Chapter 9: Stage

The boy stepped back, retreating for a few meters. His reason being a large robotic fist that came crashing down at the next second.

Grating metal split the air, splinters of iron scattering across squallish gale, signifying the strength that his opponent carried.

[Wow, that can kill me...] The boy mumbled under his breath, as he observed the destruction that the automaton brought into the wrought-iron ground. [If I get hit, that is.]

The giant had yet to recover from the attack it just made, its fist still plastered to the floor. It took the golem considerable effort to remove his fist, as it seemed to have destroyed part of the clock face, the metal spikes impaling them.

Taking advantage of this, the boy approached the giant’s legs, appearing from behind.

The mechanical giant’s sluggish movement, coupled with his lithe form, enabled him to quickly act, preventing the golem from reacting in time.

The boy begun his assault.

He noticed a flaking area just below the left joint. A rusty, decayed stretch of machinery, where broken parts jutted out more, compared to the rest of golem’s failing body.

It was devoid of any functional parts, a place that would collapse at the slightest disturbance. The decaying parts made clear the place where he needed to strike.

As if by instinct, the boy lowered his arm, the glistening blade within his right hand’s grasp. It shone like a beacon in the night, a blaze of light that gave away his position to the enemy.

The giant, sensing the boy’s intent, tried to shut off his attempt, an arm reaching from its side.

Before it could succeed, however, the boy swung his blade upwards with deft precision, a vertical cut. A brief surge of heat radiated from his weapon as it emanated an emerald glow.

A green crescent traced along the blade’s trajectory, cleaving through machinery amalgamate. An arc of sharpness carved through its target as scraped metal flung off from his attack.

The giant’s left leg suffered through a large cut, mechanical parts falling to the floor.

The ground shook in response as the giant’s footing faltered, briefly stumbling back, its body creaking and rustling under the pressure. This made things easier for him.

[That attack just now... how did I do that?] He muttered, still unaware of how he had done such a thing. [Wait, fight now! Questions later!]

The giant had already regained its footing, turning around to face the boy that had struck his legs.

The giant raised its right arm, its hands an open palm, intending to crush him beneath it. Soon, the whistling of the wind came about as its hand descended from the sky, heading for his location.

The boy headed for his next target as he began his mad dash beneath the behemoth’s legs.

And soon enough, the giant’s hand bordered close to him, trailing his movement. The hand’s shadow signalled its offense as it attempted to squash him flat, ending the fight.

Unfortunately, the ground was the only thing it’d touched, as the boy already fled to his side.

The boy encircled his opponent, trying for a vulnerability in the golem’s impaired body. He only had a few moment’s time, so he fully used the seconds he had, examining the creature’s right leg.

As the fruits of his labor, he’d found one, a flaw that stood out amongst the rest. It was the golem’s juncture, equivalent to a human knee.

Another exposed area, mangled and tarnished by the corroding metal. Shattered gears protruded from the area, giving it the appearance of shattered glass. Fragmented parts lay detached, no longer serving purpose. It was in a worse state compared to the surrounding space.

This area, as much as it hurt him to consider, was perfect for weakening his opponent.

[Please don’t hate me for this...] The boy whispered to himself, trying to find comfort in his words. To him, the metal wound was a painful sight.

His weapon shone again, glowing verdant green, as haze manifested from the blade.

Emanating heat, he vaulted towards the wound, knife in hand. Approaching the wound, he brought the blade to his left, an impetuous swing coming forth as he swiveled forward. A level slash this time.

A streak of emerald light appeared once more, tracing the knife’s path as it had done from before.

And so, the silver blade went snicker-snack, an open fissure that traced back. The cacophony of metal fell to the surface of the clock-face.

Like a hail of ice, they fell to the ground with a heavy sound. The discord sown by the noise echoed throughout the arena, drowning the room in dissonance.

The golem from which they fell twisted itself, endeavoring to reach its assailant.

[You can’t reach me, unfortunately.] No malice was present in his voice as he said so in a matter-of-factly tone.

The golem continued its motion, twisting its body. As it has done so, its body lurched forward, the balance it possessed faltering.

The right leg it stood on collapsed, as its toppling form gave way to the ground. The robot used its left leg to support itself, causing it to kneel with one knee.

As for what had caused such a reaction, the sole blame found itself on his exploitation of the automaton’s vulnerability.

[Now... I can get rid of your lower limbs, once and for-]

Before he could finish his words, the impact of a heavy object flung him into the air, disorienting his thoughts.

The golem’s left foot, planted on the ground, suddenly struck him like a battering ram, hence his airborne journey.

The hobbling display was just a ruse, a feint that distracted him.

His mind was in a daze as it attempted to assay his situation.

Thrown into the air, his vision remained in the sky as he saw a ticking object. The timepiece remained in the sky, overseeing his predicament with a cold, uncaring presence.

He glazed his view over it, seeing the displayed countdown.

{8:13}

Not a minute had passed since their painful struggle, where the two brandished weapons of their own. The golem had its bulwark of iron glass, where its arms and legs operated upon. And the boy had his silver knife, as it gleamed within the darkened skies.

It hadn't been a minute since then, and yet he already found himself in dire circumstances. He would perish soon.

The situation was already unfavorable for him as he plummeted from the skies.

