Dick had visited the Vault of Archavon countless times, and had challenged the powerful Rock Guardians countless times, either with his team or alone.
But this was truly the first time he had seen Algalon's true form.
As he faced off against several Runes Giants patrolling the vault, the tightly shut stone doors at its far end burst open. A powerful presence surged straight toward Dick as the ground trembled and the vault itself shook, accompanied by a roar that almost formed a tangible sound wave.
"Stone will not forget! The earth will not forget! Invaders... your doom has come!"
Every step of the twenty-meter-tall giant made the earth groan unbearably. Their weight was practically cheating, but that was not the point. The point was that the instant that furious voice rang out, Dick sensed an indescribable danger. His body abruptly turned into a streak of light and vanished. Less than a second later, the hard stone where he had stood seemed to take on a life of its own, rapidly turning into two enormous stone fists that smashed into the ground from either side.
Boom! Boom!
"Calm down! Algalon! I'm not..."
Golden lightning flashed across the ground farther back, and the Paladin appeared there. But before he could finish speaking, the earth beneath his feet changed again. A fist shot skyward, forcing Dick to turn into light and vanish once more.
This time, he did not remain on the ground. He had figured it out: in the real world, fighting someone like Algalon meant that the entire earth would become his enemy. Dick could only hover in the air. Watching the Rock Guardian charge toward him at a rapid pace, bringing an earthquake with him, he shouted,
"Enough! I'm not an enemy! I've come in goodwill!"
Algalon's heavy punch