Nagasawa was gravely injured, struggling to keep her eyes open. During the battle, she noticed something intriguing: no matter how much she struck, it seemed like she suffered more damage than she inflicted on the enemy. Now her theory was confirmed: the Guardian Golem was like a sponge, absorbing mana from the environment and converting it into its own energy.
However, she didn't have time to dwell on it. What shocked her the most was the sight of a vampire wielding a Holy Sword, a scene so unbelievable that she couldn't even find words to describe it.
"How is he using that?" Nagasawa stammered, leaning on Sara. Her mana was almost depleted, and exhaustion was overwhelming.
"We can't dwell on that now, Professor," said Sara. She refused to reveal more about Dante, keeping the promise never to share his secrets with anyone.
Despite the chaotic situation, they pressed on. If anyone were to die there, Nagasawa would consider herself guilty.
As she received support, she found Forki being thrown by the Golem in front of her. The remaining golems were more resilient and armed, and the one in particular wielded a hammer.
An explosion of flames erupted.
Dante rose from the ground, and numerous cracks began to form. The ground was giving way, but he had no more options. The Guardian Golem was too powerful to be defeated at that moment.
Despite the intense heat of his flames, they were not enough to melt the Golem. It seemed that monster had been specifically designed to challenge him. None of his techniques with the greatsword worked properly with Durandal, and the sword, being so heavy, made it even more difficult for someone not connected to it to use.
The Guardian Golem was already in a frenzy, and Dante knew he couldn't fight it anymore in that state.
"I need to stay alive," were his only words. His regeneration had already been affected, and his mana was running out, being slightly sucked by the Golem.
He had a moment to glance at Sara and his companions, witnessing deplorable scenes.
Seraphina was sitting on the ground, having a breakdown; Forki had lost one of his arms, and Elizabeth had a hole in her abdomen.
The others weren't any better, everything was in chaos, and he didn't know what to do.
"It seems like they really want me dead," his words, recalling his memories, made him question the value of his life currently. He had no answer.
"I'm losing hope, we'll get through this," he thought, but soon a hammer came flying towards him.
"This can't be happening!" he yelled, dodging the giant hammer thrown by the other Golem. Forki had been defeated.
"We can't fight this thing anymore!" Dante finally came to that conclusion, but before he could turn...
GROOOON!
A punch hit his side, sending him flying towards one of the mounds and sinking him slightly into the ground. Almost all of his bones were broken, and he had no choice but to vomit his blood.
"We have to go," said Forki, helping Nagasawa and Sara to walk. Sara began to experience a mana disorder due to exhaustion in her core, just like Nagasawa.
"We need to go back for Dante," said Sara, looking into Forki's eyes.
ARHHG!
The screams came from Dante, lying on the ground, forcing his body to regenerate.
"There's no way", said Nagasawa, starting to rise. "Gather everyone, I'll help him."
"But Prof-" Sara tried to say something, but didn't get a chance as Nagasawa landed a blow, knocking her unconscious.
"Take her," Nagasawa ordered, before rising again with the last of her strength. Forki didn't dare say anything, just nodded and carried Sara, still having the strength for it, even if it's...
"Damn it, why did I have to be the damn specialist in poisonous arts? Damn clan, I should have run away!" Nagasawa cursed, while vaguely reminiscing about her childhood.
"Well, at least I'll die being who I want to be," she said aloud, forcing her mana core to function. Then, she turned into mist and appeared next to Dante.
Dante managed to regenerate completely, but it came at a cost. He could no longer store holy power or accumulate mana, as he was exhausted. His mana production and holy power were slightly compromised by the scarce environment that the Guardian Golem had turned into; his mana was constantly being drained, and his reserves were running out.
Seeing Nagasawa by his side, Dante couldn't help but feel guilty. "I told you to leave," he commented, while retrieving Durandal again.
"I'm the teacher here, and you're the child. Who gave you authority over me? Do you want to die?" Nagasawa retorted, looking at the monster in front of them, wreaking havoc, distracted by the vines holding it.
"Do you have a plan?" Dante questioned.
"Buy time and escape," she replied. "And not die trying," she added with a smile.
"You're more than just a pretty face, teacher," Dante thought, as they both projected towards the Guardian Golem.
"I don't know what this guy holds, but it's definitely something very valuable. Otherwise, this protection wouldn't be here!" Dante shouted, while Nagasawa focused on hitting the Golem's joints, trying to destabilize it.
