The golem rose in all its enormity, its chilling gaze fixed on nothingness, aware only of its duty to wipe out the gnats infiltrating the catacomb. Kira positioned herself in front of it and pulled out a shard of flames, hurling it at the golem. The flame orb dissipated on the golem's rocky skin, not even scratching its HP. Kira shook her head and tried again, unleashing a wave of flames at the monster, but it caused no pain.

Arturo noticed that the golem was level 10. There seemed to be no way to bring down this nearly immortal creature.

"Usually, bosses have a hidden weak spot somewhere."

Arturo squinted and indeed spotted an emerald gem shining on the forehead of the rectangular-faced monster.

"Bingo, that's what keeps it going. Yes, golems used to be mere elements, but thanks to magic crystals, they can come to life and move as if alive."

The golem swung its arm towards the ground; the two were caught in the reach of its arm but managed to move away in time. The impact caused a tremor throughout the catacomb, but nothing seemed to collapse. The hand maintained a tight grip that cracked the ground; Arturo jumped, clinging to the arm. He wanted to use his most overused skill, but something was off; despite activating the ability, he couldn't turn his body into a shadow.

"Why?! But the interface shows it's active!"

Arturo looked down and saw that nothing around him cast his shadow, perhaps because there was no light.

"I get it now, without a light source to illuminate the objects involved, I can't use it."

What was left for him now? Magical ranged attacks did nothing to it, but a golem capable of leveling a village with a single punch, could indeed hurt him. The golem's arm extended, lifting off the ground, while Arturo tried to hang on, climbing the arm as if scaling a mountain.

"D-damn!"

Below, he saw Kira making futile attempts, hurling her fiery rage at the golem's torso, but the HP at the top remained intact, not dropping by a percentage. That golem was incredibly strong, perhaps unbeatable, a creature indifferent to others, incapable of feeling compassion for any living being, it had to obey, that was its only rule of life.

As Arturo climbed the mass of rock, he slightly turned to see the golem's chilling face to his left, slowly following him, its pupils snapping, attentively tracking every movement. Arturo shuddered under that oppressive pressure, wanting to detach and set foot on the ground, but he knew he couldn't pass up this opportunity. But at the same time, what was the point of pushing so hard in such a risky endeavor? The golem was invulnerable to their attacks, and reaching the gem would surely mean risking his own life.

Suddenly, Arturo felt the layer of skin becoming soft under his hands. It seemed to melt in his grasp. Even the perspective of height began to fade;, everything seemed so close to the ground, or perhaps the ground had risen in such a way to reach him? Arturo detached from the arm and walked on the ground.

Everything came under his control, it even seemed like the vast hall was a part of his body. Suddenly, the catacomb corridors began to shift shapes, intersecting with each other. Kira was swept away like the current of a river, ending up on a protruding rock, trying to keep her balance. The same went for Arturo, who struggled to avoid being dragged by the force emanating from the golem. They did everything to maintain their balance; Kira was at a higher elevation than Arturo, who looked up at her.

Kira started pounding on the ground beneath her.

"You blockhead! Stupid golem! Dolt! Do you understand when I speak?!"

"Let me go this instant! Do you know who I am? How dare a mere guardian oppose someone of royal blood!"

Arturo looked up from below, trying in every way to catch her attention.

"Kira! Are you okay?"

"Are you dumb? How can I be okay!"

The rocky outcrop Kira was on rose higher and higher.

"Jump down!" Arturo shouted.

Kira hesitated, fearing that if she misstepped, she would fall and die, swallowed by the muddy ground.

"Hurry up!"

Her legs trembled, she swallowed hard, and seeing no other way out, she furrowed her brows and let out a cry of rage as she fell. Her trajectory brought her crashing into Arturo, pinning him under her legs. They saw the rock that had risen so high smash into the ceiling, leaving crumbs falling like rain.

Kira tried to get up and with a kick, moved Arturo away, who had his head pressed against her backside.

"Is this really the time?"

"You're the one who fell on me, what am I supposed to do!"

