Life of a Nonhuman

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Before Hasuki could confirm either way she was interrupted by the gem feeding it's torrent of information to Nibbit, and whatever she had said was drowned out by the massive flow of lewdness directly to his brain, at least the gem apologized? Of course this also brought something interesting up that Nibbit might ponder when he was able to think clearly again, the gem said it didn't have complete control, and it seemed as if the gem operated even before the personality woke up, was it possible that the personality was somehow separate from the other functions of it? Of course the gem itself didn't know the answer to this question, so any answers would have to wait.

"Yes, though unintentional, while I was not yet conscious it appears I was skimming your surface thoughts to assist you in whatever limited way was possible, namely answering queries and offering information, I will refrain from doing so again...".
It both confirmed it was able to read his thoughts and promised to not do so again, of course since he communicated with it seemingly through surface thoughts that might be difficult.
"I see... You are an incredibly lewd individual, I fear you may be corrupting me with your lewd thoughts and instincts, and your oddly alien mind".
It was hard to tell for sure but... Was that a joke? Had the gem developed a sense of humor?! Well, either that or it was calling him a pervert.

"Very well, I can draw a map for you to follow so there will be no chance of getting lost, however I suggest you ensure the village's safety from the half giants first".
Yeah that was a good point, imagine if he left to get farmers, came back and all the goblins were dead, alongside the wolves and what was most likely the majority of the world's remaining Wabbit population! And with them gone the Half giants may even choose to target the elven villages nearby, no he could not simply leave just yet.
Speaking of the wolves they seemed to be the object of both fear and admiration from the goblins, it seemed that tribe in particular had wolves as a totem spirit, and the wolves were happily soaking up the attention like a bunch of puppies, which made sense, after all they were fairly young and immature.

Shortly after that conversation something quite interesting happened, a group of five Wabbits, recognizable as the Dires he had rescued plus one particularly hardy looking normal Wabbit, hopped up to him with uncharacteristic determination.
"Nibbit! We wanna help! We... Wanna be like Boss! All strong and tough like a predator! We help goblins scare off Half giants!"
They... Wanted to be human? While most Wabbits were content to stay as their natural forms it seemed these had seen the strength of Nibbit and Mimir and decided they wanted in on that too.

 

[ayylmao]

L-lewd? I-I'm not—aaargh, nevermind…

Nibbit didn't really have a good retort for the gem. He knew that he was really a pervert after all.

-----

"Yep!" Nibbit agreed with the elf. "Our defense preparation must come first."

After their meeting was over, they left the ruins to each do their own tasks. However, before Nibbit could do so, he met with a group of dire Wabbits (and one normal Wabbit), and they all declared that they wanted to become like Mimir. And by that, they meant they wanted human forms, just like her.

W-what? Hey, aren't these the guys we rescued from the poachers back then?

...Ah, that makes sense then. They want to be stronger so that they wouldn't end up in a situation like that again. Well, they say they want to also defend the village from the half-giants, so that's even better. Hmm, maybe their being the dire variants make them have a more fighter-oriented mindset.

Can I do it again though? And for all six of them? Well, the gem just recently got supercharged, so maybe I could.

"Alright!" He gave his answer. "Follow me, you guys! We'll do it at a more secluded place. Oh right, before that, I should prepare some clothes for you all. You need to wear them once you have human forms after all, just like me and Mimir!"

He took another trip back into the ruins, going to the so-called storage room used by the elves to store all sorts of stuff that they needed. He had told them to prepare extra clothes, just in case of other Wabbits gaining human forms like in this occasion. He even counted that the wolves would perhaps eventually want human forms as well.

Taking out a bundle of clothes—three females and three males, he exited the ruins, returning back to the still eager group of Wabbits. They then headed to the outskirts of the village, below a tree. Nibbit took a seat there. No sense in doing it while standing, with the Wabbits being so short and all. "One by one, alright?" He told them.

The Dires got their turn first. Nibbit placed both of his hands on them, focusing his energy into them, just like the way he did it with MImir. Hey, gem, if you still got some juice left, give these Wabbits human forms, would you?

And to his amazement, he managed to perform it all to them, even the normal Wabbit who got their turn in the end.

Of course, once he finished granting them human forms, he immediately told them to move behind the tree and dress themselves up there, not wanting to stare at their naked forms for longer than necessary, especially towards the females.

"And that's it!" He declared with a smile once he was finished. "With this, you all now have human forms, just like us! You might want to try moving around though, just to get used to the new bodies you have."

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

The gem seemed to ponder Nibbit's question, it had mostly been acting on instinct when it transformed Nibbit before, same as when he transformed Mimir... But if it could do it before there was no reason it wouldn't work now, even if it wouldn't be able to make them as strong as Nibbit or Mimir.
"I believe I can transform these Wabbits, that transformation relic has fused with me entirely, so it is as instinctive as my other abilities... However I can not be certain of how much energy it will cost me".
So, the gem was pretty sure it could do it, but didn't know what it would cost, with the recent infusion of magical energy it would probably be able to handle it though, and besides, six new Wabbit Beastfolk would be immensely helpful in battle, sure the goblins could fight but they were not exactly the strongest creatures in the forest, Wabbit Folk however were incredibly good at kicking once they figure out how to walk and move properly n the new bodies, though it was anyone's guess how they might adapt to weapons if given them.

The Wabbit volunteers were literally bouncing with excitement as they followed Nibbit and waited to be changed, this was a big exciting new thing for them after all, there wasn't a lot of excitement in a normal Wabbit's life, and these guys had been locked up for who knows how long, which was likely even less exciting.
One by one they gained their new forms, all ending up incredibly androgynous, though the females had breasts which set them apart at least, was it a feature of the gem to make everyone so androgynous? Or perhaps something more native to Wabbits in specific, the gem didn't seem to know at least.

At first the Wabbits were a little difficult to herd off to get dressed, too excited and curious about their new bodies to care about modesty, eventually however the awkwardly stumbled off to do as they were told, eventually returning in a somewhat okay state of dress, their clothes were rumpled and disorderly and it looked like one of the girls had somehow switched clothes with a male Wabbit, but neither seemed to overly mind it.
The next few hours of their experience would be them slowly adapting to their bodies and showing off to the rest of the village, the goblins seemed especially impressed, since to them this made it look like Nibbit was a great sorcerer that conjured warriors from thin air.
Eventually Mimir ended up joining them, at first to help but it quickly devolved into a game of tag.

While this went on several of the wolves decided to approach Nibbit.
"Boss Nibbit... We were hunting and found signs of Half Giant activity, they have likely begun scouting the area, I do not yet know if they intend to attack us, but they will likely seek to expand here now that the goblin village is no longer suitable for habitation".
It looked like for some reason the Half Giants needed a new home, and had planned to take the home of the goblins, unfortunately with that place destroyed Nibbit's new village was the next best place.

