8 Crazed Fire Golem

~Chapter 8: Crazed Fire Golem

The ground under the golem's scorching feet gradually softened and turned into red hot lava.

"Everyone, get back!" Zeph yelled as he reflexively unsheathed his stout shield. Fortunately, he did so just in time. The fire golem suddenly threw a wild punch, which the tiny shield wholly caught.

Bam! Plack!

Sparks flew as the crisp sound of wood shattering from the punch's impact echoed. The shield's steel frame melted from the intense heat. What remained of the broken shield caught fire and turned into ashes. In just a flash, the supposed tanker of the group became utterly defenseless.

"Ack!..." Zeph grumbled. A severe burn mark could be seen on his arm. Flames devoured his thick clothing, which meant that the attack did not only destroy the shield but also pierced through the thin armor right above the clothing.

Luckily, the flames died down just before it could devour anything any further.

"Hurry and assist Zeph! I'll try holding the enemy off!" Marianna instructed as she ran to face the fire golem. She tried keeping her cool amidst the disarray. It was her duty as the party leader. However, her feeble voice landed on deaf ears.

The Purge Party went into a panicked state as soon as they saw Zeph struggling from a single hit. They were no better than the vice-leader in terms of physical strength.

What would happen to them if they were the ones hit by the golem's punch? Fear overcame their rational thinking and they froze in place; afraid to do anything that could provoke the monster that suddenly appeared.

Suddenly, a pair of arms grabbed and carried the injured Zeph, pulling him away from the dangers of the maddened fire golem. "Worry not. From the looks of it, you don't have any broken bones or anything, just a slightly reddened skin." Kirin said while carrying Zeph away. His calm tone, paired with a smile amidst the chaotic situation, somehow soothed Zeph.

Kirin put down Zeph, "I guess I'll put these down as well," he said as he placed the huge bag of supplies on the side. He then turned and activated the 'System's Eye', staring at the fire golem—

...

Brimstone Guard (LV. 8)

-Health: 9,800

-Mana: 20

-Mana Color: Yellow - Red

-Monster Type: Elemental

-Monster Class: Dweller - Berserker

...

System's Assessment: Creature's threat is [negligible] to the host.

'It has mana as well, just like the salamander…' Kirin muttered.

Both the recent fire salamander and the golem had mana, which was uncommon for Kirin, who stayed at Aishkafell for over a month and had not encountered a single beast which had one; up until a Carrion Fish, which did have mana, appeared when he was doing a daily quest.

If there was one thing in common between these creatures— they were all abnormally aggressive. If it weren't for the fact that the second Carrion Fish Kirin encountered that day was pregnant, he doubted that it would be hostile towards him.

These beasts with mana just emit unusual killing intent that bothers Kirin. For him, it feels like these creatures are in a constant maddened state which they themselves could not control.

Just when he was deep in his thoughts, the Brimstone Guard suddenly turned its attention to Kirin, not paying any more attention to the woman who emitted the same aura as it did. The golem glared, its molten eyes continuously flickering. 'Is someone… watching me?'

Stomp! Stomp!

It merely took a few gigantic steps for the Brimstone Guard to close the distance between itself and Kirin. The fire golem, without hesitation, attacked Kirin; its instincts pouring signals that the unassuming man was somehow dangerous— someone whose life it had to end as quick it could.

A melodic noise resounded as the force coming from the Brimstone Guard's punch whistled through the air, like a cannonball launching through the open sky. The Purge Party members gasped in shock as soon as they saw the golem shifting targets and now attacking their porter.

Their hearts lurched in pain thinking that another porter would get hurt because of their negligence and incompetence. Judging from the strength of the monster, their new porter would definitely sustain more than bruises and minor injuries.

Plack! Tiss...

A clapping sound followed by a sizzle was heard. It took a while before anyone could react—

The members of the Purge Party had their mouths wide agape at the unbelievable scene; Kirin stood steadily, with an arm raised, palms open, effortlessly holding off the pillar-like arm of the golem.

"He… He caught the punch!?!" Zeph exclaimed.

However, they still felt like the sizzling noise (somehow) came from mister porter's burnt skin. No matter what, the man they hired was still hurt because they were inept adventurers. They could only blame themselves for such misfortune.

The sizzling sound continued. The Brimstone Guard bellowed, not because of rage, but because of the 'pain'. The flames on its pillar-like arm slowly died out; flickering wildly, the fire inside violently moved to and fro, before completely dissipating.

Crack!

Kirin held out and clenched his fist against the golems'. He could clearly feel that the attack just now had an unusual effect. A damage-over-time lingered, causing continuous sizzling noise. Kirin knew he wasn't impervious to damage, which meant that the burn effect would technically affect his skin, but the damage it could do was just too minuscule for him to care.

Kirin then tightened his grip, causing the golem's dried arm to shatter from the immense pressure. The golem fell back and roared. Its arm crumbled and gradually fell off.

'Perhaps the dungeon core has something to do with them being this… hostile?'

Kirin pondered as he shook off the debris stuck on his hand. He could only hypothesize, as there's no further proof. However, from reasoning alone, he could tell that these "dungeon cores", including the orb that the demons wanted to retrieve back then, has something to do with ordinary beasts becoming monstrous creatures. 'Didn't Marianna say the same thing before? I should ask her in detail once more after this.'

The Brimstone Guard, now missing an arm, could not help but look at Kirin with fear. Its instincts were right— it should've killed the man as soon as possible— but its chance was gone, just like its arm, as the meek man gradually came closer...

…

"Are you alright? I doubt we have any supplies to cure burns. Does your party have any healers?" Kirin calmly asked Zeph as he pulled up the supply bag, checking whether there are herbs that could ease the pain from the skin burns.

He then turned to the rest of the Purge Party, "Any healers in your team?"

The question jogged everyone's attention back. They were blankly staring at the pile of rubble which used to be the fearsome fire golem— the very same golem that made them almost wet their trousers just a few moments ago.

Marianna, the party leader, shook her head. She immediately ran and assisted Zeph, gathering specific members to join forces and cure the severe parts of the burn. She thought, 'Perhaps the gods above got so tired of our incompetence that they sent a terrifying porter to assist us… Talk about tough luck.'