47 MILEDI REISEN

The statues' eyes began to glow ominously. And with the sound of metal scraping against metal, the knights stepped out of their alcoves. Ivan and Yue stared back as the group of fifty knights raised their shields and started shuffling towards their direction.

Ivan took to the front as he held his left arm to the ground, a wall formed of the materials in the floor appeared. It seemed that whatever the floor was made of was especially malleable compared to everything that he's touched since entering this dungeon. However, this defense of his was rendered useless as the statue knights chopped up the wall like butter using their swords.

That's when he was certain that the material the floor was made of served another purpose besides looking pretty. Yue activated the magic spear as a long blade of gold appeared and swept towards five of the closest golems. No resistance as the blade went through them. But this wasn't something that made Ivan happy.

He watched on as the golems that had fallen over began to reconstruct themselves using their scattered parts, some even going as far as using the material in the floor to rebuild. Ivan ran over to the closest reconstructed golem as he pressed his right arm against it. With enough mana output, the golem exploded into thousands of pieces.

Normally golems like these would have a core or something that keeps them functioning. However, under Ivan's scrutinizing gaze he came to realize that they were completely hollow. Which to him meant one thing.

"...A controller." There had to be someone or something taking control of these hollow dolls. He observed the diamond-shaped yellow crystal that sat on the altar above the stairs. There was a good chance that the crystal is what powered the golems.

BZZZZZZT!

He quickly transmuted a wall in front of him as a metal shield was launched at them. As for why it was launched and not thrown, there was something odd with the statues' movements. These things moved very slowly, Ivan observed that golems movement as it was making the throwing motion. To him, it was simply impossible that the slow reeling of its arm and drop would produce a throw strong enough to shatter the wall and continue forth.

It was as if the shield mysteriously got faster the moment it was released from the golem's hand. If anything Ivan could pin it on the very weird way this labyrinth worked. First, the revolving rooms that returned them to the beginning, then the no magic rule, and finally this golem room where things were getting bizarre.

In any case, the two found their current objective, to reach the crystal and destroy it. Yue readied her magic spear once more as she moved to the front. With one swing she was able to take out five golems so now she was aiming for ten.

SWISH!

And though they would likely reconstruct themselves within the next few seconds what they needed right now was to reach the altar. The moment the next assault of shields was thrown at them Ivan transmuted another wall. Leaping to the altar seems unwise as the golems would just pelt them in the air.

Running through would mean subjecting themselves to their melee attacks and sharp swords, while Ivan was confident he'd be able to maneuver between the swarm of golems that confidence didn't carry over in the situation he'd have another person on his back.

Realizing her burden Yue made sure to up the ante a bit. If it was Ivan's job to get them to the altar then she would take it upon herself to disable the golems. She told Ivan to pay no heed to the golems' attack and rush right through them with her on his back. He worriedly looked back before deciding to place his faith in her.

Arching his back Ivan bent forward as he prepared for his mad dash. And then boom, the tile beneath him cracked as his kick left behind a cloud of dust and smoke. He weaved in and out of the golems' range. Having complete trust in his partner as she swung the magic spear behind them.

Every once and a while an attack would reach her and tear through her skin but being resolute in her duty to not become a burden she stayed silent as she allowed Ivan to stay focused on getting them out of this swarm. The situation turned from bad to worse as more golems descended from the ceiling.

Ivan seeing his path become more ridden with obstacles grabbed a golem by the head, destroying it before vaulting off of it like a trampoline. But now that they were in the air a new problem arose. Dozens of shields came hurling their way, this time Ivan breathed out and closed his eyes. Then opening them back up with a flash, he used each shield thrown at them as a platform to advance to the altar.

These footholds in the air stopped being launched as it seemed the golems realized they were assisting the enemy, if they stopped throwing shields then sooner or later he'd have to come down. This made Ivan hesitate a little, he wasn't sure if the golems would have this kind of intelligence if they were controlled by some crystal. To him, this kind of control seemed more fitting to belong to another person.

But seeing no one else in the room, he returned to the ground level, grabbing a sword with his right hand as he used the arm it was raised with as a perch. No matter what, the only route they had to take was the door at the end of the stairs and the crystal. The sword of the golem obliterated as Ivan jumped from head to head.