 

[ayylmao]

Nibbit watched as the six new human Wabbits appeared wearing their clothes from behind the tree. As expected, they still couldn't quite put them on right. Well, they would eventually learn it on their own, he told himself. He however didn't notice that one of the girls had switched clothes with one of the males, thanks to said male being androgynous, which, by the way, he was glad about, as he wouldn't want a male Wabbit around that looked more manly than he was, as petty as that might sounded.

Afterwards, he saw them going around the village, showing off their new body with excitement as they learned how to walk and run. Mimir soon noticed their presence however, and she quickly went to them and told them that she would be their teacher. She gave a glance towards him from a distance. Naturally, she already guessed that he was the one that transformed them. That, or the Wabbits telling her straight away.

Well, I can't just be watching them. I still have a meeting with Saggia after all. The goblins need to be divided into labor groups, each with their own leader. There would be too many for Saggia to handle herself. Busy busy…

Before he could do so however, the wolves approached him, telling him that they had seen the half-giants scouting around near their territory.

"Hmm… that's a problem…" Nibbit paused, putting a hand on his chin. "We're still far from ready. If they attack now, we'll be in big trouble for sure."

After thinking for a short while, he came with an idea. "How about we speak with them first? Even if the negotiations don't end up with anything, we can still buy time with them to get up our defenses. And there's a good chance they would listen to me. I was the one who vanquished the lich after all. Knowing how they never attacked while he was there, they must respect his strength. So logically, they will respect my strength as well." He explained to the wolves.

"Take me there." He ordered them. "No letters this time around. I'll go there personally. Also, one of you should inform Saggia and Eirsha to hurry the construction of the walls. The houses could wait."

"Oh, and also, get Mimir and Hasuki. And the six new human Wabbits. I'll give them a display of our strength." He gave a confident grin. In a dog-eats-dog wilderness like this, the only thing that beasts and monsters respect was strength. And he would make sure that the half-giants saw their strength well.

-----

"Master Nibbit, are you sure about this?" Eirsha said to him as he was preparing to depart. "What if the half-giants decide to just take you on the spot? Wouldn't that be dangerous? Aren't you walking straight into the enemy camp?"

He could see that the elf was worried, and she indeed had some valid points. So he had to reply to her first before he left.

"Oh, don't worry." He smiled. "The moment we sense any danger, we would immediately retreat. Those giants are slow. They can't run as fast as us."

"Half-giants, Master." She sternly corrected. "They aren't as big but they are faster."

"Y-yeah, half-giants!" Nibbit quickly replied. "Still, same thing! Us Wabbits and wolves are really fast, you know! And Hasuki can just ride on one of the wolves! I'm even willing to carry her if she wants!"

The elf sighed. "Alright. If you say so. Just.. be careful, alright?" She gave a smile.

He couldn't help but blush a little. That smile was beautiful.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Once Nibbit was ready to go the wolves gathered those he requested, all looking more or less nervous, Mimir was still limping, even with her apparently accelerated healing it would take at least a few days before she was able to fight properly, just the inevitable consequences of two breaks in a row sadly, a normal human would probably never walk again never mind be jumping around and kicking monsters within a few days.
Maybe he could get her some leg armor or something in the future... Assuming they could find a smith or at the very least a leather worker with enough skill.
The six new Wabbit Humans were still clearly a tad awkward in their new bodies but could manage walking without any visible trouble at least, and judging from the way they were playing earlier had figured out how to pull off some of the superhuman jumps that were seemingly a natural ability for them in this form.
Hasuki was fine, but her nerves were showing, ears flat to head as she paced on the spot.
It wasn't exactly an elite band but well, it was the best he had to be perfectly honest.

"Nibbit... Are you sure we can pull this off? While Half Giants are civil enough to not attack us on sight and we probably even let us leave their camp unharmed, they are still incredibly strong and durable, if they choose to attack us we might not be able to escape... Pretty much their only major weaknesses are magic, and I know I can't attack a whole clan".
Hasuki's tail began thrashing a little as she talked, yep this was genuine fear, perhaps half giants were actually kinda scary?
"I... If you want I'll come with you still, just be very careful... I don't think even you can beat multiple half giants at once".
As Hasuki finished talking Mimir spoke up, looking incredibly ashamed of herself.
"I... Can't come with you... I tried but my leg hurts too bad and I can't jump or kick or run fast... Don't wanna slow you down..."
Wow, it was clearly an enormous blow to Mimir's pride to admit that she wouldn't be able to help, considering how quickly she was back up after the Hell Hound attack this injury must be incredibly painful indeed.
At least the new Wabbit Humans were willing to accompany Nibbit, excitement mixed in with Nervousness.

When the finally left the camp it was wolves guiding them, and would take most of a day until they reached the Half Giant camp, it looked almost like a circus tent except plain and of lower quality, and the occupants of the camp, thirty at most, looked at the newcomers with undisguised curiosity and some hostility.
It wasn't long before several of them approached.
"Well well... Looks like the little bunnies came to play... And they brought their dogs too! Hah! Someone get the chief! He's gonna love you!"
The Half giants were easily more than twice the size of Nibbit! Covered in muscle and clearly not seeing him and his entourage as any real threat, their height seemed to scare most of the Dire Wabbits, oddly the non dire was seemingly too impressed by their size to be scared, perhaps a sign of a simpler mind.

Soon the Chief appeared... He was larger than the others, standing at over three times Nibbit's size, he was clad in surprisingly good looking armor and carrying a massive axe like it was nothing, what's more, he had a totally different aura to all the others, somehow more... Noble? And certainly more powerful.
"He's Storm Blooded..."
Hasuki whispered in shock, her words quickly followed by an explanation from the gem entity.
"A storm blood is a half giant who both shares a bloodline with the Nobility of the Old Giants and has significantly more giant blood than average... He is an incredible threat and may have limited wordless lightning magic at his command, be very wary".
"Well well well..."
The Chief's voice boomed loud and thunderous, almost deafening to the heightened hearing of Nibbit and his allies.
"To think that the 'Great Nibbit' would come to make an appearance in person..."
He was clearly mocking him with the Great Nibbit title...
"I heard you shattered that old bag of bones before I could get there... A shame really, I'm sure it would have been a fun fight! Now you better not be here to surrender, or I might have to break the rules of hospitality!"
There didn't seem to be an immediate threat here at least.
"Half Giants have generally excellent hospitality, though they will happily destroy a city without mercy, a guess is well respected in nearly all cases, and guaranteed safety until they have left".

 

[ayylmao]

"Hmm, you certainly got a point there," Nibbit admitted to Hasuki. "But still, I feel this is the best way to handle them. Even if we win in a direct fight with the entire village, there would definitely be casualties. And possibly a lot of them. And that, I cannot allow." For a moment there, Nibbit was looking like a true leader instead of just a cute Wabbit that Hasuki was used to. "Don't worry." He gave a comforting smile. "I'm not planning to either. I know my own limits after all."

