As Quinn and Camilla charged forward, the colossal golem shifted its massive weight, emerald flames roaring brighter along its jagged frame. Quinn crossed his arms over his chest, aura surging violently into both gauntlets. The dark alloy began to glow with increasing intensity, power nodes screaming as raw energy coiled tighter and tighter.
The golem anticipated their approach. It lifted one enormous foot and brought it down in a devastating stomp meant to flatten them both. The impact cratered the already ruined floor, sending a ripple of force outward. But Quinn and Camilla moved like liquid. Camilla juked left with a spinning flip, her molten greaves leaving orange trails in the air. Quinn slid right, then pivoted smoothly, using the shockwave itself to launch forward. They slipped between the giant's legs and began climbing with fluid, practiced coordination.
Camilla attacked the ascent like a woman born for it. She bounded from calf to thigh to hip, each landing of her Infernal War Greaves melting deep purchase points into the stone. Quinn, still channeling aura into his gauntlets, kept pace from the side. He dodged another heavy stomp by leaping onto the moving ankle, then vaulted higher using the golem's own momentum. His hands and feet found every crevice and ridge as he scaled the living mountain of rock and green fire.
From a safe distance, Bulk dropped into his braced firing stance. The launcher whined to full power. He squeezed the trigger.
A single heavy bolt streaked upward and slammed directly into the side of the golem's volcanic head with a deafening crack. The impact jerked the giant's head sideways, emerald flames flickering wildly as its attention snapped toward the new threat.
That split second was all Camilla needed.
She launched herself from the golem's shoulder in a perfect arc, spinning mid-air. Her right leg chambered, greaves blazing white-hot at over 2000°C. The kick connected with the golem's jawline like a meteor strike.
The combustion was instantaneous and apocalyptic.
A roaring sphere of orange and emerald fire erupted outward, engulfing the entire head and upper torso in a blazing explosion that spanned nearly forty meters wide. The flash came first—blinding and fierce—followed two full seconds later by the deafening thunderclap as sound finally caught up. A powerful shockwave rolled across the chamber, rattling loose debris from the walls and ceiling. The golem's head was blasted backward, chunks of superheated stone shattering and crumbling away in a slow-motion rain that lasted nearly a minute. Molten fragments continued falling long after the initial blast, glowing brightly as they bounced across the floor.
The golem staggered, momentarily stunned.
Quinn seized the opening. With a powerful surge of aura through his legs, he launched himself in a soaring jump, landing hard on the golem's lower back. He began climbing fast, gauntlets glowing as he punched new handholds when necessary, steadily making his way upward to support Camilla.
Camilla didn't wait. The moment the golem started recovering, she leaped again—this time straight toward the exposed crystal high in the ceiling. She twisted gracefully, driving her left greave into the pulsing emerald surface with everything she had. Another violent blaze of fire erupted on contact, the combustion roaring outward and scorching the air. She dropped back down toward the golem's shoulder just as its massive fist came swinging in to crush her.
Bulk's launcher thumped again.
The bolt struck the golem's striking arm at the shoulder joint with pinpoint accuracy. The kinetic force yanked the entire limb backward, pulling the punch off course and giving Camilla precious breathing room. Above them, the magical barrier protecting the crystal flickered visibly, its translucent surface rippling under the stress.
The golem's head tilted downward, maw opening wide as green energy coalesced rapidly. It prepared to spit a massive fireball straight at Bulk.
Quinn was faster.
He reached the golem's jawline in a burst of speed and drove his right gauntlet straight through the volcanic stone with a savage uppercut. The aura-infused punch exploded out the other side, shattering rock and disrupting the energy buildup. Green flames sputtered and died in the golem's throat. Bulk immediately took the chance to retreat toward his ammo crates, prosthetic leg hissing as he moved to reload once more.
Camilla was already in motion again. She sprang upward, closing the distance to the crystal. Her first kick landed with thunderous force, another 30-meter-wide combustion blooming around the impact point. The rush of heat burned through the surrounding oxygen, leaving a momentary vacuum that howled as air rushed back in. She spun and struck again with her right greave—second impact, second roaring explosion. The barrier flickered more violently, cracks of light spidering across its surface.
While she attacked, Quinn planted himself firmly on the golem's upper chest like a stubborn rider. He became a whirlwind of heavy strikes—left gauntlet, right gauntlet, elbow, knee—punching deep craters into every vital-looking section he could reach. The golem retaliated with furious swipes and twisting bucks, but Quinn's aura-enhanced strength and balance let him absorb and deflect much of the punishment, refusing to be shaken off.
The merged golem released a deep, earth-shaking growl. Condensed shockwaves suddenly erupted from multiple glowing points across its body—shoulders, spine, chest, and neck. The invisible pulses slammed into both fighters like battering rams. Quinn and Camilla were ripped away simultaneously, hurled backward into open air.
