Chapter 125: Struggle for the Treasure Box

  The desert screamed.

  Sands exploded into the air, forming a choking beige mist as the twin mechanical beasts slammed their massive, articulated claws down onto the mysterious structure.. The force was enough to shatter bedrock, a kinetic impact that sent tremors rippling through the boots of everyone present.

  HUMMMMMM.

  The structure didn't buckle.

  For a split second, no one understood why.

  Right before the metal claws made contact, the silver surface flared. A hexagonal shield of hard light and crackling blue electricity conjured into existence, wrapping the buried artifact in a protective dome.

  CRASH.

  The impact was deafening. Sparks the size of fireworks showered the area.

  However, this was nothing more than a minor inconvenience for the beasts. They didn't recoil. They didn't pause. They simply raised their claws again and began hammering the shield with rhythmic, terrifying violence.

  BANG. BANG. BANG.

  The shield flickered with each strike, the blue light dimming momentarily before surging back. It wouldn't hold forever.

  "We need to do something!" Zhu shouted over the roar of grinding gears, her red qipao snapping in the wind generated by the impacts.

  "Already on it!" Tanvir shouted back. He wasn't looking at the beasts; he was looking at the earth beneath his feet. "We need to separate those metallic bastards from our treasure box-now!"

  He clapped his hands together, a sharp crack that echoed with power. Then, he slammed his palms onto the burning sand.

  "Rise!"

  Brown light, the color of ancient stone and deep earth, surged from his hands into the ground. The desert groaned. The sand shifted, swirled, and compacted.

  RUMBLE.

  Two massive shapes rose from the dunes. Humanoid golems, crafted from sandstone, bedrock, and compressed earth, pulled themselves free from the desert floor. They stood thirty feet tall, matching the mechanical chimeras in height and bulk, but even at a glance, their movements were slower. Heavier

  One of the golems reached down, its hand forming a platform. Tanvir hopped onto it, and the construct lifted him onto its broad, rocky shoulder.

  "I'll try to pry them off with this!" Tanvir shouted, his voice amplified by the earth itself. "You make sure those beasts stay down!"

  "Understood," Zhu nodded.

  THOOM. THOOM.

  The golems began to move, their heavy footsteps shaking the ground with the weight of mountains. They charged toward the mechanical lions.

  Zhu turned to the two gaping runaways. "You two! Stop staring!"

  "What should we do?" Yukari asked, drawing her daggers, though they looked pitifully small against the titanic struggle unfolding.

  "What else?" Zhu cracked her knuckles, crimson energy flaring around her fists. "Hit it hard."

  "So no plan," Raito commented dryly, drawing Koenka. "Classic."

  "Lady Lihua! What about us?" Varessh called out, his axe at the ready, his guild members looking eager but terrified.

  Zhu spun around. "Take the expedition team to a safe distance! This might get ugly!"

  "But we are the Raging Bull Guild!" Varessh protested, his pride stung. "Won't we be more effective than those two kids?"

  Zhu marched up to the massive adventurer. She didn't look up; she reached up and grabbed his leather collar, pulling his face down to hers.

  "Look, kid," she growled, her eyes burning with the authority of a General who had commanded legions. "This is way bigger than you could ever imagine. So suck up that ego of yours and start evacuating everyone while you still have your limbs intact. Understand?"

  Varessh stared into her eyes. He saw something ancient there. Something terrifying.

  "Yes, ma'am," he whispered. He turned immediately. "Raging Bull! Secure the queen and the scholars! Fall back! Now!"

  Behind them, the beasts roared again. They reared up, preparing to bring their claws down in a strike designed to shatter the shield once and for all.

  WHAM.

  They never got the chance.

  Tanvir's golems arrived just in time. Massive stone hands shot out, grappling the mechanical claws in mid-air.

  "Get away from the treasure!" Tanvir grunted, veins bulging on his forehead as he focused his will.

  The golems leaned back, leverage fighting against hydraulics. The sound of stone grinding against brass filled the air as the two titans began to wrestle, trying to drag the mechanical nightmares away from their prize.

  Tanvir's golems were strong and sturdy, fueled by the Lord's connection to the earth. They wrapped their massive rocky arms around the beasts' midsections, trying to hoist the metallic chimeras into the air.

  However, reality answered immediately.

  ROAR.

  The mechanical beasts roared again, unyielding. Their gears spun with a high-pitched whine.

  One of them twisted its torso with impossible flexibility. It brought its massive, articulated claw down onto the golem's forearm.

  CRUNCH.

