Chapter 72: Trial Of The Unknown (2)

A beam of light launched from the spheres orbiting around it, at a high speed where I almost couldn't react to it while also making a loud whooshing sound. The golem made no effort as it stood still in the same spot while I'm dodging its attack with everything I can. The trajectory of the projectiles was all aiming directly at my head and my other vital points. In the middle of those attacks, I discovered something peculiar about the place. The senseless and detached nature of the dimension, also downright killed my ability to teleport with how disconnected I am to my surroundings.

"Tch! This is so annoying" I grunted.

Right now, I'm solely relying on my perception to dodge, and focusing my quintessence around my body—fortifying it. The golem hasn't moved a slight bit since it launched its attacks on me. Its motionless actions are throwing me off. Running in circles around the golem. I'm analyzing the pattern of the beam of attack, counting the minuscule intervals between them from the distance and speed of it, but it's practically impossible.

"2... No... 5... It should be enough to make some counter-attack between it. No, it's not... Here? Not also... Too sharp. Long-range?"

On my right hand, three daggers materialize. I directly throw the daggers at the core, but they got deflected by a rectangular prism protecting its core. Instead of sticking, it vaporizes. (Kyieeh!) I heard the painful groan of Tsuki. 

I fortify my entire body with my quintessence then summons a sword. Then an unexpected came right before my running path, so I unconsciously blocks it with my sword. The laser magic bounced off into a different direction still continuing its trajectory. However, Tsuki's pain resonated through my head.

With my new profound discovery, I resorted to it by using Diana's spear and ran forward to the motionless golem. The golem finally made its move, swinging its long, narrow arms. I evade it by ducking down and continuing forward with my head almost close to the ground.

On the verge of closing the distance, I went on a thrusting motion, and at the palm of my hand, Tsuki shapes into her sword form or into a rapier, aiming directly through the gaps and unleashing the dark-violet flame overtaking its entire body.

My lower eyelid twitch, as the fire disperse, and saw the unscathed appearance of the golem. I curse my own luck. "You gotta be shitting me right now!" The orbiting sphere abruptly stops just right across my face.

"Endow me with your fury, Ramnient!"

[Forsaken Supermacy Ramnient]

A translucent light engulfs me from my head to toe forming an outer shell of protection throughout my body until it reforms into the shape of my physique and develops a dark reddish armor concealing everything from top to bottom. In split second, the beam light disperse upon impact from my helmet. Leaving no room to breathe, the golem bulldozes its large body and I collide with its massive tough body. 

"Kuuaaagh!" I was sent flying across.

After receiving the heavy blow to my body, the light particles around the sphere gathered at one point, compressing convulsively until it shot right off like a swerving light. I dash over to the side as it was trailing me. Over my head, seven spears of light materialize and directly launches to the golem. I stole a glance at the golem and saw the spear of light melt into thin air as soon it made contact. I grit my teeth in frustration.

I cast my left hand over the motionless golem and focuses my eyes below the golem.

[Chains of Condemnation]

However, the magic pattern was slightly misaligned to the center of the golem but was enough for the chains to do their job wrapping around the body. Because of the chains, the orbiting sphere halted its motion and abruptly focused its attention on my chains. Noticing it, I rush toward the golem and used the chains as a diversion. With the two swords in my hands, I attempt to slice the object orbiting around. But my sword didn't bite or penetrate through as the toughness of it was extraordinary.

As I'm face to face with the golem, the golem tries to catch me with its arm but I jump from its shoulder. I also placed a magic circle on its chest from the heel of my foot. While in the air, the two swords in my hand disperse, replacing them with a bow and shooting off ten consecutively arrows of light from my bow.

Descending from the air. "Shit, I didn't think this through." I'm falling on the same spot as the golem, the golem's gigantic hand extends to me, catching me. I attempt to brush it off by jumping from it, but it's too late. "Aaaah!" To escape, I exert my strength to both of my arms, pushing the hands of the golem away to release me from its clutch.

The sphere with a diamond shape core inside suddenly reshapes into a ball.  The light particles around had begun gathering as its focusing on my face.

