The strange mask rose from the ground and slowly floated into the air. At first, nothing happened. Then steam began pouring from the mask’s empty eye sockets. It spread across the chamber, but instead of dissipating, it began gathering in one location.
Arthur watched with obvious fascination. "It’s forming something."
Athena immediately pulled out her notebook, though she didn’t actually write yet because she was too focused on watching.
Athy floated beside her. "The steam is gathering around the mask."
Athena nodded. "It’s condensing."
The steam suddenly thickened, becoming so dense that the mask disappeared inside it. A deep rushing sound filled the chamber as water began gathering within the cloud.
The first thing to emerge was a massive torso.
It looked almost like a statue being carved from a waterfall. Layer after layer of steaming water condensed around the forming body, while fragments of dark stone were pulled from the ground and embedded into its chest and shoulders.
Two enormous arms emerged.
Then two more.
The four arms slowly spread apart as the rest of the body finished forming.
Steam poured constantly from its shoulders and back, while boiling water flowed across its body without ever falling to the ground.
Arthur stared upward.
"It’s not just controlling the steam. It’s using the cavern itself to build its body."
Athena’s eyes widened with interest. "You’re right."
Athy floated closer to her. "The stone is becoming part of it too."
Athena quickly wrote that down.
Luna took a step backward. "That..."
Arthur looked toward her. "You recognize it?"
Luna’s expression became serious. "That must be the Mirror Guardian."
The creature’s body finished forming and it towered over the group. Its aura alone immediately made everyone understand its strength.
Athena’s expression changed. "Peak Bronze."
Vedas gripped his spear. "That’s stronger than anything we’ve encountered inside this cavern."
Arthur’s eyes shone. "So this is the real guardian."
The ground suddenly shook.
Stone erupted from the floor.
Several enormous spears and swords rose from the ground, their blades formed from the cavern’s dark volcanic rock. The Steaming Totem reached down with two of its arms and grabbed weapons.
Then it grabbed two more.
Four weapons and four arms.
The creature slowly raised them, steam pouring from its body.
Arthur gripped Dusk. "So we have to beat it, I like it!"
Mithra smiled. "You make it sound easy."
Arthur looked at the enormous guardian. "I didn’t say easy."
Vedas chuckled. "At least he’s being honest."
The Totem suddenly moved.
Arthur’s eyes widened.
Despite its size, the creature crossed the distance far faster than something that large should have been able to.
One of its stone swords came sweeping toward him.
[Steam Blade]
Arthur raised Dusk.
The sword collided with his spear.
CLANG!
The impact shook his entire body and drove him several meters backward. His boots scraped across the stone as he struggled to stop himself.
But the sword hadn’t even touched him directly.
A wave of boiling steam rolled over his arm.
Arthur immediately felt his skin burning.
He looked down and saw a patch of red spreading across his forearm.
His expression changed.
"Don’t get too close to its body."
Mithra immediately understood. "The steam is acting like armor."
Athena nodded. "Anything that gets close is going to be burned."
Arthur rotated Dusk in his hand and smiled.
"Then we’ll have to work around it."
Vedas was the first to move.
He drove forward with his golden spear, meeting the Totem’s descending sword head-on.
CLANG!
The collision sent a burst of steam across the chamber.
Vedas held his ground.
"Arthur!"
Arthur immediately understood.
Kong was already moving.
The Fiery Stone Ape charged from the opposite side and slammed his fist into the Totem’s knee.
BOOM!
The steaming body rippled from the impact.
The Totem’s balance shifted.
Sun saw the opening immediately.
"Got it!"
He swung Long and released [Point Shockwave] into the damaged knee.
The invisible force struck the same point Kong had attacked.
The Totem staggered.
Mithra didn’t waste the opportunity.
She disappeared from its field of vision and reappeared behind it, Kusa cutting into one of the rocky sections reinforcing its back.
"Melo!"
"Already doing it."
Dream Mist spread across the chamber. Suddenly there were several Mithras surrounding the Totem.
Then several Vedas.
Several Kongs.
Even Arthur appeared among them.
The Guardian’s four heads—if it could even be called heads—turned rapidly as it tried to determine which targets were real.
Melo smiled. "It doesn’t know which one is real."