  Sandstone shattered like glass. The golem's arm disintegrated into dust and pebbles, its grip broken instantly.

  The other beast whipped its tail—a heavy, segmented chain ending in a snapping mechanical snake head. The tail wrapped around the second golem's neck, the metal links tightening with the screech of stressed iron.

  SNAP.

  With a violent jerk, the beast decapitated the stone giant. The rocky head tumbled to the sand, rolling to a stop near Raito’s boots.

  The two mechanical beasts landed safely on all fours, shaking off the debris as if it were mere dust.

  Tanvir stood on the shoulder of the headless golem, unbothered. He looked at his damaged creations—one armless, one headless.

  "Heh," Tanvir chuckled darkly, wiping a smear of dirt from his cheek. "I wasn't expecting my current state to be overpowered this easily. I guess this is our current limit."

  He clapped his hands again.

  The earth surged upward. Stone flew back together. Within seconds, the arm reformed, and a new head grew from the neck stump. Stone knitting itself back together.

  "I will not back down!" Tanvir shouted.

  The beasts didn't even flinch. They simply turned their heads away from Tanvir and his golems, their glass eyes locking back onto the silver structure. To them, the Quake Lord was an annoyance, not a threat.

  "Don't ignore me!" Tanvir screamed, his pride stinging.

  "Haa!!!"

  A shout cut through the sky from above.

  It was Zhu. She had used the distraction to leap high into the air, descending like a crimson meteor. Her armored gauntlet shone with concentrated, volatile elemental energy that distorted the air around her fist.

  "Down!"

  She punched one of the beasts square in the jaw.

  BOOM.

  A massive explosion of flames flared up upon impact, a directed blast that carried all her momentum. The mechanical lion's head snapped to the side with the sound of bending steel. The sheer force sent the multi-ton construct toppling sideways, sand erupting as its mass struck the desert, crashing into the sand with a heavy thud.

  Zhu landed gracefully on the shoulder of Tanvir's golem, opposite the small man. She shook her hand, dissipating the heat.

  "You are late," Tanvir grumbled.

  "Well, sorry that my legs are not as long as these golems," Zhu retorted, smoothing her qipao.

  "What about the other one?" Tanvir asked, gesturing to the second beast that was already reorienting itself.

  "They will deal with it," Zhu said, pointing a finger down.

  Below them, Raito and Yukari were already sprinting across the sand, moving in perfect sync.

  "Now!" Yukari shouted.

  She slammed her hand onto the dune.

  A sheet of frictionless, mirror-smooth ice spread instantly beneath the mechanical beast's paws. The creature tried to step forward to intercept them, but its metal claws found no purchase. It scrambled, legs splaying out comically as it lost its balance.

  "Koenka!" Raito yelled, sliding to a stop.

  He drew his sword, the blade engulfed in a roaring inferno. He slashed upward, launching a crescent blade of compressed fire.

  SLASH.

  The flame blade hit the beast's front leg just as it slipped. The impact knocked the limb out from under it entirely.

  CRASH.

  The second beast toppled, hitting the ice and sliding helplessly away from the structure.

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  Raito and Yukari stopped, breathing hard but grinning. They turned to each other and slapped a crisp high-five that echoed in the brief silence.

  "Focus, you two!" Tanvir shouted, his voice cracking with urgency.

  The celebration was premature.

  CLANK. WHIRR.

  The two mechanical beasts rose again. They shook off the sand and ice as if it were nothing more than a light dusting. The metal plates on their sides, where Zhu had punched and Raito had slashed, were barely dented. They were unbothered. Unstoppable.

  They roared once more, a synchronized scream of steam and fury.

  One of the beasts flapped its massive brass wings, kicking up a sandstorm as it launched itself into the sky.

  The other, the one remaining on the ground, turned its glass eyes toward the runaways. It opened its lion's jaw wide. But instead of teeth and a throat, a dark, rifled barrel extended from within the mechanical gullet.

  CLICK.

  A pilot light flickered deep inside.

  Raito gulped, his throat dry. "Run."

  "Move!" Yukari grabbed his arm.

  WHOOSH.

  A torrent of liquid fire erupted from the beast's mouth, a concentrated stream of napalm destruction.

  "Guard!" Tanvir commanded.

  One of the stone golems moved with surprising speed, diving between the beast and the two runaways. It raised a massive, rocky hand, using it as a shield.

  The burst of flames washed over the stone limb, turning the rock red-hot in seconds. The heat was intense enough to singe Raito’s eyebrows even from behind cover, the air shimmering and distorting around them.

