Before it was able to try anything, Miria let out another roar and raised her opponent over her head, flexing her powerful muscles even through the tight black suit. She pulled one hand free and sank it into another free spot. Then the other, mirroring the motion, with the bloodthirsty cry still on her lips.

  She stabbed and stabbed and stabbed and stabbed and stabbed until there were more holes than the undamaged surface.

  Ceasing her shout, she watched the Golem cease to move, its limbs hanging limply off its mangled torso, which lost some of its golden glow. She threw it aside with a growl, the mutilated construct landing on the ground with a small earthquake. It didn’t move anymore, dead for good. One of her stabs had to have hit its energy source.

  It would be surprising if it hadn’t, considering the state of its chest.

  Taking a deep breath, Miria sighed heavily, letting all the tension she had built up leave her body. A sound of clapping reached her ears, both of them, and her head swiveled from side to side. Selene and Abyss were applauding her, one with an impressed smile on her face and the other with the usual emotionless expression. But both conveyed their approval of her battle.

  “Thanks. I wouldn’t have been able to do that without your help.” The panthergirl grinned sunnily, then glanced at the sharp energy blades. “I’m going to miss these greatly when we are done here.”

  “You won’t,” the creepy lady said, capturing her attention. “They, just as the suit, are now part of you. While you don’t exactly share the affinity for any elements yourself, that doesn’t matter in front of the almighty bond you share with your True Dragon mate. You’ll be able to bring these forth with just a little bit of energy borrowed from the Little Shadow. It should be simple for you, thanks to the connection you all share, no?”

  “Really?” Miria beamed at her and started hopping in place.

  “Calm down!” Selene chuckled gently, reminding her that there were still people riding her shoulders.

  “Sorry!” The feline woman apologized shyly and cast a glance in the direction they had initially come from. “Looks like the others are doing fairly well too. I think we should regroup soon and help Master—”

  She froze when her gaze wandered to the spot Asterios was at.

  They all did, including Abyss.

  “What the hell is that thing?” Miria asked, suddenly feeling a deep shiver that reached her very soul.

  Chapter 34

  Round and Round

  The sound of thunder echoed through the dark realm as another lightning struck the Golem. Accompanying it was the whooshing of numerous balls of fire that crashed into its massive frame, covering it entirely with explosions. Azure and amber flashes illuminated the dark scenery as the construct kept getting pushed around by the merciless barrage of spells.

  “Fighting a humongous enemy is such a pain.” Tina groaned softly as she launched another lightning strike from her joined palms. “I feel like an ant, and it’s still a third smaller than the one Ast is facing.”

  “You are right. It usually is difficult. You need to do much more harm to your opponent than they need to do to you. But, they are also a bigger target, and you can see how that is affecting the Golem’s combat ability,” Silvia replied, elegantly tossing another miniature Fireball at their enemy.

  Both ladies were in their respective awakened forms.

  Tina’s body was covered with dark blue scales, her back sporting matching wings and tail. Some of her beautiful skin still showed over her face, neck, and other parts of her lithe frame. But, she was more of a Dragon than a human right now, thanks to the deep love she shared with Asterios. Whenever she peered into her heart, she always found it there, pulsing strongly, from both of them.

  Silvia was much less recognizable to those who didn’t know the fiery princess well enough, unaware of her impressive advancements in pursuit of her flaming legacy. Her entire figure was made of condensed amber fire, and her lush hair waved as if there was a gentle breeze blowing at it from below. She bore more humanoid attributes than before, that was for sure, making it clearer that she was a woman of excellent beauty. Her modesty was protected by a simple battle dress copied from the beastfolk realm. Everything was fire, of course.

  They didn’t have any trouble keeping the Golem at bay. With their powerful repertoire of spells and techniques, they were both a force to be reckoned with. They definitely didn’t lack stopping power. Perhaps even firepower. But their opponent wasn’t a common one. It was like they were fighting an animated building with the highest quality spiritual rock as its main body. It could take quite a beating.

