“Are you one of their soldiers?” the Giant asked, an odd accent to the words. It hunched its shoulders and tilted its head, assessing me. “One of their… ”

  I paused, not expecting such a question.

  “Uh- Yeah, I am.” Acting confident is the best way to go in this situation, probably.

  “I see.” It reached out a hand, and a blade of what seemed to be air formed in its palm. “I will end your life for your people’s grievances, thief.”

  I froze, eyeing the air blade… I should have expected something like that, actually.

  Giants have abilities too, just like Eternals; however, from what I heard, they rarely use them. Many have theorized it was because the abilities themselves either wear them out or hurt them in some way.

  Maybe I could use that… If it even was true, that is.

  The Giant suddenly charged forward, sword raised. I held in a scream and jumped up, flying over the thing’s head by barely a foot. The Giant spun around to where I landed behind, eyes wide with surprise.

  I congratulated myself inwardly for surviving even just that.

  It bared its teeth, growled and charged. The air blade tranformed into a hammer-like weapon and the Giant swung it back, obviously intending to smash my head in with it. I stumbled back, and ran to my left, barely avoiding the swing. A strong gust of wind rushed past my face and tugged at my cheap paper mask.

  The weapons it was made seemed to be made of wind or something. So if I get hit by it… what? Do I get a hefty breeze to the face?

  The Giant, just as I thought that, slammed the hammer into a light post, a light post that would have been me if I hadn’t moved. The post broke off from its base and flew into a nearby car. The car started honking loudly, a dent the size of two humans embedded into its roof.

  I gaped, gulping.

  The Giant twisted back around, glaring venomously. “running away,” it snarled.

  A door of a nearby house opened, revealing an old woman, clutching a robe around her. She must have heard the honking.

  As her confused expression morphed into terror, I yelled, “GET BACK INSIDE!”

  I shouldn’t have lost focus.

  I saw the movement from the corner of my eye, so I had enough time to dodge a head-on hit, but the wind around the hammer rammed into my chest and sent me flying across the pavement. I skidded and rolled, my back and shoulder striking the ground. I cried out, pain blooming in every part of my body.

  From somewhere around me, I heard a and a door slamming shut. I hoped that meant that the lady was hiding inside her house.

  I pushed myself to my hands and knees and took a deep breath, trying to refill my lungs. My eyes widened as the Giant marched toward me quickly, lifting the air weapon above its head. I was about to be smashed under it like a pesky bug.

  I raised my hands, as if I could somehow shield myself, and watched as the weird warping surface of wind came down. The weapon slammed into my palms, sending a powerful force down my skinny arms. An aftershock of wind came crashing down, too, pushing my body down.

  I stayed up, though, balancing on my knees as my limbs trembled.

  The Giant behind the attack had wide eyes, looking both startled and frustrated that it hadn’t crushed me. I could understand its confusion, I was in the same boat.

  After a second, the air weapon disappeared entirely and the pressure was relieved off me, thank god. The Giant instead cracked its knuckles, sneering at me. And, oh shit, this thing was about to try to beat me up like some common backstreet criminal.

  “What?” I said, trying to stand, my voice cracking. “You not gonna use your little tricks?”

  “Don’t have to.”

  Cool, cool, cool. I think I was just insulted. Also, that was ominous as fuck. Man, and my body is still in pain. Like, alot.

  Okay, this is better, actually. If this thing isn’t going to use its weapons then it’ll just be a brawl. I’ve been in a couple fights before. Sure, most of them were in middle school and I usually came out bloody but still, I had experience.

  Its not like I can just walk away now. Not just because I’m a self-proclaimed hero/vigilante but also because, if I did, this thing would most definitely find someone vulnerable and drain them, likely leaving them to die. It was a thought that made my stomach churn.

  Not to mention– I these things. I everything they do. Leaving this thing here and running was an idea more scary and disgusting then staying and fighting.