  "Where is the other one?!" Zhu shouted, her head snapping up, shielding her eyes against the glare.

  She spotted it.

  The aerial beast was not attacking them. It had flown over the battlefield and was now perched precariously on top of the hexagonal dome of light protecting the structure. The blue electricity arcing from the shield jolted through the beast's metal frame, sparking wildly, but the construct seemed completely unbothered, its insulation holding.

  It dug its claws into the energy field, creating ripples of distortion.

  Then, this one also unhinged its jaw.

  "It's trying to melt it!" Zhu realized with horror.

  A pillar of fire blasted downward from the beast's mouth, bathing the dome of light in an unrelenting inferno. The shield hissed and sputtered, the blue light turning a sickly violet under the thermal assault. The structure beneath began to vibrate violently, the low hum turning into a high-pitched whine of distress.

  "Tch."

  Zhu clicked her tongue, the sound sharp against the roar of flames. She turned to the golem standing near her—the one not currently being turned into slag while shielding the kids.

  "Can you make your golem fly?" Zhu shouted at Tanvir.

  "I'm the Quake Lord, not the Flying Lord!" Tanvir yelled back, his voice strained as he maintained the constructs.

  "Then throw me!"

  Zhu didn't wait for permission. She sprinted toward the golem’s arms, leaping onto its massive, open palm.

  "What?" Tanvir blinked, then groaned. "Arghh, whatever!"

  The golem shifted its weight, winding back its arm like a pitcher preparing for a fastball.

  "Go!" Tanvir commanded.

  WHOOSH.

  The stone arm snapped forward with enough force to generate a sonic boom. Zhu was launched into the air, a red blur streaking against the blue sky.

  She aimed not for the beast's body, but for its head. Mid-flight, she twisted her body, extending one leg while tucking the other. Crimson energy condensed around her foot, forming a solid, jagged boot of concentrated fire.

  "HAAAA!"

  Using the immense velocity of the throw, she slammed her heel into the mechanical beast's forehead.

  It was a gear-jamming impact. The metal of the beast's skull crumpled inward. The force of the kick snapped its head back violently, interrupting the stream of fire. The beast screeched, its grip on the energy dome faltering as it was knocked backward.

  Zhu didn't stop. As gravity tried to reclaim her, she blasted a concentrated jet of fire from her palms and feet, creating a momentary footing of flame in mid-air. She used it to backflip, landing gracefully on the curved surface of the energy dome, creating a gap between her and the recovering monster.

  She stood tall, dust and sparks swirling around her. She beckoned with one hand.

  "Your enemy is me," she declared, her eyes burning brighter than the fire. "Come and get it."

  Meanwhile, on the ground, the second beast ceased its flame breath as it sensed its twin being attacked. It raised its head, the barrel in its mouth glowing red hot.

  It didn't see the fist coming.

  Tanvir's second golem—the one that had just thrown Zhu—had crossed the distance with terrifying speed. It swung a haymaker the size of a carriage.

  WHAM.

  Stone met brass. The golem punched the beast square in the face, denting its cheekplate and sending it staggering sideways.

  Behind the shielding golem, Raito and Yukari peeked out. The stone hand that had protected them was glowing cherry-red, the surface dripping molten rock that hissed as it hit the sand.

  "I feel really out of my depth here," Raito commented, watching the clash of titans.

  "How did we beat that mechanical serpent back in Hanyuun again?" Yukari asked, her daggers feeling very light and useless in her grip.

  "Luck?" Raito ventured.

  "Definitely luck," Yukari agreed.

  They watched in awe. In front of them, Tanvir stood atop his golem, directing it to grapple the ground beast in a wrestling match that shook the earth. Above them, Zhu danced across the energy dome, trading blows of fire and steel with a flying mechanical nightmare.

  Coming face to face with their own incompetence, Raito and Yukari could only watch, their weapons heavy, anchors dragging them down. They were spectators to a war of gods and machines.

  But the tides that were seemingly even soon shifted with terrifying speed.

  On top of the dome, the aerial beast anticipated Zhu's movement. As she landed from a flip, the beast didn't strike with its claws. Instead, it whipped its chain-like tail with the speed of a striking cobra.

  The metal links wrapped tight around Zhu’s waist and arms, pinning her arms to her sides.

  Then, the snake head at the tip of the tail bit down on its own chain to complete the circuit.

  ZZZZZT!

  A surge of high-voltage blue electricity, siphoned directly from the shield generator, coursed through the tail and into Zhu’s body.

  "AAAAHHH!"