"This is definitely an Ancient Golem," she shouted to Dante, who was cutting one of the Golem's arms, but Durandal didn't penetrate completely.
"Sharpest sword in the world my ass. You can't even cut off a giant's arm," cursed Dante, looking at the sword in his hand. In fact, Durandal had become something like an extremely rare sword in Dante's hands, who had no contract with it.
"I have an idea!" Nagasawa shouted, and Dante joined her. She descended to the ground and began to break the ground near the Guardian Golem.
"Want to sink us all together?" Dante asked, looking at Nagasawa, who was focused. "Better down than up!" she yelled and opened one of the cracks near the Guardian Golem's foot.
"Let's go, do the same on the other side. If it falls in the right spot, we can confuse it with the vines!" She shouted, and Dante followed her command.
CRACK!
As they tried to do something, Nagasawa received a blow head-on and had one of her arms destroyed.
ARGHH!
She screamed in pain and fell lightly to the ground. While Dante was breaking everything, he saw the scene and immediately stopped. His tendons were exhausted, but he used his Phoenix Swift Steps technique again and appeared next to Nagasawa, who was almost unconscious.
"Leave me, go," she said softly, but Dante ignored her.
He looked to where the others were, and all the smaller Golems had already been defeated. He saw Sara in Clovis's arms, while Alexander used her for support. Elizabeth had already recovered.
"We have to go now," Dante said and picked up Nagasawa, starting to leave the place. But an earthquake began suddenly.
The ground started to collapse, and Dante began to run jumping between the debris.
GROOOOOOOOOOONNNNN!
The Golem screamed as it fell down. Dante began to despair and increased his speed, heading towards the group that was heading towards the exit, as Nagasawa had said.
"Wait! Help Dante!" Clovis shouted as he saw Dante approaching, while the ground beneath them began to give way.
"We don't have time, go," said Ethan, watching Dante jump between collapsing spots with Nagasawa in his arms.
"Go quickly, we'll help him," said Alexander, who had recovered a little, while Clovis hesitated. "Alright," he agreed, not willing to risk Sara's life, who was unconscious in his arms.
Seraphina, Elowyn, Sara, Clovis, and Elizabeth went ahead, all exhausted from the previous battles, especially Sara.
When they exited, they exchanged glances with a smile on their faces.
"Pathetic," Alexander thought, remembering the humiliation he suffered. "This is not me," he said to himself. "I am the son of the Werewolf King!" he shouted internally as he saw Dante approaching, panting with Nagasawa in his arms.
Dante finally reached them, Nagasawa unconscious in his arms, himself exhausted, feeling pain all over his body.
As he looked at the three who watched him, something seemed wrong when Forki's hand came towards him.
"Let's go, we need to leave," said Forki, with a smile on his face, something he hadn't done before.
Before Dante could say anything, Alexander's hand struck his face, causing him to fall to the ground with Nagasawa's injured body.
"What are you doing?!" Dante shouted as he tried to get up, but his leg was caught by Forki's large foot.
"Do you think we would risk our lives to help you escape?" said Ethan, smiling, as lightning appeared in his hand.
"Consider yourself honored to be the first person I'll kill," said Alexander, with a broad smile on his face.
"I'll make sure to tell how you were a coward until the end and took Nagasawa Yamata with you," he added, with a smile on his face.
"Do the honors," ordered Alexander, and the lightning in Ethan's hands was released on Nagasawa, but Dante suddenly jumped over her body and received the lightning in his back.
"Ahh!" Dante screamed as he felt the shock, spitting blood from his mouth. It was a Sacred Sword. Although he could hold a Sacred Sword, it didn't mean he was immune to the holy power used against him.
He was losing consciousness, having reached his limit long ago, and if he continued to force his mana core, he would probably be destroyed. He could only think of one thing: to protect Nagasawa.
But before he could do that, "Goodbye, Dante Scarlet," said Alexander, kicking them off the cliff that had formed after the collapse.
"I hope hell is pleasant for you, Demon King," said Forki, while Ethan just smiled.
"Make sure there's no possibility of him coming back alive," commented Ethan.
Forki began to generate an earthquake through his earth magic, making everything shake. The walls of the chasm formed by the previous earthquake began to collapse where Dante was falling.
"Let's go."