The convoy regrouped, engines humming steadily in the background. The new couple’s vehicle blended into their formation without fanfare. Time was a luxury they couldn’t afford, leaving Derek without introductions to the newcomers. They had to keep moving, despite the fatigue etched on every face, the day’s relentless skirmishes taking their toll. Derek settled beside James in the back of the truck, his gaze lingering on the weary group. Jenny, ever the guide, set their course for the nearest steel yard. With a command, the convoy started off again, the convoy’s silence a stark contrast to the usual banter. The aftermath of their encounters sapped their energy.
As the convoy came to a halt outside the steel yard, Derek hopped from the truck’s bed, landing with a heavy thud on the asphalt parking lot. Beside him, Leroy, mirroring Derek’s stepped down with sword at the ready, a silent testament to his readiness. Together, they approached the gate, their eyes scanning for threat. The surroundings were quiet. There wasn’t any gunfire, no wildlife, or traffic. It felt like the world around them had stopped. They each grabbed one of chain-link gates. In one fluid motion, they tore the fence from its hinges, clearing the path to the storage yard.
The yard, vast and open, a literal treasure trove of steel. Everything from I-beams and angle iron to plate metal. It would all be useful as they constructed the building and give Jenny equipment for her crafting.
“Anyone know how to drive a semi?” Marie asked as they walked out back.
The back of the yard held a tractor-trailer with a flatbed and two flatbed trucks. The steel yard was huge and wide open. It held everything they would need to construct the building.
“Believe it or not, I do.” Carson answered. “My uncle was a truck driver.”
Leroy’s boot connected with the locked door with a satisfying thud, the tempered glass shattering. Part of the group scattered through the store in search of keys. After only a few minutes, all the trucks and the forklift were up and running, moving around the yard in a coordinated effort.
Derek walked into the yard, scanning the variety of organized stacks of steel that lay arranged around the yard while contemplating on the materials needed for their project. He knew he needed steel beams and deck pan for a pouring concrete slab over the basement and above the garage to support the weights of vehicles and the rooftop garden. The older man who joined their group came over and asked him what they needed.
“I’m not sure…” Derek answered, then explained the project.
The man, whose name ended up being John, worked in construction and pointed him toward what they needed. As the roll up doors on the back of the building were sent flying upward, Derek let John organize the work. Derek and the kids and start loading the lighter weight steel, while Carson and Jenny worked together to load the large steel beams needed for the building using the forklift and overhead crane.
As Derek strapped down the first flatbed truck, a distant rumble and vibration pulled his attention from his task, filling him with a grim foreboding. He stopped what he was doing and walked out of the building as Janet, their overwatch, called out.
“Got movement from the power plant, not sure what it is, heading our way, slow but steady.’”
“Hurry, folks, get loaded and get a moving.” Derek commanded. “James, with me.”
Derek and James met with Janet at her lookout, her vigilant gaze scanning their surroundings. The creature that Janet mentioned was impossible to miss. The monstrosity’s measured approach cast an imposing figure in the bright sun. Each step it took made the ground quake, surrounded by a menacing crackle of electricity. This ten-foot tall entity was a grotesque fusion of asphalt, steel, and raw electrical power. Its humanoid form lacked any real joints, limbs swaying in an unnatural imitation. The destruction it left in its wake at the power plant hinted at its origins and capabilities.
Derek looked from the monstrosity to James. “James, you got anything that can kill this thing?”
“It’s a golem of some kind, but I don’t know other than that.” James stated, his face tightened in perplexity. “I’m getting intense interference and my Identify spell isn’t working.”
“Get the convoy moving toward the tracks. We will keep it busy until you’re ready.” Derek told the group through the active call. “Get those beams loaded and get rolling.” He stepped forward to confront the… golem.
“Hurry, folks, get loaded and get a move on.” Derek commanded, urgency clear in his voice. The convoy moved into frenzied action, the sound of metal clanging and engines revving filling the air.
James, beside him, was less optimistic. “You think we can distract it?”
“Heh,” Derek chuckled dryly, “probably not.” His steps turned into a run.
A magic shield wrapped around Derek as he shot forward. His pry bar appeared in his hands. He activated Stone Skin as he strolled forward. Asphalt leapt up from the parking lot and wrapped around him, as his aura of bloodlust radiated out of him.
He met the monstrosity as soon as he crossed the road. With his body and weapon infused with mana, he swung it. When his weapon made contact, the golem’s electricity shot up the weapon to be thwarted by Stone Skin. The impact made the golem’s form erupt, hurling asphalt and steel debris across the road.
Derek’s strikes barely registered on the golem. It swung its limbs relentlessly. He dodged, rolled, and retaliated. His counter attack exploded through its knee with enough force to send its rubble body blasting away - yet it stood unyielding. Behind him, James unleashed a barrage, his magic spears of ice and fire merging uselessly into the golem’s form. It was a dance of attack and evasion, fast-paced and futile against the golem’s invincibility.