He allowed Yue to recuperate the mana she lost with his blood until she's back in tip-top shape he'd be in charge of total defense. Not that he was upset with this duty. It wasn't long until Ivan reached the bottom of the steps after dodging an assortment of swords and shields.

Running up them as Yue finished recharging. She jumped off his back as he ran up to destroy the crystal. With the grab of his right hand, Ivan charged a multitude of mana into destroying the crystal.

SHATTER!

Like glass it broke in his hand, he turned it to the army of golems Yue was defending against as he waited for them to fall over like toy soldiers. 1 second went by….. 15 seconds went by….. 30 seconds went by… 1 minute. It seemed as though the golems weren't going to deactivate anytime soon.

He ran up to the majestic doors as he pressed against them. It didn't nudge a single bit. He made sure Yue was holding her own before amassing a large amount of mana in his right arm. As blue sparks filled the air the door started molding slowly, forming a small hole large enough for a boy like him to fit in.

Ivan motioned to Yue as she deactivated the spear, then she ran over to him and jumped in the hole. Ivan followed after her, staying next to the door as he sealed up the hole with his left arm. Ignoring the loud banging on the other side of the door the two warriors let out a sigh of relief.

At least that was before they observed their surroundings. Metal platforms littered the sky as there was no visible floor to this world. Hell, to the two of them this space they found themselves in was just an endless sea of dark clouds and metal blocks. What was odd about the metal blocks was their properties, as they seemingly floated in the air without any support. Drifting away as if this were space.

That's when Yue and Ivan finally felt they had a gauge on this whole labyrinth. The unnatural flying shields, the sound of mechanisms locking that usually led them to return to the beginning room, and these floating blocks. They supposed the ancient magic this labyrinth held was gravity magic.

Them returning to the starter room wasn't a result of some magic teleportation, it was just the rooms drifting in this space as the former route connected back to paths that led to the beginning of the labyrinth.

Ivan and Yue looked at the platform floating before them before staring at each other. And with a nod, they each stepped onto it. For a second nothing happened. But then—

"Uwah–!"

"Whoa–!"

The platform started rising at magnificent speed, Yue held onto Ivan as he dug his boots into the ground. And just like he worried, the extreme rising speed ended with an abrupt stop. If he didn't hold down his position he would have been shot into the air and the abyss of clouds. But now wasn't the time to complain, as it would seem they made it to their end goal.

A large metal platform appeared before them, but that wasn't what worried them. It was more so what stood atop it. A fully armored golem knight, one that was as tall as twenty meters tall. Its massive metal arms glowing as if ready to punch a hole out of whatever entered its lair. The red cape on its back flew arrogantly as it looked down at the two trespassers. The gold engravings lining the white metal surface gave it a majestic feel.

To Yue and Ivan, this beast was deserving to be the last boss. The only thing unsettling about its appearance was the crudely drawn smiling face on its helmet. Its black paint looked as though it was dripping before it managed to dry. Once the grand golem made sure they observed its deadly appearance, that's when it made its move.

"Heyo~ Nice to meet you~ It's me, everyone's favorite idol, Miledi Reisen-chan~" The huge golem's greeting didn't match its look at all.

"....." It took all of Ivan's power to stop Yue from outright attacking the thing.

"A sentient golem that goes by the name Miledi Reisen, in Oscar's notes the name Miledi Reisen belonged to a human girl. Are you saying with one hundred percent certainty that's you?"

"Hooo~ What's there to lie about kid? Just like how you hide your face with your helmet, what's wrong with me taking this appearance? But if you want a proper explanation, I wouldn't mind giving it to you so long as you can defeat me. I am Miledi Reisen, and the secret of the golems lies in the ancient magic I can use!"

Like some cartoony villain, she waved about her arms as a metal platform from above flew over and threatened to crush Ivan and Yue. Ivan sighed as the talk devolved into a fight, the first guests she had in probably centuries and she just outright attacked them. As expected of a dungeon master!

Ivan and Yue dove to the platform Miledi occupied as they prepared for the ensuing chaos. This space became like a bullet hell game as she jumped around to avoid the metal platforms thrown at them. If the situation didn't change they'd be running until they got exhausted and died.

"Yue."

"Yes."

