Helios is an outlier when it comes to strength because of his strong body and the runes he carved on his body to take advantage of that strength. It makes him much stronger than his real age. His rune alone makes it such that only ancient giants that have reached 100 meters tall can hope to match him.
He didn't lie to Stelios about what his rune does. The runes use his divine power but what they use it for is why they are special. He took rune-making to the next step. Giants of order can take advantage of the law fragments to create items. It also means that giants of order can modify their divine ability. This in turn means that giants of order can have any divine ability as long as they have divine power that allows for it. Yet, they are limiting themselves to weapons.
He cruised unstoppable through the tunnels turning here and there without getting lost. He doesn't know everything about the tunnels but he has knowledge about the general location of where his aim should be. He didn't get this knowledge from the giants of order or their maps.
His speed is fast but the turning makes him slow occasionally so it took a while to get to his target. He found someone waiting for him at the last turn he should take to reach his target. This entity does not look friendly.
A royal guard is waiting in the center of the intersection. This royal guard is about 70 meters tall, more than two times taller than Helios. It is so wide and big that another royal guard cannot share a tunnel with it. Just its legs are almost taller than Helios.
'This is unexpected. We knew it was hiding something from us. Who would have thought it would be this one and here of all places.'
Number 1 spoke, "What are you?"
Helios slowed down. Then he tried to control his landing but he failed. He smashed into the ground 50 meters away from the royal guard.
"Gotta fix that." He muttered as he stood back up.
He is able to accelerate pretty quickly in his child of the sun mode by manipulating his gravitational field but deceleration is a problem for him. He can't control his speed when he is flying, that's why he doesn't want to use it in a fight except for short bursts. He might just run headfirst into something which is the kind of mistake that dooms you in a fight.
"Don't mind me. I'm just looking around. I'm just an innocent guest." Helios answered leisurely.
He even made a show of looking around as if he really came here for sightseeing.
"You're not welcome here." Number 1 said while informing the ant queen about Helios's position.
Helios ignored the hostility and asked, "What is your name?"
He had to crane his neck to look up at the ant but he doesn't feel fear. He already knows the royal guard's name he just wants to him say it.
The royal guard answered proudly. "I am number 1. The best royal guard under the service of the queen."
"I bet you didn't use to be number 1. What happened to the previous number 1?" Helios asked as he examined the royal guard.
"That's none of your business." Number 1 shot at him.
"Actually it is, that's why I am here. To free the others. Just let me go and we can behave as if we didn't see each other."
He estimates the royal guard to be at the top of the strongest among mana entities. It will take a lot of time and effort to take him down without killing it. Legion has decided it is in their best interest not to kill this royal guard.
Helios would like to achieve his objective quickly so that he can get away from here early enough. It is already difficult if he can't kill this obstacle and he still has to leave the ant mound before the ant colony is done with the demigods or he would have the entire royal guards on him. So it will be great if the royal guard will let him go. That is why he trying for diplomacy.
The royal guard went silent as it contemplated what to do. It stood there as a giant ant while Helios looked like a bright golden torch. The soldiers and workers ants left the tunnels for them creating an open space for them. Helios is optimistic about the answer the royal guard will give him. He didn't expect to be allowed but the fact that the royal guard is considering it means it is likely to work.
Number 1 finally answered. "I can't. That will be defying the orders of the queen. You will have to get past me and I have to put in my best in stopping you."
"Well so much for sympathy. Let's do this quickly then."
This royal guard is ancient. It is not the oldest royal guard in the ant colony just the oldest in the current service of the ant queen but it is still old. Its carapace is thicker and it is stronger plus there are protective coverings around the joints that will prevent Helios from taking advantage of its weakness.
The tunnel is also too small for him to maneuver enough to take full advantage of the joints even if there were no protection for them. All of these means the fight will be challenging more than his previous one. It also means it will be more exciting.
He smashed his fist together in anticipation. By the time they met, they have been covered with golden gauntlets. The gauntlets are constructs of light but they created a loud sound of clashing metals as they collided. More pieces of armor continued to appear around his body until he is fully covered. Then two pairs of golden arms formed beside him.
He transformed into a golden armored giant 33 meters tall with 6 arms. Shining white runes can be seen moving on the armor pieces. The armor covers his entire body. Even his face has been covered leaving only his eyes and his flaming hair. Only two of his arms are really. The other four aren't attached to his body. They are floating beside him with one above and the other one below his real arm.
This transformation is very powerful. It consumes a lot of energy and shouldn't activate for more than 10 seconds because of the natural pool of divine power in his sun core. That's why he made the runes capable of using divine power and mana to make good use of his uninterrupted supply of mana.
He began running toward the royal guard. The royal guard dashed to him too. It lowered its head and put its horn forward. Helios grabbed the horn that has been prepped like a Lance for him to impale himself on. The horn has sharp edges that are used for cutting and slicing but his gauntlet protects his hands.
The royal guard shook its head to get him off and Helios almost lost his hold on the horn. The smooth surface of the horn makes it difficult to grip and it is made extra difficult by the swinging of the royal guard. So he directed his other four arms to help him. The four arms floating beside him griped the horns tightly and helped to secure his hold.
"You're really worthy of being number 1. You certainly have the strength." He commented in admiration.
All six of his arms are holding on to the horn while the royal guard buckled, but no matter how much it resisted it couldn't get away. That didn't stop it from pushing Helios back though. It couldn't move Helios side to side or up and down. So it began to push Helios back. Its six legs found purchase against the ground and propelled it forward despite Helios's resistance.
Helios's two feet created two gullies in the ground as he is being pushed back. This is the first time he has met a mana entity that can match him in strength and even more. He can't deny that number 1 is much stronger than him. Strength is not his forte anyway. His runes are what give him his advantage.
He expanded his domain and pumped more divine power into it to damage the ant. The golden sphere around him spread out 20 meters away from him. It extended past its long horn and covered the whole head of the royal guard. Then the domain set out to do brutal work.
The situation turned from a giant trying to compete with a royal guard in strength into a small star trying to compete with a royal guard in strength. The first situation is a bad idea for the giant while the second is a bad idea for the royal guard because anything that comes near a star gets burned. It gets worse if the royal has his head within the star.
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