CHAPTER 673: THE IRON MAW [2]

The other golems could be called children compared to Red Eye. Asmodeus watched it slowly lift its body, the stone cracking as more black ichor pumped underneath the surface, and then its four arms shifted and grabbed weapons made of the strange metal.

’Hm...’

"Logan, Nemir, give me support when you can."

He peeked back as they fought to kill the disgusting slugs made of the black ichor and liquid metal.

Crack!

Asmodeus spun around the moment Red Eye started moving. Its aura and mana were lacking, but the eerie abyssal energy spread from the golem like mist. The largest golem’s eyes burned like ruby flames, which cast a hellish glow across the chamber and its hulking frame.

The golem yanked itself off the rock wall and rose to its full height, over three metres of corrupted steel wrapped in pulsing veins.

Each movement groaned like straining metal as it reached for its weapons: a massive cleaver, a jagged halberd, a crude hammer, and a blade shaped like a butcher’s knife.

When it stood, the dungeon walls trembled and quaked, and finally, a blue light sealed the entrance and exit. Then the walls shimmered, metal veins glowing faintly in response to their master’s awakening.

Asmodeus clicked his tongue and rolled his shoulders, the bloodlust already thrumming through his veins.

"That’s more like it..."

The golem’s chest expanded as if breathing, then its jaw flopped open. "ROOOOOAR!" The mechanical scream shook the room further. The intense noise caused the party to cover their ears and back off.

Even Asmodeus felt the pressure flowing through his bones like an electric shock.

"Lad!" Logan shouted, using his shield to deflect a chunk of metal. "That ain’t no ordinary construct! It’s got a core consciousness! It can learn and evolve!"

"Perfect." Asmodeus chuckled sarcastically. "Let’s teach it some manners."

Red Eye attacked Asmodeus. Its massive arm swung downward in a cleaving arc motion that cut the air in two. The hammer arm followed immediately, creating a perfect feint into a crushing blow.

BOOM!

Asmodeus caught the first blow with his axe, then deflected the second. Clang! A burst of sparks spread through the air. The impact sent a shockwave through the floor that split stone like paper.

His aura fluctuated, just avoiding the two blows; however, he shook it off.

"Strong."

He shoved the halberd away with a burst of strength and spun his body, bringing the Blood Reaver around in a sweeping strike. The crimson edge met the golem’s blade midair and created a burst of sparks like fireworks, as he slid past and tore a chunk of metal from one of its arms.

With a hiss, the damage healed, creating more sticky black ichor.

"Tsk. So it can regenerate?"

Behind him, Nerim and Zahir flanked the monster’s sides. She flicked her wrist, releasing her spear, drilling into the golem’s flank while wrapped with pressurised water. The strike sent a shock through the golem’s lower joints, momentarily locking one knee.

Zahir didn’t hesitate as wind magic collected around his blade.

"Wind Cutter!"

He leapt forward, twin blades slicing through the thick air in overlapping arcs. Each blow carved glowing lines across the golem’s hide, thin but deep enough to expose its internal veins. Black liquid bubbled from the cuts, sizzling on contact with the ground.

"Nice hit!" Logan yelled, charging with his mace raised.

The dwarf smashed his mace into the golem’s lower leg, its surface glowing orange with runes that created a sudden shockwave.

His blow bounced back as he gripped with both hands and swung again.

CRACK!

The blow connected with one of the golem’s knees, the enchantment burning bright. The massive limb buckled, forcing the construct to one knee.

"Now, Lad!"

Asmodeus gripped Blood Reaver with a wide grin. He lowered himself, gathering all his mana into his legs. His muscles bulged, tingling with a slight ache. Then he dashed forward, the air howling as his axe tore it apart.

He jumped in the air, twisting around to build momentum above the golem’s head mid-spin. The axe descended like a comet, bursting with red and gold energy as he forced all his magic into his axe, squeezing his abdomen with a violent growl.

The strike landed dead centre between the golem’s eyes.

BOOOOOOOM!

A blinding wave of bloody light erupted, engulfing the creature’s upper half. The dungeon quaked with tremors as the shockwave carved a crater into the floor, scattering molten fragments of iron and ichor across the room.