Derek’s blows landed with all the force he could muster. Yet, the golem stood unyielding, its form barely registering the onslaught. In that moment, a flicker of doubt wormed its way into Derek’s mind. Am I even making a difference? Here he was, in the thick of battle, and the creeping sensation of being utterly ineffective gnawed at him. All this effort, all this power, and for what? To merely scratch the surface? It was a rare feeling, one that Derek despised above all — uselessness.
The golem, a behemoth of twisted metal and sparking energy, seemed to mock his efforts with its silent, unseeing gaze. It was an adversary unlike any other, one that didn’t tire, didn’t falter, and apparently didn’t feel. A limb, charged with electricity and made of steel, hit Derek out of nowhere. His magic shield broke, and his makeshift armor fell apart. The force threw him back, crashed into the ditch with a jarring thud, made even worse by the heavy layers of asphalt armor.
He lay there for a moment, catching his breath. Derek was used to pain and setbacks, but this was different. The golem kept moving, unstoppable. It made him question if he was strong enough to handle this. Pushing through the pain, Derek got up. He couldn’t just give up. He was used to facing tough odds. With a new determination, he got ready to dive back into the fight. This wasn’t just about physical strength; it was a test of his will.
An explosion of magic slammed into the golem as ice and stone magics punched through the golem’s body. It never even noticed, as the stone spears only added to the monstrosity’s bulk. Every thundering step matched Derek’s pounding heart as he roared back into action.
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Derek surged from the ditch with renewed vigor, Ravager’s Fury igniting a fierce red glow in his eyes. Strength flooded into his body, amplifying his strength as he closed the distance. His pry bar spinning and tearing through its body with every strike. Yet, for all his ferocity and speed, the golem stood resilient, its form reconstituting as fast as it was torn apart.
The golem retaliated, unleashed a torrent of electric fury. A wave of electricity burst from its body in a tempest of raw energy. The shield that Ravager’s Fury covered him in, took in the attack and added it to it’s own power reserve. His pry bar spun in a long arc, hoping to find a weakness. The blow landed, ripping through the body, yet it was met with the same regenerative response.
The golem reached out with a spear of super-heated asphalt, but Derek ignored it. The spear shattered across Fury’s shield, the energy from the molten spear adding to Derek’s temporary power. The remnants of the asphalt splattered across the street as if made of gelatin. Derek uppercut severing the remaining molten spear. Derek continued through the movement and crushed more asphalt as he carved across its mass with the pry end of the bar. The chasm that he left in its body was immediacy refilled as if nothing had happened.
Ravager’s Fury drove his body to the absolute limit and nothing could touch him while he was in this state. When the golem drove a spear into Derek’s chest. The spear drove him back, but it also collapsed into rubble as the energy supporting it was absorbed. Derek pushed harder, spinning, and swinging, attack after attack, not even slowing down in his movements.
Huge ice shards started slamming into the monster. Water poured down on the battle and the air turned absolutely frigid as wind and ice sucked what little heat in the air out. Derek didn’t stop. He continued tearing apart the golem. Every time the golem hit him, it gave him strength and more time in his state of fury.
Derek’s conscious brain ceased its involvement in the battle. Thoughts replaced by the raw rhythm of combat. Dodging became secondary to striking, each move less a decision than a reflex. Derek could feel his brain slowly trying to sink further into the fury. He teetered on the edge of complete surrender to his instincts, maintaining just enough restraint to keep from losing himself entirely to the battle’s frenzy.
Derek continued trading blows with the golem. Each blow taking off more and more of the asphalt as whatever James was doing to the creature increased its susceptibility to his attacks. Each hit, despite hitting harder, was turning the creature into rubble, though it didn’t affect it whatsoever.
The fight wore on, going nowhere, as Derek and James were only making its body parts smaller instead of destroying it. It was a futile stalemate. He shattered more asphalt, it’s shattered asphalt ground into pebbles. The creature’s devastating blows equalized the Ravager’s Fury creating a balance that kept the ability active. Their battle, a state where they simply traded blows, waiting on the other to run out of energy. Derek knew he was on a timeline, even if the ability kept him from receiving wounds, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t feel the damage his body was receiving when the ability faded. Every impact spot was filled with the mana of the ability. It would cause pain and soreness, leaving each impact point throbbing.
“Derek, I’m running low on mana.” James said. “Golems have a core somewhere in their body. If you can break it, you can destroy it.”
By this point, Derek had carved through dozens of points on its body, and he still hadn’t found it. Despite his relentless assault, each attempt to dismantle the creature only revealed more of its seemingly endless layers. No matter how many sections he lopped off, the core remained elusive, hidden within the depths of its chaotic form. With every strike that failed to reveal his quarry, the futility of his efforts became more apparent, like trying to drain an ocean with a sieve. The golem, undeterred by the loss of its parts, seemed almost to mock his efforts, its form shifting and reconstituting with every blow he landed.
