The creature in the center of the inferno let out another soul-shaking roar, slamming its massive obsidian fist into a half-melted bronze statue, shattering it into a thousand pieces. The air warped and shimmered around its ten-foot frame, the heat so intense it was difficult to breathe even from the doorway.
Kai, his mind racing, focused his will on the hulking behemoth.
[Inferno Guardian]
[Level: 12]
[A powerful elemental born from a nexus of magical energy and raw earth. Its obsidian hide is nearly impervious to physical damage. Its core is superheated magma.]
Level 12.
The number hit Kai like a physical blow. The strongest creature he'd faced before was the Level 7 Stalker, and he had only survived that through a lucky trick. This was a monster in an entirely different league.
"Ben, analysis!" Kai yelled over the roar of the flames, his eyes never leaving the Guardian. "Weaknesses!"
"Its hide is obsidian—volcanic glass!" Ben shouted back, his voice tight with intellectual excitement and raw fear. "Extremely hard, but brittle under the right conditions! Extreme, rapid temperature change! Thermal shock! The same principle as the hounds, but on a vastly larger scale!"
"Your fire extinguisher won't be enough for that!" Elara said, stating the obvious.
"No, it would be like trying to put out a volcano with a garden hose!" Ben agreed. "Our objective cannot be to defeat it. We must retrieve the Echo while it's distracted!"
That was the plan, then. A smash-and-grab in the middle of an inferno, guarded by a demigod of fire and rock.
"I'll draw its attention," Kai said, his voice grim. "You two, circle around the edges of the room. Look for a path to the lectern. When you see an opening, take it."
"Kai, you can't fight that thing alone!" Elara protested.
"I don't have to win," he shot back, hefting his new shield. "I just have to be annoying."
Before they could argue, he acted. He took a deep breath of the searing hot air and charged into the room, banging his saber against the flat of his shield. The loud, metallic clang cut through the roar of the fire.
"Hey, ugly!" he screamed, his voice raw. "Over here!"
The Inferno Guardian, which had been ignoring them, slowly turned its great, horned head. Its face was a mask of cracked obsidian, with rivers of magma flowing in the fissures. Its eyes were two pools of white-hot fire, and they fixed on Kai with an ancient, burning intelligence.
It accepted the challenge. With a guttural roar, it stomped forward, each step shaking the cracked marble floor. It didn't rush. It was an apex predator, confident in its power.
As it approached, it raised a colossal fist. Kai braced himself, expecting a tidal wave of fire or a shower of molten rock. Instead, the Guardian swung its arm in a wide, surprisingly fast arc—a pure, physical blow meant to pulverize him into dust.
Kai met the attack with his shield. The sound of obsidian on steel was like a thunderclap. He felt the impact not just in his arm, but in every bone in his body. The sheer kinetic force lifted him off his feet and sent him flying backwards, skidding across the ash-covered floor until he slammed into the base of a stone pillar.
His entire body screamed in protest. The shield was dented, his arm numb and throbbing, but he was alive. His 20 points in Endurance had saved him from being turned into paste.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Ben and Elara using the distraction, skirting the edge of the domed room, moving from pillar to pillar, getting closer to the glowing book.
The Guardian turned its fiery gaze back to Kai, seemingly unimpressed by his survival. It took another step, raising its fist for a final, finishing blow.
Kai knew he couldn't survive another hit like that. He needed a different approach. He scrambled to his feet, pulling one of the precious acid bombs from his satchel.
Obsidian is glass, he thought, his mind racing. And acid dissolves...
He didn't know if it would work, but it was his only chance. He hurled the vial with all his might, aiming for the creature's face.
The glass bottle shattered against the Guardian's horned head. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the concentrated hydrochloric acid began to work. It didn't dissolve the rock, but it flash-etched the surface, creating a network of tiny cracks and weaknesses in the obsidian. The Guardian roared, more in anger than pain, and swiped at its own face, its massive stone fingers scraping at the irritating chemical.
It was working. He was being annoying.
But as the Guardian was distracted, it took a clumsy step backwards, and its massive stone foot came down on the edge of the stone lectern holding the Echo. There was a sharp crack, and a piece of the lectern broke away. The ancient iron chain securing the book snapped, its links weakened by the intense heat.
The glowing book slid off the tilted surface and fell to the floor, landing perilously close to a river of molten magma that was flowing from the Guardian's body.