Draven slashed his wand through the air in a furious arc. The wind answered instantly, spiraling outward into a violent vortex that shredded the choking steam. White mist was torn apart, unveiling the battlefield piece by piece. Cracked stone scorched black, rivers of molten magma crawling across the floor, shattered armor scattered among the ruins, and towering figures of molten rock looming like living disasters.
His sharp eyes locked onto the walls.
Embedded deep within the magma-veined walls were dozens of orbs. Half-buried in stone, they glowed crimson and gold, pulsing rhythmically like exposed hearts. Each surge matched the movements of the golems perfectly, as if the dungeon itself were breathing alongside them.
Draven clicked his tongue.
"Tch… as I thought."
His gaze hardened.
"Those are mana conduits," Draven said grimly. "Auxiliary dungeon cores. They are feeding energy directly into the golems. As long as they stay active, the constructs will regenerate endlessly."
Another pulse rippled through the chamber. One shattered golem limb nearby twitched, magma flowing backward like liquid metal being reeled in.
Draven clenched his jaw.
"I can't even cast freely. Any large-scale spell risks hitting our allies… and feeding the dungeon even more mana."
Eirena tightened her grip on her weapon, teeth grinding as another wave of heat washed over them.
"Then we destroy the source," she said sharply. "Smash the orbs."
"No!" Sisiliya shouted instantly, stepping forward without hesitation.
Everyone froze.
Her eyes were locked on the glowing nodes, her instincts screaming danger.
"If those conduits are linked to the dungeon's structure, destroying them without preparation could destabilize the entire chamber. In the worst case, we trigger a collapse. Lava flooding the battlefield. Mana backlash tearing everything apart. No one would survive."
The implication settled heavily.
Draven exhaled slowly, thinking fast.
"…Then we interrupt the flow."
He raised his wand and slammed it toward the floor.
Crack…CRASH!
The stone beneath them fractured violently. Entire slabs of the dungeon floor tore free, rising into the air as if gravity itself had loosened its grip. Molten cracks glowed beneath the floating stone, heat radiating upward.
Draven extended his hand, veins glowing faint blue as mana poured out of him.
"I'll seal them temporarily. These stones will act as dampeners. My mana should interfere with the circuit long enough."
He didn't wait for approval.
With a sharp motion, the stone slabs shot forward like cannon fire, slamming into the walls. They locked into place over the glowing orbs, completely covering them.
The pulsing stopped.
For half a second,
Silence.
Then,
ROOOAAAR!
Two magma golems turned their massive heads toward the sealed orbs. Their molten eyes flared violently, rage radiating from them in tangible waves. Cracks spread along their bodies as magma boiled harder within.
Eirena's lips curled into a sharp grin.
"It worked. Their connection is cut. They can't absorb mana anymore."
One of the golems thundered forward, abandoning the raiders entirely. Its massive body shook the chamber as it charged straight toward the wall, clawing at the stone seals with molten fists.
"Trying to restore the link?" Eirena scoffed.
She burst forward.
In one smooth motion, she sprinted, leapt, and twisted midair.
"Not so fast, trash pile."
Her right leg slammed into the golem's head with terrifying force.
BOOM!
The impact shattered its skull like brittle glass. Molten fragments sprayed outward, hissing as they hit the ground.
"Eirena, move!" Draven barked.
He raised his wand skyward.
A massive sphere of ice formed instantly above the headless golem, spinning violently as frost spread across the air itself.
The ice dropped.
BOOOOM!
The golem's body shattered under the impact, exploding into chunks of solidifying magma. In the center, exposed and glowing erratically,
The core!
"Now!" Draven shouted. "Destroy the core!"
Eirena didn't hesitate.
She drove her weapon straight into it.
CRACK.
The core shattered.
The molten fragments trembled, then collapsed lifelessly onto the floor.
No regeneration. No movement.
The dungeon screamed, not aloud, but through a violent tremor that shook the entire chamber.
"They did it!"
Cheers erupted from the observing students.
"They desroyed one!"
Garrick rubbed his hands together slowly, his sharp eyes fixed on the screen.
"They managed to bring one down," he muttered. "But that was the easy part. Now it gets ugly. The remaining golems will go berserk."
Golems released a thunderous roar in unison. The sound rolled through the chamber like an earthquake. Their massive bodies surged forward, no longer moving with crude, predictable patterns. They rampaged across the battlefield, smashing pillars, slamming fists into the ground, and charging wildly at the raiders with raw, destructive intent.
Stone shattered. Magma splashed across the floor. Raiders scattered, barely avoiding being crushed beneath molten limbs.
Then they opened their massive jaws.
"Move!" someone screamed. "They're attacking!"
From within their throats, magma churned violently, then erupted outward.
Jets of molten rock sprayed across the chamber like a storm. The floor was instantly flooded, magma spreading in glowing rivers. Raiders dove, rolled, and leapt desperately, tankers slamming shields down to redirect the flow.
The dungeon itself seemed pleased.
Eirena crouched low, muscles coiled.
'They're coordinating…'
Her eyes sharpened. 'Are they preparing a group attack?'
Suddenly,
All four golems turned.
Straight toward her and Draven.