  I decided to charge first, leaping up and aiming a punch for it’s unprotected face. One of the only parts of its body that wasn’t covered in armor skin. Before I could land the blow though, it was blocked and I was knocked back by it’s forearm. I landed on my feet two bench lengths away.

  I cracked my neck (trying to look confident and cool) and bounded to the side, running in a circle around the Giant. It tried to follow my movements but I was small and fast, probably the one thing I had an advantage of.

  Confusing this thing is probably the best way to go. Fast movements with no pattern or logic until I can get an opportunity to hit it.

  I jumped up and over the thing, twisting my self from a sudden attack of an air weapon– a weapon that disappeared again when I turned back. I ran to the left and then suddenly ran right. I got close and had to block a hit of a smaller wind hammer with both of my forearms. They stung. I pushed the hammer, forcing it to swing back. Clipping the side of my leg on its horns, I pushed off the thing’s arm and struck it’s nose with my knee.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  The Giant stumbled back as I fell to the ground– my foot slipping on the wet concrete and falling to my butt. I hissed as I got a look at my bleeding calf.

  The Giant growled, holding a hand to its face. It dropped its hand, revealing red dripping down it’s lip and chin. I didn’t realize Giant’s bled red until that moment. The thing formed a long blade, not a sword any more, but a knife-like object. I rolled just as it stabbed it into the street, cracking the cement.

  I gritted my teeth, geeting onto the balls of my feet, preparing myself to jump again when suddenly the Giant tensed. I watched as the creature floated off the ground, its face morphing into shock and fear. It kept rising: ten- thirty- forty feet. My neck strained as I watched in numb confusion.

  A second later, the creature dropped, a roar leaving its mouth. I scrambled back as the thing face planted onto the ground with a , it’s movement ceasing. I stared at it for a moment longer, my mouth hanging open behind the mask.

  “And who might you be?” a voice asked from behind me.

  I turned, my body tense, my fingers in fists.

  There, standing with a curious and evaluating expression was He was wearing a jacket over his Warden uniform, standing casually as if it were just another day for him.

  “I asked you a question,” Ron said, taking a step forward. He didn’t sound threatening or look it but he was eyeing me up and down, maybe looking for hostility.

  My breathing picked up and I tried to force myself to do something. It’s not like I could conversate with him otherwise Ron might reconize my voice. Shit, what do I do?

  Ron paused his movement, his expression shifting slightly. Any amusement or levity there disappeared and left only uncertainty and curiosity, as if he didn’t know what to think of me.

  “I saw that,” he said. “You fighting that Giant.” His eyes shifted to the creature for a moment. I couldn’t help but glance at it too. “You can’t keep doing that. Leave that job to us. No matter how strong you are. You understand that, kid?”

  I clenched my jaw, holding back a retort. If I didn’t know Ron personally I would shove his words right back at him. This jerk was only a year or so older than me. But I didn’t say anything.

  “My name is Ron Basin, you might know me. I’m with the Wardens. I don’t want to see you doing something like this again or I’ll report you. This is a crime, understand?”

  Ron had received the call from HQ, telling him of a Giant sighting in Gregton. Ron was on duty at the time, patrolling the area. He had too, after the fiasco with the Rogue family and their youngest son. He was a protective measure to help make sure the citizens of the area felt safer. With him watching over the streets, no Giant could get to them and their loved ones.

  To be completely honest, Ron hadn’t actually expected a real Giant when he got the message. He thought it was just some paranoid old hag seeing things. It turned out, that she was not just seeing things. That was made apparent when he got to the street that was mentioned in the call.

  There was a Giant, one that was making a mess of the road, but along with it was a person. They were fast, jumping around, running, and dodging. Ron lowered himself onto the closest building from where he held himself up with gravity and leaned forward to get a better look.

  Whoever was down there just blocked a blow from the Giant that Ron could say from experience would have broken a normal person's arms, or perhaps, blown them off entirely. However, this masked individual pushed it away as if it were nothing. They were physically strong, their body stronger than the Giant’s or Ron’s.

