The grinding of stone grew into a thunderous roar, so deep that it rattled Noah’s ribs.
Dust fell from the ceiling in fine curtains, coating the ground with a faint gray sheen.
He could hear it more clearly now, not just one or two sets of footsteps, but dozens, marching in sync, echoing through the tunnels.
Beside him, Cecilia’s expression hardened. The soft glow of her fire magic wreathing her hands flared brighter, bathing the tunnel in amber light.
"B-ranked," she muttered. "They’re smaller, but faster. And they co in packs."
The first one burst into view before she’d even finished speaking.
It was smaller than the C-rank golem they’d faced before, at barely six feet tall, but its body was slimr, like the suit of a super soldier.
Its eyes glowed an electric blue, burning with chanical awareness.
Behind it ca three more.
Cecilia raised a hand, her fingers flicking through the air as she cast her spell.
Fire exploded around her in a radiant shell. The first golem slamd into it, its body hissing as cracks spread across its chest.
Cecilia moved swiftly towards it, looking graceful. She dismissed the cast shield, stretching her hand and materializing a longsword forged from pure fla.
That was another one of her skills.
She struck as hard as she could, each follow up swing leaving an arc of burning light that cut deep into the nearest golem’s body.
It staggered back, stone dripping from the wound, before Cecilia finished it with a downward strike that shattered its core.
But even as it fell, two others rushed past her.
Their heavy feet struck the ground like hamrs, the tremors echoing in Noah’s chest.
He turned to face them, his eyes narrowing. The two golems split, one veering left, and the other circling wide to his right.
They were faster than he expected.
He raised his hamr instinctively, blocking the first golem’s strike.
The impact sent him sliding backward several feet, his boots screeching across the stone.
The shock of the blow reverberated through his arms, numbing them.
Before he could recover, the second golem lunged.
Its stone fist swung toward his ribs, a blur of motion that would’ve shattered a weaker man in half.
Noah vanished in a muted flash of light.
Null Stride.
He reappeared several paces behind the golem, the air rippling faintly from the displacent.
His heart hamred in his chest as he turned, raising the hamr again.
"Too fast," he muttered under his breath.
The golem turned sharply, blue light blazing from its eyes.
The light seed to glow brighter, and its movent sped up again.
Noah’s eyes widened at the sight. It was just too unnatural for sothing this heavy to move that fast.
The first golem ca at him from the front again, their movents synchronizing as if guided by a single mind.
Noah gritted his teeth. He swung his hamr, channeling mana into the weapon.
Dark tendrils licked along its surface, the head glowing faintly with violet light. He t the first golem’s charge head-on.
The hamr collided with its chest, the shockwave booming through the tunnel.
The creature’s torso cracked but didn’t shatter.
Its arm shot up, gripping the hamr’s head, holding it in place.
The other golem ca from the side, aiming a punch for his neck.
Noah twisted, releasing the hamr and activating Null Stride again.
He reappeared several feet behind them, sweat dripping down his temple.
Each teleport was taking a toll, draining his mana little by little. He couldn’t keep using his spells recklessly. He wasn’t alone in here.
He reached out with his hand, summoning another hamr from his shadows. The weapon ford instantly.
He surged forward, slamming it down on the back of the first golem’s head.
The blow cracked its neck clean through, snapping its head from its shoulders. The body fell forward, lifeless.
The victory was short-lived.
The other golem spun, slamming its fist into his ribs before he could move.
The impact sent a sickening crunch through his chest. Pain flared, white-hot, and he was airborne, tumbling through the air before slamming into the stone wall.
He hit the ground hard, his armor fracturing slightly, his breath coming out ragged.
"Damn it," he hissed, dragging himself to his feet.
Across the tunnel, Cecilia was fighting like a storm unleashed.
Her sword was a blur of fire and light, cutting through one golem after another.
Flas burst from the ground wherever she stepped, forming geysers of heat that lted stone.
Her control was flawless. Every motion she made was purposeful, and every strike ended in incineration.
Still, there were too many.
They poured through the tunnel in waves, dozens of them, their glowing eyes forming a constellation of blue against the flickering firelight.
Each ti she felled one, two more took its place.
"Stay sharp!" she shouted. "Don’t let them surround you!"
"I’m trying!" Noah shot back, narrowly avoiding another punch by teleporting again.
’How is this monolith so much stronger than the other one!’ he couldn’t help but wonder.
The monolith the royal guards had been guarding was like a cake walk compared to this.
Here, the monsters were actually strong!
He appeared behind one of the golems, slamming his hamr into its leg.
The strike shattered its knee, sending the creature toppling forward. Noah followed up with another swing to its head, cracking it open.
He didn’t even get a chance to breathe before the next one was on him.
This one was different. It was... faster, and smarter.
It feigned like it was slow, before speeding up and swinging low, its arm sweeping in a wide arc.
Noah tried to dodge, but the motion was too fast. The blow caught him in the side, slamming him against the wall again.
His vision blurred. He could taste blood.
He activated Null Stride instinctively, blinking several feet away before the golem’s follow-up blow could crush his skull.
He staggered to his feet, panting, the world spinning around him.
He looked up, and froze.
Three of them now. Advancing together.
They moved like predators. Their eyes glowed brighter as they closed in, their hands forming blades of compressed stone.
Noah raised his hamr again, but his grip trembled slightly. "You’ve got to be kidding ."
He t the first charge head-on, slamming the hamr into the creature’s side.
The impact sent it stumbling, but before he could follow through, the second golem’s arm ca down, catching his shoulder.
Pain exploded through him as he was driven to one knee.
He swung wildly, catching the second golem in the leg, cracking it open, but it wasn’t enough.
The third ca from behind, its massive fist rising high above its head.
Noah barely had ti to look up.
He could feel the weight of the mana gathering there. The power behind the blow.
If it landed, it would crush him completely.
His instincts scread at him to teleport again, but he hesitated.
This shouldn’t be the way it would end.
And then, sothing in Noah snapped.
The restraint he’d been clinging to, the careful balance between control and destruction, it shattered like glass.
There was no need to hide what he could do if it ant losing.
Imdiately, his deanor changed. His head tilted slightly, a faint, dangerous smile appearing on his face.
"Fine," he whispered. "You won, Professor."
His hand shot up, fingers splayed wide.
"Feast!"
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