  However, they needed a decisive blow. Something that would render the construct unable to fight any longer. Otherwise, it could come back to bite them in the ass when they least expected it. And that was unacceptable. They couldn’t lead the enemy to Asterios and the others while thinking that they had dealt with the problem for good. Their family would be at risk.

  So, the girls danced around the much bigger foe and kept looking for a weak spot or something else to take advantage of. Their attacks only scorched and singed its white surface, having no effect on the external golden patterns. They were aware that it was the ones inside that counted the most. Hopefully, an opportunity would show itself soon.

  Or they would simply keep trying new things.

  “If you buy me some time, I have something that worked fairly well in the past. I got some experience fighting Golems and huge enemies,” the princess requested politely.

  “You do?” The Summoner girl raised a curious brow at her companion.

  Silvia nodded elegantly. “I fought a Golden Golem with Asterios back in the Demon Continent. He helped me out, and we used a stronger technique that completely melted it. I should be able to use it on my own to an even greater effect now. Besides that, we faced the Terrackal during Glimmervale’s invasion. It was quite big too.”

  She turned her head to check if her partner was ready, but paused as their eyes met.

  Tina’s lips were curled up in a rather icy smile as she stared back at her. “You did, didn’t you?”

  A massive white fist came at the short girl, but a water hand of equal size surged from the ground and caught it firmly without the blue-haired lady paying it any mind, her expression unchanging. With a mighty twist, the aquatic limb sent the Golem tumbling to the side, making Silvia swallow lightly.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not jealous.” Tina let out a sweet chuckle. “Okay, maybe I am, just a little bit.”

  Sighing deeply, she ran her fingers through her hair.

  “You see, I’ve always fantasized about going on epic adventures with Ast after we graduated. But then, he was kicked out, leaving me behind, forcing me to stay behind. I would have never expected our very own princess to take the spot by his side instead, living through those fun dreams of mine while I was stuck at the academy. It can get a little vexing when I think about it, don’t you think?” Tina asked, and the princess-in-question decided to remain silent.

  The Golem rushed at them with a dangerous, low charge, but just before it reached the pair, it slipped on the spot the water fist had come out of, now frozen solid with an icy wind. Waving its rectangular arms for stability, it slid way past the duo and tumbled into the background again when its feet ran into rough ground.

  “But, it’s not like I hold that against you, of course.” The blue-haired lady grinned warmly. “You gave me so much after meeting Ast that it might have changed my life for the better. It’s thanks to you and your father that I can be here, with him, and with everyone else, while having finished my qualifications, leaving my mark in history through the Royal Division, and helping create a future welcoming nation. So, how long do you need?”

  Silvia reciprocated the smile. “You did all that yourself. I only helped out a tiny bit from the sidelines. Asterios did more, your name constantly on his lips when we talked. You might not believe me, but I was the one learning what it meant to feel jealous of another noblewoman at that time. It was a new feeling for me. One that led to another peculiar mood, and now we are here. And a minute or two will be enough.”

  They stared at each other for a moment, then shared a good-natured chuckle.

  Tina shot the princess a thumbs-up and flapped her wings to challenge the Golem to a duel. She shaped Hydran into a sizable scythe, easily three or four times bigger than her body, charging right at her opponent, who was finishing getting up. Leaking some of Rusilthea’s mana into the mix, she made the water sizzle and sparkle, flicks of lightning jumping over its surface.

  Evading the punch aimed at her small figure, she dexterously circled the extended limb and dragged her scythe over its surface, creating a long, swirling trail behind her. The blade flashed repeatedly as it continued to make contact until she reached the Golem’s shoulder, drawing back as it intended to smack her like a mosquito with the other hand. Its skin now bore a long spiraling mark, but the damage was pretty much only visual. The attack didn’t serve any other role than diversion.