Mithra slipped through the confusion. "Then let’s keep it that way."
She struck again.
Above the battlefield, Athy circled the Totem while Athena watched from below.
Athy’s golden eyes narrowed.
[See Through World]
The steaming body suddenly became different in her vision. Mana flowed through it like glowing rivers, constantly circulating from the limbs toward the center of its chest.
"Athena!"
Athena looked up.
"What did you find?"
"The mana keeps returning to the chest."
Athy pointed with one wing. "Every time it moves, the flow becomes stronger there."
Athena’s eyes widened. "Then that’s probably the core."
Athy nodded. "I think so."
Athena immediately wrote a quick note before raising Aegis again. "Then let’s test it."
The Totem suddenly raised two arms.
The water surrounding its body violently compressed. Then a massive torrent of boiling water erupted forward. The entire group had to scatter.
Arthur activated [Guardian Shield].
A golden barrier caught part of the attack, but the force still pushed the barrier backward. Arthur gritted his teeth. "It’s stronger than I expected."
Vedas moved beside him. "Then don’t hold it alone."
Vedas planted his spear and reinforced the defensive position.
Arthur glanced at him. "Good timing."
Vedas smiled. "I thought you’d appreciate it."
The two held the attack together while the others repositioned.
The Steaming Totem suddenly raised all four weapons. Each arm attacked a different target. One toward Arthur. One toward Vedas. One swept toward Athena and Athy. The fourth toward Mithra and Melo.
Arthur blocked one strike while Vedas intercepted another. Mithra ducked beneath a blade, and Melo created an illusion of Mithra, causing the Totem to strike the wrong target. Athena blocked another attack with Aegis, the impact driving her heels into the cracked stone.
Athy flew above the fourth weapon. "Now!"
She used [Brave Light], her wing cutting into the Totem’s upper arm.
A chunk of steaming water and stone was severed.
The severed section didn’t fall.
It simply collapsed into steam.
Then the steam began flowing back toward the Totem.
Stone fragments rose from the ground and were pulled into the missing section.
Within seconds, the arm had returned.
Sun stared.
"You’re kidding."
Kong frowned. "It came back."
Mithra stepped backward as the newly formed arm swung into position.
"That’s troublesome."
Athena’s eyes narrowed. "Not regeneration." She watched the steam gathering around the restored limb. "Reconstruction."
Arthur immediately understood. "So the body isn’t important."
His gaze moved toward the orange glow inside the chest. "Then we need to destroy the core."
The Totem’s damaged arm reformed, steam exploding outward.
The entire chamber became difficult to see through.
Luna instinctively moved closer to Eden.
Melo noticed Luna becoming frightened and spread Dream Mist around them, creating a calmer space away from the worst of the steam.
Meanwhile the others continued fighting. The Totem’s body repeatedly reformed. Arthur began noticing something. Every time it reconstructed itself, the orange mana around its chest became brighter.
"There!"
Athena looked over. She saw it too. "It’s consuming mana to rebuild itself."
Vedas smiled. "Then let’s make it spend everything."
Kong struck first.
His fist smashed into the Totem’s knee, cracking the stone reinforcement around the joint.
The Guardian immediately swung one of its weapons toward him.
Kong ducked beneath it. "Too slow!"
Sun’s Point Shockwave struck the damaged knee from the side.
The Totem’s leg buckled.
Before it could recover, Mithra flashed through the opening and struck the same joint with Kusa.
The stone finally shattered.
The Guardian dropped several inches.
"One leg down!" Sun shouted.
The Totem answered with a roar and swung all four weapons.
Melo’s illusions scattered.
The Guardian struck one.
Then another.
Then a third.
Each one dissolved into dream mist.
Melo laughed softly.
"Keep swinging."
The Totem turned toward her.
"That’s the wrong one."
It swung.
Another illusion disappeared.
The real Melo was already somewhere else.
Above them, Athy dove.
[Brave Light]
A golden slash tore across the Totem’s shoulder.
Athena immediately followed with a shield strike that redirected a second weapon away from Athy.
"Left!"
Athy twisted.
The weapon passed beneath her.
Vedas intercepted the next strike.
His golden spear locked against the Totem’s stone blade.
"Arthur!"
Arthur moved through the opening Vedas created.
