“We are all going to die.” Irit stated somberly. “Coming here was a mistake.”

Ruth angrily elbowed him in the ribs and hissed. “Don’t say that! We are going to survive this like we always do. Have some fate!”

“Hmm.” Sonic frowned as he watched the two giants clash with each other. One of them made of flesh, the other one metal.

“What are you thinking about?” Naran came up behind him and asked. They were keeping back, standing as far away from the fight as possible. There wasn’t really anywhere to go. They were stuck between an impenetrable door and a meat grinder.

“I’m worried.” Sonic replied, his gaze intently following the fight. “He used up so much energy just to open the door, I don’t know how much longer he can continue.”

“He looks like he is struggling already. All that blood…” Naran frowned as the walls were getting painted crimson.

Sonic sighed and shook his head. “He’s not. He’s fighting just as aggressively, unconcerned for his wounds. He’s healing fast enough to be able to just shrug off those attacks, but the energy…” He could see Gerald glowing like the sun with his Spirit Sense, and the density of Qi was steadily growing in the room as he was throwing it around. Every once in a while there would be a pulse, and the Qi would return to him, empowering an attack or two, but the other statues were siphoning off some energy as well.

“This place is clearly too small for him. I can see he increased his size for greater strength, but now he lacks space for movement. If we weren’t confined, I have no doubt he could expand even more and crush these things with a single hand. Instead, it’s a struggle.”

There were also the weird symbols on the far wall, and those worried him even more. What did they mean? Trouble, most likely.

“If he loses, do you think we can resist attacks like those?”

Sonic snorted a laugh. “Of course. The only question is… how many? Two? Three? Maybe five if we come together? He already took hundreds and is still standing.” He shook his head. “We shouldn’t be here. This is not a place for weak Spirit Realms like us.”

As they were discussing, they heard an angry roar. The metal warrior was extraordinarily fast, jumping from one side of the hall to the other and bouncing off the ceiling in a split second. Each movement meant another wound on Gerald’s massive frame, and it was driving him mad.

[Damn jumper!] He roared. Things suddenly shifted and he accelerated as well. A giant hand slammed into the body of the metal warrior, pinning it to the wall. Even captured, it didn’t stop, stabbing and slashing at his arm and face. Gerald didn’t seem to care even as his eye was cut apart, immediately replaced by another just as enraged.

He expanded again, his shoulders and back pressing against the ceiling of the place even as he was kneeling on the ground. His thick fingers wrapped around the doll-sized metal enemy in his hands, each of them holding a hand tightly. His foot then crashed down on the body of the construct and he began to pull.

There was another, victorious roar as the metal joints gave out and the limbs were torn off. He tossed them to the side and then went for the head with his teeth. The sound of metal snapping under the pressure of his bite was terrifying for the four Cultivators. They couldn’t decide who was more dangerous anymore. The ancient traps, or the human-turned-beast.

As the second statue was torn to pieces and went rigid, the sounds finally stopped. Gerald’s chest was rising and falling rapidly and flames of pure anger were escaping from his mouth. Of course, he blasted the remains with his fire breath until they melted into slag. He was taking no chances.

[Finally!] I breathed out hard and then dropped to the ground with a rumble. His form contracted and the blood that painted the walls and ceiling moved on its own and got reabsorbed into his body. He was still a giant, but a manageable giant, unlike before when he nearly took up the entire size of the hallway.

At least he could move.

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“How bad is it?” Sonic went up to him and asked. “Think you can manage?”

Gerald snorted, his face turning more human so he could speak better. [Damn bastards. Too fast. Too strong. Too annoying.] He turned to stare at the other statues still acting dead on their respective platforms and then at the symbols on the wall.

“What is that? Do you know?”

[A counter.] Gerald answered grimly.

“Counter?”

[There’s almost an hour left.]

“An hour? For… what?”

Gerald just released a low rumble and looked at the statues.

“Oh…” Sonic realized the issue. “For the next one or for all of them?”