When Mimir came to him and admitted that she couldn't go, Nibbit was taken aback with surprise. He had thought her to be the foolhardy type that would try to go even though she actually couldn't. This is good though, he thought to himself. That means she too knows her own limits. And I need that in my subordinates. I don't want people to sacrifice themselves for me for no reason after all.

"Thank you for telling me, Mimir. Don't worry. I'll be fine. You just rest up and focus on healing your wounds, alright?" He gave another comforting smile to her.

After saying his goodbyes, he departed with his "elite guards". Riding on top of the wolves, they managed to reach where the half-giants were camping in just about a day. Thankfully, the other human Wabbits were just as light as he was, so there were no problems whatsoever for the wolves to carry them around like that.

Once they were there, it was immediately clear that they weren't in a welcoming company. Not in the slightest.

After receiving a rude greeting from one of the half-giants, they were led to the middle of the camp, straight to where their Chief was.

And to say that he was intimidating would be intimidating.

He stood far taller than Nibbit was, and he had a presence or an aura to him that communicated great strength. Woah, he looks dangerous… Better not to pick a fight with him… Nibbit immediately knew that he most likely wouldn't be able to win against him. And the assessment from both Hasuki and the gem supported him on that conjecture.

Even so, he held himself well. He stood proud in front of him, not looking intimidated in the slightest. Even if he had to look upwards to see the chief's face.

"Oh no, not in the slightest." He returned his taunt with a grin, crossing his arms in an act of confidence. "I'm here to offer you a deal. You say you need a home, yes? Then, become my vassal. We will allow you and your people to live with us in the forest, side by side with the Wabbits, goblins, and the wolves. And the elves too. They had agreed to give me their aid. Even now, they're building a fortress with their expertise, designed to repel both humans and nonhumans alike. When they're done, this entire place would be a safe haven for non-humans, including your people. That is, if you decide to take my offer. If not," He paused for dramatic effect. "Well, you see these six human Wabbits behind me? I only needed one of them and a simple dog girl to defeat the Lich. And now there are six of them. And who knows how many more I have back at home? You see what I'm getting at here?" Nibbit now outright had a villainous smile on his face. "If you still insist on attacking us, I will not hesitate to send all of them to you. Those hundreds goblins that I have now under my protection? They're not even my main force. Not in the slightest." He smirked. He could sense a slight tinge of fear coming from the half-giant chief. "Oh, one more thing… Unlike ordinary Wabbits, us human Wabbits do eat meat. And we can gain power from the things we ate. And I'm very sure that half-giants are amongst the most powerful creatures in this forest." Might as well push my bluff all the way to the end.

Yes, it was all a bluff, of course. None of the new human Wabbits were as strong as Mimir. And there were exactly only six of them. But the Chief didn't know that. And with the confidence Nibbit was radiating, there was no good reason for him or the other half-giants to suspect that he was lying. The Lich was indeed dead, slain by this Wabbit that stood in front of them.

His old self wouldn't be able to do such a bluff, of course. But after all the recent successes that he had, and the fact that he now had underlings that respected him, his confidence in himself had bloomed. Slowly but surely, his old identity would vanish, replaced by the Forest Lord that he seemed to have become.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

The chief stayed silent as Nibbit spoke, giving hope that he might actually be listening, Nibbit truly did give a solid argument, with just enough threats and lies to win over a normal tribe, any other race's chief would most certainly have been swayed after that, as it stood the other half giants were clearly starting to believe him! Could it really be this easy to resolve this crises?...
The answer was of course a resounding no, once Nibbit finished speaking the chief took a deep breath, looked down directly into his eyes, and laughed.
"You talk like a true chief... And if you were alone I'd almost have believed you! But well... Your comrades hardly seem convinced of your lies".

Damn it, while Hasuki was doing her best to play along, the other six were visibly confused, slightly grossed out by the mention of eating meat and more than a little afraid, it was apparently too much to expect the new Human Wabbits to be able to follow such a complex lie without prior instruction.
"Don't feel too bad though little Wabbit, even if your comrades were reliable and you had fooled me... I would only want to battle you even more!"
The chief declared.
One of the other half Giants actually spoke up and approached.
"Uhh chief... Maybe we shouldn't..."
Before he could finish the chief had swung around and delivered an uppercut that seemed to break the Half Giant's neck, slamming his corpse into a nearby tree, that promptly fell over.
"Excellent suggestion! Maybe we shouldn't let this little girl and her companions leave alive... They threatened to eat us after all, so clearly it's fair game..."
There was something not quite right in the chief's eyes... Something raging hidden just beneath the surface... Something seeming almost like... Madness... Not to mention the chief apparently thought Nibbit was a girl, or was just insulting him, it was hard to tell.
"Now... Unless you others want a taste of why I am chief, kill them".

The moment the order was given the other Half Giants began grabbing weapons and approaching Nibbit and his party, the other Wabbits were clearly terrified but ready to fight.
Suddenly, just as it seemed a fight was unavoidable a voice boomed out.
"Father! You would attack our guests?! Have you forgotten our traditions?!"
A woman with a clear resemblance to the chief emerged from the great tent in the center of the camp, a massive axe in one hand.
"Ahh... Lawine... Do not interfere, I have chosen to put this little girl in her place".
The chief declared.
"No! Father, slay them later if you must but you will not break our laws! Do you wish to shame our ancestors?!"
This seemed to sway the chief to growled and slammed his axe into the ground hard enough to shake the immediate area.
"You, Nibbit... I suggest you leave this camp and return to your home, I will give you two days to prepare a suitable fight, if I am properly entertained I may let some of your comrades live as my servants".

 

[ayylmao]

Oh goddamnit!

Nibbit couldn't help but curse in his mind. His plan to bluff against the Chief… it had failed completely, just because he forgot to tell the other Wabbits of his plan beforehand! He had thought that they would be able to follow along just fine, but apparently not. Their nervousness and confusion were clearly picked up by the Chief, making him call on his bluff.

And now, he's fully intending to attack and end them right then and there! Wow, that punch… that's a powerful one… I guess he doesn't care that much about his underlings… No wonder he refuses my terms...

And those eyes… there's something wrong with him...

Yep, we certainly can't take him on and the other half-giants right now. We have to run!

Hold on, did he just call me a girl?

Ignoring the offensive comment the half-giant just made, he quickly scanned the area for any openings, tensing his leg muscles in the process. He was readying himself to carry Hasuki, if one of the wolves of Wabbits didn't get to her first.

But then, an unexpected development appeared! The Chief's daughter suddenly came out and demanded that he let them leave their encampments, safely and unharmed. Wow, she's a spirited one. She manages to talk down the scary Chief just like that.

