that strange man, about elemental needing more and more energy to keep their shape. How much was this thing burning just to keep standing? She turned to look at the elemental, which was shuddering. At least there was a vibration going through it, she could feel it on her feet, and in the air itself. All it's remaining limbs, large and small writhed in the air, as the vibration made her teeth rattle.

  Oh, it was screaming!

  Well, time to go.

  Red jumped off the elemental. It would be a hard landing, but she needed time to recover anyway. Those last few moments had been a bit too close for comfort. She fell towards the ground, picking up speed. She stabilized her fall falling backwards, the stars above cold as they looked down on her. Everything hurt. She was close to being done. Her eyes fluttered for a moment as everything faded, just for a second. The elemental raised a fist, looking down at her. Then a bright streak of light flew off the elemental, and a golden sun appeared over the city.