  Zhu screamed, her body arching in agony as the lightning fried her nerves. Smoke rose from her silk qipao.

  "Mother!" Yukari shouted, her hands flying to her mouth, her breath hitching in a gasp of pure terror.

  On the ground, the situation was no better.

  Tanvir’s singular remaining golem was crumbling. The beast had torn off its arms again, and this time, the earth wasn't rising to replace them. The regeneration had slowed to a crawl.

  Tanvir was on one knee atop the golem's head. Veins bulged on his forehead, pulsing with the strain. Sweat poured down his face, cutting tracks through the dust. He was visibly exhausted, his focus waning.

  The ground beast sensed the weakness. It reared back.

  It unhinged not just its lion jaw, but the snake jaw at the end of its tail whipped forward to flank Tanvir.

  WHOOSH. HISSS.

  A burst of concentrated napalm fire erupted from the lion's mouth. Simultaneously, a jet of absolute-zero liquid frost sprayed from the snake's mouth.

  Fire and Ice. A dual assault designed to shatter stone through thermal shock.

  "Shield!" Tanvir croaked.

  He forced the golem to cross its regenerating stumps in front of him. The attack washed over the stone, cracking it instantly with the sound of a gunshot.

  "Tanvir!" Raito shouted, stepping forward instinctively.

  "We need to help them!" Yukari cried, gripping her daggers so hard her knuckles turned white.

  "How?!" Raito yelled back, frustration tearing at his voice. "Even two Lords are not enough to beat them! What can we even do? We're just... us!"

  "Oh, but you can beat them. Easily."

  The voice whispered in his ear again. Smooth. Confident. Seductive. It cut through the roar of the battle like a knife through silk.

  Raito stiffened, his eyes losing focus for a split second.

  "Quick!" Yukari grabbed his shoulders, shaking him. "What did Rara say back then? In Hanyuun? How we beat Uroboris, the serpent?"

  Raito blinked, the voice receding into the back of his mind. "What?"

  "Something about golden light!" Yukari said frantically, her eyes darting between the dying Lords and Raito.

  Raito snapped back into focus. He looked at her. "You really believe that tale? that we’re capable of doing that?”

  "Well, what else can we do?!" Yukari pleaded, tears welling in her eyes as Zhu screamed again. "We have to try!"

  "Is running away together... not an option anymore?" Raito murmured, his voice barely audible over the chaos.

  It finally dawned on him. All the battles they had been in so far, including the one right now—all of them had been against insurmountable odds. It was a miracle they were still in one piece.

  Yukari was raised as a warrior, trained by a General. But him? He was a janitor. A cleaner. A nobody who picked up a sword by accident.

  It was clearly luck that had gotten them this far. Lords. Mechanical beings. Gods. His worldview had expanded far too fast for him to process. He might be holding a sword, and he might possess a Core, but he was still just a man.

  He was scared. Not for himself, but scared of losing her. Scared that this time, luck wouldn't be enough.

  Yukari looked at him. She shook her head, but she could see the naked fear in Raito’s dark eyes. She felt it too. She wanted to run away with him. She wanted to grab his hand and flee until their lungs burned. She was scared of losing him.

  But she also knew they couldn't just leave everyone else to die.

  They stood there, paralyzed by the weight of their own weakness. No answer came to save them. Afraid that no more miracle would come to their aid.

  Then, slowly, Raito raised his sword. His hand shook, but he didn't lower it. Yukari drew her dagger, her grip tightening.

  "Just like always," Raito whispered, forcing a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "We will deal with the aftermath later."

  "For now," Yukari nodded, stepping closer to him. "We have to try. Again."

  But they were not the only ones left fighting.

  "Men! Arrows! Crossbows! SHOOT!"

  A loud, booming voice tore through the air. It was Varessh.

  The Guildmaster stood at the edge of the perimeter, his axe raised high. At his command, his fellow adventurers launched a coordinated strike. A hail of steel-tipped bolts and arrows flew toward the beast perched atop the dome.

  They weren't aiming to kill it—their weapons were too weak to pierce the beast’s metal hide. They were begging for a distraction. Praying for at least one stray arrow to find a joint, a weakness, anything to free Lady Lihua.

  CLING. CLANG. PING.

  Most bounced off harmlessly. But one lucky bolt jammed into the servo mechanism of the chain tail.

  The beast twitched, its attention snapping away from Zhu as its systems registered the foreign object. The grip of the tail loosened for a split second.

  That was all Zhu needed.

  She didn't waste time. She slipped out of the coil like fire, dropping from the dome and landing in a crouch on the sand below, gasping for breath but alive.