As Ivan directed Yue stopped running as Ivan molded the ground beneath them to cover their bodies. She stood still as she aimed the magic spear towards Miledi's head. The large golem tilted its head in surprise as the ray of golden light pierced right through its head. Ivan was banking that as the controller of the rest of the golems this one had to have possessed some crystal or battery-like object to keep it running.

However, it would seem the head wasn't the place for that as it patched itself using bits and pieces of the metal floor. This time Yue aimed for the chest—

"Oho~ I won't let you do that! Maaaa, that last attack scared me y'know. For a second it felt as though I was inside my real body. Seeing as how it's really dangerous I'm not gonna let you do it again."

The golem Miledi finally moved forward, instead of the falling metal platforms she swung her fist down at the defensive cover Ivan made. He looked to Yue as he realized they should no longer stay in this one spot as the metal ceiling began to show dents in it.

Ivan grabbed Yue by the waist before dashing out of there, not turning around as the cover was squished flat. It would seem Miledi had no intentions of allowing Yue to aim her shot. Which meant they would need to get close enough to where she couldn't be stopped.

The problem was Miledi was wary of her and these flying metal platforms just defended the golem's blindsides anyways. With that in mind, Ivan held his left hand to the floor as a metal pole became transmuted from the ground.

He sneakily passed it to Yue while under some temporary cover while he took the real magic spear. They nodded to each other before running in the complete opposite direction. Yue had her regeneration and intermediate magic so she should be fine so long as Ivan didn't meet any obstacles.

Ivan dashed to meet Miledi's back, dodging and destroying metal platforms as they were launched at him. That's when he finally managed to lodge on her back. Holding the spear with both hands, he charged it with mana as its body glowed with gray linings. Its bladed head shot out in a brilliant gray light as it aimed to pierce the perceived spot for the golem's core.

DING!

However, the moment he smiled victoriously the spear met resistance, he used his right hand to destroy the cape and armor out of the way before he noticed a jet black material covering the golem's body beneath the armor.

The golem Miledi swiveled her head to meet Ivan's face as it laughed aloud. "Hehehe, did you finally notice! That's right, Azantium baby! The strongest known metal on the planet!" Her words finished off with a flaming fist hurling towards Ivan's direction

He lifted his right arm to meet it however he was unable to fully deconstruct it in time as its full mass made contact with his body.

BOOM!

Ivan was sent flying as the fist larger than his whole body obliterated him in a single hit, his armor turning into bits and pieces as their particles flew in the air like debris.

"Ivan!" Yue cried out as she cast the intermediate water spell, Rupture. Using its cover to run over to Ivan's body. Miledi covered it with the thick golem arm as its sharp water blade managed to cut halfway through.

Wiping the blood off his chin, Ivan propped himself off the ground as Yue carried him to a corner of the metal platform. He used his left arm to encompass them in steel as he needed a few seconds to recuperate. It wouldn't take long for Miledi to come over and destroy their cover so he needed to get over this attack right now.

His ring flashed green as tens of dozens of canteens full of water-filled their shelter. He instructed the worried Yue to pile them all up together. Caressing her head as the complaint she had fell to deaf ears.

He wasn't sure how badly that fist hurt him but for now, the ringing in his ears made it impossible for him to understand Yue. He silently passed over the magic spear he pulled out before getting hit to Yue as she solemnly accepted it.

Ivan nodded as he affirmed that what lay before him was every canteen he had. Ignoring the rumbling of footsteps, he threw his body on top of the stack as the water transmutation gauntlets appeared on his hands. He ignored the sharp pain in his ribs as he drained all of the mana into his body to focus on his next transmutation.

Sure Azantium was the strongest metal but that didn't mean it was impenetrable. It was an exceedingly rare one that Ivan couldn't believe even a liberator of ancient time could get her hands on a ton of. He assumed what she had coated on the golem's body was very light.

Let's say he can't pierce it even with this assumption, what about other methods. With its regeneration tearing it apart wouldn't work. Maybe with his right arm, he could destroy the coat if given enough time. Miledi wasn't going to allow him that.

He made a hole for Yue to crawl through as she agreed to serve as a distraction. The shelter became enveloped with a gray light as Ivan closed his eyes.

'Something to restrain her…' He thought to himself. Ivan envisioned it already, a beast should fight a beast. Monster vs monster. The inside of the shelter turned chilly as he ignored the fog his breath was creating. The shelter's metal exterior turned blue as the ice was even starting to spread outside.