"Hmph, very well then." Nibbit replied. "Don't come crying to me later, when you lose terribly against a bunch of Wabbits." Taking his word, he turned his back from him, signalling the others to follow him. Well, it's not like he wouldn't notice any attempts of a sneak attack from the back, thanks to his sensitive ears.

Only after he was outside the half-giant's line of sight that Nibbit let out a long sigh.

"Well, that could've gone better," he said grimly to the group. "Aah, if only you guys can act better…" He scolded the six wabbits lightly. "Well, what's done is done. We have to prepare for war now. Let's return to the village as fast as we could. Use the two days that had been given to us generously by the Chief to build up our defenses. We'll let them come to us instead of the other way around."

As they travelled back, Nibbit was once again deep in thought. Just like when he had to fight against the necromancer, he had to think up a plan to fight against these half-giants.

Well, first of all, we're going to have the home advantage. Hmm, maybe we can place traps and such around the place. In the thick woods, it would be difficult to see them for sure.

Next up is the matter of the walls. We'll actually want them up by the time they arrive, if just to slow them a little.

Hmm, since they're big, maybe it's better if it's not a traditional wall. Maybe we should just build a large pit filled with wooden spikes around the village. We can camouflage them using leaves and dirt. Maybe the elves can help with this. They're supposed to be good at this kind of stuff, right?

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

The chief reacted to Nibbit's final bit of bravado by slamming his axe into the ground incredibly hard, drawing yelps from the Wabbits and even a moment of shock from Hasuki, before he laughed at their retreating backs.
"Likewise, little Wabbit!"
He shouted after them, this time drawing some laughs from the rest of his tribe, even if they didn't all seem entirely natural, but after seeing what happened to the last one to go against the chief none of them were going to risk pissing him off at all.

The Wabbits all looked suitably ashamed of themselves, staring at the ground and whining pitiably, it was much the same as any wabbit would react after being told off, clearly their minds didn't expand as fast as Mimir's had, and it seemed the gem had an explanation for that.
"To conserve magical energy I share much more power with your inner circle than I do the rest of your people, otherwise I would run dry within a few days at the very most".
Huh, well Hasuki and Mimir did sort of resemble an inner circle, would someone like Eirsha be enhanced too? Did she even count as inner circle?
Quickly after the gem finished speaking the Wabbits moved forth in unison, and began rubbing themselves against Nibbit, attempting to cheer him up and gain forgiveness, while simply cute and fluffy in Wabbit form, with humans it was certainly something else, he could feel breasts at several points!

The elves were more than happy to aid Nibbit, even offering some of their archers in defense, they were under no illusions, if Nibbit fell their villages would be directly in the firing line for the expansionist Half Giants, and there was little chance the mostly independent towns would be able to defend themselves or call in a larger army for aid, as such within the first day there was a large team of elves doing everything from helping dig (not that they needed to with the incredible digging prowess common to Wabbits) to teaching goblins and even a couple of the new Wabbit humans to fire bows, the rest of the goblins were showing off their prowess at making spiky things by sharpening stakes, normally they would use these to build walls, but sticking them into a pit worked fine too.
Hasuki was working hard as well, drawing odd looking runes in several places, which the gem identified as a series of quite nasty magical traps, ranging from simple snares and tripping spells to summoning lightning from above.

It was near the end of the first day that a howl from one of the patrolling wolves caught Nibbit's attention... It was a half giant marching towards his camp! Axe in hand and an alert expression on their face... As she got closer it became clear that it was a she... The Chief's daughter!
"Hallo Chief Nibbit! Calm your followers! I do not seek way this day!"
With her great size and the volume of her voice it was easy to hear what she said.
"I wish to speak with you about my father's actions... Woman to woman!"
Oh dear, it seemed she believed him to be a girl as well... He would need to set this straight!

 

[ayylmao]

So basically they are not as strong or smart as Mimir. Got it, Nibbit replied to the gem inside his mind. Wish you had told that sooner. He couldn't help but add a sarcastic comment at the end. After all, if he had known, he might have decided to tell the Wabbits his plan beforehand. Though he kinda doubted that it would ultimately make a difference, since they probably wouldn't be able to act either way.

Nibbit's grumpiness soon vanished however, as the other human Wabbits began rubbing themselves at him! Just like Mimir, they still thought doing that was the appropriate thing to do to comfort someone, even though they had human forms right now.

"H-hey, stop it! Stop it, all of you!" Nibbit protested with a blush on his face. They eventually stopped, but not before he had three pairs of soft breasts pressed right into his face.

-----

When they returned, Nibbit didn't waste any time. He immediately gathered all the leaders from each race and briefed them on what had transpired against the half-giants. Afterwards, he also told them what his plans would be.

When he finished, Eirsha let out a long sigh. "Well, that was just about what I expected from them, really," she said in her usual confidence, as she leaned back on the table behind her, crossing her legs in the process. "Don't worry. If we pull an all-nighters, with all those goblins, I believe we can pull off making the defences ready before they come. Us elves could fight as well. Here. Let me show you how I would place them if I were you."

With her amazing drawing skills, she drew a map of the entire surroundings in a flash, complete with spots that she thought would be the perfect places for them to put elven and goblin archers at.

"Oh, before you go and say that we don't have any stakes in this battle, don't kid yourself. The half-giants wouldn't stop here. If they took this place over, our village would be at risk too. So we would fight with you, as it is the most logical thing to do."

As usual, Eirsha didn't show any weakness in front of him or the others. But truthfully, she had grown to care about the place and Nibbit, and she wouldn't want to see it being destroyed or him dead. Even though it hadn't been that long since she started working here, she was already charmed by the place and its ruler. Perhaps even more than just one way.

"We can also try to train the goblin archers to fire their bows better," she added. "That is, if it's alright with you, Saggia." She addressed the goblin chief.

Once the meeting was over, they immediately got to work. With the aid of the Saggia, Eirsha explained to the goblins how and where they should dig and build the wooden spikes. With the elves being experts at woodcrafting, the goblins were relegated to the job of falling down trees, leaving the sharpening to them. As for the pits, using Nibbit's Wabbit instinct, he took the charge of guiding the goblins on digging on the right spot.

Before they knew it, one day had passed, when suddenly, an unexpected visitor came to them.

Wait, that's the half-giant chief's daughter, isn't she?

Before the whole village decided to attack her, Nibbit quickly ran forwards to meet her outside.

"What do you want?" He confidently faced her. "It's still not yet time for our battle."

She then told him about her father—how apparently there was something wrong with him.

