บท 13: Flower field

Chapter 13

'While she had a little bit of a crush on some guy when she was 16 , but before she could confess it i s...'

Deciding that the conversation was going nowhere, Yuto interrupted the old mage with a question to bring him back to the current situation. "So, any info I need to be aware of before fighting him?" His words managed to shift the mage's focus to the dire situation at hand. While they outnumbered the enemy 2 to 1, both of them fell short in terms of raw strength compared to the golem-like man. Yuto had only just become Ultimate class, and Ray, the old mage, had seen his strength wane with age, placing him at the lower end of Ultimate class. In contrast, their opponent was in the prime of his power, somewhere between mid and peak of mid Ultimate class.

The old man thought for a moment before saying, "I think it's better if I show you." He sent a mental projection of his previous battle with the golem-like man. Yuto, cautious as always, accepted the memory after checking for any shady tricks. Who knew what an old man on his last legs might try?

The instant Yuto accepted the memory, his brain became hazy, and he could see what the fight was from the beginning to the present from a third-person POV , as if he is a ghost.

(Memory)

Old Mage Ray could be seen reading what seems to be a totem with a bunch of unknowing symbols describing a dragon on one side and a golem on the other side. If you look at his surroundings, you could notice that the opulent room lay draped in luxury, with rich tapestries depicting heroic tales hanging from the walls. Crystal chandeliers illuminated the space with a warm glow, casting delicate shadows on the polished marble floor. It was a sanctuary of comfort, far removed from the world outside.

But that peace shattered abruptly. A thunderous crash echoed from the mountainside, the walls trembling as if the castle itself were groaning in fear. The instant the sound erupted, Ray, without caring for what he was doing, instantly rushed outside through the windows of his room. The instant he rushes out, he can see the guard who used to guard the castle fighting against hundreds of enemys. The castle guard was outnumbered 2 to 5, with every second of the guard dying.

Seeing this, he without hesitation attacks the enemys like lightning. He first lands on one of the middle-class beings, crushing him in the process. After that, he began casting one spell after another, killing ten beings. The enemy, seeing an ultimate class appearing, starts to retreat while casting a shield. The shields of the low class and middle class did not do much, just making them capable of taking 4 to 5 spells instead of 2 to 3. But nearby high-class beings' shields made them capable of fighting off the mass-produced spells.

Ray quickly notices this and decides to focus more on stronger single-target spells instead of AOE spells. [Hell Spear] Ray whispers under his breath while he magicalizes a magic spell the size of a human. In just a second, the magic circle almost completely magicalized and became ready to be cast, only for a yellow flash to appear beside him and try to punch him in the face.

Seeing the yellow blur and fist that is coming towards him, Ray detonates the spell and dodges to the left using the burst of speed that the detonated spell provided, barely dodging the fist that would have seriously injured him.

Pooh

Shockwave of that fist creates a wave of air that kills two unfortunate beings that were in the way, making mess of them, leaving only a puddle of blood and bone. creates a wave of air that sent nearby trees and bushes into the air.

'Still slippery as an eel, I see.' Rought voice is heard as a man in his fifties who looks almost like a human, with only a crack on his skin, the tone of his skin giving away that he is not a human.

Meanwhile, Ray just stood up after dodging, only to be met with a Deja vu as he heard that voice. It sounded familiar—extremely familiar—but the name just wouldn't enter his mind. Deciding that seeing his appearance would make him remember, Ray blew some wind that instantly got rid of all the dust that was in the air.

Whooosh

Seeing his appearance instantly got rid of his doubt and made him remember him. One of the heads of the veil of shadows, an ultimate class being who is known for his brashness and quick temper, also his old friend.

'Are you breaking the pact? Do you know the consequences of your action?' Ray said, his voice calm, but the tightening of his fist and frown on his face showed what he really thought.

'A pact will only be in effect if all 3 organizations are equal in power, or at least the other two are capable of threatening the other 1, which unfortunately is not anymore.' Golem, like a man said with a smirk on his face, clearly enjoying toying with him.

