Bullets of air were circling around me, sharp pain ringing all over my body. Trying to think of a way out of the tornado was almost impossible with the constant explosions racking my body, a few hit my broken arm, making it practically impossible for me to move it anymore. My injured leg had also taken a beating; at this point I would either defeat this golem soon or I would die trying.

With my leg and arm out of commission and my strength already sapped from the overuse of my poison I honestly couldn't think of an escape route, my only option was to wait out the attack but the question is whether I could actually survive such a thing. I took the sword back into myself and formed a shield, it wasn't very big but something is better than nothing.

The winds started to slow down, the air bullets still packed a punch when they hit but it was getting easier to dodge them, still though with my leg in such a state it was harder than it should be.

My shield was already starting to deform, I hadn't spent enough time handling one to know how to keep its shape properly. I still had one more idea but I was reluctant to try it. I could to transform my body itself into poison, like when I had become the gas, however since I have no idea how it works I was hesitant to try it in case it was irreversible, but I was truly out of options now. My left arm was no longer going to be helpful whatsoever during this battle, so I was willing to sacrifice it for more power, I formed a sword and grit my teeth, my heart was racing I thought it may beat out of my chest, my breath was heavy and my mind was swirling with doubts but I had come this far, no point in turning back now. I cut my left arm off at the shoulder. The pain was unimaginable, nothing I had ever experienced could compare to the anguish I felt in that moment, my drive to win took over all thoughts I had previously been clinging to.

I held my own arm in my hand, the sight was gruesome to say the least. I focused all my intent on the arm, I was still being blasted by the golems attack but I didn't care anymore, my mind was blank.

My arm turned green and slowly it started to fluctuate between the states of matter, going from solid to liquid and then to a gas before finally settling as a liquid, and then I absorbed it. I felt my strength returning to me, and my poison reserved were up to about a quarter, I used some to cauterise my arm, in the span of a single fight I had experienced more pain than I had thought possible, but the progress I had made in terms of my abilities was also more that what should be humanly possible.

I built up power in my legs, for the first time in this battle I had the strength to use it, the tenverse technique. My damaged leg was cracking under the pressure of that much power, but compared to the pain of cutting my own arm off, this was nothing.

I exploded upwards towards the golem, the world blurred around me as I sped through the air.

I had wanted to catch the golem by surprise but it seems it had sensed my approach, I formed a platform of solid poison below my feet and jumped off of it to change direction, I formed another one behind the golem and slammed the two platforms together, sandwiching the golem between the two.

With the golem momentarily stunned I prepared a longsword in my hand and created another platform to jump off, I focused my nightmare in my legs once again, tenversing right past the golem and slicing through it on my way, but the core wasn't there, it must be able to push it around its body using the air.

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I pivoted in the air and absorbed my sword back into me, I also absorbed the two platforms that were keeping the golem in place, it immediately flew towards me, ice blade in hand. The golem made it to me before I could form a new platform for me to jump to, I was caught on the giant ice blade, my flesh around my hip was torn apart in a jagged line, the rustic smell of my own blood suffusing my nose. I managed to deflect the blade with a hard shell before it pierced any organs, but the damage was already done.

Blood gushed from my side, buckets worth, splattered on the ground so far below. I grappled with the golem, trying to keep it from pressing its attack further and cracking my bone, I managed to twist the golem and send it flying away, with my borrowed time I added some poison into my blood and thickened it to speed up the clotting, but even that wouldn't do much with how bad this cut was. The golem had stopped its momentum, and it was preparing to launch another strike.

As it was flying towards me I noticed something weird, the wind on its head seemed to be swirling more violently than the rest, with my limited knowledge on golems I had no idea why that might be, but I though I may as well give it a shot. I gathered the last of my strength, forming another spear from my poison. The weapon felt heavier now, my body protesting every movement, but I couldn't afford to hesitate. I aimed the spear at the violently swirling wind on the golem's head and threw it with all my might.

The spear cut through the air, leaving a green trail in its wake, viscous poison dripping from the pointed tip. The golem was preoccupied with its assault, it didn't anticipate the change in my strategy. The spear struck its head, piercing through the swirling wind. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the golem began to convulse, the wind around it destabilizing.

The violent swirling of the wind around its head intensified, creating a vortex that pulled in the surrounding air, the golem's body began to distort, the core visible for a split second before it was hidden again. This was my chance. I formed a solid platform beneath me, launching myself towards the golem with everything I had left.

Mid air, I formed a new weapon, a morningstar, I compacted layers upon layers of poison onto it. This had to be a decisive blow.

My morningstar was almost thrice as large as myself by the time I made it to the golem, each spike on the surface was big enough to be a weapon in its own right. I swung the morningstar down with all my might, aiming for the spot where the core had briefly appeared. The weapon connected, and I felt the satisfying crunch of the core shattering beneath the impact.

The golem's form unravelled instantly, the wind dissipating into a harmless breeze. I was left hanging in the air, my strength completely spent and my body barely functioning, I barely managed to form another platform to catch myself before I plummeted to the ground below.

I collapsed onto the platform, breathing heavily. Pain wracked my body, but I had done it, he air golem was defeated. My vision blurred, and I felt the darkness creeping in at the edges once more, just before I lost consciousness, I saw Telluric flying towards me, his face a blend of proudness and worry.

***

When I awoke, I found myself in an unfamiliar place—a cavernous room with rocky walls surrounding me, almost like a cave.

No one else was around; however, a strong smell of some kind of herbs was wafting through the area. When I tried to push myself up, my whole body screamed at me in protest. I took a second to examine my state. Every inch of my body was covered in bandages, and just as I had expected, my arm was still gone.

The wound on my side, the one inflicted by the air golem, was stinging—but not painfully. It felt more like an itch, one that couldn't be scratched.