"Alright, first of all, I'm not a girl, alright. I'm a boy! A boy!" He said with a huff. Clearly, he was offended by her misgendering of him. "As for your Father, I indeed saw something wrong with him when we talked. There's a… madness inside him that I sense. I am not sure what it was, unfortunately, so if you want me to cure him, you have to look somewhere else. Madness or not, I will defend my people against him."

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

"My apologies, it did not occur to me at the time, I shall endeavor to provide more prompt information in the future".
The gem assured him, it almost sounded a little embarrassed about it's omission, which made sense, when he first got it the stone would would feed information the moment he needed it, but now as it gained more sentience it also seemed to lose efficiency, an unfortunate trade off.
Then again, it HAD agreed to stop reading his surface thoughts, which might have made it somewhat more difficult to quickly supply information to Nibbit, after all it didn't even know if he was curious about things anymore and could only offer up what it thought might be useful.

The Wabbits stopped when requested though certainly seemed confused by the demand, this was normal Wabbit instinct! You solve most problems through varying forms of physical affection, and failing that, by slamming into the problem repeatedly, and none of them really wanted to try slamming into Nibbit, it seemed like something that could end up really painful for both parties.

Saggia followed along as Nibbit and Eirsha spoke, clearly not having enough trouble keeping up with them, and even adding small tidbits of information when she saw the chance.
"Us goblins have similar eyesight to elves... We will have no troubles working through the night, and I suggest we work without light, no doubt the Half Giants will have scouts looking in on us... Their eyes are far less powerful than ours so we should be able to keep any traps well hidden"
It made sense that a tribal elder would be more knowledgeable than the rest of the tribe... To be fair though, the goblins while not stupid, were not exactly brilliant either so it wasn't a very high bar.
"I would be most honored for my tribe to receive training from the peerless archers of your race... While we have bows I am afraid my people are far from expert in their use".
At the end of the meeting Saggia brought up one last thing.
"While I will not be able to take part in the battle itself... I am somewhat talented in healing arts both magical and mundane, if someone is wounded I will strive to remedy them, which may be especially useful if you try to take any enemies alive...".

Nibbit's outburst drove the determined expression from the Woman's face, replacing it with shock, and then embarrassment, it was quite a sight to see such a large woman blushing.
"Oh my word... I am incredibly embarrassed... It's just... Your people are so small and your features are hard to make out... I can barely tell one gender apart but you didn't complain when my father called you a woman... Please accept my apologies!"
The woman went down on one knee, though she was still significantly taller than Nibbit.
"Half Giants put incredible value on how they treat those they see as allies or guests, and tend to be embarrassed about their Race's inferior eyesight".
Wait... He wasn't a guest... Did that mean she saw him as an ally?

It was confirmed a moment later after she regained her composure, still staying kneeling so as to be on an almost equal level to Nibbit.
"Oh no... There is no cure for what my father suffers from, The Storms in our blood have clouded his mind, and what the storms take they keep... I had a different proposition".
She seemed to need a moment to prepare herself for her next speech.
"My father has shown incredible distaste for our rules and laws, and has slain our kin more than once, the tribe follows only because of his strength and bloodline... The Bloodline I share.
She let that sink it before continuing.
"My proposal is that you allow me to fight alongside you, and aid me in ending my father's madness, along with his life... In exchange I will take command of my tribe, and you may consider us allies of your people, we will turn our fighters away from you and yours and towards any enemies who may dare to threaten you".

 

[ayylmao]

"That's a fine advice, Saggia." Nibbit gave his approval with a smile. "That's true. We all have better eyesight than them. So we have to utilize that advantage to the utmost." So she's as wise as she looks after all… it seems I might have underestimated her a little… Sorry, old goblin lady. "And that would be useful indeed. We certainly need more healers amongst our midst." With the current population of their little village, only a handful had any idea on how to cure and treat wounds, and that's on the most basic level. They certainly could use more powerful healers that could do mass heal magic and the like.

Aah, usually that kind of stuff is relegated to angels or other holy-type monsters. And I don't think any of those exist nearby. Hey, gem, what do you say to that? He asked the little rock inside his stomach. Hmph, it certainly could use a little redemption, after its failure from before. Yeah, Nibbit's still upset about that.

-----

"Hmph, apology accepted!" Nibbit replied to the half-giant girl with his arms crossed. Honestly, it was quite the adorable look for him.

"Hmm, I get it now." He said to her after he listened to her explanation. "So it's a blood thing? I'm still not quite sure what you meant, but I assume there's really nothing that we can do to help him." He sighed. "And you inherited that bloodline. But you seem pretty reasonable. What's different between you and him?"

When she declared that she was willing to kill her own father, Nibbit's eyes widened in surprise. Hey, is this girl serious? But after looking closer at the expression on her face, he knew that she was.

"You ask me a difficult thing, killing your father like that," he replied. "As you can imagine, I do not enjoy aiding anyone in their patricide. I would be perfectly willing to just crush his forces and make him flee, but if you truly think that he's a lost cause… then I shall assist you. But with one condition."

"You will let me deal the finishing blow."

Nibbit's expression was grim—grimmer than it had ever been. Killing a lich or a hellhound was one thing—killing a half giant with a family is another. However, if someone had to do the dirty deed, then that someone would be him. He would take all the blame—all the sin. He was the leader, and he wouldn't dirty the hands of his subordinates or his allies if he couldn't help it. Let the Chief die in glorious combat against a worthy enemy, rather than at the hands of his own daughter.

"If you're fine with that condition, then I welcome you to our midst."

He would have offered her a handshake, but with how different their size was, it would just be terribly awkward. So he opted for a short bow instead.

With the negotiations done, he invited her to enter the village. He didn't need to gather everyone, fortunately, as they were already on alert by the arrival of the half-giant.

"Everyone! Please, welcome our new friend!" He announced with a bright smile. The half giant was immediately greeted with cheers, particularly from the Wabbits and the goblins. Both completely trusted Nibbit's judgment. If he said she's a friend, then she's a friend. The elves were still wary however, including Eirsha.

The task Nibbit gave to the half-giant was to do mock fighting against his people, just so they could get a better idea how to fight against her kind.

"Hey, one second?" Eirsha suddenly came up to him. "About the half-giant girl…"

"Hmm? What's the matter, Eirsha?" Nibbit turned with his usual bright smile, making her heart skip a beat. S-so cute!

"Y-you sure it's wise to just… trust her like that? She could just be pretending to join us, you know, only to betray us later."

"Oh, don't worry." He replied with a sad expression "I saw her expression. I just knew that she wasn't lying."

Eirsha sighed as she took a seat beside him, resting her chin on her hands. "You're just a Wabbit. What do you know about half-giants?"

"H-hey, is that any way to talk to your superior?"

"Oh? I suppose you are indeed my superior, O Great Wabbit. Apologies for my insolence."

And then, completely unexpected and uninvited, her left hand lifted Nibbit's coat before giving his tail a squeeze.

"Ah!"