On the other side, Ray's frown deepens, and his breath becomes quicker, as if he is about to rush into him any second. But Ray, in the end, did not rush; he instead took a deep breath to calm his nerves, which did work. After a few deep breaths, he became completely calm, like a calm lake during the spring with little to no disturbance. And Ray, in a calm voice, says, 'She would have been disappointed in you.'

Hearing him, the smirk that was on his face instantly froze and was instead replaced with angry expressions with veins pulsing on his forehead. And instantly rushes to him rapidly like a crazy rabid dog, with each of his steps making him even faster and faster until he is almost in front of Ray. With his behind his back, just about to punch him. Seeing this, Ray to not to be undone, also enhances himself and surrounds himself with a barrier and launches an attack towards him with [Thunder Missle], powered by massive amounts of mana.

(End of the memory)

"Ok, so in short, the golem excels in defense and physical attack boosted with mana, and Ray the old mage is an battle mage that excels in speed and elemental magic got it," Yuto thought after finishing the memory. While it looks like it took a long time, in reality, it only took about 3 seconds for him to converse with Ray and read the memory.

'A pity; I should have planted a Crases circle on you when you were young. If I did that, something like this would not have happened,' the golem said, shaking him awake from his musing.

'Yeah, a pity if you had planted something like that. It would have made escaping much harder. But in the end, I would still have escaped,' Yuto said with a teasing smile on the last part, obviously trying to get rise out of him.

It did work a little as the golem-like man frowns and starts to gather mana at the soles of his feet.

Seeing this, both Yuto and Ray tenses and take a battle stance.

The golem lunged, a blur of motion and raw power. Yuto seeing him rusing to him conjures a shield, a glimmering barrier of energy that materializes just in time to absorb the brunt of the golem's punch. The impact reverberated through him, rattling his bones, but the barrier held.

"Tsk," the golem whispered under his mouth, his eyes gleaming with savagery. He charged again, this time delivering a series of rapid punches, each striking a test of Yuto's shield, to see if it would break.

Yuto weaved and dodged, if he can't dodge, taking the punch on his shield, but the golem's relentless assault forced him into a defensive dance. He could feel the his shield giving in, each blow cracking it little by little, leaving him more vulnerable. "I need a plan" he thought, glancing sideways at Ray in the distance, who was watching intently while preparing an extremely strong spell.

"Give me a minute" Ray shouted in the mental link, but because the surrounding magic is in a state of unbalance, it came out with almost complete static, but you could barely hear what he was saying if you focused enough.

Yuto took a deep breath, recalling the memory he had just witnessed. The golem's strength lay in his raw physicality, and thanks to it, the golem's energy consumption is extremely low, capable of fighting almost 2 times longer than average Ultimate class being, but it is also a con, utility. Because he is an ultimate being that is focused on the physical department, his magic department is low. While it is not correct to call him weak in magic, he is weak compared to other ultimate class beings whose focus is on magical abilities.

With that thought sparking in his mind, Yuto changed his strategy. Instead of trying to use strong spells, he, without caring for his mana, starts to spam weak explosion-type spells, continuously bombarding him, not giving him space to close in on him. It is inefficient strategy if he is fighting him alone, with him wasting his mana while the golem takes almost no damage. But with a partner, it became an efficient one.

[Greater Explosion] Yuto called out for the umpteen times, conjuring multiple missiles of crackling energy. They shot toward the golem, shooting him to the ground with a resounding BOOM.

BOOM!

'Is it finished yet?' Yuto calls out to Ray in a mental link, who is in even more distance, barely visible. He retreated after the golem tried to go after him in a crazy rush to kill the threat while ignoring Yuto. Which almost succeeded with Ray barely managing to escape by taking a hit on his back, which almost caused the spell he was making to go out of control.

'Finished, now I need an opening,' Ray says with exhaustion visible in his voice.

