Axel's mind was in turmoil.

He had assumed that danger awaited them, but he never expected it to be this significant... literally. Just as he gritted his teeth, pondering his next move, his thoughts began to settle.

"Wait... It's a golem!" He gasped, a faint glimmer of hope flickering within him. "So, can't I just store it in my inventory, like the golems back in the labyrinth?!"

Golems are inorganic beings.

Thus, they can be placed in his inventory... but Axel was unaware of the subtleties involved.

This gap in his understanding led to an unexpected tragedy.

Not wanting to waste time, Axel leaped out of the Humvee and ran. His actions served two purposes: one was to eliminate the threat as soon as possible, and the second was to avoid dragging the girls into the crossfire.

He ran toward the giant's leg—the only part within his reach.

With his speed, he covered the several kilometers between them in mere seconds, even faster than the Humvee. As soon as the golem fell within his inventory's range...

"STORE!"

He shouted, commanding it with all his might.

But... nothing happened.

"Huh?!"

Axel hadn't anticipated this result and paused in shock for several seconds. That moment was enough for the giant golem to shuffle its leg and kick.

From Axel's perspective, it didn't look like a kick; it resembled a giant wall hurtling toward him at the speed of an airplane. The range it covered was vast, leaving no room for a late dodge.

Like a frog struck by a car, Axel's body was flattened and sent flying across a vast distance, only stopping when his back slammed against the purple-black barrier at the edge, knocking the air from his lungs.

"GAH...!"

His back burned.

His breath came to a halt.

His mind reeled. Axel's body remained unresponsive for several agonizing seconds.

Limbs twisted at impossible angles, broken ribs and spine, ruptured organs, internal bleeding… His injuries were beyond severe—they were fatal!

Yet, in the next moment, his injuries vanished.

"Ptew...!" He spat a potion bottle as he fell to the ground, panting.

Thankfully, his quick thinking saved him.

In that split-second moment, while still feeling the pain of impact, he had withdrawn a Greater Recovery Potion and downed it.

The effect lingered for a few seconds after consumption, completely neutralizing the extreme damage from the crash.

'I almost fucking died...!'

He somehow survived without lasting injuries, but still, Axel's blood ran cold.

'Why couldn't I put this oaf of a golem in my inventory?!' he thought, frustrated by the inconsistency.

If either Navi or Mimir were present, they would have laughed at his lack of understanding.

Golems are inorganic beings, yet they are "alive." They can be placed inside an inventory, but only if their cores are inserted "first." Without that, their entire body is classified as a "living being" and won't budge.

In short, if Axel wanted to store the entire fortress in his inventory, he had to be within range of the glowing red core located in the middle of its chest—about 700 meters above the ground!

With his inventory's range being only 15 meters, he needed to be in direct contact with it to actually store the whole thing!

Of course, that was only if he could figure out how this mechanism worked...

"Kuh...!"

But he had no time to think.

While he was staggered by the lingering phantom pain, the giant golem moved. It took a single stride and reached Axel's location instantly. Its massive arm swung down, compressing the air from above in a swift and deadly attack!

"...!"

Axel watched as the golem's fingers struck the barrier, scratching against it and causing small cracks. The sturdy barrier they had crashed into earlier now appeared almost glass-like under the golem's assault!

Hesitating for even a moment could mean death.

So, Axel moved quickly.

He ran toward the golem's leg, trying to evade the incoming hand. Aware that this maneuver would expose him to another kick, he thought...

'I've got an idea...!' Axel grinned.

It was a gamble, but it was all he had.

To be precise, he had two ideas, but the latter couldn't be executed just yet. It required precise timing and preparation, which wouldn't guarantee his safety. Thus, he had to rely on the first idea: using the golem's own attack against it!

Axel reached the golem's leg, sweat streaming down his forehead, as a tremendous crash echoed behind him. A quick glance revealed the palm slamming into the earth, leaving a crater and creating a hole in the barrier—one that started regenerating the moment it was formed.

"OOOOOOO..."

The golem groaned as it realized Axel had dodged and prepared for another kick. But being so close to the barrier meant that getting hit would equate to certain death. He wouldn't have enough time to down another potion, after all!

"You're too agile for how big you are...!" Axel cursed, refusing to back down. "You want to kill me? Bring it on!!!"

The leg came in, but Axel was quicker.

He leaped over the foot and made his way up the giant's leg!

From that point on, he ran. He didn't stop—no, he couldn't stop. Stopping would mean either falling and becoming vulnerable mid-air or getting caught—either way, it was death waiting for him.

The golem reacted just as Axel had predicted—like a person who feels a spider crawling up their leg.

It began to rampage.

Shaking its leg, jumping, and swinging its arm, it tried to swat Axel away. The giant was "panicking" so much that Axel couldn't help but laugh.

"What's wrong?! Scared I'd crawl into your ear and crush your brain?!" he growled, exhilarated by the deadly exchange.

With each slap to its own leg, the golem's fingers broke, and chunks of its leg crumbled away. Just as Axel had planned, the giant was starting to destroy itself in its frantic attempt to catch him!

Everything seemed to be going according to plan... until it wasn't.

After a powerful strike, the monster lost its left leg. The giant golem began to fall, crashing toward the Humvee, where the witches were.

Unfortunately, not all of them were mobile yet.

Axel noticed that a few were incapacitated. Worst of all, they remained motionless, as if frozen in fear.

"Idiots...!" Axel panicked.

All three princesses of the Hallbach Queendom were there, after all.

His body moved faster than his mind could think, acting on impulse. He kicked off from the giant's body and crashed to the ground, dashing straight toward the paralyzed witches.

But with the giant's fall accelerating, there wasn't enough time to save them all "safely."

As soon as he reached them, he made a drastic choice: he grabbed the Humvee and...

"Sorry...!"

He hit the girls with it.

They were sent flying, like a baseball struck by a bat.

Crashing against a distant edge of the barrier hurt them tremendously, but it left them barely alive.

And then, without being able to recover his posture, the giant's head landed on top of Axel, and...

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