He immediately stood up, blushing profusely as his hands protected his tail.

"W-what was that for?"

She stood up, giving a light smirk. Her cheeks were also slightly red, though not to the same redness as Nibbit.

"My payment. For working under you all this time."

And with that, the elf left.

Nibbit felt like he just witnessed an aggressive, almost predatory side to the left that she had never shown to anyone else.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Saggia wouldn't have really minded that Nibbit underestimated her, though would have explained that goblins are not naturally stupid so much as lacking any sort of effective education structure, with proper schooling they could be almost as smart as a human, of course if the gem was doing it's usual thing they were probably going to end up at minimum reaching human levels of intelligence.
Speaking of the gem, it actually had an answer for his query about healing magic.
"I believe I should have access to at least one healing spell... It will take me time to convert it into a form you can use but I should have it ready before the battle".
The gem was eager to please and seemed a tad embarrassed about Nibbit reminding it of it's earlier failure.

"So cute...."
The giantess couldn't help but think as she observed Nibbit, poor eyesight notwithstanding she could see enough to tell that he was adorable, of course openly declaring such a thing would go against her Storm Blooded pride! So she kept her expression and tone carefully neutral, she could show more emotions if her plan succeeded and the tribe survived.
She however let out a quiet sigh at Nibbit's question, well quiet for her, for Nibbit it was quite loud.
"To be perfectly honest there is little difference, one day my blood will drive me mad as well, but I have many Winters yet before I reach that point, and unlike my father I will have the willpower to flee to the mountains to fade away as is tradition".
It seemed Lawine didn't like speaking of her blood, but there was no shake or doubt in her voice.

The condition caused her to stop and ponder for a minute before nodding.
"Yes... Though it is my duty I shall allow you to take this burden from me, you dealing the final blow will likely make the others much more likely to accept an alliance with your people, we respect strength and I doubt most can see your true power at a glance".
The woman bowed right back, a much more practiced movement to be sure.
She quite happily sparred with Nibbit's forces, showing the fighters several ways to trip up and subdue her kind, and was even taken by surprise and knocked over by a large group of Wabbits using their tree felling technique on her, having figured it worked against one big thing... Why not Half Giants as well?

The next day at Midday the enemy arrived, they were in force, forty Half Giants in total, no ranged weapons but all were wearing armor of some sort and carrying frightening looking weapons, the Chief was leading the force and was the first to bellow out a greeting, his voice carrying easily to everyone.
"Nibbit! I am here to conquer your pathetic village! I will give you one last chance to surrender let some of your people live as my servants... Otherwise I will leave nothing standing!"
He seemed to be ignoring that his daughter was openly standing among Nibbit's forces, was he so mad as to include her in his threat of annihilation?

 

[ayylmao]

Ah, that's nice, he replied to the gem. Make sure to do that. We'll certainly need some healing ability for the battle ahead.

-----

Well, that's… that's not good, isn't it?

Nibbit couldn't help but feel pity towards the half-giant girl. One day, she would go mad as her father did and there was nothing she could do about it.

Hmm, perhaps there's something I can do with the gem? Hey, gem! Maybe we can evolve her to a better form later?

And she has a point. If I am to deal the final blow, the half-giants that follow her father will no doubt accept me as their leader, as I have demonstrated my strength in front of them. Just like the goblins, I suppose. I didn't even think of that, to be perfectly honest.

Nibbit was laser-focused to the fact that he had to end the life of the giantess's father that it took the giantess herself to point out the positive political ramifications of him being the one to end his life. Nibbit was not an uncaring, devious warlord after all, though he certainly was pretty smart and cunning in his own right.

-----

The next day, the other half-giants arrived—forty of them, all wearing melee weapons. Perfect, Nibbit thought as he stood on the tallest vantage point in the village—a makeshift wooden watch tower, built in a single day thanks to the joint efforts of the goblins, elves, and the evolved human Wabbits. This will make our traps even more effective. They would have no option to just fire at us from a safe range. They would have to get close, and when they do, our pitfalls will greet them nicely. And I doubt they would take the siege option, judging by the temperament of their chief.

The Chief then taunted him, offering him and his followers a chance to surrender if they were to survive.

"No thanks!" He waved his hand back from the top of the tower. "We're perfectly ready for you and your half-giants, you know! Come get us if you want!" Just to enrage him further, he bent over backwards and wiggled his tail and butt towards him. It really was a childish insult, but the more he lost his mind, the better it would be for them.

And then, the battle started. And just as he had predicted, and hoped, they all simply charged towards the village without a care in the world. The perfect example of an enraged berserker, he thought.

His army, of course, was still kept inside the village. They would only strike once the half-giants began to fall for their traps.

And they did. The front line immediately fell through their pitfall, right on top of the sharpened wooden spikes they had set up. Five half-giants immediately lost their life at that moment—their body impaled by the spikes, with spurts of blood erupting from the wound.

"Fire!" Nibbit ordered.

The elves and the goblins immediately showered the remaining half-giants with their arrows. They took advantage that the survivors were all confused and bedazzled by what just happened. The width of the pitfall was quite large, and they couldn't simply jump over it without risking them falling down as well.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

The gem seemed to hesitate before giving it's answer, possibly afraid of failing Nibbit again even if it was something it couldn't help but not be able to help him with.
"I... Am not certain, Storm Blood is incredibly powerful, close to a lesser divinity in many ways, which is why Half Giants cannot handle it without soon going mad..."
Well that didn't sound very promising! It seemed divine power worked differently to regular magic.
"However, it may not be impossible, though I would require enormous reserves of magic and a focus similar enough to untainted Storm Blood to have even a chance to affect her".
So it seemed it might be possible in the future, still, gathering huge amounts of magic and something on par with Divine blood was't exactly a rookie level quest, and it didn't seem he would be getting any suggestions on where to find something like that anyway.

The chief's rage seemed almost infectious as he led the charge, his tribesmen moving slightly faster due to their lighter armor and weaponry, Nibbit's taunt had apparently worked as well as intended because within minutes of the fight starting five of the attackers lay dead in a ditch, with another two disabled by magical traps, of course even as another fell under the fire of the archers the chief had created a way to counter the ditch.
With a mighty roar he slammed his axe into the ground and used it to shovel an enormous amount of dirt onto the pit, covering the spikes on a large portion in seconds.
And just like that the battle dissolved into a melee, the first half Giant through the gate was brought down by a swarm of Wabbits, who then proceeded to sit on him, apparently satisfied with their new prisoner.
The wolves harassed another while Hasuki brought him down with dozens of lightning spells, but it wouldn't last long, as more Half Giants broke through it became obvious that Nibbit needed to end this soon, or else the casualties on both sides would be enormous.

