Reckoning (3)

KNOCK-!

KNOCK-!

"Astrid, it's me, Evan. Can I talk with you for a bit?"

Evan was standing in front of a metallic door as he paced backwards and forwards in nervous agitation. Finally, after a few seconds, he heard the sound of the door opening.

CLICK-!

As the door parted, Astrid's enchanting figure came into view. Gazing deeply into Evan's for a second, checking for any signs of ill intent, Astrid motioned him into the room.

Finding a seat on a chair at the far end of the room, Evan sat down and faced Astrid as he opened his mouth to begin the topic he wished to discuss with her.

"I presume Finn has already come here and imparted the news to you, but I can't help but feel that there is more than meets the eye in this situation. Ever since returning from a hunt a few days ago, I have been assaulted by a constant sense of unease, which has grown stronger every day until now."

Astrid pondered for a few moments as her eyes narrowed in deep thought.

"I also feel something off about this situation, but there isn't much we can do with our strength, and since the military requested for Otto to stay here, we are going to remain in the outpost until further notice."

Rubbing his chin, Evan gazed at his feet, trying to formulate his words in the best possible way.

"But what if staying in the outpost is more dangerous than travelling outside into the wilds? What if a threat appears that none of us can handle, including Otto?"

Thinking for a few moments, Astrid gave Evan a deep look as she gave her answer.

"You're suggesting that since the Commander is away, the defence of the outpost is at its lowest, so any powerful attack by a group of powerful monsters puts our lives and the soldiers at tremendous risk."

"Yes."

"Well, we can't really do much apart from informing Otto about our suspicions, and if such an attack did occur, we fight with all our strength."

Falling silent, Astrid turned her gaze towards the only window in the room as a profound emotion appeared in her eyes. Mirroring her gaze, Evan similarly looked in the same direction as the same profound emotion manifested in both their eyes.

After a few minutes of tranquillity, Evan sighed and got up from the chair and headed toward the door as his indifferent voice, which carried a hint of gratefulness, echoed lightly.

"Thanks, Astrid. I'm going to go have a talk with Otto now and notify him about my weird feeling."

Opening the door, he exited the room without looking back as his burdened silhouette receded into the distance.

CLICK-!

As the door closed, Astrid turned her body and moved her gaze in the direction where Evan was standing. Escaping her mouth was a sigh which was mixed with many emotions as she closed her eyes with only a single thought remaining in her now placid mind.

'I hope we can weather through this difficulty and come out stronger, as I feel the probability of falling in battle has just increased drastically. Sigh, what is a powerful person without their share of perilous disasters?'

***

Inside the chamber which held the obsidian wyvern egg deep in the centre of the mountain, Vincent and the rest of his party found themselves in a sticky situation.

After accidentally triggering an unknown trap by heading to inspect the esoteric lines on the shell of the egg, a huge goliath of stone magically manifested into existence.

Standing 4 feet tall, the stone giant appeared in the middle of the chamber surrounded by tall pillars made of sturdy rock.

Hurriedly turning their backs toward the other end of the chamber, the servant's eyes reflected the towering figure of their enemy as their bodies began trembling in fear.

The only one who didn't tremble in fear and only showed a slight frown, breaking his expressionless mask, was Vincent, who felt a rush of adrenaline after gazing at his enemy.

However, the prospect of battling something with great strength didn't blind him with excitement; instead, it served to make him more cautious.

'Seeing as the golem instantaneously appeared, then it must be the product of a formation array. However, formation arrays can only be activated by beings who possess intelligence. Don't tell me it has already reached that 'stage'. Was this the backup plan the wyvern had in place if it wasn't there to protect its egg?'

With a bit of pondering, Vincent was able to identify how the enormous golem came to be, as he put all other questions to the back of his mind for now.

His dignified bearing, which he unconsciously exuded, turned even more solemn as two sparks of fire ignited in his palms.

"Proliferate under the heavens, bloom into existence. The inferno's rage. Meteoric Ignition."

As soon as he finished chanting the spell, the two sparks of fire transformed into huge, blazing meteors filled to the brim with destructive might.

Clumps of earth from the ground rose and fused with the steady stream of mana that he was outputting, creating a round object possessing an alarming amount of power.

Hovering above Vincent's shoulders, the meteorites gave off a palpable pressure, as their conjurer pointed his hand forward and willed them to smash into the stone golem.

WHOOSH!

WHOOSH!

BANG!

Picking up speed, the meteors crashed into the stone golem, which was in the middle of sending a strike of its own against the intruders.

Staggering back, fine minute cracks snaked across its rocky skin as the chamber shook from the impact between the two forces.

Seeing his strike succeed in damaging the golem, Vincent showed a victorious smirk. Alas, that smirk quickly froze as his eyes widened in disbelief at the sight before him.

The cracks which were found in the chest area of the golem were nowhere to be seen as a bright light bloomed covering the golem. As the once damaged stone plate of armour returned to its former stalwart and indomitable appearance.

Raising its arm, the golem swiped its limb in the direction of Vincent's party. The servants, which were cowering behind him, paled in fear and rushed to escape the trajectory of the attack.

Unfortunately, to their horror, they underestimated the speed of the strike as they found the stone fist of the golem enlarging in their vision.

PUCHI-!

PUCHI-!

A cacophony of death cries rang out in the chamber as it instantly crushed four servants into meat paste after they received a blow from the herculean stone golem.

As his face turned grim after he realized the extent of the power that his enemy possessed, Vincent wore a dark expression as he cursed inwardly.

'Dammit, this is going to take a while.'