"Pandemonium Inferno!"

The magic circle that I placed earlier combusts into dark-violet flames, taking over everything along with myself in it. A suicidal attack if someone would point this out, but I'm confident with this because Diana's flames have never worked against me. I've been into many accidents with it, but not once did I got hurt. I'm still clutched in its hand. Because of that, I increased the intensity of the heat and my quintessence was depleting rapidly at the cost of that while also exerting force in my arms. Then I heard some ticking sound inside my head, but I ignored it.

"Aaagh!"

It finally loosens. Then I took my feet far away as possible. I saw the sight of the golem in flames. I squint my eyes and found an abnormal phenomenon occurring with the sphere, as it's laying a layer of particles on the outer area of the golem creating protection around it and destroying the magic circle in the chest.

'That's cheating!'

The golem had begun moving on its own walking toward my direction with its eye fixated on me. Three pyramid-shaped objects suddenly materialize from this empty space, orbiting along with the sphere. There I stood like an idiot, as my two arms are shivering in numbness.

A low hum sound from the golem resonates in my ears. The golem was progressively getting faster as seconds passed by. That alarmed my senses. I pivot my waist and took the charge with the shield in my hand, but I was flung from bracing the impact. "Aaaaagh!"

The golem was not done yet. The ground around the golem shook, like a heartbeat. I back off a few feet away. My eyes dart to every tiny detail around the golem from the gaps between its body and the particles circulating around it. I grit my teeth in frustration.

The quintessence in my body has been draining out like crazy ever since maintaining this armor. I do prefer this form because unlike my [Arcana] it's far more stable and usable in a fight.

However, I've been running and dodging the incoming projectile for quite some time now—the trajectory of the attacks is insane. I retract my [Ramnient] and focus my mind on finding some suitable angle where I can fight, and because the golem was slow except for its beam of light. Long-range attacks nor any head-to-head attacks are dead options for me, leaving me no possible course of action other than to observe for now and attempt to attack it with new patterns.

Running in the endless infinite white space. A thought suddenly got into my head. It feels like I've been running in the same spot for countless hours now. More than anything, the entire space itself revolves around the golem at my back.

I finally decide for myself. Despite not my type of plan, but a last-ditch effort would suffice it. I haven't tested it nor have any idea what is, but Tsuki told me it's useful in this kind of situation—well, she just said it nonchalantly to me while eating.

"Unveil the hidden world on the other side. The moonlight shall be painted in red. The tides of my own blood shall wash away the sorrow. O, forsaken one, grant thy wish. Call by thy name, Tsuki."

"Here~!" A little girl's voice came out of nowhere.

[Desolate]

"I haven't tested this yet. It might be reckless, but it's worth a try."

The white firmament above me had begun cracking, opening the horizon looming before me. The color white suddenly was dyed in blood. Drips of blood fall down from the beyond, submerging the pure untainted color of the ground below me. Fissures could be seen slowly making their way to the entire space, shards of translucent firmaments fading from the sky. On the horizon, an oscillating image of the crescent moon emerged with cracks all over it, like a broken disc.

The surface of where my feet stand was submerged in blood. The golem stopped moving. A deafening hissing sound reverberated. As the objects orbiting around the golem was progressively getting faster, a terrifying sight. With the danger looming before me, the mana particles of the golem all hell broke loose. I saw its soul staring at me with a grudge.

(Wait, Claude!)

Beneath the golem, spectral skeleton hands dyed in blood ascends from the floor. The sphere shot out a beam of light on the hands, but the hands keeps crawling upward. Countless voices resounded to my head, screaming and begging for help. I kneel on the floor. "Aaaaaaaaah! Make it stop!  Aaaaaaah! It's tearing my brain!" Unknown gibberish voices.

It feels like someone was slowly removing parts of my brain one by one. In a blink of an eye, everything went back to normal from the firmament sky turning back to its plain whiteness; the blood that was submerging the floor also disappeared. Then I blink, the blue sky above was crystal clear as if nothing happened.