They fell at the same angle, spinning slowly as they dropped.
"I got the blanket off iron skull!" Camilla shouted mid-fall, grinning wildly despite the drop.
Quinn blinked, processing the words. "Blanket off…?" Realization hit him a heartbeat later. The barrier. She had actually broken through the magic shield. "Give me a boost up there!"
Camilla twisted toward him with perfect timing. She propelled herself using a controlled burst from her greaves, closing the gap. Quinn condensed aura around his right foot and planted it firmly atop the bottom of her superheated greaves. Camilla released everything she had.
The combustion was massive.
A directed explosion of heat and force rocketed Quinn upward like a human cannonball while slamming Camilla downward. She hit the ground floor hard, rolling through the impact with a breathless laugh. "That was awesome!"
Quinn tore through the air at breathtaking speed, the wind howling past him as he arrowed straight toward the now-exposed emerald rune crystal. The barrier was gone—Camilla's earlier strikes had shattered its protection.
The golem suddenly surged back into motion. Its volcanic head snapped upward, jaws splitting wide open as bizarre green flames gathered for a point-blank blast meant to incinerate Quinn mid-flight.
BANG!
A concussive heavy bolt from Bulk's freshly reloaded launcher slammed into the golem's face with brutal force. The impact rocked its head sideways, dulling its reaction just long enough. The emerald flames sputtered harmlessly off-course.
Quinn cleared the final distance.
With his right arm fully condensed in crackling aura, he drove his fist forward like a spear. The gauntlet connected dead-center on the emerald rune crystal.
The destruction was immediate and overwhelming.
His punch drove deep into the crystal's core. A tremendous shockwave exploded outward. The crystal shattered into hundreds of glowing shards and fragments as Quinn's fist continued through, creating a thirteen-meter-wide crater in the ceiling around the impact point. Wide cracks raced along the edges like lightning, and thick clouds of dust and debris poured down in a heavy waterfall.
The golem gave one final, deafening roar that echoed through every corner of the ruined chamber. The green energy animating its body began to die from the feet upward—flames guttering out section by section, limbs locking and darkening as the power drained away. The massive volcanic head was the last to lose its fire. It tipped forward first, then the entire colossal body pitched straight down, falling vertically like a felled titan.
Bulk sprinted clear just in time, prosthetic leg pumping as the shadow of the giant swallowed the ground behind him.
The crash was cataclysmic.
The Golem slammed into the chamber floor with the force of a small earthquake. Stone shattered. Dust exploded outward in a thick choking cloud that blanketed everything. The impact reverberated through the walls and sent residual debris raining from the damaged ceiling for several long seconds.
Quinn twisted mid-fall and broke his descent by landing hard on the golem's now-darkened chest. He rolled once before coming to a stop on one knee, chest heaving, sweat and stone dust coating his face and armor. The chamber slowly fell quiet except for the settling rubble and the distant crackle of dying embers.
He stared at the destroyed crystal high above, then down at the lifeless giant beneath him.
"This has to be it, right?"
As the thick cloud of dust began to settle, the ruined chamber slowly emerged from the haze like a battlefield exhaling its final breath. Fine particles still drifted lazily through the air, catching the few surviving light sources in weak, hazy beams. The atmosphere grew heavier, stuffy with the mingled scents of scorched stone, ozone, and lingering volcanic heat. The colossal golem's corpse dominated the space, an inert mountain of blackened rock and dead emerald veins that no longer pulsed with malevolent fire.
Bulk stood at the far left end of the chamber, methodically rearranging his supply crates in the box. His broad shoulders flexed as he hoisted the heavy item box, prosthetic leg hissing softly with each adjusted step. He moved with the steady caution of a man who had learned long ago that a moment of carelessness could cost more than just ammo. Circling wide around the golem's jagged remains, he picked his way through craters and shattered stone, the launcher slung across his back.
Quinn descended from the golem's upper chest in careful, controlled drops, his aura-enhanced gauntlets scraping against the now-dull volcanic rock. He landed lightly on the uneven ground and paused, scanning the massive corpse for any lingering signs of life, any faint glow in the cracks, any unnatural twitch in the stone. Nothing. Only silence and cooling embers. Satisfied, he leaned back against one of the golem's broken ridges, the jagged edge pressing uncomfortably into his armor. With slow, deliberate motions, he dusted stone powder from his helm and chest plate.
"Glad that's over," he muttered.
Still… the fight was quite interesting, he thought, rolling his shoulders. I did get to warm myself up. But later I find it annoying.
He turned slightly to his right and drove his fist into a protruding piece of the golem's armor like hide, not hard enough to damage his gauntlet, but enough to vent the lingering frustration. The impact sent a small shower of pebbles cascading down.
I hate golems that require clues to beat. It gives me a headache when I have to plan out the tactics. Very annoying, if I'm to say. The geezers who made this troublesome rock must be tight about their possessions.