He reached the Totem’s chest, but the moment he got close, a wave of boiling steam forced him back.
Arthur’s eyes narrowed. "Still too much steam."
Athena looked toward the glowing chest. "Then we keep weakening it."
Arthur focused on the core, weaving between strikes, watching for the moment the glow would flare brightest.
The battle felt increasingly coordinated. Arthur noticed the others naturally creating openings for him without needing to be told. He smiled. "Everyone’s getting pretty good at this."
Mithra laughed while dodging a blade. "We’re used to cleaning up after you."
Arthur grinned. "That’s not what I meant."
Sun shouted from across the chamber. "Then stop standing around and hit it!"
Arthur laughed. "Right."
The Totem realized it was losing. Its entire body began glowing orange, steam pouring from every crack.
Athena immediately recognized the danger. "Everyone, get back!"
The Totem raised all four weapons. The entire chamber began filling with boiling water. The floor cracked. Steam erupted everywhere.
Arthur immediately activated [Guardian Shield], protecting the group. The Totem brought all four weapons down. The resulting explosion nearly overwhelmed the barrier. Arthur struggled to maintain it, his arms shaking under the pressure.
Vedas stepped beside him. "Hold it."
Arthur looked at him. "Planning something?"
Vedas smiled. "Always."
Vedas launched forward.
Arthur understood immediately and forced the shield down for a fraction of a second. Vedas used the opening to attack the Totem’s exposed chest, and Arthur followed immediately behind him.
The Totem’s body was beginning to destabilize.
One leg was damaged.
One shoulder had been cut apart.
Its reconstructed arm was slower than before and the orange glow in its chest had become almost painfully bright.
Athena saw it. "It’s running out of energy!"
Athy immediately flew downward. "The core is exposed!"
Kong slammed both fists into the Totem’s leg.
BOOM!
The Guardian staggered.
Sun struck its chest with Point Shockwave.
Mithra cut through one of its arms.
Melo’s illusions pulled its remaining weapons away from the center.
Vedas saw the opening.
He smiled. "Arthur."
Arthur was already moving.
Vedas launched himself forward and struck first.
[Armor Piercing].
[Magic Explosion]
The shockwave tore through the steaming body, and the chest split open. Inside was a glowing orange core.
[King Aura].
Arthur arrived as golden energy gathered around Dusk before he swung, and the strike hit the exposed core directly.
BOOOOOOM!
The entire Steaming Totem froze.
The steam surrounding its body suddenly stopped moving and everyone paused. Then cracks spread across the Guardian’s entire body. The four weapons fell from its hands, and its enormous body began collapsing into water and stone.
Arthur landed and looked up.
The Totem finally fell apart.
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Time Fairy]
[Level 17 → Level 19]
[Level Up!]
[Goblin King]
[Level 15 → Level 16]
Kong looked at the pile of steaming stone. "That was strong."
Sun lowered Long. "Very strong."
Melo’s tails slowly relaxed. "And very annoying."
Mithra sheathed Kusa. "But we handled it."
Vedas looked around at everyone. "Together."
Arthur smiled. "That’s the important part."
The chamber became strangely quiet. Steam slowly cleared.
Kong looked around. "Is it over?"
Sun exhaled. "Please say yes."
Melo’s tails relaxed. "I think so."
Mithra looked toward Arthur. "You okay?"
Arthur checked his arms. "A little burned."
Mithra immediately approached. "Then stop pretending you’re fine."
Arthur laughed. "I wasn’t pretending."
Mithra gave him a look. "You were."
Meanwhile, Luna stared at the remains of the Guardian. "Since we defeated the guardians then–"
Everyone turned.
The mask was still floating and then cracks had begun spreading across it. A second crack spread across its surface.
The mask shattered.
At the same moment, boooooom!
The massive stone door at the far end of the chamber trembled. Ancient mechanisms began moving. Stone ground against stone. The sealed doorway slowly began opening. A wave of warm orange light spilled through the widening gap.
Everyone stared.
Athena’s notebook was already back in her hands.
Athy leaned closer. "What’s behind it?"
Athena smiled. "I don’t know."
Arthur’s eyes shone. "There’s only one way to find out."
The door continued opening. And somewhere beyond it, something ancient began to glow.
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