When the smoke cleared, the golem’s head was gone. Replaced by a gaping hole spewing molten black liquid that splashed down the walls like rain. Its upper arms twitched before falling limp.

"Haaah..." Asmodeus exhaled, resting the axe over his shoulder. "Still breathing?"

Logan shielded his face from the heat. "Barely! Remind me not to stand too close when you swing that thing!"

Zahir sheathed his weapons while breathing heavier than usual. He even flashed a rare smile. The tension eased for a moment. Nerim wiped her face using a cloth. "That might have been difficult for a normal party... I’d hate to see the master of this dungeon."

’I agree...’

Normally, the basic monsters in a dungeon were weaker than the master or bosses. But the monsters they just fought were the first encounter... that meant these golems were the lowest in the dungeon.

"No wonder so many parties suffered in here."

Asmodeus’s comment caused Logan’s face to become dark while gripping his axe tightly.

But before the party could fully relax. The moment the blue barriers faded from each doorway, the floor beneath them pulsed with an irregular rhythm. At the same time, Ichor started leaking from the walls, filling the cracks and submerging the fallen golems.

Asmodeus scanned the room, and his grin faded.

"I think we should keep moving."

A fissure split open beneath the broken statue, black mist seeping out in thick waves. The stench doubled, sharper and sweeter at once, like decay mixing with perfume.

"You’re right Lad!" Logan covered his mouth and jogged to the exit doors.

Meanwhile, Nerim and Zahir used cloth to keep their noses and mouths safe from the fumes.

"..." Asmodeus examined the room on the way out suddenly started rushing.

The corpses of the shattered golems began to twitch. Shards of molten iron pulsed like veins, knitting together, not reforming into their former shapes but melting into the ground as if drawn to something deeper below.

"Move, now!

" Asmodeus roared, grabbing Logan by the shoulder and half-pulling the dwarf toward the nearest archway. Behind them, the metallic sludge converged into the fissure, vanishing into its black mouth, and within seconds, the entire room disappeared.

There was no going back.

"What the heck!? Why did ya toss me?"

"Look"

"Ack!"

Logan gasped the moment he saw the view from the doorway, a black void of sludge.

Asmodeus also felt shaken at first, but once he noticed and realised the phenomenon only affected the room they cleared, he calmed down. "It seems that we won’t have time to relax in this place. It’s pushing us further."

"I’ve never seen something so disgusting." Nerim covered her mouth, the gills on her body all closed tight, as if refusing to smell the disgusting air.

Zahir just looked up at Asmodeus with his curious eyes.

Asmodeus glanced over his shoulder just as the crater behind them convulsed. The iron walls flexed like muscles, ridges rising and falling in a sick rhythm. The veins of black ichor glowed faintly, pulsing with each beat.

’It almost feels like the dungeon itself is alive...’

A deep crack split the far wall, and from within oozed something like a tongue. Long, metallic and dripping with the viscous fluid that turned the normal people into Taken. Dozens of smaller tendrils unfurled around it, and the doorway shrank in size.

"Damn it, run!" Nerim yelled as the only direction they could go was forward.

They sprinted down the nearest passage, boots splashing through the slimy black mud as the ground and walls buckled and shrank behind them. The longer they took, the more concentrated and powerful the foul stink became.

Asmodeus’s instincts screamed trap, but stopping meant death. He twisted his axe into the wall as a makeshift anchor, yanking Logan up a slope where the stone had turned smooth and steep.

"Move, old man!"

"I’m bloody tryin’, lad!"

He could fly, escape himself, but the others couldn’t. So he helped Nerim and Zahir onto the next floor of the cave, which led to a double passage. The group climbed just as the corridor behind them erupted with a tidal wave of ichor.

However, this was the end... the mouth and tendrils didn’t follow to this level.

A thick and almost suffocating smog filled the chamber, blocking most light apart from their flickering lanterns, with each flame dancing in a haze.

"Everyone breathing?" Asmodeus asked with a strangely calm voice.

Logan coughed, leaning on his shield. "Barely... my beard’s singed."

Nerim spat on the ground. "This place is worse than the capital slums."

’Well we’re alive.’

Asmodeus’s gaze drifted toward the end of the corridor. A faint, dull glow pulsed ahead it was red and moved like the beating of a heart.

"Then we keep moving."