Henry’s unplanned journey into Gintessa had led him to no shortage of peculiar situations. However, this had to be one of the strangest, standing side by side with a giant and facing off against three mages.

Stina stepped aside, eyes on Henry. He knew he was weaker than their counterpart, he just had to buy time. Ada’s idea was that she would deal with the other two then come to him.

Ada didn’t hesitate. She dropped her backpack and charged in, jumping with both her feet aimed at the two men. Both dashed aside with their base magics. Raymond, the taller blond, raised his arms up high. Sharp yellow light coruscated around him and converged around his hands. He shot a bolt of lightning right at Ada’s calf, and she exclaimed with a step back. From the other end, Marvin pulled out his lute and played a tune. Along the sound a blue light emanated, blue notes materializing. The notes flied straight at Ada’s behind as her attention was on Raymond, blasting in a puff of blue on her ass. Her back arched from the impact. Ada ground her teeth and went after Raymond. Raymond’s robe became a mantle of flowing lightning, darting off around the bushes and trees. Two massive feet were stamping after him, crushing the earth, flattening bushes, her soles mowing the underbrush. Occasional trees presented another issue. Raymond shot back another zap of lightning, snapping any branch they crossed and fizzling on her knee. Ada cried out again, the magic unlike anything she’d faced.

Raymond shot a pillar of scintillating yellow lights up, above the treetops. A smaller dark cloud formed, just below the height of the hilltops. The cloud sparked and shot projectiles of its own, which together with Raymond’s own arsenal became a tempestuous flurry Ada had to flee. Henry had never seen her in that state, the genuine discomfort on her face, Ada on the backfoot. She had to do something, an emergency jump after him. Raymond dodged the pair of feet. Right after landing, Ada was after him, furiously chasing so he had no opening to return fire. But Marvin had charged up and played an especial tune. A cone of blue notes shot out like a spiderweb, forcing Ada to hold her ears when it hit her. Marvin shot his arm forward, a follow-up blue blast knocking Ada down to her bottom. The crackles of lightning grew as Raymond charged an attack, too ambitious in how close he was. Ada had the alertness to swipe after him despite her fall, slapping him where he stood and throwing him straight into a tree. Still sitting but without a moment to spare, Ada raised her butt and threw her foot out. Her toes landed on his lower body, clenching and finding a leg through the robe. Raymond roasted her grabby toes and Marvin unleashed one great explosive note striking her chest.

Ada was in pain. From the glimpses Henry could earn of her fight, it wasn’t looking good, especially as he spent most of his fight against Stina fleeing in circles. He just ducked a globe of energy and hopped out of the way as Stina’s leg slammed the heel down towards him, shattering the earth.

“How did you introduce yourself in the letter to Sho’s academy?” Stina grunted. “Expert flee artist? Prime coward? They have no place for castoff, giant-slaves whose greatest accomplishment is touching the mere surface of the arts.”

“It’s almost like I’m only sixteen years old,” Henry spat out. “With better control of my emotions than you. Have you tried meditating?” Henry ducked, an enraged fist passing overhead and smashing into the tree. A good opening, Henry thrust his palm right into her abdomen, a blast of energy sending her flying. He felt quite proud at that moment. “Your trainers must be honored to watch you, watching some self-taught bumpkin treat you like this.” She didn’t look happy upon getting up.

The tremors closed in. Ada ran towards him, a strange sight, and right next to him she bent down and swept down with her hand, grabbing him. Ada pressed through the trees, holding Henry up to her shoulder.

“Don’t let them get away!” The three mages chased.

“Henry, I need your help,” Ada said, panting, and her distress wasn’t just from being tired.

“What? I can barely handle my opposition. I thought you had this.”

“Yeah, but, AH—” A jolt of lightning grazed her heel. Ada scaled up a naked hill and down the other side, splashed through a river, larger mountains looming ahead. “You don’t have to beat her. Just grab her, try and hold her, and I’ll get her. Once I get her, we can go two on two against the two remaining ones. Ok?”

“I told you we shouldn’t have—”

“Henry, try and slow her down. Your only job. Ok?”

“Let’s go.”

“Let me just… find…” Ada breathed faster, seeing a clearing amid the trees. She went there and dropped Henry, who landed gracefully on grass. The three mages arrived behind them. This time, Ada stayed closer to Henry. Raymond and Marvin were getting ready to batter Ada with their magic again, and Henry rushed in.

Stina backed away from his lunge and kneed his stomach, throwing him away. “New strategy? Running worked better for you.” Stina rushed in after him this time, feigning a couple hits. Henry didn’t try to dodge, but absorb, catch, receive. A high kick came with a force unexpected, throwing Henry away as he was unable to grab it. Hands ready to move underneath, Henry lay down, pretending her kick did more than what had showed. Stina was coming upon him. Henry turned and flung his arms around her waist. He had her.

“Ada!” he shouted, clasping his hands together to lock himself around her like a belt. Stina punched and elbowed his back, tried to pry him off her. Henry thought his back might break, crying out and holding on. He had to buy time.

The savior came, her shadow growing upon them. Ada’s sole flattened them both, Stina and Henry pancaked together. The pressure relented somewhat as Ada eased her weight, fingers digging in and getting them both out. Henry lay in an open palm while Stina was constricted by five fingers. From his vantage point, Henry saw the yellow flashes of light forming above them. Raymond was charging.

“Ada, above! Run!”

