"Wait!" Elizabeth yelled.
"Oh thank god," Noodle sighed. His sword, which he had very reluctantly raised in preparation for the imminent duel, was lowered immediately.
"I have to tell you about his weakness!" Elizabeth continued.
Noodle looked devastated that the duel was still going to happen, and Kenric stifled a laugh.
"There should be a gem—some sort of crystal that allows his body of rock to move," Elizabeth said, "It's the only weak part on his body."
The golem made a sound of disgust, "You're a mage, aren't you?"
"Yes?"
"I hate mages! Always standing in the back, extra squishy, with their cowardly spells and stuff," the golem said, "Mages are the worst!"
"But… your creator was a mage," Elizabeth pointed out.
"Yeah, the only cool one," the golem said, "The rest all suck."
"Er—Lady Filangris, I don't see any such gem," Noodle said nervously.
"It has to be somewhere," Elizabeth said, "Even if he's a unique golem, to move he absolutely needs—"
"Don't bother searching, I'll tell you right now," the golem said, "The gem is on the centre of my back. Break that, and I instantly lose."
"You… just told us your weakness," Elizabeth said, amazed, "Why?"
"It's a good weakness," Kenric said, still lounging on his rock.
Though the only thing that moved on the golem's face was his eyes, Kenric got the sense that he was smiling at him, "Isn't it? It's a weakness that doesn't matter, because I will never show my back to my enemy."
Elizabeth looked between them, "That's…"
"Come on, that's enough talking!" The golem said, "Time to fight!" He raised his arms, and Noodle, white as a sheet, raised his blade again in response.
"What if—?" He began to ask, but he was interrupted when the golem suddenly charged. "I said enough talk!" The golem said as he swung his stone fists at his enemy. Noodle backed away just in time and tried to circle around to his back, but to no avail.
The golem was not quick, but he had overwhelming power, and he moved well, anticipating whenever Noodle was about to try and go for his back. It was all Noodle could do to not be squished by him.
Barely a minute in and Noodle began to breathe heavily, his movements slowing. He was getting clumsier with his attempts, and Kenric finally deemed it time to say to Elizabeth, "Please go stop them."
Elizabeth reacted instantly, she had been ready to spring into action this whole time after all, worriedly watching as Noodle barely escaped the deadly swings of heavy stone time and again. She flew forwards, unsheathing her blade and going for the golem's back.
"You're joining in too?" The golem roared. He backed off to keep both enemies in front of him, which was exactly what Elizabeth had wanted. Now possessing distance from her enemy, she dragged Noodle back to Kenric, taking him out of range.
"It seems there are more monsters out in the world than just Edward, aren't there, Noodle?" Kenric asked almost lazily.
"That's an actual monster, boss."
"Yes, and I need you to be able to defeat them anyway," Kenric said, "Especially when you have a sparring partner like Edward."
"Hey!" The golem called, "What about our duel?"
Finally, Kenric stood, "I will face you now."
The golem paused, "I'm not going to say that you don't seem like you have more bite to you than your bodyguard, but I thought I'd be facing that girl there next. I mean, you're using a stick to walk." He turned to Elizabeth, "By the way, you use a sword as well? That's perfect! Fight with that!"
"No, better to end this quick," Kenric said. He pointed his cane at the golem, "Your name?"
"Don't have one," the golem said. It rushed at Kenric, "Don't need one!"
Kenric met his charge with his own, seeming as though he was committing to a swing. The golem, sensing where he was about to be, swung mightily as well to intercept him. If the strike hit, it would be over in one blow.
But, of course, the strike would never hit.
Kenric swerved around the golem's swing at the last second, passing him by, and flicked his cane lightly at the shining red crystal embedded on his back. The golem did not have subtle movements like a human, but it still gave something of a jolt.
"That's a loss for you," Kenric said, leisurely turning around to face the golem. The golem turned as well, seeming stunned. It was a battle that had lasted a single exchange, and it hadn't even taken five seconds for Kenric to establish his victory. "Your weakness is a good one, but you shouldn't announce it if you can't protect it."
The golem continued staring, but then his eyes of white light flashed and he pointed at Kenric, "No! I haven't lost yet! This is only over when I say it's over!"
The earth trembled, and the rocks packed tightly that made up the golem's body began expanding. It rose, laughing, "I can increase my size as long as I'm standing on earth! Now—"
Kenric did not give him a chance to finish. Before the golem could get too large, he leapt up to his outstretched arm, and then leapt once more to land on his shoulder. The golem had reached half the height of the tall trees above by now, but it did not matter, because Kenric was already on him. He continued growing, and Kenric watched uninterestedly as the ground dropped further and further away.
"It doesn't matter how big you get now," he warned.
The golem, who had been about to try and swat Kenric from his shoulder, stopped suddenly. They were looking at each other, eye to eye, and something in Kenric's voice seemed to give him pause.
"Your weakness has grown along with your size," Kenric said, looking at the proportionally massive crystal on the massive golem's back. He looked back at the golem's eyes and smirked, "Just try and make a move. You're still in my range, you know?"
Kenric doubted the golem could shiver, but the way it suddenly distanced its head from its own shoulder to get away from Kenric was a pretty analogous action by his estimate. He rested his cane on the rock shoulder, using it to support his leg once more.
The golem finally said quietly, "It's... your victory."