Quinn swept his gaze across the devastated floor. What had once been a grand chamber was now little more than ruins. Nearly eighty percent of the overhead light fixtures had been destroyed during the battle, leaving vast swathes of the area swallowed in deep shadow. The few remaining lights bloomed unevenly, casting erratic pools of sickly illumination that only highlighted the destruction. Craters pockmarked the ground where the golem's stomps had landed. Long, jagged fissures raced across the stone like lightning frozen in time. Molten fragments now cooled into glassy black lumps, littered the floor alongside shattered rubble. The entire landscape was in ruins, a testament to the sheer violence of their struggle.
He stood there for nearly three full minutes, breathing steadily, letting the adrenaline drain from his limbs while his mind replayed the fight. How easily it could have gone wrong. One misstep on the climb, one delayed shot from Bulk, one second too slow on Camilla's part… They had danced on a razor's edge. Yet here they were alive and victorious. He allowed himself a small, private surge of pride, nurturing the quiet vigor that came from surviving something monstrous.
A noise from the left snapped him out of his reverie. The distinct rhythm of footsteps, human, heavy, accompanied by the soft mechanical hiss of metal joints. Bulk rounded the golem's massive shoulder, item box tucked under one arm, and leapt across a smaller crevice to join him.
"That was a close call, wouldn't you agree?" Bulk said, carrying the heavy box.
"Close?" Quinn exhaled a short laugh. "It was mentally draining. Tasks like this fit your capabilities more than mine."
"You don't say," Bulk replied, wiping dust from his brow. "To me, you handled that quite well. You should give yourself some credit."
Quinn waved the compliment away as Bulk closed the remaining distance, stopping about five meters away.
"I would consider that role unsuitable for me at any time thereafter," Quinn said nonchalantly. "Great shot by the way."
"The moment was dire. I did what I had to do." Bulk finally closed the gap completely, leaning against the golem's corpse beside him.
"How many do you have left?" Quinn asked.
"What?"
"Your ammo. Your power containers."
"Ohh," Bulk grunted, patting the side of the box. "I only have three pairs left. If I had known, I would have brought more."
From the right side of the chamber, a new set of footsteps echoed in orderly, measured cadence. Both Quinn and Bulk turned toward the sound. Rate emerged from the shadows, calm and composed, with a small hovering orb of pale light drifting obediently above his shoulder. The orb cast a clean, steady glow that cut through the dusty gloom. Quinn straightened his posture as Rate approached their position.
"A job well done," Rate said smoothly, his eyes sweeping across the destruction. "I see you took your time to re-assess the situation. Very well. I'll see that you all rest well and recover before we continue." He turned slightly, gazing toward the distant entrance that presumably led to the next floor.
Quinn stared at Rate's back, his expression neutral but his thoughts sharp.
I bet he knew where exactly the real core was from the very beginning. He just toys with us. If he had joined us earlier, this would have already been wrapped up.
"It's a relief," Bulk said, lowering himself to the ground with a tired sigh. He set the ammunition box beside him and rested his back against a huge boulder. "We finally beat the last guardian of the dungeon."
Quinn's gaze shifted from Rate to Bulk, then lingered on the stupendous corpse that dominated the floor. The sheer scale of the fallen titan still felt unreal.
"It's possible," he murmured under his breath.
"How sure are you?" Rate asked, turning back toward them with mild interest.
"What?" Bulk said, blinking.
"How sure are you to justify that this might be the last guardian?" Rate pressed, his tone measured but pointed.
"Probably its mechanism," Bulk answered after a moment, rubbing his prosthetic knee. "Its power scaling was very high and powerful as that, one could feel it in the air. We'd have found it difficult to bring down if not for the healing factor… had we known nothing about the core…" He paused, reading Rate's expression. "…Are you're stating there's more guardians?"
"It's not certain. Your observations are correct," Rate conceded. "But I don't think it's wise to conclude so lightly."
Bulk didn't utter another word. He simply stared at the golem's darkened remains, the weight of the possibility settling over him.
"There might not be more," Rate continued, "and there might be. We can't finalize that yet. Should I remind you there's a certain dungeon that still climbs over fifty floors and has yet to be conquered by any adventurers?"
"What if this dungeon has twenty more floors," Bulk asked, gesturing toward the collapsed golem, "and the guardians are similarly powerful as this one? Do we retreat then?"
"Unfortunately not," Rate replied, his voice calm but carrying an unmistakable finality. "We can't go back empty-handed. We have to bring back something more valuable than gold… to save our heads from falling."
Bulk rubbed the back of his neck nervously, the mechanical whir of his prosthetic leg faint as he shifted his weight.
"Take your time to recover," Rate concluded. "Since we're out of potions, we'll need the strength to harvest something meaningful to bring back."