[All of them.] Gerald’s answers were short and to the point. He crossed his legs and closed his eyes, entering a meditative state. Soon came the sound of a horn, and the entire room shook again. The next statue began to move. Daggers in reverse grip.

[Oh, great…] Gerald stood and rolled his eyes. [Another mosquito.]

The statue moved, practically teleporting, and Gerald lifted his hand just in time to have the blade stabbed through his forearm instead of his skull. He grinned at the expressionless statue and attempted a grab on the blade.

The metal warrior spun and pirouetted around him, aiming for the back of his head. Luckily there was his massive tail which he used to swipe at the construct’s legs. The thing nearly fell, but just as it was about to land on its back, it twisted in the air, pushing off the ground with its hand, and launched itself away to a safe distance.

With a thunderous stomp, Gerald blasted forward, growing and bringing his bulk to intercept the blade dancer. He even caught it mid-air and gave it a squeeze. The Metal construct at first struggled, stabbing him all over the neck and face, but then it suddenly stopped, twisted around, and threw one of its daggers.

Everyone watched with bated breath as the blade struck one of the sleeping statues. The platform beneath it lit up immediately, and a second construct suddenly came to life.

It was the one with a sword and shield. It lifted the triangular piece of metal and charged.

Gerald roared again as it struck his knee, breaking his stance and making him stumble. He used the speedy daggers to bash the knight, beating one construct with the other. They weren’t taking much damage, so he threw them across the room, striking the other statues in the process, and as the place was filled with myriad lights, his chest expanded and the crystal on his chest began to glow.

“Oh… Shit! Get back, everyone!” Sonic shouted and ran to the rest of his team. They all squeezed into a corner behind Gerald, as far away from the battle as they could.

Sonic hastily scribbled a few lines on the ground and emptied his entire reserve of Spirit Stones in a split second. As a Cultivator focused on speed, he always had time to react to danger. This time was no different and he did all he could to protect himself and his team members. He just hoped it was enough.

With a thought, a directional barrier formed between them and the danger, angled so that they were protected from three sides by the walls of the hall. The final, and also the most troubling direction, was covered with a combination of barriers from all four of them. They all realized the danger and rapidly added their own energy into the mix.

All of it took no more than three seconds. They did all they could and then just hugged each other and closed their eyes, preparing for the blast.

And what a blast it was.

The entire place shook as more energy than was needed to open the first door was blasted out in a fraction of that time. Entire lifetimes of accumulation, used up, turned into raw destructive potential. Centuries of Cultivation, burned up in a fraction of a second in the most primal way, just pure, raw power. It was like they were in the middle of a volcanic eruption. Everything shook, fire burned, and the place became Hell for a short while.

Then, everything stopped. Apart from the quiet crackling of the dying flames, the hall was silent.

The four dared to open their eyes and look at the destruction outside their little corner of safety. The Stones were all but used up, the blast of destruction having reached even them despite hiding behind the one responsible for it. Dust and smoke swirled outside, making it all but impossible to see the results of that blast.

Sonic waved his hand, and the smoke outside began to settle, revealing the true magnitude of destruction. In the middle of the room stood a black, charred skeleton of what once used to be a human. Now twisted into a silent giant with a Dragon’s form.

Under their watchful gaze, the regeneration was already taking hold. Small, tiny little pores opened on the black, crystalline bones, and flesh, like a spreading fungus, erupted forth. Muscles, organs, veins, skin, and scales grew at a rapid pace, repairing what was destroyed.

As soon as the skull filled out and the eyes reformed, they blinked. An instant later corpses began to appear all around, and Gerald pounced, biting and tearing into the flesh of the dead. He swallowed with barely any chewing done, just enough to crush bone between his teeth. Bodies of giants were consumed in mere moments, painting his mouth and the floor around him with blood.

He never once stopped to look at the destruction he caused, a hall full of glowing walls and molten metal.

Sonic stood up and gulped. He had survived yet again. Survived to see the impossible become reality. Because that was something no living being should have been able to do. It was absurd.

The man looked death in the eye, and then spat in its face, without consequences. Utter madness.

And the reward for that madness? Molten Celestial Metal. A mountain of it.