  On the other side of the battlefield, help came from an unexpected source.

  "UP!"

  A massive wave of conjured water surged from the scholar's booth, defying the desert heat. Riding the crest of the wave was Mila, her greatsword held high.

  Behind the wave, Malik stood with his hands outstretched, his face pale as death, blood trickling from his nose. His Core was glowing dangerously bright.

  "It's enough! Turn your Core off, Malik!" Mila shouted back at him.

  Malik didn't argue. He cut the flow and collapsed face-first into the sand near Bob and the Queen, his body seizing from the backlash.

  Mila didn't look back. She used the momentum of the crashing water to launch herself into the air, aiming directly for the ground beast that was spewing fire and ice at Tanvir.

  She channeled every bit of wind elemental power she had from her Core into her greatsword. The blade glowed green, the air around it screaming.

  "CLOSE IT!"

  She slammed the flat of her blade onto the open, unhinged lion jaw of the beast.

  CRACK.

  The impact was tremendous. The wind pressure forced the mechanical jaw to snap shut with enough force to shear metal. The stream of fire and ice was choked off instantly, exploding inside the beast's own mouth.

  Smoke poured from its nostrils as it stumbled back, disoriented.

  Tanvir, panting on top of his crumbling golem, finally had a moment to breathe.

  "About time," he wheezed, wiping sweat from his eyes.

  "Are you alright, old friend?" Bob called out, running up to the base of the golem with a waterskin in hand.

  "To be honest, absolutely not," Tanvir admitted, his voice ragged. He jumped down, landing unsteadily in the sand. With a wave of his hand, the massive stone construct crumbled back into a pile of lifeless rocks. "In our weakened state... we barely have enough elemental power to deal with these things."

  He leaned against Bob for support, his chest heaving.

  The reprieve was short-lived.

  CLANK. HISS.

  The beasts started up again. Despite the dents, the smoke, and the shattered jaws, they ignored the humans completely. Their primary directive remained unchanged: the structure.

  The beast on the ground, smoke billowing from its crushed snout, lunged at the energy shield with renewed, mindless ferocity, battering it with its claws.

  The beast on top of the dome shook off the arrow barrage. It flew upward once more, hovering above the dome. With a mechanical screech, it spread its wings wide. Rows of brass feathers detached, launching downward like a rain of guillotine blades, hammering the shield in a relentless staccato rhythm.

  "Regroup!" Zhu ordered, leaping near the Queen and the scholars.

  Everyone scrambled back, putting distance between themselves and the carnage.

  "We have to retreat," Zhu said, her voice tight.

  Yukari stopped dead, staring at her stepmother. "What?"

  It was a word she never thought she would hear from the War General. Zhu Lihua? Retreating?

  "That seems wise," Tanvir nodded, looking at the unstoppable machines. "As much as I want to save that box... everyone's life is at stake here if we stay. We cannot win this attrition war."

  "Lady Lihua, Sir Tanvir," Varessh asked, gripping his axe until his knuckles were white. "May I ask once more... what the heck are those mechanical beasts? All of our weapons barely leave a scratch on them!"

  "Those things are..." Tanvir started to explain, rubbing his temples.

  "Hey! Raito! What are you doing?!"

  Bob’s sudden shout cut through the conversation like a whip crack.

  Everyone turned to look in the direction Bob was pointing.

  It was Raito.

  He was walking away from the safety of the group, heading nonchalantly toward the two rampaging mechanical beasts. He wasn't running. He wasn't sneaking. He was strolling.

  He was humming a tune—a light, cheerful melody that sounded grotesque against the backdrop of destruction. He swung Koenka around loosely in his hand, like a child playing with a stick in a park.

  "Raito!" Yukari called out, panic seizing her throat.

  Raito stopped. He turned slowly to face them.

  "What's wrong?" he asked, his voice calm. Too calm.

  "What are you doing?!" Yukari screamed, taking a step toward him. "Get back here!"

  Raito tilted his head. A smile spread across his face, but it wasn't his smile. It was sharp. Predatory.

  "Not being a coward, of course," he said.

  He started cackling—a dry, rasping laugh that didn't belong to him.

  Yukari opened her mouth to say his name again—The warm brown of his eyes was swallowed by a tide of darkness, turning them into pools of cold, deep black.

  Fwoosh.

  A flicker of pitch-black flame ignited along the length of his blade, casting no light, only a void where the world should be.

  For the first time since this battle started, Yukari’s fear was not of the beasts, but of what Raito is becoming.