  Ron, using his power, jumped from the building and slowly sank through the air and onto the street below.

  He watched the person knee the Giant in the face and dodge another attack that broke the road’s concrete. Ron was impressed by the quick reflexes. Using his powers again, he lifted the Giant into the air, studying the masked figure.

  They were clearly not inexperienced, not with those fast reflexes and powerful strength. Even without all of that, he could tell they were an Eternal from their maskless face– an Entha mask that is. They were wearing a paper mask though, hiding half of their face. Their eyes were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses and they had a hood pulled up over a bike helmet. They had come prepared.

  Observing their small body, from the thin arms that were revealed because of the bunched up sleeves, to their narrow shoulders, it was clear they were young (or starving). They weren’t tall either. About four or five inches shorter than Ron himself.

  How much younger is the question. If Ron had to guess, with all of the clear experience they had, they were probably 16 or 17, maybe 18. Some age on the older teen spectrum.

  But, if they were that young, why were they out here? And how and when did they develop such reflexes. It had to take quite a bit of training to get to that level. Unless of course, it was their power, but that would be such a pathetic power. No, someone brave enough to fight a Giant, perhaps go looking for one, would have to have a back-up power. Something they could count on to keep them safe.

  Not to mention, with that much pure unadulatred body strength that didn’t seem to originate from a power, it could mean only one thing. No Eternal was that physically strong without boosts in power. There was only three ways of boosting power, the first was rare and kept a secret– it was only for those with money, Ron knew it well– the second and third though were killing Giants and or Demons. This unidentified person had experience killing either Giants or Demons (those vile creatures). Their strength could mean only that.

  “And who are you?” Ron asked, getting the attention of the oh, so interesting person. Their fingers curled into fists, something Ron took note of. They didn’t answer, but they stood still, perhaps watching him behind those polarized lenses.

  “I asked you a question,” Ron said, taking a step forward, observing them. He waited for any movement, any response, anything at all. When all they did was stare, barely moving a centimeter, Ron paused.

  “I saw that,” he said, deciding to go in a different direction. “You fighting that Giant.” His eyes shifted to the creature for a moment. Ron was glad to find it completely still. “You can’t keep doing that. Leave that job to us. No matter how strong you are. You understand that, kid?”

  Ron glanced back at them, finding that their arms shifted closer to their body. They had reacted to that statement. Did they not like being called kid or did they not like being told what to do? Whatever the answer, Ron was just happy that he had proof he wasn’t talking to a statue.

  Though, it was getting harder to believe that this person was a teenager, simply from their stoicism. With how little they were responding, he may have been talking to a trained soldier. Of course, it would be easier to know what they were thinking if Ron could see their face.

  Ron scanned them again. They had light skin, so perhaps caucasian. He couldn’t see any hair from underneath the hood or in the darkness that was starting to descend over the city but considering the dark hair on their arms it was safe to say they were a brunette or something similar. They stood at about 5’8, perhaps an inch lower or higher and they were standing perfectly straight.

  That was all something he could use later if he must report this person to the Wardens.

  Ron took a breath. “My name is Ron Basin, you might know me. I’m with the Wardens. I don’t want to see you doing something this again or I’ll report you. This is a crime, understand?”

  He didn’t expect an answer this time.

  “You’re not going to do this again, right?” Ron asked. Now, he didn’t particularly care if someone was going around finding Giants and kicking them in the face but when he reports this back to a Manager he can now tell them that he tried to persuade this person to do otherwise, which was good enough for him. Also, what was the worst that this weird kid could do? It wasn’t like they were causing trouble, or catching anyones attention.

  Ron could leave this alone.

  After a moment, the person nodded, slowly. Ron found that kind of odd but shrugged it off. Like he said, he didn’t care much of what they did, as long as it didn’t affect him.

  He left, once the person gave no sign of talking, with only a wave and a 'be careful'.