  And what a perfect diversion it was when Tina received a mental ping from Silvia to move aside as quickly as possible. Noticing a rather strong orange glow illuminating her back, she complied with the request and retreated behind the princess’ position. The fiery lady held her palms ahead while pressing them into an unbelievably complex magical circle

  As soon as Tina was out of her sight, the princess activated the array, and a humming pillar of concentrated flames shot forward, lighting the area up so brightly the contours of things faded into obscurity, everything melting together into one big amber splotch. The intense ray didn’t give the Golem a second to react and hit its bulky frame right on target.

  Black smoke wafted into the air as the spot that was being assaulted heated up in a blink. The white stone turned red, orange, and quickly rushed towards gold. The power of the beam could be felt all around the caster, forcing Tina to retreat a bit more while shielding herself with a layer of water. It was impressive for Silvia to stand in the middle of it without a hint of discomfort.

  But, as much as the technique was awe-inspiring, it turned out to be not that efficient against their enemy.

  The Golem slipped its arm underneath the pillar of fire, freeing its chest from its lethal warmth. Naturally, the limb began smoking and heating up too, but the torso was able to cool down in the meantime. Having two arms, the construct began switching limbs to dissipate the energy, its entire upper frame turning red-yellow, but not going past that level.

  Taking notice of the fact that Silvia had to remain stationary to keep up the intense spell, the enemy decided to switch its focus from defense to offense. Changing its arms often, it moved closer and closer, slowed down by the deadly ray. When it started going to the sides, forcing the princess to correct the angle, it gained even more freedom.

  It was obvious this state of things wouldn’t last much longer. Not wanting to get caught with her pants down, Silvia canceled the spell. A tall wave of cold water rolled past her, parting around the spot where she stood before sealing shut again. It crashed into the construct and created a lot of steam, interrupting its advance for a few useful seconds.

  There was a bright blue flash, and the sound of thunder echoed behind the princess. When she turned around, Tina was hovering over her while inside a see-through frame of a Lesser Dragon made purely of lightning energy. Its form crackled threateningly while wriggling above the ground.

  “That was a good try, but we might need to lock it down first,” the Summoner girl suggested. “If I restrain its arms, would you be able to hit it with that spell again?”

  “Yes, but I won’t do that.” Silvia shook her head decisively. “Maybe if it was Asterios doing it, but you possess no meaningful natural affinity for fire save for the one you receive from him. If the Golem made a sudden movement, I could injure you unintentionally, reacting to the change too slowly. This technique is powerful but very limited, as you have seen.”

  She floated higher, and the flames making up her figure expanded. Bit by bit, they formed a familiar shape, and soon, a mirror copy of Tina’s Lesser Dragon appeared in front of the draconic Summoner girl. Silvia’s avatar was locked inside the chest of her see-through serpentine frame too, and she waved elegantly.

  “Let’s see what we can do together. If that doesn’t work, we can always hold it back until someone else is finished and we receive their help,” she offered. “We don’t have to hold back this way. Are you ready?”

  Tina’s eyes roamed over her royal friend’s new appearance and grinned excitedly. “Alright. Let’s go.”

  They turned aside at the same time and flew towards the dispersing vapor. The Golem was already visible, and they swam through the air together, two elemental Lesser Dragon replicas crossing under the dark sky. If the construct was a living person, it would definitely be shaking in its boots witnessing such a sight. Not to mention being the target of the airborne charge.

  Splitting up ahead of their destination, the girls went in opposite directions. Starting to circle the Golem, they nipped and scratched at it first, aiming for the joints and every connection between the white cubes making up its body. It was still unthinkable to them that a part of the floating fortress could detach and become its own entity. A part they could have been walking through just earlier. That was such a crazy idea.