The two stood up and saw the entire ground swirling around them like a tornado, reassembling into the shape of the golem. It stood motionless, its HP was still normal; it was indestructible, and that uncompassionate being would surely have no mercy on them, killing them in the coldest way possible. The golem had only one thought in its mind, ensuring extermination, as they were not sentient beings.

The earth and rocks seemed to respond only to the golem. The floor was sprinkled with a sort of pointed stalactites that popped up one after another, covering the ground. A flurry of sharp spikes randomly sprouted from every corner. The two dashed away from the sharp mountains emerging beneath their feet. Arturo ran almost crying and screaming in a high pitch, while Kira jumped adeptly, almost able to predict where these stalactites would sprout from.

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The Guardians, who had always protected the kingdom from potential enemies, had turned against two members of the royal family. The guardians had targeted the wrong enemy, mistaking Arturo and Kira for foes. Meanwhile, chaos was spreading throughout the kingdom. There were no chances of victory. They had played all their cards, but no one could bring down that colossus, which was at a higher level than them. Amelia refrained from being a spectator, unable to influence the fight in any way. She stood aside, hoping her new friends could somehow stand a chance against that emotionless monster.

"What will become of the kingdom!" Kira exclaimed, almost on the verge of tears. "We can't stay here wasting time."

Suddenly, Arturo had an idea. The golem, which had stabilized, was ready to attack again. Kira ran fast like a cheetah and made a leap, landing on the arm. She ran along the arm until she reached the protruding shoulder and charged up a powerful magical attack, which she hurled against the gem. It caused the first crack. The HP dropped from 200 to 170. It wasn't fatal, but it did inflict significant damage. Kira, with an acrobatic jump, managed to land on the ground. Kira was out of breath, more so for her than for the golem, because that spell had been fatal for her; she had completely exhausted her mana and could no longer be of any help. Kira barely managed to stand, slowly collapsing to the ground and letting out deep moans.

"Damn it!" He punched the ground. "I can't do anything right!" Kira tried to stand up and aimed to charge another shot by opening her palms, but no energy flowed. "Come on!" "Am I really worth so little?" Arturo gently lowered his arm, almost caressing her. "You've done a lot. Thanks to you, we now have a better chance of destroying its gem." "But!" "Even though you've run out of strength, you've been a great help, because now I can deal the finishing blow!"

Kira was left speechless, seemingly calmed, and looked with moist eyes at the king who now truly seemed to embody the role of a leader. Just seeing him from behind made it clear that Arturo was serious about going beyond the catacomb. The chilling gaze of the Golem jerkily shifted and intensely focused on Arturo, who responded with a grimace. "What are you looking at, you stupid thing!" The golem narrowed its eyes. Arturo did the same, looking up at it, never lowering his gaze. He stared for more than a second into those eyes that reminded him of the flame of a lantern. "Wait a second..." He stared into its eyes again. "Its eyes, could they be a light source?"

And that's when something clicked in Arturo's mind. This golem wasn't unbeatable; perhaps there was a way to bring it down. The answer lay in the light of its eyes, shining like a dancing green flame. Arturo turned off the night mode in his eyes and was plunged into total darkness. But he saw that in front of him, the only source of light was its green eyes. "There, just as I thought!"

Arturo reactivated the night mode, and the colors intensified, making it seem as if daylight had dawned to illuminate the catacomb. He also noticed that since the skill had already been activated before, his body was already beginning to transform into a shadow. He felt close to victory, sensing that this time the golem wouldn't stand a chance against him. In the depths of the catacomb, the golem was unleashing its fury and destruction, hurling itself at its victims. Among all the abilities it had shown, the golem revealed another. It fired a beam from its eyes that lit up the entire area with blinding light, an immense glow that enveloped everything in bright green. That's when Arturo seized the opportunity. Automatically, his body became a shadow and slid underneath the golem. "Here we go!"