Ada trusted him enough to not even look, hopping and ducking to get under the trees immediately. A massive bolt of lightning struck the earth she’d stood on, a chaos of glitter and strewn soil and grass and twigs scattered from the blast. Three parades of blue notes stormed through the woods as Marvin played a rapid tune. Ada didn’t panic, retaining her steel grip on Stina while releasing Henry. He too retreated with her, branches scattered, trees snapped in half, hurricanes of leaf fragments thrown about. As annoying as the woods were for Ada to navigate through when trying to catch them, they provided ample cover from the magical bombardment.

The frenzy subsided.

“We’re over here!” Stina shouted from Ada’s hand, offering her partners guidance.

“Yes you are,” Ada said, getting her hair out of her face. “You’re right here.” She raised her dress and pinned the hemline in place with her chin, then lowered her panties with her free hand. Stina was aimed head first.

“What in all that is holy are you—” Her head entered. Ada swirled her for a couple of seconds to open herself up, then pushed her right in. Marvin and Raymond arrived just in time to see Stina’s feet enter, the two hungry pink lips closing after. The skin around Ada’s pussy moved from Stina’s struggles. The panties snapped back; the dress fell over like curtains.

“Y— You disgusting whore!” Raymond shouted. Their reaction made Henry realize how far from normal he’d fallen, to not harbor any reaction. That was normal for him.

“Oh, it’ll get better,” Ada said, a hungry smirk. “I don’t think you’re ready for when I get my hands on you. You look handsome especially, lightning guy.”

Marvin’s eyes went to Henry. “Have you no shame?”

“The people who attacked a little girl are dishing out lectures?” Ada said, and Henry appreciated her defense, for he had no good words himself. “Let’s get them, Henry.”

Marvin didn’t hesitate, heading straight for Henry. With a dash forward and a set of fingers snapping across the strings, a line of notes flied right towards him. Henry jumped to the side. The notes followed. Henry caught himself in the jump and threw himself in another direction. The notes exploded on earth and tree, splinters of soil and bark cast about. Wherever Henry landed didn’t matter, for Raymond had a shot of lightning right at him. The bolt struck his chest and burst, a hot jab knocking the breath out of him and tossing him into a tree. He tried to get up, he had to, before they could follow up.

He was slow, it hurt, he needed time, but it didn’t matter. The tremors came first, then he raised his head and saw them scatter to Ada’s advance. Only now, unlike before, she had caught them off guard, dodging barely and out of pace. Raymond narrowly escaped Ada’s right foot, and the closeness with which he’d gotten away, the jolt of adrenaline from almost being caught, had him overdo the distance he made afterwards. Ada pivoted her focus instantly to Marvin. She speared her left foot right after Marvin, who jumped out of the way with a bloom of music. Ada was right after him.

Marvin landed and enjoyed ground no more than a second before Ada’s right foot kicked him, launching him into a whipping flurry through the branches. The lute dissipated into a blue mist. Magical, of course.

Marvin got stuck in the branches and blasted his way free, falling, but during that time Ada charged through the trees and got there. Right upon his fall, her foot stomped right into him. Her toes curled, the foot twisting, grinding him.

In the meantime, Henry had challenged Raymond, but his energy was trounced by Raymond’s lightning. In their clashes, Henry had been thrown back, but Raymond saw Ada pick up Marvin from under her sole, encased in her fist, her attention now coming to him.

“Fuck.” The lightning enveloped his body and Raymond sped away.

“Chase him!” Ada shouted. Henry did, his art of the fighter able to keep up. As Henry ran, he did so in explosive bursts, kicking the earth, flashing energy, all to leave markers behind for Ada to pursue. Raymond tried to throw bolts of lightning back, Henry dodging, gaining on him.

Raymond was returning to their camp, to the clearing. Henry didn’t know what he was planning. Perhaps there were essentials he had to grab before fleeing. Perhaps they had something with them to turn the tides. Henry didn’t want to find out. He threw his golden energy forward, forcing Raymond to dodge. Henry caught his leg with a blast, knocking Raymond off balance. He fell and tumbled, finding balance with empowered arms. But Henry gripped his robe at his back and threw him down, planting his knee on Raymond’s back.

“Listen, just give up,” Henry whispered with a panting voice. “It’s over, okay? Just—”

“Worthless, shameless, depraved giant-slave…” Raymond’s head, body, it all shone, and he cast his arms up. An explosion of lightning shook the clearing, Henry zapped off the premises and sent into a succession of rolls across the grass. What he saw through his painful flight, however, was Ada entering the scene. She stomped Raymond before he got up.

“And there we go.” Ada caught her breath, staring at Marvin in her hand. Her thumb came up to stroke his cheek. Marvin flinched away uselessly. “I want you to guess what I’m going to do to you.”

“Fuck you.”

“Don’t be like that now. You know, it wasn’t smart to run out to the woods with no eyes around. You’ll wish other giants were around, because now I’m alone with you. And that means I can go all out.”

“Eat shit, blind degenerate giant.”

Ada raised an eyebrow. “One would almost think I’m the bad guy here, that I’m the one who stole food and attacked a child. You’re just making me feel even more honorable.” Ada hunched down, raised her empty foot, and placed Marvin under it. The moment her fingers released and hand snapped back, her sole fell over him. She stood to her height, her toes wiggling happily over the new captives. Ada breathed deeply. “Oh, it’s time.” She slipped the neckline of her dress over the shoulder, slipping the arm out, then followed with the other. Arms free and out, she pulled the dress down, first over her voluminous bosom which jiggled firmly, then dragged it down her waist. It fell around her ankles. The panties soon joined, Ada standing in her naked glory.

Henry knew what was coming.