"Then you will be having one soon, because he is coming towards you, underground," Yuto shouted in the mental link.

Ray hearing him instantly looks down towards the ground and sees the golem marching towards him. Instantly seizing the opportunity, he activated the magic circle, summoning a swirling vortex of wind. [Five element storm] He cried, launching the spell at the golem, the winds spiraling around him, cutting his up bit by bit, until his body is filled with cuts, leaving only his eyes that weren't cut, with him protecting them using one of his hands.

'You, Fucker' the golem roars while tightening his muscle on his body to stop the blood loss while he cast a minor healing spell on himself.

Ray called upon more mana within him, channeling it into a concentrated beam of lightning. 'This isn't the end' [Five element Thunder], he declared, unleashing an even more powerful attack toward the golem, who was still recovering.

Yuto, seeing his chance, pressed the advantage. "[Dimension Lock]," he whispered coldly. The space around the golem like man distorted, locking him in place, slowing his movements to a crawl.

"This is the end," Ray echoed, his voice steady as he drew upon the last of his strength. A brilliant surge of energy exploded from him, forming a dazzling sphere of light that illuminated the entire clearing.

The golem, watching the orb as it hurtled toward him, took a defensive stance. He knew, deep down, that it wouldn't be enough. The small white orb, no bigger than a bean, drifted toward him as if in slow motion, almost painfully slow. But his body refused to move, trapped in this distorted time. His mana, too, lay dormant, paralyzed in this frozen world.

As the orb inched closer, a strange calm settled over him. It wasn't fear he felt, nor anger—just an overwhelming sense of peace. The white orb, now mere inches away, melted into his stone chest, and in that moment, memories flooded his mind.

He had been a simple copper golem, a mindless creation designed to serve and protect. His mission, once clear and unshakable, now seemed so distant. What was it again? The golem wondered, as his fragmented thoughts stirred. Ah, yes. He was to protect the magic tower—and her.

Clara hein Vastos

She was a wasteful, ignorant village girl who had somehow stumbled into the supernatural world, a girl of barely acceptable talent, her strength both in body and spirit lacking. Despite her middle-class status, she couldn't even defeat a low-class being on her own. It had been up to him, always, to protect her, to defend her from threats she should have faced herself. She wasted time on things that mattered little—flower fields, idle days spent wandering, when she should have been training.

The golem's mind drifted to that day in the flower field. She had been there, as she always was, barefoot, wandering with a soft smile on her face. She spent the afternoon picking daisies and buttercups, weaving them into little bouquets. He remembered standing in the field as she approached him, holding a bouquet of flowers in her trembling hands, offering them to him as if they were a great gift.

"For you," she had whispered, her voice so quiet that the wind almost drowned her out. She had decorated him, tucking flowers into the cracks in his stone form, oblivious to how ridiculous it looked. And yet, he had let her.

"There," she had said with a shy smile, admiring her handiwork. Such a waste, the golem had thought back then, yet there was something about that moment—about the way she looked at him with warmth and innocence—that made him pause.

I want to see her one last time, the golem thought as he returned to the present, a faint desire flickering in his mind.

BOOOOOM!

PUUUU!

The blast engulfed the golem, a cataclysmic storm of energy that tore through his body. His form shattered like fragile glass, his once impenetrable stone frame atomized until nothing remained but dust.

As the dust settled, Yuto stood, breathing heavily, a radiant smile on his face. The once powerful golem was no more.

"I guess that should take care of him," Ray said, his voice laced with a faint hint of remorse, though his smile did not falter.

Author here: You guys have no idea about my flustration; I had finished writing the chapter yesterday, and was just checking for errors and polishing it. Only for power to suddenly be cut because of the storm. And i had to start all over again. I really should get a habit of saving my work every ten minute.

And I am not writing almost a 5k word chapter again. So here 2.5 k word chap,. It probably looks rushed and too cheesy, but here. Enjoy.