Anton woke to find Raum nurturing a barely conscious Charlotte. He was helping drink a vitality potion he had taken out of his bag.

"How is she?"

"Stable, thanks to you. I managed to pull the two of you out and seal the spiritual connection, but it took all of my Od to do so." Raum responded in exasperated breath.

There were empty vials littered by Raum's feet. Anton realized that Raum must have chugged a couple of Od elixirs while they were in the dream to maintain the spell.

"More importantly, Mr Krendal." Raum turned his head to the chamber's doorway. "We have other concerns."

Anton saw it, flickering torchlight followed by a pulse of yellow energy traveling down the corridor. "Shit!"

There was not a moment of respite. Anton stood and unsheathed his claymore. "Can you use your magic yet?"

"Only a little, it will take me a moment to recover."

"Take her to the back of the chamber and stay there until you can help." He commanded.

"What are you planning?

"Something stupid. Go!"

Raum obeyed and carried Charlotte to the back corner. Anton stood near the coffin. There was no running. There was no hiding.

The purple runes that decorated the chamber glistened as they drew closer. Anton could hear the clanking of metal among their footsteps.

He watched as all six of the Arlacks entered the room. At their front was the heavily armored one bearing a mace and a metal shield, he was certainly their leader. To his left was a female mercenary of stout stature and a sadistic grin, wielding a curved sword and a wooden shield; she was likely the second-in-command. Among them was also one wearing a robe, a Mage no less.

Half of them heckled and jeered at Anton, noticing his companions in the corner of the chamber.

Could Anton take all of them alone? Head on?

"Quite the predicament we have here." The leader spoke in a low booming voice through his helmet. "Would you, by any chance, know what happened to my other squad further up in the crypts?" He spoke with an obvious tang of sarcasm.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Anton feigned ignorance, despite how obvious it was of where this was leading.

"Well, thanks for upping our wages anyways." The second-in-command snickered. "We're gonna enjoy this a whole lot, ain't we Ledal?"

"That, we are." The Leader, Ledal, answered, clicking his neck with anticipation.

No. Anton wasn't going to take them on alone. He had another idea.

Anton reached into the coffin and pried the crown from Tehvent' Ungul's head before throwing it at one of the mercenaries. They were caught with a confused expression as Anton backed away from the coffin.

"Blast it! You fool! Drop it!" Ledal commanded his subordinate.

Suddenly, the purple runes glowed intensely, automatically activating the spell. Ethereal seams of purple energy shoot out from each of the runes fraying together like weaves of spider web, gathering in the center of the chamber, just above the Tehvent' Ungul's coffin. In response to the activation, the skeletons of the Y'ashi around the chamber begin to stir, as if waking from a long slumber. Bones clattered and shifted within burial holes, levitating and swiftly gravitating towards the center of the tomb where the seams converge. The bones started to assemble themselves, guided by invisible hands, coming together to form a monstrous figure.

It was a Bone Golem, looming tall at a menacing height of three meters. The hulking amalgamation's skeletal frame was made with the strongest bones of the Beast-men warriors who laid by their king's side. The head of the golem was a grotesque combination of multiple skulls fused together, creating a visage with several eye sockets, some empty and others glowing with an eerie, malevolent purple light. The same light was brimming from its torso, a large ribcage formed from the interwoven bones, creating a protective obscuring cage around a glowing, pulsating core of purple energy. This core is the heart of the golem, the spell that binds it. Around the ribcage, additional bones form a makeshift armor, adding layers of defense and spikes that protrude viciously. The limbs of the Bone Golem were abominable and oversized, ending in large, claw-like hands made from a multitude of finger bones, each tipped with razor-sharp claws. Unlike the arms, the legs were bent backwards, like a dog's hind legs that allowed the Golem to move with a surprising agility for its size.

The Bone Golem looked around the room, its multiple gazes eying every individual as before it fell onto the mercenary holding the crown. It ignored Anton, Raum, and Charlotte; instead, it approached Ledal's group. There were no thoughts behind its skulls, only a single directive: Kill the grave robbers and retrieve the crown. Each step it took echoed through the crypt, a bone-chilling dread filled everyone present, they were being stared down by a predator of unnatural strength.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The mercenary with the crown gave a battle cry that broke into a voice crack, dropping the crown and raising his axe in the air, hopelessly trying to intimidate the autonomous entity. The Golem reacted by crouching down, then leaping forward at breakneck speed. It landed on the mercenary, violently slamming him to the ground with its weight. A splash of blood painted the stone floor where the Golem stood on his head.

His comrades retaliated; the Mage stepped to the side as the other four of them circled it and struck at it with their weapons. Swords and axes chipped at the Bone Golem with little reaction. Ledal swung down with his mace onto the Golem's head, cracking open one of the skulls, but to no avail. It stood up and swung its arms, swiping across its assailants with its claws. It pushed back Ledal and the second-in-command mercenary, who brought out their shields to block it, staggering backward from the force. The third mercenary managed to narrowly dodge the attack. The fourth, however, was not so lucky; her abdomen was torn open as it slashed through his leather armor like cheese.

