A/N: Happy New Year 2023! Yes, Am still writing this. I have the whole saga drafting/plotting out so I really am intent to finish it. My trusty beta suggested me to merge two chapter this time since it's the battle scene. So merging they are!

Again, your comment will be greatly appreciated.

Chapter 25

To Nhilva, Remortaz was a lot like Thresher Maw, another giant worm-like monster in the sci-fi video game she used to play in another life. To the best of her knowledge, based on what the original host memory and what she had known, there were quite a lot of similarities other than they both looked like an engorged centipede. They both had incredibly tough scales, deadly teeth, enjoyed ambush attacks, and were very, very hard to kill. She knew this area was literally littered with them, and had been kind of hoping they wouldn't encounter one while they were here. Alas...

"Auril's knickerweasels! Look at the size of that beast!" Greg gushed as they all gaped at the ice worm, weapons drawn, waiting for it to strike.

"Didn't know you were a scholar type, Greg," shouted Viessa, her hands shimmering. It was clear she had spells at the ready.

"I am not. It ain't gonna stop me from admiring the greatness of nature!" The half-orc cast a side glance at the magic user.

"Are you a worshiper of Auril, Greg?" asked Bastian.

"Hells, no!" laughed Greg, before shouting out a warning: " Watch out!"

Large teeth about as big as their arms came down, aiming at the half-orc, clearly somewhat insulted by his laughter. He dodged away in time. The powerful talons hit the hard surface, leaving a sizable dent and making the ground shake. Seizing this chance, Bastian waved his sword and attacked where he believed was the weak spot. The creature shrieked when the blade hit its body. At the same time, the whole body of his weapon flared up. The paladin cried out and almost dropped the melee.

"Forgot that thing scorches you if you try to attack it with even a rod." Greg cursed.

Boyled nearby also cursed in a language Nhilva had no doubt was Orcish.

She returned her attention to the Thresher Maw...no...Remorhaz, and started thinking as quick as she could possibly manage. How did they kill this thing again? It was immune to most magic, looked as tough as nails, and its body almost always heated up. How in the world would such a thing even exist? Don't tell her it is the wonder of nature. Wonder of nature is very weird in this realm.

Greg meanwhile decided to make his attempt on the attack, seeing if he could do more than just one cut. His turn was unsuccessful. Not only that, his scimitar was snapped in half and his right arm was burnt. The half-orc barely had time to run to the nearest snow drift and stick his injured arm in when the ice worm launched and grated him with its teeth. He struggled, taking out daggers sheathed in his arm band and stabbing the monster's face rapidly. His twin brother yelled out in panic, threw himself forward and also attacked recklessly. Both of his scimitars were gone in seconds and his left arm also suffered a severe degree burn. Jerking her attention back to the battle fully once more, the drow female realised there were two men down. At this rate, the polar bear fur could go eat the bloody dirt. They would all perish in the next ten minutes.

Suddenly an idea came to mind. She turned to Viessa, who was busy firing magic missiles at the Remorhaz. As a magic user, it was basically all she could do, despite knowing the creature was immune to most magic.

"Can you cast Engorgement Charm?" shouted Nhilva, before she remembered it was the name for another realm. It didn't matter. Same spells, different world.

"Engorgem-you mean Enlarge?!" Viessa's face beamed with enlightenment. " Course I do! But on who? You?!"

"No, Bastian!" She pointed at the paladin.

The Matua Maker grinned and began to chant. Before Bastian even reacted to what they were planning to do, the spell fired out, a silver glow circled and covered his body. All of them watched the shape grow bigger and bigger. When the light faded, they had a humanoid figure twice the size as the Remorhaz.

"Bastian," Viessa shouted to the now giant man. "You got one minute!"

"That should be plenty," Bastian's voice boomed from above. It sounded low and deep and amplified. His confidence boosted tenfold with his physical size now larger. He had seen this spell before. It was the first time it was cast on him, however. Suddenly what was a horrible and terrifying monster moments ago was a threat no longer. Raising his shield and using it as an attack weapon instead of a defense one, he smacked the head of the Remorhaz hard. There was a loud thud and a crack. Next thing everyone saw was Greg drop onto the ground.

Boyle quickly rushed over and dragged his twin away to the side with his not so injured arm.

The ice worm roared in pain. Its body writhed and thumped the hard ground. The tremor shook the entire body. It clearly did not expect this and was now starting to fear at the turn of the event and trying to head to the hole it initially came out of to escape.

"Hells, you ain't going anywhere!" Nhilva growled loudly. She tossed out her daggers, aiming at the eyes. The blades left her hands, one hit the scales of the beast's right eyelids the other squareily on the pupil. Both of them glowed in a flare and one of them broke in half. But they remained embedded in the creature's flesh.

The frozen ground quaked even more violently. Now blinded, it became slightly difficult for the worm to return to the underground. Yes, it had been doing so without much use of its eyes anyway. But they were injured, it was somewhat of a distraction for the being to move about, not to mention the individuals surrounding it and throwing attacks, left, center and right. The monster made several not so threatening shrieks, and a couple of failed strikes at Nhilva and Boyle, before Basatian turned his sword and carried out the final blow.

The paladin raised his weapon high, blade down, and stabbed the soft flesh between the scales and its leather-like wings. He then pushed the sword further in, until the tip came out on the other side and the hilt hit the scales. The whole melee glowed, just like all the other weapons when they hit the Remorhaz. But it no longer bothered the man. To him and his enlarged physical size, there were merely small tickles. There was a loud gush sound, and a large amount of blood came out from the exit wound. The high pitched cry from the worm came to a halt. When the echoes eventually died down, the giant Thresher Maw, no, Remorhaz, collapsed and compulsed for a few seconds before eventually stopped moving.

Silvery light once again covered Bastian's body. When the glow faded, he returned to his normal size. For a few minutes, no one moved, and all of them simply stared at the now dead ice worm as if they weren't sure if it was really dead and suspected it would get up any time. Then, after what felt like an age, and there was nothing but the sound of wind blowing and shrubs moving, the party relaxed and let out a sigh of relief.

"Shite! That was the first time I killed a Remorhaz!" Greg laughed, forgetting for a moment his arms were burnt and he was now one weapon short. "Best write it down so I can brag about it in the tavern!"

"It will be some kind of record, for sure!" Boyled also laughed.

"Ouchie, me arms! You got healing spells, drow lady?"

"I can't do spells, remember?" Nhilva turned to look at the half-orc. She was kneeling on the ground, too adrenaline-depleted to do more. "But I have some healing potions."

"Tsk, that will do."