Fortunately the Chief seemed intent on fighting Nibbit, charging directly at him, axe raised and eyes mad with rage, and before he was in range of melee the chef raised his hand... And brought a bolt of lightning down from the previously clear heavens! Fortunately Lawine was able to absorb the blast with her axe, shuddering slightly as the energy ran through her body.
She seemed ready to follow Nibbit's lead against her mad father, so what happened next was up to him.
The chief really did seem completely gone as he took a swing against his daughter, the force of it physically moving her backwards as she blocked.

 

[ayylmao]

I see… so it would be a very difficult process then… Well, as long as the chance is not completely zero, I still would like to try!—Nibbit exclaimed to the gem. Hopefully, the effect wouldn't hit anytime soon, so that when it did happen, he would already be ready to tackle it. Guess he would have to get much, much stronger than he currently was after all, even though he was already pretty satisfied with his current level of strength.

Nibbit watched as the chief started to fill the pits they had made by dirt. Clever, he couldn't help but comment. I guess as mad as he might be, he still has a sliver of his sanity.

Which makes it even sadder than I would have to end his life.

Once he saw the chief and the rest of the half-giants cross the pit, he ordered the Wabbits, wolves, and goblins to engage his subordinates in melee combat. They couldn't let them reach the village proper after all, or else all the hard work that the elves had spent on building their houses would be destroyed! He, on the other hand, would fight against the chief on his own. He knew that it was exactly what the chief wanted. And he's perfectly fine with it. After all, knowing his strength, he was the only person who could match him in combat.

Well, him, and his daughter, Lawine. So he was not really facing him one on one after all.

Thanks to her presence, he was protected by the lightning strike that the Chief called from the skies. Whew, that was dangerous! The half-giant girl then took the initiative, positioning herself in front of NIbbit before blocking another blow from her own father.

Hmm, no reaction. He doesn't even recognize his own daughter anymore.

Another reason not to hesitate.

Using the opportunity given to him by the two half-giants clashing, Nibbit jumped to the skies, positioning himself for a dive kick right at the chief's head. It was the most obvious spot to attack, even if it was protected by a helmet, as the rest of his body was also covered in armor. Not to mention his natural toughness as well.

I have to end this as quickly as I could! So there would be less casualty on both sides! The half-giants are going to be my people too after this fight!

He knew that if there were even just a single dead, his or her relatives would have an everlasting grudge towards the side that killed them, whether it was his side or theirs. Or at least, that was how he would be, if he lost Mimir or Hasuki or Eirsha—people that he already grew fond of. It would be truly hard to forgive the enemy that made him lose them. He was sure of that.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Though it didn't answer with words, Nibbit couldn't help feel like the gem was smiling at his response... You know, if it was possible for a presumably partially digested hunk of shiny rock to smile.
Apparently it approved of his determination.
"I will assist in any way possible, for this is an admirable goal".
It stated simply after a few minutes.

Fortunately for the defenders most of the Half Giants were using blunt weapons, which while certainly capable of shattering the bodies of anyone unfortunate enough to take a direct hit, would at least leave them alive long enough for a healer to treat their wounds, in fact the only bladed weapons seemed to be in the hands of the Chief and his daughter, and there was even a pair of Half Giants working on extracting their fallen from the Spike pits to drag off into the treeline, presumably to a waiting healer.
"Half Giants rarely give birth, and have developed a culture valuing life, as well as believing that leaving their enemy alive will foster good will and allow them to save their own wounded... They only kill in the most dire of circumstances".
Nibbit was given his daily dose of fact by the gem.

The battle with the chief was not the typical slugging match one might expect from such a large foe, with both sides dealing and absorbing heavy hits, in fact the chief moved almost impossibly fast for someone with such size, and Nibbit could have sworn he saw electricity crackling during several of the hits, as if the Storm Blood was physically beginning to alter the Chief, as well as twist his mind.
Lawine didn't say a word as she dueled with her It father, struggling to keep up with his obviously enhanced reflexes and strength, more than once she had to switch to a focus on defense, or took a minor wound deflecting an attack aimed at Nibbit.
Finally though she saw an opening and moved in, taking a blow from her father's axe but managing to jam her own into his side, pinning him in place.
"Nibbit! Strike now while he cannot defend!"
For a moment it seemed like the battle might end there, but the chief simply laughed, as a wave of electricity pulsed from his body, followed by a strike directly to his daughter's body, leaving her stunned as he moved to finish her...

Finally however the gem seemed prepared to act, though did not take over directly, instead feeding knowledge into Nibbit's mind.
"While the Chief is distracted he cannot dodge nor defend against a strong magical attack, use me as a focus and you can cast without a wand!"
It declared as time seemed to slow, Nibbit could tell this wasn't going to last more than a few seconds, and it didn't have any input on what spell he should use.

 

[ayylmao]

Huh, well that's… convenient, Nibbit replied to the information the gem just supplied him. All the more reason to finish this quickly then. If there's a chance that we can make this a zero casualty fight, then we must take it!

Unfortunately for him, the mad chief wouldn't just fall over that easily. His kick only managed to crack his helmet, but not doing any visible damage to the large man. That blunder of an attack was punished with a lightning jolt electrocuting his body, making him scream as he was thrown backwards. Darn! He just brought the thing out now, catching him completely by surprise! Luckily for him, Lawine was there to protect him while he was extremely vulnerable to being attacked, or else the Chief could've finished him off for sure!

G-gah, m-my legs… T-that hurts! Just how hard is his head?!

He stood up, but not before flinching from the pain. From then on, his movements became slower than usual. He knew that his legs couldn't kick a hard object like that anymore, or else he would risk actually breaking his bones.

I had to kick him in his soft spot! But where?!

And then, he saw it—Lawine giving him another opportunity for an attack.

Damn it, where should I attack?! I have no time to think!

And then, the gem spoke, telling him to cast a spell instead. A-a spell?! W-what spell?

There was only one spell that came to mind.

It was the same spell that the gem had used on its own to defeat the lich.

He took a deep breath, aiming both of his palms towards the Chief. Closing his eyes, he recalled the sensation of the energy being drawn out of the gem in his stomach, traveling upwards into his arms, hands, and fingertips.

"Oh spear of Light return to my hand and smite this shadow!"

He chanted the same words as the gem, raising his arms to the skies as he felt a heated light slowly forming what looked to be a spear.

This is it! This is the same spear as before!

"Gyaaaahhhh!"

A scream! He nearly lost his concentration from it! It was Lawine's, as she was enveloped by the electricity that the Chief had conjured. And now he's going to finish her off!

I have to attack now!

Without hesitation, he threw said spear right towards him with all his might. He had to finish him! Or else it would be Lawine who would lose her life!

The spell landed, and it landed gloriously. The Chief, too busy with his own daughter, didn't see the spell coming in the slightest. It hit him right in his midsection, piercing him through his armor like it was butter.

