[ Chapter Fourteen - And Ends ]
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Arrgghh!" Goyo bellowed, the Golem's clawed hand gripping his leg and holding him upside down. The creature roared in his face, its skeletal jaws snapping with anger. Annoyed, it shook him violently, making his vision blur and swirl.
Goyo felt dizzy, his eyesight spinning like a carousel gone mad. "Help me, please," he said shakily, his voice barely audible over the Golem's furious growls.
Still stuck, Ashran struggled to free his feet tangled in the vines. He twisted and turned, almost there. . . Just a little more . . .
Suddenly, an idea struck Ashran. "Take the Orb!" he shouted down to Goyo.
"What?" Goyo replied, barely hearing him over the chaos.
"I said, take the Orb!" Ashran repeated, his voice more loudly.
Despite his fear, Goyo gathered his courage. Beacuse the Golem was preparing to stab him with its sharp claws. Desperation fueled his actions as he reached for the Orb embedded in the Golem's forehead.
With a final, frantic effort, Goyo's fingers closed around the Orb. He pulled it free just as the Golem's claw came dangerously close to his face. The moment the Orb left its socket, the Golem seemed to lose its balance.
The Golem's skeletal body began to crumble, the sound of snapping was heard.
Craack!
The Golem's body parts fell apart one by one, its bones collapsing in a heap.
The Orb slipped from Goyo's grasp, flying through the air before landing on the ground with a soft thud. It rolled a few meters away, glistening in the dim light.
However, as the Golem fell apart, Goyo did too. He was buried under its heavy bones, only his head free to move. He groaned in pain, the weight pressing down on him, making it hard to breathe. It was like there are several large rocks on top of him.
Ashran, still hanging upside down, shouted, "You're alright?"
"I don't think so," Goyo replied faintly, his voice strained.
Just then, a pretty boy leapt out from somewhere. Ashran noticed him and called for help, "Oh, over here!"
The boy had ashen-white hair, fair skin, and a handsome face marked by a mole under his left eye. He didn't replied back to Ashran and simply ignored him. Instead, he walked toward the fallen Orb, picking it up with a casual elegance.
"Thanks for your effort," he said, smirking at Ashran. His voice sounded a bit of a dulcet tone. Ashran thought he looked familiar, but couldn't place where he'd seen him before.
Goyo, still buried under the Golem's bones, shouted, "Oy, we're the ones who got that!"
"Well, not now," the pretty boy replied, smirking again, and looking down to Goyo. And then, he began to run away, calling back over his shoulder, "So long, losers," chuckling softly as he disappeared into the trees.
Meanwhile, Ashran had already managed to free himself from the trap, untangling his feet from the vines. He fell to the ground with a painful thud, landing awkwardly. "Oomph," he grunted, feeling a sharp pain shoot through his side, and in his ankle as though he were electrified.
He thought about chasing the pretty boy to get the Orb back, but then he realized Goyo was hurt. He felt a pang of guilt; it was partly his fault this had happened. Ashran hurried over to Goyo, starting to move the heavy bones off him, piece by piece.
Goyo winced as each bone was lifted away, but finally, he was free. "We shall go after him," Goyo urged, struggling to sit up.
"It's no use," Ashran said, shaking his head. "He might have gotten far away already, maybe even out of this forest."
Ashran helped Goyo to his feet and straightened him up. "We'll just find another Golem."
Goyo looked doubtful. "We're running out of time. We might not make it," he said.
...
In search of another Golem, a few moments passed once again, Ashran leading the way. Goyo, walking gloomily beside him, however, caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of something over the bushes—a Golem lying flat on the ground.
"Look," Goyo said, pointing to the motionless Golem. It was different than the first one they had encountered, it is a bit larger, and bulky.
"It's probably been looted already," Ashran replied, not expecting much.
But Goyo, fueled by desperate hope, hurried over to the large Golem. Ashran followed, still skeptical. They didn't know whether there's still an Orb within the Golem, because it was facing the ground, hiding its forehead where the Orb was located.
Goyo bent over, shaking and turning the Golem over. "Ooohh," he exclaimed, now looking to Ashran.
Ashran's eyes widened as he saw the Orb in Goyo's hand, held between his two fingers. "That is. . ." he said, surprised but relieved.
"I knew there was an Orb," Goyo gasped, laughing loudly as they ran out of the forest.
"Yeah, good thing you decided to look for it," Ashran replied. "But never mind that, we need to hurry. I don't know if we're still within the time limit . . ." He paused, glancing over his shoulder. "And we really need to hurry up. They're getting closer!" Behind their backs, three Golems were chasing them, their heavy steps pounding the ground, until it became more faintly and their presence died away as both of them increased their speed more.
Miraculously, Ashran and Goyo managed to leave the forest without any further trouble, aside from them occasionally tripping over roots.
"Good job, you two, good job!" beamed Professor Osman while looking at the Orb they had brought. He greeted them at the edge of the forest near the entrance, with students watching them, for some reason, half-admiring and half-curious.
"Did we just pass, Professor?" Goyo asked, still gasping for breath, his chest heaving as he tried to breathe properly.
"Oh, more than just 'passed,'" Professor Osman said, a look of incredulous delight spreading across his face. "Goddess, we have new Rankers again this year."
Ashran didn't quite understand what he meant by 'Rankers.' But did that literally mean they were now on the competitive side of the Academy? If yes, that would be great, he thought.
Professor Osman then called out to Zeke, "Lead them to the next test," he said. Zeke nodded and both asked Ashran and Goyo to follow him back to the Main Building.