Blood flowed from Ivan's mouth as if being drawn from a tube. It mixed with the water filling the shelter as Ivan's body began to float. The shelter started shaking from the outside as if it were about to burst.

And burst it did—!

KABOOM!

Miledi turned back to where she thought Ivan had died as the gust of cold wind hit her unfeeling body. She stared back in what could only be construed as a surprise as a giant no less than she appeared out of nowhere.

With an icy exterior, it stood at an impressive twenty meters as well. Its sharp ridges give one the feeling they'd lose a finger just touching it. The visibly cold air it emanated even gave the golem body Miledi was controlling a shiver, as it seemed with each breath the human encapsulated in its center made more cold air would be expelled.

But what unnerved her the most was the trails of red like blood that went all over the ice giant's body like veins. Slightly pulsating and glowing with each other second. If she weren't mistaken she believed whatever that liquid was is imbued with mana to act as strings for the host to move and control the rest of the giant.

"What in the–?" Her words were cut off as the ice and blood-red fist collided with her face.

'I need to get away from it!' She thought to herself as she controlled the nearby floating platforms to shatter the icy giant.

SHATTER SHATTER SHATTER

Bits and pieces of the ice flew into the air as the giant remained motionless. Then from the host encapsulated in the center blood flowed out and became the ice to fill the new voids. Miledi could only regard it as an act of extreme self-torture.

She then controlled even more platforms to attack the host in the center of the icy giant. But as before they never managed to reach the center as the ice turned to blood and filled in whatever was destroyed.

Miledi kept on her onslaught assuming he'd have to run out of blood eventually, however in her fear she forgot there was another existence in this room.

SWISH!

With a strong swing of the magic spear, Yue detached one of the golem's arms from the elbow. Ivan took advantage of Miledi's surprise to run up to her and restrain her body with the ice giant's arms.

Miledi struggled and struggled however the tight hold Ivan held over her barely made a budge. Even the platforms launched at his body didn't change his determination as he refused to let her go. She listened to the cracks of her golem's armor as the pressure of his hold was starting to become too much.

Her exterior became frosted under the effects of the ice giant.

"Let me go! Release me, you bastard!" Her cutesy voice disappeared as she voiced out her rage. Ivan laughed at the facade weakly before strengthening his hold. This allowed Yue enough time to reach the heart of the golem.

Over and over she stabbed at its exterior, and as time went by the little scratches it made were starting to become noticeable. Yue had positioned herself between Ivan and Miledi's bodies to avoid getting hit with any floating platforms. In only minutes they would make it to the core.

During this time Miledi pleaded, bargained, begged, and raged. In a continuous cycle as Ivan remained silent, focussing his all on keeping the parts of the ice giant together.

CHIP!

And like that Yue pierced the golem's tough cover as the spear dug into the yellow crystal within. Miledi's golem body turned motionless as the light in its eyes disappeared. Ivan made sure it made no motions as he relaxed his hold.

The golem dangled in the air for a second before falling forward.

BANG

Just like that, another dungeon was cleared.

SPLASH!

The ice giant immediately melted into water and blood. Yue didn't mind the dirtiness of Ivan's condition as she held his body up to her face, sighing in relief when she heard the pumping of his heart.

She removed the 'Treasure Trove' from his finger and imbued her mana into it. She held the healing potion in her hands before pouring its contents into her mouth to give to Ivan who couldn't drink in his condition.

Her motions were swift as she was afraid that time enveloped in ice was going to freeze him to death. And though expensive she expended her mana in making a small fire to keep his body warm. Pulling a blanket out of the ring after changing his clothes and drying him down with a towel.

She observed the motionless golem from afar before deciding to rest beside Ivan, today they won. She closed her eyes before smiling happily.

"Um, can you not ignore me?" That's when Miledi's voice rang out.

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P.a.t.r.e.o.n goal set, if we reach it I will upload two chapters a day

Hope you guys enjoyed this one, took quite a while to write. But hey it was really fun for me so I'm satisfied. I've been reading this book called 'Save the Cat! Writes a Novel' If you're any interested in writing yourself you've probably heard of it already. But if you haven't read it I recommend doing so. It brings up some great points and ideas, and while there are somethings I disagree with it does help.

That's all I have for today's author note so I want to thank you all for reading! Have a great day/night and see you next time!

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