  While their efforts were commendable, they weren’t able to cause any significant damage to the walking building. Fire and lightning weren’t very effective on their own. No matter how spiritually powerful the blow was, that thing’s resistances were insane. And they had been aware of that fact already, seeing what it took to put a mark on the white walls inside the functioning facilities. As long as the cluster of whatever else supplied the golden pathways with energy, they required an unbelievably mighty attack to get through them.

  Causing the Golem to trip, the ladies retreated for a second, catching their breath.

  “I really wish we had ice on us.” Tina sighed somberly. “I’m fairly fine with it when I combine Esil’s and Hydran’s elements, but it’s not at the peak of the aspect. Maybe we should have looked a little longer for that Frost Dragon in the Sealie realm and recruited her into Ast’s entourage.”

  “Are you going to introduce even more females into the fold?” Silvia showed a faint noble smirk.

  The Summoner girl rolled her eyes. “We all know it’s just a matter of time. He’ll have at least one or two True Dragon mates for sure. It’s inevitable. That’s just how he is.”

  “You make him sound like a real philanderer. Perhaps that nickname from the guild isn’t far from the truth,” the princess teased.

  Tina huffed lightly. “You know damn well I didn’t mean it like that. He has a tendency to insert himself into their lives, help them with their issues, and then capture their hearts by the end of it. It happened to most of us, or am I wrong? I don’t think Tia would disagree. Or even Althea.”

  “Yeah. He seems to have a knack for that.” Silvia let out a delicate chuckle, reminiscing about her own time with Asterios. “Can you blame them for falling for him, though? That kindness and affection of his is unheard of amongst True Dragons. Yet, while it might have captured Althea and Tia, it might not be as effective with his own kind. I have a feeling he would need to put a lot of effort to recruit that Frost Dragon. In the end, he wouldn’t accept anyone who could even think about ever hurting us.”

  “Maybe.” The lightning girl conceded with a sniff. “Anyway, we might not have ice, but I thought of something else. I need to get as much water inside it as possible. Then, you are going to heat it up.”

  Her flaming friend snapped her fingers. “The expansion of gases. Clever. Did they teach that in the academy?”

  Tina felt herself blush a little. “No. I had some great tutors at home. I did whatever I could to catch up to Ast.”

  A knowing smile spread over Silvia’s lips. “Okay. Let’s give it a try. Our willing test subject has just arrived.”

  They turned to the approaching colossus and split up once more, forcing the Golem to choose who to chase after. It picked the flaming Dragon and swung its fists around, trying to grab the elemental serpent. In the meanwhile, the lightning one snuck around its frame and blasted a jet of water into every visible opening and gap, hoping that the liquid would slip inside.

  For the next five minutes, they continued that song and dance until it was time to see through their plan. Silvia and Tina exchanged nods. They synchronized their flying, picking the same direction, and started circling the Golem faster and faster. As they flew around it, they blasted it with a continuous barrage of fire and lightning, keeping both energies from escaping the encirclement.

  The water outside evaporated in a flash, and steam began escaping the construct’s joints. It seemed that their idea was working. Their opponent slowed down and looked quite swollen. As much as a solid Golem could be. Some bits and pieces cracked and crumbled here and there as pressure rose inside its body.

  Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough.

  After another five minutes, the girls stopped, and Tina groaned openly. “It needs more water. And the vapor is escaping the confines too much. It won’t succeed.”

  “What if I help?” A voice reached their ears, causing both of them to jerk.

  Abyss was floating in the air right between them.

  “Can you transport Tina’s water inside the Golem, filling it up completely?” Silvia asked after recollecting herself.

  “No,” the mysterious woman immediately shut her proposal off. “But I can trap it inside a sealed space that lets through only heat and lightning current.”

  With a snap of her fingers, she made a see-through black sphere appear before them, big enough to fit the Golem and still have some free space. As she gave Tina a dispassionate look, the Summoner girl hurried to fill the soon-to-be jail with water, taking up about one-third of the available space. When she was done, Abyss snapped her fingers again, and the ball blinked to another place, suddenly having the construct inside.