Raijin barely had a second to react before another golem lunged at them, its long and thin limbs reaching out like spears.
With a sharp inhale, he twisted his body and slashed, lightning dancing as his spear's blade cut through the creature's wrist. The stone limb shattered midair, chunks of rock scattering across the ground, but the golem did not care whatsoever.
"I wanted to cut its whole arm off!" Raijin gritted his teeth, stepping back to gain distance.
Eliot, a few steps behind, was fighting off another golem with his metallic whip. The segmented weapon wrapped around a creature's leg, and with a forceful tug, he yanked it off balance. The golem crashed into another monolith, but instead of staying down or merging with rock, it convulsed weirdly and reassembled itself in an instant, its cracked limbs moving unnaturally.
"Raijin!" Eliot shouted, barely dodging a sharp claw that nearly cleaved into his shoulder. "What do we do?!"
"I'm thinking so shut up and don't make it harder!" Raijin hissed, stepping forward and slashing diagonally at an approaching golem. His spear sparked violently—the Attribute of his Memory showing itself in its full glory—as it cut into the creature's torso, leaving a deep gouge that hissed with lingering electricity. The golem shuddered from the attack but kept advancing.
Another golem swiped from the left, forcing Raijin to duck low. He spun on his heel, thrusting the spear upward in a counterattack, striking the creature's jaw and cracking its head in half. Yet even with half its skull missing, the golem continued to move, its stone fingers wrapping around Raijin's arm.
"Get the hell off me!" he snarled, pushing the heavy golem away with the end of his spear.
Eliot wasn't faring much better. His whip lashed around another golem's limb, slicing through it roughly. The severed arm dropped to the ground before getting absorbed into the stone underneath their feet. "We need a better plan!" He shouted between panting breaths.
Before Raijin could respond, a golem blindsided Eliot from his right. A sickening crunch could be heard as the massive stone hand with thin and long fingers grasped on Eliot's arm.
A sharp scream escaped him.
"Eliot!" Raijin looked at his companion, losing his concentration for a split second.
Eliot's right hand was crushed, caught in the iron grip of the golem.
Blood seeped between the cracks of its stony fingers, dripping onto the cold ground below. His face contorted in pain, sweat forming on his forehead as he struggled to free himself.
With a trembling hand he tried to summon another Memory, but the pressure made it hard to focus on the System.
Gulping with difficulty, Raijin pushed himself forward, no clear plan forming in his mind.
Even if Eliot got on his nerves half the time, that didn't mean he'd leave a comrade behind.
Of course, Raijin didn't see himself as a hero or anything close to it—he'd still choose his own life over Eliot's without hesitation. But if he didn't do something now, Eliot would die, and he'd be next immediately after.
The tall boy was pale and barely holding on, thrashing and kicking as one golem held him in place and five more closed in, their long, crooked limbs reaching for him like claws.
'It's so over,' Raijin scoffed, launching himself upward. He landed on the shoulders of a nearby golem, using it to shoot himself forward like a missile. The triangular tip of his spear caught what little light there was around them as it locked in on the creature holding Eliot.
Squirming and thrashing, Eliot only made things worse—the wound on his arm tore wider, his skin tearing off and dark blood soaking into his sleeve. Panic was clearly displayed all over his face. He was scared and didn't know how to react.
Swoosh!
Crumble
Not even a second after Raijin launched himself, the tip of his spear slammed into the golem's shoulder, piercing through with a sharp crack. A heavy thud immediately followed as the creature's stone arm crumbled.
Eliot stumbled back, his breath ragged and pained while his one arm hung uselessly at his side.
He couldn't get a thanks out as something dropped down at him, forcing him to roll to the side on instinct. But in doing so, he put too much weight on his injured arm, and searing pain shot through his side, making him groan in agony.
"What are you doing?!" Raijin barked after stabbing down on the golem that had just dropped down, eyes flaring with frustration. "Get up and fight!"
But Eliot could barely breathe, let alone move. He winced, struggling to push himself upright on one knee, his face pale and lips bloody. "Just try to run away, Raijin."
Raijin's brow twitched, frustration and panic mixing together with anger. "Are you serious? Where am I supposed to run?" he growled, spinning his spear and keeping the golems at a distance. Luckily the humanoids slowed down, their movements becoming slower, as if they were pausing—waiting for something.
Yet, a couple still insisted on attacking, approaching Raijin sluggishly.
Eliot—after managing to catch his breath for a few seconds—tried to sit up. His body screamed in protest, and his mind was begging him to stay down. He couldn't shake the feeling that it was all over anyway, that it was only a matter of time until they get overwhelmed.
Even if one of them got struck down, they immediately reassembled by absorbing rock from the monoliths or ground.
Looking up, Eliot saw Raijin kicking with his feet and thrusting with his spear. The shorter boy was clearly on the verge of collapsing, his face pale—paler than usual—and his hair damp with sweat, as if he had just stepped out of a shower.
Eliot thought that it was only a matter of time until Raijin changed his mind and left him to die.
'Obviously. Why would he want to fight for me when he can simply escape? This damn Flaw is also not helping at all-' Eliot groaned as he tried to push himself up once more, ignoring the sharp pain shooting through his right arm that hung uselessly from his shoulder.
But now that he thought about it, Raijin could've used him as bait to escape, thrown him to the golems to tear apart first. But he didn't. Maybe Eliot was wrong.
His Flaw, [Villain], made it so that the longer he interacted with someone, the more their hatred for him grew. It was easy to counter by simply keeping quiet—since speaking was what triggered it—but Eliot was a talkative guy, always chattering since childhood, hardly able to stay silent for even a minute.
And despite that Flaw, Raijin still fought, not just against the golems, but also against the growing animosity toward his companion.
"I'm begging you, stop staring and help me somehow!" Raijin's desperate shout pulled Eliot out of his thoughts, snapping him back to the chaos around them.
Gritting his teeth, Eliot forced himself to stand, despite the pain and exhaustion. Sparks flickered around his left hand, slowly shaping into a strange, scythe-like weapon.
'Just shut up and fight,' he thought, gripping the Memory as it solidified in his hand. With his full attention on the weapon in his hand and the battle before him, familiar, quiet whispers began to creep into his mind.
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The surgery went super well guys and I have eagle sight now hehe)
Btw I'd really appreciate if you guys drop a comment or wtv (If u dont I'm making this a Harem Cultivation fanfic)