In the freezing, blinding fog, Kenji used his Scrapsmith sense to locate the precise structural stress points of the Guardian Constructs as they stumbled and moved in confusion.
Vvvrrrrrummm.
The first Construct's knee joint gave out, sending it crashing.
Vvvrrrrrummm.
The second Construct's head detached from its neck, its crystalline kinetic energy dissolving instantly.
Kenji moved and struck with perfect precision, leveraging his low-rank but unique power against their high-rank limitations. He absorbed the residual kinetic scraps, feeling a minor boost of energy.
The third Construct was destroyed just as Elara's icy dome collapsed. She fell back, exhausted, protected by Mateo's quick deployment of a thin, sound-dampening cushion.
"Level three is through that reinforced door," Elara rasped, pointing to a circular steel hatch. "We have to assume the Bastion Golem is behind it."
They located a control panel and bypassed the lock using a focused, electrical scrap surge Kenji had saved from the first tunnel. The hatch hissed open, revealing a vast, dome-shaped chamber—the Command Bunker.
In the center stood the Bastion Golem, a ten-foot-tall behemoth of pure, shimmering gray earth-metal, its surface covered in interlocking plates of specialized defense magic. It was a massive fortress.
Kenji felt the core of the Bastion Golem humming—a deep, resonant thrum of the Epic Scrap they needed.
"It's not moving," Mateo observed nervously. "It's just waiting."
"It doesn't need to move," Elara murmured, pulling out a handful of healing potions for herself. "Its defense is its offense. It generates a high-kinetic repulsion field. Anything that moves fast—like Rio—or hits hard—like Bjorn—will be instantly thrown back."
The Bastion Golem finally stirred, its deep eyes fixing on Kenji. It raised a massive, plated fist.
Suddenly, multiple entry tunnels high on the dome wall began to open. Not Golems, but Rankers—three full squads of them, all wearing the dark, recognizable uniform of the Obsidian Security Conglomerate.
Leading them was Damon Blackwood, flanked by two towering Rank 7 bodyguards.
"Surprise, Scrapsmith," Damon's voice echoed throughout the dome, amplified by his power. "We tracked Elara's energy signature. You walked right into my siege. Now, you're trapped between my Rank 7 muscle and the Bastion Golem. Game over."
Kenji looked at the massive, impassable Golem Boss, then at the Rank 7 threat blocking their only exit. The Epic Scrap was within reach, but the price was certain death.
"We fight," Kenji said, drawing in the remaining kinetic scraps in the room. "We fight the Bastion Golem first."