"…So they identified us," she muttered. "Strong targets."
Draven summoned a massive water sphere overhead, dense and swirling, mana roaring within it.
Before he could launch, one golem broke formation.
It veered sharply toward Sisiliya.
"Professor, watch out!" Draven shouted.
Eirena moved instantly, but she was too far.
The golem closed in, molten fist raised.
Sisiliya, still kneeling beside an injured raider, looked up.
She smiled. Mocking.
'Did you really think I was defenseless?'
She clapped her hands together. A brilliant white sphere formed before her palms, compressed, humming violently.
In the next instant, it collapsed into a beam.
Sheesh…!
The beam pierced straight through the golem's chest, drilling directly into its core.
The construct froze.
Then collapsed into molten rubble.
Aren nodded slowly at the screen.
'Perfect aim. No wasted motion. It didn't even have time to adapt.'
Sheliya smiled faintly.
'That's Sisiliya. Unpredictable… but that spell drains her heavily. Her body needs time to cool, or she risks mana burnout.'
For a brief moment, hope flickered.
And then the chamber itself answered.
The ground trembled violently as the remaining three golems roared together, louder than before. Their molten eyes burned brighter, glowing a furious crimson that pierced through the steam-filled air. Veins of magma coursed through their stone bodies like exposed arteries, pulsing violently and spewing sparks and droplets of molten rock that hissed as they struck the floor.
Slowly, deliberately, the three massive figures began to move closer to one another.
Each step cracked the stone beneath their feet.
Eirena's eyes widened as she watched their movement.
"They're fusing together."
The golems opened their massive jaws simultaneously. Deep within their throats, magma began to churn and compress, glowing brighter by the second. The heat surged outward in waves. The air itself distorted, shimmering violently. Weapons and armor began to glow faint red, metal protesting under the unbearable temperature.
"Stay back!" Eirena shouted. "It's a combined attack! If that hits, nothing in this room will survive!"
The magma erupted.
Three streams of molten destruction converged midair, twisting together into a single colossal torrent of fire and stone. It surged forward like a tidal wave, devouring everything in its path. The walls shook violently. Cracks raced across the ceiling, and chunks of stone broke free, raining down across the chamber.
Draven stepped forward without hesitation.
Planting his feet firmly into the ground, he drove his wand downward and dragged it in a wide arc.
A brilliant blue light exploded outward. A massive transparent barrier surged into existence, cutting the chamber cleanly in half. The torrent of magma slammed into it like a crashing storm against a cliffside.
The impact was deafening.
Molten liquid splattered across the barrier's surface, sliding and boiling against the glowing weave of mana. The shockwave was so intense that several raiders covered their ears, hearts pounding violently in their chests.
But something was wrong.
The magma did not simply rebound.
It clung to the barrier.
Slowly, unnaturally, the molten flow began to seep into the glowing structure itself. The barrier trembled violently, its light flickering as if being gnawed away from within.
Draven's eyes widened.
'They're draining my mana through the magma.'
His grip tightened around the wand. Sweat streamed down his face, soaking into his collar. Veins bulged across his forehead as he poured more mana into the barrier, reinforcing it by sheer force of will. Each second felt like something was being ripped directly from his core.
Eirena glanced back, panic flashing across her face.
"Draven! You can't hold that forever! It's consuming you!"
His jaw clenched, teeth grinding audibly.
"If I let go, the whole chamber burns," he said through gritted teeth. "I'll find a way. Focus on taking them down."
The barrier groaned under the pressure. Cracks of blue light spread across its surface like spiderwebs. Draven's hands began to tremble. He braced one knee against the ground, barely maintaining his stance as the mana drain intensified.
Sisiliya, still recovering from her earlier high-output spell, wiped sweat from her brow and looked toward him, alarm tightening her expression.
This is bad. At this rate, he'll collapse before we even destroy another golem.
Sorin bit down hard, frustration etched across her face.
"That kind of barrier burns mana at an insane rate," she said. "Draven won't last much longer."
Without hesitation, Sisiliya stepped forward. She placed both hands against Draven's back and began channeling her mana into him, her healing energy stabilizing his flow.
"This raid turned out far tougher than we estimated," she said quietly. "I feel responsible."
Draven smirked faintly despite the strain.
"Don't," he replied. "Life's unpredictable. Let's finish this and go back."
As if reacting to his words, the remaining golems roared again. Their magma burned brighter, shifting from deep orange to a blinding yellow-white. The heat spiked violently.
"Fall back!" someone shouted.
Raiders began retreating toward the entrance. Tankers slammed their weapons against the sealed door, trying desperately to force it open. Mages summoned stone pillars from the ground and climbed upward, seeking any possible escape.
Draven felt it.
The barrier was reaching its limit.
He turned his head toward Eirena, his voice sharp and urgent.
"Take the professor and run. Now."
Before she could argue, before she could even react, the barrier shattered.
The explosion sent all three of them flying backward. They hit the ground hard, sliding across scorched stone as the chamber erupted into chaos.
Smoke. Heat. Crashing debris.
Then, through the roaring flames and collapsing stone, a deep, unfamiliar voice echoed calmly from behind them.
"It seems I'm not that late."