"Ignis!" The Mage chanted, holding his staff up and conjuring a fireball, then launching it at the Golem, exploding on impact and immolating it. The Golem stumbled back as charred fragments of bones flew off its shoulder where it was hit; it turned its attention to the Mage as though the fireball was more of a nuisance than a threat. But before it could charge him, Ledal and his cohorts struck at the enblazed Golem's legs, smashing through several layers of intertwined bones in an effort to cripple it.

The Mage prepared to cast another spell, but heard sprinting footsteps to his right. He looked over, it was Anton charging at him, Claymore gripped in both hands, less than ten meters away from him. The Mage hastily redirected his staff and pointed it at Anton. "Ignis!" The fireball shot out at a speed of roughly fourteen meters per second. It would surely kill Anton on the spot if it connects. But Anton had fought spellcasters like this before; he knew how to counter the spell.

Anton reacted the moment he saw the fireball manifest and swung down his sword, perfectly timing it to intercept the projectile midair like a bat to a ball. The velocity and force of his strike slashed through the fireball before it could volatile and explode, splitting and dispersing it into a cloud of flames. Anton felt his beard and his hair singe as he passed through the cloud, he was now too close for the Mage to cast another spell. He swung his sword back up, slashing the Mage's staff arm cleanly off. Blood spurted from the wound as the Mage screamed and fell back.

Meanwhile, the Bone Golem, rising back up on its broken legs while still receiving a beating, began a flurry of strikes again. Beating aside the second-in-command and the third mercenary who were unprepared for a counter attack, leaving only Ledal to fend it off alone. It jabbed at Ledal, once, twice, again, again, its sharp claws dented his metal shield and penetrated it on the sixth jab. Ledal threw away his shield and swung with his mace using both hands, but the Golem was too fast, brutally slamming both its arms at him like a gorilla, sending him flying back into the doorway. The sound of his armor crashing on the ground echoed through the corridor, followed by a scratching skid as the momentum carried him.

The Golem shifted its focus back to the two other mercenaries on the ground, choosing to the second-in-command, who was scurrying back to her feet. The Golem grabbed her by both shoulders, picking him up and placing its jaws over her head, clamping down like a vice. With a pop, the mercenary fell limp. The Golem released its tension, letting the corpse fall to the ground with a thud.

The last mercenary watched in horror as the Golem turned to him last. Crimson blood dripped from its jaw, its knees were cracked, smoke was emanating from its burnt shoulder, one of its skulls was caved in. But despite all that, it did not care. It was coming for him next.

He crawled on all fours towards the crown, grabbing it and throwing it across the whole chamber. "There! Go get it! Spar-" His futile pleads for mercy could not be heard, even if he could finish it. The Golem ran him through, impaling him onto the floor with its claws. It yanked its claw out and looked for where the crown landed. It was right next to Charlotte and Raum.

Anton had also just yanked his claymore out of the Mage's corpse. He was prepared to end up fighting the Golem, but he was not expecting it to ignore him completely.

The Golem crouched on all fours and dashed across the chamber with frightening speed. Anton rushed after it, but he was too slow to catch up or intercept it. He could only watch as it picked its target.

It chose Charlotte.

The Golem leapt towards her, bearing down its claw to impale her. Charlotte still wasn't fully awake, even her instincts could not pull her body to dodge the attack.

Raum stepped in. Opening his body as though he were welcoming the Golem with an open embrace.

The claw lands on him. It struck him. But it didn't go through him.

The entire force of the Golem was stopped in its tracks, as though it was hitting a stone wall. Raum's veil had blocked the attack, but...

The Golem continued to push its claw into Raum's veil. Its efforts weren't stopping. It simply kept pushing with stubborn determination.

But Raum was also determined. He was determined to hold his ground. To protect Charlotte.

Anton was sprinting as fast as he possibly could in his chainmail vest. He had just passed the Coffin and brought his claymore to his shoulder height, pointing it forward like a lance as he charged toward the Golem.

Raum couldn't stand his ground for much longer. He had to intensely concentrate his Od to the point of contact in the veil to block the Golem's force. He barely had any Od left after earlier. Now he was pushing himself beyond his limits. His face was more strained than ever before.

If the golem successfully ran him through, it would slam him into the ground onto Charlotte, skewering the both of them.

Anton ran. Eight meters left.

Raum stumbled back a step. The veil couldn't negate the entire inertia force anymore.

Seven meters left.

Raum himself couldn't hold out anymore.

Five meters left.

He was out of Od.

Four meters left.

His veil was about to dissipate.

Three meters left.

"ANTON!"

Two meters left.

It pierced through.

Entering through its back, penetrating through layers of bone, and exiting through its chest. He thrusted it all the way through. Anton's claymore had pierced the Golem, impaling its core.

The Golem's motions halted instantaneously, twitching for a brief moment, as though it had a nervous system of a living being. The purple energy of the core dissipated, and the Golem immediately fell apart into a pile of bones. All traces of hostility and observable sentience vanished as the spell was undone.

Raum collapsed to his knees in front of the pile, heavily breathing, sweat dripping from his whole body. He clutched his unharmed chest.

"That..." He gasped. "...was really stupid!"