He deliberated for a proper course of action, anything that could help him escape his free-falling fate.

And yet, before he could form any meaningful conjectures, a hand begun its descent as it threatened to pummel him down.

‘Crap.’ He thought, as he had no way of rejecting the golem’s charge. ‘I might really die here.’

The palm dove from above the skies, overshadowing the boy’s figure as it continued its deadly descent.

Quickly, the hand came upon him, as it struck with the force of a truck, his body bearing the entirety of its impact.

As it was, his body fell at full speed, akin to an orbital projectile that converged towards its target. His encounter with the ground was imminent.

Deafening noise engulfed the arena as the boy impacted, leaving a wake of destruction in his path. The ground trembled at his collision, shaking the entire clockface; the arena that housed their battle.

And then, all was still. Everything remained hushed in the interlude.

The clockface, from which they stood on, saw itself broken beyond recognition, scraps of metal strewn across the arena.

Numerals that comprised it lay dispersed amidst the rubble, scarcely discernible from the wreckage.

The clock-hands, once attached to the central pivot, stuck out like buried spears from a battle long gone, the place appearing deserted. A derelict left by the murmurs of time.

While the destruction was indeed devastating, the boy found himself in worse shape.

His battered form lay on the broken earth, the cloak he wore in tatters.

Of contorted limbs and fractured bones, a body mangled and distorted by injuries on display. Blood seeped into the ground, emerging from the grotesque wounds he’d sustained.

And yet, by some divine miracle, a faint pulse remained, hardly clinging to life.

The black box, his visor-like possession that protected his mental faculties, was unharmed. Yet it showed no sign of activity.

It neither moved nor displayed anything on its monitor screen. It was apparent that the robot’s attack did quite the number on his already frail body, even if it was abnormal.

The automaton stopped, laying its gaze at the boy’s appearance.

Seeing that he was on the verge of death, it thought of finishing the job, stopping the boy’s suffering. Even if the boy could not fulfill his promise, even if the golem could no longer die as a result, it still had the compassion to put him out of his misery.

A strange act of mercy coming from the supposed machine.

The boy exhibited an exceptional ability in combat, enabling him to best the giant for a few brief moments. And yet, it was not enough. It took the automaton only a minute to render his opponent immobile, a momentary gap within the space of time.

The giant raised its right foot with the creaking of metal that broke the mute silence.

Gears grinded and coiled springs moved, as they permitted the robot’s action to give a final strike.

The mechanical structure halted for a few seconds until they resumed their locomotion. The brief pause came from the clockwork foot, finishing its ascent before it dove.

As the finality of death loomed close, the boy stirred, vaguely aware of his surroundings.

[ahh...]

A single groan came out from him as the taste of iron filled his mouth. His body ached, an excruciating pain coming from nearly every single part of his injured form.

With his body in such a state, he could neither move nor speak.

Mustering whatever strength he had left, the boy craned his head upwards, only to see the towering form of his enemy.

A faint red glow came in the distance. He’d found himself within the view of the automaton’s single, mechanical eye. The sole remaining feature from the golem’s fragmentary visage, glaring at his location.

:::

+ Black Box [Skill] can be activated.

:::

He noticed another object, the behemoth’s foot, that imperiled his meager form. It was descending to kill him.

He was going to die.

And from that revelation, his fear of death manifested, threatening his well-being. The fear took hold inside him, gripping his heart. To him, it felt like he was being choked.

During the previous challenges he’d faced, the possibility of death became nothing more than an illogical fear he could cast off at a whim. That was all.

To him, the concept of dying was only a means of reinforcing himself, a way of testing his limit. Despite almost dying in those scenarios, he’d always accomplish what the world had asked of him.

He succeeded at facing the challenges he himself stumbled upon: from the ciphered gate, up till the flowery lake.

Those three challenges; from the former requiring the impossible capability of completely retrieving information that he’d memorized, and the latter being a rather specific test where well using one’s physique became imperative was nothing more than a means to an end.

They were an avenue for testing his limits. And yet here he was, standing before death.

‘Am I... going to die?’ It was the only thing that occupied his mind. The truth crushed him. It threatened to choke him, asphyxiate him, constricting his thoughts as his death grew closer.

Soon enough, a shadow overhung across the boy’s broken form. The guardian’s foot threatening to trample him beneath.

The boy, sensing his death, finally gave up on any hope of living as the automaton finished its motion when... the silver blade gleamed, viridian sparks declaring their refusal.

It was an act of rebellion, the weapon’s attempt at resisting the fate impeding on its owner.

From the golem’s understanding, the strange lights were nothing more than a feeble attempt at distraction. A parlor trick, if you may. Indeed, the anomalous glow may have been nothing more than a bluff as the boy approached death.

The brightness, however, was anything but that.

The mechanical appendage closed in on him, only a few meters away. Just as the golem thought it’d accomplished his goal, a strange sound came from the boy. A peculiar, whirring sound that originated from the black box he wore.

[Ah...]

In desperation, the boy raised his arm, bloodied and wounded as blood trickled from it. Faced with raw power, a single limb could do naught but suffer.

[I don’t want to die...]

The golem's fist was mere inches from his face when from his visor...

:::

[Passive Skill - Black Box]

+ [Active Skill - Malachite Demon]

:::

... Foreign words were seen.