Though Boran tried to rush and catch up, the battle inside had already begun. The massive door was open, and the sounds of clashing swords, gunshots, and magic echoed from within. The Eternal Guardian
Behind the huge doors was a grand hall that took Boran's breath away. The ceiling soared high above, with blue light streaming down from old crystal chandeliers that must have hung there for centuries. The walls told stories in stone - worn but beautiful carvings showed battles and creatures from times long past, their details softened by countless years.
The room's floor was made of massive marble blocks decorated with complex geometric patterns. The patterns on each block extended toward a circular platform in the center. This platform rose in the middle of the room and was surrounded by a softly glowing energy.
And upon the platform stood the Eternal Guardian Mur-azar.
At first glance, Mur-azar appeared to be a colossal statue—but this illusion quickly faded. Its body, standing about four meters tall, seemed crafted by the most skilled artisans of an ancient civilization. However, this stone wasn't rigid and immobile like normal stone. A bluish energy leaked from between the joints throughout its body, flowing like blood through its veins.
The Guardian's "armor" was actually part of its body. Geometric patterns deeply etched from its chest to shoulders and hips to legs looked as if they had been there for thousands of years. Each of these patterns gleamed faintly, forming different shapes as it moved. The stone cape flowing from its shoulders chimed like crystal with every movement.
Its head resembled an ancient warrior's helmet. Where its face should have been was deep darkness, but two bright blue eyes flickered within this void. Stone feathers extending from the top of its helmet to the back undulated with each movement, dancing in the wind as if they were real feathers.
The shield carried in its left arm was as large as a building's wall. The shield's surface was covered in complex patterns like its body, but these patterns constantly moved and shifted, breathing like a living organism. The bright blue crystal at the shield's center gleamed in the same hue as the chandeliers' light.
In its right hand, it wielded a heavy and magnificent sword. The sword itself was made of stone, just like its body. Its hilt and crossguard were decorated with patterns resembling intertwined snakes, and the same bluish energy seeped through these patterns.
When Mur-azar moved, its stone joints creaked, but rather than being unpleasant, the sound resembled the perfect working of an ancient mechanism. Each step caused slight tremors in the ground, making the energy waves on the platform vibrate.
Cracks and scorch marks visible in the corners of the room, on the floor, and walls bore witness to battles fought here before. Small fires still smoldering in places showed the remnants of unfinished spells. Fallen stone pieces from the ceiling and broken marble blocks here and there told the story of how violent the conflicts in this place had been.
"I knew it! Paralysis doesn't work at all!" shouted Kara.
"I've got its attacks! It's so clumsy, dodging is easy!" said Steel.
"Keep going like this! Light, stay ready in case anything happens! We might need your healing!" Fire called out.
Meanwhile, Storm continued attacking relentlessly with dual pistols. "We've taken down a quarter of its health! We're melting this boss pretty fast!" she shouted.
Boran watched the battle from outside the boss arena. He was trying to memorize the boss's movement patterns.
Before Boran's eyes, Mur-azar launched its first attack. It slowly raised its massive stone sword, the blue energy leaking from its joints growing even brighter. After a moment's pause, it swung the sword in a horizontal arc. Though this movement might have seemed slow for its size, even the wind created by the sword scattered dust and small stone pieces around the room.
"Don't worry! It's just a clumsy thing!" said Steel, easily dodging under the massive sword.
When the sword struck the marble floor, bright sparks flew as if lightning had struck. The impact was so powerful that the floor cracked from end to end where the sword passed, shattering some of the geometric patterns. Kara barely escaped this attack with a last-minute leap.
Then the Guardian changed tactics. It brought forward the massive shield in its left hand, the patterns on the shield beginning to dance even faster. Suddenly, it charged forward with all its enormous mass. This movement even changed the air in the room—as if a giant wave was approaching. The shield attack targeted Storm, but he used his ability to quickly dodge aside and continued attacking without pause.
The shield's impact with the wall created an ear-shattering boom. The wall cracked like a spider web, with some reliefs breaking loose. The vibration from the impact was so powerful that small pieces of stone began falling from the ceiling. The crystals in the chandeliers clinked against each other.
Due to hitting the wall, it spent some time trying to pull its shield from between the stones; this was a perfect moment to attack.
Steel was swinging his massive sword continuously, Kara was attacking the blue energy in the boss's armor with his dagger, Storm was attacking faster than ever with her special stance, while Light was amplifying everyone's attacks.
"Get back!" shouted Fire. A massive fireball had appeared in the void above her staff, waiting to be launched.
Everyone quickly jumped to the sides. Kara to the left, Steel and Storm to the right, while Light moved backwards. Fire hurled the enormous fireball from the tip of his staff with all his might. As the fireball spun through the air, it left a crimson trail in its wake. The room's temperature suddenly rose, causing the crystals in the chandeliers to vibrate with the heat.
The fireball struck Mur-azar's chest and exploded in a blinding flash. Red and orange flames scattered in all directions, creating a purple gleam as the guardian's blue energy collided with the wave of fire. The explosion was so powerful that the boss's enormous body staggered backward.
"That's it!" shouted Fire, lowering her staff. As the smoke from the fireball dissipated, new cracks could be seen forming in Mur-azar's armor.