Arturo crawled, gliding under the golem, dancing around its legs, which seemed like two mountains in an avalanche. The golem turned its head in every direction, trying to locate Arturo. It twisted and turned its torso, but couldn't find any trace of its prey. Suddenly, as it tried to step forward, it noticed its torso was immobile; it strained to bend forward, but as soon as it looked down, it saw the reflection of Arturo's shadow under its feet. The golem threw a massive punch with its large arm, another that plunged into the ground, but that shadow remained there, unmoving. Physical blows did not affect him.

Perfect, shadows are much lighter compared to physical bodies, and even though this golem is of enormous stature, I can easily hold it in place. It's just like when I faced that villager; no matter the size of my opponents, in my shadow form, I can restrain them whenever I want.

Arturo pushed further, allowing the shadow to fully expand over the golem. The shadow emerged to cover its entire body completely. At the same time, he was also experimenting with the functions of his ability, as he hadn't had the chance to fully exploit its potential yet. The golem continued to thrash, hammering the walls with its powerful fists.

Kira was at a distance and saw that Arturo had created an opportunity she couldn't afford to miss. With the little strength she had left, Kira tried to stand and aimed her palm at the gem. The blinding light had slightly dazzled her, but she could still make out the gem on the golem's forehead. "Arturo! Hold it still!" "This time it's the end!" Kira snarled. "For that golem, it will be the end!" She held her palm wide open in the direction of the golem and concentrated all her energy into her palm.

A vortex of fire was generated around her arm, and as soon as it reached the tip of her fingers, Kira uttered the following words, "This strike will be the final one!" Like a slingshot, the sphere was hurled at a deafening speed. She was able to maintain a visual on the golem thanks to the natural ability of demons. The strike was successful because the golem had no way to avoid it; it could thrash all it wanted, but Arturo held its shadow tightly, preventing escape, just like a butterfly in a spider's web.

As soon as the glow in its eyes extinguished, in an instant, the shadow vanished, and Arturo returned to his physical form. An explosion followed; the target was hit. They saw a blast of smoke spreading throughout the room. When the smoke cleared, they saw the golem still standing. It wasn't the result they expected, but the gem had received more cracks, which would eventually lead to its breaking. Arturo saw its HP had dropped to 60%.

Kira could no longer stand; she had used up all her energy and staggered, unable to keep her heel steady on the ground. "Kira!" "I-I'm fine!" Suddenly, she collapsed to the ground. "Kira!"

Arturo dashed forward, but the golem thundered fiercely, and sharp rocks suddenly shot up from the ground, heading straight for Kira. Arturo ran as fast as he could; just as he reached Kira's body, he saw the rock's tip about to emerge right beneath her. He couldn't allow even a single hair on Kira's head to be harmed. He lengthened his stride and, with a well-placed shove, managed to roll her to the edge of the wall. "Thank goodness!"

But just as he moved a bit further, the rock's tip fully emerged, and before he had time to think, it violently pierced his chest. "ARGH!" The blade grazed his heart. Arturo fell to the ground, clutching the blade, and attempted to pull it out, yanking it out in an instant. Blood gushed out, choking him up from the throat. "D-damn, it hurts!" He couldn't help but scream.

"IT REALLY HURTS!"

Arturo was on his knees, screaming desperately, spewing liters of blood from his mouth. A sea of blood had formed around him. He had never imagined he would sustain such a wound. He easily shrugged off or received such injuries during quests, but he never thought it would hurt so much in reality. The golem loomed behind him, its hellish eyes focused on him. Arturo's dim eyes lingered on Kira, who, amidst all the chaos, slept peacefully. Arturo managed a faint smile, seeing her completely at ease in total tranquility. "Look at her! Sleeping like that..."

Arturo didn't even have the strength to draw his last breath; the golem was just a short distance from him, raising its arm ready to crush him under its hard layer of skin. "Damn!" Arturo closed his eyes, so tightly he didn't want to open them again, merely waiting for his tragic end. In the end, it had been wonderful to live in a fantasy world, especially in the body of a king, but his dreams were about to end. Like lightning, the golem's fist unleashed, striking downward, crushing him like an insect, its knuckles coated in blood and layers of Arturo's clothing.