"Gwaaahhh!"

He immediately coughed blood from the impact, making him kneel on the ground. He turned his head to face his attacker. The Wabbit! He had cowardly attacked him while he was off his guard!

I-is that it? P-please don't tell me that he's going to only get even angrier now!

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

The spear crackled and burned in his hand, it felt strange, as if it was almost solid, yet was missing something, and casting the spell itself felt slightly off to him, like he had just broken some sort of rule or restriction, it didn't seem to have an immediate negative effects though!
The moment it left Nibbit's hand the spear seemed to speed up, striking the Chief's armor and punching through like a bullet, emerging from the other side in a rather messy spray of gore and while unlike the the Lich, the Chief didn't disintegrate, it was surely a devastating blow, easily capable of killing any normal foe struck by it.
Unfortunately the chief didn't get the memo, as while he would surely be dead in minutes at the most, the massive man instead turned on Nibbit, looking at his face all that remained was rage as electricity crackled within the blood escaping his wound, his body shaking as it went out of control and he prepared to take his final swing, one last attack to slay this annoying Wabbit that had dealt such a mortal blow.

"Nibbit!"
A voice shouted from nearby... Mimir was hobbling towards him carrying what looked like a massive spike from the pit, which she proceeded to deliver to him by jumping and kicking with her one good leg so it landed near Nibbit.
At the same time Lawine seemed to summon up some berserk fury of her own, throwing her massive axe into what remained of her father's back, the armor there ruptured by Nibbit's spell, causing the Chief to start falling forwards ever so slowly...
"I suggest making use of that spike as a makeshift weapon, the force of his fall would likely serve to punch it through his tough skull".
The gem suggested, even showing a handy diagram of how best to quickly brace the spike against the ground, the result of which would be the chief falling face first onto the makeshift weapon, finally ending his berserk fury for good, if leaving Nibbit a tad bit messy in the process.

And with that Lawine grabbed Nibbit! Using her massive strength to lift him high and opened her mouth... And then shouting quite loudly! A pain for his Wabbit ears indeed!
"The chief has fallen at the hands of Nibbit! All who would honor our traditions lay down your weapons and offer praise to his great victory!"
As if she had cast a spell of calm the Half giants stopped fighting, staring for a minute in shock, what they saw was a moderately bloody, muddy Wabbit human and the corpse of their chief, clearly dead beyond the attentions of any healer.
Moments later there was a mighty clang as weapons hit the ground and the fighting stopped completely, the Half Giants surrendering to Nibbit's forces and allowing themselves to be surrounded, clearly there was no great love of the chief among them, as more than a few were very visibly relieved.
Already though it became obvious that there were many wounded, on both sides, with Saggia already at work.
"Nibbit, I suggest now would be a time to display your power and truly win over the Half Giants, however, I doubt you will remain standing, so please hold on tight".
With that the gem fed him knowledge of a clearly powerful mass healing spell, which seemingly had range enough to heal both sides, even those giants dragged into the tree line, though it also seemed to have a greatly exhausting affect on the caster.
If cast the spell would do nothing for a moment... Until Nibbit felt a burning in his back, followed by two glowing wings sprouting! They would last mere moments as the gem gave him the chant.
"By the blessings of the light, envelope the poor and sick within my wings".
Which would immediately cause the wings to burst apart, raining feathers upon the battlefield, which vanished as they landed on wounds, healing them with incredible speed.
At the same time Nibbit's legs gave out, and in a twist of fate led to him falling directly towards the not inconsiderable bust of Lawine.

 

[ayylmao]

Oh no! He's not done yet! He's far from done!

The Chief, even though he had just been pierced by Nibbit's spear, was not going down. With his last strength, he ran straight towards him in a monstrous, beastlike manner, wanting to take him down with him to the afterlife.

"Nibbit!"

Suddenly, he heard a voice—a familiar voice shouting towards him.

It was Mimir! And she carried with her a… wait, i-is that a giant spike?!

R-right! I can use this!

With only the slightest hesitation, Nibbit grabbed the spike. Following the instruction of the gem, utilizing the chance given to him by Lawine's assault on the Chief's back, he placed it at just the right spot so that it would pierce him when he fell over.

And he did—the sharp wooden spike piercing his abdomen. Nibbit didn't hesitate to push it deeper from below, even though that meant he would be covered even more by his guts and gore.

And so, it was over. The half-giant chief had been slain. Technically, it was by the cooperation of the three fighters, and the elves as well for building the giant spike, but Lawine seemed to be eager to announce that it was all his work.

When Lawine picked him up, Nibbit was still disoriented from the fight. And her loud shouting certainly didn't help matters either.

U-urgh, w-wait, what?

As he regained his bearings, he could see that all the half-giants seemed to be surrendering, dropping their weapons down to the ground.

It worked! His plan worked!

The gem however suggested that he went even further with it, so that he could truly be looked upon by the half-giants as their new Chief, or perhaps even something more.

Mass healing? I can do that now?

Well, I can already fire off a holy spell like that. So why not a healing spell as well?

Oh, nice, I could faint from exhaustion after using it. Well, I suppose it's fine, seeing how the battle has already ended at all. And some of them definitely need healing to be sure.

Thanks for telling me beforehand by the way.

He took a deep breath and raised his arms to the sky, just like before when he cast the spear of light spell. The gem gave him the chant and he sang it as loud as he could, so that the entire battlefield could hear it.

What! What is this?!

W-wings! Wings are growing out from my back!

For a split second, Nibbit considered stopping the spell chant. He quickly stopped himself however, as he knew it was just a side-effect of the spell. Probably.

Whoaaa!

He could feel a rush of energy left his body, similar to when he used the spear of light. However, this time around, the energy felt so much gentler… and calmer, fitting for a healing spell compared to her "attacking spell" sister.

Beautiful feathers dropped from the skies. And then, it happened. In a blink of an eye, wounds closed, and broken bones set themselves right on their own. And it was all done painlessly, only giving a warm, fuzzy feeling to those that were under its radius.

When he was done however, just like the gem said, he immediately was assaulted by exhaustion to the point that he couldn't stand on his own. He could only fall forward, right into Lawine's bust, giving his face a soft, bouncy landing.

The cheers given to him afterwards were deafening, but he would already be too tuckered out to listen properly.

-------

When he woke up, he was no longer on the battlefield.

Instead, he was in a soft bed, in some place covered by a wooden roof.

Uurgh, this must be one of the houses the elves had made.

He groaned. He immediately felt quite the killer headache as he stirred.

"Oh, Master Nibbit. You're awake."

He turned to the side to see Eirsha sitting there with a relieved smile on her face. And not just her—Mimir, Hasuki, and Lawine were all there too. It seemed they all had been waiting for him to regain his consciousness.

"Urgh, how long did I pass out?" he asked.