The Author's Viewpoint
Chapter 154 - Let the Stone Cook

Chapter 154: Chapter 154 - Let the Stone Cook

The golem thundered forward. Now, it no longer bothered to hold back. Its massive limbs crashing through the trees, clearing its own path with ruthless force.

Its long arms swept aside the trunks like twigs, slamming into the woods as it carved a trail of destruction.

Above, perched atop the golem, Vanya stood firm. The demons had already sensed her presence, their attention drawn to the lone figure channeling impossible power from the golem’s back. They began to close in from every direction.

Just imagine it: a golem this size, this powerful, its every move driven by the raw, unfiltered energy of a single girl.

That was the magnitude of Vanya’s strength.

Had conditions been better, Tave might’ve enlisted the help of a proper golemancer, someone who could forge a stable golem core from a monster’s core or soul shard. But luxury didn’t exist here, not in the Rift.

More demons emerged from the tree line brandishing swords, spears, even bows. Overhead, a second wave came riding on winged beasts, circling, watching, waiting for their opening.

The golem lashed out again, its massive hand hammering through the trees, scattering several of the demons like dry leaves. A few others charged from the left, blades raised high. But the golem met them with a brutal kick from its hulking foot, sending them flying.

And then the demons roared out.

"Crush the puppet! Bring the elf down!"

"She’s wasting her power. Rip it from her!"

"That thing can’t last forever! Tear it apart!"

"Get her! One shot and the golem falls!"

They snarled and cackled, some in overconfidence, others in desperation, believing that overwhelming numbers would win the day.

These demons... their power was far from normal. Their strikes landed with terrifying force, and from one side, a sweeping slash of flame exploded across the battlefield, shaking the trees and searing the air. The golem staggered, struggling to remain upright under the unrelenting barrage.

High above, Vanya narrowed her eyes, drawing her bow and aiming downward. Around her, shimmering magic circles bloomed in the air. Each one glowing with swirling runes of power. From them, arrows burst forth like a storm, shooting down with relentless precision.

The tide began to shift. The demons faltered under the rain of elemental arrows, their assault breaking apart as confusion and panic set in.

Meanwhile, Tave waited in silence. His presence was nearly undetectable. Fang had wrapped tightly around him, becoming a second skin. His grip tightened on his sword as a burst of fire lit up the clearing ahead.

This was the moment.

He surged forward.

The demon in his path didn’t even have time to register his presence before the flaming blade slashed clean through its neck. Head rolling, fire licking the wound in silence.

The others turned immediately, their voices rising in alarm.

"Another rat’s hiding in the dark!"

"Get him, now!"

But Tave only offered them a thin smile, calm and unbothered. He leapt backward as his form dissolved once more into the waiting embrace of the shadows, vanishing without a trace.

Tave kept running, weaving through the chaos, always searching for the next opening. Above him, the demons on their flying lizards had shifted their attention, now diving toward Vanya in calculated strikes.

But the girl stood her ground. She unleashed another barrage, her arrows slicing through the sky in rapid succession. The onslaught forced the airborne demons to veer off course, some retreating, others flailing as arrows tore through their wings. It was enough to keep them at bay.

Still, Vanya was pushing herself to the edge. The sheer amount of energy she was channeling into this battle was staggering. Her relentless rain of arrows. Both aimed at the skies and the ground below, had completely disrupted the enemy’s footing. The demons were no longer advancing; they were scrambling just to stay alive.

Tave dashed between shadows, slipping through the trees as more demons began to take notice of him. They snarled and charged, their weapons raised high. But he was already moving.

His sword now burned with full Soul Fire, no longer a timid flicker, but a fierce, roaring blaze. With every breath, the fire danced more wildly along the blade, pulsing with life.

He darted forward, slipping past a demon’s guard and slicing across its arm in a burning arc. Then he dropped low, sliding beneath the creature, and slashed across its legs in a flash of flame.

Each strike left behind a trail of Soul Fire, clinging to the demons like living embers.

The screams came quickly.

"Damn it! I can’t put this fire out!"

"Stop whining. It’s just a spark!"

"Kill that rat! He’s alone!"

"Don’t lose to a pathetic human!"

"My leg. I can’t move! This fire’s eating me alive!"

"That’s Soul Fire, you fools! Don’t let it touch you!"

Tave didn’t slow down. He was already gone again.

Only a third of the night remained. Dawn was fast approaching, and with it, everything would change.

Tave would no longer be able to fight with this level of strength. The darkness still cloaking them was his final ally, and he had to strike down as many enemies as possible before it slipped away.

Suddenly, instinct screamed.

He looked up, three demons had leapt onto the golem’s shoulders, blades drawn, eyes locked on Vanya.

Without hesitation, Tave broke into a sprint, his voice cutting through the chaos in a sharp whisper.

"Kaelira, I need you!"

A surge of crimson fire burst from his sword, coursing through his body, and then, like a divine ignition, it erupted behind him into a pair of blazing wings. The Gaia Wings spread wide.

"There! Bring him down!" one of the demons shouted.

They lunged toward him, weapons slashing with deadly precision. But with a single beat of his wings, Tave soared into the air, leaving the ground and their blades behind.

He rocketed upward, locking onto the trio now crouched on the golem. Without slowing, he brought his flaming sword crashing down toward one of them.

But the demon raised a shield, catching the blow with a crack of steel and sparks.

Another lunged at him from the side, claws outstretched to grab him. But Tave pulled back mid-air, the Gaia Wings pulsing to throw him out of reach.

In that split second, a volley of arrows hissed through the night. Vanya’s barrage, ripping through the air behind him. The arrows struck the demons clean, forcing them off balance. Two of them stumbled, their footing slipping as they were thrown from the golem’s back.

Tave didn’t waste the chance.

His flames darkened, turning to a fierce black blaze as he dove toward the remaining demon. His sword was drawn in a sharp arc.

With a single, blazing strike, his blade sliced clean through the demon’s neck.

The body fell.

The fight, far from over, raged on.

The battle dragged on for a while longer. But the golem’s relentless support had turned the tide completely in their favor.

Its wild, unending strikes kept the demons scrambling, forcing them into a constant retreat. They tried desperately to avoid the sweeping limbs that smashed through trees and earth alike, but it was chaos, and there was no escaping the storm.

"Avoid the golem! Use ranged attacks, you idiots!"

"Just kill the golem—it’ll be easier that way!"

"You fool! Taking down a golem isn’t that simple!"

"Don’t bark orders at me—I don’t need your advice, moron!"

"Just catch the human! He’s the weakest one—not like that elf girl!"

"Are you blind? He has Gaia Wings! Does that look weak to you?"

"Those are fake Gaia Wings! He’s not nearly as strong as you think!"

Meanwhile, the massive vines slithering through the forest undergrowth kept tightening their grip around the battlefield. The demons weren’t fully bound, but the twisting vines was more than enough to slow them down. Restricting their movement just enough to leave them vulnerable.

Tave moved swiftly through the trees and the shadows, cutting down demon after demon without pause, dismantling the enemy ranks from below.

And finally. The last blow landed. The last scream echoed.

The battle was over.

But it wasn’t the end.

Tave didn’t stop to rest. With a sharp beat of his Gaia Wings, he soared into the air again, landing atop the golem’s massive head.

"Let’s go," he called out. "We have to reach the demon fortress before morning comes."