294 Chameleon's Maze -3

Erik, frozen in his place, soon felt his feet lift off the ground for a second before he could react to anything around him. A sudden gust of wind propelled him to the side with a force that made his hair whip around wildly.

The only thing he saw was a big fist that brushed past his levitating body, followed by the impact that suddenly cut off the source of wind with a sharp whoosh.

"Whoa!" Erik exclaimed, his body twisting in mid-air as he was pushed back, but he somehow managed to twist and contort, landing safely on the ground. His heart pounded in his chest as he tried to catch his breath, the rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins.

On the other hand, Aron did not get enough time to save himself, his attempts to shield Erik resulting in him being thrown like a ragdoll by the massive golem.

"That must've stung a bit," Ren remarked calmly, his eyes scanning the scene as Aron collided with the side wall. But before Aron's body could even make contact with the stone, he managed to summon a gust of wind, slowing his descent with a skilled display of magic.

Ren twirled his hand behind him, a small but intense ball of fire forming on his palm. With a swift motion, he released the fireball, the flames dancing and flickering as they streaked through the air with a fiery trail.

"I am not a FRICKING toy!" Aron's voice rang out, a mix of frustration and determination evident in his tone as he grappled with the pain and chaos around him.

Ren's fireball, followed by a firebolt, hurtled towards the golem with deadly precision, the air crackling with energy as the spells soared through the air. But unbeknownst to Ren, Aron had already conjured a wind sphere in front of him, a swirling vortex of air that shimmered with magical energy.

"Oh no," Ren muttered under his breath, his eyes widening in realization as his spells met Aron's protective barrier.

-and both spells negated while firebolt did not hit the target somehow.

"Ugh!" Aron's grunt of pain echoed through the air as the stone mace collided with his abdomen, the force of the blow sending him reeling backward with a sharp gasp. His body tensed with the impact, muscles straining against the force as he fought to maintain his balance.

The golem, its movements slow and deliberate, turned to face Ren with mechanical precision. With heavy steps, it lumbered forward, each footfall echoing ominously in the confined space. Its core blinked with a pulsating red light, a silent indicator of its relentless pursuit.

And suddenly, the Golem eased up, letting its guard down as the mace that it was holding with both hands was lowered.

Ren narrowed his eyes but did not stop, his mana flowing into his fist as he ran forward.

The Golem spun the mace in its hand, and suddenly the giant dipped, essentially tackling in Ren's direction.

Ren saw the heap of stone running towards him with the intention of colliding, and Ren was all for it.

The Golem is a top-tier military piece used in wars and is quite durable. If one had to solo the Golem in a very close battle, they'd at least have to be a six-star mage warrior, or they'd be quite doomed to death.

And Ren wanted to punch it.

Yeah, he was trying to get his hand on something for a while that he could punch at full force without being worried about anything... well, not like he cares or differs between humans or non-humans.

He could feel the mana pumping from his core directly into his right fist, but soon he saw the ground where his next step was about to land was slightly rising above its level, and he couldn't do anything about it until-

"L-look forward! I'll handle it!" Said Erik while kneeling on the ground, his hands planted firmly on the surface.

The surface was once again leveled up, and Ren's foot landed just fine as he managed to connect his punch straight into the top of the Golem's crown.

There was an impact, a loud bang that was deafening to the ears, and the next thing seen was the Golem flying behind, and the subsiding dust revealed the figure of Ren standing there as if nothing had happened.

While only he knew that the Golem also didn't have much damage from the physical attack.

He looked at his bloodied knuckles. It's not like they didn't hurt, but he didn't care enough to ignore the fact that the Golem was still standing.

"Did I not hit it hard enough?" he questioned himself, but the next thing he saw was the Golem struggling to get up.

The Golem planted its knee on the ground and tried to get up, only to lean to the side as it had lost its balance. After a few seconds, it managed to get up, albeit slowly.

It shook its head - like a real person. Its movements had eased up a lot.

"Erik... what has happened to the ground?" Ren asked Erik, hoping that it's not what he thinks, but-

"That Golem had controlled it." Erik's answer was short and simple, making Ren frown.

"Damn, they went ahead and did it huh... somehow managed to get a non-living object to do something only the living can do." Ren knew that whatever they did was not simple, but still, he was annoyed that this dumb piece of rock was capable of critical thinking and tricking people into its trap.

If not for Erik, Ren would've tripped and missed his mark by even a bit, and the tackle was going to hurt him too.

Ren turned towards Vexa, who was staring at the wall she had discovered a while ago, and said, "Anyways, listen... I'll be needing all of us to work together to get this bitch, and next, we'll infiltrate the next circle immediately."

Vexa turned towards him as she saw him completely ignoring the fact that the Golem was now preparing to throw the mace towards them by spinning it at a tremendous speed.