“No, I can’t find it unless you can point it out. I’m not sticking my arm in that thing,” Derek said after carving through part of its body only to have the void refilled with rubble and electricity.
Magic roared through Derek’s body as he spun up elemental spells.
“How much longer on the loading?” James asked between spells.
The golem hit him hard, sending him spinning before he recovered and used the momentum to hit the golem with his bar. Derek had to focus. His Ravager’s Fury still had some time before it expired based on the beating he was taking, but it would be fade. He started leading it away, back toward the power plant. The chain-link fence that surrounded the place was already a disaster, and he crossed it without an issue.
Over the comm, Carson’s voice cut in, “We’re nearly finished here. Just need a few more minutes to get the last of the beams.”
Phil’s concern was clear. “How’s Derek holding up out there?”
Derek led the monster away from the road and back toward the power plant where it originated.
“Uh.” James hesitated.
Derek was too busy to hold up his end of the conversation as he carved through the golem repeatedly, hoping to get lucky and strike the core. The golem’s asphalt body was starting to turn more into a liquid as the hard asphalt started becoming little more than electrified sand. He knew his body was being pushed past its limit and when the fury ended, he would be basically useless. The ability didn’t remove any of the damage he did to himself during the state.
“He’s fine for the moment. We need you to hurry,” James said.
James had ceased his attacks, his mana nearly depleted. Derek felt the Ravager’s Fury fade and every screaming pain and torture he put his body through returned. The remaining asphalt of Stone Skin fell off as the magic holding it disappeared. His pace faltered, each step heavy. Despite Ravager’s Fury shielding him from immediate harm, the aftermath left his body aching, each pulse of pain a reminder of his limitations.
A golem’s wild swing connected with a harrowing crack, sending vibrations of broken bone through Derek’s body. He skidded across the power plant’s supply yard, a trail of determination in his wake as equipment and rolls of wire exploded apart. Derek’s agonized moan carried through the call as he grabbed onto his shattered shoulder to stabilize it.
Marie’s voice pierced the din of battle. “Derek!”
Derek, struggling to stand, leaned heavily on his uninjured arm, blinding pain radiated from his shoulder. Somehow, he still managed to stand, immediately grabbing onto his injured arm to hold it in one place.
“Derek, run!” James shouted. “Leroy!”
Leroy was there in a heartbeat, appearing next to James to assess the situation for an instant, before moving again.
“Were done!” Carson nearly shouted. “I’m heading back to the highway. Convoy lead the way.”
Derek felt him before he saw. The whiplash he got as he was suddenly flung from his position jarred his senses for only a second. Leroy stood above him, yanking on Derek’s armor, pulling him to his feet. Derek saw the impact crater that had been where he stood only a moment ago. That would have likely killed him. Derek was up and moving as Leroy’s strength pulled him along. Leroy supported him and they started retreating while dodging blows. It wasn’t graceful, as they leapt out of the way as the golem tossed a gate controller at them. The electric motor and control box exploded into shrapnel, but they survived.
James followed, communicating with the group. “Convoy status.”
Leroy jerked Derek around a building, the jarring impact against a wall shattered Derek’s focus on casting. The failed elemental spell dissipated into the charged air. Leroy’s entire attention was on getting Derek as far away from the electrified monstrosity as possible.
“Convoy is waiting at the ramp.”
“Roger, we’re in route.”
James caught up to them as they wove around buildings, trying to avoid the golem’s attacks. James took Derek from Leroy. Giving Leroy his freedom. He hit the monster with Vicious Mockery, pulling its attention. James helped Derek move. Now that he was moving steadily, he could focus his pitifully weak healing magic on his shoulder.
The clamor of combat moved around the power company’s buildings as Leroy played tag with the ten-foot tall monstrosity.
“I’ve escaped from the monster.” Leroy said, “but I don’t know where I’m at. I’m going to backtrack and try to avoid it.”
James and Derek could hear the monster returning to its home at the power plant, fortunately they were on the other side of the facility and working their way around to where the convoy waited. When they came into sight of the convoy, Phil and one of the new guys rushed out to take Derek from James. They got him into the back of the truck, where Marie waited.
James sighed, exhausted. “What a fucking shitshow.”
Marie helped Derek into the truck. As soon as he was lying down, they were ripping at his armor, pulling it apart to get to his wounds.
“Language.” His mom reprimanded.
James’s voice dropped, “Sorry, Mom.”
As the dust of battle settled, Derek’s battered form became the center of a frantic medical effort. Marie’s hands, glowing with a soft, healing luminescence, moved carefully over Derek’s bleeding, broken shoulder, the comforting energy forcefully realigning and knitting bone and sinew back together. Phil hummed a low, soothing melody, a bardic healing spell that wrapped around Derek like a comforting blanket, easing his pain.
“Leroy is here. Let’s get moving.” Jenny said, moving into the driver’s seat.
Leroy climbed into the back of another truck, clearly exhausted. The convoy pulled out, heading south toward home.