The battlefield was chaos.
Flames raged. Ice spears shattered. The earth trembled under the weight of Gaianox's footsteps. Wind howled like a raging beast as Aquelis manipulated the battlefield with shifting tides.
Gramps stood amidst it all, unwavering.
Vaelor smirked from a distance, his grip firm on Vaeloris, the sword that had unleashed these monstrous creations. Yet, he wasn't fighting directly.
He didn't need to.
The golems were doing that for him.
"You're wasting time, old man," Vaelor called out. "Just draw your sword."
Gramps exhaled. He wouldn't. Not yet.
Then—the golems attacked.
---
Fire and Water—A Deadly Synergy
Ignirion struck first.
Its molten body pulsed violently, the heat distorting the air. Then, with a deafening roar, it lunged forward—Blazing Execution.
A raging inferno surrounded its form as it barreled toward Gramps with terrifying speed. The ground melted beneath its feet, leaving nothing but molten craters in its path.
Gramps sidestepped at the last possible moment, narrowly avoiding the fiery collision—only to feel a sudden shift in the air behind him.
His instincts screamed.
Aquelis.
The fire Ignirion left behind was sucked up by Aquelis' swirling water body. Steam erupted instantly, creating a thick, blinding mist—but it wasn't just for cover.
A hundred ice spikes materialized within the mist.
Gramps barely had time to twist his body. He dodged left— but an ice spear sliced across his shoulder. Another grazed his ribs. The air was suddenly a deadly storm of fire-heated ice, each projectile carrying both scorching heat and freezing cold, designed to tear him apart.
Vaelor smirked. "You see it now, don't you?"
Gramps clicked his tongue. Yeah. He saw it.
These weren't just two separate golems.
They were working together.
---
Breaking the Flow
Ignirion slammed its fists into the ground—Infernal Rupture! The entire battlefield cracked open, spilling rivers of fire, cutting off Gramps' movement.
Aquelis, taking advantage, moved like a ghost. It shifted into liquid form, reforming behind Gramps, its hands reshaping into razor-sharp water blades.
Two attacks. Fire from the front. Blades from the back.
Gramps exhaled—and moved.
Just before the molten explosion reached him, he planted his foot hard against the ground—and with sheer force, he launched himself straight up into the air.
Ignirion's eruption missed.
But Aquelis was already waiting.
It launched forward, twisting its form into a spiraling lance—Serpent Flow.
Gramps, still airborne, had no footing.
Aquelis struck.
Or—it should have.
Except—
Gramps vanished mid-air.
The moment before impact, he unleashed Celestial Step.
And reappeared directly in front of Vaelor.
Vaelor's eyes barely widened before—
Gramps' fist crashed toward his face.
---
Mind vs. Action – Outsmarting the Mind Reader
Vaelor was fast.
His mind-reading ability let him anticipate every strike before it happened.
But Gramps had trained him.
And he knew how to trick his own student.
Instead of attacking with his right fist—he made his mind think he would.
But at the last second—
His left fist shot forward instead.
BOOM!
The punch connected. Vaelor's smirk twisted as his body staggered backward. A direct hit. The first one Gramps had landed in this entire fight.
Vaelor's feet skidded against the ground.
He wiped the blood from his lip, eyes flickering with something between shock and amusement.
"Heh…" Vaelor exhaled. "So that's how you're playing it."
Gramps cracked his knuckles. "What's wrong? Didn't see that coming?"
Vaelor chuckled. "Oh, I saw it."
Then, his expression sharpened.
"But I won't fall for it twice."
---
The Flickering Truth
Gramps wasn't watching Vaelor.
He was watching the golems.
The moment his fist connected—Ignirion and Aquelis flickered.
It was brief—just a fraction of a second. But Gramps saw it.
It wasn't a simple blink.
It was like a dying light bulb.
For a fraction of a second, Ignirion's flames dimmed, then flared back to life.
Aquelis' liquid form rippled unnaturally—not like water moving, but like a reflection shattering.
"...They're unstable."
Then, it hit him.
These weren't just summoned creatures.
They were projections.
Or more accurately—extensions of Vaelor himself.
"They're not the main battle. They're the distraction."
Gramps' lips curled into a smirk.
" If the golems are flickering, that means they're draining something."
And if they were draining something…
That something was Vaelor.
His eyes locked onto Vaeloris—the sword Vaelor held in his grip.
"It's not the golems I need to destroy."
"It's the source."
A plan formed.
A risky one.
Gramps rushed forward again.
This time, he wasn't aiming for the golems.
He was going straight for Vaelor.
Vaelor's smirk faltered slightly. His eyes flickered.
"Damn it—he figured it out!"
The golems reacted instantly.
Ignirion launched Blazing Execution, its entire body igniting as it shot forward like a flaming meteor.
Aquelis countered from the opposite side, forming Abyssal Whips that lashed out with deadly precision.
They were perfectly timed.
If Gramps dodged Ignirion, Aquelis would impale him from the other side.
A guaranteed kill.
Except—
Gramps had already planned for it.
At the last second—he unshrunk his shield.
BOOM!
Ignirion slammed into it at full force.
At the same time—Gramps spun the shield at an angle, reflecting Aquelis' water whip back at itself.
That was all the time Gramps needed.
With a final push—he broke past the golems and closed the distance to Vaelor.
Their eyes met.
For the first time—Vaelor's breath hitched.
Gramps was already mid-strike.
"Damn it—!"
And then—
The third golem arrived.
---
Gaianox – The Indomitable Titan Joins the Battle
The battlefield trembled.
From the cracked earth, a monstrous figure of solid stone emerged.
Gaianox—the Earth Titan.
Massive. Unshakable. A walking mountain.
Gramps barely had time to react before Gaianox slammed its fists into the ground—SEISMIC HAVOC.
The entire battlefield erupted.
Gramps was launched backward, his body twisting mid-air.
Dust and debris filled the sky. The ground split apart beneath them.
Vaelor smirked, wiping his mouth.
"You were close," he admitted. "But now… you're out of time."
The three golems stood in formation.
Now, Gramps couldn't reach Vaelor without killing them first.
---
To Be Continued…