The sword descended toward me, and all I could do was close my eyes in resignation.
I'm sorry, Mia.
Seconds passed, yet the pain never came. Opening my eyes, I saw the knight restrained, its movements halted by Alex's shadowy hands coiling tightly around its limbs.
Before it could break free, Jun's staff shot out of nowhere, striking the knight with enough force to send it tumbling back.
Turning, I saw Alex and Jun approaching. Jun caught his staff effortlessly as it returned to him, while Alex placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
"Mia's safe now, Captain," Alex said, his voice calm but firm. "Leave the rest to us."
Relief washed over me. Mia was safe. With that, the exhaustion I had been fighting took over, and darkness claimed me.
---
Alex's POV
I used shadow hands to gently move Blaze toward Amara and the unconscious Mia, ensuring they were out of harm's way.
Turning back, I saw Jun, blood trickling from a gash on his forehead. The golem knight was rising again, its imposing figure steady despite Blaze's earlier assault.
This wasn't going to be easy.
"You sure you don't want to sit this one out?" I asked Jun, not taking my eyes off the golem.
Jun smirked, gripping his staff tighter. "And let you hog all the glory? Not a chance. Besides, I owe this bastard for knocking me out."
"Fair enough," I replied, a small grin forming as I rushed toward the golem.
Reckless? Maybe. But I had my reasons.
First, I couldn't die—not permanently, at least. Second—
[Blessing of the Night is active. All stats doubled, all abilities greatly enhanced.]
[Stats: STR: 30 (60) | AGI: 60 (120) | STA: 50 (100) | INT: 60 (120) | END: 60 (120) | LUK: ???]
The night had fallen. Though we couldn't see the sky in this rune-lit dungeon, the boost was unmistakable.
Closing in, I conjured a shadow blade and swung at the golem, only for its massive sword to block the strike.
Instead of frustration, I smirked. Jun appeared at its side with the missing arm, striking with his staff and shattering its balance.
This allowed me to break through its guard and sword, landing a strike on its already cracked stone armor.
*Roar*
It roared loudly and swung its sword without any aim but that forced us to jump back.
It readied itself for a dash towards us but I wasn't going to let it. I formed some shadow hands from underneath it and held it down again, Jun's clone (formed from the hair he left behind) popped into existence and smashed its staff at the golems stone face.
The golem was flung a few steps back but it managed to steady itself. The glow in its orbs for eyes were brighter than ever.
(I guess we made him mad)
{No shit Sherlock}
Before I could bind it with my shadows again— it moved, this time faster than what it had shown earlier.
Its sword descended on me and if not for my doubled ability, I doubt I would've been able to put a shadow barrier fast enough.
Its sword landed on the shadow barrier I had formed. It looked at me and disappeared/moved again, this time aiming for Jun.
Unlike me, Jun wasn't able to avoid the sword so he could only watch as it inched closer to his neck.
As soon as the sword started cutting through his neck, Jun popped into smoke.
The golem turned towards the direction of its missing arm but it was too late, Jun's attack landed— sending it flying towards me.
Maintaining the shadow barrier, I formed a drill-like shadow on its surface. The golem knight landed on the drill which pierced through its back, emerging from its chest— revealing its hidden core.
With the golem still impaled, Jun walked towards it, took its core and crushed it.
[Golem Knight defeated. EXP will be awarded upon dungeon completion.]
With the system's confirmation, I let down the barrier watching as the golem dissipates to dust.
"That was easier than I thought" I said to Jun as we walked towards the rest.
"That's because the golem was outmatched" he confidently replied "Against the great sage, its attacks are nothing"
"You still got knocked out by it, though," I pointed out, watching his face turn red.
"T-that's because I was off guard" he stuttered and rushed towards the others.
When we arrived, Mia was already up with Blaze's head on her lap while she played with his hair.
(Seriously, these two need to get a room.)
"Are you guys okay?" Amara stood up and asked when we were close enough.
"Yeah, Blaze did all the heavy lifting. We just threw a few attacks, and it went down," I replied with a smile.
Before we could continue our conversation, the runes in the dungeon walls got brighter and I could feel myself getting recharged.
I felt my exhaustion wash away and my mana and health points being refilled.
"A-are you okay?" Mia's voice reached me, and I turned to see Blaze still lying on her lap, his eyes now open.
"Yeah, I'm fine now seeing that you're okay" replied Blaze as he got up from her lap and turned to me and Jun.
"Thank you for saving me" I could feel his sincerity.
"You're one of my side kicks, so it's obvious I'll save you" Jun replied.
Before any of us could say anything else, Gaia spoke up— interrupting us.
"Thank you, but are we allowed to leave now?" Blaze asked, wanting to leave this dungeon already and we all agreed with him.
"Rewards? I like the sound of that" Jun said sounding excited.
From the dungeon floor rose five pillars with boxes laying on top of each. I wonder what's inside.
(Author, what's inside?)
{No spoilers}
(Fine)