The Champion Cyclops let out a blood curdling scream as it clutched its single eye with both hands, rolling on the ground in a tremor inducing display of agony.
The violent movements only served to accelerate the spray of fluid from between its fingers.
It was a vile mixture of blood and aqueous humor, leaking from the eyeball that Shedinja's Metal Claw had just shredded.
While its single eye granted the beast incredible long range vision, it also presented a massive, unmistakable weakness.
That weakness was the eye itself.
High strength attributes certainly brought enhanced physical stats, but they didn't provide uniform reinforcement to every square inch of the body.
Unless you were on the level of a Superman, things like eyeballs, eardrums, and... certain sensitive regions remained relatively fragile.
The Cyclops simply had a dampened sense of pain. Like giraffes or elephants, the sensory transmission from their extremities was agonizingly slow. The problem, however, was that the eyeball was one of the organs closest to the brain. Unless its pain receptors were completely non functional, even a giant couldn't ignore the sheer agony of having its eye gouged out.
Only the Uchiha clan could treat eye removal and replacement as a "hot swappable" feature...
Compared to ordinary two eyed giants, a Cyclops had a much higher density of sensory nerves in its single eye. Not only did this mean more pain, but any attack that landed directly on the exposed eye would trigger a "Weakness Critical" effect with zero damage reduction.
This time, Shedinja's Metal Claw had gone even further, triggering a triple critical hit that instantly drained the aqueous humor!
If someone had a dragon slaying ballista, they probably could have one shot the beast right then and there.
Of course, such a golden opportunity for a "Weakness Critical" would only happen once. The Cyclops had already pressed its left hand firmly against its injured eye, and its intense pain was rapidly transforming into a berserk rage and murderous intent.
Its tiny brain was incapable of connecting the "eye injury" with the "scent of a human," but that didn't stop it from wanting to vent its fury by slaughtering every living thing in sight.
Letting out an incoherent, wet roar, the beast began to stumble toward Chris, guided by his distinct scent. However, Chris stayed in place, watching as the giant's path began to veer significantly to the left.
Even a giant couldn't escape the anatomical limitations of a humanoid form. Having lost its vision, whether temporarily or permanently, the creature, which already lacked precision control over its body, could no longer walk in a straight line.
If it weren't for the guidance of Chris's scent, it might never have touched him again.
...Unfortunately for the beast, Chris had noticed this as well.
When he saw the giant reorient its face toward him after a brief pause, he knew exactly how it was tracking his position.
Chris's response was simple.
"Avada Kedavra!!!"
With a casual flick of his wrist, Chris pointed his Vampire's Gentleman Cane at the Cyclops, which was now almost close enough to touch him with a few strides.
During the one second cast time and the subsequent launch of the Hexagram Missile, Chris barked his next order.
"Shedinja! Hover and standby! Wait for my signal!"
As he spoke, Chris didn't retreat. Instead, he chased after the Hexagram Missile, charging forward with a burst of speed.
The Polymorph missile slammed into the blind Cyclops.
With a muffled poof, a duck appeared. It was significantly larger than an ordinary duck, with frantic wings and a horrific stench, but it bore the unmistakable marks of its origin: a bleeding single eye and a single horn on its head.
The bleeding eye of the "Cyclops Duck" was a perfect example of how Polymorph maintained certain physical traits across transformations.
As a Champion template unit, the duration of the spell was further compressed to less than two seconds.
Factoring in the missile's travel time and Chris's own charge, the spell would likely wear off before he even touched the foul smelling bird.
But that was exactly what he wanted!
Chris leaped toward the "Cyclops Duck" as if he intended to crush it with a heavy stomp. At that exact moment, the spell expired. The duck rapidly expanded back into its original giant form, and Chris, who should have been falling, landed squarely on the giant's head as it grew, riding the momentum as he was carried upward.
Before the beast could even register what had happened over those few seconds, a pain nearly equal to its eye injury surged into its tiny brain!
Ignoring the giant's overwhelming stench, Chris gripped its single horn with his left hand to stabilize himself, hanging his body directly off the creature's face. Then, he thrust his spectral straight sword upward with his right hand.
The blade sank deep into the giant's nostril!
And then, the absolute maniac actually gave it a few good twists!
The previous spray of eye fluid was now replaced by a gush of blood mixed with thick, viscous mucus!
The level of disgust had reached a whole new peak!
They say a wounded beast is the most dangerous, and the Cyclops was no exception.
In its agonizing rage, the giant suddenly displayed a level of agility that defied its size. Its massive, plate like left hand lashed out and seized Chris by the waist, hoisting him into the air like a prize from a claw machine. Then, putting every ounce of its strength into the move, it slammed him violently toward the ground!
Simply eating him alive was no longer enough to satisfy the giant's fury. It wanted to grind this human into a pulp and then leave a massive gift on top of the remains!
However, the giant failed to notice that as it held the human high above its head, the sensation of its grip had undergone a subtle, undetectable change.
"DIE!!!"
With a thunderous roar from the giant, a human shaped crater appeared in the earth.
A slam attack was perhaps the most dangerous move in close quarters combat, especially on hard ground where the fatality rate skyrocketed.
A desperate, full strength strike from a six meter tall giant with 29 Strength should have been enough to one shot Chris. Even if he survived, his organs would be ruptured and his bones shattered, leaving him permanently paralyzed.
However, as the dust settled, a shower of metal fragments flew out along with... a perfectly intact Chris!
He looked nothing like a broken doll.
In the split second before the impact, Chris had exploited a small mechanic: items can be equipped to empty slots instantly without a cooldown. He had swapped his armor back on just in time.
The Knight Armor had done its job. At the cost of completely shattering, it had absorbed the full force of the slam and the additional kinetic energy. It had even triggered a knockback and phase movement effect, tossing Chris safely nearly three meters away.
The giant's nostrils were now filled with blood and snot, and its fragile nasal septum had been completely shredded by Chris's brutal twisting. Its sense of smell was gone, and in its emotional state, even more aqueous humor and blood sprayed from its eyelid.
Chris, meanwhile, was almost entirely unharmed, having sacrificed only a set of Knight Armor.
A manic expression flickered across his face as he sprang back to his feet with a kip up.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]