Every abyssal within range reacted at once.

Some froze mid-motion as if their instincts had short-circuited. Others recoiled outright, corrupted forms pulling back from the battlefield as though proximity itself had suddenly become dangerous. The reaction rippled outward in an uneven wave, hesitation and an unfamiliar emotion (perhaps, fear?!) actually managing to spread through the abyssal demigods' ranks.

The earth-golem abyssal did not have the luxury of hesitation.

Aurem was already upon it.

The golem demigod towered over the western front like a moving mountain, its body layered with compacted stone, twisted metal, and abyssal energy that drifted from its body like a cloak made of smoke.

Its domain churned the ground beneath it into a grotesque workshop of corruption, raw matter being pulled up, reshaped, and used to make more earth golems that would attack anything non-abyssal around them.

Boom

Golden claws tore into its chest.

Aurem drove his talons straight through multiple layers of corrupted stone and ripped outward, peeling away a massive section of the golem's torso. Black vapor poured from the wound, abyssal energy bleeding off in thick, oily plumes as fractured plates scattered across the battlefield.

The golem roared.

The sound was not vocal so much as tectonic, a grinding vibration that rattled the fortress walls as the demigod forced its domain to compensate. Stone flowed like liquid toward the damage, plates sliding back into position and locking together with brutal efficiency. The wound began to close almost immediately.

Aurem struck again.

Another sweep of his claws carved deeper, ripping away layers faster than the golem could restore them. The regeneration slowed, not because the demigod lacked power, but because the closer its reshaped matter came to Aurem's body, the more unstable it became. Corruption that should have reinforced the structure flickered and thinned, as though it were being rejected by the space around him.

The earth-golem abyssal responded with force.

Its domain surged violently, jagged spires of earth erupting upward in a forest of spears meant to impale, trap, and grind Aurem down through sheer volume. Each spike was thick and powerful enough to Kain and most of the remaining defenders instantly, and were reinforced with abyssal energy that acted like a poison to quickly corrupt anything that even brushed against them.

But none of them reached Aurem.

As the spires rose into the space surrounding Aurem, their corrupted sheen dulled. Edges softened. Several spikes stalled mid-ascent, sagged under their own weight, and collapsed back into the ground as inert stone. Others landed harmlessly against his scales, not much different from slinging mud at the dragon.

It disgusted Aurem, but in no way harmed him.

Aurem dashed forward and brought his tail down.

Boom

The golem's midsection buckled as layers collapsed into one another, internal supports snapping as though struck by a continental force. Entire sections of its body tore free and tumbled away, trailing abyssal vapor.

The demigod tried to retreat.

It dragged its bulk backward, attempting to pull itself away from this strange golden dragon and into territory where its domain functioned more reliably. The ground heaved and twisted in response, corrupted matter surging to shield its core mass.

Aurem followed without haste.

He moved with the certainty of something that knew distance would not save its opponent. Another strike tore free a massive chunk of the golem's shoulder, and the regeneration that followed was visibly slower this time, plates grinding into place with increasing instability.

From the fortress wall, Kain watched intently.

The golem was still reforming. Still fighting. Still dangerous. But he felt its destruction was only a matter of time...as long as its core was found.

Boom

'As long as—'

A massive section of the newly reformed body was destroyed by a swipe from Aurem again. But unlike the lightning abyssal demigod whose core was easily found, the golem's wasn't.

Crash

'—it's core is found...'

From the remaining half of the body, Aurem proceeded to tear it stone from stone. But still no core was found.

'Where the heck is its core!?'

"You must have a core," Kain muttered, eyes tracking the way the golem's body continued to reassemble despite catastrophic damage.

His gaze sharpened.

"Mobile," he continued under his breath. "Maybe even microscopic. Just like Aegis."

Aurem seemed to reach the same conclusion.

He stopped trying to dismantle the golem piece by piece.

Instead, he inhaled.

The battlefield grew unnaturally still. Heat did not build in waves or roar into existence. The air simply tightened, as though everything nearby sensed what was coming and braced for it.

Then Aurem exhaled.

Golden breath poured over the golem demigod in a concentrated stream of absolute heat. Corrupted stone did not crack or melt so much as vanish, vaporized down to nothing before it could even collapse. Twisted metal liquefied and dispersed. Nearby mid and low grade abyssald burned away without leaving residue.

The golem screamed as its body failed to maintain cohesion.

Every attempt to reform occurred within the breath's reach and was instantly erased. Plates formed and vanished. Limbs rose and disintegrated. The domain surged in a desperate attempt to push Aurem away, to create distance where the abyssal demigod could reform.

But it was hopeless. Near Aurem, the domain was obviously weakened and without the strength to push the dragon away at all.

The ground refused to warp the way it was commanded. Corruption thinned and scattered, stripped of authority the moment it encroached too close.

Soon the abyssal golem's screams and roars of rage stopped.

Silence.

But Aurem did not stop.

When nothing visible remained of the golem demigod, he continued bathing the area in golden fire. Once. Then again. Then a third time. The ground blackened and fused into glass, the heat so complete that even lingering abyssal residue was erased.

If the golem possessed a core, microscopic or otherwise, it had nowhere left to hide.

The western front fell into stunned silence.

Kain exhaled slowly as tension eased from his shoulders. The siege was far from over, but one entire front (the west) had been decisively defended.

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