Core Breaker.

Ellowen and Linda stared at the golem. It was massive—its entire body made up of the surrounding landmass and the remains of houses.

"So how are we supposed to destroy its core?"

Ellowen asked as he looked at Linda, who stood still, deep in thought. After a moment, she turned her head toward him.

"We're going to go in through its eyes. The eyes are where the core directly sees and sends signals to the body,"

Linda said as she transformed into a giant crow once more, the feathers around her chest still white.

Ellowen climbed onto her back.

"You're an angel. You have wings. Can't you fly?"

Linda asked.

"Nope. I forgot how to use them,"

Ellowen replied.

Linda sighed, spread her wings, and flew up into the sky.

"Also, you never told me how a golem managed to get this big. Aren't golems usually just people using earth magic to cover themselves in rock armor, making them bigger?"

"That's what earth magic users do. They don't create golems—they are the golem. But this… this was made by a corpse eater."

Ellowen blinked, confused.

"A what?"

"Corpse eaters are snake-like creatures made of flesh and bone, but without organs or skin. They consume corpses—animal, human, monster, it doesn't matter. Each time they absorb a body, they grow. Once they're large enough, they curl into a ball, harden, and sink into the ground. Then, their nervous system stretches out and takes over the surrounding land, forming a body from the environment."

Just then, a surge of projectiles—rocks and boulders—were launched at them. Linda dodged as she flew higher, heading straight toward the golem's face, only for it to swipe at them with frightening speed.

Then, a familiar, roaring voice echoed through the air.

"Oh great… the fun police is here,"

Ellowen muttered, annoyed.

A dragon soared toward them, roaring in fury.

"LIARS! You're already breaking your promise to stay out of my way!"

Ellowen sighed.

"That was before we decided we wanted to get rid of this thing!"

The dragon blew fire at them.

"Instead of attacking us, how about helping us get inside this thing?!"

Linda shouted.

The dragon paused, considering. Then, without a word, she flew upward and unleashed a powerful fire attack. The flame's center burned red, while the outer edge flared orange. It hit the golem's head, burning a hole straight through it. With a second blast, she blew the head apart entirely, creating an opening to the core.

"Well… that's easier than going through the eyes,"

Linda remarked—just in time to see Ellowen get grabbed by the dragon and tossed into the hole.

"I could have gone down with him!!"

Linda shouted.

"Hell no. You're staying out here with me to distract it, so he can get to the core,"

the dragon growled.

"Besides, he's an angel—a Knight of Dawn. He should be able to handle himself just fine. And if he can't, that just means he's weak."

Linda looked down, worried, as the golem's head began to regenerate. It couldn't see them anymore—but it could probably feel Ellowen.

Inside the Golem

Ellowen descended into the golem's body, making his way toward the core. But massive stone pillars were forming to block his path. He encased his sword in fire and ice, enlarging it, and began slashing through them. As he continued downward, more and more pillars formed, the space narrowing, light fading as the golem's head reshaped above him.

Finally, he reached the core.

The space around it was hollow. The core glowed, pulsing like a heart. Its nervous system spread throughout the chamber.

Ellowen stepped forward, preparing to strike—only to be slammed into the wall by a rocky arm that shot up from the ground.

A smaller golem charged at him. Ellowen ducked under its punch and countered, his ice-encased fist smashing through its body. Blood—not his—splattered across his arm. More small golems began to rise, joined by the reanimated corpses of monsters and humans alike.

"I won't last long in here…"

Ellowen thought.

He encased his sword in ice again, spinning it by the chain and hurling it at the core. But a golem intercepted it mid-air, catching the sword and using it to yank Ellowen toward itself, winding up for a punch.

Ellowen rocketed forward with a kick to the golem's chest, blasting a hole in it with his boot's propulsion system. The golem's punch glanced off his cheek instead of hitting him squarely.

Outside the Golem

Linda and the dragon attacked the golem's main body. Linda's feathers had almost completely turned white. Her breath was shallow. She looked exhausted.

"Looks like your little angel might be dead,"

the dragon said grimly.

"DON'T SAY THAT!!"

Linda snapped, dodging boulders. The golem's body was now burning and frozen in patches, hit by their attacks.

"You really seem to care about him,"

the dragon said while circling the golem.

"It's not love. He's helping me gather records about my family."

"And what about you? Why are you here, attacking this thing? You seem like you've got a bone to pick with it."

The dragon's face fell—still angry, but now touched by sadness.

"It devoured my future… killed my only child… and my mate. I've been wandering endlessly to hunt it down. To get revenge."

Linda paused, realizing she never knew the dragon's name.

"What's your name?"

"Zyphira,"

the dragon answered with a roar.

Back Inside

Ellowen lay on the ground, recovering from the last hit. He rose, sword in hand, as he became surrounded by monsters. His blade began to glow dark, a red star forming in its center.

Having had enough, he leapt onto a golem and launched himself at the core. The golem followed, jumping to strike. Ellowen flipped midair, dodging the blow, letting the golem punch the core instead.

He then threw his sword, which embedded into the golem. Using the chain, he pulled himself forward, landed on the golem's back, and raised his hand—now burning with fire, crackling with electricity, and encased in ice.

He plunged it into the core.

The core unwrapped from its spherical shape, revealing the fleshy serpent inside. It screamed as it bloated and exploded in a burst of blood and light.

Outside Again

The golem's chest exploded. The creature crumbled as blood gushed from its center.

Ellowen fell from the destroyed chest. Linda dove and caught him, gliding down to the blood-soaked ground.

"I got a box from in there. Also, I lived. So that's pretty amazing, huh?"

Ellowen said, smiling as he stepped off Linda's back—until he saw her collapsing. Her body was covered in ice. The crow feather cloak she wore had turned completely white.

"Yeah… that was pretty amazing,"

Linda murmured before falling into his arms, shivering violently.

"She's pushed herself too far,"

Zyphira observed.

"Normally, this level of magic wouldn't be so harmful. But that cloak… it's engineered. It enhances her power, but at a cost."

Zyphira looked at Ellowen.

"Hold her close. Your body's warmth and the magalite in your blood should melt the ice. But it has to be skin-to-skin. Armor won't help. You are her mate, after all."

Ellowen didn't argue. He was too tired. He removed his armor, cloak, and shirt, then gently took off hers—leaving her in her cropped top. He held her against him, skin to skin.

He figured the crow cloak must slowly freeze her the more she used it with her magic—especially today, when she had pushed herself beyond her limits.

Ellowen sighed and looked up at Zyphira.

"She's going to need proper rest too, right?"

Zyphira nodded.

"I was heading to the capital city of Lazuli. I have business there with a man named Davalin."

Ellowen blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected to hear that name. Still… it was good to know Davalin was alive.

He sighed again, packing up their things into Linda's bag. When he reached the box, he slipped it into his own pouch instead.

"Alright then,"

Ellowen said, climbing onto Zyphira's back with the bag.

"Let's head to the capital. I've got something to do there too—with that same man… Davalin."

Zyphira took off, soaring eastward toward Lazuli, carrying Ellowen, and the hope of finding healing—and answers—along the way from a man he knew personally.