The Golem Mage

Just when Alec's golems thought they had overcome a major hurdle by dragging the massive beast back to the ground, something unexpected happened the moment the salamander hit the earth.

It twisted its tail, positioning the spiked edge forward, and lashed it like a sword toward the descending Butcher.

In an instant, Butcher was cleaved cleanly in two at the waist, a wave of shock rippled through the minds of the other golems—the salamander's strength was simply overwhelming.

Without pausing, it turned sharply toward Oni, who was now within striking range, and lunged with its massive jaws.

Its glowing, flame-imbued teeth looked terrifying, radiating the same kind of flaming aura Alec had used to empower his own golems.

Oni was forced into a desperate retreat, as he knew taking a direct hit would mean certain destruction.

He didn't even hesitate to abandon his dark scythe, and in the same breath, four additional arms materialized on his side, each wielding a unique blade.

The most menacing of the weapons was a massive butcher knife, more like a jagged saw, clutched in Oni's upper right hand.

But despite all his preparations, the salamander halted its chase as soon as it noticed Oni had evaded the bite.

Instead, it calmly raised its right arm and clenched its fist, before slamming it down a second later. This content is hosted at M|V|LE^MPYR.

From behind, a searing-hot, jagged spike of earth burst upward, its tip glowing from the heat of the region and impaling Oni through the back.

Time seemed to slow as Oni looked down at the protruding spike through his chest, he could feel his life force draining away, and no matter how unbelievable it seemed, death was now an unstoppable certainty.

Even Titan and Magnito, who had spread out to flank the beast, were stunned at the salamander's precise and powerful earth manipulation.

Clang!

The salamander turned at the sound, just in time to catch sight of Butcher's body tumbling through the air, still managing to hurl its axe toward the creature, the axe nearly connected, but just before impact, the targeted spot shimmered as scales surfaced like armour, blocking the attack with a gleam.

Just as Butcher's attack landed, a portion of the force dispersed across the area while the rest was reflected back due to the rebounding effect of the impact.

The salamander turned toward Butcher with heightened vigilance, confused by how the opponent it had just split in two was still alive and looking unharmed, its eyes glowed red as it finally detected a small core within Butcher's body, masked by the swirling dark wind around his body that seems to function as a concealing for it.

The core wasn't just the source of Butcher's spells and attack moves, it also functioned as his heart, and since it hadn't been destroyed in the earlier attack, Butcher was able to re-join his body by sacrificing a massive amount of mana.

However that didn't mean the core stood still in one place, ever since Butcher's evolution to the mid ranks, he had grown incredibly skilled at moving his core throughout his body, now understanding the secret behind Butcher's continued survival and attacks, the salamander acted without hesitation—driving its tail through Butcher's body before butcher could react.

When the tail emerged from the other side, a mid-rank core clung to it, coiling with lightning and wind.

"Explode," Butcher whispered, just before his consciousness slipped away.

As he detonated the remaining thunder and wind energy within his body, gripping the salamander's tail tightly, the blast erupted in a brilliant flash, leaving a deep, brutal wound on the creature's tail as it screeched in agony.

—

Five minutes after the explosion, only Alec remained, he no longer looked as composed or elegant.

The salamander, driven into a wild frenzy by its injury, had slaughtered the golems quickly and brutally.

Even after Alec joined the battle after his internal injuries stabilized, it made little difference.

The only reason he was still alive was thanks to the golems, who had no hesitation dying for him, and the defensive edge granted by his spirit equipment.

He had been relying heavily on the Infernal Grasp Glove to absorb attacks he couldn't withstand directly.

But now his right hand hung limp, drained of strength, while the small football-like orbs embedded in the glove glowed red with small cracks, signalling that five powerful attacks had already been absorbed.

The only reason his right hand was weak and trembling was because he had been forced to sustain part of the power from the attacks when the special ability embedded in the glove was trying to absorb them, and this was all because he was pushing it beyond its limit to absorb spells at the High Rank.

The sheer power of the attacks had far exceeded what the glove could safely contain.

Alec glanced around. Some of his recently fallen golems were dissolving into particles of light, the salamander moved slowly, eyes locked on him, tongue flicking out.

"I'm going to take my time eating you," it hissed.

Alec somehow entered into some kind of state as he broke into a jog, staggering forward like a blur.

In response, the salamander crouched lower, and the fiery spikes along its back suddenly jutted out—launching like arrows straight toward him. Alec swerved and weaved, narrowly dodging the terrifying barrage.

Each spike whistled past with violent force, and every impact behind him triggered a small explosion, rumbling the battlefield.

At this point, Alec no longer believed he could personally kill the salamander with his own powers, as not only did it possess absurdly high defence, but its regeneration was just as monstrous.

And Alec also confirmed that mid-rank regeneration ability was its special ability, which was shown as a question mark earlier, and it had already kicked in, as the wound on its tail had closed up; blood no longer spilled from it.

Though not fully healed, Alec knew it was only a matter of time before it could use it again.

All he was relying on now was the five stored attacks—his last card, bought at the cost of his golems death.

Finally, Alec closed the distance, just as he entered striking range, something shifted at the edge of his vision.

He didn't even hesitate and ducked low immediately, his movement fluid and fast—like a footballer sliding across the pitch after scoring a goal. In the very next moment, the salamander's massive tail swept horizontally past where his head had just been, crashing into the ground and sending molten debris flying through the air.

However, as Alec slid beneath the salamander's exposed belly, he drove his bone katana upward inversely, as the bone blade tore through flesh as he moved accompanied by the pain it left behind, slicing a long, brutal line that made the creature howl in agony.

But Alec wasn't done. In one fluid motion, he twisted around until he was facing the beast's rear.

"Got you!" he growled, raising his trembling right hand with the support of his left, drawing in the energy from the five spells he had stored, he channelled them into a single, devastating cast:

[> High Tier Spell – Ember Dragon. <]

ROAR!!!.